Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You’re only a stranger once.

April 8, 2007

The 6 Quickest Ways to Fill Your Universe with Stars

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 8:25 am

Don’t Look and You Won’t Find

dwingeloo1_int Galaxy-sq

Sometimes it feels like we’re in a black hole. All of our energy has been sucked off by demands and little irritants. Nothing is sparkling. We don’t see bright points on the horizon. Our universe seems dark and unfriendly — empty of stars and friendly faces.

I’ve noticed something about times like that.

Every time I give my soul room to breathe, everyone around me gets nicer. The people in it shine brighter like the stars they are.

So I’ve been working on ways to fill my universe with more stars.

The 6 Quickest Ways to Fill Your Universe with Stars

These are the 6 quickest ways I’ve tound to fill my universe with stars.

  1. The quickest way to add joyful light is to bring conversation to someone who is alone. Making arrangments to see someone, who is shut-in, sick, or who cannot get to see the sunlight or a starry night, is added hassle in a busy schedule. Do it anyway. You’ll know it was the right choice when you see a lonely person’s entire face light up with the joy of your arrival. The light you cause will die out until long after you’ve gone and your conversation has been replayed over and over.
  2. The quickest way to change folks’ dark behavior is to change my own. When someone is doing something that makes you crazy, change your response. A new response always gets attention. The person will stop to see what you’re doing. The original cycle will be broken. Act quickly. Say something — something nice can set a new star into the conversation.
  3. The quickest way to change my behavior is to change my thinking. If you start to feel stressed or angry about a person who bugs you, it could be that you’re stuck on one tiny facet of that person’s being. Stand back and consider the whole person. Pull out your generosity. See some good things. Bits of starlight will begin shining into your thinking.
  4. The quickest way to change my thinking is to change my mind. What the heck?! If the day is lousy, why not try to find a brighter one by reversing something? Just decide that one assumption youre made is totally bogus. Blow it out of the water and watch the fireworks make lovely stars as you give up your precious notions.
  5. The quickest way is to shed a new light. Use your eyes to listen for what’s not being said. Watch what’s happening and how the person in question is or isn’t responding to things. Notice what is off in the responses the person is showing. That’s where you’ll find the potential to turn a dark how into a supernova.
  6. The quickest way to fill a universe with stars in constellations so breathtaking is to make a smal child smile.. Find a child under the age of four and say these words, “Did you know that every time you smile your eyes twinkle?”

Our human universe was meant to have stars that shine in the daytime, to shine with the smiles of the people We only have to give them a reason to show you the way they twinkle brilliantly. We all know how to — people and stars are made of the same stuff.

I bet you could add ways to make more stars on Earth.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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Filed under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog |




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19 Comments to “The 6 Quickest Ways to Fill Your Universe with Stars”

  1. April 8th, 2007 at 10:51 am
    Carolyn Manning said

    “The quickest way to change my thinking is to change my mind”

    That’s the best, Liz! I think everything hinges on that.

  2. April 8th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
    GP said

    greetings, agree with above, carolyn, change your mind and divine providence moves. Proving yet again… it’s all in your head !… ultimately :)

    Happy Easter
    GP in Montana

  3. April 8th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
    Carolyn Manning said

    “Free your mind, and the rest will follow”

    Happy Easter to you, too, GP

  4. April 8th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Carolyn,
    It’s a bit of a play on words “change my thinking means change my mind.” But when you get right down to it, we have to be willing to get inside our heads give up what we’re stuck on. :)

  5. April 8th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hey GP!
    Happy Easter! So right that everything is all in our heads. That’s even more than horse sense. :)

  6. April 8th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
    Carma Dutra said

    I have another one.
    “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.

    It is important to open our eyes so that the spirit can move.

  7. April 8th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hey Carma,
    I go one even further . . . do unto others as they would ask that you do. :)

  8. April 8th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
    Adrienne said

    Be the one YOU seek!

    Adrienne,
    author of ‘NOtes From the MotherShip~Naked Invisibles’ 09/2007

  9. April 8th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
    Tshombe said

    Hi Liz,

    I think your subtitle should be Look (rather than Don’t Look) and You Will Find. Indeed, stars exist all around us, if only we seek actively (and proactively) to seek them out.

    This is a refreshing post and fueled me with positive emotion. Thank you.

    I also appreciate your comment to Carma to go beyond action toward others as we personally would like to be treated. What we may find of value may be entirely different from what someone else values. It requires an extra stretch to find out how we can truly serve others by finding out what lights them up.

    Sending warmth and light your way,

    Tshombe

  10. April 8th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
    Daniel Sitter said

    Liz,

    What a wonderful post! It lends even greater credibility to the old adage “if it’s to be, it’s up to me.”

    Best regards,
    Daniel Sitter

  11. April 8th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
    GP said

    Liz, glad to see your horsin’ around… :)

    Carma… beautiful point… especially appropriate on easter.
    GP in Montana

  12. April 8th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi GP,
    I always have a little thought for you and yours going on in my head. :)

  13. April 8th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Adrienne!
    Welcome! What wise words. I shall try to do that . . . be the one I’m looking for. I already know that I’m usually the one that I’m most irritated by . :)

  14. April 8th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Daniel!
    I haven’t bumped into that adage, but I know the mom who says that if you have an idea, you should be prepared to make it happen. :)

    I know the Ghamdi think that tells me to BE the change I want for the world.

    So your adage is familiar to me anyway.
    You’re not a stranger here. :)

  15. April 8th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Tshombe!
    Glad to see you here!
    I know what you mean about seeing stars. I see angels everywhere (better than seeing dead people :) ) It’s a good thing to look for positives, because it often draws them to us and out of us.

    On the idea of treating others. I learned that about hugs. Though I might need one when I’m feeling out of sorts, not everyone needs or wants one . . . why should I think they need or want what I would? I always ask permission and often get a “no, thank you.” I feel glad I didn’t force a hug on someone who didn’t want one. ewwww.

  16. April 9th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
    Lewis Green said

    Nice post and wonderful principals to live by. Thank you for sharing.

    By the way, one of your readers just left a comment on my blog because I wrote a post about several virtual friends who called me to introduce themselves. Susan said you call someone every evening to connect. That is admirable.

  17. April 9th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Lewis,
    Welcome and thank you. Yes I do talk to a blogger a day. I used to write them all up, but unfortunately I just can’t anymore. So some conversations become coaching sessions instead and some turn into guest posts or iterviews or other connections. :)

    Bloggers are such interesting, insightful, invigorating people. They help me connect my ideas. :)

  18. April 11th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
    I Can’t Say That! » Six Great Ways to Make a Bad Day Good said

    [...] But thanks to Liz, you now have six great ways to take charge of such moments and turn them on their heads. In The 6 Quickest Ways to Fill Your Universe with Stars she notes, Every time I give my soul room to breathe, everyone around me gets nicer. The people in it shine brighter like the stars they are. So I’ve been working on ways to fill my universe with more stars. [...]

  19. March 8th, 2008 at 6:12 am
    Fill Your Day With Stars! - Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Thinking, writing, business ideas . . . You’re only a stranger once. said

    [...] brilliantly. We all know how to — people and stars are made of the same stuff. — from The 6 Quickest Ways to Fill Your Universe with Stars Tags: Integrating business and lifeShare [...]

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