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Posts tagged ‘Daily Life’

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 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.

Feb 26

9 Comments

Worry Less

“The burden of self is lightened when I laugh at myself.” - Rabindranath Tagore

“The burden of self is lightened when I laugh at myself.” – Rabindranath Tagore

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” – Corrie Ten Boom

How much of your day is filled with worry? What may come? What has gone by? Worry steals way too much of our life, our daily capacity for joy. Caring does not equate to or require worry. Put in the effort and work, then let go of the results, of what may come. Worry less and free your spirit. There is depth in light. Go easy, lighten up.

“Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” - Hans Christian Andersen

“Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” – Hans Christian Andersen

Feb 13

2 Comments

Prepare

“Whatever we are waiting for – peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance – it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach

As we wait in the desert, we can prepare and take inventory in peaceful solitude. Drowning the silence, the world shouts “MORE, MORE, MORE.” In the quiet of our heart, we discover that we already have more than enough,  abundance overflowing. No mirage, a real oasis in the middle of the desert.

Feb 10

10 Comments

Remember Well

“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.”- James M. Barrie

Even in our most demanding times, there are still moments of joy weaved through, providing hope and light. How we view the past provides the lense of our today and tomorrow. If we look deeper and longer, we can see the light beaming through the shadows of our memory, of our today.

Nothing is pure joy or pure pain. Life is a mix of it all and we can choose what we amplify. Never let the shadows overtake the light. Remember well, so that the roses in winter are as fragrant as they are in summer. It’s the difference between sight and vision.

“To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.” - Confucius

“To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.” – Confucius

Feb 5

23 Comments

Shake It Off

“You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down.” – Mary Pickford

Monday lived up to its reputation, rather, I let it. Weighing myself down thinking about a very busy week ahead and letting predictable little things get to me. Today was different because I changed my thoughts, my expectations.

What we take on and release determines the tone of each day. Joy or angst is found in the same detail viewed from different angles. Some moments, some days, we need to simply shake it off and start a new. Carry what matters and discard the rest.

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” - Buddha

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” – Buddha

Feb 2

3 Comments

Your Window

“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” – Dale Carnegie

Today is it. Look for the good in your garden of people, place and spirit. Lighten your spirit and lift the burdens from your heart. Tend to your garden so each day is filled joy, delight, and beauty.

There are beautiful roses, even in the midst of winter. Right outside your window.

“I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things... I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.” - Leo Buscaglia

“I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things… I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.” – Leo Buscaglia

Jan 27

7 Comments

A New View

“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.” – J. B. Priestley

“From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.” - Dr. Seuss

“From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.” – Dr. Seuss

Search for delight this week. Pull the weeds of anxiety that you plant in your thoughts. “Schedule” some fun into each day, lighten up and put that smile to work. A new week, a new view.

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!” – Dr. Seuss

Jan 26

4 Comments

True Measure

“God and Nature first made us what we are, and then out of our own created genius we make ourselves what we want to be. Follow always that great law. Let the sky and God be our limit and Eternity our measurement.” –  Marcus Garvey

“Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.” - Abdul Kalam

“Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.” – Abdul Kalam

How do you measure success? Money, position, education, knowledge (different than education), health, family, friends, faith, relationships, love, joy? If we pause long enough to ask these questions and are quiet enough to hear the answers whispered, we can begin to give ourselves to what’s truly important. And the true measure of our success will be what we leave behind and not what we take.

We live many of our finite hours merely going through the motions, getting by, manuevering around, moving swiftly to the next thing, “killing time.” The world teaches scarcity so get your share first. There’s infinite abundance in giving ourselves away to our dreams, giving our gifts and blessings out, not keeping them in.

Find your true measure. Live well.

Jan 20

3 Comments

Sunday RESeT

“Sunday is the golden clasp that binds together the volume of the week.”- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest.” - Ashleigh Brilliant

“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest.” – Ashleigh Brilliant

Sunday rest, reflection, and restoration resets our perspective on the past week and prepares us for the next, ultimately our life as a whole. The fruits of a Sunday well done carry through all of our days. After six days of creation, God rested on the seventh, showing us the way.

Work hard, play hard, rest hard.

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