Stormy Seas

“A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner, neither do uninterrupted prosperity and success qualify for usefulness and happiness. The storms of adversity, like those of the ocean, rouse the faculties, and excite the invention, prudence, skill and fortitude or the voyager. The martyrs of ancient times, in bracing their minds to outward calamities, acquired a loftiness of purpose and a moral heroism worth a lifetime of softness and security.”

let go of our battles and open our heart

“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present moment. This is the beginning and the end of spiritual practice. Only in this moment can we discover that which is timeless. Only here can we find the love that we seek. Love in the past is simply memory, and love in the future is fantasy. Only in the reality of the present can we love, can we awaken, can we find peace and understanding and connection with ourselves and the world.

~Jack Kornfield~

Your Life is an Island

Your life is an island separated from all other islands and continents. Regardless of how many boats you send to other shores or how many ships arrive upon your shores, you yourself are an island separated by its own pains, secluded in its happiness” 

~kahlil Gibran♥

LOVE

Until we have seen someone's darkness, we don't really know who they are. Until we have forgiven someone's darkness, we don't really know what love is.

~ Marianne Williamson



The Goddess awakens in our hearts before she awakens in the world.

~ Marianne Williamson ♥

Breathe

My Soul gave me good counsel, teaching me to smell the fragrances that neither aromatic herb nor incense has diffused abroad. Before my Soul taught me, whenever I craved a scent I sought it in gardens or in perfume bottles or censers. But now I have begun to smell what does not burn or spill, and I fill my chest with pure breaths that have never passed through a garden in this world and have never been carried aloft by a breeze belonging to this sky. ~ 

Kahlil Gibran♥

I ADMIT - I CONSTANTLY FORGET! - A Precious Human Life

A Precious Human Life:

Every day, think as you wake up: "Today I am fortunate to have woken up. I am alive, I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have
kind thoughts towards others. I am not going to get angry, or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can."

~His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

I KEEP POSTING THIS 'INSPIRATION', 'WISDOM', GREAT 'KNOWLEDGE'.............
as a way to REMEMBER

the frozen tundra is tough for a giraffe!

O Me! O Life!

By Walt Whitman 1819–1892 Walt Whitman

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

                                       Answer.
That you are here—that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

reciting praises of the sky

My Soul gave me good counsel, teaching me to listen to the voices not produced by tongues, nor shouted from throats.
Now...
I sip at silence and listen to its inwardness that chants songs of the eons, reciting praises of the sky, announcing the mysteries of the Unseen.

~Kahlil Gibran

If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don’t, they never were…
~Kahlil Gibran
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.

~ Martin Luther King
Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.
~ Mary Anne Radmacher 
A loud voice cannot compete with a clear voice, even if it’s a whisper.

~ Barry Neil Kauffman 

One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can’t utter.

~ James Earl Jones

I’ll speak in a monstrous little voice.

~ Shakespeare
There was a disturbance in my heart, a voice that spoke there and said, I want, I want, I want! It happened every afternoon, and when I tried to suppress it got even stronger.
~ Saul Bellow

Nothing that I can do will change the structure of the universe. But maybe, by raising my voice I can help the greatest of all causes—goodwill among men and peace on earth.
~ Albert Einstein 
Don’t let the noise of other people’s opinions drown out your inner voice.
~ Steve Jobs 

Listen to your own voice, your own soul, too many people listen to the noise of the world, instead of themselves.

~ Leon Brown

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

~ Zen Master Dogen

Difference & Tolerance

Thinking about difference and tolerance...

"If there's any message to my work, it is ultimately that it's OK to be different, that it's good to be different, that we should question ourselves before we pass judgment on someone who looks different, behaves different, talks different, is a different color."

~Johnny Depp

January is cold

We could learn to stop when the sun goes down and when the sun comes up. We could learn to listen to the wind; we could learn to notice that it’s raining or snowing or hailing or calm. We could reconnect with the weather that is ourselves, and we could realize that it’s sad. The sadder it is, and the vaster it is, the more our heart opens. We can stop thinking that good practice is when it’s smooth and calm, and bad practice is when it’s rough and dark. If we can hold it all in our hearts, then we can make a proper cup of tea.
~ Pema Chodron

Run from what’s comfortable. Forget safety. Live where you fear to live. Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.
~ Rumi

When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.
~ African Proverb

Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.
~ Lao Tzu

You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.
~ Henry David Thoreau

Live - intoxicated by the romance of the unusual

“Live the full life of the mind,exhilarated by new ideas,
intoxicated by the romance of the unusual.” 

– Ernest Hemingway

Time again for gratitude

So many wise ones say you need gratitude to be happy.  I find it hard to be happy during the cold  lonely winters in Calgary.  So, again I come to gratitude:

~ My job stresses me out - I'm happy to have a job (although I know simply having a well-paying job is not everything
~ Most mornings I listen to the World BBC News and often cry

Take a deep breath.

Fill up with life,

and open

To the eternal.

the Connector.

the Sustainer.

the Creator.

Blessed Love -

filling you up,

and you are Light

as a feather,

and everything else

made up of Light.

Amazing Quotes on Gratitude

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.

~ Thornton Wilder

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

~ Albert Einstein

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.

~ William Arthur Ward

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

~ John F. Kennedy

There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.

~ Ralph H. Blum

The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.

~ Richard Bach

Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.

~ Maya Angelou, Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

~ Albert Schweitzer

Forget yesterday—it has already forgotten you. Don’t sweat tomorrow—you haven’t even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift—today.

~ Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.

~ Alphonse Karr

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

~ William Arthur Ward

If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together, keep me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever.

~ Winnie the Pooh

Dare to Be

When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully.

When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light.

When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it.

When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway.

When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.

When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some.

When you’re feeling tired, dare to keep going.

When times are tough, dare to be tougher.

When love hurts you, dare to love again.

When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal.

When another is lost, dare to help them find the way.

When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand.

When you cross paths with another, dare to make them smile.

When you feel great, dare to help someone else feel great too.

When the day has ended, dare to feel as you’ve done your best.

Dare to be the best you can—

At all times, Dare to be!

~ Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

hold to our loving center -- patience

Being infinitely patient means having an absolute knowing that you're in vibrational harmony with the all-creating force that intended you here. You know that everything will happen at just the right time, at just the right place, with just the right people

 ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer

November 30, 2012

There is no sun without shadow, and it is essential to know the night.

~ Albert Camus

Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment.

~ Napoleon Bonaparte

Happiness consists in realizing it is all a great strange dream.

~ Jack Kerouac

‎Women are a reflection of nature. We go through phases. We find the beauty in each season.

~ Nischala Devi

Believe into the expansive being that you are, do away with old patterns that are too small, too safe and too old. Your unfolding life awaits you with open arms. Put off the tired weak voices of yesterday, you are here in this moment, now and you are loved.

~ Keith Allen Kay

Art is an act of faith & we practice practicing it.

~ Juliana Cameron

I will meet you there

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing

there is a field. I will meet you there.



When the soul lies down in that grass,

the world is too full to talk about.

Ideas, language, even the phrase each other

doesn’t make any sense.

~Rumi, translation by Coleman Barks

Always go with the choice that scares you the most, because that’s the one that is going to require the most from you.

 ~ Caroline Myss

Love is a great mystery that has been inspiring artists and poets for thousands of years, and will probably continue to do so forever.

On some level it is innately human to crave to be met in relationship, to feel connection to others, to be held by another.  Always seeking communion with the Divine.  Always seeking to feel received, to feel warmth, love, passion. Is it an unquenchable desire to be completed by another?

“When you reach the end of what you should know, you will be at the beginning of what you should sense.” ~ Kahlil Gibran

Attraction is something we sense—something we feel—it is not always logical.  When we “let go” and surrender to the feelings, allowing them to wash over us, and indulge in their pure intensity, we open ourselves to experiencing life to its fullest.