What We Do

“What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.” ~
Albert Pine

When I think about why we started Waves of Gratitude I realize it was exactly what Albert Pine is saying, we were trying to do something for others. Having been put into a situation I had never been in and finding it so difficult to stay focused and not freak out over not having a job or an income I wanted something to remind me that what a think has a direct impact on what opportunities life presents me. If I could remember to be grateful for what I had then I could move towards the life I wanted to create. That was the birth of our company. From July 11 of 2007 until this moment there have been times when I have had moments of doubt, which fear has tried to step in and force me to surrender; however, I have stayed true to the course. I have realized that doors and windows have opened when I some have closed. That there have been lives affected by the jewelry we created. That we have inspired others. That there is a true value to touchstone jewelry that allows us to bridge our thoughts to our actions. 100 years from now my breath will no longer be a part of this earth; however, it is my hope that touchstones are. That people realize there is a way to remind ourselves of the thoughts we want to think in order to create the lives we want to live.

With Purpose & Passion

What does it mean to give your whole heart to something, to know it is right without any doubt or reservation?  I believe that it means you are so totally committed to what you really want that you lose the desire for anything that will take you away from it. It is passion and focus rolled up in one and it has the power to drive you directly to whatever maters most.  When you find your passion, there is nothing that can keep you from it and there nothing that distracts you in another direction. “Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.” – unknown

An Education On Hope

According to Webster Dictionary the definition of HOPE is; 1. to wish for something with expectation of its fulfillment 2. To have confidence: TRUST, to expect to desire.

Examples of hope would be: I hope you do well on the test. I hope he/she likes me or asks me out. I hope you feel better soon. I hope we win the game.
Hope is the core everything we do. We awake and go about our day with hope. We hope to be on time, for no traffic, for a promotion, for understanding, for patience.

Where does hope come from? I believe we are all born with hope. As babies we saw something and tried. We tried to roll over, to crawl to walk and to talk. Then somewhere in life people begin to remove our hope. You will never make the team, if so-and-so didn't. You will never get into that school.  You will never fit in.

This week on the Ellen Show she called out for us to do something about bullies that have resulted in several teen suicide cases this month. We had one in our town. A 15-year-old decided to end it. Why? Because in his mind there was no hope.

What if our schools taught hope? There are countless individuals like Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, Deepak Chopra to name a few that are centered on if you believe it, you can achieve it. There are countless true stories of the underdog team that wins. Why?Because they never lost hope. If we could teach our youth to have hope, to look for the potential, we would breathe a new life into them. In 2008, my brother-in-law took his life. He had a family, money, a career, and no life-threatening illness. Yet he had no hope, no purpose. Life is so large if we live it. There is no way we have time to experience all there is if we live to be 100, but definitely not if we end it at 15, 18 or anywhere under 100.

If you know someone that has lost their hope, help them light a flame of hope. Help them find something to move towards in their life to give them hope. Breathe hope into someone that has lost theirs. “Hope is to purpose as air is to life.” ~ Cheryl Nordyke

What is my purpose?

Why am I here? What is it I am supposed to do? What is my purpose? These are questions most of us have asked at one time or another in our lives. Alfred North Whitehead said, “Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of finitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of life is to grasp as much as we can out of that infinitude.”

We may not fully understand our potential because the mind can only think in finite terms of a beginning and an end. Because of this we may be putting limits on our purpose. A purpose in life may have finite moments. We may be called upon to fulfill a need at a particular moment and once that is done, our purpose in that role is too. Maybe we are meant to move from one purposeful act to another, one after another until that moment of infinitude.

There has been research over the years that indicates that older people who still feel useful and needed live longer and happier lives. In a 2009 interview with Barbara Resnick, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP, professor in the Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing in Baltimore, she states, “I think we often push older adults to do mindless activities when we should be encouraging activities that help them live in communities. People want to feel needed, so the idea is to give people jobs and responsibilities that they can feel good about when they complete them successfully. You might give a patient the job of clearing the table in his or her assisted-living facility. Or you might encourage a patient to deliver the mail or take the dog for a walk, whatever it is that can make that person feel needed — and that they're completing meaningful activities.” We all have seen both sides of it. There are those who retire from their job and no longer know what they are supposed to do and basically sit back waiting to die. There are others like my grandma Francy who at age 93 still volunteers, participates in clubs, finds ways to cheer others up with cards and phone calls.

We can find purpose in our lives on large and small scales every day. It does not matter how old we are, where we live, if we are married or single, have children at home or live alone. What is your purpose for today?