JOY and peace are inseparable for me. If I have one, I have the other. Regardless of how life may swirl around me life Fall leaves. If I can hold on to my JOY/peace, I know it will be better than all right.

How do you know when you’ve gained inner peace in your life? Here are some ideas. I believe this is a list that was created by Author/Motivator Jewel Diamond Taylor. I like to think of it as a checklist of sorts. This week, along with pushing myself to FOCUS on getting things done, I’m going to look for ways to incorporate or increase the JOY in my day-to-day activities, starting with the little things. For me, that includes candles (of course), talking to my nieces/nephews, finding something to laugh about, good music (WHOO HOO! Jill Scott’s new CD drops tomorrow!! I bet I get to Circuit City BEFORE the employees).

Here’s Jewel’s list:

INNER PEACE

How do you know when you have gained inner peace in your life?

A. You begin to draw emotional boundaries which negative/toxic people cannot cross.

B. You stop giving your power, time, money, body and sanity away to people and conditions that can steal your joy and your purpose.

C. You begin to simplify your life.

D. You begin to value quiet time.

E. You don’t feel insecure if you are alone.

F. You begin to trust yourself more.

G. You begin to trust God more.

H. Your choices in food, fun, family and friends changes for the better.

I. You sleep better because you let go of worry.

J. You spend time with the people and activities that bring out your best.

K. You don’t spend a lot of energy trying to fix or rescue other people.

L. You change what you can and what cannot be changed, “it is what it is.”

M. You have gratitude for the things God has brought you through and not dwell on the things He didn’t do.

N. Life lessons learned help you to bounce back with more resiliency after setbacks, disappointments or loss.

O. You focus less on the mess and stress and have more gratitude for your blessings and success.

P. You are liberated from shame, anger, fear and guilt.

Anything you’d add to the list? I’m going to think about where some of my specific thoughts or rituals fit into this list - things like starting the day by creating my “To BE” statement for the day vs. jumping into the generation of my “To DO” list, slowing down my morning long enough to have a soothing cup of herbal tea before the day begins, organizing my day the night before (clothing choices made, lunch packed, etc.), getting out of the house on time so I’m not rushing, etc.

Have a better day than you planned!
Have a more JOY-FULL, Peace-FULL day than you imagined!

Live DELICIOUSLY!