“You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.” ~Amy Bloom
“Just look at yourself!”
“That chubby face, those massive hips and thighs. The stumpy legs.”
“No wonder he doesn’t love you anymore. No wonder he left you …
“See the positive side, the potential, and make an effort.” ~Dalai Lama
I was a perfectionist growing up, always trying to bang my flawed round-shaped self into a perfect square hole that couldn’t possibly contain me.
In my early twenties, …
“Criticism is something you can easily avoid by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” ~Aristotle
At the end of the day, when I feel completely exhausted, it often has nothing to do with all the things I’ve done.
It’s …
“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” ~Cynthia Ozick
How often do you pause to appreciate what you have in life?
When I was young, I took things for granted. I believe many …
“You get peace of mind not by thinking about it or imagining it, but by quietening and relaxing the restless mind.” ~Remez Sasson
What’s the first thought that goes through your head when you wake up in the morning? Is …
“Don’t wait for people to be friendly. Show them how.” ~Unknown
When I was a teenager, right around the time I knew everything, my mother used to tell me I only remembered the bad things.
When I told stories about …
“Great is the human who has not lost his childlike heart.” ~Mencius
Remember when life was simple?
When your friends were the most important thing in the world. When a snow day was a perfect excuse to have fun, not …
“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” ~Socrates
When I started Tiny Buddha, my main goal was to make a positive difference. I think that’s a goal many of us …
“Hope is the feeling that the feeling you have isn’t permanent.” ~Jean Kerr
For most of my life, I was a fugitive from my feelings.
Psychologists suggest that we are driven by two connected motivations: to feel pleasure and avoid …
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” ~Unknown
Maybe someone hurt you physically or emotionally. Maybe you’ve survived something else traumatic—a natural disaster, a fire, an armed robbery. Or maybe you’ve just come out of a trying situation, and though you …
“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” ~Angela Schwindt
When you’re young, anything seems possible. Whether you want to become a school teacher, a ballerina, or an astronaut, …
“Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.” ~Sophia Loren
Even though I got Joey McIntyre from The New Kids on the Block to sign my scoliosis back brace in the …
I’ve written about ways to get better sleep, and yet I am writing this post from a state of exhaustion.
Despite knowing all the right things to do, sometimes it’s difficult to follow through.
You can have the most …
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” ~Robert Brault
I believe life is in the details. Ongoing small gestures can mean so much more than one grand display of …
“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” ~Samuel Johnson
Some people say there’s no such thing as a selfless act—that any time we do something to help another person, …
“If we look at the world with a love of life, the world will reveal its beauty to us.” ~Daisaku Ikeda
If you asked an eight-year-old version of me to list all the things I loved, it might have looked …
“The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.” -~Pema Chodron
These past few years, I’ve focused on education and passing the required exams to get into university. I had my mind set on where I …
“Appreciation is an excellent thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us, as well.” ~Voltaire
Halloween is the coming attractions preview of the holidays. Those little witches, ghosts, and goblins will soon morph into angels, wise men, …
“Growth begins when we begin to accept our weaknesses.” ~Jean Vanier
I went out with my mom this Sunday, a beautiful, sunny, fall day in San Francisco. As we sat on a bench looking out over the bay and ate …
“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” ~Proverb
Two years ago, after hearing Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project, talk about setting up …
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