Category Archives: empty-nester

SOAPBOX of the week: relentless pursuit of purpose

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   “It is really important for each one of us to validate our existence.  You have to become aware that there is something beyond the meat-and-potatoes reality.”     – Carlos Santana, musician

Why are you here?  What are you doing while you are here?  How about: where are you even looking for such enlightenment?  Be honest.  Do you seek confirmation from the umpteen activities, things and possessions you’re buried in?  Or stake all truth in kudos from friends or mere coworkers?  Sounds crazy, huh?  So don’t.  Instead, look within, to discover within, and let the nourishment of answers out.   What are your beliefs?  When do you feel happiest?  What do you want to accomplish?  Yup, this is the tough stuff.  But once grounded in who you are, the search for why you’re here ain’t so difficult.  Find your purpose and reel it in with fervor.  Then take your seat at a royal table set for one and enjoy the faire.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: the arithmetic of friendship

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“It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell your friend of his faults…To speak painful truth through loving words… that is friendship.”     – Henry Ward Beecher, clergyman
   
If there were a system for categorizing friends, you could say they add, subtract, multiply or divide your life somehow.  With a little analysis, you can easily file them as such.  Mind you, doing so is neither to praise nor condemn any as “good” or “evil”.  Instead it prompts you to evaluate each person’s impact and influence in your daily life. Who multiplies your joy?  Adds to your problems?  Divides your burdens?  Subtracts from your own identity?  Those who do not increase the positives within and around you will inevitably decrease the value of your experiences with negative drain.  So, do the math.  You’ve chosen your pals…now decide what you want to absorb and be surrounded by.  Speak up about what lifts you up and drags you down and create a formula for the strong friendship you both deserve.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: LIFE takes LOVE

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“If you just blow a little love into it, it’ll fly right up into the stratosphere.”     – Steven Tyler, musical artist and performer

So, you’ve mixed up a recipe …but it tastes like something’s missing.  So you fuss ‘til you ruin it, lure someone else to fix, pitch it and try something else entirely, or just give up.  Overkill it or abandon it, right?  Now, what if I told you that recipe ain’t just for Mom’s meatloaf…but for all of your life’s nourishing concoctions and confections, like your friendships, family, business, health, home…heck even your wardrobe!  And what if I told you that the special ingredient missing in your flailing formula might just be, simply, LOVE.  Your enthusiasm to create, cultivate, and confetti is truly irreplaceable.  And adding a tablespoon or truckload might just breathe life into an unfulfilling relationship, boring event, unappealing exercise routine or unstimulating job.    Point is, folks, whether it’s marriage or Mom’s prized meatloaf, remember why you put on the chef’s hat in the first place and pour your heart into the mix.   

 Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: seek the naked truth

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     “Know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”     – The Bible

Funny thing about the truth.  It can never lose its original properties, never be dismantled or destroyed.  IT simply is.  Transparent in nature, it hides nothing but can be hidden with but a word, and is oftentimes manipulated for one’s own benefit.  Therein lies the problem, for fear and temptation are powerful motivators.  Whether you’re the unassuming recipient or the panicked deliverer, fibs, facades, fallacies and infidelities alike will all weave the same tangled web.  And freedom can only be obtained by releasing the energy of honesty.  Create a positive future by seeking authenticity in all who surround you…More importantly, choose respect for yourself by unabashedly standing in truth.  Reveal its power and revel in the liberation it returns.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: carpe diem, folks!

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 “There is a difference between the waiting of the prophet and the standing still of the fool.”     – Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher

 

SO, you say you’re waiting for the perfect time to do …something.  No doubt you sound like a broken record…even to yourself… because fear has paralyzed and reduced you to excuse-filled victim of circumstance.  What are you waiting for?  The cows to come home?  Hell to freeze over?  The stars to align?  Well, for all you don’t know, existing outside your self-protective bubble of naive expectations, there’s a herd of cud-chewers standing, on frozen ground, under a sparkling constellation…waiting on you!  No alarm will sound.  No telegram will proclaim: “The perfect time has arrived.  Go for it!”  Tell yourself it’s here!  Right now!  Passionately dive into creating the experience you’ve been keeping from yourself and embrace the freedom that comes from ignoring the ticking clock.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.

SOAPBOX of the week: the learning curves of life

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 “All things are difficult before they are easy.”     – Dr. Thomas Fuller, physician & preacher

Very few things in life come with an instruction manual, estimation of time to completion, or list of things you’ll have to weather to succeed.  Reminisce closing your first deal, raising a kiddo, heck, even learning how to tie your shoes.  But even if directions were available to us for the things we choose to undertake, a peculiar variable called “the learning curve” shows up.  It’s a mystery how our genetic makeup sets our level of intellect and how quickly we simply “get it”.  But the ultimate deciding factors of how swiftly you triumph over a challenge are your determination and your discipline.   Nothing is impossible, folks.  And when you don’t stand in your own way, everything can become a beautiful walk in the park.

Copyright 2000-2009 by Kimberlie Dykeman
Pure Soapbox available nationwide online and where books are sold.
A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to LIVESTRONG.