Life and Gratitude...

Ever wonder what your purpose is here on earth? If I could offer you a magic potion that would make you happier, healthier, more optimistic and more productive, and tell you that potion would cost nothing and will require very little effort to use, would you be interested? Sure you would. This blog is about life, and gratitude. My grandmother used to always tell me "Michele, life is a gift from God, do not take it for granted!" These are words that we hear daily, but do we really understand them and appreciate their value? My guess is "absolutely not!" Life is good, but on a daily basis we are witnesses to those around us who are good and bad. I tend to be the optimistic one and always look for the good qualities in people, even when others cannot see it. Sure people call me crazy, but I listen to my heart, and go with my gut. There was only one time in my life that I did not listen to my gut and it almost cost me my life.

Have you, my friends even had an experience that happened so quickly yet you couldn't explain it nor did you remember all of it in its entirety? God has a plan for all of us, sometimes we just can't see it. Its funny how you think about things at weird times. I have been on vacation for the past week. I needed to get away and relax. Right before my kids and I went snorkeling I had chest pains. I looked at my two kids (whom took me on this beautiful trip to Hawaii) before diving into the water and said, if anything happens to me, I love you, and you've just inherited 2 panty companies. They of course looked at me as if I were bonkers and said "Yeah,OK mom!" In reality though, I was quite serious.  Hey listen,... you just never know when your time is up. 30 minutes later I got kicked in the head by a woman who obviously thought that the Pacific Ocean wasn't big enough and got a little too close to me. The kick forced me under water and I became lodged between sharp coral reef. I don't remember anything. I remember not being able to move and struggling with sharp coral at least 10 feet under water. It felt as if my leg was pinned in between rocks. I saw tropical colored fish everywhere and all around me and I watched my snorkel gear rise to the top of the water. That's all I remember. Then I found myself  floating above the water and my two kids screaming at me. They couldn't find me and they were in panic mode. I last thing that i remembered was seeing the sunlight above the water and bubbles all around me. Sounds crazy huh? You should have been there. What was happening to me? This is a true testament that I am STILL here on this earth for a reason and I fear nothing...not even death itself. It makes you really sit back and wonder "Why am I still here?" 

 I believe that I am here because I have a lot of work to do. I don't mean growing my lingerie businesses, that will happen. I am here to make others laugh, to build people up and to give them the support that they need to push them to the next level, to teach them to trust and whom to trust, to smile and say 'everything is going to be all right!' I am not a very religious woman but I do believe that I have a mission, a course of action to take to make others feel as good about life as I do. It's all about being positive and gratitude my friends.

 I am not, nor have I ever been a woman to take 'no' for an answer. I value life as a true gift and I cherish everyday I have breathing and being near to loved ones and people that are positive in my life. After all, negative people are harmful to us and if you have these "Negative Nancy" type people in your life...get rid of them now, as they will not stop until you feel as shallow and powerless as they are. Don't you deserve better for yourself? I certainly do. My grandmother used to also say to me "Michele, God puts certain people in our lives for a reason, you may not know just what that reason is, but someday you will look back and that 'one' people might have been the one to have made all the difference in how you turned out months, or years later." Do I believe this? Yes, I do.

My grandmother was my best friend, that one person that I could tell all of my secrets to knowing that whether what I was sharing was good or bad, she found justification for, helped me to see what I was doing whether it was right or wrong, and I learned from it. She taught me to love everyone. Sure that made me a bit naive, nonetheless, it built character, something everyone needs to survive.

Life is not about how quickly you rise to the top my friends, whether it be for business or personal reasons...it is about the knowledge that you gained while you were on the rise. Do a good deed for someone everyday. Pay it forward. It works trust me. It can be someone as little as holding the door for someone, or smiling at them. I was raised to never brag about what I had or did not have. Material things are a dime a dozen. If you have to brag about what you have, as my grandmother said, really you have nothing at all. You cannot buy your way through life, nor can you buy good friends. Some however are like an acquired taste. Not all of them will be easy to befriend, but do not give up, that one person that was so difficult to break down that barrier wall could be the one person that you save. 

While I was on Hawaii this past week with my kids on a family vacation we took many tours and everyday the bus driver/tour instructors told a store about their culture and why they are so friendly. We should all be like they are. Everyday there in Honululu is a celebration of life. So they said to us;  Mahalo nui loa na ho'olaule'a me la kaua, which means, thank you for celebrating with us. Life is a celebration that we take for granted. We get caught up in our daily routines and before we know it, life passes us by. Don't allow your life to pass you by.

 They rarely say Aloha as a goodbye, although it does mean, hello and goodbye. Instead they will say; A hui hou kakou, which means until we meet again my friend. You see, they do not believe in goodbyes. As you go back to work today, or to the park with your dog or your play with your children, to take a lunch break, dinner or happy hour, or to your doctors office,...to the gas station or to a car dealership to shop for a new vehicle...whatever takes you out and near new people, smile at them, because your smile may be the only thing that has brightened their day. Pay it forward my friend. Life is good. Give thanks. A hui hou kakou!

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