Wednesday 28 December 2016

You're not broken

One day you'll wake up to realize that the only reason it's been cloudy so long is because you forgot how to stand up.
Now, you might be stiff from lying down so long. But, if you let them, people want to help you remeber how to get up. Because those people know that the only way we can look each other in the eyes is if we're all standing up.

Saturday 11 June 2016

Finding a box

You have a beautiful gift, but the boxes that are out there are for other gifts. In order to properly share your gift, you're going to have to teach people what kind of box your gift fits in. Probably you're going to have to create the box out of nothing and you're going to have to keep creating and keep teaching your whole life. But that's where fulfillment lies.

Friday 13 May 2016

Pleasure delayed

Let the ice cream soften on a hot summer day.
Stop and smell the flowers while they're right in your way.

Let the mint melt, rather than take a bite.
The only way of being sure you take the full delight.

Take a little sip, if you really want a taste.
a chug is for the greedy and always such a waste.

I think you'll find walking is better than a drive.
Savoring every moment you're blessed to be alive.

Listen to the end before you formulate a thought.
The thing you started thinking isn't worth a lot.

The beauty lies in waiting. Pleasure, best delayed.
The work of a moment should sometimes take all day.

Thursday 12 May 2016

Consistency over effort

We tend to put a premium on effort, but consistency is the real key. In fact, often effort is the enemy of progress. Consistently leaving something in the tank means you don't get stuck on the side of the road. Hemmingway famously would stop his days writing mid-sentence. We should try to apply that to all the areas we seek growth and progress.

Think what we'd have if Tolstoy had tried to write the 1200 words of War and Peace in a week rather than the six years he took. Besides, the joy is in the doing, more than the being done. So stop working until you fall asleep at your desk. You're hurting your creations and worse, you're hurting yourself.

Savor the doing, stop when you have lots left to give and you'll be excited for tomorrow.

Wednesday 11 May 2016

Shortcuts

There are no shortcuts. Finding a "cheat" that shortens your building time or lessens your learning curve only cheats yourself of the experience. Or worse, the feeling of achievement.

It's no coincidence that the more valuable a skill is to you personally, the longer it will take you to master. But, if you're concerned with how long 10,000 hours will take, then that's probably not a skill that speaks to your heart anyway.

Trees don't grow overnight. Sometimes it takes a lifetime to become the person we imagine we can be. 

Tuesday 10 May 2016

Things

It's nice to have things. The right things can make your house a home, enhance your life, or just bring you a little joy. Even the simplest things, like shoes, can be a great luxury if they make it easier to walk. Or even if they just make you smile at your feet. Just be aware that there's a cost of acquiring things that go beyond the financial. There's a cost to your freedom.

Every time you add a thing to your life you make it harder to be fluid. To answer if the universe calls you away. Also, too many and you run the danger of filling your life with only giving the things the care or attention they need. Or worse you stop giving being mindful of what you're surrounded by. Things carelessly owned should be given to people who need them. Get lost in life, not your things.

Monday 9 May 2016

Hope is scary

Hope that our hearts are right is a key to happiness. Hope and faith.

Hope that you're learning and growing. That tomorrow you'll be better equipped to be filled with acceptance and gratitude, for the gifts the universe has presented and will present to you. Faith that what we hope for matters. That we're a part of something bigger than ourselves.

But hope is scary. It's scary because you might get let down. You might find out that you were foolish to hope. That none of it matters and you're not connected. It would be easier to be cynical and jaded and snicker at the hopers.

The thing is, deep down I feel a connection to everyone and everything. I think we all do. So I have faith in hope.

Sunday 8 May 2016

Release and persevere

Release your idea of what's right. You don't know. It's not for you to know. All that's required is for you to persevere. When you know in the pit of your stomach what to do (and you do know), you persevere. There will be obstacles, no doubt. Most of them will come from within. There will be days you lose faith. Release and persevere. There will be days you feel you're not doing enough. Release and persevere. When you find those things that sing in your heart and are too beautiful to be anything other than rooted in truth, you release and persevere.

Call them, write it, quit the job, make the move, hold their hand, take the job, demand respect, give your love, be heard, listen. Create. Release and persevere.

Saturday 7 May 2016

Art not manipulation

Somewhere along the way we started confusing art with manipulation. That the point was to trick the observer into seeing our brilliance. Then, we tried to define what defines good art for some unknowable reason. Even tried to find a simple meaning for a word that was a meaning. 

Art is available for us to try to communicate an idea that's too big for simple communication. To connect us through the pieces of us that aren't easily explained or calculated. It takes on all sorts of forms. Some of them even look nothing like what we've come to think of as art. But, the minute we start manipulating that, putting our rational brains to it, it ruins it. We all have an artist inside us. The only way to let them out is to release.

Friday 6 May 2016

Picking teams


You are not defined by your political party, what color you find most attractive or your gluten aversion.

Be careful when picking a team that you aren't just using it as an excuse to stop being mindful. Sometimes when we pick a side, we eliminate a way of thinking that could have tremendous value. Or, in the case of political parties, we could be picking a side that doesn't actually always line up with what's inside. Then we trap ourselves in an idea of how we are supposed to think.

Now there's something to be said for having a closet full of grey t-shirts, so we don't have to waste energy deciding on something mostly meaningless. Just be careful that you don't get so attached to this idea of who you are or how you think you should be, that you become blind to when your bliss is in a different direction.

Thursday 5 May 2016

The end of "good job"

The minute we tell ourselves "good job" we set up an expectation we can't possibly live up to. We unwittingly trap ourselves in a moment that has already passed. Then, when similar circumstances present we try the impossible. To do again what we did before. Except, these are similar circumstances, not the same. Then, we end up feeling like we didn't live up to some idea of what "good", or worse "great" is. When in fact all we failed to do was be open.

Let's leave the judging of the outcome to the kinds of watchers who like to judge, if that's what they'd like to do. For us doers, let's focus on the journey. Let's celebrate the process, not the outcome.

Wednesday 4 May 2016

It takes no effort to be kind

Our backs are up so often that we have come to assume it's easier to be defensive and self-serving. But when you release that you find that it actually takes less effort to be kind.

Simply holding the door for the person behind you means that you don't have to waste mental space making excuses about how "they're too far away" or "what a rush you're in" or whatever grumble you tell yourself. Don't discount how much of your energy that kind of negative self-talk takes. Then, multiply that by how often in a day that might happen and you get a sense of the toll it can take. How that can start to create a negative cloud around everything in your life.

Combine that with the fact that sometimes we react to negativity with more negativity. The coffee shop worker had a bad morning, gets your order wrong or is short with you. Then, you take it personally eventually transferring it to the next person you see. It creates a chain reaction of bad feelings that infects everyone and everything.

Instead, hold the door, feel empathy for the barista, smile. It takes that little effort to make the world a better place.

Tuesday 3 May 2016

Becoming

Life is about becoming. We are constantly evolving and we can only deny evolution for a short time before the death of being stagnant catches us.

Becoming is in fact, life itself. The very cells we took for granted as self are constantly changing. Popping in and out of existence, dying and being born. You can't fight your personal evolution. You have to quietly and calmly listen to the change that calls in you.

Would we think so much of the butterfly if it hadn't started as a caterpillar? If a flower lasted forever would it be beautiful?

Monday 2 May 2016

What's in a name?

The minute you give something a name you create ownership and ownership is the death of creativity and by extension any truly important ideas.

Once we feel we own something it stops changing and evolving. Worse, people feel they have to defend the thing they own because the idea WAS very right. They're right it was very right. The exact right invention, technique, method, religion. Until it got defined and stopped evolving. Then the great idea dies with the name.

Religion maybe being the ultimate example. I feel a connecting force, a lot of people do. But somehow once we start trying to define it too specifically we start fighting wars over the minutia.

Maybe if we all released ownership and listened instead of defending we could allow room for the possibility that none of us really know anything. Not absolutely. We won't ever know anything and that's more than okay. It's one of the things that we all share

Sunday 1 May 2016

Happiness is earned


Here in the consumer societies we're taught our whole lives that happiness is deserved. That we simply deserve to be happy for being alive. The reality is it takes work. Work maybe being the wrong word. We have to put ourselves out there.

We have to start by being open to happiness, which is scary. Being open to happiness starts with being vulnerable. We have to be brave enough to put the fear aside. To leave our safety, trust and be open. We have to make the effort. Happiness doesn't come when you're passive or mindless. We have to stop allowing ourselves to be distracted, get out there and put ourselves in the way of happiness. Otherwise, it will just pass us by our whole lives.

Saturday 30 April 2016

Flow don't bob

There's a difference between bobbing and following the flow. Sometimes it's great to bobble for awhile. But eventually, part of being an adult is about making decisions. Making decisions knowing you don't get to do everything. That you have to release some of the things you want to do. Hopefully, you listen to the flow of the universe, then being a grown up, you make a choice saying "I may never get to do that other thing". But the alternative is you end up doing none of it. 

Friday 29 April 2016

Don't take it personally

Why are they walking in my way so slowly? Why would he take the last one? Why is the ambulance making our car pull over when we're already late? So often we take things personally that have nothing to do with us. We create a story that's based on no information and we let it get us angry. Or worse, let it hurt us.

Maybe it's time to breathe. Then, if we are going to create a story let it be one that uplifts us. Maybe they're walking slowly because they've just found new love and are savoring it. Maybe he took the last one because he's getting it for a friend he hasn't seen in a decade. Maybe the fact that we pulled over for the ambulance means a life gets saved. Instead of victims, we're heroes. Instead of being hurt we can smile and pass it on.

Thursday 28 April 2016

What you say matters

There are many reasons to listen more than speak but one of the most important is realizing how impactful our words can be. People do hear what we're saying and it can haunt them or enlighten them for a long time after we may have even forgotten saying them.

Words can be weapons. Like all weapons when used carelessly they can leave disaster and suffering in their wake. On the other hand, words when used purposefully, with thought and care, can lift up not only one person but generations for centuries.

I'm not saying every time you speak you need to be channelling Seneca. Just be mindful how much power you're wielding.

Wednesday 27 April 2016

Spring

The great thing about spring is that one day you wake up, look around and everything is green again. It feels like only yesterday the trees were brown and bare.

Of course, that's not the case. The change just happened a little every day. A little growth, a little unfolding, a painful stretch as the green leaf finally breaks through the bark that we thought was so permanent.

That's really how the most important things in life happen. A little every day and then one day you're ready to notice just how much you've bloomed.

Tuesday 26 April 2016

The halfway point

I'm halfway through the challenge given to me by a friend to post a thought a day and it seems like a good time to tell you why I'm doing this. For a while, a friend (the person in the photo below. No, that's not me) of mine had been telling me I should tweet or facebook and share some ideas. That, in turn people would share ideas back and a sort of online discussion would. I can't exactly say why I'm unwilling to commit to any of those things. But I will say, that I came up with this instead. I said, I'd post a thought a day for 30 days and maybe people would find it. I like the idea that nothing is random and if you happen to stumble across something on here, then you were meant to. If you feel like opening up a discussion from there, I'd be excited to respond. If nobody found it that would be okay too.

It's beautiful that we live in an age where we all have a voice. But, not everyone needs to shout from the rooftop. At last for now maybe some us like whispering in the breeze.

Monday 25 April 2016

Wasting time

I'm not going to suggest there's no such thing as wasting time. As individuals time is our most precious resource and there's lots of ways it can be spent doing things that we could consider a waste of it.

What I am going to suggest is that no one activity is by itself a waste. When done mindfully even sitting doing nothing at all can be immensely beneficial. More and more research comes out all the time regarding the benefits of meditation. I think some would even consider it the single most beneficial thing you can do for yourself. Conversely, even things that are widely thought of as productive can become a waste of time when done without thought.

Meetings are a good example of both. A mindful meeting where two or more people are getting together to solve a problem is probably why we have fire. Ir's certainly why we can build giant structures that fly. On the other hand, mindless meetings where people talk AT one another are rarely of much or any use.

That all being said, I'm working on not considering anything a waste of time. Especially not creative endeavors. The temptation is there and it becomes an easy excuse to let ourselves off the hook. But I'm working to remember that many of the things that turned out to be of the greatest value to me as a growing individual, didn't have that apparent value while I was doing them. I'm working at instead doing everything mindfully.

Sunday 24 April 2016

Poor us

When we see someone on the fringes of society we look at them, as if from a distance thinking, "poor them". Really, what we should be thinking is closer to, "poor us". Because we're all closer to that then we're comfortable to imagine. Hence the dismissal. Maybe it's time to stop dismissing. To accept that that could have been and might still be all of us.

Let's even assume for a second that your current life path makes it pretty unlikely for you to end up homeless or drug addicted. Probably not as secure as you think. But let's work from that.

What horrible circumstances lead to that person being addicted to drugs? To need so badly to escape or numb from life? We all have things we numb ourselves from. How hard is it to imagine an event so horrible you can't move forward? How hard is it to imagine the wrong person entering your life at the wrong moment and hurting you so badly you need to escape yourself? How that can compound itself. Or, maybe it was the lack of person or people in your life telling you, "you're okay" at the right time, that they love you regardless. That they believe in your beauty.

Or, consider the set of circumstances and lack of support that are completely out of our control that could lead you to being without a job and eventually a home.

The point is, it could have happened to you and through pure chance you avoided it. So that should lead you to two things. First, gratitude. Gratitude that the universe has smiled on you to this point. But more importantly, it should lead you to feeling obligated. Not obligated to give money or things. Simply obligated to feel empathy and understanding. Obligated to acknowledge that that is a human being JUST like you, who hasn't had the luck you've had. The least you can do is look them in the eyes, smile and share a moment of the warmth you've been blessed with.

Saturday 23 April 2016

Never stop imagining

Our past should be celebrated insofar as it's the building block for your present. But, every once in a while you come across someone who's caught in an era or idea of their life. The high school football star who still displays his medals or the guy who still talks about his college adventures when he's 60 being two obvious examples. The artist who thinks it was his eccentricities that created his masterpiece maybe being the most dangerous and famous example.

But we all do this. We become the things we imagine and we're so amazed it worked, at how powerful we are that we stop imagining.  Never stop imagining.

Friday 22 April 2016

The Call

The thing you think is ever urgent,
It's probably procrastination
From the real thing you should pursue,
your universal station.
We hear the call in all of us.
But were often slow to heed.
Too busy numbing what's inside.
With politics, binge tv and greed.
That thing you should be doing.
The one you feel in your heart.
You could put it off another day.
Or be brave enough to start.

Thursday 21 April 2016

This moment

This moment. That one that just passed. You're never getting it back. Let that really hit you as you consider you don't even know how many more moments you get. But, that moment of your life is over.

Now, I'm not going to tell you that every moment needs to be filled doing that thing you keep putting off. That thing that you know you should do, that's scary or hard or just too big. You should do those things, but that's not what I'm going to tell you to do. What I am going to tell you to do, is be aware. To cherish. To breathe.

See, ultimately no matter what you're doing. Eating a cookie, binge watching Game of Cards, creating a masterpiece and you can do all of those things, but you should cherish every moment of it. Otherwise, you should do something else.

To be clear, I'm not saying enjoy every moment you cherish necessarily. Just be sure to feel every moment fully. Try it now, take a deep breath and feel the enormity of this moment of your life. It's beautiful. They all are. Lucky you.

Wednesday 20 April 2016

Angels do exist. Angles too.

Angels do exist.

There's magic everywhere.

The exhale of the universe in every gust of wind.

The timing of the right words from an unexpected friend.

The whisper of a flower bloom teaching you the way.

To open to the sunshine and live just for today.

The grass is such a comfort, with that bump that lands just right.

Don't worry if you fall asleep the crows will signal night.

There's magic in every moment. If you'd only stop to hear

All the angels of the universe are offering you a cheer.

Tuesday 19 April 2016

Spirituality doesn't have teams

The problem with both the fanatic and the dismissive is that they've chosen to stop thinking and that's where danger always lies.

It's overly simple and childlike to assume there's actually an all-knowing bearded man, or whatever somewhere in the sky deciding what's right and wrong for every individual. But the point of view that laughs at any thought those stories have real deep value. That dismisses the notion of connectedness and spiritual instinct is just as simple. Not only are both those extremes simple. It's also the root of too much hatred, evil and, dare I say, sin.

Matters of the heart or soul shouldn't force you to pick a team. You should be brave enough to be fluid.

Monday 18 April 2016

You might not be a beautiful flower

You may have been lied to. Not everyone is a beautiful flower. Most are simply a blade of grass. But here's the good news. A flower is alone in its beauty, as quickly as it blooms it withers. A blade of grass has it's own unique magnificence if you look closely, but it flows in unison with all the other blades to create a beautiful whole. Working in a harmony that has no end.

Sunday 17 April 2016

Be careful what you wish for

We need to be very clear with ourselves about what we want in life, because we manifest the things we need. Not always the things we want , but certainly the things we need.

We can usually tell the difference by urgency. Ironically, if you REALLY feel you need something you probably just want it. The things we really need burn in our gut in a way that we can't divorce from who we are.

I'm not suggesting that whatever it is you need you'll manifest tomorrow. Not at all. In fact, it will probably happen so slowly that you won't even recognize it's happened. Then, by the time it does happen you'll probably already be ready for the next challenge. But make no mistake, you'll have created the life you imagined.

If you don't like it, one of two things happened. Either your perspective has changed or you weren't clear and honest with yourself about what you wanted. If it's that your perspective has changed, you just move on to the next phase, after taking some time to acknowledge and feel the glow of your own power. If, on the other hand, you weren't clear or honest with yourself. Maybe your living the life someone else wants for you or your too scared to admit what you really want. In that case, you need to put the brakes on, sit back and be sure you correct it. Otherwise you could spend your whole life living a lie.

P.S. Being honest with ourselves about what we want is quite often the opposite of what you'd think. It takes no imagination to want the big, bold and obvious. But, that's rarely truly what we need. Be brave enough to admit that maybe what you need is modest by most peoples standards.

Saturday 16 April 2016

Just be nice

In a society where we're told to look out for number one and greed is good it's no wonder that happiness is so elusive.

The truth is happiness only comes from being of service. That being of service to others is the best way to be of service to ourselves. Now, I know that intellectually, but still I have to fight to remind myself. Fight through the messages of music videos, movies and friends teaching me while i was growing up that money and belongings are the key to happiness. So I have to fight through that conditioning and remind myself every day.

Now imagine that there's probably lots of people who have never understood otherwise. If you're one of those people start the fight today. Just do something simple like hold a door open and see how that makes you feel. Now imagine if you were lucky enough to spend your whole life being of service.

Friday 15 April 2016

I did say daily thoughts

Some days you just don't feel like doing a thing you said you were going to do. You have a zillion reasons and they are all valid. Like, let's say for arguments sake, you recently said you'd share a thought a day for at least 30 days. But, the day got away from you, you're tired, you've had a glass of wine (or two) and really nobody is paying attention anyway. So who care cares if you miss one little day? But life is really all about one day. That is, after all the only thing we know we have. Besides, if there's one person you should neve break a promise to it's yourself.

Thursday 14 April 2016

Release greatness

I'm going to release any desire of being great and instead simply create.

Creating something that's widely thought of as great or even good would certainly be a nice ego stroke but really it is so incredibly rare and so often leads to inactivity that we all should stop considering it altogether.

First of all, even when you have all the resources available making something that is widely thought of as good, let alone great is far from assured. Also, even if a huge percentage of people think something is great it doesn't at all guarantee that it's going to feel satisfying to you. Lastly, something being great is obviously subjective. There are countless books, songs or movies that are widely accepted as great that I don't care for at all.

So, that's it. We're all free. Free from the burden of trying to be great or good. Let's just create.

P.S. I would hope that it would go without saying that this by no means suggests you put anything less than all of yourself into everything you do.

Wednesday 13 April 2016

Champions are overrated

Champions are overrated. It's easy to be the champion. To get the ultimate reward for hard work. What really should be celebrated is getting up after a loss. To know you worked just as hard, but today wasn't your day and not just lay there like a puddle is beautiful. Here's to the moment. The exact moment when it would be easy to stay down and nobody would blame us. But instead, we decide to pick our broken bodies up, accept defeat and start again.

Tuesday 12 April 2016

Happiness


I'm starting to think happiness is earned. Here we've thought our whole lives that it's a natural state that we simply deserve for being alive. I don't actually think it is. We have to work for it. But the way to work for it is to put yourself out there. You have to start by being open to it, which is scary. Then, you gotta be brave enough to put that fear aside, you have to trust and be open. Finally, you have to make the effort. Stop being simply distracted, get out there and put yourself in the way of happiness. Otherwise it will just pass you by your whole life.