AJ’s Art Journal: No One Is Truly Mean
It’s Not Over: Failure Is Success in the Making
“A man’s errors are his portals of discovery.” ~James Joyce
Everyone has a story of failure and disadvantage—those things we wish were done differently, better, or not at all. Take these stories for instance:
A speaker intending to be unifying and encouraging onstage leaves the audience disappointed and bored instead.
A lone manuscript is rejected by publishing houses over twenty-seven times, dismissed as too fanciful, fake, and “never gonna sell.”
A poor eleven-year-old boy, deprived of toys his entire childhood, trudges through sleet and snow on his newspaper route in order to help support his family.
An author struggles to …
Free Yourself from Regret and Transform Your Life
“The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.” ~Marianne Williamson
I always had a hard time accepting all of me. As early as I can remember others defined me by saying “You are so weird.” Not in a malicious way but more in a “you don’t fit into our familiar box” sort of way.
I spent most of my teens and twenties attempting to conform to others or numbing myself to a point of not caring what they thought. If someone would have told me that forgiveness and compassion would lead me to …
Inspiring Video About What We Can Do: Are You a Hummingbird?
I feel happy just looking at this woman, with her bright yellow attire and joyful face, but it’s her message that compelled me to share this. Watch it and ask yourself: Are you a hummingbird?
There’s a Gift in Every Problem: Finding the Good in the Bad
“Every problem has a gift for you in its hands.” ~Richard Bach
I bought the magazine because it had pizza on the cover and the headline read: “Yes, you can eat pizza.”
At that point, the idea that I could eat pizza was as absurd to me as the thought of finding a tiny dinosaur living in my flowerbeds.
But oh, how I wanted a slice.
At thirty-two years old, I’d been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It scared the hell out of me, and I was determined to take perfect care of myself so I could be the best …
When You Fear Things Might Not Work Out: 3 Helpful Tips
“Your belief determines your action and your action determines your results, but first you have to believe.” ~Mark Victor Hansen
This summer, after three years of dreaming, my daughter and I moved from the city I’ve lived in all my life to my dream city six hours north.
The season of summer is known as a time when plants fruit, grow, and bloom. In order to harvest new crops we have to have a clear field and clean soil to plant in, right?
Before we can grow new things, we need to look hard at what isn’t working for us, …
7 Ways to Cope With the Grief of Heartbreak
“Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.” ~C.S. Lewis
Shock. That was the first feeling. Shock and disbelief.
This isn’t really happening. Denial.
Look into her eyes. Slow realization. I’m not dreaming. Fear.
Wave upon wave of torrential sadness. Messy.
We’d been in a long-distance relationship, and as far as I was aware, everything was inutterably perfect. I was as happy as I’d ever been; I was in love.
For months, I’d been planning to travel across the country to see her. …
Why You Deserve to Applaud Yourself
“I have done my best. That is all the philosophy of living one needs” ~Lin-yutang
Take a break and take a look in the mirror. Look at yourself and smile while you congratulate yourself for everything you have been through, good or bad, ups and downs.
It doesn’t matter whether you climbed Mount Everest, learned French in Paris, completed medical school, worked at the local grocery store, or “simply” lay on the sofa for far longer than you had planned in order to figure out your life’s purpose and goals.
The main point is that everything that you have been …
Give Back to Others by Giving to Yourself First
“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” ~Dalai Lama
I looked out my window and saw only sand. I was on a Beechcraft 1900 turboprop flying into Baghdad in the fall of 2003.
The U.S. had invaded six months prior and was occupying the country. From day one, I loathed the idea of invading a sovereign country, so as my plane spiral landed to avoid surface-to-air missiles, I said to myself, “Why am I here?”
From the youngest age, I wanted to give back—stop war, end poverty, ease suffering.
Upon graduating from …
Win a Free Copy of Tiny Buddha’s Guide to Loving Yourself
UPDATE: The winners for this giveaway have already been chosen.
The winners:
- Antwanette Miller
- Rebecca
This may seem like Déjà vu, because I published an almost identical post last Friday. It’s now a new week (soon to be weekend) and a new chance to win a copy of Tiny Buddha’s Guide to Loving Yourself!
For those of you who already bought a copy, I hope you’re enjoying it!
And I have a special request for you: Since it’s brand new, there are currently only four reviews on Amazon. (Thank you so much to those of you who responded to …
4 Massive Motivation Killers and How to Overcome Them
“Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.” ~Robert H. Schuller
For the entirety of my life I have had an external source of structure.
I’ve very much thrived when both guided and held accountable by others. You could say that I’m a “systems” friendly person and have always felt safe and secure when I can simply follow the guidelines or instructions and then arrive at the intended destination.
The only problem is that I didn’t always create the “intended” destination. In fact, it usually wasn’t even where I wanted to be. It was where I thought I …
15 Reasons to Start Following Your Dream Today
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” ~Unknown
Do you have a dream? A wish? A desire?
Do you ever wake up and wonder: What would it be like to love life?
People can tell you “follow your dream,” but is anyone really doing it?
Not someone in a TV show or movie—a real, living, breathing human, just like you?
Is it possible?
The Depression
Three years ago I couldn’t sleep. Night after night, I’d lie awake at 2am. My heart would pound in my chest.
The anxiety overtook me. I welcomed it. …
Why Accepting Your Imperfections Is a Gift to the World
“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.” ~Anna Quindlen
Being yourself seems like it would be an easy thing, right? Just be! But when you’re someone who has lived their life seeking the approval of others constantly, it’s not such an easy thing.
You have to attempt to move past years of trying to appear this way, wondering if people will judge you if do that, or doing your best not to cause waves and avoid conflict.
When you don’t fully understand who your “self” …
When Following Your Passion Makes You Miserable
“The place to be happy is here. The time to be happy is now.” ~Robert G. Ingersoll
It seems that in recent years people have really started waking up to the fact that they can do what they love, which is great. But what’s not so great is when it makes you miserable.
Finding your passion can become another goal to be achieved in the future.
Suddenly you find yourself believing that if you could just find that perfect passion, your life would be perfect and then you’d finally be happy. But life doesn’t work that way.
You already …
Kindness Keeps the World Afloat
Kindness is contagious, as the beautiful video from Life Vest Inside illustrates. How can you start a chain reaction?
Why Letting Yourself Feel Broken is the Key to Feeling Whole
“Life always waits for some crisis to occur before revealing itself at its most brilliant.” ~Paul Coelho
I spent my twenty-fifth birthday crying alone at the foot of a mountain. While I had always found solace in spending time by myself, in that moment, I did not recognize my “self.” Without my self, I had nothing.
I was utterly alone.
Three weeks earlier, a man was shot just feet away from my front door. My then-boyfriend and I performed CPR until an ambulance arrived, but the man had been killed on impact. The police left my home at 3 a.m.; …
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