wakingupmoments

“Within Arm’s Reach”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

Sometimes the most beautiful pieces of life are right in our own backyard. Sometimes the love we crave the most is found within arm’s reach. And sometimes the dreams we pursue to become a reality already are, we just go searching further than we need to.

Love, life, dreams and beauty are within our arm’s reach, yet we always make things more complicated than they are.

Reach your arms out in front of you; feel the energy of the sunrise at your finger tips; take the hand of someone you love and feel the love you have for one another; slip your arms around another and find the feeling of safety in their embrace; and understand that your dream is within you and always within your arm’s reach.

Don’t go searching for the things you want in life because more often than not, they’re right in front of you, within your arm’s reach.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Gratitude For My Happy Place”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

I have a certain spot here at the Jersey Shore which I call my “happy place.” It’s everything I love about where I live: the water, the scent of the salty air, seagulls and sea grass. It’s the sights and sounds of stormy seas and the gentle sound of the waves lapping against the sand.

This place has the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets. It’s filled with peace and serenity. It’s where I go to just “be.” It’s where I go to think about my life and what I need to do next. It’s where I go when I want to be alone. It’s where I’m drawn to, whether the weather is warm or cold. It’s where I go for inspiration for my writing.

It’s the place that changes its’ appearance with each season, yet it always a constant source of serenity.

Today I’m grateful for my “happy place.”

Where is your “happy place?”

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

 

Photography by EVN FLO Photography and Anne Dennish @2017

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“Gratitude For All Of You”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

impactThis story is for all of you who follow my blogs and my posts, who comment on my writing and have supported me throughout my journey. Your words mean more to me than I can say but the one word to describe my feelings for all of you is this: “grateful.”

I’m grateful to have people I know and people I don’t know engage in my posts, leave comments of encouragement and support and who are willing to share their own life experiences and feelings with the world.

I’m grateful that you have given me the platform to try and change the world, try and make a difference in it, and to try to make another human being feel better.

I’m grateful that you take the time to read what I write. I’m grateful that you share your opinions of a particular story that meant something to you. I’m grateful that you’re part of my life journey…if only through my writing.

I’m grateful for all of you. It’s amazing to me that some of your comments come from those of you right in my own backyard and others that come to me from other countries.

I’m grateful for all of you, especially in the last few weeks. You’ve allowed me to truly see and believe more than ever that “it’s time to make a difference and we can make that difference together.”

And you’ve all made a difference in my life.

And sometimes it’s “the smallest of things that makes the biggest impact” on our life.

My heart is filled with gratitude for all of you…

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Stop What You’re Doing And Look Around”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

Stop what you’re doing for a moment and look around. Take a look at the beauty that surrounds you, of the family and friends that love you, and at the wonder of nature. It doesn’t matter where you live, there’s beauty to be found everywhere if you just allow your eyes to see it.

Enjoy this new day. Take some time for yourself. Breathe in, still your mind, and find some time to “stop and smell the roses.”

It’s a good thing.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“Taking Back Your Power With Forgiveness”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

 

 

 

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It’s been a tough week. I was upset and heartbroken over the slanderous comments made on my website. And I was angry. I was angry that someone caused me to feel such strong, negative emotions.

After a day or two of constantly thinking about the “who” behind it all I remembered the lessons I have learned along this journey of life: in order to release the anger and hurt I was feeling I had to forgive them.

And when I forgave them I took back my power and control because I took away their forgiveability to hurt me. Allowing someone to upset you is giving them the power and control to do it, and trust me, they know that. They know that they “got to you” and they revel in it. They actually enjoy it. And they’ll keep doing it to you until you stop letting it get to you.

Listen, it’s a hard thing to forgive someone who hurt you. All I wanted to do in the last few days was to call her and talk it over. Yet while that sounds like a sensible answer to the problem, I knew deep down inside that it would provide her with the confirmation she wanted in the first place: that she got to me and she got my attention. It would have been confirmation to me that I allowed her to.

And I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t give her the power and control over my life and my emotions just because they don’t have control over their own.

It’s sad to know that there are people like that in the world, yet this is why I write what I do. I try to change someone’s perspective on how they see the world; I try to show them that kindness is key; and I try to share the lessons I’ve learned on how to be the best person you can be. I share the lessons I’ve learned on forgiveness, on the importance of loving yourself, and that anything and everything you want in this life is possible if you believe in yourself.

Good things come from good energy and emotions. Negativity breeds negativity, and positivity breeds positivity.

I’m not out to change anyone. I write my life experiences to show others that there is always hope and that we can change if we want to. I try to share with others that I learned that when you want something in your life to change that that change begins with YOU.

I’m not about rules or telling anyone what to do. I’m just a girl who wants to make a positive impact on another person’s life, because if I can do that, there will be a positive impact on the people that surround them.

I took this unpleasant and hurtful experience and turned it into a lesson of strength. I used it to write what needs to be written: the truth. I used this pain and turned it into one of peace in my forgiveness towards them.

Those comments fueled the fire within me to stand up for myself and to stand in my truth. I know those comments about me were untrue and I never should have let them hurt me, yet the pain brought more: it made me stronger and even more determined to make a positive impact in the world.

This girl is on fire and my mission is to keep writing about kindness, respect, forgiveness and strength. I’m on fire to write about taking back the control and power that I had so easily given to someone else, because the truth is, we should NEVER give that away. Yet it happens by a comment or a hurtful action by another.

I’ve learned that the next time that happens I will stand in my truth and not allow them to cause me any negative feelings. No one will ever take away my power again and I will be diligent in keeping my emotions and my life in MY control.

Forgiveness is one of the most difficult, yet most powerful tools we can use. Forgiveness will free YOU from the negative feelings that someone caused you. Forgiveness will give you peace in knowing that you let it go…and hopefully, you let THEM go as well.

Wish them love and light and pray for their own healing…and then drop it.

Move forward.

Never let anyone steal your power and control. Never let them know they caused you the pain that they had hoped they would.

Forgive them.

Forget them.

And remember, no one can hurt you unless you let them.

From this day forward, this girl is on fire and I won’t stop until I’ve made the difference in this world that I hope and want to make.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

 

 

 

“Kindness Is Free”

/ Anne Dennish / 1 Comment

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I’m on a roll this week about kindness. Last week I was the target of people being incredibly “unkind” to me. It saddens me to know that people can be that way, yet we’re all wired differently.

Kindness is free. It doesn’t cost any money and it doesn’t cost a lot of time. In fact, being kind to someone else actually gives a gift back to you: it makes you feel good that you made someone else feel good by being kind to them.

Yet there are those that choose not to be kind; they choose to be mean and hurtful. Theykindness4 choose to judge you without knowing who you. And some choose to be mean because they do know you and want what you have: in other words, they’re jealous. Or they’re insecure. Or they just want to be mean because they hate you.

I try to spread kindness wherever and to whomever I can. I love to make someone smile, or feel better, or laugh out loud! I love to be there with a listening ear and shoulder to cry on if someone needs me. I love to sit with someone who doesn’t want to be alone.

But someone was mean to me last week. They wrote things about me that weren’t true. They hid behind a false name and email address. They couldn’t say those things to me in person because they didn’t have the courage to do so; they are a coward.

They are mean. They are unkind. They are hurtful.

And they must be one sad soul to want to hurt someone else.

I forgive them for what they did, and I can only do that so I don’t stay angry. But I will never forget what they said and did.

I believe in my heart that if everyone in the world was kind we’d be living in a much different world.

Be kind, share random acts of kindness to others, and be kind in the things you say.

Kindness can change the world.

As I always say: “It’s time to make a difference and we can make a difference together.”

Let’s start that difference today…

And let’s keep it going every day.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

 

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“The Gypsy”

/ Anne Dennish / 3 Comments

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I  believe that we all have an inner gypsy, and I’m missing mine these days. You know what I’m talking about, that “roll down the windows in the car, hair blowing in the wind, radio blaring, bare feet,  that free kind of feeling.” It’s your inner gypsy and mine has been silent for too long.

My inner gypsy is the girl who dances barefoot in the grass under the full moon, spinninggypsy in circles and releasing all that stuff that no longer serves her; it’s the girl who dances in public, no matter where she is; it’s the girl who flies by the seat of her pants some days, not knowing where she’s going to land; it’s the girl that takes a leap of faith and leaves a life behind to find a better one; it’s the girl who remembers how it feels to be happy and has the nerve to find her happiness again. It’s the girl who was brave enough to find herself again after she had been lost for so long.

I used to be a gypsy a long time ago. These days my “inner gypsy” has been tamed by life and responsibility, but someone came along that reminded me of what I had forgotten.  Sometimes all it takes is one person to come along and make you remember…

“She was embedded in a life for over a decade, yet a few months ago she suffered a loss in her life, and what she did after that shocked and surprised many of us…she left the life she was living. She packed her bags and moved far away, landing in a place surrounded by family and friends, and she never looked back. She woke up one day and realized that all she had in her life wasn’t nearly as much as what she wanted in her life.

She wanted something different; she wanted something new. She longed for excitement and yearned for a sense of peace. She wanted her freedom and the right to make her own choices. She wanted a different life and wanted to be the one in control of it.

And so she did…she left her old life behind and began a new one. She’s finding her joy and her happiness again, step by step, day by day. She embraces the sunshine of a cold winter day, walking and watching all that is around her. She drifts from place to place, landing among those she loves most. Every day brings something new to her and every day she seems to be happier. She found adventure again, and embraces each day and the endless possibilities it has to offer.  She’s a free-spirit in a realistic world and it suits her. She doesn’t settle for less, but searches for more. She doesn’t smile because she has to, but smiles because she wants to. Her happiness comes from within her, not from around her, and while her heart may still be a bit broken over the loss she suffered, she’s putting the pieces back together as only a gypsy can do: in her own way, in her own time.”

I’m blessed to know and love this gypsy; she made me remember a lot of things I had forgotten. She forced me to see beyond my own self and look inside for that “inner gypsy” I once knew. She allows me the privilege of sharing her “inner gypsy” with me and I’m grateful for that, because what I had forgotten she enabled me to remember.

Find your “inner gypsy” and embrace her for all that she taught you and all that she will…

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~

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“When The Excitement Slows Down”

/ Anne Dennish / Leave a comment

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Life is meant to be exciting, that is, if you want it to be. There will always be challenges that crop up now and again, yet it’s our choice to continue to find the excitement in even the worst of times and the most mundane of days. It’s our choice to embrace the day, no matter the sadness or stress, knowing that it won’t always be that way…just for the day. It’s your choice to weather the storm with grace and dignity, or allow it to overcome you with hopelessness and despair.

My life hasn’t always been the happiest. There have been many moments of fear, sadness, anger and hopelessness. I’ve learned lessons from all that life had to hand me, and because of that, I’m able to sit back in the worst of moments and try to find some excitement, or at best, find some joy and happiness. There’s always something in every day, big or small, to be grateful for. It may be as small that first cup of coffee in the morning that starts your day, to something big like an awe-inspiring sunset or that feeling of knowing you are loved.

So often life gets the best of us. It gets busy and throws a wrench in a life that was going along smoothly. It hands us a challenge we’re too tired to handle or ill-prepared to overcome; it hands us a life changing moment that we weren’t prepared for; it hands us an end to something that we thought was a beginning.

It’s at those times of uncertainty that we tend to lose our excitement.

And it’s at those times that we have to pay attention to what matters most…love and all the excitement it’s meant to bring, if we would just allow it.

I don’t like when life gets boring, but I love when it’s peaceful. I don’t like when life hands me a challenge, but I love learning the lesson and overcoming it. I don’t like when relationships get stagnant, but I love finding something new in something old. I don’t like feeling invisible, but I love finding my light.

Excitement can be exhausting when you’re already exhausted, yet it’s one of the most exhilarating feelings in the world. Excitement for love and your life can bring you happiness and joy, peace and contentment, and most importantly, a new perspective on it all. Excitement for even the smallest and biggest of things can alleviate the exhaustion and enhance the gratitude of the blessings in them all.

I don’t like when the excitement slows down and all the challenges speed up. It’s at that moment that I need to find my balance, and I’m one to always try and tip the scales to the excitement side, that side that holds the love, the joy, the happiness for life. The challenges will come and go, and if you’re not paying attention, so will the people you love. You have to make the choice of what’s more important, and for me, love wins out every time.

Love is what helps me to overcome the challenges; love is what gets me through the bad times; love is what gives me strength to do it all. Love is my excitement for the people I love and for the life that I live each day with them.

Don’t lose sight of what and who you love; don’t lose sight of the excitement they bring to you; and don’t ever take any of it for granted, because one day you could wake up and find it gone.

And when the excitement  seems to be slowing down, and the boring seems to be speeding up, then you know it’s time for a change. Switch it up and see what happens, and if you find that nothing you do works, perhaps your “excitement” is meant to be found elsewhere.

Life is always changing, and if you want something in your life to change, you need to remember that the change begins with you.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~