10 Thoughts and Pictures to Lift Your Heart and Inspire Your Mind

Can you imagine what the world would be like if people decided to put their fear behind them and have the courage to let everyone see how amazing they really are?

Every single person in the world is unique and beautiful in their own way with so many amazing talents and insights to share. What an amazing place it would be if everyone had the courage to do just that.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Marianne Williamson's book, A Return to Love. She says:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

I completely agree with what Williamson says in this quote. Don't be afraid of showing the world the amazing person that you truly are.

Let's have the courage to let our own lights shine so that others will feel liberated to do the same.

Have you ever had one of those moments when you looked around at the beauty around you and it felt like time was standing still?

Truly the universe, the earth, and every thing on it from the tallest tree to the smallest grain of sand is all part of a beautiful and awe inspiring masterpiece, but the only way to receive this inspiration is to take some time to enjoy the details.

We often live our lives in a hurry, not even paying attention to all of the amazing beauty that surrounds us.

It sounds cliché to say that it's time to stop and smell the roses, but really if you aren't taking time to notice all the beauty around you, you are missing out on more than you realize.

Sometimes we don't realize how much of an influence we can have on the world. It's easy to get caught up in all of the busyness of the day as we run around from one responsibility to the next.

I'm a firm believer that we can be the answers to someone else's prayers.

I know that not everyone who reads this will have a religious background that leads them to believe in God or angels, but I know that everyone can at least understand what it means when a person is described as angelic.

Religious leader Jeffrey R. Holland spoke the following words about how we can be angels to each other:

"But when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with--here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind."

Whether it's a spouse, a friend, a coworker, or a random person you meet in the parking lot at the grocery store that needs your love, there is someone that you can reach out to today that will be grateful that you took the time to care.

I'm one of those optimistic people that believes that we are all born with the instinct to be generally good people.

Over time, greed, selfishness, and other weaknesses sneak in that can hinder us from being our best selves.

Knowing this is the case, it is important to always be aware of who we are becoming. Are you a person of integrity? Are you doing your best to make the world a better place?

Take some time for introspection to make sure that the person you are now is the person that you actually want to be.

Don't beat yourself up too much if you realize that you aren't quite measuring up. Instead, rejoice in the fact that you can choose to be a new person today.

If you've seen the movie, Tangled, you know how much power there can be in a dream, especially one that you really care about.

It's really a shame to let a little bit of fear get in the way of achieving our dreams, but unfortunately that happens all too often.

It turns out that even fears of very small and fairly harmless things can appear to stand tall like mountains blocking the paths that lead to our biggest dreams and desires.

This is my challenge to you. Practice conquering your fears, particularly those that are stopping you from making the progress that you want to make in life.

I have a fear of heights so quite literally if my dream was on the other side of a tall bridge, it would be difficult for me to reach, but sooner or later if I really want to achieve my dreams, I have to set irrational fears aside.

Let's move forward with faith that things will be better on the other side of that bridge no matter how scary it may seem.

It seems like there are a lot of people who are more concerned about being who they think other people want them to be than being the amazing people that they themselves naturally are.

Be the person you are meant to be, the person who is uniquely you and can contribute things to the world that nobody else can contribute in the same way.

There is only one you in the world. As long as you are trying to be like someone else, you will always come in second place. The only way for you to really come out on top is to be yourself.

Sometimes it really does seem like life is throwing you against the rocks, but the amazing thing is that as long as you keep chugging along, you will always pull through alright.

I love to go to rocky beaches and see the giant waves crash against the boulders along the shore. The sound of the powerful water hitting those rocks gives me goose bumps.

I could literally watch that same scene over and over again for hours without it getting old.

There is something so inspiring to me about being near the powerful ocean, but if there were no rocks for the waves to crash against, and they were just coming in lightly on the shore, I might not notice the ocean's power quite so much.

Sure, the ocean would be unfathomably large like it always is, but it just doesn't appear quite so powerful in that calm serene setting as it does when it's crashing against those boulders on the shore.

Let's remember that when it feels like life's trials are pounding us against the rocks, it may be our best opportunity to prove to ourselves how strong we really are and to inspire those around us.

Charles Dederich, is the person given credit for the inspiring and hope giving saying that "today is the first day of the rest of your life."

He went from being an alcoholic and a drug addict to becoming an inspiration to others who were trying to overcome those same addictions.

What a perfect example of how we can have a fresh start and do amazing things every day no matter what happened yesterday.

Sometimes we make mistakes. Some of those mistakes are bigger than others, and sometimes it takes a lot of work to make things right, but we don't have to continue to worry about those mistakes for the rest of our lives.

Don't allow yourself to be burdened down and held back by your past. Instead, live a life that you can be proud of today.

It might sound trite to say that you should bloom where you are planted, but that really is a great lesson that we can learn from the flowers that we see around us.

I don't think a flower observes its surroundings and thinks, "Why did I end up here in this garden? There are so many other beautiful plants here that I will hardly make a difference."

Flowers grow where they are planted, and each one brings its own beauty to the world.

Whether we are in difficult circumstances where it seems hard to grow or we feel like we are surrounded by others who will outshine our contributions, all we need to do is put forth our best effort and we will be successful.

When you do your best, and put all your strength and energy towards personal growth and self improvement, you can't help but have a positive influence on those around you.

If you go with the flow, you will just end up where everyone else is, but if you put all your energy into reaching your goals and achieving your dreams, you may be able to lift the people around you to a higher place.

That doesn't mean that you have to see yourself as better than everyone else. That means that you are a unique person that can make a specific contribution to the world that someone else might not be able to make.

Figure out what you want to contribute. Decide how you want to make a difference. Figure out where you can have the most positive influence, and then put all of your energy into going that direction.

You are the one responsible for choosing what direction you will go in life and what influence you will have.