Posts tagged "family"

Star Within

A Star… What comes to your mind when you think about it? Sure, there are stars at night… What else? How about Movie Stars, Star Athletes, Rock Stars, You Tube Sensations, famous artists, etc.? We all look up to our role models. We want to be just like them, or we just admire their talent and creativity.

Now, can we think of ourselves as Stars? Can we become one? Do we want to become one? For those who say “No,” why not? The reasons will pour, “Have no resources, no time, being too old, too young, too late, not good enough, kids is priority, too broke, nobody sees our potential, and many more. These reasons are just butts. The stars we look up to are just ordinary people leading extraordinary lives because they chose to follow their dreams. Most of us did not see their struggles, their rejections, their failures. We only see their successes. Everybody started from somewhere and for most of them it was not easy. The breakthrough came when they stuck with their dreams no matter what. They persisted and they won.

So, can we be Stars? Do we see our family and loved ones as Stars? Some of us already are. We just do not look at it this way. For example, my Mom Dalia Koss is a famous jewelry designer whose creativity is never-ending. Her unique jewelry are not only works of art, but women feel renewed and rejuvenated when they wear Dalia Koss jewelry. Many women ask why jewelry feel so good and so comfortable to wear. The answer is Dalia puts her heart and loving touch into her creations. That’s why they feel magical.

Photo courtesy of daliakoss.com

My brother Max Spiker is a star extraordinaire. He is not only a world traveler, he is an inspiration to everybody. He touches everyone’s life with his love, passion, generosity, giving, wisdom and creativity. He does everything with open heart and expanded mind. I am so lucky to have brother like him.

His girlfriend Ashley at Shoerazzi.com is a Shoe Princess. With her insightful and creative blog, she satisfies every shoe-lover’s desires. Ashley is giving, kind, smart and really passionate. It shows brightly in her work. She is a Shoe Star.

I am so fortunate to have my Star family. You probably ask how about me? I put my heart into my writing and photography. I am work-in-progress Star, I see myself as being published writer and photographer. My photos are already published in stories, were used for creative artwork, and in the ads and in magazines. Also, the movie “A Lot in Common – Shared Memories” where I was a still photographer, was selected for Sarasota Film Festival.

How about you? What Star do you have within that can’t wait to come out? What makes you come alive and gives huge sparkles in your eyes? What is your passion? What is in your heart that you wish to share with the world? Who you want to be, no “buts” and “somedays” about it? Dreams are attainable if we persist.

May you be a Star because Anything is Possible . Best Wishes and Thank you for being my reader.

Smile for Holidays

I love Holidays. Seeing the streets lit up with Christmas lights, and stores decorated with ornaments just puts me in a cheerful Holiday mood. Most importantly, this is the season of happy times and togetherness with family and friends.

Yet some of us get stressed out over Holidays. We have our own reasons for it. This guide will help you to make through Holiday season with flying colors.

Wish you a season of togetherness, even some of you do not feel like it.

The key is to stick with likeable members and friends.

or to get preoccupied with something important

Confused what to give for Christmas?

Just follow your friends and family closely.

and see what makes their eyes sparkle. That’s a clue for gift giving.

In all the chaos, shopping, decorating, do not forget to have a “Me” time.

Most importantly, have lots of fun!

And take time to enjoy the moments that take your breath away.

Wish you a joyful Holiday Season filled with lots of love, togetherness and fun.

Love and Gratefulness

Love and gratefulness are very synonymous, that it could be used in one word: Lovefulness. When we love, we are grateful, and when we are grateful, we love. Love can be romantic, and love can be for family and friends. Also, love can be for life. When we have love in our hearts, everything we do reflect that. We become passionate. We have a zest for life. We start to notice small things that matter. We appreciate many things in our lives, unnoticed before. Our faces light up, and our hearts expand. We have a great care for each other. We even start to see hearts everywhere, unexpectedly:

Hearts in the sky

Hearts in Morning Glory

Heart inside the stone

We can even make our own heart in the sand

A heart between orchid petals

A heart in the flower

Hearts in Bougainvillea

Heart between the tree branches

Even puppy has a heart on her forehead

A heart on Sandhill Crane’s head

A heart within a heart <3

Now have you noticed hearts yourself? Where? When we have an attention on love, it represents itself in different shapes and forms. How does it represent to you?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, my family and friends!

Wish you a season of plenty, full of joy and laughter. May your tables be full of goodness, and many leftovers for pets. May your eyes sparkle with love and passion. May your hearts be filled with closeness and hugs. Have the most incredible Thanksgiving ever, my family and friends and Thank You for being Awesome You!

Happy Halloween!

Have a fantastic Halloween, filled with lots of candy!

Have fun being dressed in costumes!

Wear something unusual and unique!

Find mystery after sun goes down!

Find magic in unexpected places!

But do not forget to watch for creepy crawlies!

Watch out for mad squirrels!

and just know you are being watched! Really watched…

Happy Halloween, my friends and family! Have a great, sweet, creative, happy and somewhat scary day!

Expectations

Love… what a mysterious thing… We can’t see it, we can’t touch it, but certainly we can feel it within our hearts. We fall in love, and we fall out of love. We either afraid to fall in love again, or we try it again.

Why some loves work and some do not? What is mystery behind it? What is the secret to a true love?

The formula of a probable failure is: a perfect picture+expectations+attachment. When we fall in love, we have a perfect picture in our minds: they’re attractive, kind, etc., etc. Then we add certain expectations of how our partner should be. Our love should be perfect, isn’t it? Lastly, but not least, we become attached. We do not want anybody to have him or her; we got to keep them to ourselves. It feels so good to be together, no friends or family should have them.

What if our partner is not perfect, or change physically, mentally or emotionally? What if they do not fit our perfect picture and expectations all of the sudden? What if they do want to spend their time with family and friends? The fights most likely will ensue. All of the sudden, that perfect partner is not perfect anymore. Hearts get broken, and we break up.

So what is the secret to a true love? There might be many things involved, but for a starter: let’s take our partner the way they are+no expectations+let them be

Would it be more exciting that way anyway? A partner always surprise us for who they are. We do not need to be right and wrong. We can let them do their own things, as we do our own. We do not neglect our family and friends. We share our time with everyone. We keep a relationship spontaneous and respect each other. We do not “need” each other to be complete. We are two individuals traveling the same direction. This way we are not closed in in our one-sided point of view. We have two views that expand our world together. We let each other breathe and let ourselves just be. What do you think?

Mirror Concept

When we look at the mirror, what do we see? Do we see tiredness, sadness, wrinkles? Or do we see happiness, enthusiasm, smile? Do we see pain and struggles? Or do we see sparkling energy and love?

Now, let’s look at the outside world. What we notice first? How we relate to people? Do we see them struggling or being successful? Do we encounter sadness or happiness?

Usually, our inner state reflect our outside world. What we choose to concentrate on, that’s what we see. What we feel inside, that’s what we feel and see around us. That’s why it is so easy to feel empathy for people who are going or went through similar situations that we did. We can feel their pain or joy. Now, if somebody is going through entirely different experience that we never been through, we will not understand it; it will feel odd to us.

We are all conditioned by our past, good or bad and by what we know. We’ve been through ups and downs and sideways. We view our world through our past experiences, what is familiar to us. If we been through pain, we view our world through pain. We encounter people who are going through the same pain. Sometimes pain becomes anger, hatred and revenge. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We want the person who hurt us to be hurt. We want them to suffer the same way they made us suffer. Where does it get us, though? Like Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” It does not do anything good, except it causes more pain.

Now, if we would concentrate from a place of love and compassion, no matter of circumstances, the outcome would be completely different. We would start caring for each other. Instead of war, there would be peace. Instead of hatred, there would be love. One man can make a world of difference. Let that be us. Gandhi is one of many examples. He saw peace for India; he stood for his beliefs and by being himself, he reached seemingly unattainable.

So, how about instead of wrinkles, let’s see lines of wisdom. Instead of tiredness, let’s see rest. Instead of sadness, let’s consciously smile more. Instead of struggles, let’s imagine our dreams come true. Instead of pain, let’s fill our hearts with love. Love does conquer it all. If we change our outlook in life and see our world through new open possibilities, we will change our life for the better. Let’s reflect goodness from our hearts into the mirror of outside world and make a difference now.

What is Abundance?

How do we define abundance? Is it money, or there is something more to it? Is there ever a shortage in abundance?

If we think abundance is only money, and if there is a shortage in that area, our minds concentrate on that shortage. We do not see a bigger picture.

Now if we would expand our minds and see that money is only a small part of abundance and look around of us, we’ll find ourselves rich.

Let’s define Abundance in broader terms. What if we look at it this way: Abundance is sharing our gifts with the world and being open to receive. Many of us are givers. However, when it comes to receiving, we usually refuse it as if we are not worth it, we are not good enough. Sometimes, we do not even realize it ourselves doing it. No wonder we think we are short on abundance. Now if we are takers, the opposite is true. We take, but we do not give anything back. In our minds, we believe we do not have anything to give, or we think everything has to be mine, mine, mine. Abundance only works both ways: giving and receiving. It has to be in balance.

Now, if we look at Abundance in a new way, we’ll see ourselves full of richness. We are truly abundant in our gifts, in our family, friends and pets, in love we give and receive, in smiles, hugs and kisses. All around us, there is abundance: nature, sunlight, rain… We are blessed with abundance and we do not even realize it.

Can you imagine what world would look like if we all would share our talents and gifts with each other and become big part of the world? We would be abundantly connected. What a huge difference that would make!

How to beat Monday Blues?

Got Monday Blues?

Feel hangover from the weekend?

Feel grumpy and tired?

Well, Don’t be so serious!

It is just a matter of shifting the perspective:

Give a kiss to somebody you love

Have a great conversation with a friend or family

Sharpen your claws if you have to. Don’t put up with any crap!

If life gives you rain, go splash in the rain puddles!

Show tongue if anyone drives you nuts

Always look up!

Never forget to smile!

And always be ready to play (or cause trouble)

Have a Great Monday, Everyone! Just look at it as the start of new beginnings! Attitude is everything!

Being Fortunate

I go every morning to take care of our horses: feed them, brush them, hug them, kiss them. It makes my mornings special. Also, I get to see deer family. There is one deer lives behind. She recently had 2 fawns. They are so cute! It warms my heart. I have pictures that I want to share with you and make you smile. Enjoy and have a great day!

I call him Spot, the Adventurer. He often separates from his family to look for adventures. He is so curious about everything.