February 2011
117 posts
let in the light
live happily one instant and throw not they life to the winds.
open your mind. open your heart. let light into your world. let it banish the darkness that sometimes engulfs us. let the light guide your way.
enjoy the flying flowers
the butterfly is a flying flower, the flower a tethered butterfly.
how can we not be impressed by butterflies? despite their fragility and their defenselessness against the elements, they prevail. they exemplify the innate power of beauty.
January 2011
86 posts
1 tag
stand your ground
well then let them hate you but let it be because you are a good person in a bad world and bad always hates good.
sometimes you have to be strong for yourself. you have to know that you’re a good person and a good friend. what’s meant to be will end up good and what’s not - won’t. love is worth fighting for but sometimes you can’t be the only one fighting. at...
watch the clouds
in the hour of adversity be not without hope, for crystal rain falls from black clouds.
take time to watch the clouds as they decorate the sky. see how they morph into fabulous, ever-changing images. note their ephemeral beauty and their endless patience. admire their stunning simplicity. learn their signs. heed their warnings.
find your spark
if the divine spark were not native to us, how could it move us to rapture.
we all have a spark within us that ignites our creative spirit. sometimes it’s overshadowed by the big obstacles that threaten the light in our lives. but our spark will survive our darkest times, waiting to show the way to a brighter future.
the gift of a dog
if having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.
her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. i felt her need instantly and knew i had to help her.
i wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn’t be afraid. as she stopped at my kennel, i blocked her view from a...
1 tag
continue to dream
two of the hardest and most painful tests in life: having the patience to wait for the right moment, and mustering the courage to accept that you have waited for nothing.
it isn’t right to sit around and think about the awful things that get you down. you’ve gotta try to wear a smile no matter how hard it can be to do. i could make myself go crazy crying over times i’ve chased my broken ...
1 tag
impermanence
nothing seems to happen exactly as one desires.
so you look for patterns because that’s what humans do to try and make sense of things. in hope of some divine order. and you look in movies and songs and the things that you read for symbols, points and swirls that match your own. but the only real pattern there is, is the one you make when you hold up a mirror. and reflect.
via...
work in the garden
the best place to seek god is in a garden.
like beautiful outdoor churches, gardens encourage our spiritual natures. they soothe our troubles and provide stress-free havens. they open our eyes and hearts to growth and beauty. they ground us.
help the earth breathe
the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. the second-best time is now.
find a spot crying out for new life. decide on the right tree for the location. take pleasure in planting it. enjoy nurturing it. watch it grow. do it again.
take a walk in the rain
don’t threaten me with love, baby. let’s just go walking in the rain.
walk to its thrumming beat. it’s like nature’s music. welcome the drops on your face. see the way it changes things: roads; paths; rivers; trees; flowers. watch as it cleanses. feel the sense of renewal.
rewire
experience is the best teacher, but a fool will learn from no other.
don’t retire…rewire yourself. use your experiences, but keep it current. constantly build on your skills. challenge them. share them. grow.
follow your heart
in art the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can inspire.
never underestimate the power of the heart. when we are passionate about someone, or something, few obstacles can defeat us. our hearts can inspire greatness, sweep aside adversity, break new ground, and draw others along with us.
show your true colors
it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
if you believe passionately that something is right, fight for it with all your might. dig deep in your soul and refuse to give ground. even when the odds seem overwhelming keep fighting. you’ll be amazed how often persistence wins the day.
three little things
believe that, behind it all, great wisdom and great compassion embrace everything.
there are three things in life when gone never come back: time, words, and opportunity. there are three things in life that should never be lost: peace, hope, and honesty. there are three things in life which are most valuable: love, faith, and prayer. there are three things in life which are never certain:...
see a play
it’s not the happy or tragic role that makes the difference between actors, but the way the role is played.
leave the TV at home and head to the theater. allow the stage to fire up your imagination. enjoy the danger of fallible actors at work. admire their skills. join their world. let them transport you.
rethink your wardrobe
clothes make the man. naked people have little or no influence on society.
does your wardrobe do you justice? your clothes say a lot about you. shoes don’t have to be expensive, but they must be clean. look for quality and elegance. choose style over fashion. make your own statement.
trust your instincts
listening only to my instincts, i discovered superb things.
we’ve spent years honing them. yet we rarely back them. look at the great painters, musicians, singers, dancers, writers. they have implacable faith in their instincts. so should we. respect your instincts. nurture them. back them.
look for hidden opportunities
what we have before us are some breathtaking opportunities disguised as insoluble problems.
the difference between opportunity and obstacle is often just our point of view. always keep an open mind, even in the darkest situations. a change in our vantage point can reveal rich possibilities.
have faith
faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
sometimes it’s hard to take that first step forward. not knowing what lies ahead seems to impede us all at some point in our lives. but if we remain hesitant and avoid putting ourselves out there, there will be no progress made. sometimes, you need to get your hands a little dirty and elbows a little...
think things through
think like a man of action and act like a man of thought.
resist the pressure to react without consideration. pause to see things in perspective. think through your options. give weight to the consequences of your action. but when you decide, act with dispatch.
live to fight another day
better to lose the anchor than to lose the whole ship.
the temptation is always to fight to the bitter end. but sometimes it’s wiser to take the longer view. when a situation is irreparable, or the circumstances have changed dramatically, it may be better to cut your losses. acknowledge the mistake. learn the lesson. salvage the position. live to fight another day.
ignore your limitations
i seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad.
limitations are just guideposts. they may signal different routes or different ways to reach a destination. but they won’t prevent us from getting there, unless we empower them to do so. ignore them, focus on the journey.
use your talents
since talent is so often scar tissue over a wound, perhaps i had more than most men.
we all have talents, in different fields and in differing degrees. the trick is to make the most of them. some come naturally. most come through hard work. but having talent is just the start; using talent to fulfill potential is the most difficult - and the most admirable.
chase your dream
the truth lies in a man’s dreams.
we make our own limitations: through self-doubt; fear; and conformity. but we can also expand our horizons. we can push through the barriers, real and imagined. if you have a dream, give it a chance. empower yourself.
1 tag
be good to you
the truth is not far away; it’s in our hearts.
be yourself, truthfully. accept yourself, gratefully. value yourself, joyfully. forgive yourself, completely. treat yourself, generously. balance yourself, harmoniously. bless yourself, abundantly. trust yourself, confidently. love yourself, wholeheartedly. empower yourself, immediately. give yourself, enthusiastically. express yourself,...
find your inner leader
a man who has confidence in himself wins the confidence of others.
it comes naturally to some. to most, it’s cloaked in self-doubt and fear. but we all have an inner leader. whether it be on the big stage or in our private world, as a parent, a partner, a friend, a mentor: the power is within us.
look beyond the obvious
the pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.
look behind the news. put things in perspective. search for relationships, root out bias. peer through opinion to find the factual foundations. test assumptions. pose questions. demand answers.
explore online
man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.
like an ancient mariner, use your computer to find new worlds. explore places you’ve only read about. learn about people and their countries. shrink the world. understand other lives. enrich your own.
stick together
all for one, one for all, that’s our device.
a winning team is greater than the sum of its parts. form great teams: with your partner; with your family; at work; at play. revel in the power of the team. enjoy the selfless satisfaction it brings. explore the boundaries it pushes through.
1 tag
irish blessings
you can have anything you want - if you want it badly enough. you can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.
may you have: enough happiness to keep you sweet; enough trials to keep you strong; enough sorrow to keep you human; enough hope to keep you happy; enough failure to keep you humble; enough success to keep...
lose your fear of failure
to conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.
failing simply improves your chances of succeeding next time. you can’t make progress without failing. but fear of failure is our greatest brake: to growth; to knowledge; to progress. allow yourself the possibility of failure. feel the liberation it brings.
make a decision
one foot can’t stand on two boats.
we procrastinate too often: reconsidering, torturing ourselves with indecision. governments do it by establishing boards of inquiries. golfers call it paralysis by analysis. it’s better to think things through, then decide. correcting an error is less painful than being trapped on the fence.
smile more
every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.
begin each day with a smile and end it with one. you’ll see how much happier and stress-free your days will be if you take the time to just smile. smile at a stranger today, it might brighten up their day.
observe nature
adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature’s inexorable imperative.
nature is a wonderful teacher. whether you live in the city or the wilderness, lessons abound. see how nature adapts to the changing world around it. admire its persistence and marvel at its resilience. appreciate.
appreciate greatness
no sadder proof can be given by a man of his own littleness than disbelief in great men.
some people deserve our admiration. too often we deny it to them because of jealousy or cynicism. give respect and admiration where it is due. men like nelson mandela and women like mother teresa epitomize greatness. acknowledging their greatness does them, and us, credit.
value friendships
go through your phone book, call people and ask them to drive you to the airport. the ones who will drive you are your true friends. the rest aren’t bad people; they’re just acquaintances.
i learned a lot about friendships. i lost people that were once my best friends. i lost old friendships that i thought would last beyond high school. people i once trusted ended up showing me the...
see the funny side
the most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed.
look for the humor, however dire the situation. it will break the tension. it will clear your mind. it will bring perspective and enhance understanding. it can keep violence at bay, and soothe the wounded. life is too short not to laugh.
take the initiative
it is better to be making the news than taking it; to be an actor rather than a critic.
never underestimate your potential. give yourself the best chance to fulfill it: chart your own course. stop allowing others to dictate your actions - or reactions. stop being a passive critic. when you know the right course of action, take it.
think deeply
i think and think for months and years. ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. the hundredth time i am right.
how often we act without thinking and suffer the consequences. take time to consider. avoid distraction, concentrate. slowly wash problems through your mind. consider the consequences. develop options. look ahead. then decide.
savor the seasons
for him in vain the envious seasons roll, who bears the eternal summer in his soul.
welcome the variety in nature, its ever-changing cycles. they make sense of growth and death and decay. they bring hope and renewal. they give us a glimpse of eternity. their relentless passage brings optimism and harmony.
keep trying
the dog that trots about finds a bone.
when things are not going our way, it’s tempting to sit back and wait. but then, more than ever, we must renew our efforts. believe in yourself. back your judgment. push through your protective boundaries. keep going.
look at the positives
i felt sorry for myself because i had no shoes, until i met a man who had no feet.
it’s easy to let our problems dominate us, to allow them to overshadow our good fortune. look broadly at your life. bring the positives to the fore: the love of your family; your partner; your friends; your achievements, at work, at home. change your point of view; feel how it overpowers you.
use your experience
the older the fiddle, the sweeter the tune.
in a world obsessed with youth, experience is often undervalued. but your unique experiences are priceless. they give you many advantages. cherish them. use them wisely: at work; with your family; in relationships; in planning ahead.
celebrate elegance
a truly elegant taste is generally accompanied with excellency of heart.
understated, natural elegance is entrancing. it’s an underrated virtue, a thing of lasting beauty. in dress, in speech, in art, in sport, in living, elegance enriches us all. it’s unforgettable. it transcends the ages. pursue it.
treasure your memories
every man’s memory is his private literature.
we each have a unique album of personal memories: mental snapshots of the key moments in our lives. every so often, look through your album. relive them. learn from them. hand them down to your kids. then go and add to them.
support an artist
the artist must have something to say.
they bring beauty into our world. they look at things differently. they allow us to see ourselves differently. they inspire us to be more creative. yet very few of them make good livings. they enhance our lives and deserve encouragement. look for those who move you. support them where you can.
watch the sun rise
turn your face to the sun and the shadows will fall behind you.
to feel the real beauty and power of the sun, rise before the first rays hit. find a vantage point with a fine vista and wait. sense the stillness. watch as the sun etches out your world. enjoy the warmth. marvel at the miracle of renewal. feel your problems subside.
Watch
expectations doesn’t always go along with reality.
sure, things may not go the way you planned, but you just need to carry on. hold your head up high and know that when you’re at the bottom, it won’t last forever. but also remember when you’re at the top, things will change as well.