That Was Then And This Is Now

January 18, 2014February 6, 2014 / Donna George / 5 Comments

With all the New Year’s planning, goal setting, and hoopla finished – how is it all working out for you? Hopefully, you are well on your way to developing some new habits or at least courageously moving in a positive direction towards them.

2014 Resolutions

Whether your resolutions were major or minor, January remains the month with a hopeful forecast for most people. It’s a time when renewed commitment meets good intentions and rides the wave of determination. So hold on a second, and read further.

A few things to consider about your resolutions before you beat yourself up:

Resolutions are usually overrated and even the smartest among us get it wrong every year – so there some encouragement to keep your hope afloat.
Most of us pressure ourselves for goals without careful thought, consideration and preparation which sets us up for failure.
And – most of us look back instead of looking forward to measure our progress. Hmm, did I really say that?
No ones knows what’s in the future when you are setting your goals for a brand new year. Resolutions are more like prophesying to ourselves that we are going to do something, and that is the motivation that helps us follow through with the plan. But let’s face it, we don’t have a crystal ball and stuff happens, it’s called ‘life’.

So knowing this about our natural human behavior patterns, I put my own spin on evaluating change and decided its best to keep my eyes on the goal, not the means of how I get there.

Another important point to keep in mind is that we often make decisions based on what we have experienced in the past. Our past is like a safety net that we know is there, and it has a proven track record. It’s a beautiful thing that helps to shape who we are, and gives of life lessons. One of my favorite quotes –

“you can look back, just don’t stare”. (keep moving forward)

First things first, its healthier to make plans instead of predictions. We get distracted and bored with long-term commitments and then we lose sight of the quest. Think baby steps, know that you will fall down, but plan to get back up.

And then we rush to get our list together – because everyone is talking about resolutions and we get swept up in the excitement. Hey, it’s fun, why not…

Just remember, we are still in january so don’t give up yet! Everybody gets off track, distracted, and bored. At the end of the day, the resolve is in the day-to-day journey.

January

How are you doing with your resolutions? Press on…and Happy New year.

Donna George

Christmas Cheer

December 5, 2013 / Donna George / Leave a comment

The very word “Christmas” brings joy. That is why everyone says, Merry Christmas! Christmas brings forth a spirit of peace, the gladness of hope and the warmth of love to the world.

Some “Christmas Cheer” to pocket as you run here, there and everywhere over the next couple of busy weeks. I call it a pocket full of sunshine.

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year”. Charles Dickens
“Christmas is the day that holds all time together”. Alexander Smith
“This is the message of Christmas: We are never alone”. Taylor Caldwell
“As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is”. Eric Sevareid
“The world has grown old with its burden of care, but at Christmas time, its alway young”. Phillip Brooks
“Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of friends and family”. Margaret Thatcher
“Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. To all, charity.” Oren Arnold
“Christmas in Bethlehem. The ancient dream: a cold, clear night made brilliant by a glorious star, the smell of incense, shepherds and wise men falling to their knees in adoration of the sweet baby, the incarnation of perfect love”. Lucinda Franks
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince Of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end”. Isaiah 9:6

One of my personal favorites –Thomas Kincaid:

“The flow of blessings in our life is directly related to our passing blessings along to others”.

Christmas is a celebration, make it count! It’s counting down now, hurry.

Looking for some ways to spread the cheer?

Write a letter to a soldier away from home and share your gratitude.
Go Christmas caroling with a group.
Seek out a forgotten friend and renew the friendship.
Make a decision to “let something go”.
Encourage someone with kind words.
Take joy and pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth around you.
Be kind: Be gentle.
Share something you treasure and ask your friends to join you, make it a party.
Have a 5 course meal shared by 5 different friends at their homes. Start with friend at the salad house, then to the soup house, then over the main course and finally the desert host and closing the night with the coffee-house.

Hope Peace Joy

What are you doing to spread Christmas Cheer? And remember, Jesus is the reason for the Christmas Season, – God’s gift to mankind.

Merry Christmas

Blue Ridge Mountains Natural Treasures

November 2, 2013November 6, 2013 / Donna George / Leave a comment

Blue Ridge Mountains

The scenic landscapes of the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains is ever-changing and simply beautiful. Where blue mist hovers over the mountain tops and the evenings are ushered to a close by sky hues of pinks and purples. The trees put the “blue” in Blue Ridge, from the isoprene released in the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the blue haze distinctive color.

Layered long-range view

The Blue Ridge is home to impressive gorges, canyons, lakes and waterfalls, all of which attract tourism for recreational activities year around. Summer presents the opportunity to get on the rivers, ride the rapids and experience a zipline cable ride across the hills. The fall season brings the color change of the leaves, that fills up the hiking trails with photographer enthusiasts, while the winter brings the ski resorts alive and jumping.

Don’t worry, if you are not interested in rock climbing or adventurous activity, there is plenty to do and see for those who just want to experience the natural beauty and serenity of leisurely admiration of the majestic surroundings. There are hundreds of trails to explore and its easy to stumble across hidden nature treasures, like waterfalls, rock ponds, old log cabins nestled along the way. Stay with me – I will share a few treasures I met.

Onlookers view, Linville Falls

Linville Falls

Rushing waters

Red foliage creeping out from between the rock

Dancing waters, Linville Falls

Pristine waterfall

Cliffhanger

Epic rocks

: Boulder gap

Meet our friends Kent & Andrea Powell, missionaries of Mozambique Africa, braving the trail and enjoying the views with us. (everyone wanted our walking sticks) FYI You will hear more about their amazing work for God in Africa later in a special blog, but for now back on the trail.

The leaf season got rushed a little due to a rainy summer and recent snow, but I managed to get a few shots, you might enjoy.

This is what I consider to be a RED leaf

This is what I consider a RED leaf

Trees hidden in the forest that escaped the snow

Air born leaf in the forest

Glendale Springs waterfall

Hidden away in the woods was this beautiful waterfall

Brilliant yellow leaf

A different path to the view

Up and down – all around beauty

There is so much to see…

Price Lake, on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Hope you get there someday.

Smoky Mountain Scenes

October 24, 2013 / Donna George / 4 Comments

If you saw and enjoyed my post on the Smoky Mountain leaf season, here you will find more. It is so beautiful to see and I can’t seem to part with my camera, so I wanted to share these photos with you. This is “peak week” for the leaf season and the colors are exquisite.

New River

cat tails

yellow trees

Black Beauty

majestic

The colors

Curiosity

October 19, 2013 / Donna George / Leave a comment

Donna George Blog

Most of us remember the phrase, “did curiosity kill the cat”? And what happened to Jack when he climbed the gigantic beanstalk? Do you think his courage to climb a mysterious gigantic tree and ultimately end up in a giant’s house, changed him? Absolutely!

Many of us abandon our curiosity when we become adults, leaving behind ourchildlike ways of adventure and explorations. As children we are always growing and learning new things, asking tons of questions, without fear of what others would think. Can you imagine how fun it would be to experience the world with the curiosity of a child, combined with adult wisdom? Why the hesitation?

There are many reasons why people stop asking questions and searching for new things to try. Often times we become comfortable in our routines and lose our vision to create something beyond our current circumstances. The passion simply fades away…

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North Carolina Mountains “Leaf Season”

October 17, 2013 / Donna George / 3 Comments

The Great Smoky Mountains are famous for the beautiful color changes of the leaves in mid October every year. Thousands flock to the high country to catch a glimpse of the spectacular hues of oranges, reds, yellows, olives, and purples.

Fall festivals are in full swing, porches are picturesque with hay, pumpkins and cornstalks, and hay rides are everywhere. If you are not up for a hay ride, then try your luck walking through a huge corn maze.

The Smoky Mountains offer the perfect October getaway for all types of visitors and offers a broad variety of activities. You can hike the trails, visit beautiful waterfalls, ride the bike trails, fish the winding rivers, go horseback riding and do some serious rock climbing. My personal favorite – the Ziplines!

I have some spectacular photos to share with you.

And this is me, camera always in hand – thinking of you all and how I want to share these glorious views. I hope you can make it to these hills on one October.

Curiosity

October 3, 2013 / Donna George / 3 Comments

“The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein (Photo credit: QuotesEverlasting)

Many of us abandon our curiosity when we become adults, leaving behind our childlike ways of adventure and explorations. As children we are always growing and learning new things, asking tons of questions, without fear of what others would think. Can you imagine how fun it would be to experience the world with the curiosity of a child, combined with adult wisdom? Why the hesitation?

The fear of what others think paralyze some people from experimenting with new ideas. Thoughts of embarrassment, shame, and judgement surface and these thoughts are scary. We’ve all experienced the sting of criticism and felt foolish, silly and out of our element, but we survived it and grew from the experience.

Ideas to Increase your curiosity

* Study others who excel at what you would like to learn to do.

* Read books out of your genre, but interest you a little.

* Hang out with groups of children occasionally and see their inquisitiveness nature and zest for life.

* Make a list of a new things to try each day and give it a valiant effort.

* Start a day journal and stay committed to living for more joy and excitement.

* Take a few risks, not life threatening kind, but safe risks that challenge you to be a better person.

Curiosity moves mankind to greatness. If no one ever took risks, or dared to chase their dreams, there would be no real heroes among us. We would have no role models to challenge us to greatness.

If you look through history, era after era – curiosity brought forth mighty discoveries. One of my historian favorites is Christopher Columbus. I can only imagine the greatness of his mind. The depth of his curiosity and the size of his determination to set out against all odds and discover America is astounding.

Thinking about historic figures such as Christopher Columbus can inspire us to look at patterns of behavior in our lives that have become routine and predictable. Joy is usually found when we are not in pursuit of it. I believe if we practice experiencing more curiosity, the odds are higher for finding inspiration to keep our spirit alive and our mind healthy.

The mind is a beautiful captivating gift from God, unique to every person on earth. I am intrigued by the many great minds I encounter everyday in life. Some are friends, some are acquaintances and others are just encounters, but they are all different. There is always a reflection or a glimmer of something extraordinary and a desire for more happiness and joy.

Action Point: What are some areas of your life where you can increase your curiosity in hopes to add more overall joy?

10 Random Acts Of Kindness

September 27, 2013October 2, 2013 / Donna George / Leave a comment

Random Acts (Photo credit: MTSOfan)

If you are like me, when you encounter exceptionally nice people, or people who seem particularly gentle and thoughtful to others, you might take a mental note. I notice these type of exchanges at random times and places. I am not referring to times of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or just chaotic events, but just simple acts of kindness in everyday life towards others. Genuine kindness flows from the heart, while superficial actions often come from learned behaviors. Most of us can tell the difference.

The battle of good and evil deep within us seems to war throughout the day. It is easier being selfish and distant than being warm and kind. I find myself constantly challenged in my pursuit of kindness for mankind. It is hard stuff, but at the end of the day, I believe that all of us want to feel good about our actions and behaviors. Our hope is to become more sensitive and passionate about our own personal development.

The kindness of strangers (Photo credit: Ed Yourdon)

Here is a quick list of “10 Random Acts of Kindness” from my note to self list.

1. Make eye contact and smile at others every chance you get.

2. Look for a way to give a compliment to someone and brighten their day.

3. Pay for the car’s food order behind you at the drive through. (amazing gift)

4. Help a senior citizen load their groceries in their car in the parking lot.

5. Add coins to someone’s expired parking meter.

6. Take your (read) current magazines to a business that could use them.

7. Post positive comments on a community web page of a service you enjoyed.

8. Get involved and take part in a non-profit organization you value.

9. Write a thank you note and send to someone who deserves it (snail mail style).

10. Write a note of appreciation to your mail person or a card to thank them.

The ideas are endless, the acts are kind, and the effects will echo in eternity. The choices we make and the chances we take, determine the satisfaction with life. Live with passion and believe that you can make a difference. You have the exact message that (someone) is waiting to hear. Try being larger than yourself and experiment with life that’s outside of your comfort zone. Who knows, it might be fun.

Be aware that we live in a world that is hypnotically entranced by the (i) culture, as much as we have embraced and accepted it, consider the huge influence of the little letter (i). You might recognize the gigantic impact of the (i) trend on our everyday life, i.e. iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMessage for just a few. And let’s not forget about the powerful little word (me). This is now synchronized in our culture with phrases like, follow me, join me, etc. What does this indicate for the future?