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Posts from the ‘Happiness’ Category

May 12

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A Gentle Whisper

“Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own; and from morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave, it is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy that we can scarcely mark their progress.” – Charles Dickens

A soft breeze;
Flowers budding on a branch;
The rhythm of the water;
Lilacs in spring;
The sun peeking over the horizon.

Gentle whispers surround us to awaken our senses.
Quietly calling us to be carried by the beauty in our midst.
We find ourselves, our very being, when we notice everyday miracles.

"After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper." - 1 Kings 19:12

“After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” – 1 Kings 19:12

Apr 26

Harbor

“Indeed, this life is a test. It is a test of many things – of our convictions and priorities, our faith and our faithfulness, our patience and our resilience, and in the end, our ultimate desires.” – Sheri L. Dew

The harbor offers a respite from the waves, uncertainty and storms. Calm, safe and secure. But we are not meant to remain in the harbor beyond a brief moment. We are called into the ocean of possibility, unpredictability, growth, of becoming what gently and firmly pulls and pushes us. If we anchor in familiarity and easy too long, we delay where the current is meant to take us. If we resist, we are not avoiding scarcity but abundance. We surrender more for the ease of less.

“The ocean is a mighty harmonist.” – William Wordsworth

“The ocean is a mighty harmonist.” – William Wordsworth

We are more buoyant and resilient than we think or feel. Well beyond the limitations we put upon ourselves, we have what we need to move out of the harbor into deep waters. It is in the mystery and unknown, we discovery our core, our soul.

To achieve our potential, we must pursue depth, height and width. Anything less is not worthy of our pursuit, of our calling. Without hesitation, consternation or doubt, pull up anchor and move confidently out of the harbor and enter with confidence the life that is yours to claim in the vast ocean beyond the horizon.

Apr 9

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Goldy’s Lessons

“But for each of us, isn't life about determining your own finish line?” – Diana Nyad

“But for each of us, isn’t life about determining your own finish line?” – Diana Nyad

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius

I signed up for Goldy’s 10 mile run three weeks ago to get myself moving on training again. It’s one of my favorite spring runs, weaving through the University of Minnesota campus and along the Mississippi river. While we’ve had an early spring, winter temperatures returned today with 20 degrees at start time.

For my first long event of the season, I felt pretty good. At mile 9, I stopped for one last cup of water at the water stop before pouring it on strong for the last mile. As I turned to start out again, the water that had spilled on the ground during the morning had frozen and I wiped out, hard. If being judged in a competition for falling, this would be a 10 out of 10 for execution, style, sliding distance and landing. A solid wipe out.

After I dragged myself up, I started out walking slowly and limping a bit. After a few blocks I started into a jog, limp, skip pattern for a few more blocks until I started getting into the groove again.

As I walked away from the finish line, a young guy came up to me to tell me that he saw me fall and that I was an inspiration for getting up and finishing. I smiled wide and thanked him for the encouragement.

A few lessons from this morning…

Take the time to say a kind word of encouragement to someone every chance you get. He didn’t have to say anything but he did. It made my day and reminded me of the power of words and actions.

I’m not the fastest runner and won’t be winning any races anytime soon, or ever. I am happy to still participate, finish and push myself to stay in the game. On my 51st year in this world, I would still rather participate than spectate.  Do things that challenge and even scare you a bit. You can do more than you think so start, and finish.

Life is so much more than successes and victories. It’s about how we get up and that we get up when we fall. Never give up and keep getting up, every single time.

Last lesson, water freezes and pavement is hard.

Participate, persist, persevere and show kindness. Thanks Goldy, good class today.

Apr 6

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Cycles, seasons, life

“Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons, a possession for all eternity.” – Oscar Wilde

Seeds hibernate to survive winter. Dormant, in waiting, quietly preparing for the ground to warm to break through to take in the light. Time passes, the sun lingers longer and the soothing rains turn the frozen ground soft. Soon the sleeping seeds awaken, unfold and diligently work their way through the crusted ground, revealing the miracle of life reborn yet again.

“Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach

“Expect to have hope rekindled. Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways. The dry seasons in life do not last. The spring rains will come again.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach

The seeds achieve their potential, rejoicing in brilliant color and delicate texture. Strong enough to survive winter and fragile enough to show their depth of beauty. Seasons change on cue, the cycle continues, the struggle of transformation fades and the joy of fruition takes its rightful place.

Cycles, seasons and life ensue.

Mar 29

Ripple

“I have begun to think of life as a series of ripples widening out from an original center.” – Seamus Heaney

“I have begun to think of life as a series of ripples widening out from an original center.” – Seamus Heaney

“To be attuned to the mysteries at work in our lives is to behold the spirit or the sacred in our otherwise secular experiences. And that perception of the sacred transforms life, raises it to a new level. It makes us alive rather than dead and causes the world to resurrect.” – Thomas Moore, A Religion of One’s Own

Each day becomes sacred when we find the holy in ordinary moments. Slices of time that show us a glimpse of something higher, deeper and renders speech silent so the vastness of it all can be taken in, but for a moment.

See the ripple in the clouds, search for patterns, embrace the embrace longer, smile wide and hold it until people wonder what’s right with you. We become whole an experience and encounter at a time. There are no detours and delays that are not meant to be. Each step, each motion forward make us stronger, more aware, more equipped for what’s next, for what’s expected of us.

Behold and grasp the sheer beauty and awe. Behold.

Mar 19

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The Power of Stillness

“Everything that’s created comes out of silence. Your thoughts emerge from the nothingness of silence. Your words come out of this void. Your very essence emerged from emptiness. All creativity requires some stillness.” – Wayne Dyer

Carve quiet into each day.

To hear what is most important;
To see what is right in front of you;
To taste the sweetness of gratitude;
To feel awe for all that is in this very moment;
To think thoughts that need to be thought;
To release what is deep within;
To sow seeds so harvest comes;
To fill the well so it can be drawn upon again;
To grasp the brevity of this very life so you can live it for the purpose you are called to fulfill;

There is something in nothing;
There is more is less;
There is discovery in stillness.

Be still.

Mar 8

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2190 Days

“There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we are born and the day we discover why.” – William Barclay

It’s Lily’s 6th birthday today. Lily wakes up around 5:00 am every day (yes, even the weekends) with a boundless enthusiasm, boisterous curiosity and a smile that won’t quit. And she demands that Molly and I join in. A paw to the shoulder, her butt up in the air, head down and then the famous flop on top of me, she’s ready to start the day and she needs her pack to join in. Every morning, she wipes the slate clean, starts anew in the hunt for delight.

Lily’s life is measured in moments and days. A lesson she teaches and reteaches me when I forget and go astray. And for the past 2190 days of her life, she has made my life and Molly’s more fun, rich and meaningful. The strut in her walk with her ear flipped back when she was a puppy remains strong and intact today. She’s loving life and it’s loving her right back.

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” Dr. Seuss

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” Dr. Seuss

So Happy 6th Birthday or 2190 Days Celebration of Really Living Life Lily. May we all be so wise, kind and generous in sharing wonder and awe by living each and every moment on purpose and with purpose.

“It takes a long time to become young.” – Pablo Picasso

“It takes a long time to become young.” – Pablo Picasso

Mar 6

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These ARE the Days

“I get those fleeting, beautiful moments of inner peace and stillness – and then the other 23 hours and 45 minutes of the day, I’m a human trying to make it through in this world.” – Ellen DeGeneres

It quietly occurred to me on the drive home last night from my brother’s birthday dinner, these are the days. We struggle, we work, we overcommit, we jump from one thing to the next in the hunt for the time and place that we’ve conjured up in our head called “someday.”

Someday is the place where there are no problems, we love what we do every minute, everyone gets along, there’s pure peace, we’ve magically lost that last 10 pounds, our work and efforts have paid off and it’s all come together at once and we’ve arrived. While we experience moments like these, this place of perfect “someday” doesn’t exist. The hunt is for naught.

Our life is happening right now in this very moment. In celebrations with family as we talk over each other, laugh and argue as well as in our daily, life-changing struggles, disappointments and tears.

What and who we choose to spend our time make up our days and write our life’s story. And when we stop the hunt for someday and enter today, we witness, share and awaken to the joy that can only be found and built in the small moments of each and every day.

Mar 2

Count Less

“We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; in feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.” – Aristotle

When it all doesn’t add up, stop counting. We wear ourselves down measuring, comparing, trying to figure it all out. To have it all make sense right now, to complete the puzzle. While aiming for the end of the story, we miss living the plot, the purpose, the depth found in a simple moment, in a smile, in rapt attention. Shortcuts sell us short. Depth trumps distance.

Join the living and start living each day, especially when it doesn’t all make sense. Worry, anxiety and demanding fairness traps us on the surface of the ocean of life. Sometimes one plus one equals five, sometimes it’s zero and sometimes it’s two.

Stop trying to “game” life and enter it fully with an open heart, willingness to be perplexed and grace to let go of the unnecessary and be grateful for the beauty, chaos and mystery. Never settling for less, demand, work and accept more than you ever thought possible.

Live more, count less.

Feb 29

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Ordinary

“Happiness is a matter of one’s most ordinary and everyday mode of consciousness being busy and lively and unconcerned with self.” – Iris Murdoch

May you see the extraordinary in the ordinariness of this day. May you seek and find joy in regular moments. In moments that present themselves while we wait and search ahead rather than in the now to what lies right in front of us.

Seize this day and the abundance of moments that offer simple wonder and delight. Small moments, big gifts.

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