THE GLORY OF FRIDAY!

"What you see, yet cannot see over, is as good as infinite."

~Thomas Carlyle ~

 

Thank God for Fridays- that they come every week and free us from the regimen of scheduled work. Friday is a relief, a release, and a promise of restoration; a day of unique energy. It ends the week and begins the weekend, and there's something happy about it: a respite from the labor of life.

 

I am grateful for every Friday that cycles round.

FRIENDS

"Friendship is a sheltering tree."
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge ~

 

A gathering of friends is a warm spot on earth, bubbling with laughter, stories, and good times. It's universal beauty and communal exchange: a light in the darkness and an experience of happiness, health, and hope.

 

I am grateful for good friends.

TRUTH

"If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?"

~ Dogen Zenji ~

 

It takes courage to expose our true selves to the world, but it's worth it because our authenticity inspires authenticity in others, and sincere appreciation is the result. Truth is a leadership position. It calls us to action, and shines a light on the path to what's possible.

 

Honesty inspires love and appreciation.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

"Anyone who says you can't see a thought simply doesn't know art."

~ Wynetka Ann Reynolds ~

 

The creative process is somewhat like a jigsaw puzzle. Thoughts, facts, elements, colors, and textures are the pieces that have to come together somehow in an orderly fashion. Our vision becomes more and more focused as we gather and assemble the parts. They spread out before us as separate entities, and then we shift and arrange them together in just such a way that they form and establish our finished piece.

Art is a process of reduction and refinement. Only the essential remains.

RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS

"The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials."

~Lin Yutang ~

 

Capture well-being by being honest. Experience love by loving. Prosper through gratitude, clear the mind with each breath, and carry the spirit of hope close.

 

I live large by having the courage to live.

TREATING OURSELVES WITH KINDNESS

"No matter where you go, there you are."

~Confucius ~

 

We betray ourselves every time that we try too hard, push too far, are insincere, inauthentic, slippery, or cruel. We dishonor our bodies every time that we over-eat, under-eat, work extreme hours, stay up late, fail to exercise reasonably, and think unloving thoughts about the way we look.

     Let's turn this around. Let's befriend ourselves instead. Let's be respectful of our bodies and honor our truths. Let's be healthy by being real, and happy by maintaining our health.

I take good care of my beautiful self.

MOTHER GOOSE FOR INNER BEAUTY

"Poetry is a packsack of invisible keepsakes."

~ Carl Sandburg ~

 

One, two, who are you?

Three, four, something more.

Five, six, a perfect mix.

Seven,eight, full of grace.

Nine, ten, beautiful within.

 

There is more to me than meets the eye.

PROCESS

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."

~John Quincy Adams ~

 

Indecision and loose ends are difficult to deal with. I prefer certainty and knowing what's what: everything in its proper and predictable place. And yet, life is forever in flux and process and so much of the time we have to wait for more information, other people, better weather, favorable circumstances, or whatever it might be.    

     I used to make decisions impulsively just to make them, but I often paid a price for my impulsivity. It may not be particularly comfortable, but I am learning the value of letting things be what they are and not forcing something that is not yet ready to unfold.

 

I willingly accept the discomfort of needing more time. 

KNOWLEDGE

"We are here and now. Further than that, all knowledge is moonshine."
~HL Mencken ~

Knowledge is uncovered like tiny jewels buried in the sand. A flash of color attracts us, and then is covered over again. We dig and cannot find it, and yet, we know it's there. We have to wait for the wind and changing currents to show it to us yet again- when we are ready, and when the timing is just right.

I trust that I will know what I need to know when I need to know it.

SPRING!

"And Spring arose from the garden fair,

Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere,

And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast

Rose from the dreams of its wintery rest."

~Percy Bysshe Shelley ~

 

Spring is truly an incredible phenomenon- that the seemingly dead and drab winter landscape bursts to life in yellow, purple, pink, white, red, and such endless shades of green! I've always been more of a fall person than a spring person, but this spring just seems excessively exquisite. Maybe it's that I've never seen it quite so clearly before. It is hope delivered, and the fresh light of warmth and renewal.

     And something about the spring feels happy as well- with everything waking up and saying hello with such enthusiasm. Let's not miss it. It will be gone in a flash.

I am sincerely grateful for the seasonal cycle of spring.

WHAT WE CHOOSE

"Everything is something you decide to do."

~ Denis Waitley ~

Looking back on my life, it seems impossible the things I once justified. I used self-pity as an excuse for bad habits and poor behavior, and made martyrdom my M.O. I over-ate frequently, drank too much, smoked, and had regular little tizzy fits about things not going my way. I yelled at my children, cursed my life, and felt hateful and hostile more than I care to admit.
     Change has been, and continues to be, a slow process. I have found that it always begins with sincere self-honesty, and then requires the willingness to make new choices over and over again, on every front and in all directions. But the result is, and has been, better living, more love, and a fair bit of life satisfaction. The rewards have always proven well worth the effort it takes.

I am willing to look at and reconsider all that is not working in my life. I can choose differently, and then enjoy better results.

THE WHEEL OF MOVEMENT

"Do it, and then you will feel motivated to do it."

~Zig Ziglar ~

Momentum is everything. It's so much easier to keep going than to begin. Beginning takes friction, power, amping up, and the overcoming of fear and doubt. But once we're moving, the rhythm and flow of the movement itself can sustain us indefinitely.
     So if we feel like we can't go on, or feel stuck, let's find a way to create momentum, and know that the movement will carry us forward when nothing else can.

I celebrate the power of forward momentum.

BEING REAL

"One's real life is often the life that one does not lead."

~ Oscar Wilde ~

Authenticity comes from the heart and goes to the heart. It is straight-up human vulnerability and perfect grace. It is scary, but real, and attracts others to us. Our story and our truth is the most powerful medicine we have to share.

I stand up courageously and speak my truth.

AGAINST ALL ODDS

"With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable."

~ Thomas Foxwell Buxton ~

 

There are those who, no matter how excellent or empowered our ideas, will always tell us reasons why the thing we're after can't be done: the unlikelihood, the challenge, the sure impossibility. And these people are a discouraging force at best, but we needn't listen to them. We can tell them that they may be right, but continue to believe inside ourselves that we can accomplish our goals.

     We cannot let others crush us. We must keep nay-sayers at bay with boundaries and limits and a bit of shrug and roll. On some level, it's true that they may, in fact, be right. But it is equally true that they may not.

I understand that some people will always look on the dark side of things, but that doesn't mean that I have to buy-in to their negative point of view.

LIVING NOW

"Nothing is worth more than this day."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~

 

I sometimes anticipate things with distaste, as if I am certain of suffering and angst and what will be justified self-pity. But living in this state of negative anticipation ruins the now, and the now is the only thing of which we are absolutely guaranteed.

 

I stop ruining my present with dark thoughts of future stress.

ENOUGH!

"Go out there and do something remarkable."

~ Wendy Wasserstein ~

 

Be vulnerable, courageous, authentic, and sharp.

Be nervy and gracious, be savvy and smart.

Speak from the heart without pretense or bluff,

You are beautiful, golden, and completely enough!

 

I lack for nothing. I am completely whole.

THE POWER OF THE SMALL

"Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures."

 ~ H Jackson Brown Jr ~

Little cuts on our fingers are almost more uncomfortable than big cuts that we have to bandage and protect. They are too small to deserve much fuss, and yet they demand our attention with their stinging and barb.
     And on the other side of the spectrum, it's often the smallest things that bring the greatest joy: a single singing bird, a blooming flower, and laughter at just the right moment. So let's appreciate the power of littleness today, and remember that life is painted with a very fine brush.

Details matter, and I make an effort to recognize and appreciate their worth.

LOVE

"Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that.."

~ Michael Leunig ~

 

Love is the answer, no matter the question. Love is always the answer: a loving gesture, a kind word, a bit of compassion, encouragement, understanding, hope. Love is the salve for whatever ails us, and from both sides. Giving love is no less beneficial than receiving it. 

     So let's celebrate the gift of love in our lives by recognizing it first and then embracing it wholly.

 

I live by the light of love! 

THE COURAGE TO ASK

"Ask and it shall be given you, seek, and you shall find."

~Matthew 7:7-8 ~

I think it's easy to fall into a negative mindset- that all the good in the world is for others and not for us; that we don't have the clout or the connections, the fancy clothes or the proper credentials; and maybe we don't, but that needn't stop us. We will never get picked if we don't ask to be chosen, and we will not achieve what we're after if we refuse to put ourselves on the pathway to our heart's desire.

I ask for what I want and believe it will come to me when the time is right.

MOVING FORWARD WITH PURPOSE AND JOY

"What is the connection between what I want most in my life and anything I plan to do today?"

~Robert Brault ~

It's a wonderful thing to be excited about life- to have something to wake up for and look forward to; the experience of progress on the path to our goals. So let's set our sights and move forward. Let's enjoy the enthusiasm that comes from the anticipation of good and longed-for things.

I make my life exciting by following my passionate heart.

THE SUM OF OUR CHOICES

"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way."

~ Mark Twain

 

We experience what we choose. Our thoughts manifest as realities and our actions perpetrate additional, similar actions. One lie easily turns into multiple lies, and a loving exchange turns into more such exchanges.

     So let's choose well and with attention to the probable results of our choices. We have more power than we realize over the emotional experience of our lives.

I understand the power of my choices and choose with great care.

NO FEAR

"If a man harbors any sort of fear, it percolates through all thinking, damages his personality, and makes him a landlord to a ghost."

~ Lloyd Douglas ~

 

Let's "fear not" today. Let's drop the load of worry and inner angst because the weight of it is breaking us down. Let's have courage and faith instead. Let's carry light, love, hope, and positive expectation.

I free myself by letting go of fear.