May 25th, 2015
How do you thank a soldier who gave up his or her life? How do you pay back the daily torture of PTSD or the agony of life long pain many soldiers live with every day? Just how do you say thanks?
A soldier becomes a soldier for a hundred different reasons. When I enlisted in the USMC back in ’67, truthfully, I didn’t even consider that I was helping my country. Patriotism was low on my list. Being John Wayne and having an incredible adventure was tops.
Reality rocks everyone’s world sooner or later no matter what path they take. The reality of serving with friends who die or are horribly wounded comes like a thunder clap.
Regardless of the reason a person joins, many give up their health or life as an indispensable pawn in a power struggle that has lasted for eons. Their death or their wounds do count. They count because the “enemy” this time has to be assured that the battle will continue regardless of the casualties.
This country is far from perfect but there are men and women out there who are the reason we can still go forward and not backwards. Whether they joined for the adventure or for a hundred different reasons, they are the wall that protects our progress. Every time one of the bricks in that wall crumbles, another takes its place, thank God.
How do you thank a soldier who died or was wounded? You exercise your freedoms. You vote. You volunteer. You help. You send a prayer to his or her family. You live in gratitude for that wall.
There is no such thing as Happy Memorial Day. There is only Memorial Day, Thank you.
(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com
Facebook – Sundrops On Life
May 18th, 2015
This weekend I was in Los Angeles for the graduation of my youngest. He graduated Magna cum laude from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. What is amazing is that he switched to the business school in his third year and managed to do four years of an incredibly difficult business school in two years in some cases getting special permission to take introductory courses and advanced courses in the same subject in the same semester, a herculean feat but he did it and he did it with the highest grades.
I am immensely proud of Michael and I told him many times over the weekend that he could do anything he wanted to do with the rest of his life. I told him that all he had to do was set a goal, any goal, and he could attain it. I absolutely believe that is true.
As I sat down to write to you this morning I started thinking about you and I. Do I believe we can still do anything we want? Do I still think that you and I can set a goal, any goal, and reach it? My answer is a giant, unequivocal YES!
I’ve been writing Sundrops for almost nineteen years now and the overriding message is that by loving ourselves and believing in ourselves we are unlimited.
Granted, Michael is way smarter than I will ever be but his chances of happiness and fulfillment has less to do with his diploma and more to do with what he repeatedly says to himself. And the same is true for us.
Michael and you and I have a future. Whether that future is one minute or many, many years only a Higher Power knows. But how our future unfolds is going to depend on what goals we write down and how we talk to ourselves in each and every moment.
If you woke up this morning it is a commencement, a new beginning. Are your goals written down? Is your thinking, your self talk heading you in the right direction? I know I have work to do on this and I figure now is a pretty good time for me to start. How about you?
(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com
Facebook – Sundrops On Life
May 4th, 2015
Imagine that you went to see a movie at the movie theater and after you sat down comfortably, the manager came over and said that if you wanted to see the real movie you would have to go to the projection booth and see it on a very small screen. “What’s going to be on the big screen?” you ask. “Oh, just something loosely based on the real movie in the projection booth. It’s pretty hard to understand.”
“Absurd, ridiculous!” You yell. “I’m not going to go through all that trouble to see the real movie!” And you get up and leave, cursing that you wasted so much of your time and got nothing in return and vowing to have nothing to do with this place in the future.
When we enter into a relationship with someone they are expecting to see the real us. They are not expecting to see some mixed up rendition of who we think we should be or who we think they would like us to be.
They don’t want to climb inside of us and see what’s truly in our heart. They want our heart and our persona to be in harmony with each other. “Just get to know me and you’ll realize what a nice person I really am.” Poppycock! If it ain’t showing on the outside, it ain’t with the trip to find it inside!
Be authentic. You know you are caring and loving and good. Be that way. Loving is not weakness. If you are being you and someone cannot handle your loving energy, DON’T CHANGE for them. Be strong enough to move on.
To those who project a persona that is inconsistent with what you see in their heart, DON’T FIX THEM because you can’t.
Project the real you and accept nothing less from anyone else and then enjoy each other. Popcorn optional.
(C) Patrick McBride
www.patrickinspires.com
Facebook -Sundrops On Life
March 30th, 2015
If you ever had children or have ever been around children, you probably know the excruciating pain of stepping on a Lego building block with your bare feet. The pain is so immediate and so intense that I believe the Geneva Convention has outlawed it as a form of interrogation.
If you are anything like me, your pain probably morphed into anger rather quickly. Thoughts of destroying every Lego ever made, putting the offending child in the town’s pillory and nuking the playroom came easily to mind.
You call out loud for the child to appear so that they may be witness to the terrible pain that has taken over your entire foot and when they show up…
They are so sorry and so upset about your distress and they ask how they can help and they rush over to see the hurt. All of a sudden you realize that they hurt too. Your pain is their pain and now you forget your pain and tell them that it’s okay and they need to pick up their toys.
What happened? Did your pain suddenly disappear? No, truth is that it still hurts like the dickens but your pain took a back seat to their pain. Why? Because you love. That’s right, every pain in this world is lessened by love. There are no regrets where love was the guiding force. Love trumps every other emotion. Love is the power that helps a tiny Mom lift a heavy car off a loved one. Love is the force that powers people through the most trying times. Love is your birthright. Love is ALWAYS available as a choice.
Alway remember to love regardless of circumstances. Always remember to love yourself. Always remember to shuffle your feet when you walk through the playroom.
(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com
Facebook – Sundrops On Life
March 23rd, 2015
How do you fill yourself? I don’t mean filling an empty belly or filling your mouth with whipped cream from a pressurized container. I mean How Do You Fill Yourself Up When You Feel Empty??
Your heart beats to a rhythm. Your inhalation and exhalation is a rhythm. One of the best ways to fill yourself up is to embrace music. There are an infinite number of sounds. Find one (or more!) that takes you to a higher level and feast on it.
Everything from a blade of grass to the paper cut on your finger healing is a miracle. Look up and down and around and appreciate all that you see. Fill yourself with the awe of the energy inherent in all of it.
One of the emptiest feelings is not feeling loved. You can’t make anyone love you but you can love anybody. Once you start loving the flow starts and the love you give becomes the love you feel.
When we pray we connect with the source of all things. What better place than the source for refilling? The quickest refill is when we pray with a giant Thank You instead of a laundry list of our problems.
A world of beauty, kindness and love is all around you. Search for it. Drink it in. Feast on it. Fill yourself at every opportunity. Look for the good. It’s very filling.
(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com
Facebook – Sundrops On Life
March 9th, 2015
Imagine a wonderful piece of chocolate. Imagine the pleasure of smelling it, touching it, feeling the slight melt on your fingers and finally tasting it.
Now imagine that same piece of chocolate with cow manure on it. Criminal! Horrid! Repulsive!
Every moment of our brief life is like that perfect piece of chocolate. It is a blessing, a gift, a bit of perfection BUT the moment we add drama we cover that moment with cow manure.
No matter what is going on in our life we color it with our drama. Is a rainy day dreary or nasty or ugly? No, it’s just precipitation. Is a runny nose and sneezing the worst way to spend the day? No, it’s just your body’s response to allergens. Is someone’s foul mood an indictment what’s wrong with the world? No, it’s just one person dealing poorly with their life.
Can we please start focusing on being strong? Can we please start lighting candles instead of cursing the darkness? Can we please begin to realize that what is going on inside of us is a heck of a lot more important than what’s going on outside of us? Can we please wake up to the fact that what’s going on inside of us is under our full and complete control?
No matter what it is, what you are going through does not have a requirement that you be serious or upset or angry. You and you alone choose your state of mind at all times under all conditions. There is no person or circumstance that can ever override your choice. Yes, you are that strong.
Another piece of chocolate is coming. Are you going to enjoy it or…?
(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com
Facebook – Sundrops On Life
March 2nd, 2015
The record for deadlifting a tremendous amount of weight is 461 kg (1,016 lb) by Benedikt Magnusson set at 2014’s Europe’s Strongest Man competition in England. Magnusson trained every day for many years to accomplish this amazing feat. In 2012, in Glen Allen, Virginia, 22-year-old Lauren Kornacki rescued her father, Alec Kornacki, after the jack used to prop up his BMW slipped, pinning him under it. Lauren lifted the car, weighing over 3,500 pounds, off her father and saved his life. How is this possible?
Let’s talk about strength for a moment. Is it possible to be strong? Absolutely. What does it take? A few years, a good set of genes, proper rest, nutrition and exercise and you will undoubtedly be strong. But how do you get strong in a moment? No one can condense years of training into a moment BUT everyone can love more than they ever had in just one moment.
Love is the miracle worker. Love holds to no laws of physics, no rules, regulations or reason. We think of love as this gentle force that cradles a child and while it is that it is also so much more.
Love is your rejuvenator. Love is your source for unlimited strength. Love is your gift, your blessing. It is the greatest gift that you have been given. Stop looking for love. Stop chasing love. Start being love. Start tapping into this miracle energy. Start filling yourself with love. Kick out worry and frustration and agitation. Move in love. Live love. Lots of it!
Lauren Kornacki didn’t lift a BMW off her father because she had big muscles. She did it because she had a big heart filled with love.
Do you want to feel stronger than you ever have been? Love as much and as often as you can and then love some more. Find reasons to love, any reason any time. Focus on love. Eat, breathe and think love. Love is your gift. Open it!
(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com
Facebook – Sundrops On Life
February 23rd, 2015
Into every life, indecision will descend like a thick fog completely obscuring our clarity. We beg, plead and pray for a sign, any sign. We ask friends, loved ones and Google to help us make the right choice. Paralysis starts to creep in. Weeping may come but won’t help. A full range of emotions comes but the fog persists.
It seems that the more important the outcome, the stronger the indecision becomes. Do I? Don’t I? It consumes you after a while and finally you reach that moment when you must decide and ….you still don’t know!
First of all, know this. You CAN’T make the wrong decision. Even no decision isn’t the wrong decision. EVERY decision you make or don’t make is another building block in your life. You are going to make decisions that don’t turn out the way you expect and you are going to find strength you didn’t know you had in order to make it better (Growth). You are going to make decisions that turn out right but you are going to brag about it and lose friends (Growth). You are going to forego making a decision and regret it (Growth). You are going to make decisions and they will be the best thing that ever happened to you (Growth). You are going to influence the way others see you with the way you decide(Growth).
Life is all about growth and growth is the product of every decision. When faced with a decision, go ahead and make it. Make it with gusto. Make it with certainty whether you feel it or not. If you are wrong you’ll learn humility. If you are right you look like a boss. Either way you’ll grow. Every single person, pant and creature on this planet is born to grow. You will never be an exception to that. Go ahead make a decision. You can’t get it wrong. On your mark, get set, GROW!
(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com
Facebook – Sundrops On Life
February 16th, 2015
Suddenly you feel good. It’s been a while but right now it feels great. “Wow! I wish I could feel like this all the time. What did I eat for breakfast? Maybe I should do that every morning.
Maybe it’s because I went for a walk yesterday. That’s it, from now on I’m going to walk every morning. Maybe it’s because I had that great conversation or maybe because I finally went out the other night. I have to get out more often. Coffee, maybe it’s the new coffee. Maybe I should switch to green tea. I feel like I could run a marathon and win!
I’m getting a little hungry. What should I have for lunch? I wish I had the time/money to go someplace great. I never get to do anything fun anymore. It’s his/her fault. I wish I could make better choices and I wish I didn’t worry so much. Yea, I think I’ll have something to eat. It doesn’t matter what I just need to eat so I can get back to work. Let see….”
Our mental chatter can takes us towards or away from happiness, sometimes in seconds. Like leaving on a television station that we aren’t really watching but it feels good to have some chatter going on, we just let the thoughts run.
Let today be the day that you decide what thoughts to think and which to ignore. Let today be the day that you decide what thoughts uplift you and you make your very own thought playlist.
You thoughts control your moods. Think of a happy place right now and you can feel the effect within seconds. Find your happiest thoughts and let those be your dominant thoughts and the ones that will always release you from mindless chatter. Think better. Feel better.
(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com
Facebook – Sundrops On Life
February 2nd, 2015
Are you appreciated for what you do? Probably not. Does it bother you? Yes, on one or more levels. Can you do anything about it?
Let’s face it, we all liked to be thanked for what we do. In fact, some times it is the reason that we do what we do. It makes other people beholding to us even if it is only for the split second of holding a door open. It says to others we are nice, we are compassionate, we care.
That goodness that we believe we have inside of us that no one remarks about ordinarily is suddenly acknowledged when we do something for another and we feel vindicated.
But (somber music) what happens if they don’t appreciate what we do? Our belief in our inner goodness is not recognized. We start commenting on this cold world and the unconscious people who inhabit it. It their fault!
It is nice to be recognized for what we do BUT if we are living and doing just for the accolades of others, we are living without authenticity. We are just handing crayons to everyone and begging them to color us happy.
You are in charge of you. You do things because you choose to do them. You find fulfillment in what you do because you choose to do it. You don’t need anyone’s thanks in order to justify what you do or to make you feel good about what you do. Your happiness is yours to manufacture. You are part of this world like a facet is part of a diamond and it is up to you and you alone how brightly you shine. Shine brilliantly!
(c)2015 All Rights Reserved, Patrick McBride
www.PatrickInspires.com
Facebook – Sundrops On Life