Meditate on this....

...enough said.

Feed your spirit

Some of the most joyful moments I've spent have been by myself. And as pathetic as that may sound to some people, I'm secure in my solitude. After all, if you don't enjoy spending time with yourself why should anybody else. It could be that growing up as an only child until my late teens allows me to feel comfortable in seclusion. I'm not a hermit by any stretch of the imagination. Like most people, almost every day of my life I have a heavy dose of social interaction. Most of the time I enjoy being around others. Nonetheless, I truly believe that spending time alone is not only a normal state of being, but a necessary one. And yet, so many people do everything in their power not to be alone with their thoughts, even if that means countless, mindless conversations on the phone. They are even willing to surround themselves with people they know in their heart of hearts are not their friends, just so they don't have to listen to the reasoning of their inner voice. An inner voice that in my opinion is a direct connection to the Creator.

Whether you call it meditation, centering, prayer or just silence, these stolen moments from the fast-paced and tumultuous world we're living in safeguard our sanity, mental agility and stamina. Finding the time to be with (notice I didn't say 'by') yourself is crucial--whether that means a walk in the park, a bicycle ride around a lake, a trip to the museum or sitting on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa under a warm blanket, on a cold winter day. Comparable to the body's need for water, when I don't get enough me time, I have a thirst that refuses to go away until it's satiated.

If I'm so distracted by life to the point that I don't make time for myself, the need for solitude can manifest as exhaustion or an aversion to activity outside my home. And despite the messages we receive from society that advocate constant multitasking, our bodies were not created to go, go, go like that battery-operated bunny. We need rest and time to shut out the noise of the world.

Don't be a victim

When I said necessity is the mother of invention in an earlier blog, I was so not suggesting stealing someone's identity. And yet there are clearly some low-life idiots out there who think it's a good way to supplement their income, as evidenced by approximately 10 million people who fall victim to identity theft every year. The scary thing is many of these thieves are people we know.

A few years ago, the mailman erroneously put a credit card application for my mother in the wrong mailbox. We found out because she started receiving bills for a card she never had. The bold-faced culprit was a woman we knew very well. She was a neighbor with the same last name. For crying out loud I went to school with her son for most of my life. The police are not able to do anything about these scenarios. And although the credit card company had pictures of her using the card at an ATM, they felt that the amount was not significant enough for them to pursue her, which just eats me up.

I heard on the Michael Baisden show today that hackers are even stealing information from the computer systems of the nation's mega-churches. These organizations are now able to take credit and debit cards when members pay their tithes. Could you be the next victim? Take the test below and find out how much you know.