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Posts from the ‘Inspiration’ Category

Explore

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”  – Mark Twain

While doing my morning routine, I glanced out the window to discover Lily was scaling the limb of the tree that fell last week. “Explore” immediately came to mind. Explore your world everyday.

"Curiosity is one of the great secrets of happiness." - Bryant H. McGill

"Curiosity is one of the great secrets of happiness." - Bryant H. McGill

Play All Week Long

“The master of the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which; he simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both.” – Buddha

Cast away those Sunday night blues and look at this week in a new light. Remember the playfulness of the weekend and carry that through the rest of the week. Try it for one week. Just one. Take back those five days that we trade away waiting on the weekend.

“Play is the exultation of the possible.” - Martin Buber

“Play is the exultation of the possible.” - Martin Buber

Play hard, look up and forward to the possibilities.

“Play with life, laugh with life, dance lightly with life, and smile at the riddles of life, knowing that life's only true lessons are writ small in the margin.” - Jonathan Lochwood Huie

“Play with life, laugh with life, dance lightly with life, and smile at the riddles of life, knowing that life's only true lessons are writ small in the margin.” - Jonathan Lochwood Huie

Let Your Puppy Out

“The ability to retain a child’s view of the world with at the same time a mature understanding of what it means to retain it, is extremely rare – and a person who has these qualities is likely to be able to contribute something really important to our thinking.” – Mortimer Jerome Adler

It’s inside all of us – that enthusiasm of childhood (puppyhood for some of our friends). Rediscover the simple joy and awe of youth and carry it with you no matter what your age. Let your “puppy attitude” out to play in the world. Be a gift.

“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.” - Tom Stoppard

“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.” - Tom Stoppard

"All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, this is when I became myself." - Rita Dove

"All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, this is when I became myself." - Rita Dove

“To a young heart everything is fun.” - Charles Dickens

“To a young heart everything is fun.” - Charles Dickens

Symphony

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.”
– Thomas Merton

We amplify what we focus on. The first step to regaining balance in a noisy world is to be quiet and still. Listen closely to the inner voice that creates a beautiful symphony and turn it up.

“Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.” - Robert Fulghum

“Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.” - Robert Fulghum

Sweet Memories

The father of my best friend in grade school passed away from cancer and the funeral was today.  Patty and I still connect a few times a year (not enough) and each time we do, it’s like we just talked yesterday, one of those rare connections that doesn’t fade with time.  I’ve been reflecting a lot about the people and places that we grew up with and in – the neighborhood.

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Summer Promise

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius

It’s been one of those weeks where everything feels complicated and hard, the running through wet cement hip deep kind. As I wandered through photos and quotes, it hit me. There’s nothing that symbolizes simplicity more than summer. And the promise of summer lifted the weight, shifted my perspective. So ponder your own summer memories and those you will soon create.

"In summer, the song sings itself." - William Carlos Williams

"In summer, the song sings itself." - William Carlos Williams

"There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart." - Celia Thaxter

"There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart." - Celia Thaxter

"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." - Henry James

"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." - Henry James

Buds

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anais Nin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of our thoughts, ideas and dreams remain as buds until risk that first step to open them up to the possibilities. We can also cast light on others so their thoughts, ideas and dreams can blossom as well. Imagine the fragrance of life if we nurtured more buds into blossoms.

53 Years

“In a time when nothing is more certain than change, the commitment of two people to one another has become difficult and rare.  Yet, by its scarcity, the beauty and value of this exchange have only been enhanced.” – Robert Sexton


53 years ago today, my parents were married. They are a model of love and commitment through 12 years of night school while working full time to get a college degree, raising three (pretty awesome) kids, three (pretty awesome) grandchildren, two knee replacements, a broken hip, cancer, and daily challenges of life.

Some of the many lessons that I’ve learned from them include:

Faith will get you through everytime;
The value of hard work;
Don’t take the gifts you’ve been given for granted;
The importance of laughter;
Discipline produces results;
The satisfaction from giving your all, regardless of the results;
Ask for forgiveness and mean it;
There’s nothing better than a good polka;
Respect others and yourself;
Pay your bills on time and don’t get over your head in debt;
Life isn’t fair, so what, do what you can with what you have without complaint;
You can be both family and friends;
Give without counting;
Quiet perseverance;
Character is more important than personality;
Life is short, so appreciate each day.

They’ve taught these lessons not in words but in living them everyday.  Thanks Mom and Dad for the many gifts, blessings and lessons. Happy Anniversary.

Simple Math

Life – it’s simple math really. We add or substract. We multiply or divide. What equation will you choose to be today, tomorrow?

A Good Life = + and x.

Do the math. Show your work. Do it right. Repeat.

Easter Fulfilled

“Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won’t stay there.”
– Clarence W. Hall

"He takes men out of time and makes them feel eternity." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"He takes men out of time and makes them feel eternity." - Ralph Waldo Emerson