Let's saddle up and ride

Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something.

...

Through this whole ordeal, I don't think we ever said to each other: "This isn't fair." We just kept going. We recognized that there were things we could do that might help the outcome in positive ways ... and we did them. Without saying it in words, our attitude was, "Let's saddle up and ride."

...

Too many people go through life complaining about their problems. I've always believed that if you took one-tenth the energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, you'd be surprised by how well things can work out.

...

I've found that a substantial fraction of many people's days is spent worrying about what others think of them. If nobody ever worried about what was in other people's heads, we'd all be 33 percent more effective in our lives and on our jobs.

...

people will show you their good side. Almost everybody has a good side. Just keep waiting. It will come out.

-- The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch

" We travel, I thought for adventure and fun, to get away from the drudgery of our lives at home. We travel to court hardship and face the dangers and excitements that are themselves a kind of vacation and challenge for us. We meet people for whom our presence is nothing but opportunity, to take them out of the sadness and difficulty of their lives.

...

And now Leah and Jorge are at latitude zero, able to go any which way, north, south, east or west.

....

Here's what I love about travel: strangers get a chance to amaze you. Sometimes a single day can bring a blooming surprise, a simple kindness that opens a chink in the brittle shell of your heart and makes you a different person when you go to sleep - more tender, less jaded - than the one you were when you woke up.

...

the Sun woman rises in the morning and lights a fire  below the horizon and there she uses red ochre powder to decorate her face. Often it spills into the air and this is the red of dawn. She goes west to her other campsite and carries her torch, our sun, across the sky.

...

I would learn of the malleability of time, which can stretch a minute into a mile's length and compress a month into the space of a single bed.

...

Everything come round, you know."

-- Best of lonely planet travel writing, edited by Tony Wheeler 

I'm loving every minute of it, including the bumps in the road.

"Youth, I thought, truly is wasted on the young.

... 

And I thought again about how travel - how being in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar faces and languages not your own - changes so much about a person, at the moment and, sometimes, forever after.

...

sometimes, when it comes to the really big decisions, you want someone - you need someone - to confirm that you've made the right choice.

...

You're not immune to trouble, Marina. No one is. No one, no matter how in control they think they are, can keep life from happening to them.

...

Most people - many, at least - live with the memory of a lost love, or a relationship gone horribly wrong, or a broken heart. And some people live with the memory of a missed opportunity, a road not taken, a possibility not explored, a relationship not embraced. It's a rare person who doesn't carry around some big sadness.

...

A child's lack of confidence, a child's misery, always reflect on the parent; the parent is forced to assume some degree of responsibility, mo matter how imaginary.

...

They always said I was a dreamer. That my 'head was in the clouds.' It didn't bother me. Clouds are very beautiful.

...

I'm loving every minute of it, including the bumps in the road.

...

passion is bigger and stronger than reason, and how, with a few exceptions, people aren't really victim to passion - they're participants, even celebrants.

And celebrations come to an end."

-- Tuscan Holiday, Holly Chamberlin

We can bury the lies and embrace the truth.

" Every family has a story, told and retold so many times is seems firm and irrefutable. Etched in granite. Here are the bare bones of my family's story:

My parents were murdered by a masked stranger, who shot them in our driveway.

My sister, Rebecca, is beautiful, wild, coolheaded and fiercely independent. She needs no one to make her happy. She does, however, need danger.

I am sensitive, quiet, brilliant and fearful, in many ways my sister's opposite. I need safety, protection and a man who loves me.

More often than not, family stories turn out to be etched in sand rather than granite. Even the parts we think are true - even the parts about ourselves - crumble under scrutiny. These are the lies we tell everyone who knows us. These are the lies we tell ourselves.

...

I could smell the rain on her. I could smell fear.

...

It was always this way. Ninety-nine parts human kindness for every one part depravity.

...

I watched as Tully leaned over as though he might kiss Simmee's cheek. Instead, he breathed in the spun fold of her halo, and for a moment, I forgot about being afraid. Instead I felt touched. Touched and, finally, truly, grateful.

...

The tangled web of love and hate she felt for her? The admiration tainted by resentment? Her mind and heart could barely hold the contradictions. Lying there, she felt as though she might explode with them.

...

Every family has a story, and I love that those stories are etched in sand rather than granite. That way we can change them. We can bury the lies and embrace the truth.

And we can move forward"

-- The Lies We Told, Diane Chamberlain

If every fault is mine, Every forgiveness should be yours.

"Time is two days, one safe and one of peril,
And our lives are of two halves, one fair, one overcast.
Say to those who reproach us for what Time has done:
'Does Time oppose any but great men?'
Do you not see that when the storm winds blow,
It is the tall trees that they strike?
Corpses rise to the surface of the sea,
While it is in its depths that pearls lie hid.
It may be that Time will mishandle us,
Subjecting us to constant harm.
Though in the heavens there are countless stars,
Only the sun and moon suffer eclipse.
There are both green and dry boughs on the earth,
But we throw stones only at those with fruit.
You think well of the days when they are fine,
So do not fear the evil that fate brings.

...

You have no power at all over your daily bread;
Neither learning nor letters will fetch it for you.
Fortune and sustenance are divided up;
One land is fertile while another suffers drought.
Time's changes bring down cultured men,
While fortune lifts the undeserving up.
Come, death, and visit me, for life is vile;
Falcons are brought down low while ducks are raised on high.
Feel no surprise if you should see a man of excellence
In poverty, while an inferior holds sway.
One bird circles the earth from east to west;
Another gets its food but does not have to move.

...

You are the object of my whole desire;
Union with you, beloved, is unending bliss,
While absence from you is like fire.
You madden me, and throughout time
In you is centred the infatuation of my love.
It brings me no disgrace that I love you.
The veils that cover me are torn away by love,
And love continues shamefully to rend all veils.
I clothe myself in sickness; my excuse is clear.
For through my love, you lead my heart astray.
Flowing tears serve to bring my secret out and make it plain.
The tearful flood reveals it, and they try
To cure the violence of this sickness, but it is you
Who are for me both the disease and its cure.
For those whose cure you are, the pains last long.
I pine away through the light shed by your eyes,
And it is my love whose sword kills me,
A sword that has destroyed many good men.
Love has no end for me nor can I turn to consolation.
Love is my medicine and my code of law;
Secretly and openly it serves to adorn me.
You bring good fortune to the eye that looks
Its fill on you, or manages a glance.
Yes, and its choice of love distracts my heart.

...

If I complain of the beloved's absence, what am I to say?
Where can I go to reach what I desire?
I might send messengers to explain my love,
But this complaint no messenger can carry.
I may endure, but after he has lost
His love, the lover's life is short.
Nothing remains but sorrow and then grief,
With tears that flood the cheeks.
You may be absent from my sight but you have still
A settled habitation in my heart.
I wonder, do you know our covenant?
Like flowing water, it does not stay long.
Have you forgotten that you loved a slave,
Who finds his cure in tears and wasted flesh?
Ah, if this love unites us once again,
I have a long complaint to make to you.

...

Forgive those who do wrong, for the wise man
Forgives wrongdoers for their evil deeds.
If every fault is mine,
Every forgiveness should be yours.
Who hopes that his superior will pardon him
Has to forgive inferiors their faults.

...

If beauty comes to be measured against him,
It must hang down its head in shame.
Asked: Have you ever seen a sight like this?'
It answers: 'No, I never have.'

...

You must speak the truth, even if this truth
Burns you with the promised fire of hell.

...

You thought well of Time when Time was kind,
You did not fear the evils fate might bring.
The nights kept peace with you; you were deceived.
It is when the nights are undisturbed that distress comes."

-- The Arabian Nights, Tales of 1001 Nights. Volume I Nights I to 294, Translated by Malcolm C.Lyons, with Ursula Lyons

He dwells in the congealing shell of a giant tortoise. He's fifteen.

"BARMOUTH

A child on a beach, alone.
Grey-eyed, thickset, kneeling to look.
'A blowy day. A large black and scarlet
hemipterous insect. Many moths

including zygaena. A cicindela -
largest genus of the Tiger beetle -
not found in Shropshire.'

Why does every gentleman not
become an ornithologist?
Gulls and cormorants take their way home
at evening on a wild, irregular course.


TREASURE MAP

The world poured back and forth a daft number of times
between mountains and drill holes of his eyes.

Fissure and sky. Bronze grass, brown-glow bog
asphodel and purple heather. 'The Welsh Borders
with my elder brother!' Hours in a wet saddle.

His pony's stringy mane. Long wriggles of shadow
through drystone walls. A treasure map painted by gods.


UGLY

The streets take little nicks out of him.
Caroline says he's ugly. His feet smell.
Everyone's do, but his are worse -

so large and full of bunions. And his big nose!
He dwells in the congealing shell
of a giant tortoise. He's fifteen.

He slinks down back alleys of Shrewsbury
not to be seen. As through the ravines
of Hades

BLISS CASTLE
'You care for nothing but shooting, rat-catching and dogs!
You'll be a disgrace to yourself and your family.'
His father is the largest man he'll ever know.

He's got to be a parson, plod through the Classics again
and read Divinity at Cambridge. So it's God
and Holy Orders? As well that, as anything. He accepts

the truth of Holy Writ. And the Creed, of course.
('It never struck me how illogical it was
to say I believed what I could not understand -

and what is, in face, unintelligible.')
What matters most is shooting. The worst thing
that could happen would be getting an entry wrong

in his ledger of shot birds. He's nineteen
and the best fun is Bliss Castle, alias Maer Hall.
Lots of cousins, three girls, and a kind

sporty uncle. In the partridge and pheasant season
he keeps his boots beside the bed
not to lose thirty seconds of shooting-time.

HE READS THAT THE MEMBRANE IN A GOLDFINCH EGG IS PROOF OF DIVINE DESIGN
How could all this muscle, nerve and glint of skin
be stitched together without intelligence?
From the white of egg, would anyone look
for feathers of a goldfinch? Who, that saw red streaks
shooting in the membrane which divides the yolk from white,
would guess they were destined for bones and limbs?

LIKE GIVING TO A BLIND MAN EYES
'I expected a good deal. I had read Humboldt
and was afraid of disappointment.'
What if he'd stayed at home? 'How utterly vain
such fear is, none can tell but those who have seen
what I have today.'

NOTEBOOK M
Her mouth is a pendulous thong. The eyes
merry brown glass like a carousel horse
and wise as an antique doll.
'When she knows she's done wrong
she hides for shame - or maybe in fear.
When she thinks she'll be whipped
she covers herself in straw.' Feelings appear
in her labial muscle, the treacly red haw
of her eye. Where are the roots of morality?
...
Man thinks himself, in his arrogance, a great
and worthy a Deity's glance. More humble -
and true, I'd assert - to think him created, not bandbox new
but slowly. From this. From the animals."

-- DARWIN A LIFE IN POEM, Ruth Padel

constant reference to Paradise Lost, John Milton. i want to read!

We’re amazing creatures and we can accomplish great things

"Do what you need to do, today.

Tomorrow is another day. And you haven’t lived it yet. So don’t think about it yet.

“But it’s not that easy.”

Yes, it is.

...

If you don’t think you can make change happen I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit. We’re amazing creatures and we can accomplish great things, but sometimes we talk ourselves out of doing epic shit.

Stop talking …"

-- Why You Suck At Change, Karol Gajda

Into each life some rain must fall

“…Be still, sad heart, and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.”
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807-1882, written in 1845?

-- Into each life some rain must fall – Rain Fall photo blog, Jonathan

I was drizzle and she was hurricane

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We might feel most alive in the presence of what seems most dark within us.

" Don't ask yourself what the world needs.

Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

-Harold Thurman Whitman

A"no" uttered from the deepest conviction is better and greater than a "yes" merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.
-Gandhi

After the final no there comes a yes.
And on that yes the future world depends.
-Wallace Stevens

...

How can the mysterious, redemptive, creative force enter (and where does it come from, anyhow?) when our house or selves are crammed, busy, overfull? We need to let go of everything that gets in the way of what needs to enter.

...

Lighten up. It's all temporary, anyway. Mountaintops were under the sea. Don't hole yourself up inside or brick yourself in. The world might flood. Be ready to touch down somewhere new and live in another realm.

...

I wasn't as bad as I thought. I couldn't bring the world to a halt, only myself. Hmm. Earth still here, holding me up. Sun still here. Night. Rain on the way. Thunder. Sky. Stars. Fireflies. Reminding me to just breathe and shine and, yes, quit trying. Fall back. Eyes shut. Begin in the quiet, to discover and simply be the creature you are.

...

It's as if my soul called for an internal meltdown, a small death, with me spiral-fizzing out of control like a balloon let go.

All my life, I now feel in my body, down into my feet, I've been preparing, taking notes, living to write and speak about all this. To be this, whatever. A little wild. A little sloppy. Yes, out of bounds. A little crazy. No holds barred.

...

Maybe some of us need to dive into the depths of self, no matter how dangerous it seems, to uncover more meaning, passion expression of soul, and , indeed more light. We might feel most alive in the presence of what seems most dark within us.

...

Did Grandpa know that we loved and feared him in a way that is usually reserved for gods or superheroes? Did he know that we dropped large objects down the laundry chute with the eager apprehension of naughty schoolchildren? It was only fun because we knew how loud Grandpa could yell.... We also knew how loud Grandpa could laugh.

...When I think of Grandpa Julian, I think of crinoid hunts at the dunes, I think of hugs interrupted by beeping hearing aids, I think of woodpeckers, rocks, rhyming birthday cards, slide shows, and Mel Brooks. I think of the smell of wool and fresh air. I think of bushy eyebrows, warm hands, marbles, garage door openers, slightly rotten fruit, hummingbirds, corn shucking, my loose teeth, and shy good-nights from the doorway.

I always thought that along with my father, Grandpa was the smartest nab who could ever possibly exist. He knew absolutely everything. I never heard a question he couldn't answer without complete certainty.

Grandpa called me Wrinkle Nose. A title created in honor of the crumpled face of my whining. A title I loved because it came from a man I loved so much. I don't know if Grandpa ever realized how huge he was to me, how important he was in my world. I'm so afraid he never realized the extent of his importance. I loved my grandpa Julian more than I even understand.

I hope he understood.

...

I know what the great cure is: it is to give up,
to relinquish, to surrender, so that our little
hearts may beat in unison with the great heart of the world
-Henry Miller

...

It can take courage for us to realize we've had the wrong idea and made wrong decisions and need to change mainstream. We might be in the wrong city for us. The wrong relationship. The wrong life. Writing the wrong book. If we have to be right about everything, we won't allow ourselves to change, and to free our creative natures.

...

But heavens, let's not worry about being wrong! I'm gradually learning that, paradoxically, it's the foolsgold-the blunderings, giving ups, breakdowns, in spite ofs, chance encounters, shatterings, letting gos, and mess-ups-that has led to most of the creativity in my life, not the sweet making of something beautiful, or "enlightened" inspiration, and certainly not feeling in control. It's the opposites, listenings, buzz hums, the falling (leaping) down the rabbit hole, the stepping through the looking glass, barefoot, with no suitcase, in new territory.

...

I read Francisco Alarcon's peom "Drought."

despite

dry
years

siempre
verde
inside

Always green inside.

...

We've tumbled from a variety of pedestals early, freeing ourselves from expectations. We can create loosely, sloppily, with depth and mistakes and range and passion.

...

Anyone who has never made a mistake has
never tried anything new....There is only one road to
true human greatness: through the school of
hard knocks.
-Albert Einstein

...

Paul insists. "Human beings are surrounded by death. It's here that people have to face the hardest choices; become heroes."

...

All of this is coming from somewhere. I just have to stand there with open arms. That's what has brought me success. If the muse calls I drop everything and go with it."

...

Poetry is a life-cherishing force....For poems
are not words, after all, but fires
for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as
bread in the pockets of the hungry.
-Mary Oliver

...

Sometimes you might want to be real and believable in your writing, serene and grounded and calmly loving. Other times, go bananas. Do this in the middle of the night. Do this in the rain. Do this burning candles. Do this perched on a balcony like Rapunzel. Let your hair down. Weep and laugh for love. Run the lines together. Rant, spin, dashoutside to ask the trees for help, and write more. Be a lover in a fairy tale that ends happily ever after.

Then look out. Be ready to dive in, or to run.

And in the meantime, love the people around you and those who come your way."

-- Foolsgold, Susan G.Wooldridge

Replace fear of the unknown with curiousity

Let's go and look for the rhythms in nature.

"Having eyes, but not seeing beauty; having ears, but not hearing music; having minds, but not perceiving truth; having hearts that are never moved and therefore never set on fire. These are the things to fear, said the headmaster.

...

"I'm going to go on sharpening his pencils all the same," Totto-chan decided, "After all, I love him."

...

where everything was so unusual. The school could not escape criticism from people used to a more conventional system of education.

...

Something was about to happen that wasn't according to plan.

...

"Let's go and look for the rhythms in nature." "

-- Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

if only i have been admitted to the school that was mentioned in the book, everything would have been different. i would have a clearer direction when i was younger, i would have spend my time pursuing the things i love but at least i have reach where i am suppose to be. its never too late.

it's very easy to take more than nothing.

"but Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way.

...

'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
'I don't much care where -' said Alice.
'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
'-so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an explanation.
'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough'

...

'I've had nothing yet,' Alice replied in an offended tone, 'so I cant take more.'
'You mean you can't take less,' said the Hatter: 'it's very easy to take more than nothing.'

...

'I couldn't afford to learn it.' said the Mock Turtle with a sigh. 'I only took the regular course.'
'What was that?' inquired Alice.
'Reeling and Writhing, of course, to begin with,' the Mock Turtle replied: 'and then the different branches of Arithmetic - Ambition, Distraction, Uglification and Derision.'"

-- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

The Circus is Cheaper When it Rains

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Success isn’t about achieving something in the future, but about doing something right now that you love.

"Success isn’t about achieving something in the future, but about doing something right now that you love.

So doesn’t that mean I care about success? Well, sure, if you define success as whatever it is you care about, then of course you’re going to care about success. But then “success” really doesn’t have a meaning, does it? If it can mean anything, then it means nothing.

So forget about “success”, and just find joy, passion, love, awesome-ness right now, in this moment. *That* is a success you can achieve, without any self-help course, without any method. Just go out and do it."

-- Why I don't care about success, Leo Babauta

We must go back to the present moment in order to be really alive

"When I think deeply about the nature of hope, I see something tragic. Since we cling to our hope in the future, we do not focus our energies and capabilities on the present moment… Hope becomes a kind of obstacle. If you can refrain from hoping, you can bring yourself entirely into the present moment and discover the joy that is already here.

Enlightenment, peace, and joy will not be granted by someone else. The well is within us, and if we dig deeply in the present moment, the water will spring forth. We must go back to the present moment in order to be really alive…"

-- Hope Is for the Future, Keith Savage

indifference gave place to dislike, dislike to hate, and hate to loathing,

" The persons on whom I have bestowed my dearest love, lie deep in their graves; but, although the happiness and delight of my life lie buried there too, I have not made a coffin of my heart, and sealed it up, for ever, on my best affections. Deep affliction has but strengthened and refined them."

...

But, tears were not the things to find their way to Mr Bumble's soul; his heart was waterproof. He eyed his good lady with looks of great satisfaction, and begged, in an encouraging manner, that she should cry her hardest; the exercise being looked upon, by the faculty, as strongly conducive to health.

'It opens the lungs, washes the countenance, exercises the eyes, and softens down the temper,' said Mr Bumble. 'So cry away.'

...

when the heavy bell of St Paul's tolled for the death of another day. Midnight had come upon the crowded city. The palace, the night-cellar, the jail, the madhouse; the chambers of birth and death, of health and sickness; the rigid face of the corpse and the calm sleep of the child - midnight was upon them all.

...

It was nearly two hours before day-break; that time which in the autumn of the year, may be truly called the dead of night; when the streets are silent and deserted; when even sounds appear to slumber, and profligacy and riot have staggered home to dream; it was at this still and silent hour, that Fagin sat watching in his old lair, with face so distorted and pale, and eyes so red and bloodshot, that he looked less like a man, than like some hideous phantom, moist from grave, and worried by an evil spirit.

...

the misery, the slow torture, the protracted anguish of that ill-assorted union. I know how cold formalities were succeeded by open taunts; how indifference gave place to dislike, dislike to hate, and hate to loathing, until at last they wrenched the clanking bond asunder, and retiring a wide space apart, carried each a galling fragment, of which nothing but death could break the rivets, to hide it in new society beneath the gayest looks they could assume. Your mother succeeded; she forget it soon. But it rusted and cankered at your father's heart for years.' "

-- Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens

you can’t get approval until you’ve taken the first step on your own

"We’re afraid that, without approval, we won’t have the courage to do it on our own. But here’s the thing: you can’t get approval until you’ve taken the first step on your own. And, once you’ve taken that first step, you don’t need approval anymore. You see just how capable you are of doing your own thing without anyone else’s permission."

-- Stand On A Corner And Sing, Tyler Tervooren

Waiting for me to come to my senses

"And I've tried to find happiness in a bigger TV, a car and a watch. I've tried to find happiness in power over others and the respect of the people around me. And I appreciate your patience, while you stand here, right in front of me.

Waiting for me to come to my senses."

-- The True Purpose of Industry, I Wrote This For You

When you decide to do something you love, you choose to live

"When you decide to do something you love, you choose to live. When you decide to do something you don’t, you choose to die. It really is that simple.
Life is filled with daily decisions and lots of them are tied to these things we call responsibilities. Nothing wrong with that, really, as long as those are things that actually bring you to life. It’s easy to see responsibilities as a kind of burden – something we agreed to do a long time ago and now we’re stuck with it – but they can be rejuvenating and life affirming as well."

-- Every Decision is Life or Death, Tyler Tervooren

Be content with yourself, while you hope for a better you.

"We often spend time upset about something, allowing our environment and circumstances to dictate whether or not we are going to be happy. The truth is that we can live our lives with happiness and decide that we are going to do whatever it takes to be happy. You can be happy if you have the mind to.

Happiness is something we must do on purpose. In the midst of struggles or difficulties, we must choose to be happy. Happiness does not come from the acquisition of money or things; happiness begins from within each of us. Being happy within ourselves simply means showing mercy to ourselves, forgiving ourselves, befriending ourselves, accepting ourselves, and loving ourselves. It’s a lifelong journey that requires regular self-examination and an ongoing process of making peace with ourselves. It means discovering what makes us unhappy and choosing to live in peace. It means treating ourselves with compassion and kindness. It makes us to begin to enjoy life more and more and celebrate it as adventure in peace. It helps us to live life to the fullest, and help make the world a better place for us and others.

...

Don’t strive to be like someone else. Don’t care about what other people think or say about you, when you’re not even sure whether they are right or wrong. When you do this, you relieve yourself of a lot of stress and anxiety. Be content with yourself, while you hope for a better you."

-- 9 Ways to Be Happy Within Yourself, Olusegun Jegede

We don’t need to improve our lives. We don’t need to improve ourselves, because we’re already perfect

"You already have everything you need to be happy, right here and right now.

Do you have eyes that see? You have the ability to appreciate the beauty of the sky, of greenery, of people’s faces, of water. Do you have ears that hear? You have the ability to appreciate music, the sound of rainfall, the laughter of friends. You have the ability to feel rough denim, cool breezes, grass on bare feet … to smell fresh-cut grass, flowers, coffee … to taste a plum, a chili pepper, chocolate.

This is a miracle, and we take it for granted. Instead, we strive for more, when we already have everything. We want nicer clothes, cooler gadgets, bigger muscles, bigger boobies, flatter stomachs, bigger houses, cars with leather seats that talk to you and massage your butt. We’ve kinda gone insane that way.

The sane thing is to realize we don’t need any of that. We don’t need to improve our lives. We don’t need to improve ourselves, because we’re already perfect.

Once you accept this, it frees you.

You’re now free to do things, not because you want to be better, but because you love it. Because you’re passionate about it, and it gives you joy. Because it’s a miracle that you even can do it.

You’re already perfect. Being content with yourself means realizing that striving for perfection is based on someone else’s idea of what “perfect” is … and that that’s all bullshit. Perfect is who you are, not who someone else says you should be."

-- you're already perfect, Leo Babauta

That’s just one more day wasted in front of the TV or driving your stupid people wheel pod. You can do better than that.

"If you’re not waking up every single day and trying to be a leader…
If you’re not waking up every single day and trying to make work that matters…
If you’re not waking up every single day and trying to start a dance party…
…no one is going to care.
That’s just one more day wasted in front of the TV or driving your stupid people wheel pod.
You can do better than that."

-- Why We're Here, Everett Bogue

Travel releases spontaneity.

"Travel releases spontaneity. You become a godlike creature full of choice, free to visit the stately pleasure domes, make love in the morning, sketch a bell tower, read a history of Byzantium, stare for one hour at te face of Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna dei fusi. You open, as in childhood, and - for a time - receive this world. There's a visceral aspect, too - the huntress who is free. Free to go, free to return home bringing memories to lay on the hearth.

...

In our carpe diem state of mind, we decide to take a big risk and live by our wits. Travel will be tied to a bigger word, freedom. ... Everything I pick up seems to lure me away. Everything I do in my daily life begins to feel like striking matches. The need to travel is a mysterious force. A desire to go runs through me equally with an intense desire to stay at home. An equal and opposite thermodynamic principle. ... The balance just slightly tips in the direction of the airport."

-- A Year in the World, Journeys of a Passionate Traveller, Frances Mayes

our eyes alight with the raw beauty of where we were

"I was hiking along a trail in the Silver Falls State Park in Oregon with my soon to be boyfriend and as we rounded a curve, a breathtaking vista complete with a roaring waterfall came into view. Both of us stopped in our tracks and breathed deeply at the same time, blissed-out smiles creeping up our cheeks. What I remember most was the complete happiness of that moment as we stood together, our eyes alight with the raw beauty of where we were and the companionship of sharing it with each other."

-- The Simple Joys of Smaller Living, Victoria Vargas

All things are possible when you believe.

"Speak only the words of what you want.

...

Everything is possible. ... All things are possible when you believe.

...

Negative messages do not serve you."

The Secret

Because going back is for everyone else. Not you. Not this time.

"One idea can change the planet. I know this. I feel this. You feel it too.

This message is meant to wake you up, so you never go to sleep again. I realize that most of you probably will. That’s okay too. But you’ve heard this music before, and you remember that one time when you were five and you stood up on that stage and said something that people frowned at you for. And then you learned that you should never say things that challenge people again.

You are not the next X years after that moment. You are now. You are able to change everything with one idea, one thought, one moment when you choose to stand up and make a difference in the reality of the entire human race.

Yes, that’s hard. Yes it’s the hardest thing you will ever do.

But if you don’t do it, who will?

...

you can never go back. But does that matter? No. Because going back is for everyone else. Not you. Not this time."

-- The Unconventional Guide to Changing the Future of Human Race, Everett Bogue

We should invest in ourselves and invest in others

"1. Ask why. A powerful, annoying question, why is frequently used by three-year-olds but usually abandoned by adults. Support the why revolution. Start asking why of everyone, including yourself.

2. Clarify. What’s it all about? What do you really want to do, and how can you make that the priority?

3. Simplify. That’s what minimalism is all about—letting go and living the dream. But the best part of simplicity has nothing to do with how many socks you own; it lies in being clear about your intentions and motivations.

4. Do … more. That’s right, do more, not less. When you don’t know your core passions and are staring out over the bridge, it’s good to back off and strip everything down. But when you’re crafting a remarkable life, why wouldn’t you want more of it?

Here are a few options for step four: learn a language. Write a book. Take a trip. Learn to walk on hot coals. Enroll in trapeze school. Volunteer.

Or do something else—it’s a big world out there. The main question is: How can you wake up tomorrow and live the life you want, while also connecting with the world around you?

Most of us don’t really want the simplest possible life. We want a life that is free from clutter, yes—but we need to connect our lives with a greater purpose. We don’t need to own things we don’t use, but we should spend freely on meaningful experiences. We should invest in ourselves and invest in others."

-- Staring Out Over the Bridge, Chris Guillebeau

Making your travel dreams come true is mostly just a matter of deciding to do it.

"KEY ADVICE ABOUT TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD

- World travel is fun. World travel is sexy. World travel is the ultimate trip
- Independent world travel is the world's best learning experience. It's the best possible investment of time and money you can make in your own career or your children's education
- World travel will change you, and change your life, for the better
- World travel is easier than you think
- Getting time for travel is easier than you think.
- World trravel is more affordable than you think.
- Traveling affordably doesn't take magic and doesn't require giving up comfort or convenience. The keys to affordable world travel are traveling independently and concentrating on more affordable regions of the world.
- Independent world travelers include women, men, and children of all ages, occupations, backgrounds, and careers.
- World travel can be for you if you want it to be. Making your travel dreams come true is mostly just a matter of deciding to do it."

-- The practical nomad: how to travel around the world, Edward Hasbrouck

Templates that place meaning only in the future deny the present and the future as envisaged never comes.

"Technological mastery is no provider of well-being or peace of mind. Material goods offer a seductive and short-lived satisfaction to those who gain them and serve as a bitter disappointment to those who seek them without success. Technology and materialism are here to stay; these are the driving forces of contemporary society. We cannot change our own history, but we can find a greater vision where these twin powers have a place, but do not rule. When every waking moment has become consumed by consumerism, when the still voice of the heart has been drowned out by imagined glitz and glamour, we have paid too high a price for comfort, ease and security. When the sense of being trapped by the treadmill becomes overwhelming, we know we have failed to strike a healthy balance in our lives. When the relentless passing of time seems to diminish, rather than expand our opportunities for enrichment, who will not cry out, 'There must be more to life than this!'?

...

We work directly with the mind from within. We step into the alchemical furnace of becoming. We come to work with ourselves in depth and finally we come fully to realize ourselves. This sharpens the spiritual quest, which is not undertaken as some vague existential adventure, but under a directive to know ultimate nature. On the journey into the nature of being human, much will transpire.

...

we approach so many experiences through the lens of our pre-existing mindset. Reflect for a moment on the freshness and spontaneity that a child finds in everyday experiences. The child is almost surprised daily at the simple delights of ordinary things. The adult so often loses touch with sense of wonder and curiosity, which makes the experience is very close to the meditative mind. The child relates directly and without preconceptions to all experience. The processes of socialization and education shape behaviour and reactions into accepted norms. Something is gained, but something is lost along the way. It is perhaps ironic that we have to work so hard to find our way back to the simplicity of childlike consciousness. The educated mind has learned to think in particular and specialized ways, to think rationally and to provide solutions logically. The socialized individual has learned to respond in socially acceptable ways, to adopt the language and manners of the social group and to function within prescribed parameters.

...

Values of self-aggrandisement, selfishness, survival, power and greed instead become the norm. Those too weak, too poor or too disadvantaged cannot compete in the human jungle. Who will serve them? Some might well argue that we have already created this world. Currently, the marketplace offers no morality except that of the right price and the short term. The cult of individuality has been raised to a fine art.

...

Opening the heart does not come from being clever but from simplicity. It does not come from being knowledgeable but from being wise. It does not come from being full of self but from being empty of self. How difficult it is to live with an open heart in a society that values the clever, the knowledgeable and the egocentric.

...

Recognizing the impermanence of all things is a powerful realization. The news of a life-threatening illness can shake us to the core; it brings us face to face with our own impermanence. So often such news serves to galvanize intentions and focus motivations. Priorities shift instantly and we suddenly see what is really important with devastating clarity. Such shocks put life in perspective. But it need not take a tragedy to remind us of the obvious. We can keep our priorities in focus through choice and awareness. We cannot hide in the delusion of permanence. We cannot halt the passing of time. We cannot control the flow of life, but we can flow with it.

...

If we love life, let us affirm life. ... Let us choose life. If we live in the moment, death will have no fear. If the one-life model is your guiding light, affirm it fully and live it here and now. Heaven can wait. It is the certainty of death that provides life with its meaning, so, in our quest for meaning, let us also face the reality of death.

...

We only have the moment, we do not have the future. Templates that place meaning only in the future deny the present and the future as envisaged never comes. Whether that future is a heavenly paradise, eternal glory or an ascended existence, the result is the same. The moment in hand evaporates in the face of a future which exists only within a particular belief system. ... Let us find ourselves here and now in this very moment.

...

Western psychotherapy, in basing itself almost exclusively on the world view of scientific materialism, has impoverished its model of human consciousness and lost the meaning and significance of human life."

-- meditation, naomi ozaniec

less worry, more smiles

"less TV, more reading
less shopping, more outdoors
less clutter, more space
less rush, more slowness
less consuming, more creating
less junk, more real food
less busywork, more impact
less driving, more walking
less noise, more solitude
less focus on the future, more on the present
less work, more play
less worry, more smiles
breathe"

-- a brief guide to life, Leo Babauta

I feel love teaches us all we really need to know.

"time is a very human construction. Though culturally and linguistically built so well that it seems real, it is actually a grand fiction we have all agreed upon. As Stephen Hawking notes, "What we call real [time] is just an idea that we invent to help us describe what we think the universe is like. A scientific theory is just a mathematical model we make to describe our observations: it exists only in our minds. So it is meaningless to ask: Which is real, 'real' or 'imaginary' time? It is simply a matter of which is the more useful description."

...

Time was once measured by the moon and sun, an their cycles, long ago. We did not have minutes or seconds. We had only suns and moons reflecting in the water where we drank. We would take days and work to accomplish one thing, not worrying about time.

Time was measured in days by the sun and the way the moon crosses the sky. Time was marked by the trees, flowers, and seasons. In my belly I have knowing of time, not in my mind. Rhythms and timing are heavenly and cannot be measured, held, followed, or even yet understood by the human mind.

Until the past catches up with all of us, we wait for time. Time jumps ahead to meet your expectations, so be careful not to see too far into the future and become ahead of yourselves. By being unhurried, you stop time. By hurrying, you speed up time. Go slowly. Listen to your beating heart, waiting, pausing.

...

Change your filters and you change yourself. Change yourself and you change your perception of the world. Change your perception of the world and you begin to change the world itself.

...

Perhaps in the end it all comes down to this: If we have a choice between living life as if nothing is a miracle or living life as if everything is a miracle, why not choose the miracle?

...

As we grew in experience, you would grow in confidence, daring yourself to try ever more dangerous lives, always looking for a little more thrill, a little more experience, venturing a little closer to the unknown. If you are always and forever spirit, birth and death are simply a walk through the changing room: new life, new clothes, new body, new story. Remembering your connection to spirit, there would be no trauma associated with either coming into or leaving the world.

...

You can learn to move in balance and harmony merely by observing, feeling and asking questions of beings such as ourselves. You can learn much more about a bird by observing its life than by capturing it. ... Why not learn to love the magic and mystery you find in life instead of trying to control things? It can become an exciting adventure to let go and trust. We suggest you learn what harmony and balance are about for each of you. There are no hard and fast rules that will work for everyone. You are each individuals doing your own dance, and you will discover your own way to play the game. ... We are all here, sending unconditional love to aid you in creating what you desire, for when you do, we all benefit from your joy and happiness and love, which is shared by all.

Begin anew today. Inhale life consciously and see where it might take you. Blessings and love to you all.

...

happiness. I think people spend way too much time focusing on what they do not want and do not have, instead of the other way around.

If I am sleeping, I sleep well. If I am eating, I thoroughly enjoy the experience. I love myself and I love being alive. I spend time with fellow beings, enjoying their songs and dances. I am happy and delighted to be experience all life has to offer me.

For me, life is simple and fulfilling. I am grateful to learn more. I look for happiness and focus on love. When I keep these things in mind, I create situations that bring them to me and allow me to smile back at you.

People often feel it is difficult being a domesticated animal. This is because you focus on what we live without or our limitations. You make comparison and judgments. I take where I am - whatever the situation - and give it my best, finding something to love and enjoy. ... I feel our simple way of looking at life offers us greater rewards in the long run. We do not miss much and you, in your desire to understand and dissect life, often miss much.

My wish it that we could spend more time being present with each other. I feel love teaches us all we really need to know.

...

The state of human consciousness could improve if humans were more willing to look at the whole picture and not focus on just themselves as the center of the universe. The human race is very young.

Look at the age of the Earth, seas, and mountains. It takes time to make a tree, a rock, a stream, and air. These are all miracles of life. They need to be respected and honored. They have much to teach us. Work with life as an unfoldment, one stage at a time. The human race is like a flower, a small tight bud, unfolding slowly. Take life more slowly. There is more to come."

-- Animal Voices, Dawn Baumann Brunke

The magnetic power of the comfort zone is such that few of us escape its pull.

"Over and over we will return to the same theme: Comfort is pleasure plus safety, satisfaction colored with security. There are intense satisfactions - deeply honest relationships, sexual thrills, athletic feats, great goals - which can only be delivered in the absence of security. These satisfactions can only be achieved beyond the boundaries of one's comfort zone, though, and that is the point. Comfort is charismatic precisely because it is safe - and therein lies its power. But safety limits the amount of satisfaction any experience can deliver - and therein lies its painful limitation.

...

Forward is too dangerous. Staying here is too sad. Stuck.

...

But pure and passionate desire itself, the real unadulterated stuff, is the uncut heroin of the soul.

...

I've worked with patients who have told me, after a job interview, that the work seemed tedious yet took the job, burrowed in, and struggled with the question of how to move on. I've seen patients go off to graduate school at the urging of well-intentioned families and flounder miserably because they knew from the start they had no interest in the program.

When people know at the outset that their paths lead nowhere, why take them anyway?

Because it's easy, because it's comfortable, because easy and comfortable leave us insulated from pain, fear, and anxiety. Because once you give in to easy and comfortable, it's as if you are in the grip of a giant suction force pulling you back to familiar turf, regardless of what you know to contrary. Because it's simpler to erase your knowing - with fantasy, avoidance, denial, or blame - than to pay attention to painful truths.

...

recognizing work as a comfort trap generally is not the unfulfilled hope of advancement but the lulling numbness of familiarity. Many jobs offer at least the illusion of indefinite security, with clear rewards and predictable workload. We know the people, we know the place, we know the parking lot. It's a brain groove - five days a week, move through these tasks, decide between the tuna and the burger for lunch, distract yourself with enough office intrigue to make the day interesting, drive home. Push a little in the busy times, space out a little when you can, prefer the busy times actually and move on to the next day.

What's wrong with this picture? Absolutely nothing, as long as, in addition to the lulling sense of security, you also have a tolerable degree of personal satisfaction delivered with your tuna.

...

There's just no getting around that when a decision challenges your comfort zone. If you act, something makes you anxious; if you stay put, something is lost.

...

So, swallow the hard truth that there is no one right choice and then go one step further. Recognize that you will make the best choice you can, given who you are and what your circumstances are at this moment in your life. Will you regret it later? Maybe, if you are the sort who is given to regret. But that future review changes nothing. The choice is on today's table, regarding today's comfort zone. Everything you are to this point is all you can bring to your decision.

...

you'll probably always do what you always did, unless you make a focused and conscious leap to do something different.

...

now that you see you're the kind of person who is brave and worthy of more, you can allow that more concrete vision to appear. And so the loop continues. Those who stretch improve their capacity to stretch more, to see more toward which to reach, and so to improve their grasp.

The rest stay put.

...

By comparison, what's new will seem at best an awkward fit. After all, if you are going some place you've never been, by definition you'll have to take a road you've never traveled. It can't feel as safe as the roads you've known. But it will get you where you are hoping to go after you've won the fight with yourself.

...

When you do take that awful step into the cold, believe that you will come to tolerate, then relish, finally glory in your next destination. Because you will, you know, and it will be worth it.

...

The thing is, you are us. All of us, at least at one time or another. The magnetic power of the comfort zone is such that few of us escape its pull. We all linger, complaining, confused, or deadened. We are waiting, without necessarily knowing we are waiting. Waiting for an emotional earthquake, for rescue, for relief. We are waiting for something to happen, despising the truth that requires so much from us - that we are the something that has to happen."

-- THE COMFORT TRAP OR, WHAT IF YOU'RE RIDING A DEAD HORSE?, Judith Sills, Ph.D.

Because buying more isn’t the answer. Freedom is.

“The soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel, do just as one pleases. We go a journey chiefly to be free of all impediments and of all inconveniences; to leave ourselves behind, much more to get rid of others.”

-- On Going on a Journey(1822), William Hazlitt


"We sometimes forget why we’re here, we aren’t looking where we’re going, or even where we’ve been.
We get all caught up in an idea about what we should be doing, and forget about what we really want to do.
I think what we want to do is to be free.
Instead we’re told by society that we’re supposed to buy a new car. We’re supposed to get our hair done a specific way. We’re supposed to go to college. We’re supposed to work all day and still somehow we’re in outrageous debt, and we wonder why.

...

Four years later I woke up and realized that I was missing the point, that somewhere along the way we all did, and this is why we failed.

The reality that was broken.

...

Meanwhile I saw one by one my friends wake up and realize it was all a big fake magic reality that we’d have if we just bought one more Budweiser in the Meatpacking District.

We were in The Matrix, and the only freedom was truly to opt out.

...

You didn’t make the choices you made because you wanted to, you did it because The Man Behind The Television told you (because he wants your money.)

The Internet gave us the tools to create this revolution in the way that we think. We no longer live in the illusion that buying one more video game will make us happier. We no longer believe that a fancy handbag will make us find love.

We no longer believe that success = Donald Trump.

...

Because buying more isn’t the answer. Freedom is."

-- The True Purpose of Simplicity, Everett Bogue

In the frenzy of modern life we lose sight of the real value of humanity.

"If something is lacking in your perspective - if something is missing in your heart - then despite the most luxurious surroundings, you cannot be happy. However, if you have peace of mind, you can find happiness even under the most difficult circumstances

Material advancement alone sometimes solves one problem but creates another. For example, certain people may have acquired wealth, a good education, and high social standing, yet happiness eludes them. ... Material development alone will not fully resolve the problem of humanity's suffering.

...

In the frenzy of modern life we lose sight of the real value of humanity. People become the sum total of what they produce. Human beings act like machines whose function is to make money. This is absolutely wrong. The purpose of making money is the happiness of humankind, not the other way round. Humans are not for money, money is for humans. We need enough to live, so money is necessary, but we also need to realize that if there is too much attachment to wealth, it does not help at all."

-- How to Practice The Way to a Meaningful Life, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, Ph.D

We are working in concert, unfolding a cycle that we have been developing over the millennia

"Rather than thinking of animals and people as "them" and "us," I see all of Earth's life form, including plants, rocks, water, air, and all we experience around us, as a symbiotic whole. We are working in concert, unfolding a cycle that we have been developing over the millennia - a continual play to act in, observe, and unravel toward more enjoyment of life and exchange with one another."

-- animal talk, penelope smith

Now, everyone wants to find a bit more of a life outside the office.

"Whatever we want to do – from digital nomad, to lawyer, to gardener, to world traveler – we all want the flexibility and freedom to do what you want…to have a good work life balance. Maybe it’s the economy or people finally rebelling against the matrix but it’s been good to hear people asking how they can change and seeing many of my friends making that change. I remember back when I graduated college (which actually was a long time ago) and everyone was trying to follow that typical American dream. Now, everyone wants to find a bit more of a life outside the office. Down with the 9 to 5!!"

-- Changing Attitudes, NomadicMatt

"Of all animal species, humans are the biggest players of all. We are built to play and built through play. When we play, we are engaged in the purest expression of our humanity, the truest expression of our individuality.

...

I don't think it is too much to say that play can save your life. It certainly has salvaged mine. Life without play is a grinding, mechanical existence organized around doing the things necessary for survival. Play is the stick that stirs the drink. It is the basis of all art, games, books, sports, movies, fashion, fun and wonder - in short, the basis of what we think of as civilization. Play is the vital essence of life. It is what makes life lively.

...

These properties are what make play, for me, the essence of freedom. The things that most tie you down or constrain you - the need to be practical, to follow established rules, to please others, to make good use of time, all wrapped up in a self-conscious guilt - are eliminated. Play is its own reward, its own reason for being.
...
the opposite of play is not work - the opposite of play is depression. Our inherent need for variety and challenge can be buried by an overwhelming sense of responsibility. Over the long haul, when these spice-of-life elements are missing, what is left is a dulled soul.

...

Finally, and perhaps most important, work that is devoid of play is either boring or a grind. We can get pretty far through sheer will-power, and some people have prodigious powers of perfectionism, self-denial, and suffering. Ultimately, though, people cannot succeed in rising to the highest levels of their field if they don't enjoy what they are doing, if they don't make time for play. Having a fierce dedication to grinding out the work is often not enough. Without some sense of fun or play, people usually can't make themselves stick to any discipline long enough to master it. ... People reach the highest levels of a discipline because they are driven by love, by fun, by play.

...

If addition to being pulled away from play, we are pushed from play, shamed into rejecting it by a culture that doesn't understand the human need for it and doesn't respect it. As I've said before, play is seen as something that children do, so playing is seen as a childish activity not done in the adult world. The message is that if you are a serious person doing serious work, you should be serious. Seriously.

Most of the time, we have so internalized society's messages about play being a waste of time that we shame ourselves into giving up play. There may be people in our lives who tell us to take it easier, have a little fun, but we just can't allow ourselves to do that."

-- play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, Stuart Brown, M.D., with Christopher Vaughan

"when it comes to guarding your sacred self from threats to your unique expression, less acceptance and understanding is shown. This response is a defense against individuals acknowledging their own dark forces and taking on the responsibility to free themselves of the shackles of a persona that was developed to please the outer world.

...

The road less travelled - to being real- is avoided not because people do not want to come home to themselves, but because it is dangerous to make the U (you) turn back to self. Not too many people are on the corner, cheering and supporting us when we begin the journey inwards, whereas there are many who put pressure on us to remain on the shadowed road most travelled.

Life is an adventure, but for so many people it becomes a test, a fearful task, a chore, something to got through. ... The fear of failure, the fear of success and the addiction to success are all products of the need to protect against ridicule and pressure around behavioural performance. Sadly, so many adults, parents and teachers put the emphasis on the result rather than the wonderful process of learning.

...

Somehow along the way of life some or all aspects of my unique light have had to be hidden. My wise self has guarded the precious light of my being in the darkness of shadow selves, false personas that hide my real presence and darken the presence of others. I now know that I would not have survived without hiding who I really am. I am ready to let go of the protection of dependence on others and of being a passive member of dark cultures i realise my amazing self and see the unique light of others hidden behind their shadow selves.

There will be many voices that will shout their 'bad' advice, cry to me 'to mend their lives', and do all in their shadow power to keep me in darkness. For my sake and their sakes I can no longer listen to their shadow voice. I need to find and listen to my own inner voice that will guide and keep me company as I stride deeper and deeper into the vast interiority of my real self. I will seek the company and support of those who are light-giving to help me stay on the road less travelled.

All the time on the journey, I know that the amazing power that has guarded my sacredness all these past years is now there to open my mind and heart to fully seeing and expressing who I really am.

Dependence, fear, judgment, avoidance, timidity, depression, passivity and competitiveness will no longer be my bedfellows. Spontaneity, freedom, independence, eagerness to learn, empathy, compassion, excitement, challenge, creativity, unconditional love of myself and others, intuition, authenticity, patience and exploration of my inner and outer worlds are my new and powerful ways of being in the world.

I know that there are difficult decisions to be made when I encounter individuals and cultures that darken my presence and the presence of others. I know that when I protectively sell myself out of a need to belong, I ultimately buy a life of misery. In such conformity I am neither a friend to myself nor to others. I know I have a sacred responsibility to belong to myself, to be real and authentic and not wait for others to transform themselves.

My hope is that as the light of my sacred self shines forth, it will touch the minds and hearts of those people and cultures that are in darkness. I know that I can only save my own life but that others have the immense power to do likewise. I do know that as I am liberated from my shadow self, my presence provides support for others to liberate themselves.

I was born to manifest the uniqueness, wonder, sacredness and glory of my being. I know that all these words do not create but reflect who I really am. This is the beginning of my re-birthing, of my realising my sacred self."
-- Whose Life are you Living?, Tony Humphreys

The thinkers say, “should I?” and the do-ers say “I am”

"The only difference between the “thinkers” and the “do-ers” is that little decision they make. The thinkers say, “should I?” and the do-ers say “I am”."

-- Overcoming Internal Objections and Finding a Career You Love, Christine Gilbert

You have a purpose in this life and in this world, and your contribution matters.

" What the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind of man can achieve. Napoleon Hill

...

There really are no "good" or "bad" events in our lives; we just have our own preconceived ideas and perceptions about certain things that make them so for us. Everything that happens in our lives provides an opportunity to grow in some way. Try to remember that any seemingly negative event can also become the seed of something beautiful and beneficial.

There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

...

You have a purpose in this life and in this world, and your contribution matters. Most of us are not really quite clear about what our purpose is-we haven't really taken the time to search our souls and discover our true calling. We've gotten sidetracked with bills, responsibilities, work and too little spare time to even find out what it is that we really enjoy. This is a compromise to who you really are and what you have to offer the world. You must give priority to discovering your real mission in life. You are not living to your fullest potential or contributing to your fullest abilities unless you are living a life of purpose.

...

All our dreams can come true-if we have the courage to pursue them. Walt Disney"

-- Key to Living the Law of Attraction, Jack Canfield

We’re waiting for someone to give us a permission slip that tells us it’s OK to be ourselves.

"Many of us live our lives out of the fear of what other people think of us. We’re waiting for someone to give us a permission slip that tells us it’s OK to be ourselves."

-- Fear and Permission, Chris Guillebeau

death will be at hand, for which, willy nilly, you must find leisure.

"So it is—the life we receive is not short, but we make it so, nor do we have any lack of it, but are wasteful of it.

...

Look back in memory and consider when you ever had a fixed plan, how few days have passed as you had intended, when you were ever at your own disposal, when your face ever wore its natural expression, when your mind was ever unperturbed, what work you have achieved in so long a life, how many have robbed you of life when you were not aware of what you were losing, how much was taken up in useless sorrow, in foolish joy, in greedy desire, in the allurements of society, how little of yourself was left to you; you will perceive that you are dying before your season! What, then, is the reason of this?

...

Believe me, it takes a great man and one who has risen far above human weaknesses not to allow any of his time to be filched from him, and it follows that the life of such a man is very long because he has devoted wholly to himself whatever time he has had. None of it lay neglected and idle; none of it was under the control of another, for, guarding it most grudgingly, he found nothing that was worthy to be taken in exchange for his time. And so that man had time enough, but those who have been robbed of much of their life by the public, have necessarily had too little of it.

...

Everyone hurries his life on and suffers from a yearning for the future and a weariness of the present. But he who bestows all of his time on his own needs, who plans out every day as if it were his last, neither longs for nor fears the morrow. For what new pleasure is there that any hour can now bring? They are all known, all have been enjoyed to the full. Mistress Fortune may deal out the rest as she likes; his life has already found safety. Something may be added to it, but nothing taken from it, and he will take any addition as the man who is satisfied and filled takes the food which he does not desire and yet can hold. And so there is no reason for you to think that any man has lived long because he has grey hairs or wrinkles; he has not lived long—he has existed long. For what if you should think that that man had had a long voyage who had been caught by a fierce storm as soon as he left harbour, and, swept hither and thither by a succession of winds that raged from different quarters, had been driven in a circle around the same course? Not much voyaging did he have, but much tossing about.

...

Life will follow the path it started upon, and will neither reverse nor check its course; it will make no noise, it will not remind you of its swiftness. Silent it will glide on; it will not prolong itself at the command of a king, or at the applause of the populace. Just as it was started on its first day, so it will run; nowhere will it turn aside, nowhere will it delay. And what will be the result? You have been engrossed, life hastens by; meanwhile death will be at hand, for which, willy nilly, you must find leisure."

-- On The Shortness of Life, Lucius Seneca

life was living (and killing) me

"I used to sit at home all day, watching TV, going out with friends drinking, and stuff like that. The only lesson I learned from that is I wasn’t living life, life was living (and killing) me. By getting out into the world and living in new places I connect with new people (I used to be a big introvert and traveling has forced me to change that) and reconnect with myself."

-- Interview with Karol Gajda: How to live anywhere, Everett Bogue

Busy is simply noise, action without meaning

"But it’s a fool’s game. Busy is simply noise, action without meaning, lots of little unimportant things rather than a few important ones."

-- The end of busy, Leo Babauta

the habit of comparison can lead us astray.

"We embark on a journey that can last a lifetime and where each pleasure leads us to the next.

...

Often we have to compare ourselves to others in order to decide whether we're kings and queens or losers. "If people just wanted to be happy, it wouldn't be so hard, but they want to be happier than others - and that is almost always difficult because we imagine others to be happier than they really are," wrote the philosopher Montaigne.

...

in daily life we have to remind ourselves how badly the habit of comparison can lead us astray.

...

Enthusiasm over access to better restaurants, a beautiful car, and a bigger apartment wanes quickly. ... "The treadmill of hedonism" is what the social psychologist Donald Campbell called this fruitless struggle. And worse: chasing after fame and money diminishes life satisfaction. ... The rat race - the chase after recognition for money and status - doesn't pay. Not even the fulfillment of their wishes can compensate the ambitious: wealth and influence bring them no happiness, because as soon as they've attained their heart's desire, they set their sights on a new one.

...

What's important is to have a good perspective and to choose the right moment.

...

When we're only dimly aware of our happiness, we not only forfeit the happiness, but also the knowledge about what it is that we like and what helps us.

...

Just what it is that makes people happy is something we each have to discover for ourselves. Life is not a hundred-yard dash in which we all take off from the same starting line and finish in the same home stretch.

...

Bertolt Brecht described this dilemma in his Threepenny Opera:

Aye, race for happiness

But don't you race too fast.

When all start chasing happiness

Happiness comes in last."

-- The Science of Happiness, Stefan Klein, PhD

it sums up all.

“It is the pleasure of searching and the pleasure of the adventure. You are nourishing something that’s very important-your dreams. We must never stop dreaming. Dreams provide nourishment for the soul, just as a meal does for the body. Many times in our lives we see our dreams shattered and our desires frustrated, but we have to continue dreaming. If we don’t, our soul dies…”

-- The Pilgrimage, Paulo Coelho

i want to read this book!

“In the hopes of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet.”

-- Albert Schweitzer

“If you only do what you know you can do- you never do very much.”

-- Tom Krause

my favorite!!

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”

-- Albert Einstein

it really doesn’t matter whether anyone else thinks it’s a good idea or not.

"if you’ve got your heart set on doing something, it really doesn’t matter whether anyone else thinks it’s a good idea or not.

...

Plenty of people thought the iPod would flop too. So I could be wrong about your idea, and so could anyone else.

Sure, your heart can lead you astray, but at least it will be a more enjoyable ride."

-- Unsolicited Advice, Chris Guillebeau

your heart can lead you astray, but at least it will be a more enjoyable ride.

"if you’ve got your heart set on doing something, it really doesn’t matter whether anyone else thinks it’s a good idea or not.

...

Plenty of people thought the iPod would flop too. So I could be wrong about your idea, and so could anyone else.

Sure, your heart can lead you astray, but at least it will be a more enjoyable ride."

-- Unsolicited Advice, Chris Guillebeau

we are more likely to avert risk than to seek out happiness.

"To this day, we are more likely to avert risk than to seek out happiness. In every newspaper, bad news yields larger headlines than good news. Losses inflict hurt more than equivalent gains bring joy.

 ...

Nature had to enable its creatures to deal with a world that is constantly changing, and that's just what curiosity does well - enabling us not just to accept new things but also to want them. When we explore the world, we're a step ahead of it.

(yea man, go out and expose ourselves to the world! theres always new things to do, see, taste, feel and love.)

...

People may be surprised by those who are so different from themselves, but there is little point trying to reeducate someone who is restless, or immobile, for the degree to which a person needs new stimulation is probably inborn.

(see that?! its scientifically proven, no point altering our INBORN curiosity. satiety will come if we follow our soul.)

...

And the Old Testament describes the emptiness that King Kohelet felt after having amassed more property and enjoyed more delights than any king before him: "Then my thoughts turned to all the fortune my hands had built up, to the wealth I had acquired and won - and oh, it was all futile and pursuit of wind; there was no real value under the sun!... And so I loathed life."

(so you see, having the riches in the whole world doesn't necessarily equate to happiness.)

...

Independent of age, health and sex, a lonely person is twice as likely to die within the coming year than someone who feels secure in his relationship with others. Smoking, on the other hand, increases the risk of death by a factor of only one and a half. "

(this means it is okay to become a social smoker to extend your health should u have a desperate need to fit in. haha. contradicting? but yea.)

-- The Science of Happiness, Stefan Klein, PhD