Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann c.1920

All Fall Down

"Lead us from the unreal to the real."

                                                                ~Hindu Invocation

It was a snowy night, and Robert was recalling the time two springs ago when he was determined to paint the family room. Up early, he was out the door, to the hardware store gathering the gallons of red, the wooden mixing sticks, the drop cloths, and the one-time brushes that always harden, no matter what you soak them in.

He mixed the paint outside and waddled to the door with a gallon in each hand, the drop cloth under his arm, and a wide brush in his mouth. He began to chuckle in telling what happened, "I teetered there for minutes, trying to open the door, not wanting to put anything down. I was so stubborn. I had the door almost open when I lost my grip, stumbled backward, and wound up on the ground, red gallons all over me."

At this point, he laughed at himself, as he has done many times, and we watched the snow fall in silence. I thought of his little story the whole way home. Amazingly, we all do this, whether with groceries or paint or with the stories we feel determined to share. We do this with our love, with our sense of truth, even with our pain. It's such a simple thing, but in a moment of ego we refuse to put down what we carry in order to open the door. Time and time again, we are offered the chance to truly learn this: We cannot hold on to things and enter. We must put down what we carry, open the door, and then take up only what we need to bring inside. 

It is basic human sequence: gather, prepare, put down, enter. But failing as we do we always have that second chance: to learn how to fall, get up, and laugh.

From The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo

May you always be willing to laugh and learn.

Sharing Your Gifts

"The greatest gift is a portion of thyself" 

                                                                 ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

We all have gifts. Gifts that we are born with, or gifts that we develop over time.  Some we find useful in everyday life, while others are useful during specific circumstances. Whether you have been blessed with the gift to move people through art or song, or you have the skills to motivate or problem solve. Sharing your gifts with others leaves the world as a whole a better place.

This past week the music world lost the talented Etta James. Her voice was both powerful and emotionally charged. With her music she gave us a gift that will transcend time. She will be missed.

May you always allow yourself the opportunity to express your gifts each and everyday.

PUT ME IN THE ZOO

When my children were little we used to read the story book "Put me in the Zoo" by Robert Lopshire. This art installation at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art by Yayoi-Kusama reminded me of Spot, the polka dot leopard who would exclaim over and over..."If they could see what I could do, they would put me in the zoo." Enjoy what happens when you give thousands of stickers to thousands of kids.

 Yayoi-Kusama

May you always be willing to see the beauty of life through the eyes of a child.

Powerful Beyond Measure

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”          ~Marianne Williamson

 May you always be willing to let your light shine.

Strength

WORRYING 

DOES NOT EMPTY

TOMORROW 

OF ITS TROUBLES

IT EMPTIES 

TODAY OF ITS

STRENGTH

 ~Mary Engelbreit

We all worry to some extent, we worry about taking a test, raising children, making ends meet and the health of a loved one. Worry can be helpful when it spurs you to take action to solve your problems. But when worrying takes on an excessive vibe, it paralyzes your ability to find a solution.  

When it comes to worry, studies have shown the following statistics:

40% never happens – so in essence we are wasting our time by worrying.

30% of what we worry about has already happened. Learn to “let go” and forgive yourself and others. You cannot change the past – no one can. Accept it for what it is and go on.

12% are needless worries, such as what someone else thinks about us.

10% are petty and unimportant such as we worry about what’s for dinner, we worry about being late, we worry about what to wear.

8% of what we worry about actually happens. Of this percentage…

4% of our worries that happen are beyond our control. We cannot change the outcome. These worries may include our health, the death of a loved one or an impending natural disaster. Often times the reality of these events are more bearable than the worry.

4% of what we worry about we have some if not all control over the results. Basically I think this is the consequences of our actions or inaction on the problems and challenges we face.  stop-worrying

In essence you are stronger than you know and you have the power to let go, accept or take action in solving the things that are causing you to worry.

May you always find the strength 

to worry less and live more.

Time well spent

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” ~Oprah Winfrey

When our concentration is focused on having more, it fuels our unhappiness. For there is no end to wanting more. But when we turn our attention to appreciating what we have, we find that there is always enough and often some to spare. It's not the "stuff" we accumulate or desire that fulfills us. Rather, it's our ability to believe that each day we are fulfilled by our attitude and happiness.  When we strip it down and focus on NEED, as opposed to WANT, we find that we have been blessed with more than enough. 

May you always be willing to approach each day with a sense of gratitude.

Dinosaur LOVE

Sometimes we all just need a little Dinosaur LOVE.

The Road Ahead

As we journey through life,

there may be some steep hills to climb,

sometimes when the road seem treacherous, and you aren't sure which turn to take...

 times when you feel like you are on the brink of falling,

 and there may be many curves in the road.

 As you make your way through the ups and downs of this year,

 May you know God's presence with you through each tunnel,

 every steep climb,

 every curve,

 in the beautiful mountaintop experiences with Him,

 and through the slippery storms of life;

 May He walk with you down through the valleys and up the mountains,

 take your hand and guide you through the light,

 put a hedge around you to keep you safe,

 help you to find joy and excitement in the roller coaster ride,

 and fill you with amazement at the beauty He provides along the way.

 Take time to smell the flowers,

 to admire His handiwork

 along Life's railway;

And may His love flood over you, fill you, and overflow in praise to Him for all He's done!

 May you always be willing to find the blessing in each day, even in those times when it appears invisible.

Eyes of Wonder

 

puppy love

"There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million."

~Walt Streightiff

As small children we were experts of wonder. We experienced magic and glee with every new adventure. In the sounds of the babbling creek, passing of a big truck, or the utter delight of a new puppy. Through the eyes of a child we saw wonder with each step we took. And then we grew up.

We can regain the wonder. All we need to do is simply observe the world with that childlike ability, shutting out chaos and clutter and focusing on that which is before us. When we do this it transports us in that magical way back to a state of childlike wonder. And it is in this place that we discover that heaven is not so far away, but instead, everywhere we look.

May you never loose the ability to see the wonder and magic in each day.

How Does it Taste

"The more spacious and larger our fundamental nature, the more bearable the pains in living."

~Wayne Muller

An aging Hindu master grew tired of his apprentice complaining, and so, one morning, sent him for some salt. When the apprentice returned, the master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it.

"How does it taste?" the master asked.

"Bitter," spit the apprentice.

The master chuckled and then asked the young man to take the same handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake, and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water, the old man said, "Now drink from the lake."

As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the master asked, "How does it taste:"

"Fresh," remarked the apprentice.

"Do you taste the salt?" asked the master.

"No," said the young man.

At this, the master sat beside this serious young man who so reminded him of himself and took his hands, offering, "The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things...Stop being a glass. Become a lake."  

from The Book of Awakening~ by Mark Nepo

May you always be willing to dilute your troubles by enlarging your perspective.

Faith > Fear

Imagine how different our lives would be if we took fear out of the equation and chose to live a life of faith. For the power of believing something is true, makes the possibilities limitless. 
That is the world I want to live in.


May your faith always be greater than your fear.

Surprise Yourself

Savoring each moment is all about living like there is no tomorrow. To do this you must be willing to embrace the beauty in small moments as well as big. For it is the experiences that we share and the risks that we take that make each day magical. 

This is your life, live it to its fullest.

May you always see the beauty in each day.

Moving Forward

courage does not always roar.

sometimes courage is the quiet voice

at the end of the day saying.

“I will try again tomorrow”

(mary anne radanbacher)

Often when we think of courage, we imagine strong, powerful people doing incredibly courageous things; David against Goliath, Firemen, Policemen, Soldiers, Capt Sully, civil rights activists, children and adults battling terminal disease… all true. Yet, courage also comes in our decision to live after we’ve come close to stepping off the precipice.
Courage comes in the quiet determination of a single parent struggling to keep the home intact and children fed. It comes in our willingness to step outside our comfort zone... and press on. Courage is the tiny ant in our kitchen sink, carrying crumbs and slowly making its way home… Courage helps us up after we’ve taken a fall. Courage gets us out of bed. Courage helps us recognize that no matter what, we don’t need to lose our head as grace will carry us ahead. ~ Elizabeth Mirth & Motivation


May you always find the courage to move forward.

Take as Much as You Need

love is...mighty

love is...kind

love is...beautiful

love is...faithful

love is...unconditional

love is...patient

love is...good

love is...life

love is...everything

love is...happiness

love is...hope

love is...FREE

May you always give your love freely, for the more LOVE you give, the more LOVE returns.

THE BEST 

THINGS IN LIFE ARE

UNSEEN  

THAT'S WHY 

WE CLOSE OUR 

EYES WHEN WE 

KISS 

LAUGH  

AND

DREAM

Upside Down

"God has not called us to see through each other, but to see each other through." ~ Unknown

When we lend a helping hand, not only do we make the person we're helping feel better but we bring joy and happiness to ourselves.  For nothing makes us feel more loved than loving another unconditionally.


May you always be willing to give of yourself freely.

A Path of Purpose

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
Mother Teresa

Often times we get carried away in the drama of life and our own expectations. How we react to our circumstances determines the outcome. As Shakespeare pointed out, "There is nothing good nor bad but thinking makes it so." When our thoughts become conscious decisions (to be happy, do good, forgive), it is then that we take back the power of each moment and choose a path of purpose.

May you always be conscious of the path you choose.

Let Go or Be Dragged

Have you ever noticed that over-thinking often leads to agony. It can keep you from sleeping, eating and ultimately solving your problems.  It's like being dragged behind a car at 50 mph.  By over-thinking and holding onto the rope of fear, your anxiety is magnified and the pain of your situation can become unbearable. Many people hold on, careening out of control, not knowing how to make it stop. But the answer is simple...Let Go! Don't panic, and don't over-think. Take a deep breath and live life as it comes, one day at a time. Your fears may not change, however slowing down, quieting your mind and taking things as they come  will help in dealing with your situation more clearly and logically.


May you always be willing to let go and not be dragged.

May You Be Blessed

May you be blessed
with all things good.

May your joys,
like the stars at night,
be too numerous to count.

May your victories
be more abundant
than all the grains of sand
on all the beaches,
on all the oceans,
in all the world.

May lack and struggle
only serve to make you stronger
and may beauty, order
and abundance
be your constant companions.

May every pathway
you choose lead to that which
is pure and good and lovely.

And may every doubt and fear
be replaced by a deep abiding trust
as you behold evidence
of a Higher Power all around you.

And when there is only darkness
and the storms of life
are closing in,
may the light at the core of
your being illuminate the world.

May you always be aware you are
loved beyond measure and may you
be willing to love
unconditionally in return.

May you always feel protected and
cradled in the arms of God
like the cherished child you are.
And when you are tempted to judge
may you be reminded
that we are all ONE and
that every thought you think
reverberates across the universe,
touching everyone
and everything.

And when you are
tempted to hold back,
may you remember
that love flows best
when it flows freely
and it is in giving that
we receive the greatest gift.

May you always have
music and laughter
and may a rainbow
follow every storm.

May gladness wash away
every disappointment,
may joy dissolve every sorrow,
and may love ease every pain.
May every wound bring wisdom,
and may every trial bring triumph
and with each passing day,
may you live more abundantly
than the day before.

May you be blessed and may others
be blessed by you.
This is my heartfelt wish for you.

~Kate Nowak

Choose your Path

"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."

—Henry David Thoreau

Just as one wave following another forms the shoreline, so do our daily actions and thoughts, repeated again and again, form the sum and substance of our lives. That's the reason affirmations work. And that's the reason it is so important that we pay attention to the dominant trend of our thinking, for those thoughts we entertain repeatedly today will shape and define our experiences tomorrow, just as surely as repeated footsteps will wear a pathway into even the firmest soil.
~Kate Nowak

May each pathway you create with your thoughts be filled with blessings and affirmations.

Serenity Prayer

You Can Do It!

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." You must do the thing you think you cannot do."  

~Eleanor Roosevelt

May you always remember there is no difficulty that you cannot overcome.