Oklahoma City. Wow.

It's hard to believe that it really happened, yet on some level, I almost expected it. If you have the courage to read the paper, one can see the hatred, separateness and joylessness that the media chooses to focus on. They bombard us with the negative aspects of our world, yet I continue to meet warm and wonderful people who are contributing marvelous things to our society and our planet. We must not allow external forces to form our perception of the world.

In fact, I have actually found some positive aspects of the Oklahoma City incident. Have you noticed how the media keeps referring to Oklahoma City as "the heartland of America?" Continually hearing this is actually helping us focus our love and concern on this country's "heart". And since it has been proven that everything is pure energy, including our thoughts, then we are actually assisting with the healing of this incident and the heart of the USA. Whether we realize it or not, every thought we have does have an effect.

This incident has also been a blaring reminder to me that we are all living on borrowed time. Isn't it funny how humans tend to huddle around critically ill loved ones and pray for their health and well-being, yet when there is no threat, we take their lives, and our own, for granted?

I have come to the point where I daily ponder and acknowledge that my entire existence is a gift. I actually think about the real possibility that I could be dead in an hour. I live in California -- geez, the Big One could hit and I could be gone 5 minutes from now! I have finally received The Wake Up Call and it has enhanced my ability to live in the NOW. And what joy that has brought me!

Maybe Oklahoma City has brought similar thoughts to you, and if so, I highly recommend the book "Real Moments" by Barbara DeAngelis, PhD. Many thanks to Pete and Lynda Miller for giving us that book as it was very easy to read and it made a great deal of sense. And its message is so simple -- stop, look around, and appreciate the life and blessings all around you. No matter where one is in life, there is always something to be thankful for. And the very energy generated from that thankfulness provides an open portal for more goodness to flow into your life. Try it, it works! And maybe your thankfulness will be seen by others who will want to experience its power, too. And the energy grows, and it gets stronger, and our planet and its people begin to heal.

Being alive is a fabulous experience. Don't allow the negativity to swallow you up. I challenge you to find 5 simple pleasures today and take one minute to fully experience each one. Maybe it will just be appreciating the clouds as you sit at a traffic light. Or really studying the plant life outside of your place of work. Or maybe it will just be truly listening to and experiencing a friend as they talk. I know your day is busy and there is way too much to do. But what is 5 minutes out of 1,440 minutes in a day?

If we fill each moment with our attention and appreciation, the future will take care of itself.

Carpe MOMENTO!
Diana