Soul Pancake (the site started by Rainn Wilson, from The Office) set up a compliment station on the side of the road, and the exchanges they captured on film are both beautiful and touching.
When was the last time you told someone how you feel?
“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
It’s a feeling of dread. Maybe you’ve experienced it before.
You’re driving down the highway and suddenly something goes wrong. You’re stepping on the gas pedal but nothing is happening.
All the little lights on the dashboard come on and you notice one particular gauge you’ve been meaning to address sooner.
The needle is just past the E. You’re out of gas.
It’s a helpless feeling. Desperation flashes through your mind as the wheels begin …
“You’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” ~Brené Brown
Have you heard the story of the ugly duckling?
Well, there never was an ugly duckling; he was actually a swan whose real beauty had not been recognized by him or by others.
All of us may or may not be ugly ducklings, but we are totally worthy of being loved, accepted, and cherished just as we are.
Ultimately we are all trying to do the best we can with our current knowledge, awareness, and understanding. But we lose our way, and the …
“Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.” ~Hausa Proverb
Gratitude, the level of gratitude that one has, varies greatly by person. You have those that are grateful for every single thing in their lives, and those that know what the word means on paper yet never practice it in their own lives.
Then you have so many others (like myself), I call them the “in-betweeners.” We are grateful for so much but often forget this because life takes over, or so many other things are going on at once that you barely have five minutes to …
“You must welcome change as the rule but not your ruler” ~Denis Waitley
My name is Hannah, and I find it hard to deal with change.
As much as I used to want to think of myself as flexible and easy-going, I struggle to live up to these ideals. I like to know where I am, what I’m doing, where I’m going, and to have my near future mapped out in lists, to-dos, and ideas. In short, I do whatever I can to minimize the level of uncertainty in my life.
My discomfort around uncertainty means I am usually …
So much is possible, if we’re willing to believe it.
That doesn’t mean we have no limitations beyond the ones we set in our mind; simply believing that something is possible doesn’t guarantee it will happen. But it does create the possibility that it could.
That’s what makes us feel alive: taking bold action toward possibility, knowing that the goal isn’t to control what will happen tomorrow. It’s to create a sense of freedom as we choose what will happen today.
Are you living unbound?
“What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful.” ~the Dalai Lama
One of the beautiful things about being an intuitive reader is that people are willing to go very deep very quickly. Vulnerability, shame, fear, and hope are all active players at a table set with Tarot cards. Often people start out their first session with me warning that “You might get bored, this is just another love drama.”
Of course I never do get bored—everyone has a unique and precious story and I feel honored to share in them, period.
Besides, underneath every question that’s …
“The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.” ~Pema Chodron
Forgiveness is good, right? I don’t mean in a heal the planet kind of way—I mean in a selfish, me me me kind of way.
We want to let go of our resentments and connect with people genuinely. We want to feel happy and contented, full of love for ourselves and those around us. We want to run, carefree, through the fields in a pretty cotton dress, not sit around in our pajamas, twisted with bitterness.
But how do you experience genuine forgiveness and stop feeling resentful? Because …
“To be alive is to totally and openly participate in the simplicity and elegance of here and now.” ~Donald Altman
Embodied presence probably sounds superfluous. How else would we be present but in the body? If we leave our bodies, then we are by definition deceased. No longer present.
The simplicity of this embodied presence idea belies its depth though. The issue isn’t that I’m ever literally disembodied, but that I’m often unaware of my body-mind connection to the point that I’m not sufficiently mindful of the moment.
I know I’m not unique for this. We all do this. …
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
When we hear someone speak about faith, we usually expect to hear about some kind of subjective encounter with supernatural forces. In our skeptical age, we tend to look at faith as “believing in something you know not to be true,” as Mark Twain expressed.
Before we dismiss any talk of faith, however, we should remember that there are many ways to understand the word. You can have faith in a benevolent, loving deity guiding your every move. But you can also …
“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
I recently treated myself to a retreat in the mountains, with the intention of pulling out of the busyness of every day life so that I could spend time healing and in reflective writing.
Setting off, I anticipated an easy drive as traffic looked light, but when I reached the mountain pass, I experienced something I had never experienced before:
I was completely blind to my surroundings.
In fact, I realized I had driven into the clouds themselves, engulfed by a pure white energy.
Not fog. Not mist. Just
“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” ~Mark Twain
When I was younger, I remember occasionally hurting myself while playing outside.
If I rolled my ankle, I might fall to the ground clutching it, but not feel too bad overall. Then, when someone from my family or a friend would run up to me and see if I was okay, I’d start getting choked up.
At the time, this confused me and made me even more upset. Why could I not control myself?
I experienced a lot of self-pity, because I felt like I was weak and could …
“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.” ~Wayne Dyer
Everything in life is perception. How you perceive life depends on the things and people that have influenced you: school, society, friends, family, TV. So, you may think something is bad or good, but in reality it is neither. You were taught to perceive it the way you do.
One person might see money as the root of all evil, while another might see it as something wonderful that can be used to help others and create opportunities. Two different perceptions of …
“Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance.” ~Unknown
Damn lizard brain, I hate you sometimes. Why do you always have this thirst for more? Why must you have such impossibly high expectations for everything?
It’s good to have standards, but when is it too much?
Things can be going great for me and I could have the entire world love me, yet it wouldn’t be enough.
I still wouldn’t be happy even every human on Earth left me a voicemail to tell me I’m wonderful. Instead, I’d be wondering how everyone got my number.
Why is it never enough? …
“You must love in such a way that the person you love feels free.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
Do I really love them, or am I simply afraid to be without them? Is my love an expression of freedom, or is it merely a mask that hides my insecurities? These are questions that haunted my awareness. What is love, if I am afraid to lose it?
It seemed that I was running in circles trying to catch something that was never there.
I felt as if my love was not love, but rather just a fear that saw myself as unlovable; …
I’m a huge fan of flash mobs. There’s something about a seemingly random, slow-building display of mass creativity and joy that never fails to make me smile. This one, featuring a group of cancer survivors and a children’s choir, gave me goosebumps. Beautiful voices. Beautiful spirit. Beautiful message of hope.
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. Click here to read more.
