Inspiration for the Mind, Body & Soul
A BLOG DEVOTED TO SHARING POSITIVE AND ENCOURAGING MESSAGES FOR THE HUNGRY HEART
There are five important things for living a successful and fulfilling life: never stop dreaming, never stop believing, never give up, never stop trying, and never stop learning.
― Roy Bennett
The key to a successful and happy life isn’t some complicated jigsaw puzzle. It starts with finding peace within yourself, embracing who you are and truly believing in a life full of limitless possibilities. Believe in yourself and fight for your dreams…and everything you seek in life is truly possible.
“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.”
― Susan Polis Schutz
What you do in this life is truly up to you. No one else can live your life for you. We each have our own path we must walk alone. And it is up to you to choose how you travel. You can choose to make your path very difficult to traverse by tying ankle weights to your legs or you can choose to free yourself from the burdens of yesterday and embrace your journey. Free your mind, body and soul. Take the power inside of you to author your own story. Because at the end of the day, this life is yours and yours alone.
“How would your life be different if…You stopped allowing other people to dilute or poison your day with their words or opinions? Let today be the day…You stand strong in the truth of your beauty and journey through your day without attachment to the validation of others”
― Steve Maraboli
Today, choose to be free of caring about what the world thinks of you. Choose to be free of letting other people’s words and opinions define you. Live your truth and your truth alone.
“It is important that we forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We need to learn from our errors and move on.”
― Steve Maraboli
We all make mistakes. This is an inevitability in this life. Sometimes things are going to go horribly wrong. The key is not to continually beat ourselves up about things we cannot change. We must constantly remind ourselves to only look back at past mistakes and regrets for the amount of time it takes to learn from them, then we must forgive ourselves and move on.
“We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future.”
― Steve Maraboli
Do not let your past mistakes and regrets define who you are today. We all make bad decisions and regret choices we’ve made, but it is important to remember that this does not have to shape who you are going forward. Look back on your mistakes and struggles, learn from them, then let them go and make the conscious choice to make different decisions today going forward.
By Corin
“When we start letting people into our gated community, we lavish attention on them since they’re one of the few. We go out of our way to make our newly minted friend feel special. But if we notice that they’re not returning our attention with the same amount of care, we feel taken for granted.
Next comes the small conversations like, I know you didn’t mean to do this on purpose, but you hurt my feelings doing these things and not doing these as stipulated in Addendum 1, 3, 4a and 666. Those small conversations become more frequent.
We feel better being so generous in our forgiveness of our friends’ little foibles, but our friends are wondering how many more Addendums there are. Friends start treading lightly so they don’t break another Rule that’s part of our value system. They can only be themselves as long it doesn’t break our rules. Is it any wonder our friends choose to move on to less restrictive relationships?”
Relationships are hard to navigate. We all know this. But what we forget is that we often cause our relationships to be much more difficult and strained than necessary. Unconsciously, we put restrictions and conditions on those around us and when they come up short then it becomes a case of blame being cast on the other person for not being a good enough friend, partner, etc. When in reality we need to look in the mirror and take a hard critical look at our actions before casting stones. And each person should take time today to reevaluate close relationships and honestly assess what unwritten conditions have been attached to them. Then work to let go of those unhealthy restrictions and have this same open dialogue with those who are important to you. And together you can work to move forward with a bond that is truly strong enough to stand the test of time.
“Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life. What is it you would let go of today?”
― Mary Manin Morrissey
We often find ourselves saying it’s time to move on, that we’re ready to move forward toward something better. But yet we find ourselves stuck time and time again. Why? Maybe we’re asking the wrong questions. Maybe the right question is, “what is tethering us to our current situation…what is preventing us from leaping with both feet?” When you can answer these questions, you can begin to break free of the chains binding you to the past. In order to truly move forward, you must first release the pain and regrets of yesterday to make room for the rewards of tomorrow.
― Alaric Hutchinson, Living Peace
“Isn’t it funny how we make rational excuses for being out of alignment?
We say, “Well, this ____ and that ____ happened, so it makes perfect sense for me to be feeling like this ____ and wanting to do this ____.”
Yet, to this day, I have never met a happy person who adheres to those excuses. In fact, each time I – or anyone else – decide to give in to “rational excuses” that justify feeling bad – it’s interesting that only further suffering is the result.
There is never a good enough reason for us to be out of alignment with peace. Sure, we can go there and make choices that dim our lights… and that is fine; there certainly is purpose for it and the contrast gives us lessons to learn… yet if we’re aware of what we are doing and we’re ready to let go of the suffering – then why go there at all? It’s like beating a dead horse. Been there, done that… so why do we keep repeating it?
Pain is going to happen; it’s inevitable in this human experience, yet it is often so brief. When we make those excuses, what happens is: we pick up that pain and begin to carry it with us into the next day… and the next day… into next week… maybe next month… and some of us even carry it for years or to our graves!
Forgive, let it go! It is NOT worth it! It is NEVER worth it. There is never a good enough reason for us to pick up that pain and carry it with us. There is never a good enough reason for us to be out of alignment with peace. Unforgiveness hurts you; it hurts others, so why even go there? Why even promote pain? Why say painful things to yourself or others? Why think pain? Just let it go!
Whenever I look back on painful things or feel pain today, I know it is my EGO that drives me to “go there.” The EGO likes to have the last word, it likes to feel superior, it likes to make others feel less than in hopes that it will make itself (me) feel better about my insecurities. Maybe if I hurt them enough, they will feel the pain I felt over what they did to me. It’s only fair! It’s never my fault; it’s always someone else’s. There is a twisted sense of pleasure I get from feeling this way, and my EGO eats it right up. YET! With awareness that continues to grow and expand each day, I choose to not feed my pain (EGO) or even go there. I still feel it at times, of course, so I simply acknowledge it and then release it.
I HAVE power and choice over my speech and actions. I do not need to ever “go there” again. It’s my choice; it’s your choice. So it’s about damn time we start realizing this. We are not victims of our impulses or emotions; we have the power to control them, and so it’s time to stop acting like we don’t. It’s time to relinquish the excuses.”
We are all guilty of making excuses for our actions, behavior and words. I’m willing to admit that I am guilty of this. It’s not something I’m proud of and it’s something I work on each day. It is so easy to rationalize your choices and somehow make yourself the victim in every situation. It’s so easy to “justify” your feelings . . . but at what point are you going to say, “Enough is enough” and start taking accountability for your life?
by Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi
Wonder,
A garden among the flames!
My heart can take on any form:
A meadow for gazelles,
A cloister for monks,
For the idols, sacred ground,
Ka’ba for the circling pilgrim,
The tables of the Torah,
The scrolls of the Quran.
My creed is Love;
Wherever its caravan turns along the way,
That is my belief,
My faith.
As we begin another week, remember it is a time of new beginnings – a time to start anew and lay down the burdens of yesterday. When you first open your eyes, allow wonder and love to fill your soul. In your moment of solitude, allow yourself to really see and feel the beauty that surrounds you.
Once a hunter met a lion near the hungry critter’s lair,
and the way that lion mauled him was decidedly unfair;
but the hunter never whimpered when the surgeons,
with their thread,
sewed up forty-seven gashes in his mutilated head;
and he showed the scars in triumph,
and they gave him pleasant fame,
and he always blessed the lion that had camped upon his frame.
Once that hunter, absent minded, sat upon a hill of ants,
and about a million bit him, and you should have seen him dance!
And he used up lots of language of a deep magenta tint,
and apostrophized the insects in a style unfit to print.
And it’s thus with worldly troubles;
when the big ones come along, we serenely go to meet them, feeling valiant, bold and strong, but the weary little worries with their poisoned stings and smarts, put the lid upon our courage, make us gray, and break our hearts.
― Walt Mason
Don’t sweat the small stuff. It is so easy to let the little things that happen in life get you down and make you unhappy. It is unbelievable the amount of stress we find ourselves under at all ages. At some point, you need to make the choice to prioritize what is truly worth worrying about and learn to let go of the rest. Choose to cut the tethers of the weights holding you back and free your soul.