“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”
Sometimes we expect joy to come and go as our life experiences dictate. It’s either there or it’s not depending if something good happens or if we experience a stroke of bad luck or unfortunate event. However, joy isn’t that simple. For instance, a great thing can happen, but that doesn’t mean joy automatically follows suit if you aren’t feeling grateful. On the flip side, something horrible can happen, but you find the silver lining, and joy emerges from the pain. This quote, by Henri J.M. Nouwen, reminds us that joy doesn’t just happen to us. While it’s not always easy, we can and should always make the effort to…
“How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most.”
This quote, by Stephen R. Covey, is about reflecting on what’s deeply important to you as the first step to establishing a clear path to each day. In a way, the things that are really important to you serve as a compass as you navigate each day–as you navigate life. The more consistently you keep those things in mind, the more you’ll find yourself consistently and naturally doing what matters most in accordance to those things. It’s all about reorienting your focus. For example, if it’s family, you’ll find yourself spending more time with them. If it’s being able to travel and see the world, you’ll find yourself conscious of…
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“Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure.”
“The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.”
Living Life Poetically: The Son Will Shine
“Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
The originator of this quote is unknown. It’s a saying that goes back well over a hundred years, appearing in different variations. However, this version most captures the essence of the quote. It reminds us of a simple and often unconscious progression that can influence our destiny or future. From our thoughts to our words, and from our words to our actions. Next, those actions become habits that form our character, which ultimately affects our future. What’s most striking about this quote is how it begins–to watch our thoughts. So let’s ask ourselves, are our thoughts mostly positive or negative? Where do they lead and direct our future?
“To be upset over what you don’t have is to waste what you do have.”
This quote, by Ken Keyes Jr., reminds us to count our blessings. Moreover, it reminds us that the more time and energy we spend being upset about the things we don’t have, the less time and energy we have left to appreciate what’s already right in front of us. Therefore, those things almost feel wasted. When they’re not noticed in the first place, we fail to tap into the joy of having them.
“Begin to see yourself as a soul with a body rather than a body with a soul.”
This quote, by Wayne Dyer, has a way of making us think beyond the here and now–beyond the things that may be weighing us down and beyond our physical being. We are all so much more than our occupation, physical appearance, accomplishments, and shortcomings. It’s important to take care of our body. But in addition to that, how can we take care of our soul? It’s a part of us that’s all our own. One that can never be duplicated or imitated.
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Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don’t.
A Path to Understanding and Discovery More About Who You Are
“Understand: you are one of a kind. Your character traits are a kind of chemical mix that will never be repeated in history. There are ideas unique to you, a specific rhythm and perspective that are your strengths, not your weaknesses. You must not be afraid of your uniqueness.”
“When you connect to the silence within you, that is when you can make sense of the disturbance going on around you.”
When there’s chaos and stress around us, it’s only natural that we begin to internalize it. In a way, the stressors enter our bloodstream, affecting our mental and physical health. But what if we can create an impenetrable barrier between the stresses around us and our inner selves? What if we can tap into an inner sense of peace that can ride any storm? That’s what this quote, by Stephen Richards, is about–Finding inner peace. Moreover, when we can find and hold on to our inner peace, the chaos around us begins to make more sense.
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“Don’t go back to less, just because you’re too impatient to wait for more.”
“It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.”
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.
“Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure.”
“Let there be room for not knowing.” This quote, by Pema Chödrön, is about finding comfort in not knowing. This sounds like a contradicting response to uncertainty. The typical and most natural response is anxiety and discomfort. However, not knowing can actually be the thing that takes away our sense of anxiety and discomfort. As this quote states, not knowing means we don’t know the end of the story; And what a beautiful thing that is. So when there’s a big disappointment, we don’t really know if it’s the beginning of something good. Therefore, we can replace our anxiety and discomfort in not knowing with a feeling of hope.
“Awakening is not changing who you are, but discarding who you are not.”
Awakening is transformative and intense. It leads to self-discovery and deeper understanding. Furthermore, it requires intention, reflection, meditation, and prayer. Often, the primary focus is to change who we are. However, this quote, by Deepak Chopra, reminds us that discarding who we are not is just as important. Because when we become less of what we are not, we become more of who we really are. We get rid of all the noise, distractions, pretenses, and imitations that obscure our path.
“Anything that makes you weak–physically, intellectually and spiritually–reject it as poison.”
A poison is anything that can cause illness or death to a living thing. This quote, by Swami Vivekananda, helps us recognize that toxic people, environments, and situations are poisonous. They make us weak physically, intellectually, and spiritually. We would undoubtably reject poison in its tangible form. However, we don’t always reject it in the other ways it can appear in our lives. So, let us remember to reject the things that cause similar harm–The things that ill or deaden our body, mind, and soul.
“If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.”
Sometimes we tend to have a much greater compassion for others than we do for ourselves. We understand when others make an unintended mistake and we’re prepared to help them in times of need. Meanwhile, we may be quick to dismiss our own hurt and pain and be less forgiving of our own mistakes. This quote, by Jack Kornfield, reminds us to not be so hard on ourselves–to also offer ourselves grace and compassion. Otherwise, our compassion is not whole but rather incomplete.
