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Posts tagged ‘optimism’

Mar 13

A Child’s Delight

“A happy face is one of the most apparent indicators of pure delight.”― Santosh Kalwar

“First. think
Second. believe
Third. dream
Fourth. dare”― Walt Disney

Discovery through a child’s eyes is double delight.
Witnessing joy and awe.
Being invited in to discover the world as if for the first time.
May you find wonder in this day.
As if you have never been here before.
Because you have not.

“The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing.”― Isaac Asimov

Mar 12

Stay Awake

“Wherever you are, and whatever you do, be in love.”― Rumi

“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you
Don’t go back to sleep!
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep!
People are going back and forth
across the doorsill where the two worlds touch,
The door is round and open
Don’t go back to sleep!”
– Rumi

Crack the window.
Then some more.
Fresh air.
Soft breeze.
Wind in your hair.
Awake and in wonder.
Invite and welcome in.
The light too.
Engage in life.
Which is this day.
Stay awake. Stay awake.
Blessings all around.

“But listen to me. For one moment
quit being sad. Hear blessings
dropping their blossoms
around you.”― Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi

Mar 9

Daily Tax, Long Term Return

“We forget that every good that is worth possessing must be paid for in strokes of daily effort. We postpone and postpone until those smiling possibilities are dead… By neglecting the necessary concrete labor, by sparing ourselves the little daily tax, we are positively digging the graves of our higher possibilities.”― William James

Small steps daily.
Effort and energy, then rest.
Repetition, discipline, rigor.
In work and play.
Decisions, choices, making them or not.
Make a difference.
Do your best where you are and keep going.
Never ever too late.
Make the most of this day.
Enjoy the journey.

“Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Mar 5

Growing Wings

“Despite the strength of their wings most never leave the cages they’ve created.”― Jason Versey, A Walk with Prudence

“There are two prerequisites to growing wings: the first is to feel encircled and the second is to believe that you can break the circle.”― Fatima Mernissi

Sometimes the author.
Sometimes being written.
Sometimes blank page.
Paths and thresholds, not of our choosing.
And we stagnate or pass through, cross over.
Insist less on control and certainty.
More emphasis on attunement and embracing.
A sharpening and honing of senses.
To awaken to what already is present and possible.
Look closer.
You have wings.
Use them.
Take flight.
From whatever ground you stand on.

“Endings come and go, but closure is a luxury. It often takes time if we ever get it at all, and it rarely looks like what we think.” – Emily P. Freeman

Feb 26

Welcoming

“We can only learn to love by loving.”― Iris Murdock

The Welcoming Prayer by Father Thomas Keating

“Welcome, welcome, welcome.
I welcome everything that comes to me today, because I know it’s for my healing.
I welcome all thoughts, feelings, emotions, persons, situations, and conditions.
I let go of my desire for power and control.
I let go of my desire for affection, esteem, approval, and pleasure.
I let go of my desire for survival and security.
I let go of my desire to change any situation, condition, person or myself.”

May I not get in my own way.
May the doors and windows all be open to what will come despite worry, planning, assumptions.
To see the blessings in detours, delays and interruptions.
To broaden my view of the world beyond my small view, old stories, expectations.
To love without measure.
To delight without delay.
To steep in joy of the ordinary.
Allowing a different way, a new path, a space where words fall short and awe enters.
Welcome. Welcome. Welcome.”

“God gives grace in so many ways. He gives us humor when it’s hard to laugh. He gives us a new perspective when life feels suffocating. And He gives us friends to help us get through.”― Emily Ley, Grace, Not Perfection: Celebrating Simplicity, Embracing Joy

Feb 13

Wild Air

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Write it on your heart
that every day is the best day in the year.
He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day
who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.

Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.
Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day;
begin it well and serenely, with too high a spirit
to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

This new day is too dear,
with its hopes and invitations,
to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Collected Poems and Translations

New day.
Wild air.
Clean slate.
Uncut paths to wander.
Fresh thoughts to wonder.
Travel lightly.
With enthusiasm.
Anticipation too.
To remain and grow yourself in the world.
Greatness.
Hopes and invitations await your attention.

“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Complete Prose Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson

Feb 12

Context and Framing

“The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.”― Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way

“We forget: In life, it doesn’t matter what happens to you or where you came from. It matters what you do with what happens and what you’ve been given.”― Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way

Right up the middle.
Of challenge, uncertainty, unknowing.
The detours, the delays, the obstacles.
Head on.
Facing fear with action.|
One step, then the next.
Repetition. Resolve. Momentum.
Learning, relearning, unlearning.
Keep going.
Keep growing.
Keep climbing mountains.
And choose to enjoy the journey daily.

“Perspective has two definitions. Context: a sense of the larger picture of the world, not just what is immediately in front of us Framing: an individual’s unique way of looking at the world, a way that interprets its events.”― Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way

Feb 5

1 Comment

The Right Instructions

“When I rise up
let me rise up joyful
like a bird.
When I fall
let me fall without regret
like a leaf.”
― Wendell Berry, The Mad Farmer Poems

“You mustn’t wish for another life. You mustn’t want to be somebody else. What you must do is this:
“Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks.”
I am not all the way capable of so much, but those are the right instructions.”― Wendell Berry, Hannah Coulter

Praise.
Thanksgiving.
Communion.
Gratitude.
Laughter.
Kindness.
Connection.
Generosity.
Enthusiasm.
Delight.
Wonder.
Awe.
Our daily calling to joy.
Though we come up short, we should never ever stop trying.
Joy found not perfect conditions or circumstances but imperfect execution and effort in this place.
Transforming ordinary to extraordinary.

“Be joyful because it is humanly possible.”― Wendell Berry

Feb 3

1 Comment

Defiant Hope

“Again I resume the long
lesson: how small a thing
can be pleasing, how little
in this hard world it takes
to satisfy the mind
and bring it to its rest.”
― Wendell Berry, Sabbaths

“…And we pray, not for new
earth or heaven, but to be quiet
in heart, and in eye clear.
What we need is here.”― Wendell Berry

Five to one, positive to overcome negative.
Watch and guard what you take in.
What you put out.
Thoughts that lead to words to action or inaction.
Vitriol or encouragement?
Enthusiasm or apathy?
Generosity or ego?
Care, optimism, love, gratitude, kindness, peace, joy.
Offer these in abundance, without reserve, overflowing.
Small thoughts, words, acts.
The stuff of transformation and fruition.
A smile, eye to eye contact, reaching out, opening up, letting go.
Hope is strength, not weakness.
It understands reality, the odds, difficulty.
And chooses to respond rather than react.
To give rather than take.
To engage rather than sit idle.
Defiant hope, a powerful act, practice and commitment.
Be defiant daily.

“Hope is not naive, and hope is not an opiate. Hope may be the single greatest act of defiance against a politics of pessimism and against a culture of despair.”― Sharon Brous

Jan 23

1 Comment

Big Sky, Fish Biting

“You can never have too much sky . You can fall asleep and wake up drunk on sky, and sky can keep you safe when you are sad. Here there is too much sadness and not enough sky. Butterflies too are few and so are flowers and most things that are beautiful. Still, we take what we can get and make the best of it.”― Sandra Cisneros

“Many of us would probably be better fishermen if we did not spend so much time watching and waiting for the world to become perfect.”― Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It and Other Stories

Move imperfectly.
Try, take action, a few steps.
Then a few more.
See where they lead.
No precise map but a sense of direction, consistency, momentum.
Wander and wonder.
Off autopilot.
Break stasis.
Invite awe.
Cast your line.
Catch some fish.
Big sky.
The fish are biting.

“Close the gap between yourself and your spirit–the person you know you can be. Let your choices reflect the person you want to become, not just the person you think you are.”― Maggie Smith, Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change

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