#bethechangeyouwanttosee

“What Happened to Us?”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

I’m 64 years old and after the tragedies of yesterday I sat here and wondered “when did this world change so much?” Where did all of this judgement and hatred come from? When did the world split apart into different teams? When did we lose compassion and empathy for our fellow human beings?

On September 11th, 2001, all of our differences were put aside and we all stood together. Neighbors met in the street to console one another, children stood on their streets holding up the flag and signs that said “honk for America.” On that day there was no race, color, religion or political differences. No one cared what your job was, or your financial status or what you believed in. We all stood together as one, consoling one another and standing in love, kindness and compassion for each other and for a world that was terrorized on that day.

What happened to that? What has happened to the people of this world? Did anyone deserve to die on 9/11? No, so why did someone deserve to die yesterday at the hands of someone else, or why does anyone deserve to die at all by someone else?

There is no one person or particular situation that changed this country or the people in it. WE are in control of the way we act and react. We have a choice to sit in judgement and spread hate to the people whose beliefs we don’t agree with OR we can choose to accept that we’re all different and that it’s not our job to judge someone just because they don’t believe what we do. 

I believe that the problem is that we don’t hold OURSELVES accountable. We blame. We blame whoever and whatever we can. You need to hold YOURSELF accountable for what you put out into this world. Look in the mirror and ask yourself: “Am I trying to make this world and country a better place or is my judgment of others clouded by anger, fear and hatred?” 

Is it so hard to accept that we’re all different? Is it so hard to let others be different? Or is it easier to judge and hate? In my 64 years I have never seen judgement or hate change anything. I have been witness many times to what love, compassion, empathy and acceptance can change and I’ve seen it change things for the good.

We, as a people, can move mountains and achieve greatness but it begins with each one of us. 

Today is a day to pray for all of us and decide that it’s time for change. Today is a day to remember what happened on this day 24 years ago and to remember how healing it was when we all stood together as one.

Let today be the ending of hatred and judgement and the beginning of acceptance, compassion and changing the world “together.”

Wishing you love, light and peace,

~Anne Dennish~

“Rules: Break Them Or Change Them?”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

Rules are in place for a reason, especially when it pertains to a job. They are not meant to be broken, yet sometimes they need to be changed for the best interest of the company, the employee, and the family behind the employee.

I worked for a large company years ago and saw a need to “change” the rules a bit when it came to the employees and boosting their morale. Parties were not something the company smiled upon as they believed it would take the employees out of the “work mode” and into a “party mode.” I thought differently so I went to the head of the company and explained my idea.

I told him that as a supervisor I wanted my staff to love their job, as a happy employee promotes greater work from them. The people I was supervisor to were hard workers, yet there were days I listened to them complain about the job and how they felt they weren’t appreciated. My idea was simple: on the first day of each season we would have a party: seasonal foods, decorations and dress. There was a strict dress code within the company and I thought that four times a year that could be lifted, and that a party for each season would bring the staff closer to one another and would most assuredly boost their morale.

The rule was never to have such parties, and I didn’t want to break them, but I thought it was worth the attempt to “change” them. After all, some rules have been in place for many years and as life changes, so should some of the rules.

And the “change” was approved.

And every employee was excited over the first party I had planned.

The first one was our “Welcome to Summer” party. Each employee decorated their work area with beach towels, flip flops, pails and shovel, seashells and palm trees. They dressed in “summer” clothes; shorts, Hawaiian shirts and sandals. There were even a few beach chairs and umbrellas decorating the office. Each person brought in a summer dish to share with their unit: there was fruit salad, potato and macaroni salad, pasta salad and more! We played Beach Boys music and had a day of fun together and a day of everyone still getting their work done…and completed with perfection.

The day was filled with smiles, laughter, singing and getting to know each other better…and it was filled with happiness.

So you see, the rules that are in place aren’t meant to be broken, but are certainly worth the effort to attempt to “change” them for the best interest of everyone involved. I know from experience that not every rule will be chanegd, yet it’s certainly worth it to try.

It was worth it for me.

And it was worth it for my staff.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

 

“Free To Be Me”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

unconditional love 1

I’ve learned many lessons throughout my journey in life, and one of the most important things I’ve learned is this: when I surround myself with the right people I can be “me.”

I can be my true self. I don’t need to hide who I am; I don’t have to act a certain way to be around someone; and I don’t need to be someone I’m not.

I don’t have to worry about them trying to change me because they accept me for who I am; I don’t have to worry about them stabbing me in the back because I trust them; and I don’t have to worry about not speaking my truth because they prefer my honesty over a lie.

I’ve spent years of my life being who everyone expected me to be and hiding who I truly was deep down inside. I was ashamed to be called a “dreamer.” I lived my life believing that “this was as good as it gets” and never thought I would have any better.

I’ve been criticized for being “too sensitive” and “emotional,” yet I’m an empath and that’s what makes me sensitive to the feelings of others and makes me feel emotions, both good and bad, deeper than most. It’s what allows me the freedom to write topics to help someone else. It’s what makes me love someone with all that I am.

Yet many years ago, after divorce and having had so many wonderful spiritual teachers, I changed…just like that.

I decided to live a life in which I was “free to be me,” and if you didn’t like that, you didn’t need to be inside my world or part of it.

I am proud to be called a “dreamer,” especially since I’ve met many dreamers along the way who have caught their dreams.

I no longer try to be perfect or fit the mold of how anyone wants me to be.

I am who I am.

There are those who like me for that, and those that don’t…and that’s okay.

I’m not perfect, but I’m perfect for me.

I have flaws but if you love me you’ll see them as flavorful.

The point is this: if you truly love someone you don’t try to change them. You allow them the freedom to be who they are, because truth be told, that’s the person you fell in love with in the first place.

I would never try and change anyone I love, but I will tell you that I’ve seen them change because of that unconditional love that I gave them.

And if they’ve given me unconditional love they’ll see that I changed as well, not because they wanted me to but because I wanted to.

When we give the people in our life unconditional love, respect, kindness and compassion, we allow them the freedom to be who they are without worry of our judgement or criticism. We allow them the peace in knowing that they are loved for “who” they are, not for “who” we want them to be me.

If you’re going to love someone, whether it’s a significant other, friends, children or family, please remember to love them for who they are and let them have their freedom to be who they are. Your love is what allows them to be all that they can and that is when you see the magic and miracle of true, unconditional love.

“Free to be me…”

It’s an incredibly good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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