Also, you may find my article - 10 Tips For Relieving Depression helpful.

A few years ago my daughters invited me to go see a movie with them that I wasn’t sure I wanted to see. But, I went with them and I am so happy that I did because I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was such fun! The name of the movie was Napoleon Dynamite. Now this post or podcast is not about Napoleon Dynamite. I’m not going to talk about the movie. I’m not going to review it. I’m not going to talk about whether you saw it or didn’t see it.

The reason I’m mentioning the movie is because when I woke up this morning and my eyes popped open, I was looking at my ceiling when the thought came to me, “What are you going to do today Wambui?” And I instantly thought “Whatever I feel like I want to do, Gosh!”

And then I started laughing to myself because those are the first lines in the movie Napoleon Dynamite. The movie opens with Napoleon waiting for a school bus. Once he’s on the bus, his young friend turns to him and asks, “What are you going to do today Napoleon? And Napoleon says, “Whatever I feel like I wanna. Gosh!”

I laughed and I thought to myself, what a powerful statement - “Whatever I feel like I want to do”. And then, I thought to myself isn’t that why we do all of the things that we do in this life - so that we can eventually get to that place where we say, “I’m doing whatever I feel like I want to do”.

Isn’t that why so many of us dream of winning the lottery - and many of us dream of retiring – getting to that day when we don’t have the boss standing behind our back - and we can say, “I’m doing whatever I feel like I want to do.”

Hopefully, feeling like doing what ever you want to do – hopefully, you’d feel like you want to take care of your family. Hopefully, you’d feel like you want to take care of your children. Hopefully, you’d feel like you’d want to respect the rights of others. Hopefully, you’d feel like you want to stay out of jail. Hopefully, you’d feel like you want to respect the laws the best you can. That’s a powerful statement and I think a wonderful way to live.

And even though we have some commitments or things that we may not be thrilled about doing, or we may be feeling, oh I have to do this. I think it’s important to consciously try to more and more in a direction where you can say, “I’m doing this because I want to do it. I know for myself, and I know for a lot of other people too, we sometimes have problems saying “no”.

We take on commitments and we agree to things that we don’t really want to do. But then, of course, we have to do these things because we said we would. So, we find ourselves in these positions and even sometime in relationships that are not good for us. Then, we find ourselves going through the motions, but we’re doing things that we really don’t want to do.

It’s really important to take back control of our lives and do what we can to get closer and closer to that place where we can honestly say, “I’m doing whatever I want to do. The things that I’m doing in my life are things that I really want to do. These are the things that make me feel good.”

So, I’m going to leave you with that. Think about that. Ponder on that. Think about getting to that place – being in that place – or, acting as if you are already in that place — the place where, if someone were to ask you, “What are you going to do?” You can honestly say, “Whatever I feel like I want to do. Gosh!”

On purpose, take time to spend time with yourself –to reflect on and about yourself. Don’t let this whole day be about celebrating the independence of the country without also taking time to celebrate the independence and the freedom and the glory of who you are as well.

Celebrate the fact that you are still here because there are so many who did not make it through the year to be here today to celebrate this July 4, 2008. Celebrate the fact that you were given freedom of choice. Celebrate the fact that you have freedoms that no man or man-made laws can ever touch or take away from you. Celebrate the power of your mind. Celebrate the strength of your God given body and it’s ability to heal itself. Celebrate your ability to love. Celebrate your loved ones.

Ladies and gentlemen, this evening, should you happen to be out where they’re doing fireworks and you look up and you see the great display of lights in the sky; I want you to - on purpose - choose one magnificent display of color and lights and claim that as yours. You don’t have to tell anybody around you. You don’t have to make a big deal about this. But deep inside – in your mind - in your soul and in your heart just say to yourself, “That one is for me. That one is for wonderful, fabulous, magnificent me.”

If you think that divorcing someone else is stressful, painful and financially devastating, try divorcing yourself. Ouch! Not pretty. You cannot leave yourself. Therefore, learn to LOVE YOUR WONDERFUL, POWERFUL, MAGNIFICENT SELF!

When we stop worrying and feeling fearful, we open ourselves up to spiritual solutions. If we focus on celebrating our victory, answers and information that we need to get through the fire to the victory will appear seemingly out of nowhere. This technique is easier said than done. Our old habits die hard.

However, I invite you to try it. No matter what you are going through, see yourself already on the other side of it. See past the fire. Feel the celebration!

However, as I continued to listen, I realized they were not just talking about honoring the (so-called) dead. They were also talking about honoring those among us who are still very much alive.  “Honoring those who are not present” means to give reverence to people who may not be in the same room with us. What do we say or think about others when they can not hear us?

Or perhaps, even as an adult, you feel you can’t achieve your goals because you don’t have anyone in your life to give you the emotional support that you desire.

I want to remind you that we all have a story. Don’t let your story interfere with your greatness, I want to encourage you to be your own cheerleader. The best way to cheer for yourself is to talk to yourself - out loud - about how wonderful you are. Be your own cheerleader. Say, “I can do it! I can be it! I can have it! I am magnificent! I am the essence of God!

The media will remind us that we are too fat or too skinny, too old, too poor, or too sick. All around us are reminders that we are not enough.

Therefore, I take time to remind myself that I – we –each of us is already whole. We were born whole. We came into this world as precious little babies – miracles. We didn’t stop being precious because we grew up. We are still that miracle. We tend to forget this fact.

How can we, in our daily lives, deal with the daunting fears and avoid the‘breaking point’? Negative people, negative energy, negative emotions don’t like light. It’s time to turn our spiritual lights on and up. Let your little light shine!

If we find ourselves in a place that does not please us – a place that makes us feel bad, sad or frustrated - we can steer our minds in a different direction. Are you driving to higher ground?

We just need to remember to ‘stop’, let go, and allow the Universe to do its job.

Wow! Now, that’s how miracles are born. Just — stop.

In school we are taught to be book-smart. We are encouraged to look outside of ourselves for answers and solutions to problems. Little emphasis is place on developing our innate wisdom.

It is not only possible, but necessary that we start to tap into that inner knowledge - the wisdom within - our ‘Godliness’.

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