“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”― Nicolas Chamfort
“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”― Nicolas Chamfort
Do not waste this day.
Laughter. Joy. Wonder.
Bubbles floating in air.
Take a pause.
Pay attention.
Dance. Delight. Walk lightly.
Sun. A soft breeze.
A thousand, no, ten thousand springs.
Delight here in this very moment.
“I am so fresh in soul and spirit that life gushes and bubbles around me in a thousand springs.” – Robert Schumann
“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” – Charlie Chaplin
“Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.” – Mark Twain
It should be required that Amazon is closed between midnight and 6:00 am.
The past month of restless nights, I’ve made the mistake of going online at 3:00 am.
Most purchases made sense.
And all could have waited to sunlight to purchase as well.
The arrival of the poop bag carrier with the LED flashlight marked the end of my 3:00 am purchases.
Although I did consider the smallest and most powerful vacuum.
Then I promptly put my IPad down to go back to being awake without shopping.
It all provided a good laugh and lightness.
Lesson beyond this and for all.
Turn off media and get rest, allow silence and quiet in to think for yourself.
Trust your instinct and intuition.
Read, write, play, wander, get into nature, savor.
Live life while you are in it, see it.
Find the joy of it, daily.
Broaden your view, do your own investigating, think for yourself.
Stop watching Fox News or CNN.
The world is not that narrow, scary or evil.
They are making money off fear.
This is not journalism. It’s a business built on instilling fear, hatred, and othering.
It’s irresponsible.
Get off autopilot and question what you are hearing and seeing.
It is a beautiful, big world, filled with wonderful people trying to live their life as best as they can.
Lecture done.
No more 3 am purchases.
No more fear.
“Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones.” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“Everything beautiful has a mark of eternity.”― Simone Weil
“The landscape belongs to the person who looks at it…” Ralph Waldo Emerson
Pinstripes and polka dots
Balloons and ferris wheels
Skipping and hopscotch
Jumping rope and swinging
Cotton candy and ice cream
Laughter and frolic
Evoke delight, that of a child, the one that remains within
Sparked by colors, a kaleidoscope playground
Enter this space and place if only for a bit
The world will remain for you to pick it back on your shoulders again, if you must
But it will look different, a little lighter, fresher
The beauty of just being alive.
“We have to get back to the beauty of just being alive in this present moment.” – Mary McDonnell
“All of our great traditions, religious, contemplative and artistic, say that you must a learn how to be alone – and have a relationship with silence. It is difficult, but it can start with just the tiniest quiet moment.” – David Whyte
“The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable.” – Carl Jung
Ebb and flow.
Circles and seasons.
Clouds and blue sky.
In and out.
Back again.
Rhythm, the dance.
Play of imagination.
Restore and re-enter the world anew.
To commune and connect.
Belong and convene.
Unconditional love, the only kind.
Give and receive.
“The ultimate lesson all of us have to learn is unconditional love, which includes not only others but ourselves as well.” – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
“Nothing is more important than reconnecting with your bliss. Nothing is as rich. Nothing is more real.” – Deepak Chopra
“Your soul is infinitely creative. It is alive and expansive in nature. It is curious and playful, changing with the tides of time.” – Debbie Ford
Make sure you weave fun and frolic into each day;
Laughter and light;
Joy hunting and capturing;
Simple things right in front of you;
Flex your imagination;
Strengthen your smile muscles;
Find your bliss.
“It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up.” – Eckhart Tolle
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” – Dr. Seuss
“The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing.” – Isaac Asimov
Run
Take flight
Play
Laugh
Delight
Exhale
Dance
Don’t settle
Run to something, not from something
Build on what has been, not bound by it
Create your present and future with your thoughts, words, actions and dreams
Tune out the chatter
Turn up the whisper inside and listen
Imperfect action
Trip and get up, repeat
Keep going
Travel lightly
Chase joy, find yourself.
“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” – e. e. cummings
“Life is a song – sing it. Life is a game – play it. Life is a challenge – meet it. Life is a dream – realize it. Life is a sacrifice – offer it. Life is love – enjoy it.” – Sai Baba
Are you spectating or participating in your life? Stuck looking backward or engaged in doing and planning what lies ahead? In problems or possibilities? In optimism or pessimism? Choose well and daily for it determines the quality and outcomes of your life.
Stay in your game and get on the field. Play. Have fun. Give your best in the moment, keep growing, improving and expanding. Ignore the critic who’s an expert at spectating, never playing. It’s not in error and shortcoming that we suffer defeat, it is in not ever trying or ever getting on the field. Dare greatly.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Guard your joy, embrace optimism, participate imperfectly.
“Ultimately it’s the simple things that make a difference.” – Chris Smalling
“It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder
Anchor to hope, not circumstances. Assume the best in others and be proven wrong on occasion. Find the blessings in the burdens.
Joy is available in all seasons and cycles. It’s a constant. Our most important job is to find it daily in plain sight, lurking, longing to be found. Let joy sneak up on you.
Joy can be found in the silly, in mischief, in frolicking, in prayer, in laughter, in nature, in an embrace, in flowers, in a smile, in music, in art, in literature, in play, in gratitude, in dogs, even in some people (make sure you’re one of them), in simple encounters.
Double count blessings, multiply joy. Abundance and light with a shift in attention, focus and intention.
“Play is the highest form of research.” – Einstein
Get out of your head into your imagination. The journey is what you make it so settle only for sweet, simple joy.
“Live out of your imagination, not your history.” – Stephen Covey
“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” – Khalil Gibran
“When ‘happiness’ eludes us – as, eventually, it always will – we have the invitation to examine our programmed responses and to exercise our power to choose again.” – Richard Rohr
Summer invites rest, play and ease. Accept the invitation and get to the party early. It’s been a long year and the world is slowly opening back up. You can feel the energy, the joy, the freedom. As lockdown unlocks externally, do the same inside. Create a different daily normal fueled by gratitude, savoring, kindness, joy, possibility and delight. Make something of this massive reset and seismic shift.
Feel the earth under your feet as the breeze flows through your hair. Do not resist the urge to run through a sprinkler on a hot day. Let the water permeate, renew and refresh. Allow healing and restoration. Let old rules go and enter each new day with your imagination in search of adventure right where you are now.
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” – Dr. Seuss
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton
My scooter has been in the corner of my garage collecting dust for years. For the past five years, I’ve tried to start it without success, so it sits taking up space and collecting dust.
Lately, rather than move onto something new, I’ve been tackling and seeing what’s already right in front of me. Keep it, use it or get rid of it. I decided that the scooter will ride again. I guess that’s what gratitude is – seeing and appreciating what’s already present with no need for more.
A few weeks ago, I had Scooterville pick it up to fix it. Since we had a break in days of rain, I picked it up yesterday. The mechanic told me it needed a lot of work but it’s running well and to get some miles on it – drive it! I was a little nervous driving it through busy side streets from Minneapolis to St. Paul through the University of Minnesota campus where I graduated from decades ago. Driving a scooter requires attention, anticipation and awareness since most car drivers operate on automatic pilot and miss what’s in front of them – like scooters and motorcycles.
I am excited to have it back early in the season and will be putting miles on it rather than letting it collect dust in the corner. So often what we enjoy doing is already present and we forget to have fun because we’re too busy working or list checking. The golf clubs are next up this year too! But I won’t be combining activities. Although carrying golf clubs on the back while driving a scooter might get some attention. Look around at what’s already present with fresh eyes. Fun and adventure just may be a dust cloth away.
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life.” – Eckhart Tolle
“Everything can be taken from a man or woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Viktor E. Frankl
“Cast Light” is an invitation to release your inner light, your authentic self every day. Choose light and cast it to the world.
Featured Quotes
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”― Mary Oliver
“I do not understand the mystery of grace — only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.” — Anne Lamott
