Tag: thankful

I Won the Jeep!

For anyone who has followed my blogs over the past few years knows that I had an auto accident in 2013. It was a rainy Halloween night when I lost control of my BMW and hit the cement divider wall and totaled my car. My BMW was my retirement gift to myself. My husband and I were going through some financial challenges at the time and my car was the only thing I refused to part with.

I remember the evening well because it was the beginning of my spiritual journey. That night of the accident was when I first noticed the tiny whispers of the Universe. As I sat in the back seat of the police car, I remember a calming presence within that was saying everything is going to be alright. I remember thinking “God, you have my attention now!”

Fast forward to 2019 and I am sitting in a huge convention center. My company is about to do a drawing for a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. As I watch the tickets being mixed up, I am thinking my chances of winning is not looking good. There must have be thousands of pink raffle tickets being mixed up in the large clear rotating raffle drum. But I decided not to focus on that, instead I started thinking about how it would feel to be seated in the Jeep, taking in the new car smell. I could hear them calling the numbers. I started thinking, I’m still in the running as they called off the first four numbers. By the 6th number, I was thinking, the winning number is really close to one of my four tickets I had. It wasn’t until they announced the name of the winner that it hit me… I won!

I believe that the Universe is always speaking to us. My accident in 2013 was a wake up call to what life is trying to get me to notice. I make it a practice to stay present and enjoy the beautiful blessing that surround me. I know this post can not express the sheer gratitude, faith and appreciation I have for such a loving, generous, and supportive Life Force, but what I want to say is Thank you!

May 20, 2019
Blessings!

“The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles”

November 24, 2016
Highlights

I wanted to say Happy Friday to everyone today. As this week winds down I wanted to take a moment and share some of the great moments I had over the week.

On Monday I was able to get my car back from the repair shop. I started having problems with my car’s cooling system in May but I didn’t make getting it a repaired a big priority since I still had my husband’s car to use. Now that the car is repaired and back on the road, I am able to take my son to school and then head to the park to get my morning walks in. I love this time of the year because of the leaves turning colors and the cool crisp morning air. Here is a picture I took of the walking trail.

Since, I take my son to school each morning and we have two lovely dogs, I have the honor of putting them outside each morning. I love watching the sunrise each morning. It’s just a beautiful reminder that each morning is a fresh start, a new beginning.

One of the best things I love to see on my walks is the morning dew dripping from the leaves.

Here is a picture of the boat house.

I wanted to share some of my favorite highlights of the week. Please feel free to comment and share some of yours. -Tonia

October 9, 2015
You Can’t Steal my Joy!

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” ― Dalai Lama XIV

By meditating on a regular basis I become aware of my thoughts. The more aware I became of my thoughts the more I started making wiser choices on what I paid attention to and where I focused my efforts.

The first thing that captured my attention was the commercials during television shows. I started paying more attention to what was being advertised and I realized that most of the commercials are fear-based messages that try to coerce you into some type of action, which is primarily to sell their product like the latest dish washing liquid doesn’t kill enough germ causing bacteria. Another thing I started noticing was a commercial with a catchy jingle isn’t quite so annoying by the 3^rd time you hear it. I started putting the commercials on mute.

The next thing that I started noticing was the amount of negativity in everyday conversation. The more I tried to focus on eliminating negativity from my conversations the more I found reasons to celebrate even the littlest things. I found myself singing to the radio and actually dancing around the house as I did such things like vacuuming and cooking. I eventually stopped watching TV all together.

My days have been more productive and less stressful. I have more time to relax and enjoy things like lying in my hammock, taking morning walks in the park and spending quality time with my family. I started exercising and found a desire to start cleaning out my garage that has been on my to-do list for two years.

What I found is that when you find the joy and appreciation for who you are there is no way anyone can steal that joy from you because it comes from deep within.

October 2, 2015
The Healing Power of Forgiveness
You cannot change what you refuse to confront – Unknown

Let me tell you at least one thing I gained when I decided to forgive myself. My second husband and I have been divorced for over 10 years. When we divorced, it was not on the best of terms. There was infidelity and abuse in our marriage that both of us could claim. We had one child born out of this marriage. My ex-husband paid his child support and maintained a relationship with our child. We had always been cordial to each other but since I remarried shortly after our divorce I think that may have contributed to the distance in his and my son’s relationship. Our child is now 15 years old and for the past year or so, I have wanted my son’s father to be more involved then he has been. This is where the healing power of forgiveness really made a change.

In 2013, I was involved in a car accident. The car was totaled and I walked away with just a few bruises on my arm from where the airbag deployed. It was a single car accident. I was checked out by paramedics and then placed in the back of a police car while they did they initial investigation and the tow truck arrived. While in the police car, a calming presence came over me and I felt that everything was going to be fine. I was at peace for just a moment. It is a feeling that I have never forgotten. My spiritual transformation had just begun.

In 2014, I started meditating. There were little thoughts that would pop into my head like “it’s not your burden to carry” or the “road won’t be easy but I’ll protect you”. I also started reading both spiritual and self-improvement books. Here are some books that really made an impact:

The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle; Discover the Power Within You, Eric Butterworth; Instinct, TD Jakes; A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle; The Gifts of Imperfection, Dr. Brene Brown; A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson; Spiritual Solutions, Deepak Chopra; The Four Agreements, Don Ruiz; The Universe is Calling, Eric Butterworth and When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron

In addition to reading, I walked at the park on a daily basis and discovered a passion for photography. During that time I paid close attention to how I spoke to myself. I looked at what I was giving my attention to. I started to like myself and actually start to laugh at some of the silly stuff I was holding onto. I was actively checking my belief system and confronting old habits and thought processes. I would cry sometimes but I would also laugh and rejoice at the changes.

About a year ago, the feeling that I needed to reach out to my ex-husband, a strong but gentle nudge came over me. When he called to speak to my son, I was a little more conversational and we started to talk to each other a little more and eventually I apologized for my part in our relationships demise. It was about a month ago when he apologized to me. That’s not where the story ends. For my son’s birthday, I suggested that may be he fly him down to Louisiana to spend some time but he came back and said that his schedule was too busy. My initial thought that creeped in was, how you can be too busy for your son. That was my old BS rearing its ugly head. A few days later, the soft gentle voice spoke and said you did your part, you invited him in, let it go. And that’s what I did.

A week or so later, his father stated he planned to drive up to Ohio and spend a few days with my son.

Here is my Lessons Learned:
1. Work on you first
2. Let go and trust in Divine timing
3. Stay open to the Possibilities
August 21, 2015
I Walked Away!

A gift resides in every moment. -Deepak Chopra

One year ago today, I was involved in a car accident. It was a rainy Halloween night, so we didn’t have many “trick or treaters” come to the house. I didn’t have to rush out to pick up my husband from work that night, and since it was raining I knew I had to take a little extra time to make it there. Before I got on the highway, I was on my cell phone talking with a friend and I remember saying I needed to get off and concentrate on the road. She said be safe!

As I got close to my exit, I went to switch lanes. The back end of my car started to swerve and I could feel myself starting to lose control of the vehicle. The car started to hydroplane and I knew I was not going to be able to just stop. I saw the concrete barrier, “Brace for impact” was the only thought that came to mind as I saw the car heading towards the wall. BOOM…the car stopped, the air bag deployed and I saw nothing but smoke.

I was able to get out the car. I remember a gentleman yelling at me from the underpass if I had a cell phone and then a woman came running over to my car and asked if I was hurt. I had to take a quick assessment and realized that my arm was hurt due to the air bag deploying. It took a minute for me to realize that I was standing out in the rain, but I was ok. I got back in the car, and called my husband. The ambulance showed up along with the police. By this time the woman had left. I was checked out by the EMT’s and then placed in the police car until the tow truck showed up. As I sat in the police car, a calming presence came over me and I knew everything was going to be alright.

From that day forward, I thank God the moment my eyes open up each morning because I know that each day is a gift. I am blessed to say, I walked away!

Quote Source: Destiny and Desire 21 Day Meditation Challenge https://chopracentermeditation.com/

October 31, 2014