Wondersday – 052726

Have you ever wondered… about the Eye of Horus? Eye have. It is a symbol from Ancient Egypt, and it is associated with our six senses. That is right, six of them. And no, they do not include seeing dead people. Ancient Egyptians treated thoughts as our sixth sense. The other senses reach our brain through other means. However, as is often said, if we are not our thoughts, then they are also reaching our brain. We choose to engage with them or not. We can let them ramp us up and carry us away, or we can choose to remain calm and still in a peaceful and tranquil state of mind. What is the state of your mind?

When the noise of your mind becomes too loud, listen to the stillness of your heart.

-Ruben Huys

In my opinion, the vast majority of people have lost the stillness of their minds. We no longer flow along with peaceful patience. That harmonious and natural state of being has been replaced with a wild storm of near-constant thoughts. We have been conditioned to consider many possibilities and perspectives. The process of proceeding conscientiously has been overly complicated and misconstrued to the point that we no longer have a clue as to what we should do in order to reconnect with our best behavior. We seek answers externally instead of sitting with ourselves in stillness and silence to look within more.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

-Ram Dass

A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow.

-Charlotte Brontë

Learning to recognize and appreciate our thoughts as another sense lets us train it better. We learn not to touch hot stuff in order to avoid being burned. We can learn not to engage with certain thoughts in order to avoid cultivating a toxic mindset. Bad smells clue us in to certain environments that we should escape from or avoid altogether. Our gut feeling thoughts behave very similarly. Mindfully listening to and engaging with our thoughts proves valuable. We should leverage all of our senses to live our best lives.

One-pointedness is a complete stillness of mind where there is no thought whatsoever.

-Sri M

Is this concept unconventional and uncommon? Yes. Yet, I find myself feeling further justified the more I write. Something about it simply feels right as I sit with it in more and more stillness. I sugjest setting aside some time soon to sit in stillness yourself. See what begins to feel right for you. Why should we stop at six senses? Are there even more?

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all <3

Mournday – 052526

Do you attach your sense of self-worth to your perpetual productivity? Can you value and appreciate yourself simply for the being you are instead? I mourn for those of us who are overactive, feeling like we must constantly be contributing something and performing or providing some kind of output in order to feel worthwhile. If we cannot simply be still and appreciate ourselves and our surroundings, we miss something pure and vital. Honestly, I struggle to slow down sometimes. Taking it easier and resting more can be difficult for me. Yet, as I give myself more grace, I find it rewarding because I am more productive when I do get back to work. Balancing stillness with activeness makes both better.

In the stillness of the mind I saw myself as I am – unbound.

-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

There was a science experiment conducted by the University of Virginia about ten years ago. Would you rather receive a brief electric shock or spend fifteen minutes alone in a room? A surprising number of participants chose the momentary electrocution. They would rather endure physical pain instead of solitude. How sad is that? It speaks to how uncomfortable we are with slowing down and spending time in stillness alone. We would rather suffer or be distracted than ease into a natural calm and patience. We have lost control over directing our thoughts. Our peace has left the chat. Invite it back in.

In an age of acceleration, nothing can be more exhilarating than going slow.
In an age of distraction, nothing is so luxurious as paying attention.
In an age of constant movement, nothing is so urgent as sitting still.

-Pico Iyer

In this day and age, we are inundated with ads and marketing almost everywhere. Screens and talking heads vie for our attention in so many directions. Where can we escape it all? Out in nature. Secluded in solitude, the great outdoors can restore our innate stillness. We often drift away and become so unaccustomed to it that it begins to feel alien and unnatural to us. However, as one of my teachers reminded me recently, if we feel disconnected from nature (and God) which does not move, then who moved?

Wisdom comes with the ability to be still. Just look and just listen. No more is needed. Being still, looking, and listening activates the non-conceptual intelligence within you. Let stillness direct your words and actions.

-Eckhart Tolle

We reach such extreme levels of overactivity that we lose touch with our own selves. We move so far away from normal and natural order that something as simple as sitting alone in a room for fifteen minutes is unfathomable, undesirable, and unmanageable. Do you know how long monks meditate for sometimes? Days. Some retreats involve days to weeks of silence. I know we will not all be monks anytime soon, but we can all still learn plenty from them and can incorporate aspects of their practices into our daily or weekly routines. Therefore, I believe we should all rediscover and enhance our inner stillness.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Smarturday – 052326

placid vs. erratic

placid (adjective) – pleasantly calm or peaceful; unruffled; tranquil; serenely quiet or undisturbed

erratic (adjective) – inconsistent, irregular, or unpredictable; wandering; not fixed

When you begin to reach inner stillness,

you will learn what all to best harness.

It starts with slowing down and moving less.

Physical ease with a gentle mind at rest.

Can you begin to return to the basics?

Restore full vision as if you had LASIK.

Permit your mental lake to be still and placid.

Let it flow naturally. Do not dump in acid.

When you lose touch with your inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world.

-Eckhart Tolle

The world is full of struggles and strife.

It is how we grow and make our best life.

We are not here for it all to be too easy,

but we can relax when it is gentle and breezy.

What is it like inside your head?

Overactive or practically dead?

Can you calm the storm, center your thoughts?

Practicing inner stillness will help you lots.

How tidy are things in your mental attic?

Organized well or chaotic and erratic?

When have you last tried to give it a clean?

Restore its luster, sparkle, and sheen.

Stillness and tranquility set things in order in the universe.

-Lao Tzu

We can all shine again with simple stillness.

It is with pursuing in order to reach wholeness.

We can slowly begin to piece together our puzzles.

Then, unafraid, we can take off our muzzles.

It does not mean that we need to speak.

Often that is how stillness begins to leak.

Quietly climb towards your next peak.

Stand at its top and find what you seek.

Being still does not mean don’t move. It means, move in peace.

-E’yen A. Gardner

Stillness works well from up on high,

but it also works well when low and dry.

It serves us well in all our best endeavors.

Utilize it well if you value being clever.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Thanksday – 052126

I am thankful for meditations. While I mostly practice within the Zen school of thought for it, I have also adapted my own styles depending on the context of the situations that I am sitting in. For example, sometimes I meditate with eyes open, and sometimes I meditate with eyes closed. Often, I count my breaths on each inhale and exhale. At other times, I breathe along to various mantra patterns. Soft background music or silence. Regardless, the focus is always on stillness. Can I reduce unnecessary movements within my body? Then, can I also begin to slow down and reduce unnecessary thoughts within my mind?

In the middle of the whirlwind, can you hit pause?

-Jeff Warren

A struggle for me, emotionally, becomes an excitement that I wrestle with when I begin to see progress. That spike in feeling pulls me out of stillness, so I am still learning to recognize and appreciate my achievements while also recentering on the task at hand. Otherwise, I quickly revert back to rampant thoughts that flutter and float every which way. As my body relaxes into stillness, my mind can heighten like that in response.

Find a moment of stillness; give your heart a chance to tell you where you really need to be.

-Dodinsky

Once that next level or layer begins to relax into stillness as well, that is where lots of growth and development can start to slowly unfold and flourish. Meditations permit us to shine a light on spots that we often ignore or do not see under the surface. Stillness helps us face our doubts and fears; do not keep running from them. Dive down with them in stillness. Invite them in for tea, and then you will see that we can all live in harmony.

When everything is moving and shifting, the only way to counteract chaos is stillness. When the surface is wavy, dive deeper for quieter waters.

-Kristin Armstrong

Meditating does not suit my original or default behavioral style. I used to be way too hyper and chatty. Over time, and with plenty of practice, I have gained greater control over my body and mind. I still have a long way to go, but I am proud of my progress, and it motivates me to keep improving. Consistently carving out curated time to consciously do seemingly nothing can feel very difficult. Take it easy. Be gentle. Start small. Go slow.

The divine flow that wants to move through me requires stillness.

-Frank Baron

I believe most, if not all of us, can set aside a couple of five minute time periods each day. That is really and truly all you need to begin. Five minutes to sit still and count breaths. No fancy postures necessarily. Simply relax some while connecting with your body, mind, and soul. Step away from the external and internal noise. We each have a fountain of truth bubbling up within us. When were you last still and quiet enough to tune into it? What did it have to share with you? It awaits our reconnection with yet another lesson. Will you check back in again? I hope you will soon be thankful for meditations, too :) <3

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Soulday – 051726

I had to slow down and still myself to realize what was next… stillness. Lately, I have been noticing how much agitated movement routinely occurs in and around me. Others have restless, twitchy legs. I have an unconscious habit of running my fingers through my hair. We build up an inability to stand or sit still in solemn silence. In the past, I would remain unaware of these movements because I would not be still enough myself to notice what all around me was not still. It is like I am at the center of a storm now.

In an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.

-Pico Iyer

I heard an incredible analogy recently. How would you feel if you sat down to watch a movie and the camera was shaking or moving the entire time? “Stillness is everything.” Stillness fine-tunes focus. Attention to details improves notably with fewer movements.

Clarity is often found in stillness.

-Christie Golden

Stillness exists beyond the physical sense, too. I would even argue that mental stillness is more important than physical stillness. Calming and quieting the mind is extremely beneficial and often underrated in my opinion. The number of thoughts that people claim we have each day on average seems obscene. By learning to slow down and achieve mental stillness mindfully, we open ourselves up to divine external influences. We can actually listen to soft nudges from the universe. Believe me or not, that is your choice, but I have benefited from it enough times now to appreciate and value guidance immensely.

In stillness, the truth reveals itself.

-Buddha

I am still not great at stilling my own thoughts, but I now know how important it is to keep on working at it more. I will continue to hone this skill because it is a discipline that I practice. We can all work on more stillness if we choose. Are you willing to go against the grain, though? The current trajectory of humanity feels louder and faster. It feels unnatural to me because it is. In each season during passing years, when have the cycles of growth and death sped up? They have not. They still progress at the same speeds. If it is good enough for nature, then it is good enough for me. I will gladly soak up more time surrounded by natural beauty, basking in the slow stillness of quiet and steady progress.

In the stillness of the mountain, the Tao speaks; in the quiet of the heart, the Tao dwells.

-Xu Xun

Dismantling years of cultural and societal conditioning requires laborious work. Seeking and surrounding myself with stillness is a smart step to start such a serene reset safely. It allows me to sense what best serves my spirit. Internal and external stillness allow me to sit in silence with supremely supportive steadiness. As the mind becomes quieter, the heart can speak up more. Then, if I still the heart, the soul may share words. When at peace with my soul, I can listen to Heaven. Stillness opens a gateway to the best path.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Caesura – 051026

Another week will be taken before resuming the next cycle. Flexibility and patience continue to present themselves prominently as current focuses for me. It has been sugjested that I be more prepared for this next cycle by taking seven more days, so I happily look forward to returning with the next Soulday starting on 051726. Until then, may you continue to reflect and improve wisely, consistently, and diligently, friends.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Freeday – 041026

Why are you holding yourself back from accepting universal, generous grace? Have you convinced yourself that you do not deserve it? Are you aware of the fact that you can change that personal decision right now? What else is stopping you from feeling and dancing in grace aside from your own ego? Nothing. I have parts of my past that I am not proud of, but I honestly love how I have grown and improved since then over time. I still struggle to accept grace myself, but I am working on it. It is not easy, but it is worth it.

Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

-Oscar Wilde

In an effort to give myself greater grace, I will keep today’s post brief and also take a cycle off. However, no additional break will be taken, meaning the next cycle will pick back up in about four weeks – 051026. Until then, glide gracefully, gladly, and generously, gentlepeople. Genuinely go grinning with God, gaining gumption.

The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.

-C.S. Lewis

Courage is grace under pressure.

-Ernest Hemingway

Everybody can be great… you only need a heart full of grace.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

It is against the nature of grace, not to be in motion, not to increase in being more holy.

-Hannibal Gammon

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Wondersday – 040826

Have you ever wondered… about failing on purpose? I have. How else can you let go of perfectionism and give yourself more grace? Please do not misunderstand. I do not sugjest trying this practice out with any major milestone in your life, but what if you let a small deadline slide a bit? What if you get to work a little late once or twice? Truly, what is the worst that will happen? Sure, your mind may think up all kinds of wild and extreme possibilities, but how often do those ideas actually come to fruition? Rarely, so we can learn to be better at giving ourselves grace when we become comfortable with failure.

Grace is the face that love wears when it meets imperfection.

-Joseph R. Cooke

I know it sounds weird at first to think of cozying up to failure. Why not, though? We will all fail. We all have, and we all still will. Have you handled it well historically? Can you do a better job moving forward if you channel more grace? Yes, failure can be difficult, but it can also lead to growth. By uncovering hidden opportunities within it for change and improvement, we can find the silver or even gold lining to any subpar situation. We can rescore the true par of it when we part with initial expectations and gracefully accept the present state of things because anything else is fruitless, wasted energy worth avoiding.

We can spend a life suffering because we can’t relax with how things really are, or we can embrace the open-endedness of the human situation.

-Pema Chödrön

To be completely honest, I had even considered not writing a post today as an example of giving myself some grace. If I did not have a worthwhile idea and did not want to force something poorly, then maybe the absence or silence would paint a picture. Entertaining the idea of gifting myself that grace granted me this idea instead. Flow freely and fluidly forever with fewer fixations to find fruitful and fortifying foundations and fulfilling fuel.

Living in a state of gratitude is the gateway to grace.

-Arianna Huffington

Ultimately, I am happy and grateful to be writing this post. Skipping any part of a cycle unannounced does not feel right to me. It lacks grace, and I am doing my best to avoid such behavior. It would not have been a good example of mindfully failing on purpose.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all <3

Mournday – 040626

I mourn for all the clumsy folks out there. I know I have had my fair share of clumsiness in the past. While I am certainly not immune to it now (if only), I have improved significantly. How? More mindfulness. Centered presence on an increasingly consistent basis. It dawns on me that grace only exists in the present moment, right here and right now. If we are frustrated fretting over something in the past or anxiously awaiting an unknown in the future, then we cut ourselves off from grace. Only by being here and now in each and every moment can we tune into and receive an amazing grace that is always flowing all around. When it feels this good, why go elsewhere? It is such a sweet sound to listen to.

I’ve learned about the poetry and the wisdom and the grace that can be found in the words of people all around us when we simply take the time to listen.

-Dave Isay

I know that remaining present is certainly easier said than done. Practice makes permanent, though. If you find your mind wandering, bring it back. If thoughts are spiraling into what-ifs, remind yourself of what is going on and where you are at currently. The current of our mind can be directed and redirected. Mind its flow.

Grace is meeting those moments on the journey, then picking yourself back up, being humble enough to learn, and not being too hard on yourself.

-Michelle Peluso

I notice heavy footsteps. For one reason or another, my awareness picks up on how loudly people move across floors. It has become a bit of a game for me to see how silently I can glide through the same spaces. I have a hunch that a lot of clumsiness has to do with lack of presence. Thoughts are too busy whirling every which way, weighing down all possible awareness to the point of the body being on auto-pilot. Then, if you are not already naturally or instinctually quiet with your movements, you begin to move loudly. I wonder how much damage that does to the body, too, with all the heavier impacts being mindlessly ignored. Grace begins on the inside and flows to the outside.

Grace means that all of your mistakes now serve a purpose instead of serving shame.

-Mike Foster

Clumsiness can also arise from too much emotion. If you are not regulating your feelings well, then they will take control and can cause conflict. It is so silly, but I still remember playfully tossing one of my favorite mugs up in the air years ago. I was having fun and getting carried away. Then, I bobbled it wrong on one catch, and that mug went crashing to the floor. I was devastated, from a high joy to a low despair in mere moments.

Grace doesn’t depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors.

-Wm. Paul Young

Clumsiness can corrupt our lane when we are not centered and in control. It may sound boring and taxing to seek constant centering and self-control, but that is how we begin to find and receive grace. It is not easy, but it is so worth it. The gift of grace is grand.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Smarturday – 040426

poise vs. paroxysm

poise (noun) – a dignified, self-confident manner or bearing; steadiness; stability

paroxysm (noun) – a sudden attack or violent expression of a particular emotion or activity

Lead a life full of grace.

Forgive any past disgrace.

None of it may ever erase,

but we can step away from the rat race.

Rise above competitive noise.

Gracefully maintain steady poise.

Embrace life’s many daily joys. 

Find its gems, treats, and toys.

What happens when we breed jealousy?

We begin to stir up a stormy sea.

We waste time and energy on lots of what-ifs,

steering ourselves towards precarious cliffs.

Learning to not envy someone else’s blessing is what grace looks like.

-Rupi Kaur

Then you might shout; then you may scream.

Life is not always what it may seem.

Grace grants us leniency from a schism,

so we can then avoid a paroxysm.

We can all do better with grace all around.

It helps us all start fresh on even ground.

Soon we will all be homeward bound.

Forgetting why we ever frowned.

Grace isn’t just something you should give to others. It’s also something you should give to yourself.

-Jeff McClung

Grace embodies many virtues, all-in-one.

Punch this ticket to feel like you have won.

We can all accept it. Grace awaits us all,

so calmly step away and stop your fall.

Listen to the call. Grace cries out for us.

Leave the swamp and enjoy the forest.

Grace gives us moments to relax and rest.

Reset and heal until life’s next test.

Grace does not mean easy but fair.

A free-flowing glide that will not tear.

Grace guides us with seamless serenity.

We should follow it humbly into infinity.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Thanksday – 040226

I am thankful for God. In some ways, I am ashamed that it has taken me this long to write this post. In other ways, I know how slowly I have tried to approach stigmatized subjects. After all, I do not refer to God specifically within the view of a single religion because I identify as an omnist. I would be remiss in this cycle if I did not take the opportunity to reflect on and appreciate the “grace of God”. They have been so good to me. I think I should be dead a few times over by now, yet I am still here. I am very, very thankful for it.

For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.

-Saint Augustine

By God’s generous grace, I keep carrying on. I have flirted closely with death more than I care to admit, but my time has not come yet. Those moments help me to recognize and be grateful for even more moments. How many others around my age or younger have already run out of their moments and memories? I believe we are all here by grace, and that is why we should all move forward gracefully, glittering and gleaming gleefully.

Love is holy because it is like grace – the worthiness of its object is never really what matters.

-Marilynne Robinson

Life can be or feel so hard at times. Lean on others when you need to. Lean on God. We are not alone in this life. It may feel that way sometimes, but that is only because we are closing our own mind off. Give yourself some grace. Open your mind back up to positive possibilities, to peaceful and pure potential. Give and get grace to and from everyone.

God has given you grace. Maybe you should give yourself some, too.

-Todd Stocker

Tao. Dharma. Karma. God. Jehovah. Allah. Vishnu. Shiva. Great Creator. Grand Architect. No matter which name(s) you choose to use, acknowledge and express gratitude for the grace granted to you. Then, please do your best to go forth granting more of it, too.

The ultimate test of our spirituality is the measure of our amazement at the grace of God.

-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

I have seen enough in my life to be absolutely amazed and astonished by what all is possible in this world. True wisdom is indescribable and illuminating, so look within.

Wahe Guru.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Soulday – 032926

Initially, I struggled personally to differentiate humility from grace or graciousness. Then, it clicked. Humility strikes me as how we view and carry ourselves in the world. Grace reflects how we interact with and treat others in the world. Though, I also suppose we need to account for giving ourselves grace, so I am still figuring it out fully this cycle.

Grace has been defined as the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul.

-William Hazlitt

Are you able to show grace? What does that say about the current state of your soul? I recently shared a term I love at the end of a yoga class – wahe guru. As I left the studio, another participant asked me what I said and then what it meant. It is rote knowledge for me at this point, so I rattled it off without much thought. There was little to no grace in my delivery, and I have been kicking myself for that moment quite a bit ever since. I was gifted with an opportunity to talk about one of my favorite things, yet I did not slow down and invest mindful energy and attention to fervently connect with someone gracefully.

The law demands what it cannot give; grace gives all it demands.

-Blaise Pascal

My mind now connects to one of the sarcastic phrases you may hear people toss around – “so glad you could grace us with your presence.” While it is also painful to recognize the corrupted usage of it, the expression does illuminate how presence becomes a requirement for grace. Are you in the right mindset and focus to be gracious? While I recently saw a glaring weak point in one of my interactions, it also shows me where to focus next for further self-improvement. I will graciously work on correcting my misstep.

For me, every hour is grace. And I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at [their] smile.

-Elie Wiesel

I think the Toltecs would consider grace to be the essential flair that life as an art form asks for and possibly even demands. We can only dance through moments gracefully when we are mindfully present and consciously kind. That kind of approach feels very ideal to me. Why rush through so many precious moments, inconsiderate of everything?

Grace pours all beauty into the soul… the soul means the world.

-Meister Eckhart

I’m becoming more and more myself with time. I guess that’s what grace is. The refinement of your soul through time.

-Jewel Read

As we rediscover a natural pace to life, I believe we will reestablish a graceful flow to how we live and interact with all things. If we do not feel graceful in a given moment, then that should serve as a key indicator that something should change. We receive a nudge to flow more freely with fewer judgments and attempts at controlling everything. Are you refining yourself with self-improvements, or are you gracelessly glowering?

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Freeday – 031326

I suppose there are many reasons it took me thirty-eight cycles to finally tackle nobility. It can be so broad and all-encompassing of the others. If you effectively embody and employ virtues, then you are truly noble. Your bright light shines authentically for everyone to see when you act in accordance with natural ideals. Many will not appreciate the exemplary example you exude, but we are not here to be liked by everyone. We are here to fulfill our best possible purpose(s). It can ruffle feathers along the way due to jealousy, discomfort, and many other negative, non-noble traits, behaviors, and actions.

Virtue is the only true nobility.

-Thomas Fuller

Do you know what the Noble Eightfold Path leads toward? In the long-term, nirvana. A nice and lofty ideal or plan, sure, but not something we should focus on for now. In the short-term, equanimity. We become more accepting of each and every moment, we celebrate the good and we learn and work through the bad, and we recognize true light and shun anything false and unhealthy. If our soul is not nurtured by it, then nobility helps us nullify it. We can learn to stand steadfast stolidly. Our emotions are still present, and we still feel plenty, but they merely hold seats at the table or on the bus now. They are no longer running the meeting or driving the vehicle. We slowly begin to more consistently circle a centered stillness of noble certainty that we are being our best self.

Real nobility is based on scorn, courage, and profound indifference.

-Albert Camus

Ultimately, I do not believe that we are here to compete with one another. I believe we can all collaborate collectively if we approach life and all others amicably. We are each here to excel in a way that does not negatively affect others. Nobility navigates us to and nurtures our best life, and our best life naturally helps others nourish noble needs, too.

The truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self.

-Whitney Young

In a recent “Intro to Circling” class, one of the group exercises was illuminating for me. We rehearsed different personality styles or modes of expression as they exist along a gradient scale. At one extreme is collapse, behaving in a perpetually self-defeating way. At the other end is posturing, inflated and selfishly egotistical. More towards the middle are points for humility and dignity. I now consider the sweet spot between these two positive traits to be nobility, a golden centerpiece that would make Goldilocks proud.

We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.

-Abraham Lincoln

Do you know what is stopping you from being noble? You. You can blame and complain about something external as a supposed hindrance, but it is not true. What is true is that we can each choose to be noble in this very moment. We can choose nobility in each and every moment. It will be very difficult at times, but I promise it will always be worth it.

The ideal is within you, and the obstacle to reaching this ideal is also within you. You already possess all the material from which to create your ideal self.

-Thomas Carlyle

Ideally, we will all proceed nobly and create our ideal self. Stop holding yourself back. Start having your own back. Fewer sneak attacks. More applause and pats on your back.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Wondersday – 031126

Have you ever wondered… about the Noble Eightfold Path? I have. I think it paves an ideal for how to approach and live life on a daily basis. It paints a picture of how to improve and peacefully empower your personal purpose. The path breaks down into eight parts or practices. You do not need to start them all at once. In fact, I sugjest focusing on only a few initially and then slowly add on more as new habits feel firm.

  1. Best View
  2. Best Resolve
  3. Best Speech
  4. Best Conduct
  5. Best Livelihood
  6. Best Effort
  7. Best Mindfulness
  8. Best Connection

[The person] who walks in the eightfold noble path with unswerving determination is sure to reach Nirvana.

-Buddha

Even as I write this post, the potential of the Noble Eightfold Path becomes clearer to me. We part ways with the parts of ourself that no longer pertain to or promote our pure purpose. We realign our being with something greater, holier, and more noble than we can imagine. It can feel scary, disorienting, or concerning, but that is often our ego talking and expressing discontent at slowly losing the control that it has enjoyed and exercised for far too long. As we exorcise those unfruitful facets, we face fortified faith forthwith.

All noble things are as difficult as they are rare.

-Baruch Spinoza
  1. How is your view – of yourself, of others, of the world? Do you see things through many assumptions and past limitations? Can you view things more objectively?
  2. What about your resolve? Are you committed to doing your best? Do you see projects through to the end? Can you refuse to give up without good reason?
  3. Why do you speak? Is it to spread or respectfully defend love? Can you avoid idle chatter? I know many will not like this idea, but why waste breath and energy?
  4. How is your conduct? Are you behaving in the best interest of all living beings?
  5. Livelihood relates to this same idea. In your profession, are you promoting peace and prosperity for all people and places? Does your job improve the world?
  6. Is your effort the best that it can be? Are you cutting corners and shirking duties to minimize effort? Do you feel proud of pouring forth your potential in what you do?
  7. What do you fill your mind with? Can you empty it as needed? Do you focus well?
  8. What are you connecting to? Do you feel a pull towards something greater beyond yourself? Can you feel the love and support for and from others around you? Are you able and driven to delve into delicate and dedicated devotion with the divine?

These are some of the ways that we can begin to live more nobly. We will not get it right overnight, but we can continue to whittle away at it day after day, carving the correct character into our core and essence. Then, when we begin to act nobly out of instinct due to its engrained nature because of all the work we put into becoming our best self, the feeling is unfathomable. It can also lead to some of the proudest moments of our lives.

To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization.

-Harriet Beecher Stowe

We have plenty of paper trails to follow towards nobility. Are we willing to listen to and learn from these pieces of wisdom in order to unlock our fullest and ultimate potential?

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all.

Mournday – 030926

I mourn for those who move through life with nobility in title only, those who lack truly noble actions and character. Good, strong character seems difficult to build and cultivate when served with a silver spoon. Aristocratic classes and elitist hierarchies thrive off of ladder-chasing. What if the ladder falls over onto its side? What if each persons chooses to act nobly simply because they can? We trade our rarest treasures for physical “stuff”.

All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue.

-Plato

What do we leave this life with in the end? Do our lands, crowns, or jewels go with us? No. We carried in our soul, and we hopefully carry out our soul. What condition will your soul be in, though? Have you tended to it with noble discipline and focus, or are you reckless with and unaware of it? We can all grow and glow nobly if we polish and perfect our own policies. How do we act among others? How do we treat both friends and foes? We do not need to follow in the foolish footsteps of many current leaders.

Nobility, without virtue, is a fine setting without a gem.

-Jane Porter

We can sit around at lavish gatherings and ornate parties, talking about this person or that person and what they did or did not do. How noble is that time and effort? What if we used those moments instead to improve ourselves and how we approach everyday interactions? I like to see and consider how my different exchanges with people around me can be adjusted and modified to help us all. If I can say something differently in the future to make us all feel more included and welcome, then I want to figure those things out. I do not want to say the same things or current hip phrases simply out of habit or for some cool factor. I also want to avoid antiquated anecdotes to affect an arrayed audience.

We choose our own destiny. A [person] does not become a hero by virtue of [their] birthright. Only by [their] actions.

-Floki

Nobility necessitates a fine-tuned needle through the middle of it all. How can you be as wise and balanced as possible to be your best self? Consider your actions more carefully.

Whoever does wrong, wrongs [themself]; whoever does injustice, does it to [themself], making [themself] evil.

-Marcus Aurelius

We are each the products of our choices. What we choose to do, eat, say, and even think. Sure, some thoughts will simply appear, but how do you engage with them? Are your choices noble, or are they deplorable? Do you go to sleep at night feeling fulfilled and faithful or frayed and frazzled? Those answers speak volumes to your current path and trajectory. Do you seek retribution and revenge, or can you offer forgiveness and mercy?

What would Jesus do? Feel free to consider a different noble figure instead. The segue is still the same, though. If they can do it, what is stopping you? What would noble you do?

Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge.

-William Shakespeare

Who gets to honestly say who is authentically noble or not? We can all be princes and princesses. We can all be kings and queens. Rule over your own dominion well, and do not disrespect the domains and demesnes around you. Be a noble neighbor to all others, both near and far. We do not need to perpetuate the toxic cycles of injustice and violence. We can do better because we can be better if we choose to live well and be more noble. Natural nobility nurtures nature. Let ignorant evil bury itself and implode independently.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Smarturday – 030726

ennoble (verb) – to elevate in degree, excellence, or respect; dignify; exalt

At what point will you stop and pause?

Consider upon your true noble cause.

As you pray, place together your paws.

And relax that tension from your jaws.

Purposefully mindful intent.

Positively pursue what’s meant

to be best for you and all others.

Uplift all beings. Never smother.

Everything that is beautiful and noble is the product of reason and calculation.

-Charles Baudelaire

Authentic nobility can be difficult,

like cartwheels and somersaults.

Yet practice can make permanent

as your ideal self slowly cements.

Adopt a practice to self-ennoble.

Teach others so it can go global.

Better than when we self-flagellate.

Such a shame how much we hate.

Every noble work is at first impossible.

-Thomas Carlyle

Flip the script. Achieve the impossible.

Be more polite, friendly, and civil.

Noble nature does what is best.

Pass each moment’s curious test.

You feel better spreading well-being.

Try it some. You will start seeing

what life can be like in a noble lane,

with more love and joy and far less pain.

A noble life is lived in moderation, not mediocrity.

-Aristotle

I think our focus should be on peace:

the whole pie for all, not some small piece.

We all own our souls while this life is on lease,

so listen to your gut and be your own police.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Thanksday – 030526

I am thankful for gentlemen. Since this idea feels old-fashioned by now, I will freshen it up a bit by referring to it as gentlepeople for the rest of this post. The noble traits of a gentleperson can be found in anyone, so that is why I am modernizing the modification. Again, anyone can be noble, and I will argue that everyone should be noble. It is a very difficult behavior and characteristic to consistently embody, but what else is more worth it? How else can we pay more respect to our existence than by living the best noble life that we possibly can for the highest purpose that placed us here in this present position?

There is nobility in compassion, a beauty in empathy, a grace in forgiveness.

-John Connolly

A gentleperson chooses to behave in the best way because they like living life in the highest vibration possible. They encounter conflicts and difficulties on a regular basis. Rising above the distractions and unnecessary noises allows for more focus and fairness towards all. We know that not everyone will reciprocate the same actions and well-intentioned behaviors. Should that stop us from still doing what we know is best? No, never. Act nobly simply for nobility’s sake. Encourage others to rise above by example.

Treat everyone with politeness and kindness, not because they are nice, but because you are.

-Roy T. Bennett

Leading by example is not the focal point, but it is a nice bonus for gentlepeople. We show how it is possible to live a better life. Personally, I find it difficult to not share help with others if they are not asking for it. Practicing more nobility helps me keep my head down, tidying up my own lane more. I want to help others with their lanes, too, but I am getting better at only doing so when asked or invited because it is not noble to be a nosy neighbor, inserting oneself into the affairs of others uninvited. Consider first asking for permission. Do not boldly, brashly, and brazenly trespass into their lane. Nobility needs maintained dignity and respect. Do not let your ego shelve your noble nature unnaturally.

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.

-Helen Keller

Hold more doors open patiently; slow down and let more traffic merge in peacefully. Find the relaxed rhythm to your lovely life and delightfully dance to the beautiful beat as best as you can within the confines and constraints of your curbs. Mind you, this concept does not construe that we must feel cloistered or claustrophobic. Each lane can be surprisingly wide while remaining mindful of those other lanes around you, and none of them need to compete. They can nobly cooperate with and complement one another if considered and consciously controlled compassionately. Curate careful care to cohesively coexist calmly.

Adversity often hatches out the true nobility of character.

-George Ade

Negate negativity with much-needed nobility. Believe in being the best gentleperson that you can be. No one can stop us from spreading the noble love and joy that we possess and can share. The true and authentic path of nobility presents countless presents that we can offer to ourself and others. A gentleperson enjoys them selflessly in the present, learning to trust in the noble, natural abundance of life. Plentiful prosperity for all people.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Soulday – 030126

This cycle is going to stretch me outside of my comfort zone, so I look forward to the new challenge that it presents. In my opinion, the concept or idea of nobility is often corrupted, misconstrued, and misrepresented. I believe it is a very important virtue that deserves a reset and a revival in how we respectfully revere it for its real reasons. Quite simply, consider nobility as “nobleness of mind, character, or spirit; exalted moral excellence.” Unfortunately, how rarely do people born into “nobility” embody such virtue? We tend to associate it with egotistical levels of haughty, high-brow pretentiousness. There is nothing authentically or truly noble in that behavior or style of living and treating others.

A noble purpose inspires sacrifice, stimulates innovation, and encourages perseverance.

-Gary Hamel

Sacrifice does not equate to martyrdom. I want to clearly make that distinction upfront. For example, I live a far more ascetic life now than I used to because I have given up certain indulgences that I used to partake in in the past. Some of the changes were harder than others, but I am happier and healthier than before. I am more aligned and connected with noble power and purpose as a result of my innovative perseverance. Mindful sacrifices help clear a way for me to live better without complete sacrifice.

True nobility is to exercise power as a servant to all and a master of none.

-Craig D. Lounsbrough

I think it is important to focus on nobility within the framework of being in service to the greater good. A noble person sets aside ego and acts in a way that serves others. There are certainly times to prioritize self-care as a noble act for yourself in order to avoid shifting the pendulum too far from sacrifice towards martyrdom. A noble character sets an ideal example for all to follow. How many are willing to set aside their comforts and complacencies, though, to nurture natural nobleness? We are all here for only a limited time with a limited amount of energy. How are you choosing to exercise your power? Do you take it for granted, or can you apply it wisely? Are you generating good growth?

Life ought to be a struggle of desire toward adventures whose nobility will fertilize the soul.

-Rebecca West

Are you consciously adventuring through your life? When is the last time you fed some fertilizer to your soul? Honestly, I learned so many new things last week. I heard one quote that continues to surface in various discussions as I share it more with others. I finally realize how much it epitomizes true nobility, too. When we choose to set aside our choices in order to honor what our soul is here to accomplish, we position ourselves for our best purpose possible. Quieting our mind and heart enough to let our soul speak and show us our singularly best way forward. We could deviate, but why not remain noble?

The truth is that as a person’s real power grows and their knowledge widens, ever the way they can follow grows narrower: until at last they choose nothing but do only and wholly what they must do.

-Ursula K. Le Guin

I have seen closely and frequently how many people will prickle at such a point. They claw at the concept of free will. I believe naturally noble character and virtue freely surrenders to a greater and better will than our own. Being able and willing to see our best way forward and obediently following it can be fulfilling and rewarding beyond our wildest dreams and expectations. I truly find it far more appealing than I ever imagined.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Freeday – 021326

How are you honestly doing these days with respecting both yourself as well as others? It may not always be easy, but it will always be worth it. We can show love to ourselves and everyone else by being respectful as often as possible. It will take work sometimes, but it is a worthwhile standard to steadfastly stand for. Relay reliable respect on repeat.

Respect is one of the greatest expressions of love.

-Don Miguel Ruiz

We should all see and share more love on a daily basis, so we should all respect more, too, as a way of regularly spreading it far and wide. We can jump to hasty conclusions and give a number of “reasons” as to why someone does not “deserve” our “respect”. However, it is not up to them; it is a choice that we possess. Why hold grudges against and judge anyone unnecessarily? Respect your lane, and respect their lane. Respect all autonomy. I know how difficult this concept can be to practice when we are so sure that we know best, but we only live our life. To each their own. Respect that process please.

The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life is the source from which self-respect springs.

-Joan Didion

Today, during a meeting at work, I silently observed so many different behaviors in one room. A surprising number of them slowly became clearer to me as to why someone may act in such a way. I had to fight hard against speaking up rudely a few times. If I cannot teach easily and gently, then I am not ready to share. I am still learning and preparing my own takeaways; I am still listening to and establishing a healthy bond with my own Inner Nature. I am truly respecting my own personal process more now, finding where I belong.

When you know and respect your own Inner Nature, you know where you belong.

-Benjamin Hoff

Respect is a courteously conscious dance. As of late, I find myself flowing and gliding more freely and gracefully. I stub my own toes less now, and I do my best to not step on anyone else’s toes as well. By not speaking up negatively and/or meanly, I preserved the personal process of each person there. I do not want to contribute in a way that disturbs any peace; I saw others causing that. We are all trying our best to find the beat and move to it. There is a wonderful waltz waiting if we wish to while away the weeks in wondrous worship. Respect the beauty beset before us. Find a reason to smile more often, even if it is only a warm and radiant internal smile. No one else needs to see it. I am not asking us to perform for others. I am asking us to have enough respect to live the best lives we can.

Optimism is a choice.
Kindness is a choice.
Giving is a choice.
Respect is a choice.
Whatever choice you make makes you.
Choose wisely.

-Roy T. Bennett

Amidst all the chaos and noise that frequently surrounds us, respect your individual choice enough to control your narrative now. Rediscover some simple joys in many of the simple things. Refine your realizations and revelations respectfully. Redefine your rhetoric respectfully, and revive your self-respect really respectfully. Revel in resonant rhapsody.

For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

-Nelson Mandela

Enhancing the freedom of others, that is why Bodhisattvas reincarnate on Earth according to Buddhism. They see our suffering and want to help us; they could drift off elsewhere, free and clear. Instead, they care so compassionately and deeply that they return to this world countless times to aid and assist in ways we may discount and disrespect. Out of reverent respect for all the peaceful people around us now and everyone who has lived a lovely legacy, only our best is truly respectful. Not perfection, but a commitment to loving growth and improvement for all beings. Inner and outer respect far and wide for forever.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Wondersday – 021126

Have you ever wondered… about the third thing? I have. Marcus Aurelius talked about it. Truly, though, we should only focus on and wonder about the first two things. First, what do we see as our best next action step? Second, will we do it? Those are the only two pieces that honestly matter. How often, though, do we get sidetracked or frustrated by the idea that someone else should appreciate and/or respect us for that thing we did?

The more things a [person] is ashamed of, the more respectable [they are].

-George Bernard Shaw

Do you want to waste more time wondering why you are not being acknowledged or commended, or can you spend that time actually listening to and learning from others? How often are we too busy in our own heads that we miss many golden opportunities unfolding all around us? Once again, we should respect ourselves and others more by actively engaging in even more moments with mindful awareness and presence. Then, we can offer more presents to others while also receiving more ourselves. The random and unexpected compliments that I have received in recent weeks and months from people have regularly surprised and delighted me in healthy and humbling ways.

One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.

-Bryant H. McGill

You deserve to be respected, taken seriously, and recognized for your hard work.

-Vanessa Van Edwards

If you follow the fourth guardrail and do your best, then I believe you do deserve respect. How respectful is it, though, to demand it? That is petty and selfish which I would argue is not your best behavior. Respect yourself enough to be at peace with whatever amount of respect you see and receive from others. Mind you, please do not tolerate repetitive disrespect. If you need to peacefully cut ties with someone, then do so. Have enough respect for yourself to not put yourself in a similar kind of disrespectful situation again.

A good idea is to behave well to other people, show them respect, and help them as much as you possibly can, and it will be repaid hundredfolds.

-Emilia Harper

Your actions will be rewarded (or punished if they are not positive) in due time. By focusing on your best next step, you can build up even more potential for plentiful productivity. You could also spin your wheels with asking or demanding others to recognize and respect your past actions, but those trite and trivial focuses are lackluster and lagging farces. Why waste energy waiting when you could be improving further?

There is no respect for others without humility in one’s self.

-Henri-Frédéric Amiel

Even earlier today, I held the door open for someone during my walk back from lunch. I do not think they responded to or acknowledged me or my action in any way, shape, or form. It helped me realize how I still look for the third thing from time to time. Instead of being disappointed by looking for or expecting more, I would rather be pleasantly surprised by gratitude if already proceeding contentedly with my day, simply doing the best next thing I can do. It is a subtle and seemingly simple shift that feels super strong.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all :) <3

Mournday – 020926

I mourn for all self-masochists. I am a recovering one myself. This battle has been a significant struggle for me for many years. We will unpack that a bit more later. First, more recently and specifically, I also mourn for Lindsey Vonn’s physical body. In my opinion, the writing was on the wall, clear as day. If you rupture one of your ACLs within a week or two of the Olympics, do you really think you should still be competing?

Do not seek out complication. Treat your duty with respect.

-from Apocrypha

The Olympics are an elite pinnacle of athletic performance. If you are nowhere near 100%, how do you expect to perform well against others who are? How much unnecessary pressure was placed on so many of her faculties? I am so upset by how poorly she listened to her body. In my opinion, her ego and/or pride pushed her to ignore the flashing lights on her body’s dashboard. Was it worth it? No. Think about all the costs now piling up because she did not step aside and let someone healthier participate instead. I hope she has a smooth and speedy recovery, and I also hope she is learning some hard-won lessons from this frustrating experience. Stubbornly pressing on may never be the answer in almost any situation. Where is the self-respect in that scenario?

Treat yourself with the same love and respect you want to show others. That’s the Other Golden Rule.

-Jay Shetty

We often beat ourselves up because we think it is what we deserve. It was how we were conditioned in our childhood: “these verbal, emotional, and possibly even physical abuses are part of life; we might as well apply them to ourselves, too.” This realization dawned on me recently, and it saddens me deeply. With this knowledge now being apparent to me, though, I can offer myself more grace, patience, and self-respect. I find myself being calmer and gentler when I do something wrong. No more name-calling. No more piling more problems onto what is already there. I am now playing on my own team, and I love it. Enough other competitors will challenge us. Why should we keep doing that as well?

Self-respect is a blueprint for respecting others.

-Jeff Warren

What perfect timing today that I forgot to clean my glass from orange juice at breakfast this morning. I am typically very methodical with having everything put back away after my routine meals. However, this morning, for one reason or another, I left that glass sitting out all day while at work. My only response to seeing it this afternoon was “oh nooo” in a light and easy way before promptly cleaning it and putting it away. Sadly, I can easily imagine how colorfully denigrating I would have been to myself in the past. Gladly, it shows what self-respect I have deliberately developed and now possess at present :)

When [everyone is] able to respect and accept their differences, then love has a chance to blossom.

-John Gray

Highlighting another recent note, we often punish ourselves because we apply more hate to situations than love. As we learn to practice and perfect self-love, we do better for ourselves and all others. So, like the Jumbotrons displayed at the end of Bad Bunny’s amazing Halftime show during yesterday’s Super Bowl, “THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE.” Choose wisely, my friends. Love is an amazing and beautiful constant in life if we choose to channel it. Have enough respect to do so.

Mutual courtesy and respect is the foundation of culture.

-Mahatma Gandhi

There is no longer a need to continue beating yourself up for things in the past. If you knew then what you know now, would you have acted and behaved differently? I hope so because that is what matters most now, turning over a new leaf and stepping out on a better foot. Showing the world that you can and will be better than before. We can learn from our problems in the past and show wise respect by no longer repeating mistakes.

I have great respect for the past. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.

-Maya Angelou

The best way to respect ourselves and others is by learning indirectly from those who have come before us. What if we abuse our minds, bodies, and souls less (or not at all) by not directly experiencing so many mistakes since we see them in others? How much healthier and happier can we be? Honestly, my health may be at a peak right now. I say that humbly and proudly, with a balanced level of respect for myself because I know what strong work I am putting in; I can see how it is paying off. I still have a long road ahead of me, but I am thankful to walk it; I hope you will start respecting your walk, too.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Smarturday – 020726

venerate vs. irreverent

venerate (verb) – to deeply respect or revere, often in a religious or sacred context

irreverent (adjective) – not reverent; deficient in veneration or respect

Respect is an important and virtuous trait,

one to which we should all reliably relate.

Being kind to everything on our path,

paying our respects requires no math.

You could be rude; you could be irreverent,

but do you want to look back and lament?

Why not be a polite dame or a polished gent?

Listen to and learn your golden covenant.

Which ideal attitudes should we cultivate?

What will work well, making others venerate?

Please note that the attention is not the goal,

though certainly a fringe blessing to behold.

Presently and persistently apply respect.

Do not only consider it in retrospect. 

Think about what benefits all involved.

Then, what problems can be solved?

By mutual respect, understanding and with good will, we can find acceptable solutions to any problems which exist or may arise between us.

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

Respect is easy. It does not take much.

Simply choose to be more aware and in touch

with what you do and what surrounds you.

Mindfully being present gifts the best clue.

Your presence pays respect to you and others.

Do not check out on your sisters and brothers.

Each moment is unique; no second comes twice,

so we all might as well keep on being nice.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Thanksday – 020526

I am thankful for productive and pioneering pacifists. I taught this word (pacifism) to a new friend recently; I was surprised to hear that they were not already familiar with the term and concept. That moment serves as a reminder that there is still plenty of teaching and learning opportunities to be shared. It is a blessing in disguise that I will be able to work on these things for the rest of my life. It could feel exhausting, but I respect myself and others enough to be excited at the realization that I have plenty to do for forever :)

Let us develop respect for all living things. Let us try to replace violence and intolerance with understanding, compassion, and love.

-Jane Goodall

I proudly deviate from predictable pacifism a bit based on a recent epiphany that I experienced. In the past, I would push pacifism to an extreme. Then, it dawned on me that I was not respecting my own being if I permitted myself to be a punching bag. A classic example of this struggle relates to my dilemma with mosquitoes. If I can avoid it, I never want to experience malaria. Does that mean I will attack any and all mosquitoes? No. If one tries to attack me, though, then it is on like Donkey Kong. Out of respect for my own safety and well-being, once something tries to harm or hurt me, I will protect and defend myself accordingly. This newer approach and perspective feels fair and balanced to me. I seek peace whenever possible, but that does not mean I will roll over and tolerate repetitive attacks. I can still turn the other cheek while practicing self-defense.

We don’t need to share the same opinions as others, but we need to be respectful.

-Taylor Swift

We all deserve to share this space in space. If we can simultaneously respect our lane as well as everyone else’s, then complete and collective coexistence becomes much easier. How many leaders and powers in charge lack basic respects and thrive off of control? Propagating past problems prevents productive progress towards pacifistic utopias. Sure, such ideas are lofty, but I respect myself enough to dream heftily. In all honesty, I respect all of us to not sell our total potential short. We all deserve the best possible outcomes.

In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.

-Thurgood Marshall

Pacifism is not passive; it is an active endeavor. We respect all beings by restraining ourselves from reactive actions that we would later regret; we retrain ourselves by applying more conscious thoughts and decisions during each and every day. We spread more respect around in ways that benefit everyone involved; we can peacefully lead by example. Hopefully others will follow along in due course, but we should not let that change or deter our plans; we can and will still proceed peacefully and respectfully <3

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Soulday – 020126

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, I will tell you what it means to me… in fact, many things I am beginning to realize, so we will unpack a lot of it during this next cycle. To start, I want to focus on both outgoing and incoming respect. How are you showing it to everything around you, and how is respect being shown to you by everything around you? Is it fairly balanced?

There are sins against others, and sins against yourself. You commit sins against others when you do not respect God’s spirit in them; you commit sins against yourself when you do not respect God’s spirit in yourself.

-Leo Tolstoy

How many people and things do you currently disrespect? Such behavior often indicates that you are judging others which is a waste of time and energy. I am a firm believer that we can always learn from anyone and anything if we only maintain healthy curiosity and open-mindedness. Unnecessary judgements close us off from the possibilities of growth and improvement. We disrespect our own potential by wasting any time with disrespect.

You have to respect every person, no matter how miserable or ridiculous [they] may be. You should remember that in every person lives the same spirit which lives in us.

-after Arthur Schopenhauer

Are you accepting the respect that you have earned, or are you perhaps demanding respect from others due to some false or misguided sense of entitlement? In my opinion, the only worthwhile respect to receive is that which is freely given. If you are forcefully requesting respect, then you miss the true meaning behind it and taint it entirely. Any respect worth having is built by actions and deeds with time and effort across your life.

Don’t go seeking out respect or validation. Earn it.

-Jay Shetty

A final element to consider is your own level and amount of self-respect. It is a key factor to work on as well. While it is nice to have the respect of others, I would strongly argue that respect for yourself is of the utmost importance. Others may disagree with our path and our purpose. They may not understand why we do what we do. As long as we are at peace with the plans we pursue, then we can shore up healthy amounts of sustainable self-respect. It can help provide us and our souls with the necessary fuel and sustenance to persist diligently. It makes me realize that certain signs of disrespect from some can actually be positive indicators of our success if they are lost or misguided in dark spots.

To free us from the expectations of others, to give us back to ourselves – there lies the great, the singular power of self-respect.

-Joan Didion

By improving your respect for yourself, you can reprioritize your focus on what is most important to you. Where and on what should you be spending and exerting your time and energy? Respect yourself enough to mindfully choose what you do, feel, and think in as many moments as possible. We can all do better for ourselves and others with more respect being spread around. Respect is not an exhaustible resource we will run out of.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Freeday – 121925

Purpose almost always prompts persistence. Our best path forward will rarely be the easiest, but it will be the most fulfilling and rewarding. Press onward purposefully.

Don’t ever give up on life. Life can be so beautiful, especially after you’ve spent a lot of time with it.

-Yoko Ono

Do you do things for yourself or for the greater good? Are you only paving a smoother way for you or for all others who will come after you? Purpose provides for all people.

The one who plants trees, knowing that [they] will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.

-Rabindranath Tagore

My overall purpose in life is to be the best humble servant and harmonious instrument that I can be, healing myself and helping others heal as fully and completely as possible.

You should accept yourself, not as a master, but as a servant, and then all your bad feelings, your anxiety, alarm, uncertainty, and dissatisfaction will be changed into calmness and peace. You will be filled inside with a clear vision of your purpose, and with a great joy.

-Leo Tolstoy
what can you do to connect with your true purpose and gifts?

when you start turning inward to heal and let go, you remove the layers of heavy conditioning and trauma that have been blocking your natural creativity from coming forward.

when your mind is lighter, it will more easily connect with its talents and genuine aspirations, and you will find a way to use those talents to serve others.

-yung pueblo

Wisdom is knowing the purpose of life, and knowing how to achieve it.

-Leo Tolstoy

Patience and tenacity of purpose are worth more than twice their weight of cleverness.

-Thomas Henry Huxley

As I pursue my purpose more placidly and patiently, I realize that these posts will pause periodically. For example, the next cycle in sixteen days will be postponed. I will be prioritizing some personal work to prepare improvements. That means the next cycle will resume in about six weeks. It is the longest break I have taken yet since starting this site, but I have sat with this decision enough to know and feel strongly that my purpose pulls me this way. I look forward to writing again next year. Be well, my friends. I love you all.

The good that ought to be the object of our earnest pursuit, is to be found only within ourselves.

-Epictetus

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Wondersday – 121725

Have you ever wondered… about the golden thread? I have. This idea existed in my mind for quite some time, but I heard about this specific term for it from one of my teachers. A possible infinite number of lives are at our disposal based on the choices we will make. Within this multitude, there exists one ideal path, our highest purpose. We can live a golden life if we find that thread, hold onto it, and follow it to its glowing, loving end.

Adhere to your purpose and you will soon feel as well as you ever did. On the contrary, if you falter, and give up, you will lose the power of keeping any resolution, and will regret it all your life.

-Abraham Lincoln

Have you ever wondered why some people have so much energy? How do they keep going and seem to be capable of doing it all? When your drive and purpose are aligned and fueled fully, most activities and interactions in life will leave you ready for more. Many of us struggle with maintaining energy and health when we lack vital meaning.

Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.

-Helen Keller

Golden threads are not unhealthy or combative. They are collaborative and supportive of one another. I love this aspect. If you are not building a better world for everyone, then you are undoubtedly not following your best possible path. Mine deeper for core gold.

The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away.

-David Viscott

It is not easy to hold onto your golden thread and follow it through to its end, but it is absolutely worth it. I cannot think of a higher calling because I do not know what else would spread as much peace and prosperity other than our greatest possible purpose. Following your golden thread will provide many valuable moments to learn and grow.

The purpose of life for [humans] is growth,
just as the purpose of life for trees and plants is growth.

-Wallace D. Wattles

I sincerely hope you will seek out and pursue your purest and most positive path. How is your best life’s purpose going to sparkle, shine, and glow in radiant and everlasting gold?

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all :)

Mournday – 121525

I mourn for the directionless and purposeless people, those who believe there is no point to any of existence. I wish they could each live a day in my life to observe and understand what all I see. It can be a bit much at times, but I have learned slowly over time that these detailed intricacies only enter my awareness as I build and bolster my ability and capacity to handle more of them. Trust and faith both go very long ways in the pursuit of purpose.

If you have purpose behind what you’re doing, those things that are meant to break you are going to make you.

-Kerri Walsh Jennings

How can you plan to participate peacefully in more of the happenings going on around you? By expanding your footprint and partaking in pleasantries with peers, you can explore and expound upon your possible purpose. Then, as you begin to help those around you, you may be surprised at how you are also helped in return. Your purpose may be a puzzle that slowly gets pieced together, producing periodic prizes as each part falls into place.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others.

-Dalai Lama

How much authentic love have you received? I am sorry if it has not felt like enough yet. Unfortunately, I also know what that feels like. We can do better, though, by not letting it stop us from turning over a new leaf; we can break that pattern or cycle and be different; we can show how to live and lead a better life, purposefully spreading more love and joy.

A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.

-Kurt Vonnegut

Are you passive and passionless, or are you positive and purposeful? Do you continue to complacently control the same habits and routines, or can you consider a worthwhile risk that may enliven and invigorate some stale and stagnant part of your persona? What does your pure personality look like if you fully align with your purpose and mission?

If the risk is fully aligned with your purpose and mission, then it’s worth considering.

-Peter Diamandis

You can find your purpose. I know you can identify the best direction for you to head in. There is a part of you inside that already knows. Are you willing to listen to it? Will you be quiet and calm enough to accept guidance? Wait for the lamp to be lit, then follow it.

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being.

-Carl Jung

Perhaps your current purpose is to ponder upon and pursue your purpose. How does that idea resonate and pulsate within you? Can you consider a reason for why you are here? Suspend any skeptical disbelief; humor the idea. Why might you be right here and right now? Look beneath the surface. Sync with what purposefully drives everything around us (and even us if we let it). We can look lower and see deeper when we are not as caught up in trivial frugalities at the surface. Find the major meaning behind the minor moments.

Don’t get so caught up in your process that you lose sight of your purpose.

-Jay Shetty

Stall your certainty. Stoke more curiosity. Portend potential purpose please. Find your direction, and start taking each best next step according to your personal, peaceful plan.

Stop holding down pause; press play.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Smarturday – 121325

autotelic (adjective) – having within itself the purpose of its existence or happening

Do you know why you are here?

Is it to spread lots of good cheer?

Can we cultivate less fear?

So all peacefully persevere.

It’s not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy.

-Mary Flannery O’Connor

Why do we celebrate the Christmas holiday?

What is its true purpose without food trays?

Can we gather and enjoy family and friends,

or is it only the gifts that we get in the end?

We cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We stand together until the end.

-Woodrow Wilson

We rush ahead, frequently misled,

without Rudolph guiding our sled.

We are often underfed

with what matters most –

healthy bread and a restful bed.

Share a purposeful toast.

A community is a place where people grow and discover their true potential, and they do so together in service to a greater purpose.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

I will live a life that again feels idyllic.

Where my purpose is simply autotelic.

Yet I now feel like a dusty ancient relic.

Flashy new junk overriding the angelic.

Let no act be done without a purpose, nor otherwise than according to the perfect principles of art.

-Marcus Aurelius

We each have a choice;

we each make our own way,

so I am learning to say,

“We have much to rejoice

if we reclaim our voice

and let pure purpose light each day.”

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Thanksday – 121125

I am thankful for The Celestine Prophecy. It is a novel by James Redfield. While technically a work of fiction, I think it has many universal truths and takeaways embedded within it. Introduced as insights throughout the story, the best way to advance and evolve is gradually outlined and explored step-by-step. Some of the insights convey the idea that we each have a specific or ideal life purpose, and we can glean such info from our parents. What are their passions and/or purpose? Reflect on each individually before considering how you can then hybridize and synthesize the two together for you.

Establish your purpose when you are alone and without temptations.

-Jeremy Bentham

When you learn the difference between busywork and your life’s work, that’s the first step on the path of purpose.

-Brendon Burchard

For me, my mom always wanted to be a teacher, but she went down a path of being a nurse instead. My dad was a law enforcement officer. He often speaks about how he prefers the prevention side of his work instead of the enforcement aspects. Better to stop poor decisions from being made than having to enact punishments for them after the fact.

Stop wandering about! Get busy with life’s purpose, toss aside empty hopes, get active in your own rescue – if you care for yourself at all – and do it while you can.

-Marcus Aurelius

Lanes and guardrails exist to enforce natural law and order. I write all these posts to help me heal from all my past pains and problems, so I am growing and transforming from a wounded victim into a wounded healer, both for myself and others. I am proud of such a purpose; I am thankful for such a task in life. It is not easy at all, but it is very worth it :)

The purpose of life… is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.

-T.D. Jakes

Robert Greene has a similar stance on purpose as well. Whatever our childhood passion points to will help us identify our best path forward in life. I struggled with this concept for weeks on end as I worked through what drove and excited me as a kid. I did not have one strong hobby, interest, or field of study that jumped to mind. Finally and randomly, the truth dawned on me in an instant. I love learning. Why do you think I have such a fascination with quotes and all this information? It feeds my insatiable appetite for yet more knowledge. I am learning (ha) to temper this addiction slowly, but learning is truly what I love because it allows and enables me to teach myself and others. I am working on only teaching those who want to learn instead of an overzealous approach with all.

Be brave enough to live the life of your dreams according to your vision and purpose instead of the expectations and opinions of others.

-Roy T. Bennett

What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning? What were your top interests as a child? What kind of purposes did your parents provide? Consider their ideal calling if they settled for something more standard or basic to pay the bills and provide food. If they had been more authentic and less rigidly practical or fearful, what would they have done or tried? How can you blend and merge this information into your life’s purpose?

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Soulday – 120725

As you may know by now, I love tea, and I often appreciate the sayings that I receive from them. I also deeply value the guidance and teaching that tea provides when I sit with it in formal ceremony. For example, the following two quotes highlight the key focuses that are frequently of most importance. “The purpose of life is to know yourself, love yourself, trust yourself, and be yourself.” “May you create peaceful harmony as your life’s purpose.”

How tuned in to your purpose are you? Are you living your best life for the best reasons? Do you value your time, energy, and effort, or are you drifting along aimlessly? Purpose points towards proper productivity. With a clearer path persistently powering your lane forward along its best trajectory, you will patiently progress toward peaceful perfection.

[The person] who has a why in life can tolerate almost any how.

-Friedrich Nietzsche

How does your past impact you? Does it plague you, or does it prod you toward proof? Are you still holding onto events as a victim, or are you embracing the struggles and sufferings to catalyze and drive meaningful change and improvement? I used to carry around and hold onto too much of my past out of spite, shame, and guilt. Now, I am slowly getting better at forgiving both myself and others. Freeing up those spaces and releasing that baggage helps me be more mindfully present and purposeful with next steps. Those past problems no longer drown me; instead, they fire up a keen passion.

There are two kinds of guilt: the kind that drowns you until you’re useless, and the kind that fires your soul to purpose.

-Sabaa Tahir

I believe we each have a primary, personalized purpose for why we are here right now. None of us are here by accident or happenstance. You may think that way, but I do not agree with or believe in such an approach or mindset. Are you willing to uncover and pursue your plan, or do you plan on placating yourself with paltry pleasantries? Piece together your purpose please. We can all establish collectively beneficial lives together.

The purpose of life is a life of purpose.

-Robert Byrne

Why do you think burnout is so prevalent? We are disconnected from our true or best purpose. A strong sense of purpose is one of the key factors that determines our state of flourishing. Without an authentic and heartfelt purpose, we will simply go through the motions without a strong sense of determination and self-worth. Is that a worthy or worthwhile way to live? I do not think so. I think it is essential to appreciate being here and knowing why in order to do the best with what we have for as long as we can.

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.

-Mark Twain

How can you be a paragon, not a prima donna? What will make you into a paladin or a philanthropist and not a photocopy or a phony? How do you develop and improve your personal philosophy, projecting your purpose into all projects? Promote pacifistic pursuits to prompt people to approach their primary purpose. We can all give gifts to one another.

The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.

-Pablo Picasso

Happiness is a passing emotion. It will come and go throughout our lives. Our purposes should permanently point our compasses towards the best path that we can each commit to and complete. I care more about living and loving well and fully than any luxuries and legacies. If others will live and love better as a result of what I do, then it will be further impactful. Regardless, though, I can confidently say that I am happy with who I am now and how I live, and I love patiently pursuing the present power from my prime purpose.

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do I have it all figured out? No. Will I ever? Probably not, but I continue to see what my best next step is in most moments, and those glimpses and actions align purposefully. Perhaps you are already on a similar path. If not, I hope you begin to ponder upon it.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Freeday – 112125

Purity exists in all things. All the precious virtues and beliefs that have been written about can be either pure or corrupted. What is the driving force and motivation in your lane, humble selflessness or selfish hubris? Purity prevails positively and prevalently when you choose compassion for yourself and for all others. Are your actions benefitting everyone or only one? Our best mindset encompasses caring consideration for all.

Compassion is one of the purest springs of love.

-Anne Truitt

Show up mindfully and be kind to all in the present. Invest your time and attention wisely in yourself and those around you. We have so much learning at our fingertips if we only learn to slow down in order to appreciate and accept it all better. Are you attentively purifying yourself, stagnating, or further corrupting and contaminating your essence?

Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.

-Simone Weil

Forgive and forget your past. Easier said than done, but we can all turn over a new leaf if we choose to. We can light our inner fire again to begin burning away what no longer serves us and our true purpose. I believe we each have a true and pure reason for being here. Are you in tune with that purity, or has it been hidden? Do you want to look for it, or are you in denial? We can walk through the trials by fire to be reborn again like a phoenix rising from the ashes of our past self. It helps us keep our soul pure and our heart open.

Life is a gift, life is happiness, every minute could have been an eternity of happiness! If youth only knew! Now my life will change; now I will be reborn. Dear [friend], I swear that I shall not lose hope. I will keep my soul pure and my heart open. I will be reborn for the better.

-Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Purity also invokes degrees of flexibility. Our core principles and values will not fluctuate, but our attitudes and approaches to life can look varied and different from situation to situation based on what is best needed at the time. We can be pure in one setting as a teacher. We may be pure in another scenario as a silent observer. Fluid flow like water maintains total and complete purity. Allow the world to exist around you without any judgment of or separation from it. Sift your own sediment. Complete integration to be present and capable of flawless behavior. Rare. Remarkable. Extraordinary. Pure joy.

The self that has developed equanimity, if endowed with pure activities, attains heavenly happiness.

-Kundakunda

Purity will slowly arise over time as a byproduct of becoming your best self, not as a specific goal in and of itself. Pursue perfection as a benefit, not a necessity. We are our best selves here and now. Set aside any striving for a moment to love yourself exactly as you are right here and now. We are as pure as we can be currently. Opportunities will still arise to further purify, and we should accept and appreciate those moments. Find the glimmer and gleam in all that you see. Dance with the shimmers and sparkles far and wide. Build your joy up slowly from deep inside. Welcome in purity to forever reside.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Wondersday – 111925

Have you ever wondered… about alchemy? I have. Not as an outward practice to develop a philosopher’s stone but as an inner practice to purify my lead and dark parts into bright and shining gold. I suppose you could say that, as a result of my alchemical work, I want to be golden. I want to transmute the coal in my own stocking into beautiful ornaments.

Let your mind wander in the pure and simple.
Be one with the infinite.
Let all things take their course.

-Chuang Tzu

One part of alchemy that many may struggle with is the idea of balancing out your sides. Finding the pure middle ground between your masculine and feminine aspects. We all have them even if you choose to deny and ignore it. Carl Jung often referred to them as the Anima and the Animus. Can you fully connect with your unconscious inner self?

It is fatal to be a man or woman pure and simple: one must be a woman-manly, or a man-womanly.

-Virginia Woolf

Another part of Carl Jung’s work that I only recently learned more about is the shadow. We often focus on its dark side and what negative aspects we are repressing, but there is also a golden shadow – all of our positive potential and purest purpose that we often avoid and self-sabotage against. We tend to lack full expansion and total expression in all directions. Layers upon layers and masks atop masks cover up our pure persona that patiently persists at our core. Are we willing to peel back the layers and put aside the masks to burn bright and true? Can we learn to fan our flame of pure transformation?

Genuine transformation doesn’t happen in comfort. It happens in the fire.

-Alan Watts

Alchemize your suffering into wisdom, lessons learned and self-improvement. Alchemize pain into purpose, wounds into healing, hate into love, shame into sanctity, guilt into guidance, doubt into determination, fear into fortitude, sadness into serenity, melancholy into mindfulness, and cold into warmth. Allow everything to serve as fuel for your fire as it slowly burns brighter and truer within you until all that remains are the purest and most principal parts of you. Any blemishes and impurities will not withstand such blistering and searing heat. Wield it well, and control it consciously. Pouring forth gold is a delicate and divine art form to carefully cultivate with smooth and graceful precision.

The world gives you so much pain and here you are making gold out of it. There is nothing purer than that.

-Rupi Kaur

When life hands you lemons, are you making lemonade or lamenting your lot and luck? Are you using the fuel available to you or wastefully and wistfully wishing for something different? Purity rests in acceptance of the present moment. It leverages the ingredients at hand to make the best of each and every situation. Can we wonder why certain events and moments are not better or easier? Yes, but what good does it do? Why waste our energy with impure thoughts of delusional distractions? This part hurts me at my core because I honestly have a lot of room to grow here. However, recognizing that fact shows me a stockpile of fuel to now dump on my faithful fire in order to smelt a lot of new gold.

To the pure,
all things are pure.

-Marcel Proust

You were born to be glowing. We all were. It is up to each of us to reclaim purity.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all.

Mournday – 111725

I mourn for all those who believe in original sin. I think babies may be the purest creation in all of existence. To automatically imbue them with some level of impurity feels wholly inappropriate. Maybe those unholy decision makers felt jealous of perfectly clean newborns, so perhaps it is those people who I should mourn for most of all today.

I give you this to take with you: Nothing remains as it was. If you know this, you can begin again, with pure joy in the uprooting.

-Judith Minty

Imagine reconnecting with pure joy. Uproot your unworthiness. Let go of the past and move forward again in the present. Repeat this step as many times as needed to purify the present from the past. In general, we all carry too much with us already. Unpack. Lighten your load. Scrub away at your core and restore your pure, unfiltered shine. Share it with the world, making it all brighter and full of more love, kindness, and compassion.

No motive is pure. No one is good or bad – but a hearty mix of both. And sometimes life actually gives to you by taking away.

-Carrie Fisher

I will pause briefly here to transparently own that I do believe in past lives for most, if not all, of us. I do not consider this concept to be the same as original sin, though. Each life or incarnation that we inhabit is pure at its start. Some of the karma we inherit may carry over from ancestors or leak in from past lives, but purity is still possible. If you can correct your current path and begin cleaning up previous pains and past life problems as well, then you are purifying plentifully and powerfully. You begin to see a much bigger picture.

Purity of heart is what enables us to see.

-Pope Benedict XVI

Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.

-Matthew 5:8 (Bible)

What feels right to you? Do you see for yourself, or do you inherit archaic beliefs from generations and millennia ago? How pure are those prehistoric principles in the present after being perpetuated and putrified for centuries upon centuries? Personal purity exists within, not without. We piece together peace. Flip the script. Pursue original purity. We all had it at some point in time, and we can all return to it at some point in time if we choose to do so. It is not easy, but it is worth it. There is room for all of us to swim in it.

Ocean
…
It is Time perhaps, or the vessel filled
with all motion, pure Oneness,
that death cannot touch, the visceral green
of consuming totality.

-Pablo Neruda

Define your own story. Walk your own path. Identify and purify your individual sins. Do not let another human tell you the score of your life. Harmonize your score with nature.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Smarturday – 111525

tabula rasa (noun) – a mind not yet affected by experiences, impressions, etc.; anything existing undisturbed in its original pure state

If your goal is purity of heart, be prepared to be thought very odd.

-Elisabeth Elliot

Purity

does not mean chastity,

but it does require responsibility.

Purity

could be brevity

if saying more prompts incredulity.

Purity

Simplicity

Infinity

Purity of life is the highest and truest art.

-Mahatma Gandhi

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Thanksday – 111325

I am thankful for omnism. My partner introduced me to this belief, and it became quickly apparent how strongly it resonated with me. I have struggled with the concept of any one mainstream religion being the one and only infallible truth for far too long. Why is only one group right? That idea does not feel pure at all, and it does not kindle any joy or love.

Christ never founded any church, never created any state, never passed any law, never established any government or other authority. He wanted to put the law of God into the hearts of people, to make them self-governed.

-Herbert Newton

What if all religions are right, at least in part? In what ways can you identify and weave together common threads between them? This is why I thankfully identify as an omnist. I love studying any and all religions that I come across, even if it means recently learning from a friend about Pastafarianism (or the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster). I was researching Rastafarianism at the time, so the additional knowledge was well-timed.

One [person] who has purified [themself] thoroughly accomplishes more than a regiment of preachers. Out of purity and silence comes the word of power.

-Swami Vivekananda

By maintaining my curiosity as I explore the cultural wealths of the world, I can tune in and listen to my intuition to see and feel which common denominators I can and should adopt as universal truths across various religions. How many include some kind of water-based ritual for ablutions? Why are periods of fasting so prominent? Have you considered why certain religions push for pilgrimages to expand your horizons and experiences? I do not think any one religion is pure in and of itself. They have all been filtered slowly over time through human hands, thus introducing varying degrees of defilement and impurity.

Some people say, ‘[people are] selfish, greedy, and dissipated, and cannot be kind to other people.’
This is not true.
We can be good.
Feel in your heart the kind of person you should be; this feeling will give you power.

-Leo Tolstoy

It is up to each of us to purify our own beliefs and character. That is what I love about omnism. I carefully curate my beliefs to make me the best person I can be. Over time, I am slowly learning to be less preachy about it, too. I am happy to discuss the topic, but I think each person’s progress should be purely their own. I am overjoyed if they ask me questions. However, in the meantime, I will continue to prioritize my personal purification.

Moksha (ultimate liberation) means to purify one’s drashti (belief), and bondage denotes an impurity in one’s belief. It is verily because of the flawed belief that conflicts and divisiveness due to difference of opinion persists.

-Dada Bhagwan

Purity and impurity depend on oneself; no one can purify another.

-Buddha

Purity should not be overly serious nor is it childish, but it is childlike. To possess beliefs and curiosity simultaneously; to know you do not have all the answers yet still be at peace with that fact; to courageously explore for even more knowledge; to welcome guidance and assistance from other explorers. Pure openness and acceptance with love. Do not be foolish; do not be stubborn and closed off; find the ideal middle way for you.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Soulday – 110925

I am so sick right now as I write this post, so I feel the furthest away from feeling qualified to talk about purity while countless impurities run amok within my body. Regardless, maybe that incongruence is one of the lessons already awaiting me here. Can I still paint the picture of purification while pursuing it myself? Oh, here is a neat thought: maybe I am at my worst now in order to be at my best by next Freeday :)

I wish that every human life might be pure transparent freedom.

-Simone de Beauvoir

Pure transparency. That condition is the brightest and best soul state that we should all strive for. I believe we slowly tarnish and cover up our purity with layers upon layers of all the sludge and filth that we often choose to indulge in. From unhealthy foods to unclean thoughts and sickening speech or even atrocious actions, how often are we perpetually and personally pouring impurities into our person on all planes? Even if you only consider your physical vessel, how well are you tending to it? Do you feel pure, transparent, and free? I know I do not right now, but I also see glimmers of progress that fuel my hope and faith to continue improving each day. I will keep on purifying myself.

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.

-Buddha

The Toltec’s Four Agreements were described as “pure common sense.” I agree, hence why I tailored the guardrails for our lanes after them. If we can find and bring our purest self to more moments each day, then we move closer to being our most authentic and individuated self. I believe this approach prompts how we gradually and patiently perfect our positive purpose in order to provide productive and pure progressions for all people.

Pure love, careless of all other things, kindles the soul.

-Seneca

What does Eckhart Tolle advocate for a lot? Acting in a spirit of pure love before all else. Not conditional or transactional love. A pure love that knows and accepts that anyone and everyone will mess up and cause problems from time to time. Both mistakes and accidents will happen. Can you openly forgive and love continually? These combined practices help purify your past and clean your soul, slowly restoring its pure beauty.

I don’t agree with the whole ‘I’m giving people the same energy they give me.’ I think you should give people your pure truest energy, the realest version of you and if they don’t appreciate you then you can walk away. Why would you lower yourself just because they are low?

-@moonsoultarot

I hope you will begin to purify yourself more and more with each passing day. Like a common expression in Costa Rica, I hope you embrace and embody a “pura vida1.”

May the long time sun shine upon you.

All love surround you,

and the pure light within you…

guide your way on.

Guide your way on <3

Sat nam.

Wahe Guru <3

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

  1. “pure life” or “pure living” ↩︎

Freeday – 102425

One of the sayings on a morning tea stopped me in my tracks as I felt the fuller weight behind it for the first time ever. How many times do we hear certain things repeatedly until it finally sounds and hits different? This reason is one of many as to why I remain hopeful. So much knowledge is still slowly sinking deeper into my being as I figure out more ways to be a better being. “Let your thoughts give hope, guidance, and upliftment to all.” I am thankful that many of thoughts were not heard by others when I was younger and dumber. What does that say about me, though? How well am I tending to my internal mental or psychological garden if I need to keep it gated and closed off from others? If I am ashamed of my thoughts, then that is a key message for me to pay closer attention to. As I gradually reduce the passing judgments and scathing remarks that used to cross my mind, I find a calmer and more peaceful scene that feels better and healthier.

All it takes is one good person to restore hope.

-Pope Francis

Wishing others well does not require any extra effort than my prior negativities. It is only an adjustment in my perspective to employ empathetic concern for others versus selfish competition. We can all win, and I hope for that future with every fiber of my being. I will continue to work on cleaning and purifying as many of my thoughts as possible in order to spread as much love as I can. If thoughts require additional consideration, then how about actions and spoken words? Now, imagine if we all tried to do something similar :)

If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance.

-Orville Wright

What drives you and your advancements? Are you looking towards your brightest hopes, or are you running from your darkest fears? Do you know how to stop having nightmares? You sit with them. You stop and face the situation, and you find out that all your running was wasted energy. Instead, step up and stand up to face your fear. Let hope guide you.

Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work; you don’t give up.

-Anne Lamott

When you no longer have nightmares, then you can fear dreams less. When you fear dreams less, then you can start to see the powerful potential behind and within them. Hope and dreams are what will brighten our horizons with new prospects and ideas that propel our positive momentum forward. Dream big. Hope absolutely. Drive your fate.

Everyone must dream. We dream to give ourselves hope. To stop dreaming – well, that’s like saying you can never change your fate.

-Amy Tan

Hope is a choice. Please do not forget that. Are you choosing to be hopeful? I certainly hope so. In a recent news article that I read this morning, Atlanta local Susan Jaeskce was quoted saying, “you might not have two pennies to rub together, but there’s always a little bit of hope that you can find.” Are you finding your hope? Will you give it a try?

Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.

-Christopher Reeve

I hope you will set your own expectations and limits for life in your lane. If others do not have as big of an imagination or creative reservoir as you, should that stop you or hold you back? I do not think so, so I hope you will only allow your limits to be your limits. Maybe you will even eventually reach a point of no limits. Now there is a big dream :)

It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.

-Robert H. Goddard

While there is life, there’s hope.

-John Gay

I hope you will dream some big dreams, and I hope you discover and live your best life.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Wondersday – 102225

Have you ever wondered… about kaizen? I have. A friend introduced me to this term a couple months ago, and it immediately clicked in my brain as a powerful and hopeful concept. Kaizen is the patient practice of persistently improving upon your thoughts, actions, and behaviors, ideally each and every day to at least some degree. It is not a constant adjustment but a gradual work at being better in all that you are doing in life.

Someday all you’ll have to light the way will be a single ray of hope, and that will be enough.

-Kobi Yamada

Breaking the term down, I think of it as fire of the mind. Those are the two components of it from Japanese, kai and zen. At least, that is what I thought they were previously. Today I learned that I was wrong about kai in Japanese. It is more like the ocean or sea, so quite the opposite in fact. Well, how about that new knowledge for my improvement today? :)

Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.

-Confucius

Are you using your thoughts to improve your life on a daily basis? Can you determine how to live better? What adjustments (big or small) can you be making mentally, physically, and spiritually? Lately, I am keenly aware of my cyclical overthinking, so I started working with AI to strategize skills and tips to test out when I find myself slipping. I often file away internal nuggets of wisdom from interactions during each day. Do I not like how I replied in a moment of strong emotional turmoil? Did that person end the call in a toxic way? These reflections provide countless opportunities to identify better ways for me to show up in the future when I inevitably face a similar scenario.

I am very little inclined on any occasion to say anything unless I hope to produce some good by it.

-Abraham Lincoln

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.

-Helen Keller

Kaizen makes me better each day in at least some small way. Sure, I slide backwards in probably all areas from time to time, but those (hopefully) brief setbacks or regressions allow me to review and refine even more with kaizen. With my mind’s fire (yes, I like the imagery enough that I am still sticking with it for this post), I can shine a light on any situation to see what to do differently (and ideally better) the next time. There is no end or finish line to this process. I plan on permanently implementing kaizen because I never want to stop improving. Can (and should) I take breaks and rest? Yes, but the cheeky side of me gets fired up at the thought of how to efficiently revise and reform in that area, too.

One accomplishment in life adds another hope for further accomplishment. This hope pulls us through. It would not be wrong to say that hope is the cause of decision. We are then driven to action for our dreams to come true.

-Unknown

Learning can be fun in my opinion. Turning it into a game of sorts certainly compels me to continually show up and whittle away at it. I plan on being a life-long learner because new knowledge is what enables me to identify additional areas to work on and augment for authentic and accurate awakening. After all, as the fire in my mind burns brighter, it is harder for me to stay asleep in the dark. I am much happier and more content basking and bathing in the warmth on a more routine basis. It helps me channel more love for all.

Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.

-Robert H. Schuller

There is always a way and always hope in the next sunrise, and in the next second, and in the next minute.

-Ziggy Marley

My hope is that we will all begin to see how well these productive and mindful skills collaborate with and complement one another. I am not sacrificing or compromising on any of my past beliefs and virtues to be hopeful. Instead, I am fortifying a firm foundation that fuels my future endeavors comprehensively and holistically. After all, my interests and values are still my own. I think we can and should be individualized in those ways. Kaizen can show you ways to better find your way to your best way if you care to try it out some along your way. Will you allow kaizen to weigh in on your life? I sure hope so.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all :) <3

Mournday – 102025

I mourn for all of the people who feel hopeless right now. I wanted to say I mourn for all of the hopeless, but I caught myself because no one is hopeless. We may often feel like giving up, feeling like there is no reason to be hopeful, but that is a mindset choice that we can work on over time. It will not always be as easy as flipping a switch, but we can gradually cultivate a healthier and more hopeful attitude. Do you want to try, though?

Why do you cling to pain? There is nothing you can do about the wrongs of yesterday. It is not yours to judge. Why hold on to the very thing which keeps you from hope and love?

-Leo Buscaglia

It saddens me at how often my own dad pops into my head during this cycle because he does not strike me as a very hopeful individual. While I think he has a strong sense of duty which I admire, he often presents himself as being rather resigned to his lot in life. That approach does not allow you to enjoy a lot of life. How dull are the colors and how blurry are the edges when you no longer hold any hope for the future? How can you reinvigorate your hopefulness? What needs to happen to rekindle your hopeful flame?

The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something.

-Barack Obama

Wow. Do you know what I realized with this insight as I reflected on it more? No, so let me tell you now :) Mindfulness. I now question the positive correlation between being mindful and being hopeful. It makes me wonder how many of the mindless are also the hopeless at present. Mindfulness serves as a key skill to shine a light on many parts we have ignored and allowed to darken for who knows how long. It can be very difficult and challenging work, but it is well worth it in order to enhance, fortify, and harness our hope.

There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.

-John Green

I am hopeful that we can all be more hopeful. Start by being more present more often. Stop living in a state of delusion or ignorance. Be honest about how you are and where you are at right now. Make plans for your future that excite you. Take even the smallest of significant steps towards that life that fills you with light and gives you glowing hope.

It’s never too late to become who you want to be. I hope you live a life that you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

It is not lost on me how dark and difficult life can be. I know the struggles that I have had, and I have had to face many of them. There are still more awaiting me in my future, too. They do not compare to others, but it does not need to be a competition or comparison between any of us. Can we still hold hope in spite of it all? Do we refuse to give up and admit defeat? So many heroic survivors in history point back to their hopeful presence and mindset that they held on to with such patient persistence while beset by so much.

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

-Thích Nhất Hanh

What a nice thought to imagine a future where I will no longer need to mourn for such a disparaging and self-defeating condition. The idea of us all being hopeful one day brings a peaceful joy to the wholeness of my being. I hold hope for this possibility down the road because, if we all choose to design hopeful lanes, then we will make it a reality.

You don’t want to beat yourself up for beating yourself up in the vain hope that it will somehow make you stop beating yourself up.

-Kristin Neff

In this present moment, I hope you can shift your mindset with me to one of hope. With our best thoughts and actions aligned and directed mindfully, we can lead well-lit lanes.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Smarturday – 101825

aspiration vs. despondent

aspiration (noun) – a strong desire, longing, or aim; ambition; a goal or objective that is strongly desired

despondent (adjective) – feeling or showing profound hopelessness, dejection, gloom, or discouragement

Are you one to always or often hold hope,

or are you quick to give up, saying nope?

What will it take to begin again anew?

How will you search for your next clue?

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

-Bible (1 Corinthians 13:7)

The world is a dance floor.

Each of us is a dancer.

To find a key answer,

open your eyes; search more.

We will not know it all.

That does not matter.

Hope through rise and fall.

Do not let that shatter.

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.

-Dale Carnegie

Value your days.

Hope for your best.

Dodge any daze.

Part of the test.

Make hope more than a phase.

It can be a constant at all times,

then you can avoid any faze,

doing your best with all rhymes.

What is your aspiration?

What is your dream?

Slow down your respiration.

Enjoy life’s subtle gleam.

Are you checked out?

Do you feel despondent?

Course correct your route.

Be an active respondent.

Hope is the feeling we have that the feeling we have is not permanent.

-Mignon McLaughlin

Hope can lead you through the dark.

Let it light your way to a brand new start.

I am hopeful that we can be less stark.

All getting along; all doing our part.

Hope without action is nothing real,

but hope with action is a true ideal.

Hope with ego can be selfishly blind,

yet egoless hope is simply sublime.

Being hopeful makes you have more positive emotions and build better relationships.

-Matt Haig

I hope for more hope far and wide.

I hope with more hope at each tide.

I hope we all hope for what is best.

I hope we also hope for healthy rest.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Hopefully, time will tell.

Thanksday – 101625

Today, I am thankful for Star Wars for many reasons. I enjoy most of the movies a lot, and a number of the spin-off TV series have been enjoyable as well. I had various Star Wars toys growing up, and I can remember spending hours in my bedroom playing with different action figure sets like the Death Star and the rebel base on Endor. Hope pervades the franchise as a major theme. The Dark Side appears to be on the brink of victory countless times. Sometimes we have only Obi-Wan to rely on. Or perhaps two droids if we are looking for them. What are you relying on? What are you looking for?

In all things it is better to hope than to despair.

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Hope is one of those infinite virtues. We can hold a limitless amount of it. Do we act on it, though? Are you a princess willing to get your hands dirty with hard work, or do you only hope passively while not pursuing any progress, young padawan? If you hope to be a Jedi, then you must be prepared to put in a lot of work. Any role worth doing requires hours upon hours of unseen training, focus, and discipline behind the scenes. The flashiest moments rarely happen without preparation and readiness. Hope is not luck. I would rather be hopeful than lucky. Both is best, but I know which to count on regularly.

It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

Any movement can start off slow and small. In time, with the right amounts of hope and perseverance, you can see it begin to take hold and spread. A few freedom fighters can turn into a full resistance. Then, before you know it, the empire has met their match. Hope is a flame that never needs to be extinguished. Will you keep fanning and fueling it?

Courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own.

-Michelle Obama

It boils down to what you choose for how to live and lead your life. Does fear drive your decisions, or are you hopeful for the future? Are you only reactive? Can you be proactive? Make your moves according to what is best instead of what you are afraid of. This shift may feel subtle, but the difference is significant. Run from the dark, or walk in the light?

Let us not go back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness.

-James Thurber

The Force is all around us. Some may call it Tao. Others may simply call it nature or the universe. It is also subtle, yet it can also make such a difference. When you begin to tap into and feel the vibrations and flow of your inner being as well as the universe, you can rekindle a sensation that may have been lost and forgotten for a time. It does not need to stay that way. You can find your way back to the light. It may not easy, but it is worth it.

Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.

-Helen Keller

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.

-Nelson Mandela

I will always be thankful for a new hope. May we stay on target and be forever hopeful.

May the Force be with you :)

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Soulday – 101225

Do you hope for the best while you plan for the worst? Personally, I prefer this strategy. While I am frequently quite the optimist, I am also beginning to learn how to better embrace my anxiety in order to identify concerns and points to watch out for. This multifaceted strategy allows me to remain hopeful while also preparing for possible problems. I can still use more work with reducing overall worries, but I am hopeful.

Hope for the best.
Expect the worst.
The world’s a stage.
We’re unrehearsed.

-Mel Brooks

An important point that should be clarified early on in this cycle is that hope only serves as a starting point. By itself, hope will not accomplish too much. What you do with it is what matters. Therefore, hope must be directed towards and channeled into effective and meaningful action in order to drive positive change forward and generate lasting results.

We can’t just hope for a brighter day, we have to work for a brighter day. Love too often gets buried in a world of hurt and fear.

-Dolly Parton

Hope serves as a solid starting point to stand on. It provides direction for your best next step, even if the result turns out to be different than what you expected. I think that is a beautiful aspect of life that we should learn to better appreciate – hope for whatever you are working towards, yet accept whatever actually happens. Do not be blinded by hope.

Every problem has a solution, although it may not be the outcome that was originally hoped for or expected.

-Alice Hoffman

Hoping against the present state of things wastes our energy and resources. Accept the present, and hope for your brighter future. By leveraging these two mindsets in tandem, you set yourself up for the best success possible. To briefly push this idea to the highest level, hope for a collective best-case scenario as well. Expand your hopeful ideas and aspirations to encompass all of us whenever possible. Hope should not be selfish.

Learn from yesterday,
live for today,
hope for tomorrow.

-Albert Einstein

To hope is to give yourself to the future.

-Rebecca Solnit

Life will be full of challenges and even disappointments. Can we still learn from all of the moments, and can we still hold onto hope? Will we get knocked down and stay down, or will we continually choose to harness and hone our hope because it is the better mindset to manage and mold? It will not always be the easier decision, but it will be the best one.

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Think about most, if not all, great accomplishments in the past. How have inventors, pioneers, and visionaries reshaped our future without choosing to be unique and daring beacons of hope? Hope is a vital prerequisite for worthwhile achievements. Without it, how do we dare to go where no one has gone before or do things not yet ever done?

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

-Helen Keller

I consider myself to be a rather hopeful person. It is how I remain bright and optimistic amidst so many struggles and so much strife. I still have dark and down moments at times, so I hope to improve my ability to better engage with hope more meaningfully moving forward as a result of this cycle. At this point in time, how hopeful are you?

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Freeday – 092625

Faith fuels so much. Faith serves as a catalyst and a multiplier for any and all of our other virtues. Do you want to be more courageous or have more trust? Shore up your faith. Want to practice more acceptance or promote patience? Follow your path faithfully.

Faith is unseen but felt, faith is strength when we feel we have none, faith is hope when all seems lost.

-Catherine Pulsifer

Faith can be one of the finest hills to stand on. It can serve as the eye in the middle of a hurricane. When all else is swirling and storming, faith can be your safe haven. We do not see the bigger picture at play, but we can rely on faith to see us through to our best next step again and again. It can drive enough direction and light our way just enough each and every time. It may not always make sense to us then and there, but have faith.

Faith is believing that the outcome will be what it should be, no matter what it is.

-Colette Baron-Reid

Hindsight and greater perspective can eventually dawn on us if we are open to it. When we are in the middle of stressful events and traumatic moments, it can very difficult to see the forest for the trees. Yet, when we invest time and effort in practicing effective and valuable retrospection, we can better understand why we dealt with certain difficulties and what we gained and learned as a result of facing and overcoming tricky challenges. The fire of faith can be fierce at first, but it also forges and fine-tunes our finest mettle.

There are moments when tribulations occur in our lives, and we cannot avoid them. But they are there for some reason… Only when we have overcome them do we understand why they were there.

-Paulo Coelho

One of the core components of faith that I have come to recognize and adore is love, an all-encompassing and all-inclusive love for all. My love for God is reaching new heights now, my love for myself is at an all-time high, and my love for all beings is radiating so far and wide. I do not believe that we are here to judge and hate others at all. It honestly feels like a waste of time. We finally fulfill our faith when we can freely flow in full love.

You will not complete your faith until you love one another.

-Muhammad

God has given us many faiths but only one world in which to co-exist. May your work help all of us to cherish our commonalities and feel enlarged by our differences.

-Jonathan Sacks

You may not grasp this concept well or faithfully yet, but I know how firmly and peacefully it is starting to settle within me. I hope you will begin to explore and practice more faith to feel something similar if not identical. My anxiety is at an all-time low. My emotions will still ramp up at times, but I find them easier to navigate and quickly quell compared to times in the past when they would linger and last for far too long. I am now better at letting them guide my thoughts and actions, not controlling me unconsciously.

Faith brings you stability, centeredness, calmness, and love.

-Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Faith grows when it is lived and shaped by Love.

-Pope Francis

I am building and shaping my foundational faith bit by bit; I will continue to construct it as I continue to live it because it is more than likely a never-ending process. While it is firm in some places, it is fluid and flexible in others. Many features will be refined in due time.

May you find a loving faith forevermore because, as you fuel it, it will fuel you.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Wondersday – 092425

Have you ever wondered… about blind faith vs. built faith? I have. I was raised in a very religious household. I spent summers at church camps that figuratively waterboarded me with Christian Kool-Aid. I was told to believe and accept things as truth without proof. I can easily recall staying up late at night sobbing uncontrollably because I could not wrap my head around this concept of blind faith. How could these people possibly know these things? Those poor camp counselors must have had their hands full with me back then.

Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.

-D. Elton Trueblood

As I discovered and explored the Bahá’í Faith in my more recent years, I encountered the idea of built faith instead of blind faith. This concept resonates so strongly within me. Do not take or accept someone else’s faith as your own. Find and make your own faith. It is the recommended path even within Bahá’í households. How else can it be strong, trustworthy, and independent? In moments of weakness or doubt, you will not feel compelled to blame someone else’s faith. Instead, you can fortify and build yours more.

If you lose money you lose much, if you lose friends you lose more, if you lose faith you lose all.

-Eleanor Roosevelt

I really relish this concept and idea of feeling faith. As a self-identifying intellectual, feelings are rarely my strong suit. They often give me the most trouble. However, exploring somatics and tuning into my body has also indirectly benefited my ability to believe. As I feel more on a physical level, I also begin to feel more on other levels. I am tapping into my heart in ways I only heard about from others with pangs of jealousy previously. Finding this oasis within has been refreshing, relieving, and rejuvenating.

Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking.

-Khalil Gibran

Your faith does not need to look like your parents’ or anyone else’s faith. Mine certainly feels rather unique. I provide my personal example as a simple statement in the hope of encouraging you to found your faith in whatever way resonates clearly within your core. Maybe it will change over time. Frankly, I think it probably should. I know I have learned more gradually and incrementally to tweak, adjust, and augment my feelings about it all. For example, I used to be way too rigid with faith. Now, I am embracing a freer flexibility. I still have some nonnegotiables that have not shifted since the start, but the evolution and expansion of my spiritual education has been emphatically and enjoyably elucidating.

What after all, has maintained the human race on this old globe despite all the calamities of nature and all the tragic failings of mankind, if not faith in new possibilities, and courage to advocate them.

-Jane Addams

I wonder if you will explore more. Can you be more curious? As our island of the known grows, so too does our shore of the unknown. There will always be more. Do not get caught up in a constant chase; do focus on founding and fortifying your free-flowing faith.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all :)

Mournday – 092225

Today, I mourn for any and all individuals who feel faithless. You may say you do not have faith, but I think it is there. You are simply not feeling it or remaining in tune with it. When will you be ready to feel it? Can you at least fathom the idea of faith? Why did you lose your connection to it? Can you point to that point in the past? Can you process that pent-up pain or frustration at long last? Do you realize you are only holding yourself back?

People who believe they do not have faith are wrong; they simply don’t realize it, or don’t want it, or cannot express it.

-Leo Tolstoy

If a person has problems, there can be only one root cause: lack of faith. The same is true within human societies as a whole.

-Leo Tolstoy

Faith does not guarantee or grant passage to smooth sailing. If anything, it can and does often prompt the exact opposite because, when we strengthen our internal faculties, we become more capable of carrying and handling more. Our potential and the tests we face both increase in some proportional manner. So, do you give up when the good going gets tough, or do you buckle down and grin your way through? Do you have faith in yourself?

Faithless [are they that say] farewell when the road darkens.

-J.R.R. Tolkien

Beyond feeling faithless, I sugjest also considering where you place your faith if you do possess some amount of it currently. Do you prescribe to the almighty dollar or its saying (In God We Trust)? Do you put your faith in your fellow humans or in a greater being? Misguided or misdirected faith can prove problematic if not reviewed and revised. My proposed sugjestion is to patiently pour it into the proper, positive power for all please.

A foolish faith in authority is the worst enemy of truth.

-Albert Einstein

Revisiting a topic from earlier this cycle, faith is best exemplified through actions and not words. How do you think we will all be judged in the end? Maybe you think we will not be judged. You are entitled to your own beliefs, but I plan to be ready for whatever comes next. I want to be proud of my productivity and peacefulness here. I want my faith to glowingly exude from even my most basic actions if I can stay calm and mindfully present in all that I do, even when it is simply sitting still with serene satisfaction.

Faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe.

-Mitch Albom

Do you lack or not feel faith because you try to control too much? Are you missing that connection as a result of connecting to too much else? I hated change and the unknown in the past. I am not proud to admit that fact now, but it is the truth. In the present, I sit more comfortably with both. They can be difficult for me at times, but they have also impressed me beyond my wildest imaginations. Life would be so boring if we already knew it all, so I am happily placing some faith in change and the unknown nowadays.

Fear looks; faith jumps.

-Smith Wigglesworth

Faith is a place of mystery, where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see and the strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty.

-Brené Brown

How much are you trying to prove or waiting to hear or see before believing and tapping into your faith again? What will it take for you to finally step back into a co-creator role with the universe? How much more time needs to be wasted in search or expectation of an explanation? Will you slow down in faith and find the beauty awaiting all around?

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.

-Thomas Aquinas

I honestly and sincerely hope that you find and feel your faith freely.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Smarturday – 092025

steadfast vs. treachery

steadfast (adjective) – fixed in direction; steadily directed; firm in purpose, resolution, faith; unwavering, as resolution or faith

treachery (noun) – violation of faith; betrayal of trust; treason

Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.

-Lucille Ball

Wherein lies your faith?

In God or perhaps a wraith?

Do you feel your soul?

Do you connect with it?

How full is your bowl?

Does it protect a bit?

Faith is a light amidst the dark.

Illuminating a path to embark.

Will you take the first steps

without as many preps?

Will you begin to explore?

Can you trust even more?

Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Faith is a partner on the dance floor.

They will show you what is in store.

Faith is a wave to ride to shore.

They will prove the truth in lore.

My faith helps me overcome such negative emotions and find my equilibrium.

-Dalai Lama

Can you begin to stand tall and steadfast?

Will you patiently persevere at long last?

We will sadly see treachery far and wide.

No need to feel anger. No need to chide.

Faith shows us our way so we do not sway

or get drowned by others or washed away.

Treachery earns its own just deserts.

They will learn just how much it hurts.

We can stay steadfast, our eye on the prize.

Living a full and faithful life, free of any lies.

Faith is the substance of whatever it is that we hope for. The important thing is that we teach that faith is connected to good works and responsibility.

-Bishop Thomas Dexter Jakes

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Thanksday – 091825

I am thankful for the Gnostics. They were an early group of Christians before the more widely-known and prominent branches or sects rooted them out and hunted them down. I have faith in many lessons within the Bible. Do you really think it is the only holy book, though? No. It was carefully curated by a collective of corrupt and conceited charlatans. Do you know how many other books exist from that time that could have and probably should have been included as well? By some accounts, more than fifty others. Where is Thomas’ book? How about Mary’s? And Judas’? The Gnostics believe in and accept equality across genders. Such a stance does not serve a patriarchy, though, does it?

Faith is a state of openness or trust. If you really have faith, you don’t need belief.

-Alan Watts

Even beyond the Bible’s omitted (or censored) books, I learn plenty from other holy texts. Part of me wants to list out some examples, but maybe they are only meaningful for me. I would rather leave this invitation open-ended to encourage your curious exploration in order to discover what is meaningful to and for you. We are on different journeys and at varying stages of our lives after all. There is no one size fits all here in my opinion. Therefore, I sugjest you listen and learn to glean what meaning means something to you.

Faith… is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.

-C.S. Lewis

The Gnostics know that the best and truest answers await within all of us. How likely are we to blindly listen to worldly leaders, though, if we can explore and discover on our own? It is easier to control if a sense of dependency is developed. Would we rather have faith in fellow people or in God? I know where my faith rests. I will love my neighbors, but I try to listen to only One. It does not mean I ignore my neighbors, but I listen for the truth within and beneath their surfaces. It sounds weird and cryptic, but that is my faith.

There are two types of faith in this world. The first is faith in things other people say, faith in people; there are many varieties of this type of faith. The second is faith in God; this type of faith is unvarying, and it is necessary for all people.

-Leo Tolstoy

Gnosis is the root word involved here. It is Greek for knowledge or awareness. I believe that introspection and self-reflection can reveal your own true knowledge and awaken your accurately-astute awareness. I was reminded of something recently that once again felt very valuable and important. Prayer is how we talk with God, and meditation is how we listen to God. Are you practicing both arts? Can you find the right balance between what you say versus what you hear? Do you have faith in such mystical processes? I do.

The [person] of faith, of energy, of warmth… steps in and does something.

-Vincent van Gogh

Honestly, I do not care about being Buddhist or Christian in title; I care about embodying them in practice by living their teachings and principles on a daily basis as I move through life. It is far too easy to talk the talk. Walking the walk in faith is difficult and challenging, but it is so worth it. Having lived my life in a number of ways already, I am quite confident in and grateful for this current style and approach. I finally feel free, fulfilled, and faithful.

Faith makes the discords of the present the harmonies of the future.

-Robert Collyer

I share this information in case it helps others on their path in their lane. I see a beautiful potential within each and every one of us. I refuse to give up, and I will not lose faith.

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.

-Mahatma Gandhi

I hope you find what you are looking for. I wish you all the best on your quest for wisdom.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Soulday – 091425

I will try my best to be gentle with this next cycle, but it is time to finally broach this big subject. How is your faith right now? Where and in whom do you place your faith? Do you have a lot of it, or do you need to spend some time shoring it up and strengthening it well? I believe with all of my being that faith should be a critical cornerstone to a life well-lived. I know my faith has been spotty and questionable in the past, but I can also say that, at this point, my faith has never been stronger. My faith carries me through life.

Faith is the foundation on which all else rests; it is the root of all knowledge.

-Leo Tolstoy

Faith is the necessary property of the soul. Feel the essential meaninglessness of those things which are well-known to you, and the greatness of things which are unknown but important.

-Leo Tolstoy

In the past, I have felt like an island. I thought I was adrift and alone. Foolish ego had blinded and isolated me from the bigger picture. As I put in difficult yet important inner work, I begin to see that I have been my own worst enemy. Now, I possess a steadfast faith that is at peace with controlling less, trusting the naturally unfolding flow more.

Faith is unflinching trust in something divine.

-A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

There is no finish line in this life. We do not reach a point where we are done. Sure, there is death waiting for all of us, but I no longer see that as a finite end. Instead, it serves as a door to our next chapter. While I am here, I will keep strengthening my mind, body, and soul in order to be the best version of myself that I can be. I no longer cling to a fixed mindset; I will forever be a pilgrim of supreme, everlasting love for myself and all others.

Faith is not the clinging to a shrine but an endless pilgrimage of the heart.

-Abraham Joshua Heschel

Consider the following: would you rather have fear or faith? The answer is quite clear and easy to me. Fear often crops up as a result of the unknown. So, what is the remedy there then? Learn more, increasing what all is known to you. As a result, you can fear less while having even more faith. We will never know it all, but should that stop us from still improving and uncovering as much as we can? How will you choose to live your life?

Faith and fear both demand you believe in something you cannot see. You choose.

-Bob Proctor

Embracing my own true being has been one of the hardest yet most liberating choices of my life. I am eclectically unconventional. Therefore, I will stop trying to fit in as if I am anyone else. I am me, and I am finally at peace with accepting my full uniqueness. It can be scary and potentially isolating at times to be distinctly individuated, but I do not think there is a better way to live a truly authentic and purposeful life. I openly embrace it now.

Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.

-Bruce Lee

These writing cycles have been formative and foundational for me. If they help others, then I am even happier. However, I am already plenty happy because I can calmly and confidently confirm my calling. Starting this vulnerable work was intimidating and at least a bit terrifying for me, but my dedication and persistence have prevailed. No matter what you may call our higher power (whether it be God, Allah, Yahweh, Brahman, or Grand Architect, etc.), I possess a firm faith that will no longer be shaken or stirred.

All work that is worth anything is done in faith.

-Albert Schweitzer

I genuinely and sincerely hope that we can all honestly hold and share such a strong faith together. It is not limited or exclusive, and we will never exhaust it. We can all hold and share it if we so choose. So, will you begin to move forward with more faith in your life?

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Freeday – 082925

Gentleness does not come easily to me. I have so many years of intensity to offset and counterbalance now, though it will not all be corrected in this moment. A key here is to be gentle with myself during this transition and improvement process. I am already appreciating and being aware of more moments when the intensity slips back into my demeanor and mindset. Whenever I recognize that slide backwards, I can breathe, ground myself, and relax my need for control. Gentleness slowly feels more and more natural for me.

A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.

-William Hazlitt

I realized something profound that feels rather significant for me. I struggle and find it so difficult to be gentle because I did not have it modeled well for me as a child. It brings me absolutely no joy to admit that I grew up in one of those homes that believed in physical punishments. How does a child see gentleness and feel love when learning to fear the pain from belts and wooden spoons? It was a blind spot for me for way too many years. Now, releasing that burden and knocking down that wall, my goal of being more gentle suddenly feels realistic.

I do not think our lives are meant to be only easy and gentle strolls. We will all face tests and challenges that make us prove our worth. These are defining moments to walk the walk, and they can be the most important times to maintain and demonstrate our own innate gentleness along the way.

The easy, gentle, and sloping path that guides the footsteps of a good natural disposition is not the path of true virtue.

-Michel de Montaigne

It can be scary and daunting to face new unknowns and get out of our comfort zones. If you built walls around you for protection, do you know when they turned into a prison instead? Like the universe, I believe our lanes should continually expand. We should not confine or constrict ourselves, and we certainly should not confine or constrict others. We are strongest when we feel full of love for ourselves and all others.

Our greatest strength lies in the gentleness and tenderness of our heart.

-Rumi (the famous Persian poet, not the lead vocalist of Huntrix)

Please remember, we can still have pillow fights :)

When tough times come, it is particularly important to offset them with much gentle softness.
Be a pillow.

-Vera Nazarian

I enjoy my witty word plays and such, especially earlier on when starting these writings. My inner work, though, is truer and deeper than any of those minor surface-level details. The person I am now proves my purpose for all of this work.

More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.

-Charlie Chaplin

The easiest route can make us often feel like we should fight fire with fire. Giving the same energy back to a person can often be a default habit engrained into our interactions and psyches. If you want to truly flex your well-being in a healthy way, then work on maintaining your gentleness and kindness in as many situations as possible regardless of any resistances. It is not easy; it is worth it.

Always meet petulance with gentleness and perverseness with kindness. A gentle hand can lead even an elephant by a hair. Reply to [your] enemy with gentleness.

-Zoroaster

Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars.

-Max Ehrmann

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Wondersday – 082725

Have you ever wondered… about grounding? I have, and no, I am not talking about the classic punishment parents assign to children who have misbehaved in some fashion. In my opinion, it is a fascinating technique, and it can also be referred to as earthing. If you take some time to settle into nature, then you can begin to access a natural calm that will slowly permeate throughout your body. I know it may sound weird, but why else is nature therapy an existing modality? I believe we feel the least gentle whenever we are disconnected from our own bodies and surroundings. By reconnecting, we can effectively reestablish inner and outer equilibriums that evoke efficient and efficacious emotions instead of feeding more negative loops. I sugjest giving it a try sometime soon. Let your bare feet connect with some soft grass or dirt. Allow your body to feel more than usual.

it is possible to live with kindness and compassion toward yourself and others while also creating healthy boundaries or defending yourself when it is actually necessary. you can be gentle with the world and also protect your own flourishing. instead of resorting to survival mode when life gets hard, reclaim your power by taking your time to respond skillfully.

-yung pueblo

You do not need to take my word for it either. Look at all the benefits and information available through the National Institute of Health. Fair warning: there are some graphic images on this page, so scroll mindfully if open wounds trigger you. Be gentle with it.

How comfortable and gentle are you in an ungrounded state? How engrained are your habits when you go through the same motions daily while expecting things to change or improve? We can get too comfortable, and we can grow too complacent. Gentleness can be discarded and overlooked all too easily. We can distract ourselves with crass cover-ups like unhealthy laughter and hate. I sugjest challenging yourself to be a better person. Ground yourself in a firm path of becoming more gentle and kind. Allow the supportive natural world all around you to boost your self-image and self-worth enough to be confident in being unconventional and individualized. It is not easy, but it is so worth it.

It’s so easy to laugh. It’s so easy to hate. It takes guts to be gentle and kind.

-Steven Morrissey

I believe that none of us are ever truly alone. Sure, we may feel like that from time to time, but that is us getting in our own way. I wonder how much more grounded and  interconnected we would all feel if we can all be more gentle… I hope we will try.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all <3

Mournday – 082525

I mourn for tactless tactics. How heavy-handed are some plans and operations? Why do some people feel the need to be so blunt and obtrusive? What does it take for a person, group, company, or organization to not be harsh and unempathetic? Is a bit of gentleness too much to ask for? Do we care more about holistic well-being or the bottom dollar?

Gentleness is not weakness. Just the opposite. Preserving a gentle spirit in a heartless world takes extraordinary courage, determination, and resilience. Do not underestimate the power of gentleness because gentleness is strength wrapped in peace, and therein lies the power to change the world.

-L.R. Knost

I recently heard about an organization that rolled out mass layoffs in a very sudden and stressful fashion. In my opinion, there was nothing gentle to their strategy. Each day, a new wave of employees would receive a meeting invite for the end of that day. At that meeting, they would learn about their immediate or inevitable termination. Even more sadly, it was not only one day that employees had to endure these gut-wrenching and nauseating pins and needles. No, this daily strategy went on for the majority of at least one week. Morning meeting invites and afternoon terminations. I know many budgets are tightening up with new governmental regulations and fundings in flux, but where is any consideration from management for their colleagues and peers who are all freaking out?

Only the weak are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong.

-Leo Buscaglia

There are many wrong ways to do things, and, sometimes, there may be only one correct way to do things. There definitely is only one best way to do each thing. We each get to determine that for ourselves. Apply some gentle and mindful tact to your decisions. Be better than this organization in how you view and interact with others please. Our plates are full, and times can be scary. If we can all be more gentle, then we can all enjoy more.

Every soul, the philosopher says, is involuntarily deprived of truth; consequently in the same way it is deprived of justice and temperance and benevolence and everything of the kind. It is most necessary to bear this constantly in mind, for then you will be more gentle towards all.

-Marcus Aurelius

I am thankful that I do not work in HR. I doubt there was an easy way to handle such a difficult downsize within a company, but I do not think they found the best way to do it. Where is the trust and credibility in workplace culture moving forward? How much will people now be waiting for the next time mass layoffs happen without warning? Do you expect anyone to speak well of your business in the future? It makes me realize how reciprocal gentleness can be. It is toughest to be gentle in the face of roughness, but I believe those are the moments and opportunities to be the best versions of ourselves.

In a gentle way, you can shake the world.

-Mahatma Gandhi

My heart hurts at the thought of the suffering and anguish of recently laid off people. To have a job one weekend and unexpectedly be unemployed the next is upsetting. I hope they are gentle with themselves as they grieve and then grasp new and better options. Tactless tactics at least show us all better ways of doing things. I believe that can be carried forward to a fresh new start. It is not easy starting over, but it is worth it <3

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Smarturday – 082325

Do you feel like you have something to prove? Does that feeling justify your supposed need to look big or sound loud? How often do we try to present ourselves in the best light? What if we stopped caring so much about what others think and focused on our own thoughts and feelings? How much gentler can we all be with nothing to prove?

Your gentleness shall force more than your force move us to gentleness.

-William Shakespeare

Think about it. Are you posturing for attention? Do you care more about impressing others than finding and fulfilling your personal purpose? I now think we can and should be gentle when aligned well with our reason for being here. By focusing on what truly matters, the rest begins to matter less. Then, we will be able to find more rest, and that calm can allow us to move forward with more gentleness while feeling less distress.

Gentleness is strength under control. It is the ability to stay calm, no matter what happens.

-Elizabeth George

Quietly sitting out in nature has become one of my favorite pastimes to decompress and destress from daily issues and struggles. When I connect with my surroundings more and appreciate where I am at and what all I have already done, I feel less driven to achieve for the sake of sheer productivity alone. Instead, my inner drive feels pure and patient. I can gently endure so many more challenges. Life may move quickly, but I choose my pace.

Awaken the gentleness within you.

-Asad Meah

I struggled with being outdoors some at first; I got annoyed and distracted by each passing car or noisy neighbor. So, I had to be gentler with my surroundings and what I expected of it all. Now, I can see a bigger picture and appreciate the variety of noises and movements going by. Even the loud subwoofers no longer bother me at any time of the day or night. I believe we can all find ways towards authentic gentleness eventually.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Thanksday – 082125

I am thankful for Roald Dahl’s creative writings. His imagination and storytelling exceed many expectations. Despite countless difficulties in his life, he still embraced a childlike ideal for best actions and behaviors. What is a common denominator among a lot of his main characters? Gentleness. Charlie. Matilda. Sophie. Life’s challenges and difficulties did not break them down. They maintained their personal integrity and gentle features.

Gentleness is a divine trait; nothing is so strong as gentleness, and nothing is so gentle as real strength.

-Ralph W. Sockman

One of my favorite books growing up was The BFG. I will share a part of one of my more intense dreams from this past week. I was standing on a shoreline with a small group of people. There were about ten of us mulling around. The water was dark and opaque, so we could not see beyond the surface. To our collective surprise, a massive hand and arm began to rise up from the water. Blindly, it started to reach for one of the closest people. We all moved back a few paces as we tried to figure out what was going on and what this thing was. Moments later, the head, neck, and shoulders of a giant emerged from beneath the watery surface. Looking at all of us slowly, the giant again reached out and grabbed one of the closest people. In stereotypical fashion, the giant began to move this person towards his mouth. I saw how easily he could take a bite, and then he surprised me further by showing how he could even swallow the person whole if he wanted to. To say I was horrified by what I was witnessing is an understatement. However, in another brief moment, he simply pulled the person out of his mouth, placing them safely on the ground. This giant was trolling me and my poor assumption! I expected this large being to be aggressive, hostile, and violent. Yet, who on the shore behaved gently and wisely?

Gentleness corrects whatever is offensive in our manner.

-Hugh Blair

Stop and listen more. Check your assumptions at the door, and be curious more. We do not know what awaits beyond the shore. There is already plenty of lore. Yet, we can still proceed gently to see what all is in store, and we can work on being better than before.

When we work from a place… that says, ‘I’m enough’, then we stop screaming and start listening, we’re kinder and gentler to the people around us, and we’re kinder and gentler to ourselves.

-Brené Brown

Gentleness can be a great strength, and quiet action can sometimes speak as powerfully amid the noise as the loudest voice.

-Sarah Corbett

Go forth in life, stand tall, and be a gentle giant.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Soulday – 081725

I try to be kind because I have worked on it a lot, and I know it is best. However, I recently realized that I also want and need to be gentler. It is my understanding that rough kindness is not always well-received. Gentle kindness feels like a perfect pairing to me. How well will people listen and respond if there is a bluntness or a sharpness to your tone? In my opinion, the ideal to strive for is a gentle tone, striking a middle ground.

Having a gentle spirit, a kind spirit, a compassionate spirit toward oneself and others really does make space for the growth and the teachability that keeps us moving into the direction that we want to go. It’s not always easy to hold that kind of compassion and kindness for oneself, but to me that’s often where the work is.

-Tracee Ellis Ross

Gentleness feels very underrated in this day and age. There is so much focus placed on how strong and tough people are. How much attention are we placing on the exterior? What is happening on the inside? Try to picture it. Does it look like some terrible scene around Orthanc full of orcs and ill will, or does it look like the Shire on a warm, sunny day? Gentleness carries a hidden power that many often overlook. If you can build up a calm, cool, and collected confidence that allows you to move forward through life with a gentle ease, then you will remain unbothered and not upset by so much. Just try and see.

A deep river is not troubled if you throw a stone into it. If a religious person is hurt by criticism, then [they are] not a river but a shallow pool. Forgive others, and then you will receive forgiveness.

-Muslih-ud-Din Saadi

What is the current state of your soul? When have you last checked in with it? Do you even believe in it? I watched the new Netflix movie, KPop Demon Hunters, yesterday, and I cannot believe how much I loved it. I found many truths resounding fully and completely within my being as I watched it. Is it always gentle? No. I do not think we can or should always be gentle, but I do think it should be our baseline default until something else is truly necessary. What is your current baseline default? How often are you tapping into your gentle nature? If you are like me, then this is an area where we can still improve.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth.

-1 Peter 3:3-4

I was surprised to not have more quotes about gentleness already prepared. It surprised me even further to see some contention around it being beneficial. Given the choice between being harsh or gentle, it feels quite clear and obvious to me. Do you want others to raise their defenses or lend a helping hand? Do we want more battles, or can we finally embrace peaceful harmony? I look forward to focusing on gentleness this cycle.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Freeday – 080125

Within the world of Buddhism, there is a concept known as the Seven Factors of Awakening. Do you know what one of those factors is? Joy. I am so grateful for my curiosity leading me to research the difference between happiness and joyousness or joyfulness. Like all the others before, this cycle has proven to be very informational and groundbreaking for me. Choosing more moments to simply channel more joy has been a breath of fresh air. I can now appreciate larger aspects of time in my life as a result. It will not make everything better, but it allows me to improve how I live amid much mayhem.

We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.

-Joseph Campbell

Joy blooms where minds and hearts are open.

-Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Is there really much mayhem, though, or are we too focused on the finite frontlines? If we can zoom out and look at the bigger picture, then I believe we can begin to see subtler pieces at play behind the scenes. In fact, a macro view enables us to joyfully observe the natural balance that is unfolding harmoniously. If you find yourself unaligned with joy, then feel free to uproot yourself and begin again anew. I know that statement is easier said than done, but do not let your fear of change hold you back from finding your joy.

I give you this to take with you: Nothing remains as it was. If you know this, you can begin again, with pure joy in the uprooting.

-Judith Minty

We endure difficult moments, but I do not think we should repeatedly endure the same difficult moments. I believe that these are tests in our life to see if we will begin to rise up and respond differently. Can we do better and attain more success? Not in a material way, but in a personal way. Are we capable of embodying more excellence in character and values? Can you start tuning in to more of the boundless joy that is already all around?

"you know the healing is real when you find more joy in unexpected places. when the wind touches your face gently and you cannot help but smile. when you look into the eyes of a friend and know that the connection you share has become deeper. when you feel the strength of having overcome so much and the lightness of no longer carrying as many past burdens. life itself has a radiant shimmer that you can more easily tap into. not only are you tuned into the boundless joy of the universe, you can easily flow with a path that leads you to greater inner and outer success."

-yung pueblo

True and lasting inner joy does not arise from anything on the outside. None of that will last. Instead, it arises on the inside. Reach a level of personal comfort and calm that allows you to move forward through any and all challenges with a persistent joy.

The only way to find permanent joy is by embracing the fact that nothing is permanent.

-Martha Beck

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.

-Thích Nhất Hanh

Buddhism values joy as a gained attribute along the way. As you begin to be more mindful and calm, you open yourself up to finding the brighter spots in each and every moment. It really boils down to how you are approaching life in your lane. Are you rushing around or proceeding peacefully? Do you have rampant thoughts running wild, or can you string together sincere threads? Are you feeling pure emotions or corrupt ones?

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.

-Buddha

Do you move through life with your mind, heart, and soul in sync? This full alignment is how we begin to purify ourselves. Without the proper connections and channels flowing together, balance eludes us. As we feel and cultivate pure emotions, we begin to heal.

If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.

-Carlos Santana

And joy is everywhere; it is in the earth’s green covering of grass; in the blue serenity of the sky.

-Rabindranath Tagore

Do you choose to see and appreciate the joy in your life? Joy really is all around us all, but it is up to each of us to identify it and let it in. I sugjest welcoming and enjoying joy.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Wondersday – 073025

Have you ever wondered… about mudita? I have. It is another one of the four brahmaviharas in Buddhism. Mudita stands for empathetic joy, being able to relate to and revel in the good fortune and delight of those around you. Are you quick to be happy for others, or are you more prone to jealousy or envy instead? Your current reaction here says a lot to be honest. Recognizing it is an ideal first step in order to correct and improve it.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by.

-Louis Armstrong

What does it say about you if you cannot be happy for others? I think it points to some part of your life that you are not at peace with. The grass is not always greener on the other side. You cannot trade or jump lanes in life, so it does not make sense to stare forlornly elsewhere. Start finding and appreciating the joy that is already awaiting all around. What if you chose to share in the joy of others instead of feeling down about it?

A joy shared is a joy doubled.

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Mudita was very tough for me to effectively practice in the beginning. I could feel the pangs of jealousy arising whenever I found myself wishing for something similar. Now, with more authentic ownership of my life and what plans I am making for the future, I can truly empathize with others joyously for their excitements and celebrations. I find it very uplifting to let the moments and emotions build upon one another collectively because our energies are complementing and cooperating. If I start comparing and playing the “what if” or “I wish” game instead, then I start missing out on joyful opportunities in life.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

-Theodore Roosevelt

Empathetic joy takes conscious effort to mindfully and routinely practice. A stoic quote I recently saw by Epictetus said, “progress is not achieved by luck or accident, but by working on yourself daily.” Change does not need to be constant, but it should be consistent and compounding. Are you putting in the work to be the best and highest version of yourself, or are you foolishly content with being among the lowest animals?

The serpent that stings us means to hurt us and rejoices as it does so; the lowest animal can imagine the pain of others. But to imagine the joy of others and to rejoice at it is the highest privilege of the highest animals.

-Friedrich Nietzsche

I know that last question was a bit of a difficult challenge. However, I will not shy away from any ugly truths. In my opinion, it is important to not gloss over or sugarcoat the mindsets that mean the most. Mudita feels like an extremely valuable virtue to harness and hone holistically. These moments give me opportunities to speak sincerely while still trying to maintain a kind and caring tone. Regardless, my joy will remain undestroyed.

The greatest joy, according to the works of Francis Assisi, is that you can endure everything, you can even suffer slander and physical pain, and at the end you are able to feel no animosity toward these sufferings, but you feel joy, because you have faith; such joy cannot be destroyed, either by evil people or by your own suffering.

-Leo Tolstoy

Are you joyously connecting with your current surroundings? Why or why not? Do you realize that it is only you who is holding yourself back? Can you begin to empathize joyously with others? Imagine their joy; bask in it alongside them. It takes time to practice and perfect this power, but I strongly believe that it is well worth it. We are all moving through life with our lanes next to each other. Why not share more of the journey and help one another more along the way? You may be surprised by how you are repaid.

Empathy is forgetting oneself in the joys and sorrows of another, so much so that you actually feel that the joy or sorrow experienced by another is your own joy and sorrow. Empathy involves complete identification with another.

-Dada Vaswani

Mudita means so much to me. I hope it will also begin to mean a lot to you. Please know that I will have empathetic joy ready and waiting to share with you, too :) <3

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all.

Mournday – 072825

I mourn for those who do not allow themselves to feel joy on a regular basis, if ever. I do not believe that we are here to punish ourselves. If you are not in a place that promotes peaceful joy, then what can you begin to change? How can you establish boundaries to protect your joy? What can you do to begin promoting it, not in a boisterous or showy way externally but in a pure and sustained way internally. In order to avoid the prevalent habit of counting problems, can you begin to count your blessings, finding joy in them?

Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.

-Karl Barth

The most effective way to cultivate joy in our lives is to practice gratitude. The key word here is ‘practice’ … So often we think that joy makes us grateful, when in reality it’s gratitude that brings joy.

-Brené Brown

We often think that if we only get this, get there, or get to do that, then we will be happy. It is a race where the finish line is always moved further and further away. Chasing this feeling on the outside is going to leave us unfulfilled and seeking more forever. Finding it and cultivating joy on the inside can go with us everywhere and prove to be everlasting.

Joy is not in things, it is in us.

-Charles Wagner

It should not take much for us to find and feel the simple joys in life. Modern day society wants us to believe that we need the latest technology and fanciest clothes and cars in order to find and feel joy. All of these material distractions will momentarily satisfy the space that is empty or incomplete within us, but they will not maintain that joyous fulfillment for long. There may be rare exceptions to this case, but, in general, I believe we can and should be happier with less. We should learn to love life as it is. Without embracing the present moment as a present, how can we ever feel full and complete?

With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow – I have still joy in the midst of these things.

-Confucius

All of the hardships I’ve gone through in life – I can appreciate life so much more because of that. I remember not having food, so to me the joys of life are a lot simpler than other people would assume they would be.

-Viola Davis

Finding joy in the midst of the struggles and difficulties can prove to be quite a struggle and difficulty in and of itself. However, I am now fascinated by this challenge. This shift in mentality permits me to reframe my perspective on whatever it is that I am dealing with. Sure, the problems in my life will still cause a doubt and fear or two to bubble up from time to time, but I now have a counterpoint or two to balance them out. Therefore, I can simultaneously acknowledge the pain of my past while allowing the joy to quell it at last.

Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.

-Joseph Campbell

If and when you have the chance to look back and reflect upon your life prior to your passing, what do you want to recall and think about? All the days of struggle and strife, or all the times you found, chose, and channeled a limitless joy inside you? The answer seems rather obvious to me. Perhaps with such joy, we can simply choose to stay present as we proceed peacefully past the veil. The journey will continue; onward we will sail.

I have a burden on my soul. During all my long life, I did not make anyone happy, neither my friends, nor my family, nor even myself. I have done many evil things… I was the cause of the beginning of three big wars. About 800,000 people were killed because of me on the battlefields, and their mothers, brothers, and widows cried for them. And now this stands between me and God.

-Otto von Bismarck

I believe a well of inner joy is always available to any and all of us. It is not limited to the rich or elite. In fact, I think many of them are frequently further from profound inner joy than the rest. In my opinion, there is no need to waste time looking at the lanes of others out of jealousy or envy. Your lane has so much joy ready and waiting. Can you find it?

Will you accept it?

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Smarturday – 072625

In my mind, I held a negative connotation for the word and emotion “ecstasy.” For a while there, I convinced myself that it was bad and undesirable to reach a state of ecstasy due to falsely viewing it as a corruption of joy. At the end of the day, these are all only words trying to express my true inner thoughts and feelings. Any of it can be pure, and any of it can be corrupted. Pure joy or corrupted joy. Pure ecstasy or corrupted ecstasy. I am now overjoyed to see this part more fully and clearly. This realization permits me to joyously detach from many attached meanings that held me back. The intent behind it all means more and carries more weight than any literal meanings we associate intellectually. Intuit the depth deliberately. Allow the true essence to bubble up and shine authentic light.

Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.

-Emily Dickinson

A new thought I am merely toying with between pure emotions and corrupted emotions hearkens back to the idea of who or what is steering the ship (your life) in your lane. Pure emotions guide us towards and help us to see our best path forward. Corrupted emotions tug us here or there, often against our will or perhaps even without our awareness and conscious knowing. Are we joyous because we choose to be or because we are being swept away in a storm of subterfuge? Can you embrace each moment with authentic joy?

Each moment and whatever happens thrills me with joy.

-Walt Whitman

I find far more joy in mindfully steering my ship, even when in a storm. The added nuance and beauty here that I am now appreciating is the idea of listening and responding to the waves and the winds. I should not always steer the ship where I think it should go. I will follow the path that seems to be set forth in front of me. If I disregard the natural laws of the ocean, then my ship may break and sink. If I flow with the tides and motions, then I will continue exploring and uncovering uncharted areas. I do not need to know where I am going. I can simply enjoy the journey, sailing as smoothly and successfully as I can.

Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction. Break the habit. Talk about your joys.

-Rita Schiano

Are you fighting the ocean of life, or are you friends with it? Do you first share your problems with others, or do you supply your successes instead? Are you steering the conversations, or are your habits stepping in and defaulting dreary dialogue? We can slowly recognize and break free of joyless habits. If they are not sparking joy for us on a daily basis, then why do we continue to rely upon them? Rewrite your story. Step back up and correct the course of your ship. Joyfully chart a path with a new idea that feels best.

Don’t surrender all your joy for an idea you used to have about yourself that isn’t true anymore.

-Cheryl Strayed

Love yourself and love others enough to show up joyfully as often as you can. Find the details and meanings that make you smile. Light up your life with what makes your lane bright, cheery, and full of laughter and lightheartedness. As long as it is not affecting the lanes of others, then who cares if it does not fit a standard norm? Let your love lead you.

I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself.

-Marlene Dietrich

He ‘olina leo ka ke aloha.
(A joyousness is in the voice of love.)

-Hawaiian proverb

Be gleeful, be ecstatic, or be overjoyed. Find and channel your uplifting vibrations in a pure, mindful, and meaningful way. I love the idea of always carrying joy forward with me. In any moment, I can reflect on and appreciate everything around me. The sea will rage at times, and there will be storms, so I am learning how to fare well through it all.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Thanksday – 072425

I am thankful for the traditional healers that exist across so many societies in the world, people like mystics, oracles, seers, and shamans. While watching an informational video earlier this week, my interest was piqued when I heard the mention of a healer’s amount of joy being related to their effectiveness of practice. A healer should first heal themself well. Then, as a more wholly integrated individual, they can better serve their community, providing a potent purpose that promotes well-being. Many of the brightest healers often have the darkest pasts. One can often lead to the other, and it also typically results in a lot of overflowing joy. Their abundance of joyousness arises as they find their way and fulfill their highest calling. How joyful would you be knowing you are on your best path?

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.

-Rabindranath Tagore

The role of authentic healers is rarely posh and glamorous. The tests and trials that are demanded of them can be severe and strenuous. Yet, these people are often some of the happiest and most joyful you will find. They know who they are and what they are doing. The amount of joy that can be possible with such realizations is really, truly life-changing.

Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of [people], but from doing something worthwhile.

-W. Grenfell

In my opinion, the results at the end are not what matter. We can take each step of the journey during our lives with meaning. Are you trudging along or joyously jaunting? We can lament our life’s position, fomenting the current state of things. Or, we can look for and find the sparks of joy that help us plan a path forward. We can provide a peek at our possibilities to improve. We have examples to see how others have healed. Why can we not then do the same? It fills me with joy at the thought of following in such footsteps.

The struggle, like life itself, should be joyful.

-Miriam Miranda

Healing is not easy. It can be difficult and painful. The result is well worth it, though. The amount of joy that awaits is significant and substantial. Imagine reaching a point where joy persists amidst any and all problems. It may sound far-fetched for now, but I can see glimpses of such glamour. I will not suppress any emotions going forward, yet they will all be easier to handle and navigate if joy is always simmering on a burner as well. Am I joyful because of my smile, or do I smile because of my joy? Does chicken or egg matter?

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

-Thích Nhất Hanh

Traditional healers amaze me with their capabilities and practices. Their levels of discipline and self-mastery demonstrate key ideals to develop joyful fulfillment.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Soulday – 072025

While exploring some of my curiosities to prepare for this cycle, I found it fascinating to see descriptions of the differences between happiness and joy. Happiness can often be fast and fleeting, but joy can even persist amidst problems. Joy frequently represents our outlook on and approach to life. If we feel fulfilled and purposeful, then we can be joyful.

Joy is that kind of happiness that does not depend on what happens.

-David Steindl-Rast

I will fully acknowledge that the following may sound weird. In fact, I am still learning to embrace this concept more wholly myself. What about joyous sadness or joyous anger? Why must we ever shelve our joy? We do not and possibly should not have to ever set aside joy. Whenever we choose to try to exert too much control on life is when we take joy off the table. Instead, if we flow with each moment more, we can be more joyous.

Joy is a decision, a really brave one, about how you are going to respond to life.

-Wess Stafford

Every moment will not be sunshine and rainbows. We will have difficult tests in life, but those are opportunities for us to learn and grow; we can express joy for those lessons. We will face heartbreaking losses at times. Those sad and upsetting phases exist due to joy in the past that we can reflect upon and remember fondly. It will not replace sadness nor should it, but the two can still coexist peacefully and synergistically within our soul.

Begin today. Declare out loud to the universe that you are willing to let go of struggle and eager to learn through joy.

-Sarah Ban Breathnach

I love this thought of finding and choosing more joy in each of my days and moments. By letting go of my false sense of needing to control everything, I can embrace the present as-is and look for and appreciate the joyful aspects in it. Would you rather resist current events stubbornly or focus on the factor that can bring a twinkle to your eye? We can and should push for progress, yet it will be more effective and contagious when done joyfully.

Let your joy be in your journey – not in some distant goal.

-Tim Cook

Are you feeling fulfilled? Do you have a strong sense of purpose? Perhaps you can search your soul some for such self-subsisting ideals. The greater they are, then the greater the possible joy that awaits. Enjoy the process of looking within and listening to what you find. Embrace the adventure that will fan your flame of joyous compassion for yourself and others, and remember to slow down and bask in the beautiful world all around us.

If we set aside time each day to be in a peaceful environment, to walk in nature, or even just to look at a flower or the sky, then that beauty will penetrate us and feed our love and our joy.

-Thích Nhất Hanh

I hope we can all move forward with more contented and peaceful joy resting within. We each have a purpose to fulfill here, and I believe they can all coexist in joyous harmony. If we approach our experiences and interactions from a place of joy, then we can all benefit.

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Freeday – 070425

It dawned on me this morning. Which do we most commonly start with? When we are young, we spend so much time listening before we can even speak. Why should that pattern ever change? Only once we have learned how to listen well do I then think we can speak well. Well, I believe we can all benefit from less judging and more listening.

When we listen with less judgment, we always develop better relationships with each other. It’s not differences that divide us. It’s our judgments about each other that do. Curiosity and good listening bring us back together.

-Meg Wheatley

A friend recently reminded me of something from Eckhart Tolle. If you rearrange the letters in the word listen, it also forms the word silent. Have you improved your silence during this cycle? Are you beginning to listen better to everything around you on the outside and on the inside? What is it teaching you, and how is it now guiding you?

The three qualities essential to deep listening: silence, reflection, presence.

-Kay Lindahl

If what I write does not resonate with you, then do not listen to it. Honestly, it hurts to put that here, but I do not want anyone to follow along blindly. I prefer to see everyone listen to their own true wisdom and guidance. Make sure you tune in to and listen to the right voice, though. Our egos can be very loud in our minds, and that is not the voice I am recommending leveraging. Instead, there is a deeper well of knowledge waiting beneath that layer. Can you listen to the purer, quieter, and wiser voice that bubbles up instead?

You are your own greatest teacher. Learn to trust your internal source of wisdom.

-Tamara Levitt

Listening is an incredibly valuable and underrated skill in my opinion. I will continue to improve my practice of it for the rest of my life; I want to observe as much as I can in order to learn as much as I can. I believe we are surrounded by so much beauty, so I choose to slow down enough to observe it all with as many of my senses as possible.

The earth has music for those who listen.

-George Santayana

Are you listening to unique and novel moments in the present, or is your internal radio stuck on the same channel of negative self-talk, worries, fears, and doubts? Change the channel for a bit and see how you feel. What changes can arise in your life as a result?

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.

Wondersday – 070225

Have you ever wondered… about pratyahara? I have. It is the yogic practice of turning inward. Interoception is a related western or scientific word for this idea. Can you shut off your external senses in order to recognize and pay attention to more of your internal senses? How is your heart beating currently? What is the present state of hunger in your stomach or nutrients processing within your intestines? Does a muscle or joint ache and ask for attention? Learning to listen to your body can provide a wealth of information and guidance towards living a better, fuller, and healthier life. Ignore these sensations and subtleties to your own detriment. It can often prove more beneficial to listen inwardly.

Yoga improves the mind-body connection by encouraging you to listen to your body.

-Ann Swanson

A couple weeks ago, during a hatha yoga class, I learned about a fascinating mudra that I had never heard of before, shanmukhi mudra. It involves depriving your awareness of many outward senses. In a safe place, try it out sometime if you are curious. Your thumbs go in your ears, your index and middle fingers go across your eyes, your ring fingers go under your nose, and your pinkies cover your lips. By closing off and shutting out as much external stimuli as you can, you become better able to focus on and listen to your senses within. Considering even the basics, how often do you recognize your breathing pattern?

Listen. Are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?

-Mary Oliver

Our bodies are wonderful creations, and we can learn so much from them if we listen to them. We are bombarded by so many outside influences that try to vie for our attention. Many people think they know what is best for us. While we can and should listen to others when approached mindfully and respectfully, we should also learn to cultivate and trust our own internal knowing, our gut feelings. That inner guide is our best friend.

It takes courage for people to listen to their own goodness and act on it.

-Pablo Casals

Intuition is a powerful and incredibly useful skill to craft and hone. In my experience, it takes a lot of practice. Quieting the outside world and the mental swirl is not an easy task, but discovering and engaging with the world beneath that layer is well worth the effort. Turning inward has shown me a much clearer path forward. Now, I can listen better to everything around me, both inside and out, as a result of such work. It starts, though, with knowing well what is best for me. Others may not agree. So it may be.

No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
Or wise [person] can decide
What’s right for you – just listen to
The voice that speaks inside.

-Shel Silverstein

I doubt our actions will ever make everyone happy, but we can and should still listen to and be friendly with everyone who we cross paths with. Sometimes, outside guidance and advice appears at the ideal and optimal time. You can feel how it aligns with what you are listening to, both internally and externally. Those harmonious moments are key indicators that you are doing your best and progressing on your ideal path. Whenever you discover that you may have temporarily trusted the wrong voice, keep an open mind to quickly correct your charted course. You can always adjust your attitude and actions.

I’ve trusted the still, small voice of intuition my entire life. And the only time I’ve made mistakes is when I didn’t listen.

-Oprah Winfrey

Listen to your inner voice. It takes effort and practice. Why else do you think pratyahara exists as one of the main limbs of yoga? Yogis devote large portions of their lives to turning inward and listening to all that awaits within. We can do the same if we choose. It is not easy, but it is worth it. Do not listen to me, though. Listen to your inner knowing.

Does it agree?

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all :) <3

Mournday – 063025

I mourn for all the people who have tuned out their partners and loved ones. Why do you no longer listen? Why have you voluntarily chosen to exist on an island all alone? We all want to feel seen and heard, and we all deserve to be seen and heard. Therefore, we should all see and hear everyone around us. It can be hard sometimes, but it is worth it. Tune back in. Listen with curiosity. Choose a new reply. React less, and respond more.

Everyone must be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.

-James 1:19 (Bible)

If someone gets exasperated because you are not listening, do you really think it is wise to become exasperated in return? No, it is a bad habit that we should recognize and resist. We feel the uncomfortable and combative tug of our shadow because they are correct. Guilt or shame is stepping in and steering briefly because they have a point. If we are not listening, then we should stop and listen. It sounds so simple and easy, yet how many of us struggle with this step routinely? Do not underestimate its sneaky subtlety. 

Don’t underestimate the power of mindful listening. It’s the key to constructive communication.

-Jay Shetty

Show your love by listening well. Feel their love by how well they listen. If they are tuned out, then gently ask for the same respectful behavior to be reciprocated if you are already doing your best for them. We can and should all be held accountable for effective and active listening. A polite nudge or reminder from time to time will help us hone this habit.

When you listen well to what your partner is saying, you are actually saying that you care.

-Theresa Miller

There is so much for us to listen to and learn from. I know all too well how easy it is to get stuck in one’s own head. I continue to slowly learn over time, though, how much more rewarding it is to engage more with my environment, to actively immerse myself in and listen to my surroundings. Even yesterday, brief and random lyrics from a car’s speakers driving by brought a wide grin to my face. Hearing different squeaks and chirps of critters made me happy. By investing active effort in turning down the volume of my thoughts in order to better tune in to everything around me, I feel immense gratitude and excitement.

I’ve learned about the poetry and the wisdom and the grace that can be found in the words of people all around us when we simply take the time to listen.

-Dave Isay

It does not take much to fulfill our basic needs. Do we need more stuff, or do we simply want to connect with one another? Do you want your words to be truly appreciated and felt, or do you enjoy talking to blank stares and glazed eyes? Stop talking if there is a phone screen in between. Leave devices behind if you want to be fully present for a conversation with a friend or loved one. Make a concerted effort to connect and listen.

The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen.

-Rachel Naomi Remen

When we connect with other humans, we feel support and encouragement that enables us to feel empowered and equipped to tackle anything that life may throw at us. If others give you time and attention by listening well, then it is only balanced and fair to give the same in exchange. If we all tune in more and listen better, then the amount of healing we can share and spread will be significant and life-changing, unlike anything we often see.

With the gift of listening comes the gift of healing.

-Catherine Doherty

It does not take much. Determined focus. Active presence. Mindful commitment. Be here and now. What do you hear now? What can you tune in to and respond to authentically, compassionately, graciously, honestly, insightfully, lovingly, meaningfully, and sincerely?

Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell.