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Posts tagged ‘Inspiration’

Nov 19

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Wait Up

“A good companion shortens the longest road.” – Turkish Proverb

“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”- James Herriot

“If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.”- James Herriot

Every Wednesday and Saturday, Molly, Lily and I run with our running group. Lily and Molly run side by side with not much air between them. If we get ahead of the group, Molly will look back to make sure that they are still close by, not losing sight of her pack.

If Molly’s boyfriend Solomon (a cute yellow lab who doesn’t realize that he’s her boyfriend) is behind, she will sit down on the path and wait for him. When they are neck and neck, she will make her move and give him a kiss on the cheek. Every once in a while, I see him glancing her way so I think he’s playing hard to get.

We run a lot of our “daily race” alone. So as you run your race, focusing on the finish, remember to glance back now and then and wait up for others. Better yet, loop back around and run by their side, celebrating the finish together.

Nov 15

4 Comments

Between Sunsets

“If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton

“If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton

“Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer to your goal.” – Elbert Hubbard

Carefully choose how you spend the hours between each sunset. When you have chosen the path made for you, carelessly give yourself to the journey.

“Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.” – Marian Wright Edelman

Nov 13

4 Comments

Lost and Found Smile

“Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts.” – Paramahansa Yogananda

“Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.” - Dr. Seuss

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss

THE Sole Sisters rode again for our annual “run a half marathon by the ocean” vacation. This year’s mini-escape – Malibu, California. The subtitle could be the “find your lost smile” excursion. Mission accomplished. Vacation breaks our daily patterns, whacking us in the head to wake up and enjoy this short life. The trick is to carry the vacation calm forward. It’s not about a permanent escape, but living each non-vacation day with that same joy and enthusiasm.

Carve out time each day, week, month to stay fresh and engaged, despite the odds. Laugh about silly things until your stomach hurts, taking yourself much less seriously. Eat food that looks like art with a sunset as your backdrop. Smile from your heart and soul, giving your mind a rest. See the good in all, even when not evident or rational. Go deeper, walk lighter.

Slow down and listen to your internal GPS, which like our GPS in our rental car told us several times to “recalculate.” Take the long cut and enjoy the journey, living to your fullest potential, giving your best. Smile like you mean it.

“Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” – Mother Teresa

Nov 7

6 Comments

Know the Difference

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” - Abraham Lincoln

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” – Abraham Lincoln

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Reinhold Niebuhr

What can we effectively affect? What can be impacted by our effort and energy? What we can do to make a difference? a real one – not the busy work of worry, anxiety and distress. True discernment. Clarity.

“The supreme end of education is expert discernment in all things – the power to tell the good from the bad, the genuine from the counterfeit, and to prefer the good and the genuine to the bad and the counterfeit.” – Charles Grosvenor Osgood

Nov 4

9 Comments

Succumb to Optimism

“There are only two ways to live your life. One as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is.” – Albert Einstein

GIVE in to your aspirations and dreams, achieve them through your actions. Hope without discipline is hollow.

GIVE up following the pack mentality of cynicism. Start and end with yourself and what you can do. The only real control that you have is over yourself.

GIVE out the best of yourself without measure or conditions. It’s counterintuitive to the common view, but it will change your corner of the world.

Nov 3

4 Comments

Keep It Simple

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

“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

We overcomplicate life. Over committing. One more thing. Multitasking. When asked, “How are you?” Answer, “Busy.” Doing what?

Question your busyness and the value of what you invest your days in. Choose wisely. Downshift. Reassess. Rest.

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” – William James

Nov 1

3 Comments

Model

“There is more value in a little study of humility and in a single act of it than in all the knowledge in the world.” – St. Teresa of Avila

November 1st commemorates All Saints Day, a day to remember and honor the saints. In “our times,” the saints feel foreign and distant, hard to relate to. But with a little research, you discover that many of the saints were people walking the same roads we are on (most tougher), living regular lives extraordinarily and consistently. Faced with daily challenges and struggles, choosing the higher road. So when I look for “models” of a life well lived, I reflect on the lives of the saints, not sports figures, politicians or popular personalities of the day.

They achieved sainthood not by perfection, but persistence; not by holding on, but letting go; not by being first, but being last. And in honor of Molly and Lily’s favorite saint, St. Francis of Assisi (Patron Saint of Animals and Ecology), I share his prayer that certainly fits in “our times” quite well:

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

Given the choice, I would rather aim high (fail and get back up again) than not to set the bar at all.

Oct 29

1 Comment

Push

“Fragments came floating into his mind like bits of wood drifting down a stream, and he fished them out and fitted them together.” – Elizabeth Gray Vining

“Fragments came floating into his mind like bits of wood drifting down a stream, and he fished them out and fitted them together.” – Elizabeth Gray Vining

“You must not for one instant give up the effort to build new lives for yourselves. Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway to life.” – Daisaku Ikeda

Being positive isn’t alway easy or natural. We fall back into old patterns, following the crowd. So in those moments when you feel like you’re under water, push through and float to the top. Discover your buoyancy.

Oct 28

You

“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.” – Robert Bresson

Stop underestimating what you have to contribute while you are here. The clock is ticking – we can’t keep waiting. You need to show up now and give your best. The world needs it and you have it. Give your gifts away and your blessings multiply. It’s about you becoming you as soon as possible so we can receive the one-of-a-kind gift – YOU.

Oct 26

9 Comments

Still Learning

“Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from.” –  Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

“Anticipate the day as if it was your birthday and you are turning six again.” - Mike Dolan

“Anticipate the day as if it was your birthday and you are turning six again.” – Mike Dolan

As I was reflecting on growing one year older today, I was going to write a list of lessons learned. But that’s what this blog is about, discovering and learning the lessons from the many blessings, gifts and “coincidences” that happen every day of the year.

So here’s a few words that come to mind in this moment … give, laugh, smile, cry, share, look, listen, pray, try, celebrate, appreciate, explore, discover, sing, dance, move, learn, love, cast light. Happy birthday every day. The gifts are many, to give and accept.

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