SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: are you in the weeds?

Posted on July 8, 2012 by admin

“But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else. In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit. Weeds are people’s idea, not nature’s.” ~ Anonymous

WEEDS… Some folks have quipped they are but unloved flowers, sins of the earth, plants with undiscovered virtues. Whatever eloquence you elect, they are the bastardly, unforgiving THINGS that get in the way of blooms of our most precious prayers and wishes… flowers and fruits of our labors that bring priceless joy. Joy from a gorgeous front yard of fragrance, a harvest-filled garden or orchard, a kitchen table of decorations and delicacies.

In brass tacks, weeds are ultimately what get in the way of our JOY. Weeds are the vicious little evils that crowd, choke out, and suffocate all that our hearts desire… that which we expect from all the seeds we tossed into the ground. Weeds…be they proverbial, metaphorical or literal… are the relentless, twisted side-effects of both crappy planting and crappy prepping. Period.

See, so many of us claim to want everlasting blossoms of the ethereal joys of life, like unconditional love, excitement for life, feelings of success, peace, equality, unshakable optimism, newfound perspective, contentment, dynamic purpose… you know your list. Yet none of those vines truly burst through the ground with such offerings. The main reason? We plant, water and sun our seeds in the topsoil of our old foundations… the wrecked, rocky, perhaps even rancid earth that is full of childhood fears, unmovable judgments, unanswered hopes, decaying values, and old paradigms. Both man-made and MIND-made, our weeds strive to see the light yet again. So it only makes sense that when we try to nurture the seeds of our dreams… we are also encouraging the deep-rooted, hidden creepers to sprout and grow yet again.

Folks, if we truly want joy, if we want to LIVE, we’ve got to get on our knees and weed out the weeds. We’ve got to be willing to do the work, till the soil, prepare for a healthy planting of our dreams and goals. We’ve got to be willing to get dirty cultivating the crap hidden in our histories to have our gardens of the future be overgrown with love, peace, perspective, optimism and purpose. I pray for you that you all find the strength, humility and faith to grow your lives with joy, joy, joy. And there is no time like the present to start weeding, my friends.

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SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: NEVER!

Posted on June 7, 2012 by admin

“Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.”

~ Winston Churchill, UK Prime Minister

Do you have a dream? A fantasy vision? A bucket list? A huge hope? A seemingly impossible reaching-for-the-stars idea? A prayer you’ve been waiting on?

Yeah, me too.

SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: what do you desire?

Posted on May 14, 2012 by admin

“Few people know so clearly what they want. Most people can’t even think what to hope for when they throw a penny in a fountain.” ~ Barbara Kingsolver, novelist and poet

Such a simple question: What do you want?

Hmmmm. What do I want? What do I want? What do I want? What do I want? Any way you slice it, this little puzzler looks deceivingly quaint and harmless, as if it may indeed require little pondering… but it’s all a facade. And as the years fly off our mind-logged calendars, the four-word imp creeps its way into our daily lives…keeping us up at night, zoning us out at meetings, tying our tongues… furrowing our brows and ultimately graying our hair.

All that said, I stand side-by-side with you…without an answer for you, let alone myself. I, too, often want someone to tell me what I should want. But more often, I just seem to tune out the prompt for pondering my true intention and careen past the real source of joy. I let the malevolent minutia of a worldly existence distract me from facing the question straight-on. From diving into the deep end of my soul, welcoming the light, and waiting for the answers to reach out to me. Perhaps being driven isn’t such an enviable quality when the drive is into an abyss full of unanswered questions.

SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: human being blessing

Posted on March 29, 2012 by admin

“The most interesting thing in the world is another human being- who wonders, suffers and raises the questions that have bothered him to the last day of his life, knowing he will never get the answers.” ~ Will Durant, writer, historian and philosopher

Enough with the cars, computers, collectibles… and crap, folks. You can’t take any of it with you when you go. And when you’re grey and gabbing about unforgettable memories… I’ll bet the farm and Buffet’s bank account that the human beings you knew will bring the most awe-inspiring images to your stories, not the stuff.

Get to know a few more human beings… really know them. Talk like there’s no such things as things more worthy than another breath. ~KD

SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: ode to the great LEAP!

Posted on February 27, 2012 by admin

May this coming Leap Day prompt you to jump ship of your old ideas and habits… and land in the arms of a welcoming new world filled with so very much more glory, greatness and gratification! And who better that Mr. Miller to plant the seed! ~KD

“All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without the benefit of experience.” ~ Henry Miller, writer & painter

Can I get an Amen?! Man, is that good! Amazing how such an uncomplicated, yet purposeful pairing of words can reignite the profound sensation of discovery, fear, and perpetual enlightenment we all experienced as little kids. I call this your curiosity quotient: That indescribable yearning for knowledge, newness, and surprise; that willingness to test drive without experience, to journey forward without direction, to jump into the proverbial spotlight without inhibitions.

As children we eat, sleep, and breathe it, then we mutate into adults! So many of us awaken to find ourselves in situations because of our personal, professional, or familial obligations, where we purposefully and painfully go out of our way to avoid rocking the boat. We work ourselves to death just to keep our sights narrowed on our own backyards, filled with that which we are familiar, can juggle, and, perhaps, can control. God forbid a curve ball gets thrown into the works, let alone, we allow our minds to wander and wonder “what if” or “why not.”

Believe it or not, just peering over the barbed wire comfort zone of your current reality raises your curiosity quotient. In turn, you might then ponder the tethered state of affairs within the mossed-over walls. Do you dare stir up the daily minutia fogging the pillars of your temporal life? The 9-5 grind, beer and golf on Saturdays, scheduled fun with the kids on Sundays, the same treadmill routine, same breakfast, same date night, same family vacation, same circle of friends, same closet of clothes, same goals for the past 20 years. Are you asleep yet?

Maybe it’s time you challenge yourself with all your senses to examine this recycled lifestyle with the same wonderment of what might need a little shaking up. Then take that next step and put thoughts into action. Become a kinetic Being. Turn your curiosity quotient up a notch. And don’t stop to see if there’s an owner’s manual. Don’t ask for directions. Don’t worry about an audience. Savor the sizzle of spontaneity. Bask in the carefree sensation of renewed youth that ensues. And leap!

This is an excerpt from “Pure Soapbox“ by Kimberlie Dykeman.

Shop SOAPBOX® products & SUBSCRIBE to FREE ! “Pure Soapbox” book and audiobook available.

A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to charity. Book KIMBERLIE to confetti your company with OPTIMISM! info@puresoapbox.com

SOAPBOX® mini-motivation: everything happens for a reason

Posted on February 1, 2012 by admin

“ You don’t lose your balance unless your life is out of balance.” ~ Arthur Smalls, jazz cat musician

Well, friends, it’s been a whole month since 2012 rang her bell with a promise to bring “change” into your lives. And so I ask, candidly…is anything different? If the answer is YES, and it’s deeper than simply a new brand of toothpaste, then I congratulate you! Keep it up! Now, if you answer NO, or have found yourself brewing in a mindbog of uncertainty, apathy, frustration or desperation, perhaps you take some time to assess your terrain to see the real culprit weeds that are tangling you up… and then reread my ditty on January 9th. Just a suggestion. ~KD

http://youtu.be/rgjU-QMlcyU

Shop SOAPBOX® products & SUBSCRIBE to FREE ! “Pure Soapbox” book and audiobook available. A portion of the proceeds of all book sales is donated to charity.

Book KIMBERLIE to confetti your company with OPTIMISM! info@puresoapbox.com

PURE SOAPBOX

Motivation for the Modern Man

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