Page 347 – Tiny Buddha

3 Signs It’s Time to Break Up

By Pia Scade in Blog, letting go, love & relationships

“Celebrate endings, for they precede new beginnings.” ~Jonathan Lockwood Huie

There was an incessant doubt deep inside that wouldn’t subside. It followed me everywhere—through the good times and the rough times.

By “good,” I mean things were okay. They were never great, ecstatic, wildly passionate, and deeply connected.

I tried to escape it, block it out, ignore it, and pretend this nagging feeling would eventually disappear.

But my heart wasn’t skipping a beat. The spark had long disappeared. I never had butterflies thinking about him. I felt myself slowly withdrawing.

And I couldn’t figure out why was this happening.

He …

How to Be Sure External Factors Aren’t Affecting Your Decision

By Ellen Bard in Blog, change & challenges

“Don’t make a permanent decision for your temporary emotion.” ~Unknown

It was a beautiful day today. The sun shone brightly, kissing my face and warming my bones, the sky was as blue as a lover’s eyes, and there were those little fluffy clouds that seem like aimless but happy sheep floating gently in the sky.

And my heart sang.

I felt joy deep down in my soul.

I smiled at bus drivers and baristas alike.

Nothing could dent my good mood.

Currently mulling over medium-term plans (I started living as a digital nomad two years ago), I started to consider …

5 Practices to Help You Let Go and Embrace Change

By Suzanne Raga in Blog, change & challenges

“Letting go isn’t the end of the world; it’s the beginning of a new life.” ~Unknown

The summer I turned twenty, I worked as a camp counselor at an educational camp with strict rules. As one of my responsibilities, I escorted groups of fifteen to twenty students, ranging in age from middle school to high school, to and from their classes and activities across a large urban campus.

I was in charge of a group of spoiled, rebellious sixteen and seventeen-year-olds who would rather be spending their summer anywhere but at an academic camp.

Because I was only a few …

Let Go of What Brings You Down

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Why We Should Look Forward to More of Each Day

By Kayla Matthews in Blog, happiness & fun

“Use your smile to change the world; don’t let the world change your smile.” ~Unknown

For most of us the average day includes a mix of things we both look forward to and things we don’t look forward to. We look forward to coffee in the morning, we regret that we have to go to work; we look forward to coming home at the end of the day, we dislike that we have to do laundry.

But how much of your life are you giving up if you dread, dislike, regret and don’t look forward to, say, 50% of your …

Surrendering to Things We Can’t Control or Change

By Sara Reed in Blog, letting go, mindfulness & peace

“Every day brings a choice: to practice stress or to practice peace.” ~Joan Borysenko

I’ve always sped through life. I’ve always been ready to take on the next moment, that new place, make a new memory.

I’m an obsessive planner. I love control. Seriously, I love the feeling of researching and executing a plan flawlessly. It makes me feel like it’s all worth something, or it gives my life meaning. Nothing satisfies me more than being able to check that next “life goal” off the multiple checklists I create.

This idea of getting to the next place and achieving as …

In the Garden of Happiness: Available for Pre-Order

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Over the past year, I’ve shared countless uplifting picture quotes from the Positive Outlooks Facebook page, loved and followed by millions. It’s a treasure trove of wisdom, motivation, and inspiration, in large part due to the vision of its founder, Dodinsky.

He’s planning to release his second book in January, a follow-up to his bestselling inspirational book In the Garden of Thoughts. If you’re looking to start the new year with a jolt of positivity, I highly recommend pre-ordering In the Garden of Happiness!

How I’m Getting Past Internal Resistance So I Can Live a Life I Love

By Elizabeth McDonnell in Blog, change & challenges, meaning & passion

“Your actions are your only true belongings.” ~Allan Lokos

This is not a piece about a person who has already finished her journey. I am not here to tell you that I’ve emerged from a dark place into a place of ease, or that I’ve discovered a profound new way of being that shields me from daily stresses.

I wish I could tell you those things. I love to read about successes like that.

Instead, I am in a messy stage of my journey, holding on to the glimmers of joy that I feel throughout each day, dreaming and journaling…

When You Want to Make a Change but Feel Confused and Scared

By Amanda Christian in Blog, change & challenges

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have you ever had an inner knowing that it was time to make some life changes, but you felt too confused to make them?

I’ve certainly felt that way a time or two. After I graduated college years ago, I felt completely confused about what I was going to do with my life. I was asking myself questions like: How am I going to find meaning? What should I do for a career? How can I make my dreams a reality?

But what if you …

Happiness: True and False

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Source: Original Smiley

Finding Calm in this Busy, Chaotic World

By Helen Butler in Blog, mindfulness & peace

“At any given moment, you have the power to say: This is not how the story is going to end.” ~Christine Mason Miller

A while back I was completely overwhelmed. I was drowning in conflicting work commitments, our son’s crazy end of term schedule, over-commitment to a volunteer role, and a pounding headache I just couldn’t shift. Everything was about to go seriously pear-shaped if I didn’t do something stat!

Now, if you knew me you’d know I am a “fixer.” So, because I fix things all the time (usually for other people!) I decided to book myself in for …

How To Respond When Someone Takes Advantage of You

By Ed Herzog in Blog, love & relationships

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” ~Maya Angelou

Several months ago, I moved into a new house. During the inspection of my old house, I was expecting to receive my whole security deposit back.

I didn’t. The landlady took advantage of the situation and withheld part of my deposit.

She charged me the price of cleaning the whole house even though I was only renting a room in the house. And she charged for me something that was already damaged when I moved in, falsely …

I Can, I Will

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Source: NotSalmon.com

Pacing Yourself When You Want the Pain to Stop

By Bobbi Emel in Blog, change & challenges

“The intensity of the pain depends on the degree of resistance to the present moment.” ~Eckhart Tolle

I was in pain.

My legs hurt, I felt nauseated, my heart thumped hard and fast, and I labored for every breath.

I was halfway up a steep, three-mile hill, and I was so exhausted I could barely keep my bike upright.

My mind tried desperately to solve this problem: “Should I stop? I should stop. No! I’ve done this hill in the past without stopping—what’s the problem this time? I hate this! Why is this so painful?”

I glanced over at my …

How I Broke Free from Depression When I Felt Suicidal

By Meredith in Blog, change & challenges, mindfulness & peace

“I’m stronger because of the hard times, wiser because of my mistakes, and happier because I have known sadness.” ~Unknown

I was diagnosed with clinical depression and prescribed anti-depressants when I was twenty-one years old. I refer to this point in my life as the “Dark Ages.”

Leading up to grad school, I’d suddenly become afflicted with incomprehensible despair.

At seventeen, for the first time (at least for the first time I could remember), I considered suicide. I felt as if life should’ve been more than what it was. I had a deep sense that I was supposed to …

When You’re Comfortable in Your Own Skin…

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Source: Lessons Learned in Life

A Beginner’s Guide To Trying New Things

By Jessica Larsen in Blog, happiness & fun, meaning & passion

“To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.” ~Pema Chodron

I have a confession: I was really scared of trying yoga for the first time.

I know, I know, it’s not exactly bungee jumping or skydiving, activities that warrant a certain amount of fear. In fact, yoga seems downright tame by comparison. But I was still scared nonetheless.

Someone recommended the age-old practice to me to stretch out my perpetually tight hamstrings and strengthen my bad knee. But instead of jumping at the chance to heal my body through gentle, …

Wisdom from a 6-Year-Old About Living Without Regrets

By Lori Deschene in Fun & Inspiring

Are you living the life you’ll want to see when you reflect back at ninety years old? Studies show that the biggest regret from elderly people on their deathbed is not what they did; it’s what they didn’t do: the risks they never took.

How to Let Go of Guilt and Regret and Forgive Yourself

By Stephanie Workman in Blog, letting go, love & relationships

“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” ~Paul Boes

In October of 2010 I was engaged after only three weeks of dating. I was scared to tell my family, but I was terrified to tell my father. My parents divorced when I was five, and I couldn’t spend weekends at Dad’s because he lived thousands of miles away. I saved him for last and decided to take the cowardly way out by emailing him.

It was not the best decision I’ve ever made. Not only did it infuriate and hurt him, it ended up producing …

Letting Go of the Past So You Can Be Reborn

By Jeanine Cerundolo in Blog, letting go

“In the end what matters most is: How well did you live? How well did you love? How well did you learn to let go?” ~Unknown

In a matter of days, it was all gone: the role in a company I adored, the future I had imagined, and our friend Max, so loved by all who knew him.

The loss washed over me in a sudden gust. I was being called to begin again, to re-examine what I thought was important. And, in facing the feelings that arose with being stripped abruptly of these attachments, the inessential was forced to …