The creative outlet of Anthony Munkholm: thanks for reading

Healing through my words:


Life doesn't give you the people you want,
it gives you the people you need:
to love you, to hate you, to make you, to break you, & to make you the person you were meant to be. -unknown




Love can and will come to those who still believe in it. Hope is the key. Even when faced with disappointment love will still find a way. Even after betrayal love will still knock on your door. Love will come to those who have been hurt before. I will never give up on love. I will even love those who no longer love me. Love is all there is and all there ever will be. -me




I believe I have been given an opportunity to share my successes and my struggles, my up's and my down's, the good and the bad with those who find their way to my blog. I feel I have been given a gift to write. I feel in my heart part of my gift to the world comes through my words. My greatest joy comes through expressing myself here. I write for myself but I feel compelled to share it with you too. I believe in love, compassion, and understanding which I share here.














Thursday, November 25, 2010

32 Things I am thankful for




1. I am thankful for my wife.
2. I am thankful that my wife is willing to work on Thanksgiving so I do not have to.
3. I am thankful she is willing to put the needs of others before her own.
4. I am thankful she has stuck with me through the good and the bad.
5. I am thankful my mother is here with me on thanksgiving.
6. I am thankful for my wonderful nephew Zachary, I just love him so much. He is a representation of all that is good and right with this world!
7. I am thankful for my father, and am enjoying reminiscing about the Thanksgiving he spent with me last year.
8. I am thankful for my two wonderful sisters. I love them both so much, and appreciate how they have been with me through thick and thin.
9. I am thankful for all my wonderful aunts and uncles, who have always loved me and I love them.
10. I am thankful for my Grandfather who always wants what is best for all of his children and grandkids.
11. I am thankful for the spirit of my grandmother, for she comes to me whenever I ask and I can always feel her presence and her love.
12. I am thankful for Dr. Leonard for without him my wonderful spine and my overall wellness would not be where it is today.
13. I am thankful for my boss Ed, because he gave me a job when I needed one and gave me the tools to become the successful trainer I am today.
14. I am thankful for all of the workers who helped package, farm, and raise the delicious food that I will consume on this day.
15. I am thankful for all of my cousins, as they are all different and I love them all for many reasons. I have been blessed with a great family and every time I with them it is truly a blessing.
16. I am thankful for my friends who are in MN and thankful for my friends who are right here in California.
17. I am thankful for the memories I have at the lake house with my man Luke and the time we spent the night in his truck. As terrible as that was sleeping in a small truck in the middle of the winter it still makes me laugh every time I think about it.
18. I am thankful for my friend since day 1, Matt Bartell, he and I have been through hell and back and basically 20 years later we are still great friends.
19. I am thankful that I have this very warm house to be in right now.
20. I am thankful that I have two wonderful dogs, which are always there for me and always love me.
21. I am grateful for Miss. Kim and all that she has done for me, and I am thankful that she is a close friend of mine. I am grateful that I am lucky enough to be able to call on her in a time of need or when I just want to discuss the universe. What a gift she has helped me find, I am forever grateful.
22. I am thankful for all of my clients, because without them I would be nothing as a trainer. A special thanks to Janine, who has been with me since the day I started as a trainer, she has come so far!
23. I am thankful for all of the hard work my clients give, because their dedication to working out is what drives me to become an even better trainer.
24. I am thankful for anyone who has to work today, whether military, a nurse, or the poor guy at Wal-Mart, because without them our country would not be as great as it is.
25. I am thankful for my coffee pot, as it is cold in my house as I write this and I am looking forward to warming my belly with some organic Seattle’s Best breakfast blend.
26. I am thankful for the talents that I have been blessed with, I find peace, comfort, and oneness in my writing and without it I would be a mess. I am especially thankful for anyone who would take the time to read my blog, it means the world to me!
27. I am thankful to my God who never left me and after many long years of searching I returned to him. I was never alone, she was with me the whole time, right here inside of me.
28. I am thankful I have discovered meditation. Meditation brought me back to God, has showed me the wonders of the Universe, and has taugh me how to “be.” Being still is the greatest thing I have discovered in this lifetime.
29. I am thankful that I found California. I belong here, my soul feel’s right here, my body loves it here, and my mind never wants to leave.
30. I am thankful for this beautiful house we live in and the family that we have made so far.
31. I am thankful for Facebook because it has allowed me to reconnect with some amazing friends from high school.
32.. I am thankful for everything in my life, the up’s and the downs, the highs and lows, the light and the dark, because without it I would not be me.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

For Veterans

Surrendering part of yourself,
Commitment to those who go through the struggle with you,
Walking into the unknown with only those who stand next to you,
Praying to God that you will come home safe,

Finding comfort in those who use to be complete strangers,
Swallowing your fears and anxieties,
Security now comes in the form of an M-16 and Kevlar vest,
Hoping the training was enough,

Trying to remember you simply have a job to do,
Asking yourself is this what I really signed up for,
Holding onto the image of your wife’s crying face as you part her,
Swearing you will make it back to her,

Missing the little things,
A hot shower,
A quiet night,
The sense of security of your own home,
The smell of a woman,

Counting down the days till you are home,
Making new friends,
Having some good laughs,
Realizing it is not always so bad,

Grateful for the experience I have had,
Excited to get on that plane,
Anxious to return home,
Anticipating what I will do first,

First step off that plane,
How I love this new sense of freedom,
An urge to bend down and kiss the ground,
And then...

There she is, the reason I was able to make it through those days,
A sense of joy that cannot be described,
I pick her up and swing her around,
Welcome home.

To all of the Veterans on this day, while I wish we would find an answer to the world’s problems that does not involve violence, I have been there done that. And because of that experience I will forever respect those who have gone before us and gave up everything for a mission greater than themselves.