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Posts tagged ‘appreciation’

Aug 1

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Encouragement

“The best portion of a good man’s life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.” – William Wordsworth

Criticism and cynicism is a wide and well-traveled road. A jam-packed highway in fact. Encouragement and gratitude may be the road less traveled, but it sure makes the journey sweeter. A simple acknowledgment, a compliment, a smile, a “hello”, a kind word can change a moment, a day, a life. It’s that powerful.

Too often we buy into scarcity. There’s more than enough encouragement, recognition and edification to go around that never depletes the well, but rather replenishes it. We are steeped in abundance, the well will not run dry.

Recklessly and with great abandon, turn yourself inside out and embrace those in your world with kindness and encouragement. Win hearts, feed souls, lift spirits, cast light.

Jul 29

8 Comments

Rise and Set

“The sun is new each day.” – Heraclitus

May you rise and set as easy and sure as the sun. Grateful for the day that has passed, moving softly into rest to prepare for the next. Renewed and ready to receive the gifts of a new day. Deep and steady in each moment, each day, confident that it is enough, more than enough.

“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” – David Viscott

“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” – David Viscott

Jul 22

12 Comments

Quench

“Abundance is a process of letting go; that which is empty can receive.” – Bryant H. McGill

We thirst when we are surrounded by water. Look around and see what’s already holding your hand, sitting in your lap, standing right next to you. Our spirit gets dehydrated when we don’t recognize the abundance that is already present, longing to be seen.

We don’t need more, we need more gratitude for what already is. The futile search in the distance, in things, in others will continue to lead us to the desert, dying of thirst. Drink up and quench that longing deep inside with what is present right now.

“Let's choose today to quench our thirst for the 'good life' we think others lead by acknowledging the good that already exists in our lives. We can then offer the universe the gift of our grateful hearts.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach

“Let’s choose today to quench our thirst for the ‘good life’ we think others lead by acknowledging the good that already exists in our lives. We can then offer the universe the gift of our grateful hearts.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach

Jul 20

9 Comments

Thoughts-Filled

“We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.” – Swami Vivekananda

Left unattended, our thoughts can lead us to dead ends, detours and delays. What’s on our mind becomes where we will go, or more importantly where we won’t go because we are bound up with fear, diminishing our relationships, our potential, our purpose.

Listen to your thoughts, attend to them. What’s reeling through your mind distracting you from the depth of the moment? – the past, regret, to do list, worry, offenses, conversations, assumptions, unforgiveness, disappointments. Days in the past get rewound and replayed over and over again.

We can stop reliving our days and start living each day moment by moment, step by step, doing the work of work, play and rest. Our thoughts are the first step to our day and what will come tomorrow and the next. What we give credence to is what our life becomes.

We can set a new pattern and fill our mind with thoughts that propel instead of paralyze. Thoughts filled with possibility, enthusiasm, joy, dreams, laughter, love, compassion, delight. Centering and calming as the ocean rolling in, a soft breeze, a long run, a sunset. Fill your thoughts on purpose each day and make sure that they inspire, edify, grow, build and excite you and watch what happens.

Jun 29

7 Comments

Resistance

“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.” – Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

We let resistance prevent us from living the life we are meant to live. And for convenience, we identify resistance as other people and our circumstances instead of owning it ourselves. The best thing about ownership is that we can do something about it because we have power over it.

“The gracious, eternal God permits the spirit to green and bloom and to bring forth the most marvelous fruit, surpassing anything a tongue can express and a heart conceive.” – Johannes Tauler

“The gracious, eternal God permits the spirit to green and bloom and to bring forth the most marvelous fruit, surpassing anything a tongue can express and a heart conceive.” – Johannes Tauler

We dabble and dip our toe into our dreams. But until we commit and do the work, they remain dormant. We avoid weeding because we know that it’s a task that never ends. The weeds keep coming back. But if we weed correctly and get the root, we get the entire weed. We can then move on to planting flowers and the art of blooming. Blooming into the life we’ve left unlived for far too long. Overcome resistance by opening up to the possibilities held deep within and let them bloom.

Jun 17

12 Comments

Replant

“We like things to manifest right away, and they may not. Many times, we’re just planting a seed and we don’t know exactly how it is going to come to fruition. It’s hard for us to realize that what we see in front of us might not be the end of the story.” – Sharon Salzberg

Last night the power went out from the wind and storms. It was so quiet, I could hear the birds chirping outside instead of all of the chirping that goes on in my head about what was or is about to come. The silence was beautiful music.

The last time we had a big storm a few years ago, my tree in the back was hit by lightning, fell on the power line and took out the power for the neighborhood for 24 hours. Not quite as somber.

I remember that summer well – removing a 50 year old tree, “recarpeting” with sod and planting two new trees, lamenting the loss of the shade. As I look at those new trees, they have really grown and taken on their own character.

A good reminder that as things change, we need to keep replanting so something is always growing. As we plant seeds along the way, new gifts and blessings bloom to make the journey more fruitful and fulfilling. Replant.

“The joy of life consists in the exercise of one's energies, continual growth, constant change, the enjoyment of every new experience. To stop means simply to die. The eternal mistake of mankind is to set up an attainable ideal.” – Aleister Crowley

“The joy of life consists in the exercise of one’s energies, continual growth, constant change, the enjoyment of every new experience. To stop means simply to die. The eternal mistake of mankind is to set up an attainable ideal.” – Aleister Crowley

May 24

11 Comments

When We Are Still

“So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” – T. S. Eliot

When we are still . . . our senses awaken to the beauty that remains even when we can’t see, hear, feel, taste and breath through the noise and distractions that can overcome and distort the truth.

We hear the birds singing in harmony;
We feel the soft breeze of a Spring morn;
We see the hues in the sky;
We breath in and absorb the fragrance of flowers bloom;
We empathize instead of judge others because we realize we are in this life together and merely want to be seen, accepted and loved;
Time stands still because we live and appreciate the depth and brevity of each moment.

Be still.

“I drank the silence of God from a spring in the woods.” – Georg Trakl

“I drank the silence of God from a spring in the woods.” – Georg Trakl

May 20

10 Comments

One’s Own Way

“Everything can be taken from a man or woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Victor E. Frankl

Two and a half years and 353 posts later, this quote remains the foundation of Cast Light. And when you consider Victor Frankl wrote this about surviving three years in the horror of a Nazi concentration camp in his book Man’s Search for Meaning, it puts our days into proper perspective and offers deep hope.

As our thoughts scatter chaotically from the past to the future, from what if to why me, we are missing the beauty and gift of the present moment. Moments that won’t return.

We can’t remain the same and expect things to change. We have the power and responsibility to set the tone for our day, our own life. And when we surrender that power to others or our circumstances, we lose our way.

Life is awesome and we must actively search, find and foster that awe in each day. The more beauty and light we see, the more will come because we recognize it. And when we take in light over shadow, we can cast it back out to light our own path and those that choose to join us on the journey.

May 7

8 Comments

Remember Happy, Visit Often

“I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” – Groucho Marx

“Smile, it's free therapy.” – Douglas Horton

“Smile, it’s free therapy.” – Douglas Horton

Ridiculously busy days filled nonstop meetings, hundreds of emails and unreasonable people can throw you for a loop, off your game and out of whack. In the midst of the chaos, which is actually the illusion, we need to remember happy and visit often.

It’s right there next to you, holding your hand. Stop, leave the “emergency” rooms of life and take in what’s good, really good. Memories made, memories in process and memories to come – make them happen. Friends, family, a broad smile and a lick on the forehead cures all.

May 4

10 Comments

Know Better

“Once you’ve lived enough, once you’re cried enough tears, you know how blessed it is to have something to smile about. People who are passionate about life don’t have a positive attitude because they don’t know any better. They’re often positive because they do know better. They know that heartbreak could happen any day. If it’s not happening today, let’s give thanks.” – Marianne Williamson, The Age of Miracles

How often we know better but we still question or forget how blessed we truly are. Looking outward instead of in, to the distance instead of the foreground, the past instead of now, the future instead of now. Be grateful for this very moment, this day.

As my 50 year anniversary of living approaches in October, I feel like I’m in my 30s, perhaps a bit smarter and caring much less about what others think or may think. I am starting my training for my third marathon in the Fall. Not to win, but to stay in the game and enjoy the rhythm of training. To start. To finish. To start again and finish again. I still get excited about learning something new each day, but more importantly, sharing the discovery. I remain passionate about my career, but not interested in the positioning, chattering and chirping. Although I still let myself get sucked in when I lose perspective – that “knowing better but not doing better” thing again.

So as we know better, we need to be, think, thank, feel, breathe, give and love better and deeper. Let the light in and cast it back out again.

“When you wake up each morning, you can choose to be happy or choose to be sad. Unless some terrible catastrophe has occurred the night before, it is pretty much up to you. Tomorrow morning, when the sun shines through your window, choose to make it a happy day.” – Lynda Resnick

“When you wake up each morning, you can choose to be happy or choose to be sad. Unless some terrible catastrophe has occurred the night before, it is pretty much up to you. Tomorrow morning, when the sun shines through your window, choose to make it a happy day.” – Lynda Resnick

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