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Posts tagged ‘Daily Life’

Oct 2

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Defuse

“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.” – Publilius Syrus

In tension-filled situations, we can contribute to the stress or defuse it with a calm, cool response. I jumped on the complain train yesterday and it was hard to get off. Today, when a situation escalated, I chose to defuse it with a positive response, even though I didn’t feel like it. The storm settled and the sea was calm. Our first response is not always our best response, even if we are “right”. We need to think about the lasting impact of our words – to ourselves and others. Cast words that edify. They call it the high road for a reason. Let’s take it.

Sep 30

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Show Your Colors

“Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up.” – Allen Klein

“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Reawaken the child within and start coloring outside the lines. Play, laugh, jump in a pile of leaves (if you don’t have dogs). If you need a refresher on how to find joy in each day, watch a child swinging at the playground or riding a bike without training wheels for the first time. Or the wilde enthusiasm when you come home and dogs greet you like you’ve been gone for 10 years. Be bright, be light and show your colors. Change your attitude, change your life.

Sep 27

6 Comments

Soften

“So often we try to gird ourselves to face a harsh and difficult world when we might instead gentle both ourselves and our world by slowing down.” – Julia Cameron, Walking in this World

Walk softly through this day and observe. You can be a gift to someone who may be having a really tough day. Don’t race by. Go deeper instead of farther. A smile, a laugh, a hug, a helping hand, your full attention – all simple acts that can transform your corner of the world. This race is won by the slow.

Sep 24

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Test Your Mettle

“In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm… in the real world all rests on perseverance.”
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” – Samuel Johnson

“Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.” – Samuel Johnson

You are stronger than you think. Test your mettle by doing something that challenges you. With hard work, determination, perseverence and enthusiasm, you will pass the test every time.

I participate in half marathons, duathalons and other events to have a goal, stay in shape and to spend time with friends as we cheer each other on.  And it’s not about being the fastest or first, but rather about the preparation, showing up and finishing, especially when it’s hard.

And in starting and finishing, we build depth of character. So when life tests us with challenges outside of our control, we know that we have the strength to get through. We have taken the test and passed.

Sep 22

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Start, Now

“Whatever you think you can do, or believe you can do, begin it, because action has magic, grace and power in it.”  – Goethe

Our dreams and aspirations, big and small, become reality when we start. We take the first step, the next and the next. Instead of thinking and pondering about it, spend ten minutes in motion, moving toward it. We talk more than do. Do. Each step builds on the next building momentum. So instead of pushing yourself, you start to be pulled forward. Start today, one step.

Sep 20

5 Comments

Let It Slide

“The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.” – Henry Miller

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” - Lao Tzu

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” – Lao Tzu

What we choose to pay attention to defines our day and our life. We spend way too much time in destructive chatter – gossiping, talking about people instead of to people, competing with each other, being offended and petty.

Spend your energy on productive, positive and relevant activities and time with people who are living life with joy instead of complaint.

Let it slide, enjoy the ride!

“Be Impeccable With Your Word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.” – Miguel Angel Ruiz

Sep 18

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You First

“You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.” – Winston Churchill

As we race from one thing to the next with speed and velocity, yielding is not natural, especially in a “get their fast and first world.” The real win is not just about crossing the finish line, but in how we get there. Open a door, step to the side, make way, hold back, listen, be patient, lend a hand, let others by. Yield and yield a good life, beyond your own.

Sep 10

Measure Up

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” – Buddha

We will measured by what we give away, not by what we take. Give your time, talents, attention, support, patience, understanding, encouragement, laughter, forgiveness, compassion, love, yourself to a world that often doesn’t deserve it.

Spend each day giving without measure and your life will be beyond measure. Each day in those little moments that make up your life, cast light.

Sep 5

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Bear Fruit

“The entire fruit is already present in the seed.” – Tertullian

“Life stands before me like an eternal spring with new and brilliant clothes.” - Carl Friedrich Gauss

“Life stands before me like an eternal spring with new and brilliant clothes.” – Carl Friedrich Gauss

Early Fall brings the gift of Jeanne’s labor when she generously shares fresh tomatoes from her garden, sweeter than candy. Reminding me that our life’s purpose is to bear fruit by sharing our gifts, by adding bold flavor, by lighting up a room, by planting seeds of hope. To leave more behind than what we were given. To multiply our gifts by giving them away.

Our fruit – gentleness, compassion, patience, generosity, civility, peace. In a word, love. Bear fruit.

Sep 3

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Change

“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

“Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower” - Albert Camus

“Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.” – Albert Camus

It’s all in your perspective – the end of summer or the beginning of a new season of harvest. End or begin – we choose. Each season offers something new, reminding us the constancy of change. Dive into Fall with the same vigor you did when Summer arrived.

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”  – Seneca

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