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Posts tagged ‘Happiness’

Feb 22

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Young by Heart, Not Years

“If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.”― George Eliot, Middlemarch

What Can I Say by Mary Oliver

“What can I say that I have not said before?
So I’ll say it again.
The leaf has a song in it.
Stone is the face of patience.
Inside the river there is an unfinishable story and you are somewhere in it and it will never end until all ends.

Take your busy heart to the art museum and the chamber of commerce
but take it also to the forest.
The song you heard singing in the leaf when you were a child is singing still.
I am of years lived, so far, seventy-four, and the leaf is singing still.”

Old, young, in-between
Fast, slow, stop
More slow for awe
Less doing for being
Rapt attention and reverence
To hear the song in the leaf
Rock solid in patience of unfolding and becoming
In the flow and current of life
Young by heart, not years
Embracing joy, wonder, delight

“When I was young, I had to choose between the life of being and the life of doing. And I leapt at the latter like a trout to a fly. But each deed you do, each act, binds you to itself and to its consequences, and makes you act again and yet again. Then very seldom do you come upon a space, a time like this, between act and act, when you may stop and simply be. Or wonder who, after all, you are.”― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Farthest Shore

Feb 7

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Gift of Kindness

“We are all seeking the same things. We’re all seeking dignity. We’re all seeking joy. We’re all seeking love and acceptance, seeking to be seen, to be safe. And there is no competition for these things we seek—because they are not material goods; they are spiritual gifts! We can all give each other these gifts if we share what we know—what has lifted us up and moved us forward. That is our duty to one another—to help each other toward acceptance, toward peace, toward happiness”—Maria Shriver

To be seen
To be heard
To belong
A smile
A courtesy
A greeting
Invitations to welcome, include, embrace, expand, walk alongside
Common threads, same journey
Make life less difficult for self and others
Love well today
The simple and profound gift of kindness

“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?”― George Eliot

Nov 29

Wonder and Whimsey

“Whimsy doesn’t care if you are the driver or the passenger; all that matters is that you are on your way.”― Bob Goff, Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World

“Every day God invites us on the same kind of adventure. It’s not a trip where He sends us a rigid itinerary, He simply invites us. God asks what it is He’s made us to love, what it is that captures our attention, what feeds that deep indescribable need of our souls to experience the richness of the world He made. And then, leaning over us, He whispers, “Let’s go do that together.” – Bob Goff

A sense of wonder.
Joy overflowing, without trying.
Time with kids.
A masterclass in delight, awe, whimsy, love.
Connect with the child within.
Invite fun and frolic.
Make space for joy.

“When joy is a habit, love is a reflex.”― Bob Goff, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People

Aug 1

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August Deep Dive

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” – Confucius

“The solution to an overbusy life is not more time. It’s to slow down and simplify our lives around what really matters.”― John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

We have equated busy, checklists and productivity to fulfillment.
And the equation doesn’t add up.
Therein lies the dilemma.
And also, the answer and the opportunity.
To take a different path.
To try new things.
To slow and savor.
To look and listen.
To put down our expectations to make space for fresh eyes.
To allow and invite new thoughts by putting down old thoughts.
Leaving them behind to move ahead anew, off trail.
Followed by small steps, shifts, actions, reflection, pause, daily.
First day of the last month of summer.
Do not miss the gifts of this day, this season.
Dive deep into August to feel the weight of beauty, the lift of attention on what really matters.

“Our time is our life, and our attention is the doorway to our hearts.”― John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Jul 23

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The Good New Days

“Always say “yes” to the present moment. What could be more futile, more insane, than to create inner resistance to what already is? what could be more insane than to oppose life itself, which is now and always now? Surrender to what is. Say “yes” to life — and see how life suddenly starts working for you rather than against you.”― Eckhart Tolle

“Life is the dancer and you are the dance.”― Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose

We miss our days when we are actually in them.
Nostalgia, memories, stories embellished.
We them call them the “good ol days” when…
Glance for gratitude but do not stay there.
Stuck in the past.
These are the days.
Now. Present. This moment.
Steep in now.
The past is done.
Today is not.
Make something of this day.
Fresh, new, overflowing with possibilities.
Emerging awe and wonder.
Show up for your life today.
The past has had its turn, the future is being laid today, not a repeat of what was.
The “good new days” are at your feet.
Walk the path.
Enjoy the journey of today.
Drops to oceans.

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”― Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose

Jul 10

Roots and Sky

“Maybe it’s impossible
for poets to hide
the abundance of moons inside
when their heart is carved
from the clouds of a sunrise.”― Carolyn Riker, My Dear, Love Hasn’t Forgotten You

“As humans, we roam the entire world. We even venture beyond it not space. The whole planet is ours, but the whole planet is not our home. Instead, home is the ground we measure with our own two feet. And home is the place that measures us. Home is the place that names us and the place we, in turn, name. It feeds us, body and soul, and if we are living well, we feed it too. Home is the place we cultivate with our love.”― Christie Purifoy, Roots and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons

Beneath your feet.
Where you stand now.
In this very moment.
Life resides.
Awaiting your full participation and rapt attention.
Not in some far off land.
Not yesterday or tomorrow.
Today in this present moment.
If we can’t recognize it here, we certainly won’t recognize it in the fictional land of “someday when.”
You are home.
Let yourself in.
May you cultivate love, joy, delight this day.
Roots and sky.
Welcome home.

“To be loved and to love, takes courage. To be fully seen is incredibly rare and breathtaking. We lower our masks and see a celestial inner being. It is our full self — the supernova as well as the black holes. Our fears and doubts. Our anger and joy…This is love.”― Carolyn Riker, Blue Clouds: A Collection of Soul’s Creative Intelligence

Jun 17

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This Hour, This Day

“Peace is always beautiful.” ― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

“Happiness, not in another place but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.”― Walt Whitman

Life expands and deepens when we don’t put it in a small box to make us feel comfortable.
Assuming the best in others will certainly burn us once in a while.
Assuming the worst in others will certainly burn us all of the time.
Inquiry leads to discovery.
Ask, listen, learn.
Change your mind.
Curiosity, the key to unlock what resides beneath the surface.
Open the door. And window.
Cross the threshold.
Fresh open air.
Big, beautiful world here and now.

“Be curious, not judgmental.” – Walt Whitman

Apr 12

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Undone

The Sun by Mary Oliver
Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful
than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon
and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone–
and how it slides again
out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower
streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance–
and have you ever felt for anything
such wild love–
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure
that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you
as you stand there,
empty-handed–
or have you too
turned from this world–
or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Efficiency
Progress
Checklists
Speed
Grind
More, more, more
Never enough
Multi-tasking
Getting ahead
Hacks
Shortcuts
Formulas
3 easy steps
The race

To where?
Why?
Are we having fun?

Things need to get done.
Many things do not need to get done.
Choosing where to put energy, effort, attention is where our power lies.
Relationships, generosity, kindness, asking, listening, empathy, meaning, purpose, joy, delight, laughter, frolic, presence, fully aware, awake and in awe.
May you choose to undo as often as do.
Putting down, creating space, stillness, rest, reflection, fun, wandering, lost in time for a bit.
Depth more than width.
Gratitude over gripping.
Turtle pace to see the view.
Joy, beauty, slowness, engagement, enthusiasm, energy and light.
May all of these be yours in both the doing and undoing.

“Above all, trust in the slow work of God.”― Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Apr 2

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Yeah, It was Fun!

“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” – Dr. Seuss

“As you proceed through life, following your own path, birds will shit on you. Don’t bother to brush it off.
Getting a comedic view of your situation gives you spiritual distance.
Having a sense of humor saves you.”― Joseph Campbell

Off leash.
Open field.
Two deer in the distance.
Chase ensues.
Deer escape.
Pursuit the point.
Fun had, a face full.
In all of the doing.
The checklists and chores.
Obligations and adulting.
Stop.
Go off trail.
Have fun.
Weave frolic, laughter and joy into each day without fail.
May humor, adventure and awe be the mud you roll in today.

 The Sweetness of Dogs by Mary Oliver

“What do you say, Percy? I am thinking
of sitting out on the sand to watch
the moon rise. It’s full tonight.
So we go

and the moon rises, so beautiful it
makes me shudder, makes me think about
time and space, makes me take
measure of myself: one iota
pondering heaven. Thus we sit, myself

thinking how grateful I am for the moon’s
perfect beauty and also, oh! How rich
it is to love the world. Percy, meanwhile,
leans against me and gazes up into
my face. As though I were just as wonderful
as the perfect moon.”

Mar 18

A Way of Being Here

“For it is not knowing much, but realising and relishing things interiorly, that contents and satisfies the soul.”― Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises

“I want to observe the ordinary things of earth—the moon, the stars, the rainbows, even the yellow leaves of the old cherry trees—and receive their messages. To hear them say what every weary traveler, every earnest seeker, longs to hear. Welcome home.”― Christie Purifoy, Roots and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons

To remain in this day.
To be present and alert.
To senses sharp.
To glasses not empty or half full but overflowing.
To rest and ease.
To joy and delight.
To beauty woven in the ordinary.
To fullness and more than enough-ness.
To gratitude and expression.
To peace, awe and wonder.
May these all be yours today.
The home where you already reside.

“True restfulness, though, is a form of awareness, a way of being in life. It is living ordinary life with a sense of ease, gratitude, appreciation, peace and prayer. We are restful when ordinary life is enough.”― Ronald Rolheiser, The Shattered Lantern: Rediscovering a Felt Presence of God

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