Find Your Connection in 2013!!

This past Saturday night, my wife and I took our 4 kids out to dinner and a movie as our own personal "Year in Review".  After we tortured our kids by making put their phones and other electronic devices in the middle of the table, we actually had a nice discussion about everything that happened in 2012.  From birthdays to family trips to other milestones, it was nice to see how far we have come in the past year as we look forward to what 2013 has in store for us.

Since then, I have been thinking about the upcoming year and what I can do to make it even better.  If you have turned on a TV in the past couple weeks, you have undoubtedly seen many commercials giving you plenty of ideas on how to make 2013 a great year.  From weight loss to fitness to organization to productivity, there are endless number of ways for you to improve yourself and the world around you.  I have to admit that I am a sucker for this type of stuff and even bought an entire self improvement kit from the website http://www.kickstarttheyear.com/ (it's really good stuff, by the way).

My only suggestion to you on how to improve yourself in the upcoming year goes back to the original purpose of the Live As If Blog -- FIND A CONNECTION!!  Finding a connection could mean different things to different people.  It could mean finding a connection between you and a loved one, you and God or even you and yourself.  The only common them between all of these connections is YOU!

I am sure you will find something to improve yourself during the new year but try to go a little deeper than losing a few pounds or getting back in shape.  Make 2013 the year where you find the true you and improve the connection you have with the world around you.  I promise it will make you feel better than the lower number on the scale.

As always, please feel free to share any comments about how you improved yourself in 2013.  It's been a great and rewarding experience writing the Live As If Blog in 2012.  We hope you have found it interesting and helpful.

All the best to you and your family in 2013.

Regards,
Steven and Craig

You are what you think

By paying attention to the way you feel, and then choosing thoughts that feel the very best, you are managing your own vibration, which means you are controlling your own point of attraction — which means you are creating your own reality. It's such a wonderful thing to realize that you can create your own reality without sticking your nose in everybody else's, and that the less attention you give to everybody else's reality, the purer your vibration is going to be — and the more you are going to be pleased with what comes to you.

--- Abraham Hicks

The Newtown Tragedy - How do we move on?

This blog has always been about connection.  Connection to an energy, a God but most importantly, to each other.  Even if you don't have any personal connection to anybody effected by the senseless tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut last Friday, all of our hearts are a little broken because of it.  Since Friday, I can't stop thinking about the victims and their families.  I can't stop reading about those 20 beautiful children and thinking about the lives they would and should have lived.  I also can't stop this feeling of helplessness since there is absolutely nothing any of us can do to make things any better.  But then again, maybe there is...

During the past few days, I have listened to many interviews from people with different perspectives but the common theme is that they all say how they acted differently following the tragedy.  They hugged their loved ones a little more, they were a little nicer to people, one reporter from NBC even let his kids have ice cream for breakfast.

I think President Obama said it beautifully at the Newtown Vigil, "For those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on, and make our country worthy of their memory."  The real question is what does "worthy" mean?  How do we use this connection we feel to the people of Newtown to better ourselves and in turn improve the world around us?  Whether it's to read an extra story to your kids at night, take a walk with a friend or loved one, donate some time this holiday season or just be a little kinder to complete strangers.  Do something to make a better version of yourself and dedicate it to the memory of those who lost their lives in Newtown.

Since we are always trying to make this blog about connecting ourselves, please share your thoughts and comments below and maybe we can help each other get through this difficult time.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to victims of last Friday's tragedy and as the Jewish prayer says, "Zikron l'vrach - May their memories be for a blessing."