Posts

Read and Said

The following is a snapshot of some of my favorite book and movie quotes from one of my journals. Enjoy! From Raising Your Emotional Intelligence, Jeanne Segal: "We are told to value the head and devalue the heart; instinctively, we value the heart and feel wrong for doing so. WE ARE NOT WRONG." From The Five People You Meet In Heaven, Mitch Albom: "...all endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time." "Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else." From Under The Tuscany Sun, starring Diane Lane: "Regrets are a waste of time. They are the past crippling you in the present." From Something's Gotta Give, starring Diane Keaton: "I let someone in and I had the time of my life." From Stillness Speaks, by Eckhart Tolle: "Surrender comes when you no longer ask, 'Why is this happening to me?'" What are some of you...

October

October gave a party; The leaves by hundreds came - The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, And leaves of every name. The Sunshine spread a carpet, And everything was grand, Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind the band. ~George Cooper, "October's Party"

Feel the fear and do it anyways...

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." ~Ambrose Redmoon

What do you refuse to give up on?

"Defeat doesn't finish a man -- quit does. A man is not finished when he's defeated. He's finished when he quits." ~Richard Nixon

Life isn't just a funny, funny riddle

"Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor." ~Sholom Aleichem What is your life like these days?

The Rules

This is from a rather new journal that I received from Krush last summer. I haven't officially named it yet but it tends to reflect some of the rules I have for my life. Specifically around what I will and will not tolerate from people around me. This entry is dated 10/08/2004: Broken, fearful & wounded are not attractive qualities. Ever.

Ritual Invitations

If you take a looksy over to the left side of this page you'll see that I have a link to the website for Oriah Mountain Dreamer . I absolutely adore her work and have read and re-read her books many many times. Right now I'm reading (again) The Invitation . I remember the first time I read the book, reading a passage about solitude and it made me feel sad that I had no experience ever truly being alone with myself. Over the years I have gotten better at appreciating true solitude. The kind of solitude that leaves you sitting alone, in silence, lost in the sounds of your own thoughts. This is the passage that I read last night and as I read it this time, I was filled with happiness knowing that I can absolutely find peace with my own company: "When I ask if you can be alone with yourself, I am not asking if the idea of being alone appeals to you but if you can actually be present, with yourself, for longer than a couple of hours, without flipping on the TV or the radio ...

I Believe

I believe that if we stand up and take responsibility for our mistakes we risk many things but the knowledge we gain is worth much, much more. I believe that risk and failure and success and experience and about a million other things build character ...or take away from it. I believe that happiness is not about good luck or good fortune but rather a decision that we make with each experience that we have. I believe that all peace and happiness starts within and moves without . I do not believe you can reverse that. I believe we can waste a lifetime blaming ourselves or blaming others for the problems in our life or our world or we can spend a lifetime doing something about it. I believe whether you make a conscious decision or not, you are setting an example for somebody. I believe like attracts like , who and what do you want to attract? I believe good memories are better than good inheritances . I believe what you say isn’t half as important as what you do . I ...

*nods head*

Have you ever received advice from someone that was CERTAIN that their recommendation was the ONLY possible solution? Have you ever encountered a person that made you feel like their attempt to help you was actually smothering the LIFE out of you? Have you ever received advice from someone that actually came across as UPSET when you decided to go a route other than what they suggested? Oh, haaaaaaaaaaave IIIIIIIIIIIII ever... I saw this quote today and my head almost bobbeled off I nodded in agreement so hard: "The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right." ~Henry Ward Beecher , US abolitionist & clergyman

Reason #128 why you should learn to sit quietly:

"Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Balance

"There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness." ~Carl Jung

When I grow up I wanna be fireworks.

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!" ~John Kerouac

How many great leaders do you know?

"A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent." ~Douglas McCarther Great leaders aren't just in the workplace. They lead volunteer efforts, churches, sports teams & communities. Where do you see great leaders?

You've got to stand for something...

"It is important that people know what you stand for. It's equally important that they know what you won't stand for." - Mary Waldrop

Do you know the difference?

"There is an important difference between giving up and letting go." ~ Jessica Hatchigan (Found at Open Book )

Where are the people that can do this?

"Being vulnerable doesn't have to be threatening. Just have the courage to be sincere, open and honest. This opens the door to deeper communication all around. It creates self-empowerment and the kind of connections with others we all want in life. Speaking from the heart frees us from the secrets that burden us. These secrets are what make us sick or fearful. Speaking truth helps you get clarity on your real heart directives." ~Sara Paddison

Intensity comes in small packages

An excerpt from The Art of Worldly Wisdom: A Collection of Aphorisms from the Works of Baltasar Gracian, translated by Martin Fischer : "Rate the intensive above the extensive. The perfect does not lie in quantity, but in quality. All that is best is always scant, and rare, for mass in anything cheapens it. Even among men the giants have often been true pygmies. Some judge books by their thickness, as though they had been written to exercise the arms, instead of the mind. Bigness, alone, never gets beyond the mediocre, and it is the curse of the universal man, that in trying to be everything, he is nothing."

Tough enuff

"Tough times never last, tough people do." ~Robert Schuller

Personality Fitness

For as long as I can remember I have struggled with fitness. It isn't that I am opposed to it. I have no great issues with working up a sweat. My struggle has been in finding fitness routines or programs that can keep my attention. Today I ran across an article on Personality Fitness . I read the descriptions for all and felt I best fit into the 1st and 5th fitness types: Fitness Personality No. 1: Action and Adventure Bored by routine workouts Spends as much time as possible outdoors Prefers the trail to the treadmill Usually competitive when it comes to sports Exercises for the adventure and/or social experience Fitness Personality No. 5: Easy Does It Avoids the gym Uncomfortable exercising in groups Prefers low-impact fitness routines May be working around old sports injuries or other health concerns (such as back pain, etc.) Exercises to build resilience, stability and self-confidence There were exercises listed that definitely appealed to me and some that I had never hear...

Land of 10,000 opportunities

"Take a lesson from the mosquito. It never waits for an opening; it makes one." ~Kirk Kirkpatrick Well dang...who knew those pesky little bastards were something to aspire to be like? I have a couple of friends that are presently feeling trapped by their jobs. For various reasons they hate where they are and what they are doing. These are not people that recently had a change in their current situation that isn't sitting well with them. These are people that have hated their career situation for nearly 10 years. I do what I can to help them explore their opportunities, find out what else is out in the world of employment that would be a little more satisfying for them but I think the reality is that these are people that won't ever make an opening for themself. Listening to them talk you would think that they are expecting that one day they are going to have some AHA! moment where finally they realize what career of their dreams is. Like mysteriously their caree...