Those Who Hold You Up
Get Past Disappointment: Release Expectations and Live Your Own Life
“Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance.” ~Unknown
Several years ago, I decided I had issues with surrender. I was often angry or resentful believing my life was not playing out as it should have been.
I found a great measure of peace by performing a wonderful exercise I first learned of in Abraham-Hicks material.
I took a large rectangular piece of paper and drew a vertical line, top to bottom, down the middle. On the left side, I listed things I felt responsible for and on the right side, I listed what needed to be turned over …
When You Don’t Feel Good Enough for Someone Else
“Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself.” ~Lululemon
I recently started going through what has been the most difficult situation I have ever had to bare in my life: the end of my twelve-year relationship.
I have gotten to know the darkest and most hidden places inside me, and pain so deep that I did not know we as a species were capable of feeling it.
It has been through this process and my will to endure, survive, and overcome that I have had to dig deep to find meaning and answers.
I …
The Power of Patience: Let Go of Anxiety and Let Things Happen
“Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.” ~William S. Burroughs
Patience can be a struggle.
I know this firsthand. My experience with impatience used to be confined to overusing the microwave or skipping to the end of a long novel.
Back then, when waiting at a traffic light for more than two minutes seemed like an eternity, I didn’t know that life would teach me several advanced lessons in patience.
Shortly after finishing my morning bike ride I started feeling queasy. I wondered what was happening, but tried to ignore the …
Increasing Self-Esteem and Happiness: 8 Steps to a Fulfilled Life
“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” ~Buddha
A few nights ago I did a search on Google Ad Words to compare the words “self-esteem” and “happy.” I discovered that over fifty-five million people search for the word “happy” every month, whereas just 800,000+ people search for “self-esteem.”
Okay, I get it; we just want to be happy. But in order to be happy we need the foundation first, and the key ingredient is a healthy self-esteem. Once we increase our self-esteem, happiness comes with it.…
Bounce Back from Unexpected Challenges Stronger and Happier
“True happiness means forging a strong spirit that is undefeated, no matter how trying our circumstances.” -Daisaku Ikeda
Let’s face it, whether big or small, stressful or simple, we all face challenges every day, some easier to deal with than others. Unfortunately, life doesn’t come equipped with an instruction manual to handle these challenges.
No matter how much we try to plan in advance, calculate our every move, or predict what the future will bring, we can never prepare enough for the unexpected.
The past eight months of my life have been filled with more twists and turns than the …
Love Yourself and Your Life: 7 Reasons to Buy the New Tiny Buddha Book
10/9/13: The pre-order promotion is now over. You can learn more about Tiny Buddha’s Guide to Loving Yourself here!
If you visited the blog any time during September, you likely saw some of the many self-love interviews featuring contributors from the new book Tiny Buddha’s Guide to Loving Yourself: 40 Ways to Transform Your Inner Critic and Your Life.
I’m excited to announce that today is the official launch date! If you already ordered a copy on Amazon, it’s possible that you already received it, as I’ve recently learned they shipped a little early.
If you haven’t redeemed …
Ode to Failure: An Inspiring Video for Those Who Have Fallen
If you’ve ever felt like your failures define you, then you need to take ten minutes to watch this inspiring, uplifting video, written, illustrated, and produced by Tamara Levitt. I’m grateful that she shared this with me through Facebook, and excited to share it with you!
Break Free from Fear: The World’s a Kinder Place Than You May Imagine
“A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.” ~Michel de Montaigne
When I was an undergraduate in college I signed up to learn the Fundamentals of Modern Dance. My parents were less than thrilled.
While many of my classmates likely took such a course for an easy A or a chance to revisit their leotard-clad youths, I picked my dance courses with an unannounced and secret ambition to be an instantly amazing dancer.
This, I felt certain, was a sound place to rest my future livelihood upon.
At the beginning of each class we were told …
3 Powerful Insights About Finding Yourself and Creating Change
“Get out of your head and get into your heart. Think less, feel more.” ~Osho
When you’re on a spiritual quest in the chaotic outlying suburbs of Bangkok, and you’re having a complete and utter meltdown about your ability to face your inner demons and greatest life fears, where should you turn?
Well, I feel well qualified to answer this question, having been in that exact situation!
Where I turned was a peaceful little Buddhist temple, and more specifically a gentle and elderly monk named Yut.
Don’t be deceived by the “gentle and elderly” description, however, for Yut was also …
3 Often Overlooked Causes of Anxiety (And What to Do About Them)
“Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.” ~ Albert Einstein
An anxious mind is a hard burden to bear. In fact, if you suffer from an anxious mind it can truly feel like a curse.
The racing thoughts. The daily tirade of “what ifs.” The relentless voice of your inner critic constantly nagging you and deriding your every move.
And the worst part is that the mental chatter feels uncontrollable. Truly, there were times when I struggled in vain to quiet my mind.
It was like there was some hub or center in my …
4 Simple But Powerful Tips to Reduce Stress and Anxiety
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” ~Charles Swindoll
I found Tiny Buddha because I have never dealt with stress and anxiety all that well, and once I became a full-time working mum of two, this had become a real issue affecting my quality of life.
It was one day earlier this year when I was battling yet another bout of the flu, and I’d just learned about something out of my control at work that would make life even harder, that I went rushing by a group of my friends, not even …
No One Should Feel That They Don’t Deserve Love
“We accept the love we think we deserve.” ~Stephen Chbosky
There are those moments in life when things suddenly shift from a deep, sad shade of blue to a lighter shade of sky, and then eventually the beautiful reds and pinks and oranges of a sunrise.
When a light bulb snaps on in your head and you see something that you’ve been missing for days, months, maybe even years, though it doesn’t change what caused the sea of blue, it makes it look more like a calm lake than a raging ocean.
I had one of those moments not too …
How to Stop Fearing Disapproval: 3 Lessons from Accepting Judgment
“Lean too much on the approval of people, and it becomes a bed of thorns.” ~Tehyi Hsieh
I remember reading somewhere that the best way to face a fear is through repeated exposure.
In the case of my lifelong need for approval, I have found this to be true.
For as long as I can remember, I have wanted, needed everyone to like me. And not just like me, but agree with and sanction my every choice through obvious signs of validation.
I remember auditioning for a community theater production of Annie when I was twelve.
My …
Stop Seeking and Start Finding: Create a Near-Perfect Life
“What could I say to you that would be of value, except that perhaps you seek too much, that as a result of your seeking you cannot find.” ~Herman Hesse
I have a confession: I hate slowing down. When I finally let myself stop—being alone with my thoughts, vulnerable and open to the world—I become afraid.
I have another confession: There was a specific time in my life when went through a painful and scary situation. It broke me. And the only way I knew how to cope with my shattered self was to avoid my problems.
Simply put: …
6 Lessons from a Poor Childhood That Lead to a Rich Life
“If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can’t buy.” ~Proverb
I grew up on a farm with a father that was a hired hand and a mother that took care of the elderly.
I had six siblings and was the fifth in line. We had little money, but I always felt loved, not deprived. In many ways I was a rich person.
When I was four years old I lived in a two-room house, with two bedrooms built on within the year.
We had no real kitchen (it was just a room), no …
Finding Love: A Video About Seeing What We Look For
After moving to the beach, Filmmaker Hailey Bartholomew decided to search for heart-shaped rocks in the sand and water to prove that “what we see mainly depends on what we look for.” Over a three-week period, she and her loved ones found more than 350 of them–the rocks being a metaphor for beauty in the world around us.
What are you looking for? And where have you found it lately?
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 