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Posts from the ‘Inspiration’ Category

Mar 23

21 Comments

Serious Play

“I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstance but by our disposition.” – Martha Washington

Lighten up and get serious about enjoying your life today, not someday. Negative thoughts, circumstances and people cloud and distort our view. Look a bit longer and deeper, there’s always something to be grateful for, to celebrate. Our happiness is found in our thoughts, imagination and giving ourselves to others.

To Lily, a puddle is a playground. To Molly, a snowstorm is the chance to run in the Iditarod and I’m her sled. For me, a five mile run is the finish of the Boston marathon. Actively participate, play and embrace each day and open its many gifts.

If misery loves company, it’s time for optimism and delight to throw a party. Get down to some serious play today, tomorrow and the next. Seriously.

“Don't brood. Get on with living and loving. You don't have forever.” – Leo Buscaglia

“Don’t brood. Get on with living and loving. You don’t have forever.” – Leo Buscaglia

Mar 19

8 Comments

Found

We spend a lot of our time in the “hunt” – money, attention, advancement, approval – all passing, temporary. When we search deeper and through the lens of our heart, we discover that the real search centers on pursuit of purpose, happiness, contentment, peace, joy. All found in relationship and on the path of kindness, generosity, gratitude, faith and love, not defined by or in worldly transactions.

We have the capacity to have a tremendous impact on others and our own life in very simple and lasting ways. In the easy search for “more and quick”, the journey is never finished or fulfilling. The journey unfolds, transforms and is finished when we allow others to see us as we see them, to be found. The game of “hide and seek” becomes “seek and find”, “give and take” becomes “give and receive” without keeping score, being even or fair.

Travel well, risk completing the journey – search, find, give, receive, be found. Repeat.

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence . . . We need silence to be able to touch souls.” – Mother Teresa

Mar 17

12 Comments

Open Window

“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” – Diane Ackerman

“In solitude we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us.” - Virginia Woolf

“In solitude we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us.” – Virginia Woolf

Like a window open for the first time as winter comes to a close, we can open up to fresh breezes of clarity and warm sunshine of hope. It’s never too late and we’re never too old to learn, discover, transform, to become new.

Our days are often about speed, velocity and distance. When we quietly and slowly go deeper and reach wider, our world expands to new dimensions and possibilities right where we are, no need to travel afar. As the fresh air comes in the window, the weight of the past and the burden of others defining us can drift out the window too. Our story is still being written and it need not be based on history.

Open the window wide, releasing the old to make room for the new.

Mar 13

5 Comments

Live it

“Preach always. If necessary use words.” – St. Francis of Assisi

Seems appropriate for today and this Easter season – living out a good and fruitful life. Not talking about it but living it out. What did you model today? What will you model tomorrow?

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23

Fruit indeed.

Mar 12

2 Comments

Something

“To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” – Elbert Hubbard

Do something that excites you, scares you and may even possibly embarrass you. We freeze far too often worrying about what others think. It’s your responsibility and privilege to live each day fully. Do not surrender it to others. At the end of our days, our regrets will be more about what we didn’t do than what we did. Risk the criticism. Dare to dare, to engage – I dare you.

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Mar 10

2 Comments

Burst

“Every day that is born into the world comes like a burst of music and rings the whole day through, and you make of it a dance, a dirge, or a life march, as you will.” – Thomas Carlyle

“Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.” - Rabindranath Tagore

“Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.” – Rabindranath Tagore

Let no one, no thing, no circumstance hold you back from who you really are deep down. Enthusiastically jump into each day with vigor, showing each beautiful petal without pause. Live proudly and loudly, like no one is watching, criticizing. Never, never, never let anyone take who you are away with their fleeting comments or judgments. Jealously is rooted in insecurity and fear – a weed, pull it. Boldly live the life you were born to live. Burst!

Mar 8

9 Comments

Joy Filled Days

“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.” – Tecumseh

“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” - Mother Teresa

“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” – Mother Teresa

It’s Lily’s 3rd birthday today, reminding me that time moves briskly and there’s no time to waste. Each day, even the tough ones, have a deep capacity for joy, if we seek it fervently.

Lily and Molly give me joy each day, more than I give them. Dogs (four legged family) give and take joy from each moment without delay, getting more out of their short time here than many do in a life six times as long.

Pursue and find the joy in each day. Hold tight to the goodness and let go of the rest. The three F’s – faith, family, friends mixed with health (running), laughter, hobbies, work (most days) create intense light that overpowers any shadow that the world can cast. Joy filled days indeed.

Mar 5

11 Comments

Ice Cream in Winter

“The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds.” – William James

“People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy.” - Anton Chekhov

“People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.” – Anton Chekhov

Ice cream in winter? Why not? Let go of the “rules” and “I’ll be happy when” and start living today. True contentment is not moved by circumstances, negative people or a foot of snow. Get out of your comfort zone which really isn’t that comfortable. Climb the snow bank and get that ice cream cone, with sprinkles on top of course.

Mar 3

12 Comments

GrOw Through It

“Yes, now I understood for the first time that my soul was not so poor and empty as it had seemed to me, and that it had been only the sun that was lacking to open all its germs, and buds to the light.” – Max Muller

“As long as we are persistence in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time.” - Denis Waitley

“As long as we are persistence in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time.” – Denis Waitley

We are doers – checklists, multitasking, moving fast, solving problems, busy, looking for the shortcut, the next big thing. Often times, life doesn’t require “doing” but rather “being.” In our challenging and difficult moments, we are called to not merely go through but to grow through, daring us to go deeper and to let go of our old selves.

With cultivation, patience and light, our bud will burst through to blossom anew. Spring always comes at just the right time. The promise of the blooming bud in all of us, ready to share our true beauty with the world. GrOw with it.

Feb 28

11 Comments

Find and Replace

“You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.” – Henry Drummond

When editing a word document, there’s shortcut to “find and replace” words in one command. Each day, we need to “find” the negative and “replace” it with the positive.

Listen and be aware of the conversations around you and choose the better way. We spend more time talking about each other than TO each other. Actively choose the positive instead of the negative.

Find: gossip, complaining, murmuring, angst 🙁
Replace:  encouragement, laughter, joy, delight 🙂

A simple yet profound shortcut.

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