Can You Hear Me?: November 2013

November 22, 2013

Thank You More Please!

by Daniel Jacob, MSW: Founder of Can You Hear Me?

Thank You More Please! I learned this phrase sometime ago, passed on by one of my most loyal supporters. It's interpretation is rooted in the awareness that needs to be present when we are once again reminded that there is always something to be thankful for. As we approach this time of the year with an opportunity to slow down, I thought it was fitting to share my thoughts with all of those that can hear me... Thank You More Please!

I am reminded at this time of year that is very easy to get caught up with the idea of running towards time off. You know how it goes "I can't wait till... No work, time to..." Yes, having the opportunity to break away from the rigors and responsibilities that we must oblige to is welcomed. However, my thoughts move me towards that space and place that allows us to slow down this process, while moving into an awareness that clearly helps us help ourselves.

As I reflect on what I have in my life... I can see it, feel it, and truly recognize that my life is so much better because I have made a choice, one that does not always come with comfort. What I have been able to gain is wellness and perspective. What I now know is that when you commit and persist while trusting the process you eventually get there. It is here where change becomes transformative, and where life just opens up the door to endless possibility and opportunity...
Thank You More Please!

So, as you move towards this day of thanks, may you find your own opening as your hand reaches for the door. What lies on the other side will be entirely dependent on how you interpret your choice+change+opportunity+commitment. What I will continue to share through my experiential lens is the life that you strive to have is not possible if you refuse to confront what you need to, it can't and won't happen. Furthermore, when you get to that place that needs no explanation, the outcome far exceeds what your original expectation once presented. Thank You More Please!

May this time of year with family, friends or just the company of yourself find you breathing well. As you are reminded that there is always, always, always something to be thankful for!

About Author

Daniel Jacob, MSW Email
Founder of Can You Hear Me? External Field Instructor at University of Southern California School of Social Work MSW@USC. Daniel has a Masters in Social Work (Families and Children Practice/School Social Work). He is currently nearing the completion of the LCSW testing process as he continues to work towards progress! More about the man behind the mission⇢

November 14, 2013

Vicariously Speaking...

by Daniel Jacob, MSW: Founder of Can You Hear Me?

Joshua Tree National Park

Nice to be back with intention and purpose as my emotion to share is Vicariously Speaking... I was able to get away for a few this past weekend as another opportunity to disconnect and breathe as I should. It served me well as I found my pace slow down, allowing for that clarity and awareness that only comes with being in the "now" while being far removed from consumption and distraction. It was self-care in its fullest effect and I was embracing it as I found my process to be immersed into available reflection, Vicariously Speaking...

My writing over the course of time has allowed me to model my process as it pertains to the work I have put forward to overcome, learn, grow and strive towards progress. This has been a powerful opportunity as it has afforded a mutual process; support for myself and those who can hear me. It's more than sharing what I've done or where I've been. No, it's about choice, change, effort, and the learning that only comes with challenge and resilience. It's about a social worker who has been exposed to suffering and pain (personally and professionally) who endured and prevailed, while continuing to learn and grow within his process.

My writing, and the lens that has developed through this journey has afforded me with an opportunity to support and instruct. The Can You Hear Me? model has its goal: To provide "YOU" with a vicarious experience that will empower and support, while helping you help yourself in the process! So, when I was able to get away this past weekend I was once again given an opening to add to my work towards progress, while supporting my resilient being. I was able to hold on to all that I have been challenged with, learned from, and now I find myself in a space and place that has me wholeheartedly walking with my head up and heart open. I am well because of effort, choice and the change that comes with want, belief, and a level of commitment that resembles the opposite of a chore, Vicariously Speaking...

If you were able to observe from afar you might see one who is fully immersed into his process. My fingers hit the keys as my heart and mind support another, and my emotion is in touch with the influence that I know can lift and inspire. As I write I imagine for opportunity to reach and teach, while allowing for a moment where I might be that catalyst to help another pause, step back, and make a choice to better their circumstance. I'm fully aware that it may require risk and uncertainty, but without that move, you will never experience the possibility of a better opportunity. One that I know can move you closer towards the quality of life that you want...

So, as I close down my thoughts for the week, I project on to you my experience, one that has allowed me to embrace my own vulnerability in manner that has given me the flexibility and availability to live it and love it (life that is). It is so much better and it's as possible for you as it was for myself. Trust it, be a part of it and you will see, Vicariously Speaking... Until the next time my words connect with your availability, may this find you breathing well!

November 7, 2013

The Flame Within Us...

by Daniel Jacob, MSW: Founder of Can You Hear Me?

The Flame Within Us... Our flame may extinguish from time to time, but there will always be an opportunity to reignite it with some gratitude by our side. I pass this lesson on to you as another opportunity to help you help yourself. May this find you well out there, keep doing that self work that will always support you as you strive to support those in need!

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Words To Live By!

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which one has over come.

Booker T. Washington

It is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work.

Jim Collins

Fear is the soul's signal for rallying.

Henry Ward Beecher

If there is no struggle, there is no progress.

Frederick Douglass

The time is always right to do what is right.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

Unknown

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.

Jimi Hendrix

In these times you have to be an optimist to open your eyes when you awake in the morning.

Carl Sandburg

When you get give, when you learn teach.

Maya Angelou

Go on. Move on. Do what needs to be done. Care for those who require care. Spread love wherever you walk. Spread love whenever you talk.

Cornel West

If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

John Wooden

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.

Muhammad Ali

Adversity introduces a man to himself.

Pat Riley

There is a solution to every problem as long as you don't fear the path to the solution.

Alonzo Mourning

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding , mistrust and hostility to evaporate.

Albert Schweitzer

If your initial reaction to something is to say "no" say "let me think about it" instead.

Unknown

When there are no obvious paths to achieve your dreams, make up your own.

Tavis Smiley

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

Anonymous

The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Make your work play, and your play work.

Phil Jackson

Your greatness is not what you have, it's what you give.

Unknown

Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself, and yourself alone this question. Does this path have a good heart? If it does, the path is good. If it doesn't, it is of no use.

Carlos Castaneda

When you look at a life changing situation, it's your second opportunity to live. You should do things differently than before.

Alonzo Mourning

What is the delivery system for resilience? In part, it's the loving, caring adult who pays attention. It's the community of unconditional love, representing the very "no matter whatness" of God.

Father Greg Boyle (G-Dog)

You can be more successful in two months by becoming really interested in other people's success, than you can in two years trying to get other people interested in your own success.

Dale Carnegie

Determination, Dedication, and Discipline.

Anonymous

Work and Love- these are the basics, waking life is a dream controlled.

George Santayana

Hope is like a path in the countryside: originally there was no path yet, as people are walking all the time in the same spot, a way appears.

Lu Xun

When you are in tune with the unknown, the known is peaceful.

Unknown

How sublime a thing it is to suffer and be strong.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A loving heart is the truest wisdom.

Charles Dickens

I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.

Frederick Douglass

I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, the hardest victory is the victory over self.

Aristotle

Things do not change; we change.

Henry David Thoreau

Love doesn't make the world go round, love is what makes the ride worthwhile.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The more one judges, the less one loves.

Honore de Balzac

If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be no help.

JFK

Inspiring others towards happiness brings you happiness.

Unknown

We are what we believe we are.

C. S. Lewis

Every calling is great when greatly pursued.

Oliver Wendell Holmes

From error to error one discovers the entire truth.

Sigmund Freud

The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances.

Aristotle

Wisdom becomes knowledge when it is personal experience.

Unknown

Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it.

Irving Berlin

Don't let the difficult times determine all the times. There will be hard and happy moments. Let the happy times carry you through the hard ones, not the other way around.

Unknown

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.

Albert Einstein

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.

Henry Ford

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.

Johann Von Goethe

Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing.

Oscar Wilde

What a man thinks of himself, that is what determines, or rather indicates, his fate.

Henry David Thoreau

The happiness of one's own heart alone cannot satisfy the soul. One must try to include, as necessary to one's own happiness, the happiness of others.

Paramahansa Yogananda

To be satisfied with what one has, that is wealth. As long as one sorely needs a certain additional amount, that man isn't rich.

Mark Twain

Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something.

Morihei Ueshiba

A wise man will desire no more than what he may get justly, use soberly, distribute cheerfully, and leave contently.

Benjamin Franklin

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass... It's about learning how to dance in the rain!

Vivian Greene

The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

Bertrand Russell

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.

Anais Nin

Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?

MLK

Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

John Wooden

Our greatest disability is fear, our greatest strength is courage.

Naomi Levy

Challenges are gifts, opportunities to learn.

Andy Andrews

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

John Wooden

No choice is also a choice.

Yiddish Proverb

We have to put effort into being honest, truthful & compassionate towards others.

Dalai Lama

Success without fulfillment is failure.

Anthony Robbins

You are a product of your environment. So choose the environment that will best develop you toward your objective. Analyze your life in terms of its environment. Are the things around you helping you towards success- or are they holding you back?

Clement Stone

To learn, read, To know, write. To master, teach.

Unknown

We need to interpret setbacks as guides, and not as brakes.

The Influencer

Change happens with a choice, instead of I should, you say I must.

Anthony Robbins

To think is easy. To act is difficult. To act as one thinks is the most difficult of all.

Johann von Goethe

Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.

Benjamin Disraeli

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

Bertrand Russell

We have forty million reasons for failure, but not a single excuse.

Rudyard Kipling

Be not afraid of growing slowly. be afraid of standing still.

Chinese Proverb

When you know better you do better.

Maya Angelou

Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.

Arthur Ashe

Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and remove yourself from the unacceptable.

Denis Waitley

Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.

C. S. Lewis

Life is not how fast you run or how high you climb but how well you bounce.

Vivian Komori

Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure.

William Saroyan

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

An invisible thread connects those that are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, and circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break.

Ancient Chinese Proverb

A person does not have to be behind bars to be a prisoner. People can be prisoners of their own concepts and ideas.

Maharaji

Luck is just another word for hard work.

Craig Robinson

Knowledge acquired can never be taken away.

Marian Robinson

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

If you worry about what other people think of you, then you will have more confidence in their opinion then you have in your own.

Andy Andrews

There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first; when you learn to live for others, they will live for you.

Paramahansa Yogananda

To feel compassion for all beings, to give of one self, and to pass on knowledge to all beings like the Buddha.

Anonymous