Keeping life simple is a key to happiness. We get so busy and have so programmed ourselves to multi task that it feels like we don't give one thing our absolute all. We have forgotten how to just be.

Recently I was with my best friend Anne, and we were talking about value of staying in the present moment. She told me, "I used to wake up terrified every morning of my life, it's very easy to do." I understood that completely, as I am sure that many others do. I have done that very same thing, and it sure isn't any way to begin a day that started out as a gift.

I love my Annie. She and I have shared some very difficult moments in life. We have equally shared our triumphs, which is why we have such a strong and everlasting friendship. There is nothing we don't know about each other, and we offer each other the precious gift of safety.

As I sat looking and listening, I realized that we were totally living in the present, not worrying about what might happen tomorrow, not rehashing dramas from yesterday or even yesteryear. We were connecting, and feeling the gift of a loving, trusting, and sane friendship.

After years of true hardship, she is doing what she loves to do, and what she is great at doing. I watched her learn, and apply manifesting principles during an extremely difficult time during which it would have been easy to give up. I watched her turn her life around right in front of my eyes. Her life is a success not because she is rich, but because she is happy. She is living authentically. She stopped living in the past or the future and learned the value of present moment living, and stopped waking up scared to death. Often the present moment is the safest place to be.

True friendship is an exchange of views and acceptance. Friends don't have to see everything exactly the same way, or even agree on things. True friendship is non-judgmental, and open armed. It doesn't need to control. It is patient. It doesn't hold grudges. Strip away all of these habits, and you have freedom for real intimacy, because there is trust. A true friend is not easy to come by, but you sure know it when you have one. Though we may have many people in our lives, there are only a few friends that we can truly feel comfortable and peaceful being with.

Do you have a good friend? If you have someone in your life like Anne, remember her this Valentines Day. It's not just for boyfriends and husbands. We can show our love and appreciation for our friends too.

Sometimes relationships come and go, but good friends are forever. You've got to be one to have one. Be a good friend to someone and you will be a Blessing.

Believe in the magic of your thoughts. Slow down, figure out what you want, live in the safety of the present moment, and your life will prosper.

Happy Valentines Day!

Joy!

Cat