Many people have entered my life and have served as a vehicle for the universe to provide me with abundance. It's wasn't the person who sought me out to provide it -- I asked for it. They were the right vehicle and the right time. And they too were looking for an outlet to share.

Though seasons are pretty consistent and recognizable when they cycle back through, there is one thing that is different -- sometimes dramatically different: us.

We've all heard the clichés -- life is fleeting. Time flies. As I write this, the year is already two-thirds over and it feels like it just started. Some years are like that, and 2012 is one.

People have long been fascinated with birth order and how it shapes our lives; and recent research indicates that first- and secondborns do indeed see the world differently in ways that impact their motivation and likelihood of career and personal success.

We humans have a tendency to grow and progress throughout our lives, some perhaps more than others. I am not the person I was in my teens, my 20s or even my 30s. I continue to progress just as my autistic daughter and my non-autistic son do.

My experience is that too many of us under-value, or fail to recognize, our true worth. We do not take good enough care of ourselves, or we sell ourselves short when it comes to being true to ourselves and going for what we really want in our heart of hearts.

When you stop and consider how many thought-seeds are blown, dropped, or purposefully planted in your mind on a daily basis, it may cause you to tend to your mental garden with a bit more regularity.

We need to remember that infinite intelligence is the soil, the essential foundation upon which we grow our lives. Then we can view the challenges in our lives as blessings. It is that contrast that develops our character and deepens our spiritual roots in the rich soil of being.

I understand challenges and obstacles are lessons, and difficult people are gifts in that they teach me patience and boundaries. I know times of doubt ask for clarification before moving forward.