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Deep thoughts, tough questions
“To find yourself, think for yourself.” ~Socrates The simplest truths are rarely as simple as they seem. Today’s quote from the philosopher Socrates is a case in point. “Thinking for yourself” gets tricky when you’re under the influence of family and friends, popular culture, cable news, and social media. There’s always a cacophony of voices sharing different views on everything from business to fashion to politics. You can try to find the courage to go deeper. Then you have to ask yourself some tough questions: Am I following my own heart or trying to fit in? Am I rebelling against something or living authentically on my own terms? How and…
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True Nature
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” ~Vincent van Gogh Like many other parts of the country, we were hit with a major snowstorm this weekend. Luckily, our neighborhood didn’t suffer through a power outage, nor did we get quite as much snow as our local meteorologists predicted. Still, after an exceptionally mild winter start, the weekend storm was a big blast of reality. Watching the blizzard outside our windows Friday night, I couldn’t help but admire the beauty of our first snowfall of the season. In the morning, however, after discovering that we’d lost some tree branches, it didn’t look so pretty. Regardless, as today’s quote…
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Get glowing!
“Remember that you are, indeed, as the stars. You glow with the same intensity. The answers that you seek outside of yourself may very well be found within the cosmic intelligence inside you. Go ahead; show the world what you are made of! Sparkle, shine, light the way, and brightly blaze as you are meant to do.” ~Mishi McCoy Lately I’ve been obsessed with sequins, stars, and glitter. The way I see it, “sparkle and shine” shouldn’t be limited to Christmas ornaments, Fourth of July fireworks, or cocktail dresses. Though the holidays are over, I’m still carrying a Vera Bradley tote bag that’s embellished with sequins. And my new Skechers…
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Forgiveness
“Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.” ~Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre Responding to a recent “Life Lines” post about bad habits, a subscriber confided that giving up grudges is on her list of resolutions this year. We agreed that forgiveness is essential to our wellbeing — but not so easy to put into practice. Everyone struggles with grudges, emotional wounds, and petty grievances. But as Anne Lamott writes in Traveling Mercies, “Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.” Forgiving people who hurt us doesn’t necessarily mean that all of those damaged relationships will return to…
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How to fix things
“Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution.” ~Maya Angelou This is the time of year when I focus intently on fixing things I don’t like about myself, or things that aren’t working in my life. Self-improvement, after all, usually involves effort as well as introspection. But when something is broken beyond repair, or a bad situation is totally out of my control, the best thing I can do is adjust my attitude. I can change how many calories I consume in a day, for instance, but I can’t change…
