priceless

February 20th, 2017

Many of us buy a lottery ticket once in a while and daydream about having a great deal of money. For one dollar we get to imagine helping people in more ways than we are capable of doing right now. We get to imagine building and traveling and gifting on an immense scale. For one dollar we are the star and the lead in our own movie.

While dreaming big is a delicious flight of fancy, sometimes we tend to forget the priceless happiness in the smaller things in life. How about thinking about someone you love who has passed and while you are imagining that person, a butterfly comes close and gets your attention – priceless. 

How about the feeling when a small child notices your presence and quickly smiles and with raised arms begs you to pick them up and hug them – priceless. How about that time that you were just absently looking at the night sky and suddenly a shooting star appeared – priceless.

How about the taste of a certain food that only one relative could perfectly create every time – priceless. How about clean sheets, cool pillows, hot showers, clean cool water when you are thirsty, a stunning view after a beautiful climb, a long hug from someone you love, a great night’s sleep, the smell of someone you love, your favorite song, loving on your pet, feeling good without a reason, a great cup of tea, a sweet memory, a laugh that makes you laugh, a soft breeze, the sound of the ocean, the flames of a campfire, your bed after a long day, a smile from a stranger, dancing until you are the music, holding hands, the middle of a great book, a kiss from a child – each one of these and many, many, many, more – priceless.

Yes, it would be a trip to have a large sum of money but let us never forget the small, priceless joys and memories that fill our life. Let us spend more time focusing on what is right, beautiful and priceless in our life. Let us remember to remind each other and to be grateful when we are reminded of the good things in life. They are always, always there.

Sundrops On Life -Better Thoughts. Better Days.

 Patrick McBride 
 www.PatrickInspires.com

 
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A plan

February 13th, 2017

We were out feeding the homeless one day and when you are engaged with that part of our community no two days are ever the same because the actions and reactions vary greatly from one person to the next. Anyway, every now and then something is said that is up there with the sayings of the great philosophers. 

For instance, one day I was handing out small bars of hotel soap that had been donated to us and Moses Green, a regular, took the bar with a giant grin and said “Right now I would rather have this than a bar of gold” and I said “Moses, with a bar of gold you could buy a truck full of soap” and he replied “Patrick, where is a dirty, homeless person going to sell a bar of gold? You have to understand that the way you are dressed is the way you are treated”. Priceless

This particular day we were handing out food and a very disheveled gentleman who had been carrying on a passionate conversation with no one in particular, took the food I was offering and after staring silently at me for a few moments and deeming me worthy of his advice, said “Do you know why I am on the street? Why in fact most of us are out here?” and without waiting for my reply he said ” I didn’t have money or a job or any help and that was like having leaks in my boat but the thing that actually sunk my boat was that I didn’t have a plan. A plan is what keeps you going man, gives you hope. A plan can always be altered and improved but you know what? If you ain’t got a plan you got nothing and nothing can’t be altered or improved. If you don’t want to end up nowhere, you gotta have a plan, man!” He turned around and restarted his passionate conversation with no one in particular and walked away.

I never knew his name or saw him again but I thank that philosopher in baggy clothes quite often. Whenever things don’t work out the way I wanted, instead of fretting and complaining, my first inclination thanks to this gentleman, is to ask myself “Okay, this didn’t work out the way I wanted so how do I alter my plan or come up with a new plan?”. 

Whenever I feel adrift or unproductive, instead of analyzing every thought and action and finding fault or laying blame (all the while accomplishing absolutely nothing), I get right to work on my overall plan and alter it if I can or if I can’t, I come up with a new plan as quickly as possible and then with map in hand I can move forward again. Like I heard on East Lancaster, “If you don’t want to end up nowhere, you gotta have a plan, man!”

Sundrops On Life -Better Thoughts. Better Days.

 Patrick McBride 
 www.PatrickInspires.com

 
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The Play

January 30th, 2017

You go to the theater, get a good seat and wait to be entertained.The movie starts and five minutes into the movie Superman and his arch enemy Lex Luther confront each other and Lex turns to Superman and says;
“How do you like playing the part of Superman?” and Superman turns to Lex and says;

“Not bad really. I thought I would develop this part a little differently but the director said to do it like this and so I’m warming up to the idea that it’s okay.Oh, by the way, how are your kids doing in the new school?”

You sit bolt upright in your theater seat staring incredulously at the screen. You look around to see if everyone else in the theater is as outraged as you. You turn to the person next to you and say; “What is going on? I didn’t pay to see two actors talking reality to each other. I want them to act. Not to be themselves! This is not entertaining!”

If you don’t like this scenario then you are going to love living on planet earth. It’s a place where everyone is playing a part. Of course everyone is the same on the inside but on the outside OMG! What a diversity of characters. 

Of course most people here are so good that they get totally into their parts and seem to actually become their part. After all, “the mask the actor wears soon becomes the actor” is an old maxim and it is very true on this planet. 

It all starts when we are born here and at first we smile quite a bit because we know who we are and we know the truth about everyone else too. Slowly we are taught to identify with our name and our family and our neighborhood, our school, our city, our state, our country, our religion or lack thereof, our socioeconomic level and a host of other features. So we start becoming our mask and not ourselves.

​​​​​​​We never feel quite perfect about who we are but we are sure who other people are. We judge them and ourselves. We try to add more to ourselves as if something was missing as if we would soon become whole if we found the missing pieces. Many of us never understanding that we need less and not more to feel complete. 

 The truth is that we are whole. We are complete. We are eternal. We have passed our audition and come to play a part in the greatest play in the universe. We have a great Director who knows how this develops and how we contribute to it all. We really don’t have to know it all. We just have to concentrate on our part by listening for direction. 

The secret to enjoying all of this is that every now and then when the day is done, we need to relax, let go, remember who we are and smile. We need to step back and watch the play with seven billion cast members and appreciate the Director and have gratitude for our good fortune to be picked to be in this crazy, funny, touching, heartwarming, action packed blockbuster. And above all else we need to always remember…it’s a love story.

Sundrops On Life -Better Thoughts. Better Days.

 Patrick McBride 
 www.PatrickInspires.com

 
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Inside Outside

October 17th, 2016

Who are you? You are a wonderful, heart centered, compassionate, seeker of equality, justice and positivity shining as brightly as you can. Always? Yes, always! 

 Truth?No!

Oh, maybe on a good day when the temperature is perfect and the blue sky is filled with beautiful, white puffy clouds and everyone smiles back at you and the scale said you are making amazing progress and you remembered to take your vitamins and you actually found time to meditate and wow, wasn’t that a great night’s sleep. 

My goodness, isn’t it easy to feel good when everything is perfect? But really, how often does that happen? Uh, let me think about that. Hmmm. I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

Truth? Yes!

If you are looking to things outside of you to make you feel good you are nothing more than a dead leaf being blown in whatever direction the wind is blowing. If however, you are looking inside for the source of your happiness then you are more like the green leaf on the tree that shakes with each storm but still clings to the source of its life.

Life outside of you can be mind numbingly chaotic, difficult and painful. Life inside of you can be gentle, strong and centered unless it is tainted by bringing the outside inside. Let me explain.

When something distressing happens, we immediately judge it. Has this ever happened before to you or anyone you know or in any book, movie or TV show you have seen? If yes, what is the best way it was handled and can I copy that? If no, freak out, freeze and/or run away.

​​​​​​​There is another way. It’s letting what is inside of you determine your response before the outside stuff overwhelms you. When you sense a “disturbance in the force” immediately start your positive self talk. “Whatever this is I can handle it.” “I am connected to a power that creates worlds” “I will maintain and bolster my inner strength”. “I will not succumb to the darkness and weakness of drama.” “I am  not diminished by anything or anyone”. “I control my level and volume of wellbeing”. “I am me and that is more than enough to handle this”.

Lots of people say lots of words every day but the words that determine how you feel are the words you say to yourself. Always make them strong and supportive. It’s who you really are.

Truth? OH YES! 

 

Sundrops On Life -Better Thoughts. Better Days.

 Patrick McBride 
 www.PatrickInspires.com

 
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Honey

September 19th, 2016

There is a certain sweetness to life. It doesn’t mean that every day is a day at the beach but there is a certain sweetness in every day. Maybe it’s a glimpse of a white puffy cloud or maybe seeing a butterfly in the city or maybe it’s some distant laughter or the smile of a child. Sometimes it just surprises you and sometimes you have to search like a pearl diver running out of air to find it.​​​​​​​

 Imagine a tightly sealed jar of honey and imagine that you put it into a big vat of sour pickles. Wait a couple of hours and then take it out, rinse it off and open the jar and take a spoonful. Does it taste like pickles or honey? Honey of course! But why? The sweet honey was sealed in a glass jar. Nothing could get in no matter how many hours it stayed in the sour brine.

 You have the ability in every moment of your life to put a non porous barrier between you and your surroundings. We do it often. Walk through any tourist area amongst the panhandlers and aggressive vendors. Get squished into a crowded elevator or subway car. You instinctively put up that barrier and you turn your thoughts inward and many times you find sweetness inside in your thoughts and memories and everything becomes bearable.

 If you find yourself surrounded by sour circumstances, leave if you can but if you can’t, then put up that barrier and intentionally search for the sweetness in your thoughts and memories.

 Let the sweetness come in and savor it and always make it more important than any sourness outside. 

Sundrops On Life -Better Thoughts. Better Days.

 Patrick McBride 
 www.PatrickInspires.com

 
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clutter

September 14th, 2015

 We all know the problem with clutter. It stifles creativity and it overwhelms But how about the clutter inside of us? How about the endless unresolved issues? How about the thoughts that are piled up in every corner of our mind? How do we declutter that???

 There are three essentials for clearing mental clutter. Number one is gratitude. Be thankful that you have a mind that works. Be thankful that in all those thoughts there are some real gems. Be thankful that you can take control and think what you want to think.

 Number Two is exercise. Your mind is housed in a physical body. They are connected. Anything good that you do to benefit your body will benefit your mind. A little exercise pays big dividends.

 Number Three is repetition. Anything that you think over and over will strengthen. Choose wisely. If you constantly think about your unresolved issues you will make them stronger. Make decisions! You cannot make a wrong decision. There is an amazing amount of guidance in your life. What we call bad decisions are just lessons that we couldn’t or wouldn’t learn any other way. 

 Our minds are an infinite source of thoughts. Think the ones that make you feel better. Cut short any thoughts that make you feel bad. Make a list of thoughts that make you smile, that make you feel really good. Refer to it often!

 Think about what feels good. Think about what sounds good. Think about what looks good. Think about what tastes good. Think about what smells good. That’s right, your senses are ready, willing and able to cut through the mental clutter and deliver a good feeling to you any time, any place. 

A better feeling is one thought away.  

 

(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride 
 www.PatrickInspires.com

 
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Trucks

August 17th, 2015

We see other people not as they are but filtered through our expectations of them. We pull up behind a big, loud pickup truck with obscene bumper stickers and empty beer cans visible in the rear window and we are sure we know the kind of person driving that vehicle. Suddenly the driver steps out and walks toward us. It’s our best friend! Our mood changes our heart opens, we welcome the contact.

“Why are you driving that? ” we ask. ” Oh, I just needed a truck to deliver food to the homeless and I borrowed this from a neighbor.” We quickly forget the truck and all of our assumptions and hug our friend.

If we knew right from the start that our friend was driving that truck we never would have assumed anything negative about who was driving that truck. It’s when we didn’t know who was inside that we started to judge.

It doesn’t matter what the outside of someone looks like. It doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside. All that matters is the person inside.

Now you may never get the opportunity to see who is driving the obnoxious vehicle in front of you but don’t be too quick to judge them badly. Your judging won’t make a lick of difference to them but it will make a difference to how open your heart is. Keep an open heart and an open mind and expect friends to pop out of the most unlikely vehicles.

(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com

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Imagination

July 20th, 2015

Imagination is one of the strongest tools we have in creating the life we want. But imagination has a dark side too.

Imagination is creating a scenario in your mind. Every object whether it be a toothpick or a skyscraper started off in the imagination of someone who then paired it with action and Voila! a toothpick or a skyscraper or anything else.

Sounds like a wonderful, creative force filled with infinite possibilities. So where is the dark side of imagination?

When we look into our future and use our imagination anything and everything is possible. BUT when we look into our past and use our imagination nothing other than what actually happened is possible.

The dark side of imagination is in trying to create a different past. The past is written and not one letter can be changed. It is the journey of a fool to use imagination to envision a different past. “What if I had said this or done that differently?” ” What if he did this or she did that?”

The past is done, done, done! Every moment you try rewriting it, you lose a precious moment of being able to actually create a better future.The past holds no more possibilities. Be done with it. If you can’t see the past as it actually was, don’t go there!

Imagine your best future. Stand tall and always look straight ahead. See with your imagination and paired with action, you’ll soon see it with your eyes. A better life starts right now in your imagination. Imagine that!

(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com

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Love

June 8th, 2015

Love. Do we use the word too casually? Do we lessen the value of the word when we say things like “I love the color of that wall” or maybe “I love chocolate” or how about “I love the way that feels”.

Does all of this take away from looking into someone’s eyes and saying “I love you”? Is the word love now cheapened somehow by overuse or by using the word too often on frivolous things?

The truth is that LOVE is the most amazing word in the world. No matter the language, the word LOVE cannot be cheapened or overused. The word LOVE is a superlative. The word LOVE says that something or someone is due the highest praise. The word LOVE says that something or someone ignites a passion for a moment or a lifetime in us.

Use the word as often as you can. Use it in every situation. Look for places to use it. The more you focus on the word LOVE, the more you will stay close to the feeling of love. And if you are close to the feeling of love, life will have that special vibration that makes even the mundane feel special.

LOVE your chocolate, your car, your jammies, your hot showers, your coffee, your tea, your bed, your pillow, your couch, your food, your music, your yoga, your TV, your books, the ocean, the sky and everything else in creation. Then when you look into the eyes of a pet, a child, a friend, a loved one and you say “I love you” they will know that you are quite familiar with that word and you know exactly what it means. I love you.

(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com

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Acting

June 1st, 2015

No matter how honest, transparent and authentic we may believe we are, in truth we are all actors. We act differently in front of our parents. We act differently with our best friends. We act differently with our boss or teachers or strangers. Let’s face it, we act differently with different people.

How about conditions? Do you think you act the same way when you haven’t had enough sleep or when you don’t feel well or when you are upset?

How about the positives? Do you think you act the same when you are in love or when you are praised or when you win a game?

Most of our acting happens unconsciously. Somebody says or does something and once that button is pushed we act in a certain way. Our thoughts and emotions can trigger a complete change in how we act in mere seconds.

None of this is wrong. It is just the way human beings act every day BUT if all is acting than all is changeable. Like suddenly being handed a different script or a different prompt, we can act differently in any moment we consciously choose to make a change.

We are not puppets of our programming. They are merely our default settings. The truth is we can act any way we want to at any given time and circumstance. That’s right, we can actually choose how we act.

​ If you don’t like the feeling of how you are acting, change it right now. If you do you will begin to understand what liberation really means. You are free the moment you begin to consciously choose. Welcome to choice. It is all yours.

(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com

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