#QOTD - Regret

"Regret comes in all shapes and sizes.

Some are small, like when we do a bad thing for a good reason.

Some are bigger, like when we let down a friend.

Some of us escape the pangs of regret by making the right choice.

Some of us have little time for regret because we're looking forward to the future.

Sometimes we have to fight to come to terms with the past.

And sometimes we bury our regret by promising to change our ways.

But our biggest regrets are not for the things we did, but for the things we didn't do, things we didn't say that could have saved someone we care about.

Especially when we can see the dark storm that's headed their way."

If only I could take credit for those words, it pretty much sums up what regret is and the regrets we often have in life. The questions is how do we get past the regret? How do we not let it take us down?

Regret is the negative version of reflection in my opinion. It's healthy to reflect over the this we have been through, the decisions we make or don't make. But when we think too much about our mistakes, or something we did or how we reacted, it tends to be in a negative way, and that leads to regret.

Learn to reflect instead of regret the things you do, it takes practice, and you will not be perfect:) But the sooner you learn to let go, the sooner you will find that life doesn't have to be so damn hard :)

Have a great weekend!

Christina

#QOTD - Within you

"You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."

-C.S. Lewis

I believe in these words!!! They are so true; at least to me they are :) We all have different beliefs, and it doesn't matter what we believe in, it matters only how we treat each other!! Still, I hope you find this quote inspirational, or maybe it makes you think twice about what life is all about. Please feel free to comment if you want to discuss it; I'm open to all kinds of discussions :)

Hope you are all enjoying your Thursday!! I am, todays my brother's birthday, congrats bro:) So proud of the man you have become, I know the future has so much good in store for you. The weather is so beautiful, the last breath of summer before autumn begins, so nice. Have a great afternoon peeps!

Christina

"The Dark Times are Coming"....hmmm

So we are heading into what all call "the dark times". Why call it that? That is, besides the obvious fact that it gets darker! Why voluntarily choose to put negative energy into something? For is it not a fact that when we say: "Now we're facing darker times" we actually think: "It becomes harder to get up in the morning because it's dark, it gets colder, sadder weather conditions, snow will result in traffic chaos, it's dark when we get home, etc.". Conclusion: In one small sentence, we place a thousand negative thoughts and feelings. Is it any wonder we always feel less positive and excited about the autumn/winter?

Don't misunderstand me, I don't think we should go around constantly being positive; this is not possible with the way the world is today (though it is definitely something to wish for the future). But is it also not true that we have the power to shape our lives as we wish to see it unfold? That we alone hold the power over our own lives and can write our history as we want?

YES outside factors can influence our choices and in some cases result in that fact that we cannot get nor do what we want, but again we have the ability to choose our response! :)

Will we always choose the correct path or reaction, N.O.!! Of course not, we are not perfect we are humans. But the beauty of life is also that we can change things if we want to! Remember the quote i wrote a while back?:

"Any new attempt justifies all past mistakes!"

What I'm really trying to say is that I believe we can make the "dark time" into something positive. We can still call it the same, because it's true the days becomes darker, but we need to change the energy we put into it. Because there are also positive things about this season. Hot chocolate, snowball fights, the heat from a fireplace, the sun shining on beautiful white scenery, fresh air and cold cheeks, and my favorites: CHRISTMAS and what we in Denmark call "hygge" :) If nothing of the above is something you like or find positive, then find your own, this is just things I find positive and love about "the dark times".

We can put negative energy in everything, even though spring comes and cast away the darkness, we suddenly find other things to put negative energy in. That's just how it always is, but there's no reason to stick with the usual OR to make our lives more challenging than it is. I don't always think positive, far from it, I'm human like everyone else. But I've always believed that we choose whether we want to see the positive rather than the negative. Yes we have our challenges in life and they are not always easy and fun, but we choose how we will look at them. And it's more fun to choose the positive view over the negative. And I have the past several years, 5 to be exact, made big changes in my life and I can see how a positive outlook have made things so much easier than a negative view on things. Is it always easy to think like this? No, you will "fall", but then you can choose to stop being negative before it gets too hard. The beauty of life is of course that we can learn from our mistakes :)

Remember, this is how I am, these are my thoughts, and that's how I feel. I hope it can inspire some new thoughts inside you guys and that maybe you will try to find the positive in the negative, calling problems challenges and fun, it makes it so much easier!

"Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it."

- Ernest Holmes

So enjoy the autumn, see the beautiful and lovely in something so easily seen as dark and dreary.

Christina

#QOTD - LIVE LOVE LAUGH

 "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain."

-Vivian Greene

This one I absolutely LOVE :) When we were kids we always put on old sweats and ran outside whenever the rain started to pour down!! It was SO much fun, and afterwards we would take a warm bath and watch a movie or play a game wile we drank hot chocolate/tea. Those moments I remember so clearly, and in those moment life was so easy and fun, and more importantly I felt extremely loved!! So don't se rain as something negative and dark, see it as something fun, something that can wash all your troubles away and make you feel completely new :)

#QOTD

Just a little story to ponder over and start the week with :) :)

An old Indian told his grandchildren: "In every human life is a terrible fight. A fight between two wolves. One of them: fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self pity, resentment and betrayal. The second: joy, love, humility, trust, generosity, truth and compassion."

One of the children asked: "Grandfather, which wolf wins?"

The old man looked him in the eye and replied: "The one you feed"!

Long time no blog? ;)

Haven't blogged in 2 weeks, sorry, have had a lot on my mind :) Felt like my mind has been going on and on and on these last couple of months, many thoughts. Shared some of them last time, and they are still on my mind. Maybe I sounded a bit "preachy" last time, hope none of you took it that way :) But i like to find answers, or try to when i stumble upon something I just don’t get. So I still think a lot about the whole "Is love too hard to believe in" question. I think it is a tough one, and I don’t believe the last post i wrote gave all the right answers, but i tried.

I also worry too much, hehe, that’s a no brainer. A worry about everyone, and I want everyone to be happy, and that’s not something you always get to be the boss of :) So when I meet people who tell me that they don’t believe in love, or that we someday might be a more loving, united, caring and compassionate world, I get kind of sad. Sad is not the right word, but it’s more like, I really want to help these people feel the love and trust that I have for the future, because it is hard for me not to feel like these people are missing something. Not that they are bad and wrong, but I sense I little lost child inside them, each with their own "loss", something the desperately need and want.

Everyone that know me knows that I don’t just speak my mind and try to "push" my beliefs on them. On the contrary, I hold back, observe and try to see behind the facade or "mask" that we sometimes wear when we leave our home. When i then feel i have the best idea about that persons true color (or soul), i then try to build trust, compassion and positive attitude toward him/her. It might sound a bit to "easy-peasy" or "goody-two-shoes" to some of you, but that’s just how i am (most of the time, because of course I also have bad days ;)). So I’m not trying to give a picture of myself that you can put on a pedestal to look at, or show myself as a better person, this is really me, right down to the marrow! I think we could get along so much better if we respect each other more, and use trust, compassion and tolerance as tools to get more united as a people. And that does not mean that we don’t get to have different opinions and be individuals, because that is just as essential to this world. Being different but still showing respect to one another. I think it is awesome that we don’t all have the same opinion that we look at things differently, because that just gives us all views of a point. We are here to learn and grow, otherwise why even be here?

So, I’m not perfect, and hell, I don’t want to be :) But i want to show respect! And I think we need to be more respectful. Respectful does not mean not fighting for what you believe in, or doing what you like, but it just means not putting down people on your way through life. Are we always going to live up to that, no, but the beauty of life is also that mistakes are allowed. Accept that you don’t always makes the best choices, and you might sometimes want to scream at the world because thing aren’t going your way, just remember that you can always try again.

"Any new attempt justifies all past mistakes!"

 I also love this quote by Albert Einstein:

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

Why not just trust that we have to be where we are, and if not, we also have the power to change our life. But it’s not easy, I fight a lot, my own battles, and so do everyone else. So let us respect that and try to learn how we can live more in peace and compatibility with each other's differences. (Ended on a preachy note again, but what the hell, I don’t care ;)).

Christina

Is love to hard to believe in?

I've had i lot on my mind lately, some really deep and tough questions that I haven't a right or wrong answer to. Here goes:

Is it possible for one person to have absolutely NO faith in a loving peaceful future?

I have no idea, but recently I was confronted with just that thought, and it both scared me and intrigued me. What if a person could not picture this world becoming peaceful, no wars, no hate, just love and acceptance and respect? How do you respond to that when you have the complete OPPOSITE vision of the future?

I know, it’s a tough one, and I've thought about it a lot. My favorite quote, or one out of many, is this quote from Ghandi:

"Be the change you wish to see in the world"

That sentence sums up all I believe in. Or at least most of my believes ;)

If we wish to see politics go in a different direction, then we have to make it go that way. We need to use our voice, and use the power we have to make our voice be heard.  I by no means believe in violence and hate, it is possible to make a revolution without.

If we wish to see violence eliminated, then let us start living more peacefully, be more lovable and open. YES I'm aware that this does not immediately bring an answer to all the world’s problems, but it is a start!! And YES I know war is sometimes necessary especially in the world we live in now. But why not try showing more love, is it so bad that while we are fighting we also use love as a weapon? Love may not show immediate result, and it might take a century to make it work but it works, so why don't we use it?

Is it so difficult to believe in love? To believe that by changing our attitudes today, or try to, we might make the future better? Maybe we won’t see any major change in our lifetime, but maybe our children or grandchildren will, so why not make it a better place for them?

You see my point? I could go on and on with the questions, and so could many others. One thing I want to make clear is, that I do not judge, or I don't believe in judging others, it leads us nowhere. Do i judge? I do, sometimes I judge before I know the whole story, but I try not to and if I catch myself in the act I stop! :) I'm only human, making mistakes is what we live and learn for ;) So please don't take any of what I have written as criticism or lack of understanding, because I have nothing more than love and respect for everyone. I cannot possibly understand what goes on inside your head, why you act, think and do the things you do. But i really want to understand, because I believe understanding leads to acceptance, which leads to respect, which finally leads to love!!

So where am I right now, did I answer my own question with a bunch of questions? Yes :) hehe.. But it is after all a big question, and I might not get the right answer. I will however try to be the change I wish to see in the people around me. Maybe that will inspire them, and maybe open up their minds to a new way of thinking. And in the long run, I think that is the best answer to my question :)

Live, love, laugh! :)

Xoxo

Christina

#QOTD - Unity

"People inflict pain on others in their selfish pursuit of happiness and satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a sense of universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share."

-Dalai Lama

New knowledge, new challenges :)

Sooooooo, tired. These past few days I have been on a course in "Pedagogy, didactics and methodology". VERY interesting, I know shocker, but man I'm so busted. Feels good learning about this stuff, but my brain is definitely not use to being "the student" and not "the teacher" :) I know life i s all about learning, but three days of intense learning leaves its mark on you.

One very positive thing I realized these days, and I didn't expect this, was how much the school is ready for change!! To clarify it all: the average age of the teachers is 50, and a lot have been teaching in 10-25 years (some more some less). Many of the teachers I've met have seemed very narrow-minded and "to set in their ways". To put it harsh: Old and only caring about their own little world! Of course not ALL of them are like that but many are. And my two colleagues and I (we are a small team of three), really believe in change and that this school needs it big time.

Many of the people I took this course with had the same view of things. This course is for newly hired teachers, but there was still two who had been there for 13-15 years, and it was nice to meet some "old guys" who felt this way. Most of all, three of our four lecturers were from the administration in this school, and the ALSO felt this way. THAT felt really good, and they were truly inspiring to listen to.

SO what is my point? My point is, if we all (or mostly all) feel this way the why don't we start making a change? I have some ideas on the why part, but I will think about it some more before I go into a full on analysis :)

Conclusion: Change IS coming. Students WILL be taken better care of. BUT we need to act, and that is the biggest, most expensive challenge we have now. I say challenge instead not problem, because problems make everything seem more difficult, hard and confusing that they can be. The challenges awaits, but…..

…..right now the couch is calling!;) Have a great evening peeps :)

Xx

#QOTD - Sorrow, loss, grief

There is no despair so absolute as that which comes
With the first moments of our great sorrow,
When we have not yet known what it is to have suffered and healed,
To have despaired and recovered hope.

-George Eliot