January 2011
86 posts
give yourself a fresh start
“sure, 2010 wasn’t the greatest year…there was heartbreak. there were smiles. memories were created, some i’ll never forget. i smiled. i cried. i have grown. i have become smarter. i have learned from my mistakes…i laughed. i loved. i have learned this year and will make 2011 better than 2010.”
tomorrow begins a new year. the first of three hundred and sixty...
December 2010
45 posts
tread lightly
in wilderness is the preservation of the world.
everywhere we look, mankind is riding roughshod over the earth. wherever we can, we must preserve nature. each individual gesture matters. millions of small gestures become a massive force. however you can, wherever you can, make the effort: for yourself, for your children, for their children.
find your moral compass
the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.
we know in our heart of hearts what is right. we can choose to ignore the feeling or to act on it. but when we ignore it, we feel incomplete. we know we have sold ourselves short. it takes courage - sometimes great courage - but when we follow our conscience, we find real freedom.
believe in yourself
the most important thing in life is to stop saying “i wish” and start saying “i will.” consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.
your mind is the strongest muscle in your body, you can make anything happen. you just have to add a little love and dedication, give it some time, and watch it grow.
1 tag
♫ Dom Kennedy - Me Again
hard work can take you...
discover your forte
the fox knows many things but the hedgehog only knows one big thing.
we all have a special gift or forte. some find it early. for others, the discovery is more difficult. your forte is where you naturally shine. it’s where you express yourself best: where you can allow your passions full rein. allow your forte to assert itself.
take the wide view
if the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.
look as a photographer does. use all your lenses and change your position: from close-up to wide-angle, from aerial to x-ray. take in the small things but zoom out to see the full picture. look beyond the obvious. relish the complexities and the relationships.
ask questions
a foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth.
often we feel powerless, like tiny cogs in a giant machine. but we can acquire power: by challenging things we doubt or know to be untrue. each intelligent question helps. it strengthens the individual. it humanizes the process.
chart a new course
do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
we are all creatures of routine. start to think outside of your normal boundaries. start small: a new route to work; lunch at a new cafe; a chat with strangers. then look further afield: join a club; help a charity; plan a trip; start a new hobby. grow.
keep your heart
first rule, never let em change you, rule two, do you to the fullest, and never be ashamed to, you’re just good at what they can’t do. and they hate that, they wanna paint you,…in they color, put you on another. but what they don’t accept, and what they don’t see, the best thing is what you already be.
when you’re in a relationship, you should never have to change yourself to make them...
keep your circle small
if someone is part of your life right now, then they’ve either made an effort to stay, or they’re new. if there’s people you’re holding onto that have already let you go, push them away, you’re much better off.
there’s no point in having a lot of friends without truly knowing them. it’s far better to have a few friends that you know. they’re...
care for our planet
we do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
we’re all shareholders in our earth, even if our holding may seem tiny. but one by one, then together, we can make a difference. we hold its future in our hands. even the smallest individual kindnesses count, when multiplied by mankind. make your commitment. play your role.
watch what you eat
to lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals
it’s not complicated. it’s just old fashioned common sense. we all overeat. we all know we’re doing it. we regret it immediately. think about it: how often have we ever been at risk of starving. we feel most alert and alive when we eat frugally. give it a try. if you have doubts, make a list of everything you eat for a week. it will...
get a good night's sleep
it is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.
break the cycle: of working late; mindless tv; nights out. reconnect with your body. show it some respect. recharge your batteries. savor the results.
give yourself some space
make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.
look at the walls surrounding you. real or imaginary, they limit your potential. push through them by using your downtime wisely. expand your horizons. visit new places. develop new skills. enrich yourself.
go on a data diet
information - in the sense of raw data - is not knowledge; that knowledge is not wisdom; and that wisdom is not foresight. but information is the first essential step to all of these.
we live under a constant information bombardment. give yourself a chance to discern the good from the useless. limit the stream of data to which you’re exposed. take time out from your computer. turn off...
embrace your problems
if nothing else, one day you can look someone straight in the eyes and say, “but i lived through it. and it made me who i am today.”
take a different view of the challenges in your life: as opportunities to become a stronger person. see them as stepping stones on your journey. use them to strengthen your resolve, to gain wisdom and compassion. enjoy the satisfaction of overcoming...
read a classic
a good book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted. you should lead several lives while reading it.
they stand the test of time for good reason. they transport you to another world. there, you can forget your troubles, run risks, feel thrills, meet heroes, see horrors - all from the safety of your imagination.
perspective
perspective is everything. take a step back from your problems. take a step closer to your joy. there is always space for you here.
do what makes you happy. don’t worry about what people think for a day. hell, stop thinking about what people think of you. it’s what you think of you that counts.
preserve
continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential
those who succeed usually have one big thing in common: they never give up. no matter how long it takes, no matter how many obstacles in their way, they fight on until they prevail. above so many things, perseverance is vital to success.
take responsibility
no snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible
it’s easy to hide in a crowd, but it’s so unsatisfying. it leads to a life of desperation and griping because others are making your life choices, and you are following. take control of your life. make your own decisions. take responsibility for them. proudly chart your own course.
rekindle your imagination
you close your eyes when you cry. that’s okay. just don’t keep them closed too long. things have become beautiful since you last looked. there’s nothing more to cry about.
reality often swamps us and paralyzes our imagination. sometimes we need to hit the pause button. we need to find time to let our minds play, relax, regenerate. give your mind a treat. find a sanctuary....
don't be scared to fail
failure is the universe’s way of telling you to either try harder or try something else. nothing more. nothing less.
to get something you’ve never had, you’ve got to do something you’ve never done. don’t sit around and wait for something to happen, make it happen. don’t be afraid if you fail the first time, get up and dust yourself off. you grow from struggle.
allow for change
don’t be afraid of change. you may be losing something good, but you’ll probably end up gaining something better.
do not be reckless and look just for the pleasures of life. free yourself from attachment to pleasure and pain. for in craving pleasure, or in nursing pain, there is only sorrow. so live for today, not yesterday’s past or tomorrow’s future, live for today...
look forward
remember what happened. but know that you cannot move forward while looking backwards
learn not to sweat the small stuff. you’ve done what you’ve could. things that have happened in your past happened, leave it at that. find strength by looking into yourself to leave the negativity behind - not from others.
love, love, love
even though it’s a struggle, love is all we’ve got.
our life is filled with warmth in sharing life with others. it is a simple truth to learn, but a difficult practice to fully realize. in personal life, it means to act by placing ourselves in the position of another and in community life, it means to give service with joy and gratitude for the betterment of all. the practice of...
have hope
see it feels bad, but it’s gonna get better someday.
be ever mindful. for if you cannot concentrate and steady your mind, how will you ever listen? what will you ever learn?
live, love, laugh
in the end, these things matter most: how well did you love, how fully did you live, and how deeply did you let go?
i believe in love. i really believe in love. but for far too long i’ve been too cynical, too logical, too damn scared to feel it. but now, i’m ready to let go of the rail and jump.
be you
you tried so hard to be the person everyone wanted you to be. maybe you should’ve just been the person you wanted to be.
our greatest journey is our internal voyage. take time to discover yourself. find your essence, the unique you. advertisers want to classify you. they want you to conform, to be part of a group. you are an individual. live your own life.
first rule, never let em...
take the first step
to begin, begin
the longest journey, or project, starts with a first step. when it’s too hard to picture the whole journey, break it down into smaller ones. keep reducing until the first steps seems attainable. then take it. the others will follow.
stay true to yourself
your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own mind, unguarded. but once mastered, no one can help you as much, not even your father or mother.
through mindfulness, the wise man overcomes carelessness and drives away desire. mindful among the mindless, awake while others sleep, the wise man will continue to advance himself like a swift horse leaving the others behind.
make your world
for in this world, hate never yet has dispelled hate. only love dispels hate. this law is ancient and will last forever.
life is too short to be angry at the little things. “he insulted me, he beat me; he threw me down and robbed me…” dwell on such thoughts and your hatred will never cease. put away such thoughts and hatred will never arise.
cherish your family
a family is a place where a mind lives with other minds. if these minds love each other, the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden.
they may exasperate and infuriate us. but they are one of our most precious possessions. don’t take them for granted. we never know how long we will have the, or they us. they are our mirror and our anchor. treasure your time with them.
be resilient
resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. you fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good.
breathe in, breathe out. understand that everything happens for a reason, even as cliche as it sounds. understand that life is impermanent, life...
enjoy the day
don’t be fooled by the calendar. there are only as many days in the year as you make use of.
make the most of every day. use up the hours like a child. there are no guarantees how many we get. older people will tell you: they rarely regret the things they did, only the things they didn’t do. don’t spend your life intending to do something. start now!
imagine that you had...
be kind
the biggest scars are unseen and unremembered, always from a smile you forgot long ago. we would never get anything done otherwise.
a lot of people always ask me why i’m so nice. i guess i choose to because i don’t know. people always deserve to be nice to. no matter what. you never really know what someone is going through, what kind of day they’re having and what they’ve been through in...
choose freedom
the secret to happiness is freedom. the secret of freedom is courage.
too often we make our own cages of the mind, or the heart. or we allow technology to make them for us. but we have the keys to unlock them. we only need the will to use them. unlock your heart, love freely. unlock your mind, live freely.
lighten your load
every morning cries to us: do what you ought and trust what may be.
make sure you’re only carrying today’s burdens. too often we carry far more than necessary. reduce your load by dropping off tomorrow’s worries and yesterday’s baggage. present pressures and problems are usually enough. leave tomorrow’s until later.
make every moment count
and in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.
understand that your body is merely the foam of a wave, the shadow of a shadow. it is like a fragile jar, ready to be broken. know this and make a castle of your mind.
1 tag
♫ Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are [Remix]
...
moments of self-realization
live in joy and in peace even among the troubled. live in joy and freedom as the shining ones.
pleasures do not bring lasting contentment. the rain could turn into gold, and still you would be thirsty for more. a wise man understands his passions. an even wiser man masters them.
on this day, you read something that moved you and made you realize there were no more fears to fear. no tears...
live each day
it is only when you rediscover your sense of child-like wonder that you hold the world in the palm of your hand. you need to play more.
remember as a child how happy you were just splashing in a puddle…how time stopped when you were lost in your imagination…how deeply connected you felt in your mother’s warm embrace?
you don’t have to feel tired and disconnected. you...
tame your inbox
information is pretty thin stuff, unless mixed with experience
stop allowing e-mail to dominate your life. it interrupts your concentration. it puts you in a state of constant anticipation. break the cycle. disconnect. treat it like snail mail. check it once each morning and late afternoon. give yourself time to think.
now is the time
why not go out on a limb? isn’t that where the fruit is?
yesterday’s baggage becomes tomorrow’s worries, imprisoning our minds and hearts today. now is the time - the best time, the only time - to change your attitude and take that first step toward freedom from a cage of your own making.
the introduction
your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life
this tumblr was created to help inspire people by the gentle, encouraging words - reminders that within you lies power to change your life - for the simpler, for the better - if you just embrace the moment and seize the day. these “morsels of insight,” each accompanied by a meaningful quote from a noted...