I Love the Old Souls
How to Be Successfully Content with Your Life
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” ~Maya Angelou
Color within the lines. Math, physics and chemistry—there’s absolutely no point in taking drama. A main meal of straight A’s and a side order of volunteer work. A four-year degree with a “safe” major from a reputable college. Then comes the corner cubicle career at a listed company. What about the four-bedroom house and the annual holidays abroad? We can’t possibly forget about those things
All through life, from infancy to adulthood, we are told what it means to be successful. We are …
Shakya Handicraft: Buddha Statues, Tibetan Jewelry, Meditation Gifts, and More
As someone who appreciates handmade Buddhist gifts, and enjoys giving and receiving them around the holidays, I couldn’t be more excited to introduce you to Shakya Handicraft.
They’re a group of Newari artisans—the aborigines of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal—that are keeping centuries of tradition alive by making beautiful Tibetan and Nepalese handicrafts.
All of their products such as Buddha statues, Thangka paintings, Tibetan jewelry and rugs, singing bowls, and meditation gifts are 100% handmade and can be customized—and blessed by a monk at the Jyatha Buddhist Monastery for an extra fee, which helps keep the monastery running.
At the …
When Life Feels Too Hard: How to Mindfully Get Through the Day
NOTE: This post contains a giveaway – details at the bottom of the post!
“If today gets difficult, remember the smell of coffee, the way sunlight bounces off a window, the sound of your favorite person’s laugh, the feeling when a song you love comes on, the color of the sky at dusk, and that we are here to take care of each other.” ~Nanea Hoffman
I am currently exhausted. Absolutely beat. I’ve taken on more work than I can comfortably accomplish in my available time, I’ve been feeling under the weather for a while, and my eighteen-month-old son …
How Curiosity Can Improve Your Relationships and Your Life
“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” ~Albert Einstein
When speaking to a parent recently, she said, “I have made it a rule that my kids read every day for an hour. There are no two ways about it. They now do it and it is great, but I have noticed that they have stopped asking questions, they have stopped being curious, and they look dull, and that bothers me.”
Strange that reading would dull their curiosity instead of sparking it. But beyond that, this conversation got me curious—about curiosity.
Why is it important to be curious? …
Calling Out Bullies: Why You Need to Stand Up for Yourself
“Standing up for yourself doesn’t make you argumentative. Sharing your feelings doesn’t make you overly sensitive. And saying no doesn’t make you uncaring or selfish. If someone won’t respect your feelings, needs, and boundaries, the problem isn’t you; it’s them.” ~Lori Deschene
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the main character Atticus Finch says, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter …
5 Things You Need to Know If You’re Interested in Meditation
“The fruit of meditation is not the absence of thoughts, but the fact that thoughts cease to harm us.” ~Bokar Rinpoche
My inspiration to start meditating came from one of the most unlikely sources—a Star Wars movie.
When I saw the wise Jedi Master Yoda meditating, I thought that there had to be something more to this than merely sitting silently with your eyes closed.
Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to find out for myself.
That was over six years ago. Since then, my life has changed for the better in both subtle and …
How I Forgave When Life Felt Painful and Unfair
“Forgiving someone doesn’t mean that their behavior was ‘OK.’ What it does mean is that we’re ready to move on. To release the heavy weight. To shape our own life, on our terms, without any unnecessary burdens. Forgiveness is pure freedom—and forgiveness is a choice.” ~Dr. Suzanne Gelb
It happened, again.
I was sitting opposite one of my closest family members. The irritation coming from me could almost be felt and touched in the room. One comment from him and boom, it was like pouring gasoline on a fire. I couldn’t help myself, I used to get so upset in …
40 Reasons You’re Amazing and Worth Appreciating
I’m willing to bet that most of us spend far more time focusing on what we aren’t than appreciating who we are. We home in everything we think we lack and then feel bad about ourselves, when there’s actually a lot to celebrate if we take the time recognize it.
It’s partly a byproduct of our time: We’re constantly inundated with pics and stories narrating everyone else’s lives, when really, they’re just highlight reels. They’re the filtered, photoshopped version of lives as messy and imperfect as ours.
And regardless of where they pose, what they wear, or what they’re …
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