Spiritual Awakening: Gaining Strength By Giving Back!!!
It was 24 years ago in Coral Springs, Florida when I first heard these words and they have become part of my spiritual awakening. When I joined The Jaycees in 1989 I never imagined that my years of service would mold me into an action taker and enhance my spiritual path. I remember a cold day in December of 1989 when The Coral Springs Jaycees gathered to take needy children holiday shopping and thinking wow we are making a positive impact on the lives of others. I continued my service with The Jaycees until July of 2002 when I left to become a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in The Philippines. My service in the Philippines propelled me even further along my path of spiritual awakening. It was in The Philippines that I was able to truly understand the anthem of assume an attitude of gratitude. Upon my arrival back in The United States in February of 2003 I vowed to help other people excel. I quickly rejoined The Jaycees and helped to chair many projects. I began speaking at functions sharing the idea of being spiritually connected and staying positive. The strength I gained by giving back has shown me that by embracing my divinity and shining my light I am making a positive difference in thieves of those I come in contact with. I have looked at all the awards I have won and I have realized that the wood rots, the metal tarnishes, but the memories last forever. I have had several spiritual awakenings while being of service and value. I have been awakened to a calling to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays and for the last 10 years have been dedicated to doing just that raising over $20,000 for The American Cancer Society Relay For Life. I have found that to be the change you want to see in the world you must take action and when spirit directs you do not question just take action. It is when you help others get what they want that you will get what you want and you will come alive and discover things that you never thought you were capable of doing and find that you are doing them.
The strength you gain when you give back is amazing. When you help your community you gain a sense of awakening as you recognize that one person, you are making a difference. Through service you gain strength as your relationship with GOD is strengthened and you begin to receive favor from GOD as you put other people before yourself. You begin to find your purpose and as you live your life on purpose you are rewarded.
As I sat on the bench in prayer at the cemetery today paying respects to my mom who passed a year ago the message for this blog entry came to me in the words Finding The Positive. Through challenging times my mom would find ways to make me and my brother feel better about the situations we were facing. As I sat on the bench all the positive memories started to come back. There was a sense of joy and sadness at the same time. I looked to the heavens and thanked god for all the time he gave me to have with my mom. I thanked my mom for all the great times she gave me over the year. I then wen to my car and retrieved the stone I brought with me to symbolize that I was at the cemetery, I cleansed it in the fountain and then found a place to place the stone and said a prayer. As I started the car I felt the presence of my mom telling me to stay positive.