Far too much to list here... But I'll try...
How much this government of ours is totally fucking over the world
raping us all of our constitutional rights and shitting all over
the bill of rights and using the constitution as toilet paper...
And all the while we claim to be against it while we freely hand
them money to fund a war we "don't want or support". Yeah, uh huh,
sure thing... Wait a second... 52 cents of every tax dollar goes to
fund a war that people claim to be against by putting magnetic
ribbons on their cars and signs in their front yard so their
neighbors can know they are against the war... Yet hand money to
our government to buy bombs, missiles, guns, ammo and all the other
fun toys that is being used to kill innocent civilians just trying
to live their life in the middle east, raising a family just like
you are over here... No wait they don't get to enjoy breakfast
without carpet bombing or scared out of their mind army grunts
breaking down the door shooting first and asking no questions
because they are trained that everyone over there has to be
considered an enemy, even the kids! We are overdue for a
revolution, we, the american public on a grand scale have become
complacent hypocritical apathetic fat assed ignorant lazy pieces of
american grade bullshit. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? that's
just one of the many things I think about... There's also
this...
"So we shall let the reader answer this question for himself: who
is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived
or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed?"
— Hunter S. Thompson
Living with passion and purpose is about doing what ‘lights you up’
and makes your heart sing. It’s NOT about money. It’s about
something much more rare and precious. It’s about shining your
light in a way only YOU can do it in this world! One of the
greatest struggles of the healing process is to forgive both
yourself and others and to stop expending valuable energy on the
past hurts. All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of
letting go and holding on... The place which may seem like the end
may also be only the beginning. Ordinary people believe only in the
possible. Extraordinary people visualize not what is possible or
probable, but rather what is impossible. And by visualizing the
impossible, they begin to see it as possible.
Whatever relationships you have attracted in your life at this
moment, are precisely the ones you need in your life at this
moment. There is a hidden meaning behind all events, and this
hidden meaning is serving your own evolution. Do not look back and
grieve over the past for it is gone; and do not be troubled about
the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make
it so beautiful it will be worth remembering. You've done it before
and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the
substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive,
effective, unstoppable determination... It's so true.
You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the
door on the past. You don't try to forget the mistakes, but you
don't dwell on it. You don't let it have any of your energy, or any
of your time, or any of your space. There isn't a perfect person
somewhere, only a more perfect person we might become, and there
isn't a paradise someone can lead us to unless it's the world we
make for ourselves when we stop expecting it to be delivered by
someone else. Live your life so that the fear of death can never
enter your heart. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for
the morning light. Give thanks for your life and strength. Give
thanks for your food and for the joy of living. And if perchance
you see no reason for giving thanks, rest assured the fault is in
yourself.
Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with
yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections
but instantly set about remedying them -- every day begin the task
anew...
Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation,
resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news,
are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that
we're holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we
feel we'd rather collapse and back away. They're like messengers
that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we're stuck.
This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it's
with us wherever we are.
All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the
better. When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not
properly value the only companion we will have from birth to
death... Ourselves.
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at
midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts
itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from
yesterday. Never give up on something that you can't go a day
without thinking about... It isn't what happens to us that causes
us to suffer; it's what we say to ourselves about what happens.
Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty;
not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. Hold
tenderly that which you cherish, for it is precious and a tight
grip may crush it. Do not let the fear of dropping it cause you to
hold it too tightly: the chances are, it is holding you, too.
“Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved
person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.” ~ C.S.
Lewis
When we least expect it, life puts before us a challenge to test
our courage and willingness to change; our willingness to set our
fear and selfishness aside; at such a moment, there is no point in
pretending that nothing is happening or in saying that we are not
yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back.
Eventually all things fall into place. Until then, laugh at the
confusion, live for the moments, and know everything happens for a
reason. Sometimes you don't need a goal in life, you don't need to
know the big picture. you just need to know what you're going to do
next!
"This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day
to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you
do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life
for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its
place is something that you have left behind... let it be something
good". - Christopher Breedlove
Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved
person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained. If you are
distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing
itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to
revoke at any moment. Our sorrows and wounds are healed only when
we touch them with compassion. Whatever state you're in will
transfer itself to others. Find yourself in joyful, loving states
and you will change your world. Simply let go of what hurts your
soul.
The past does not have to be your prison. You have a voice in your
destiny. You have a say in your life. You have a choice in the path
you take.Sometimes in life, from out of a myriad of prosaic
decisions like what to eat and where to sleep and how to dress, a
true crossroads is revealed. In these moments, when the fog of
relative irrelevancy lifts and fate rolls out a demand for free
will, there is only left or right – no option of four-by-fouring
into the underbrush between two paths, no negotiating with the
choice that has been presented. You must answer the call and pick
your way.
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest
appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. The level
that you can give love, acceptance and forgiveness to others is
just a mirror of how much you're giving it to yourself. To live is
to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what
you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.
Courage is the power to let go of the familiar. The fears you don’t
face control you. The fears you face, you move beyond.
Determination is the wake-up call to the human will.
Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are
moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against
it - but sail we must, and not drift, nor lie at anchor. Strength
is measured not by holding on, but by letting go. Misfortune always
comes to those who wait. The trick is to find happiness in the
brief gaps between disasters. The greatest test of courage on earth
is to bear defeat without losing heart. Whether we allow external
events to shape our lives at a core level is very much within our
own control. As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that
the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by
them. We often take for granted the very things that most deserve
our gratitude. The past does not have to be your prison. You have a
voice in your destiny. You have a say in your life. You have a
choice in the path you take. Whatever state you're in will transfer
itself to others. Find yourself in joyful, loving states and you
will change your world...
What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? I
challenge you to make your life masterpiece. I challenge you to
join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk
their talk. Life is a series of experiences, each one of which
makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this.
For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn
that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our
marching onward. Life is too short to be little. f your happiness
depends on what somebody else does, I guess you do have a
problem... If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have
it. If you don't ask the answer is always NO. If you don't step
forward, you're always in the same place. Life will give you
whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your
consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need?
Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.
When you understand that what you're telling is just a story. It
isn't happening anymore. When you realize the story you're telling
is just words, when you can just crumble it up and throw your past
in the trashcan, then we'll figure out who you're going to be. The
great difference between voyages rests not in ships but in the
people you meet on them. What service can you be to humanity? How
much love can you give? How good a friend can you be? The rewards
you will gain by becoming a GIVER will reap for you true peace and
a feeling of beautiful wholeness. Your body is free but your heart
is in prison. To release your heart, you simply reverse the process
which locked it up. First you begin to listen for messages from
your heart—messages you may have been ignoring since childhood.
Next you must take the daring, risky step of expressing your heart
in the outside world. . . . As you learn to live by heart, every
choice you make will become another way of telling your story. . .
. It is the way you were meant to exist. If you stop to listen,
you’ll realize that your heart has been telling you so all along.
If you do nothing unexpected, nothing unexpected happens.
Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what
makes life meaningful. What would life be if we had no courage to
attempt anything?
Why do humans think they are so above the animals on this planet?
The vast majority of animals hear better than us, see better than
us, smell better, run faster, jump higher, climb easier, hunt
better, are better prepared for harsh weather, and can even predict
that weather and other things way better than us. And that just
covers the obvious. And without a weapon we would be at the bottom
of their food chain. What would life be if we had no courage to
attempt anything? I challenge you to make your life masterpiece. I
challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they
teach, who walk their talk. Life is a series of experiences, each
one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to
realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we
must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in
our marching onward. Life is too short to be little.
This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience - it looks for
a way of being constructive. Love is not possessive. Love is not
anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own
ideas. Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage.
Love is not touchy. Love does not keep account of evil or gloat
over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad
with all good men when truth prevails. Love knows no limits to its
endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can
outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that stands when
all else has fallen. Despite your best efforts, people are going to
be hurt when it's time for them to be hurt. You have peace...when
you make it with yourself.
If you are faced with a mountain, you have several options.
You can climb it and cross to the other side.
You can go around it.
You can dig under it.
You can fly over it.
You can blow it up.
You can ignore it and pretend it’s not there.
You can turn around and go back the way you came.
Or you can stay on the mountain and make it your home.
Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The
way you deal with it is what makes the difference.
I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh
try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere
behind the morning. Everything that has a beginning has an ending.
Make your peace with that and all will be well. To give life a
meaning, one must have a purpose larger than one's self. Whether we
allow external events to shape our lives at a core level is very
much within our own control. To succeed, you need to find something
to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.
To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are
and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to
get there. What I am looking for is not out there, it is in
me.
Everything is affected by and is part of everything else, changing
constantly from one state to another. The rain becomes the river;
the river surrenders to the sea and the cycle begins over again.
Nothing is ever lost. The melody changes – the dance goes
on...
"You should live every day like it's your last day because one day
you're gonna be right". ~ Ray Charles
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because
your character is what you really are, while your reputation is
merely what others think you are. There would be nothing to
frighten you if you refused to be afraid. We are limited but we can
push back the borders of our limitations. There are two ways of
meeting difficulties. You alter the difficulties or you alter
yourself to meet them. The price of anything is the amount of life
you exchange for it. To live a life of gratitude is to open our
eyes to the countless ways in which we are supported by the world
around us. Such a life provides less space for our suffering
because our attention is more balanced. We are more often occupied
with noticing what we are given, thanking those who have helped us,
and repaying the world in some concrete way for what we are
receiving.
There are some things one can only achieve by a deliberate leap in
the opposite direction. Faith is an act of rational choice, which
determines us to act as if certain things were true, and in the
confident expectation that they will prove to be true. Of all the
liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears. In the
end, nothing we do or say in this lifetime will matter as much as
the way we have loved one another.
Suffering and joy teach us, if we allow them, how to make the leap
of empathy, which transports us into the soul and heart of another
person. Life is like a jigsaw puzzle, you have to see the whole
picture, then put it together piece by piece.Too many of us are
hung up on what we don't have, can't have, or won't ever have. We
spend too much energy being down, when we could use that same
energy – if not less of it– doing, or at least trying to do, some
of the things we really want to do. After all these years, I am
still involved in the process of self-discovery. It’s better to
explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are
part of the dues one pays for a full life. Freedom is not worth
having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. Simply
be who you are, do what you do best, be where you are called by
joy, and let life work its magic on your behalf...
"It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings, and
money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear
want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close
yourselves off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one.
Here's what you can do to change the world, right now, to a better
ride. Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defense each
year, and instead spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor
of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being
excluded, and we could explore space together, both inner and
outer, for ever, in peace." - Bill Hicks, another dead hero.
Everyone and everything around you is your teacher. It isn't the
mountains ahead to climb that wear you out, it's the pebble in your
shoe. Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what
they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can. If you
want change, make it. When the music changes, so does the dance.
Nothing we can do can change the past, but everything we do changes
the future. What you thought before has led to every choice you
have made, and this adds up to you at this moment. If you want to
change who you are physically, mentally, and spiritually, you will
have to change what you think. Which will dictate how you feel,
which will effect not only you; but the entire world around
you.
Sometimes the things that hurt most are what's best for us. Nothing
is so strong as gentleness. Nothing is so gentle as real strength.
With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. A happy
person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but
rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.
When you don’t know what to do, get still. The answer will come. My
actions are my only true belongings. If you want something you've
never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done.
One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive
everybody, everything, every night before you go to bed... I'm
working on this last one really hard, but it's not as easy as I
would like it to be. That is one of the challenges in my life. I
have to learn to let go...
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same
river, and he’s not the same man. It is quite possible to leave
your home for a walk in the early morning air and return a
different person. There's a race of men that don't fit in; A race
that can't sit still. So they break the hearts of kith and kin, And
they roam the world at will. They range the field and rove the
flood, and they climb the mountain's crest; Their's is the curse of
the gypsy blood, and they don't know how to rest. If you are unable
to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to
find it? If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong.
It only takes one person to change your life - you. I believe that
life is a journey, often difficult and sometimes incredibly cruel,
but we are well equipped for it if only we tap into our talents and
gifts and allow them to blossom.
The person in life that you will always be with the most, is
yourself. Because even when you are with others, you are still with
yourself, too! When you wake up in the morning, you are with
yourself, laying in bed at night you are with yourself, walking
down the street in the sunlight you are with yourself.What kind of
person do you want to walk down the street with? What kind of
person do you want to wake up in the morning with? What kind of
person do you want to see at the end of the day before you fall
asleep? Because that person is yourself, and it's your
responsibility to be that person you want to be with. I know I want
to spend my life with a person who knows how to let things go,
who's not full of hate, who's able to smile and be carefree. So
that's who I have to be.
Never too old, never too bad, never too late, never too sick to
start from scratch once again. Nothing is as far away as one minute
ago. Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is
the foundation for all abundance. Your thoughts and beliefs of the
past have created this moment, and all the moments up to this
moment. What you are now choosing to believe and think and say will
create the next moment and the next day and the next month and the
next year. Change has long been a fearful thing for human beings
... and at the same time, it is our most Divine opportunity.
Clinging to the banks of the river may seem safe and more secure,
but life's possibilities are truly engaged only when we trust,
release and become part of The Flow of the Universe. Let this
coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the
things you’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t find the time. Call
up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some
pleasant memories. Vow not to make a promise you don’t think you
can keep. Walk tall, and smile more. You’ll look ten years younger.
Don’t be afraid to say, ‘I love you’. Say it again. They are the
sweetest words in the world.
If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit
of advice for all humanity, it would be this: Expect trouble as an
inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high.
Look it squarely in the eye, and say, “I will be bigger than you.
You cannot defeat me." The difficult is that which can be done
immediately; the Impossible that which takes a little longer. To be
successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You
can’t just accept the ones you like. Once in a while it really hits
people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they
have been told to. The distance is nothing; it’s only the first
step that is difficult. I'll go anywhere as long as it's forward...
I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where
I’m going is what inspires me to travel it. People like us, who
believe in physics, know that the distinction between past,
present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.
Fate knows where you are going, but it is up to you to drive there.
Pay attention to life. When you are aware of the people,
surroundings, obstacles and doorways along the way... you are more
likely to remain steady on your path, and better able to change
direction when needed. It's amazing the little messages the
Universe gives us at exactly the right time to remind us that it is
exactly the right time. To get up when you are down, to fight more
intensely when you are struggling; to put in the extra effort when
you are in sheer pain, to comeback when nobody expects you to, and
to stand tall when every one is pulling you down are what make a
champion. Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the
delight in the recognition. Love one another and you will be happy.
It's as simple and as difficult as that...
I'm doing my best with what I have been dealt, but that does not
necessarily make it any easier to do. Just when things are looking
like they are moving in the right direction, it appears as if the
rug is about to be pulled out from underneath me. Truly, this is
aggravating, but I'll just roll with the punches like I always do.
My life has a funny way of working itself out in the end... But
MAN, it's sometimes quite the headache.
Sometimes you have to get lost to find your way home. To give life
a meaning, one must have a purpose larger than one's self. Before
moving on, you have to clear away your cherished beliefs. Your
present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely
determine where you start. Completion comes not from adding another
piece to ourselves but from surrendering our ideas of perfection.
Never look back unless you are planning to go that way. Everything
can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human
freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of
circumstances, to choose one's own way. We can spend our lives
letting the world tell us who we are...Letting history tell us how
good or bad we are. Letting our past decide our future. Or we can
decide for ourselves. And maybe it’s our job to invent something
better. Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while
loving someone deeply gives you courage.
"If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not
let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way". ~
Buddha
I was asking myself why I was having these obstacles in my life...
then I suddenly became aware that these obstacles were my life, and
I began to enjoy them. Your present circumstances don't determine
where you can go; they merely determine where you start. Make it a
habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation,
sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly
appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others
around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have
more of it. Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and
celebrate the journey. It's never too late—in fiction or in life—to
revise. Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life
has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than
to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to,
everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate, or
despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful,
evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced
with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him [or her]
who has the vision to recognize it as such.
Rigid beliefs make disappointments seem unbearable, whereas
realistic beliefs help us to accept disappointments and go on from
there. There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can
do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only
when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there.
You suppose you are the trouble but you are the cure. You can't eat
happiness. You can't buy it. You can't wear it. You can't drive it,
or drink it, or sell it, or steal it. You can't lock it away. You
can't negotiate for it. You can't win it, you can't marry it, you
can't inherit it, you can't cheat it. You can't smoke it, or inject
it, or rent it or borrow it. You can't campaign for it or beg for
it, or talk other people into giving you theirs. You can live
happiness. You can create it. You can be it. You can give it to
others. You can enjoy it. You can share it. You can claim it. You
can have as much as you wish. You can enjoy it as much as you want,
at any time, under any circumstance. You can work with it, play
with it, worship, travel, eat, and sleep with it. Happiness is
yours to live and yours to give, if only you will. It comes from
the inside, and the best way to experience it is to get it flowing
out. Every single moment has a purpose. An error doesn't become a
mistake until you refuse to correct it. If you don't feel grateful
for what you have, what makes you think you'll be happy with more?
Be grateful for whoever comes because each has been sent as a guide
for traipsing down this path of life.
Change is the end result of all true learning. Love is not
possessive. Love is not anxious to impress nor does it cherish
inflated ideas of its own ideas. Love has good manners and does not
pursue selfish advantage. Love is not touchy. Love does not keep
account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On
the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails.
Love knows no limits to its endurance, no end to its trust, no
fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the
one thing that stands when all else has fallen. Thought is cause:
experience is effect. If you don't like the effects in your life,
you have to change the nature of your thinking. It's not knowing
what to do, it's doing what you know. When we feel stuck, going
nowhere--even starting to slip backward--we may actually be backing
up to get a running start. Every time you are tempted to react in
the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a
pioneer of the future. It is this belief in a power larger than
myself and inside of myself which allows me to venture into the
unknown and even the unknowable. From wonder into wonder existence
opens. Pain isn't the truth; it's what you have to get through in
order to find the truth. You must find the place inside yourself
where nothing is impossible. Decisions are a way of defining
ourselves. There comes a time in life when there is nothing else to
do but go your own way. Where you are headed there are no trails,
no paths, just your own instincts.
"Why is everyone here so happy except me?"
"Because they have learned to see goodness and beauty everywhere,"
said the Master.
"Why don't I see goodness and beauty everywhere?"
"Because you cannot see outside of you what you fail to see
inside."
To seek security outside to fill the void of insecurity inside is
like trying to cure a wound by putting dirt on it. It only
redoubles our insecurity because everything that is outside is
already insecure! When one tugs at a single thing in Nature, he
finds it hitched to the rest of the Universe. Don't ask yourself
what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And
then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who
have come alive. Where did we get the impression that THIS
shouldn’t be happening? The best way to predict the future is to
create it.
Seek first to understand... there will always be time later for
judgment. There is no one against us in this world but ourselves.
You are against you. A failure to love, embrace, and accept
yourself based on not a thing flows outwards and causes conflict.
Love you for being alive, accept and embrace all of you, and where
is the hate now? How can you hate another now? Where can conflict
arise? It's up to you what your world looks like. Everything is
passing… enjoy its momentariness.
Life breaks all of us sometimes, but some grow strong at broken
places. If you could only keep quiet, clear of memories and
expectations, you would be able to discern the beautiful pattern of
events. That which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of
our own destiny. Be it through intention or ignorance, our
successes and our failures have been brought on by none other than
ourselves. If you do not change direction, you may end up where you
are heading. It is only when we realize that life is taking us
nowhere that it begins to have meaning. Anyone who has lost
something they thought was theirs forever finally comes to realize
that nothing really belongs to them. Gratefulness is the key to a
happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not
grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy
because we will always want to have something else or something
more. You can only lose what you cling to. Accept who you are and
don't let the world try to tell you otherwise. The appearance of
things change according to the emotions, and thus we see magic and
beauty in them, while the magic and beauty are really in ourselves.
Appreciation in advance brings everything you want to you. It is
simple. We are where we should be, doing what we should be doing.
Otherwise we would be somewhere else, doing something else.
It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat
everything as if it were a nail. There will be a time when you
believe everything is finished... That will be the beginning. A man
cannot be comfortable without his own approval. There is little
sense in attempting to change external conditions, you must first
change inner beliefs, then outer conditions will change
accordingly. Those of you who have failed to work toward the truth
have missed the purpose of living. Trust that when you let go, it
will all be ok. As you believe you shall receive.
You can pretend to care, but you can't pretend to show up. There is
little sense in attempting to change external conditions, you must
first change inner beliefs, then outer conditions will change
accordingly. There is no one giant step that does it. It's a lot of
little steps. Things to look forward to don't just happen, you make
them. Each today, well-lived, makes yesterday a dream of happiness
and each tomorrow a vision of hope. Look, therefore, to this one
day, for it and it alone is life. We often take for granted the
very things that most deserve our gratitude. There are two kinds of
gratitude: the sudden kind we feel for what we take; the larger
kind we feel for what we give.
Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands,
because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we
will not be happy because we will always want to have something
else or something more. You have to find something that you love
enough to be able to take risks, jump over the hurdles and break
through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front
of you. If you don’t have that kind of feeling for what it is you
are doing, you’ll stop at the first giant hurdle. Adventure is in
the eye of the beholder. Once a struggle is grasped, miracles are
possible. Life is a series of experiences, each one makes us
bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was
built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and
griefs which we endure help us in our marching onward.
Man stands in his own shadow and wonders why it's dark. One can
choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances. To decide,
to be at the level of choice, is to take responsibility for your
life and to be in control of your life. We love because it’s the
only true adventure. Nothing in life has any meaning except the
meaning you give it. Life always gives us exactly the teacher we
need at every moment. This includes every mosquito, every
misfortune, every red light, every traffic jam, every obnoxious
supervisor (or employee), every illness, every loss, every moment
of joy or depression, every addiction, every piece of garbage,
every breath. Every moment is the guru. Wisdom is nothing more than
healed pain.
There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different
from the things we do. There are times to stay put, and what you
want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world
and find such a thing for yourself. Believe in your dreams. Believe
in today. Believe that you are loved. Believe that you make a
difference. Believe we can build a better world. Believe when
others might not. Believe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
Believe that you might be that light for someone else. Believe that
the best is yet to be. Believe in each other. Believe in yourself.
Nothing in life has any meaning except the meaning you give
it.
Man stands in his own shadow and wonders why it's dark. One can
choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances. To decide,
to be at the level of choice, is to take responsibility for your
life and to be in control of your life. We love because it’s the
only true adventure. Nothing in life has any meaning except the
meaning you give it. Life always gives us exactly the teacher we
need at every moment. This includes every mosquito, every
misfortune, every red light, every traffic jam, every obnoxious
supervisor (or employee), every illness, every loss, every moment
of joy or depression, every addiction, every piece of garbage,
every breath. Every moment is the guru. Wisdom is nothing more than
healed pain. We always attract into our lives whatever we think
about most, believe most strongly, expect on the deepest level, and
imagine most vividly. No one loses anyone, because no one owns
anyone. That is the true experience of freedom: having the most
important thing in the world without owning it.
I don't believe I've ever met a person who hasn't been challenged
or wounded by something. Difficulties present choices. We can
either waste away from our wounds or use them to grow our souls.
There is more in us than we know. If we can be made to see it,
perhaps, for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle
for anything less. Success is not about what you have, it's about
what you've overcome.
I'm a little wounded, but I am not slain; I will lay me down to
bleed a while. Then I'll rise and fight again. At every point in
the human journey we find that we have to let go in order to move
forward; and letting go means dying a little. In the process we are
being created anew, awakened afresh to the source of our being. All
that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is
everything. What we think, we become.
"If we can manage to refrain from harming others in our everyday
actions and words, we can start to give more serious attention to
actively doing good, and this can be a source of great joy and
inner confidence. We can benefit others through our actions by
being warm and generous toward them, by being charitable, and by
helping those in need." -Dali Lama
You get what anybody gets - you get a lifetime. Waking up is not a
selfish pursuit of happiness, it is a revolutionary stance, from
the inside out, for the benefit of all beings in existence. Only
from the heart Can you touch the sky. There is a difference between
giving into something and accepting it. Appreciate yourself and
honor your soul. Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given,
never forgotten, never let it disappear. There is no remedy for
love but to love more.
What happens if your choice is misguided? You must try to correct
it. But what if it’s too late? What if you can’t? Then you must
find a way to live with it. Two roads diverged; I could not travel
both being only one traveler. Two roads diverged, I took the one
less traveled, and that has made all the difference in my
world.
How are you going to spend this one odd and precious life you have
been issued? Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good
and creating the illusion that you have power over people and
circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and
find out the truth about who you are. Be true to yourself. If you
are what you should be, then you will set the world on fire.
Put yourself in a state of mind where you say to yourself, "Here is
an opportunity for you to celebrate like never before, my own
power, my own ability to get myself to do whatever is necessary.
The two important things I did learn were that you are as powerful
and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult
part of any endeavor is taking the first step, making the first
decision. When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge. He who is
outside his door already has the hard part of his journey behind
him. The best teacher is experience and not through someone's
distorted point of view.
I say I'm sorry because I've had a an experience in my life that
made me realize that holding on to hurt and anger gets you nowhere.
I forgive because there is no reason not to. I've learned that some
people don't change and that doesn't make them bad, it's just who
they are and I can't let that effect me negatively. Life goes on.
Live, laugh and love. Because if you don't your life will be empty.
To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go
on creating oneself endlessly. Change is the watchword of
progression. When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This
restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to
seek the mountain view. I am not an adventurer by choice but by
fate. Too much of a good thing is simply wonderful.
When it is working, you completely go into another place, you’re
tapping into things that are totally universal, completely beyond
your ego and your own self. That’s what it’s all about. I have
learned silence from the talkative, tolerance from the intolerant
and kindness from the unkind. I should not be ungrateful to those
teachers. If you try to get rid of fear and anger without knowing
their meaning, they will grow stronger and return. The Ego,
however, is not who you really are. The ego is your self-image; it
is your social mask; it is the role you are playing. Your social
mask thrives on approval. It wants control, and it is sustained by
power, because it lives in fear. Fears are educated into us, and
can, if we wish, be educated out. You look at where you're going
and where you are and it never makes sense, but then you look back
at where you've been and a pattern seems to emerge.
A man was sitting in a cafe when a stranger walked in and asks him
a question.“Excuse me. I’m thinking of moving to this town. How are
the people who live here?”The man asked “Well, how are the people
like where you currently live?” The stranger replied “They are
dreadful! They complain. They are crooks. They are all liars and I
can’t trust anyone.” The man said “Well, that’s exactly how the
people in this town are.” The next another stranger approaches the
man sitting in the cafe'. “Excuse me. I’m thinking of moving to
this town. How are the people who live here?” The man asked “Well,
how are the people like where you currently live?” “They are kind.
They are pleasant and very helpful. They are filled with love and
enjoy life to the fullest.” Said the stranger. “Well" said the man
" that’s exactly how the people in this town are.
Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry — all forms of fear — are
cause by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret,
resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of
non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough
presence. Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful
for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is
the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are
having at this moment. When you stop existing and you start truly
living, each moment of the day comes alive with the wonder and
synchronicity. Every day, think as you wake up, today I am
fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going
to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself,
to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the
benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards
others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I
am going to benefit others as much as I can. Where are you? Here.
What time is it? Now. What are you? This moment.
The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover
the core of strength within you that survives all hurt. The real
glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's
real glory. That's the essence of it. Strength shows the ability to
persist, but also the ability to start over. I'm working at turning
my life around for the better every day... But in all honesty it's
not easy kids, but no one ever said it was going to be...
Reality is a formless lure, and only when we know this do we dare
to be unreal. Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic
selves. We must learn to respect them. We must learn to listen.
Always go with the choice that scares you the most, because that’s
the one that is going to require the most from you. Set your
intention, and trust the universe to take care of the details.
Whenever you are immersed in compulsive thinking, you are avoiding
what is. You don't want to be where you are. Here, Now. If you know
what you want, why aren't you making it happen?
A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to
make the turn. All of life is a journey; which paths we take, what
we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us. We
determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get
there, and how happy we are when we get there. Hand every issue
that is overwhelming you over to the Divine. Trust that whatever
you are experiencing in this moment is going to lead you to
something greater. Cultivate an attitude that everything in your
life is happening for the best ♥ The source of wisdom and power, of
love and beauty, is within ourselves, but not within our egos. It
is within our consciousness. Indeed, its presence provides us with
a conscious contrast which enables us to speak of the ego as if it
were something different and apart: it is the true Self whereas the
ego is only an illusion of the mind. Jump, and you will find out
how to unfold your wings as you fall.
Suffering and joy teach us, if we allow them, how to make the leap
of empathy, which transports us into the soul and heart of another
person. Life is like a jigsaw puzzle, you have to see the whole
picture, then put it together piece by piece. Too many of us are
hung up on what we don't have, can't have, or won't ever have. We
spend too much energy being down, when we could use that same
energy – if not less of it– doing, or at least trying to do, some
of the things we really want to do. After all these years, I am
still involved in the process of self-discovery. It’s better to
explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are
part of the dues one pays for a full life. Freedom is not worth
having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. Simply
be who you are, do what you do best, be where you are called by
joy, and let life work its magic on your behalf...
Instead of asking “what do I want from life?,” a more powerful
question is, “what does life want from me?
One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in
a tree. “Which road do I take?” she asked. “Where do you want to
go?” was his response. “I don’t know,” Alice answered. “Then,” said
the cat, “it doesn’t matter.” ~ Lewis Carrol ~ Alice in
Wonderland
If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead
anywhere. Every human being relies on and is bounded by their
knowledge and experience to live. This is what we call "reality".
However, knowledge and experience are ambiguous, thus reality can
become illusion. Is it not possible to think that, all human beings
are living in their assumptions? The fiercest act of self love
entails looking at our disappointments discontentments and
perceived failures, and seeing how even those have gloriously
served to shape the most perfect human beings we happen to be in
this very moment - and in any given moment. You may start small,
but who knows what heights you may achieve? Be glad of life because
it gives you the chance to love, and to work, and to play and to
look up at the stars.
I'll be damned if I apologize for the choices I've made. They were
hard decisions, but I had good reasons for making them. There is
only one cause of unhappiness: the false beliefs you have in your
head, beliefs so widespread, so commonly held, that it never occurs
to you to question them. You have to choose the best, every day,
without compromise...guided by your own virtue and highest
ambition. Purpose is the place where your deep gladness meets the
world's needs.
All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is
everything. What we think, we become. When we think of failure;
failure will be ours. If we remain undecided nothing will ever
change. All we need to do is want to achieve something great and
then simply to do it. Never think of failure, for what we think,
will come about. We always attract into our lives whatever we think
about most, believe most strongly, expect on the deepest level, and
imagine most vividly. There are times to stay put, and what you
want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world
and find such a thing for yourself. Believe in your dreams. Believe
in today. Believe that you are loved. Believe that you make a
difference. Believe we can build a better world. Believe when
others might not. Believe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
Believe that you might be that light for someone else. Believe that
the best is yet to be. Believe in each other. Believe in yourself.
Really important meetings are planned by the souls long before the
bodies see each other. A man should look for what is, and not for
what should be. In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness
inside of you. When the mind is still, the beauty of the self is
reflected. No one loses anyone, because no one owns anyone. That is
the true experience of freedom: having the most important thing in
the world without owning it. Learn to get in touch with silence
within yourself and know that everything in this life has a
purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are
blessings given to us to learn from. Some days there won't be a
song in your heart. Sing anyway. At every point in the human
journey we find that we have to let go in order to move forward;
and letting go means dying a little. In the process we are being
created anew, awakened afresh to the source of our being.
"How does one become a butterfly?" she asked pensively.
"You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being
a caterpillar."
"You mean to die?" asked Yellow.
"Yes and No," he answered.
"What looks like you will die, but what's really you will still
live.
Life is changed, not taken away."
Your attitude is your choice. Live in your strength. We are more
than we can imagine. To understand any living thing, you must creep
within and feel the beating of its heart. Some days there won't be
a song in your heart. Sing anyway. Success is not about what you
have, it's about what you've overcome. There are two kinds of
people: Those who watch the world go 'round and those who make the
world go 'round. How were you tested today and did you pass? Live
in your strength. The effect of one good-hearted person is
incalculable. Learn to get in touch with silence within yourself
and know that everything in this life has a purpose. There are no
mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to
learn from. Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime,
therefore, we are saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful or good
makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;Therefore,
we are saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be
accomplished alone. Therefore, we are saved by love. No virtuous
act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe
as from our own; Therefore, we are saved by the final form of love,
which is forgiveness.
Seeing into darkness is clarity. Knowing how to yield is strength.
Have you really considered how many opportunities you have had to
gladden yourself, and how many of them you have refused. We need
not only a purpose in life to give meaning to our existence but
also something to give meaning to our suffering. Challenges come so
we can grow and be prepared for things we are not equipped to
handle now. When we face our challenges with faith, prepared to
learn, willing to make changes, and if necessary, to let go, we are
demanding our power be turned on. We can throw stones, complain
about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them.
Losing an illusion makes you wiser than finding a truth.
When you're traveling, you are what you are right there and then.
People don't have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on
the road. The reality of the other person lies not in what they
reveal to you, but what they cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if
you would understand them, listen not to what they say, but rather
to what they do not say. Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what
makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is
people who have come alive. There are no mistakes. The events we
bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in
order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take,
they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go. Happiness
is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful
stroke of luck. The pessimist complains about the wind; the
optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. Laugh
out loud, sing on the top of your lungs, splash in the ocean, dance
to music no one else can hear, bask in moonlight, hug a tree, smile
in the mirror, blow kisses to the wind...come on...what else???
Pure love is a willingness to give without a thought of receiving
anything in return. The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret
of freedom is courage. My body is strong. My mind is open. My heart
is big. I cry hard. I love immensely. I laugh loud. I fall
sometimes and I pick myself up. I recover quickly. I forgive. I can
climb. I can swing. I can dance. And I can fly. I know who I am and
no one can take that away. I won't be anything less than I know I
can be every day of my life!!! A person should always consider how
much more unhappy they might be than they are. It only gets better
if you believe it gets better. Feeling sorry for yourself, and you
present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst
habit you could possibly have. Perseverance is not a long race; it
is many short races one after another. Most of the important things
in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on
trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
Find the reasons why it’s all just perfect. Put it into a
soundtrack of your life. Go beyond 10,000 feet into outer space.
Ask yourself, “What would make this even more fun?” Then go for
your wildest dreams while bending space and time (with the gear in
full throttle). Tell the truth to yourself and to the rest of the
world. Take care of yourself in order to draw a complete pictures
with no puzzle pieces missing. Surrender completely to gathering
new information; always be a learned student. Look for the pattern
in the mystical geometry of the ebb and flow of live and love. Get
in the water so you can become one with what you put yourself into.
Move with fluid freedom while becoming more than just a
representative of love; but love itself. When the winds of change
blow, some people build walls and others build windmills. The
choice has always been up to you.
Everything you are against weakens you. Everything you are for
empowers you. Life is just a mirror, and what you see out there,
you must first see inside of you. Most of our obstacles would melt
away if, instead of cowering before them, we made up our minds to
walk boldly through them. Amor Fati – “Love Your Fate”, which is in
fact your life. You can either be a victim of the world or an
adventurer in search of treasure. It all depends on how you view
your life. If you are willing to experience anything directly and
immediately, whether good or bad, joyous or hateful, you will
recognize that what you are running from does not exist, and what
you are running toward is already here. Whether by accident or
design, these are the moments when, because of a readiness within
us and a collaboration with events occurring around us, we are
forced to seriously reappraise ourselves and the conditions under
which we live and to make certain choices that will affect the rest
of our lives. To be truly happy you must recognize who you are with
nothing.
Without the way , there is no going; without the truth, there is no
knowing; without the life, there is no living. When we try to pick
out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in
the universe. One does what one is; one becomes what one
does.
One should count each day a separate life. To be happy, you must
learn to forget yourself. If you keep thinking about what you want
to do or what you hope will happen, and you don't do it, it won't
happen. Our own life is the instrument with which we experiment
with the truth. Healing is an active process. It doesn’t happen to
us; we must participate in the process of our healing. Healing
happens for us. It is a gift we give to ourselves in the moment we
decide to stay “open” to that which has broken us. Need nothing and
then see what happens.
Prepare your mind to receive the best that life has to offer.
Almost everything you truly need or want is here for the asking;
you only need to believe that it is so, truly desire it, and be
willing to accept it. If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the
facts. Possible Solutions to this equation: one you can solve the
problem. Two you can change your emotional reaction to the problem.
Three,you can tolerate the problem. Four, you can choose to stay
miserable. Five, you can opt to make things worse. We can easily
manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it.
But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday's
burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow
before we are required to bear it. The past is a good place to
visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. You cannot analyze the
flowing river that is life. We become aware of the void as we fill
it.
There is no such thing as chance; and what seems to us mere
accident springs form the deepest source of destiny. It's quite
possible to leave your home for a walk in the early morning air and
return a different person—beguiled,enchanted. Things don’t change.
You change your way of looking, that’s all. I swear... That my
problems and failures will not stop me, nor will they dictate who I
am. That I will continue to be my own person. That life is too
short, and I will live every day as the best person I can be. That
I will grow and that I will change. That I will smile and hold my
head high. That this is a new start and a new day. That I will
allow myself to cry or sit by myself when I need to. That I will
find things to really smile about. Worry does not empty tomorrow of
its sorrow; it empties today of its strength. Love life, engage in
it, give it all you've got. love it with a passion, because life
truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it. The
only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring
up there.
What do you have to do? Think of all the beauty still left around
you and be happy. Your personal philosophy is the greatest
determining factor in how your life works out. Pack your bags, Go
to the station without them, Catch the train, And leave your self
behind. It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and
seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security
in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the
adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in
change there is power. I hope that my achievements in life shall be
these-that I will have fought for what was right and fair, that I
will have risked for that which mattered, and that I will have
given help to those who were in need that I will have left the
earth a better place for what I've done and who I've been.
Love is always bestowed as a gift -freely, willingly and without
expectation. We don't love to be loved; we love to love. A great
attitude does much more than turn on the lights in our worlds; it
seems to magically connect us to all sorts of serendipitous
opportunities that were somehow absent before the change. The
situation of the world is still like this. People completely
identify with one side, one ideology. To understand the suffering
and the fear of a citizen of the Soviet Union, we have to become
one with him or her. To do so is dangerous-we will be suspected by
both sides. But if we don't do it, if we align ourselves with one
side or the other, we will lose our chance to work for peace.
Reconciliation is to understand both sides, to go to one side and
describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then to
go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by
the first side. Doing only that will be a great help for peace. We
can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are
conscious of our treasures. It doesn't hurt to be optimistic, you
can always cry later. And we got hurt, but least we got to love a
little bit.
One of the greatest feelings in life is the conviction that you
have lived the life you wanted to live-with the rough and the
smooth, the good and the bad-but yours, shaped by your own choices,
and not someone else's. Forgive yourself for your faults and your
mistakes and move on. Never compromise your values. True happiness
arises, in the first place, from the enjoyment of one's self, and
in the next, from the friendship and conversation of a few select
companions. We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what
we are. Healing does not mean going back to the way things were
before. Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will
burn out the pain. Everything that happens in the world, or doesn't
happen, is NOT my responsibility. There are more than enough things
that are my responsibility. I am responsible for my thoughts, my
beliefs, and my actions - and that is enough. It does not serve me
to mind anyone else's business. I can only make myself unhappy by
trying to second guess what anyone else thinks or does. I believe
that the very purpose of life is to seek happiness. To hell with
circumstances; I create opportunities. Whether of not it is clear
to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should... A great
attitude does much more than turn on the lights in our worlds; it
seems to magically connect us to all sorts of serendipitous
opportunities that were somehow absent before the change. The
situation of the world is still like this. People completely
identify with one side, one ideology. To understand the suffering
and the fear of a citizen of the Soviet Union, we have to become
one with him or her. To do so is dangerous-we will be suspected by
both sides. But if we don't do it, if we align ourselves with one
side or the other, we will lose our chance to work for peace.
Reconciliation is to understand both sides, to go to one side and
describe the suffering being endured by the other side, and then to
go to the other side and describe the suffering being endured by
the first side. Doing only that will be a great help for peace. We
can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are
conscious of our treasures.
Compassionate the mountains rise. Dim with the wistful dimness of
old eyes. That, having looked on life time out of mind, know that
the simple gift of being kind is greater than all the wisdom of the
wise. It is all a journey... I have come to understand that. This
is what life is all about-a journey and the courage and energy
always to take the next step and the next without judgement about
what was right and what was wrong. Choices are the hinges of
destiny. The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we
live. I cannot always control what goes on outside of me. But I can
always control what goes on inside.
