Let's Talk About Words

    Norman Vincent Peale said, "Change your thoughts and you change your world." Generally speaking, I love life . I enjoy my job; my children and my family bring me happiness; I feel healthy, and I am active. There are things in my life though, just like everyone else's, that make me sad, that make me question the choices I am making and the life that I am living. I am going to follow Norman's advice, and think happy thoughts for the rest of the day and maybe all week. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort." -Herb Albright    I don't care about annoying other people, but I would like to be the type of person that chooses to be positive even when faced with problems. And I do mean positive, not happy, since acting happy would be pretending. I want to look at adversity in my life with a glass half full attitude. There are times that I fall into the "why me" or "poor me" trap, yet I try to look at the positives . Negativity is a choice. Author Susan Marie Schulhof http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

    "More persons, on the whole, are humbugged by believing in nothing than by believing in too much."                                                              -P.T. Barnum    P.T. Barnum was a businessman and entertainer. He was remembered for founding the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus . He obviously believed in much to create and develop such a wondrous event such as a circus.  I think most entertainers and creators would need to believe to do what they do. They might be disappointed at times but the alternative thought of believing in nothing would keep them from ever creating. Believing in nothing is like just giving up and never trying. I would rather believe in others, and trust in the overall goodness of life and humankind, even if it does lead to disappointments s...

     William James said, "It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome."  When I decided to publish my book Fun4Babies , I was really nervous. I had many ideas and had even put together a whole marketing plan to help sell the book. I work in the Early Childhood Education field, so I felt that I had many contacts with teachers and parents of infants. When I received my first package of books , I told my Director, Katia Pannarale , who was so excited for me. My Assistant Director at the time, Sarah Torres, informed me that they wanted to purchase a few copies for in our resource center. Then when I came into work shortly after, they had set up a display with my name and a copy of my book . That gesture touched my heart. Katia has been so supportive in my publishing endeavors, telling others proudly that come to Deer Park about my book, as well as allowing me to hold a book sig...

                 "Do unto others what you want done unto you."                                                                            -Confucius     Throughout my life, many books that I have read spoke about karma and treating other people how you want to be treated. I was always a little confused about it until recently. My previous belief was that if I was loving and caring enough to a person that I had a difficult relationship with, they would eventually treat me that way in return. Because of this thought, I stayed with others that said that they loved me but treated me poorly, much longer than I should have. I ignored my own feelings and pain in hopes that if I was a "good enough" person, the person treating me bad would chang...

      Thomas Szasz was quoted as saying, "A child becomes an adult when he realizes that he has a right not only to be right but to be wrong ." I am not sure if a child becomes an adult by this realization, but I agree that everyone should learn this truth . We live in a society that expects perfection in school, in our looks, in our work and in our families. The list could continue. We desire this need to always make the right choice from ourselves and from others. I don't want to be wrong , but it is okay if I sometimes am. The world does not end when I am wrong, nor does it when my children and loved ones are. I want to take chances and try to make educated choices, but if I choose wrong, I want to feel that it is alright to choose again. I do not need to punish myself or even be disappointed. Being wrong reminds me of the corn maze at the pumpkin farm. I hate going in them because often the choice you make leads to a dead end or circles back to where you start...

"...true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."                                                             -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross    My interpretation of this quote would be once again referring to a person's soul . I believe that we are all powerful souls that take the form of a human body to learn and experience life. While we are living our life here on Earth, we encounter different situations and circumstances. It is quite easy to be happy and positive when we are confronted with pleasant or joyful people and experiences. What about difficult ones like illness, abuse, or even just a mean person? Can we keep our inner light , or our soul , shining brightly or does it waver and dim? My light definitely weakens  since I often struggle to see the positive in negative situations a...

      Guillaume Apollinaire  was a french poet and writer who was born in 1880. He  was quoted as saying, "Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy ." What do I need and want in the 21st century to be happy ? Quite often, I think to myself that my life would be much better if I could just win the lottery and have more money. More money to  travel, to have money in the bank, to wear the latest styles and buy the latest technological gadgets and gizmos.   Would all of that  make me happy? Perhaps, or perhaps I would just keep wanting more and more, never quite feeling that elusive feeling of happiness that I am seeking. I can justify that having more money would give me security in the future, but there is no guarantee that I will be here "in the future". Or I could explain that then I can give my children more, but sometimes those given money without working for it, never feel the pride and sense of self t...

      Norman Cousins said, "The individual is capable of both great compassion and great indifference." When I started volunteering at WINGS years ago, I attended a two hour training to understand the women and children staying in the home that I would be volunteering at. As I saw the slide show and listened to the woman speak, I realized that if it had not been for my mother's help, I could have found myself homeless and without a job when I got divorced in 2001. Even though I had a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology, I had not worked in 9 years plus my daughters were only 5, 7 and 9 at the time. I had no money saved and received very little child support. I learned that these women were not on drugs or trying to get free food and shelter. They did not have anyone to help them watch their children; they did not have the money to buy a car to be able to drive to a job. It was a vicious cycle of lacking causing more lacking. In a world where we hear story after story ...

         There is much talk about the passion or lack of it in a relationship, yet passion is a feeling that we can have in all areas of our lives like my quote says. There was a time many years ago that I lost all passion for life. I was not running, nor painting or even reading books which are all things that I love to do. I did not hate life, yet I was very indifferent. I had little interest in anything. I made myself start to do things that I use to enjoy and was able to connect with the passion inside of me. I am not sure if the feeling of passion towards a person, object or activity is innate or chosen, all I know is that passion needs to be stroked to flame strong. I am watching the runners in the Chicago Marathon today, and it makes me want to go for a run. I read the Chicago Tribune Newspaper, and it makes me want to write stories that others will read. Find something that speaks to you then develop and encourage those feeling. Indiff...

        Today's positive quotation by Paul Klee states, "A single day is enough to make us a little larger or, another time, a little smaller." Sometimes it feels like there is not enough time in a day, in a week, in a month or even in a year to make a difference. I have work, family and other  responsibilities that drain my energy and use up my time, but all it takes is one moment. Whether it is asking the cashier at the store how his or her day is, helping a neighbor with their garbage cans or just telling your loved ones how much they mean to us, we can do one thing that matters . I have seen people talk on their cell phones the whole time a cashier rings them up instead of treating them like a person. It doesn't have to be some big event or grand gesture to do something nice for someone else. Think of one thing that you can do today and then do it. Read my words and see my quotes at http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

      Shakti Gawain was quoted as saying, "When you're following your energy..., the distinction between work and play dissolves." Over the course of my life, I have worked in retail and in a restaurant, had two different jobs in social work, taught in an elementary school and even tried a job in sales. I enjoyed all of them in some capacity, but I was never really happy in my work until I started at Bright Horizons Family Solutions in 2001. I won't lie and say that every day is great or exclaim that I love getting up every day at 5:30am, but I receive so much joy being an infant teacher that those issues fall to the wayside. I believe that I am a much better mother, daughter and overall happier person because I have a career that I am passionate about and love doing. We work 40 plus hours a week out of 168 hours at our job, so it makes sense that we should find a job that brings us pleasure, most of the time. It is truly a great day, when you can play...

        The quote by Will Rogers states, "Even if you are on the right track , you will get run over if you just sit there." Although you might not get run over, you also won't achieve your goals if you don't move. When I started this blog 39 days ago, I wrote down 3 goals that I wanted to achieve.  They were, in short: 1. Write and publish a fiction book 2. Travel and hike 3. Inspire and mentor/teach others I have written 35,000 words of Riding Waves , and Jim and I are thinking about planning a trip to the Grand Canyon next summer. Hopefully, I am inspiring some people that read my words and see my quotes ; plus I am training other infant teachers for Bright Horizons Family Solutions, so I believe that I am at least on the right track . Now what? How do I make sure that I am moving forward? I know that wishing won't make my goals happen so I need to set some smaller goals and put some time constraints so that I can measure my success and make sur...

             William Butler Yeats said that, "We are happy when we are growing ." When my daughters were little, we had a growth chart on the kitchen door. They were constantly asking me, "Did I grow?", and I would stop everything to measure them. If they grew, we would mark off their new height and the date, and they would be so excited. If they did not grow, I would give them suggestions of how they could help themselves grow taller like, "Drink more milk, get more sleep, play outside more." Do we stop growing once we reach adulthood? How can we measure our personal development and growth ? We can't lean against the door to measure it, but hopefully we continue to grow our whole lives. If I had a chart that measured my growth, I would probably see large spikes where I went through the most difficult times of my life like my divorce and my father's death.  When my life is going great, I am less likely to grow and change.  Unfortuna...

          When faced with conflict, many people choose to stay neutral and not get involved. In my life when their has been disagreements among family, friends or at work, I have tried to stay out of it so that others do not get mad at me. I have realized though that not choosing sides does not prevent the issue from affecting my life. In addition, since I do not like conflict and have always abhorred fighting, I will push my own feelings down. That choice usually backfires as well, when my feelings come out with too much emotion at a later date. As I get older, I have come to realize that there are times that I must make a stand or pick a side. I just need to learn how to do that in the moment. Over the next year one of my goals is to make changes in how I live my life. One of those changes is that I choose to express my beliefs with love and consideration. Read my words and see my quotes at http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com

       What can we learn about the changing seasons? With the first day of Autumn tomorrow, I look forward to the changing seasons, but I await this weather the most. There are many changes in the weather throughout the year living in Chicago. I get too hot in the summer and look forward to the cooler weather; then in the middle of winter, I pine for a warm summer breeze. The difference in each one makes me appreciate the other as does all of life. I can appreciate love more when I encounter hate. I value peace more when I encounter turmoil. I long for wealth when I experience lack of money. At times when I am experiencing the negative aspect, I forget that everything changes, and I lose touch with what "lacking" gives me. Then life, like the seasons, change, and I remember once more that the rough times enable me to appreciate the good times even more. Read my words and see my quotes at http://susanmarieschulhof.blogspot.com