Apr 7
“We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” – George Bernard Shaw
“Look at life through the windshield, not the rear-view mirror” – Byrd Baggett
No more neutral, shifting into the low gear of the past. We drive through too much of our life looking through the rearview mirror, missing what’s right in front of us. Leave the behind behind and discover the joy of now, this very moment. Full speed ahead.
Apr 5
“Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.” – Lord Byron
“Happiness is being on the beam with life – to feel the pull of life.” – Agnes Martin
The strength of the beam will always breakthrough, shining bright and brilliant. Regardless of the clouds, the light will always make its way through. Be the beam, not the cloud. Feel the pull. It’s life calling asking you to come out and play.
Apr 2
“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” – Mother Teresa
“I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.” – e. e. cummings
Say “yes” to what’s right and to what’s right in front of you in this moment, waiting to be discovered in plain sight. The beauty of nature, the precious gift of family and friends. The world trains us to have the attention span of a gnat, flitting from one thing to the next. Never staying long enough to see or be seen. Go deeper, stay longer, listen with your heart. Don’t miss even one drop. With gratitude and awe, say yes to each day.
Apr 1
“It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.” – Jim Rohn
“To reach a port, we must sail – sail, not tie at anchor – sail, not drift.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Choose the destination and set your sail, today. We arrive, we finish, through movement and momentum, one step at a time. The winds of peace, joy and hope always prevail over the winds of complacency, excuse and despair. The “where” is in your heart, your soul is your compass. Anchors away. Set sail.
Mar 30
“I will greet this day with love in my heart. For this is the greatest secret of success in all ventures. Muscles can split a shield and even destroy life itself but only the unseen power of love can open the hearts of man. And until I master this act I will remain no more than a peddler in the marketplace. I will make love my greatest weapon and none on who I call can defend upon its force… my love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest day.” – Og Mandino
“I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.” – George Washington Carver
Even as winter lingers into the dawn of April, the sun’s strength melts away the past, the ice, the cold. Transforming the winter into nurturing water to awaken the ground, turning the brown to green. Nature teaches us to melt, to soften, to wash away the sand and awaken to the newness of the day with gratitude and joy. Easter and Spring partner to renew and refresh. Melt.
Mar 20
“While we are living in the present, we must celebrate life every day, knowing that we are becoming history with every work, every action, every deed.” – Mattie Stepanek
“Whoever is happy will make others happy too.” – Anne Frank
We welcomed Spring today in Minnesota with a temperature of 7 degrees, snow hip deep and a delightful breeze, often referred to as windchill. Last year, it was in the 70s. We then worried that it was too warm too quick. The topic of this week – the unseasonably cold weather and the longing for Spring after a long Winter. I’ve been an active participant in the weather chirping.
Every night this week, despite my initial, rational judgement, I ran 2-3 miles with the girls. Quite frankly, it wasn’t that enjoyable. However, it did shift my perspective from what “should be” to “what is” and to dive in and make the most of it. Like so many things out of our control, the weather is fleeting and temporary. The only true impact I can make is my view of the view.
So, it’s time to fling into Spring.
Mar 19
We spend a lot of our time in the “hunt” – money, attention, advancement, approval – all passing, temporary. When we search deeper and through the lens of our heart, we discover that the real search centers on pursuit of purpose, happiness, contentment, peace, joy. All found in relationship and on the path of kindness, generosity, gratitude, faith and love, not defined by or in worldly transactions.
We have the capacity to have a tremendous impact on others and our own life in very simple and lasting ways. In the easy search for “more and quick”, the journey is never finished or fulfilling. The journey unfolds, transforms and is finished when we allow others to see us as we see them, to be found. The game of “hide and seek” becomes “seek and find”, “give and take” becomes “give and receive” without keeping score, being even or fair.
Travel well, risk completing the journey – search, find, give, receive, be found. Repeat.
“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence . . . We need silence to be able to touch souls.” – Mother Teresa
Mar 17
“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
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 13
“Preach always. If necessary use words.” – St. Francis of Assisi
Seems appropriate for today and this Easter season – living out a good and fruitful life. Not talking about it but living it out. What did you model today? What will you model tomorrow?
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23
Fruit indeed.
Mar 12
“To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.” – Elbert Hubbard
Do something that excites you, scares you and may even possibly embarrass you. We freeze far too often worrying about what others think. It’s your responsibility and privilege to live each day fully. Do not surrender it to others. At the end of our days, our regrets will be more about what we didn’t do than what we did. Risk the criticism. Dare to dare, to engage – I dare you.
“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt
