“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance.” ~John Lennon
When …
“The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow.” ~Unknown
We all hate to suffer, and avoid suffering at all costs. I’ve gone through great lengths to avoid discomfort, pain, and sorrow.
I stayed with the wrong …
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” ~Nelson Mandela
Living through the past several years of my life has been a humbling experience. I guess I shouldn’t say I lived …
“Whenever I go on a ride, I’m always thinking of what’s wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.” ~Walt Disney
As a kid, I never realized how lucky I was to grow up …
“Suffering is traumatic and awful and we get angry and we shake our fists at the heavens and we vent and rage and weep. But in the process we discover a new tomorrow, one we never would have imagined otherwise.” …
“A good laugh overcomes more difficulties and dissipates more dark clouds than any other one thing.” ~Laura Ingalls Wilder
During my pregnancy with my second daughter, Grace, a routine scan showed that the baby had a rare and serious heart …
“But feelings can’t be ignored, no matter how unjust or ungrateful they seem.” ~Anne Frank
As a sensitive person, I have a complicated relationship with my feelings. They are the sensors I extend out into the world, to pull it …
“I’m stronger because of the hard times, wiser because of my mistakes, and happier because I have known sadness.” ~Unknown
It’s happened to most of us.
Despite our best intentions, something goes dreadfully wrong.
You suffer a heartbreaking loss, make …
“If you’re still looking for that one person who will change your life, take a look in the mirror.” ~Roman Price
For years and years I was in denial. I denied the obvious dysfunction in my marriage, and how terribly …
“No one saves us but ourselves. We alone must walk the path.” ~Buddha
I got a frantic message from a friend last night.
Everything was going wrong—her job, her relationship, her life—and she didn’t know what to do.
“Help me, …
“If you keep your feathers well oiled the water of criticism will run off as from a duck’s back.” ~Ellen Swallow Richards
We all seek love, approval, and appreciation, don’t we? We sometimes obsess over what people think …
“In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.” ~Deepak Chopra
For years I allowed everyday struggles, like slight disturbances from schedule, to steal my happiness, peace, and energy. Whenever something disrupted my plan, I got negative …
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” ~Robert Frost
When I was a child my friends and I often played a game called “Going on a …
“We can always choose to perceive things differently. We can focus on what’s wrong in our life, or we can focus on what’s right.” ~Marianne Williamson
I was down in the dumps the other day and was feeling sorry for …
“You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.” ~Unknown
On the evening of my high school graduation it hit me—the familiar faces and places I’d grown so accustomed to over the last …
“The minute you think of giving up, think of the reason why you held on so long.” ~Unknown
I was a serial “giver upper” for so much of my youth.
I tried gymnastics when I was about six until I …
“Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. …
“Sweet are the uses of adversity which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head.” ~William Shakespeare
It’s hard for me to write about this. I suppose it stems from being a mutt …
“To be awake is to be alive.” ~Henry David Thoreau
I am back to reality and civilization after a ten-day silent meditation in nature.
No talking. No cell phones. No technology of any kind. It was so peaceful. Exactly what …
“Losing all hope was freedom.” ~Edward Norton in Fight Club
We naturally think of hope as a positive thing, as we do freedom, but this quote says that losing hope brings freedom. It may seem contradictory, but losing hope has …
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