Illinois ladies facing bc
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When we are conscious of being part of a wider universe, we can begin to see that what we do matters. Every action we take has a consequence somewhere, whether good or bad. Everything that happens affects a part of the whole body of life. Having this knowledge of being part of something larger may motivate us to contribute to the greater good in whatever ways we can. -Sallirae Henderson
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One day, after a drawing exercise, one of my students said in amazement,
"Every time I draw something I fall in love!" I wasn't surprised to hear this,
because I know that when we wake up to the world around us in full form,
with vivid colors, lines, and shapes, we become filled with awe and wonder.
It is easy to fall in love with the things we've walked past so many times,
because we realize that the world is offering itself to us like a lover longing
for our embrace and recognition. Receiving the universe in all its diversity
allows us a new self-appreciation, and coming to a level of self-acceptance
and self-love prepares us to love the world in return. When this
awareness lives at our core, celebration becomes a way of life.
Adriana Diaz0 -
Joy is what we are, not what we must get.
Joy is the realization that all we want or need in life
has been etched into our souls.
Joy helps us see not what we are "going through,"
but what we are "growing to"--a greater sense of
understanding, accomplishment, and enlightenment.
Joy reveals to us the calm at the end of the storm,
the peace that surpasses the momentary happiness of pleasure.
If we keep our minds centered on joy, joy becomes a state of mind.
Iyanla Vanzant0 -
Simply give others a bit of yourself: a thoughtful act, a helpful idea, a word of appreciation, a lift over a rough spot, a sense of understanding, a timely suggestion. You take something out of your mind, garnished in kindness out of your heart, and put it into the other person's mind and heart.
Charles H. Burr
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I will greet this day with love in my heart.
And how will I do this? Henceforth will I look on all things with love and
I will be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will
love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me
the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will
welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness
for it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due;
yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge.
Og Mandino0 -
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Keep your thoughts right, for as you think, so you are.
Therefore, think only those things that will make
the world better, and you unashamed.
Henry H. Buckley0 -
Unfortunately, all is not beauty and peace. I don't believe I've ever met a person who hasn't been challenged or wounded by something. Difficulties present choices: we can either waste away from our wounds or use them to grow our souls. My husband, for example, is a survivor of the Second World War. As a child, he suffered through six years of bombings, near-escapes, and concentration camps. Part of his soul work has been the gradual transformation of this deep well of grief and pain. As he heals himself, he also participates in healing that terrible idea of war in others. I have always said that no one heals alone--we heal through and for one another. -Joan Borysenko
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Do we need to make a special effort to enjoy the beauty of the blue sky? Do we have to practice to be able to enjoy it? No, we just enjoy it. Each second, each minute of our lives can be like this. Wherever we are, any time, we have the capacity to enjoy the sunshine, the presence of each other, even the sensation of our breathing. We don’t need to go to China to enjoy the blue sky. We don’t have to travel into the future to enjoy our breathing. We can be in touch with those things right now. -Thich Nhat Hanh
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When we experience moments of ecstasy—in play, in art, in sex—they
come not as an exception, an accident, but as a taste of what life is
meant to be. . . Ecstasy is an idea, a goal, but it can be the expectation
of every day. Those times when we’re grounded in our body, pure in
our heart, clear in our mind, rooted in our soul, and suffused with the
energy, the spirit of life, are our birthright. It’s really not that hard to stop
and luxuriate in the joy and wonder of being. Children do it all the time.
It’s a natural human gift that should be at the heart of our lives.
Gabrielle Roth0 -
To me, the essence of keeping the soul nourished is obedience to one's conscience. I don't think that the soul can be nourished unless people have a strong sense of conscience that they have educated and developed and soaked in the universal and timeless principles of integrity and service. This way, the individual's soul becomes part of the universal soul of service, contribution, and making a difference. -Stephen R. Covey
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One does not need to fast for days and meditate for hours at a time to experience the sense of sublime mystery which constantly envelops us. All one need do is to notice intelligently, if even for a brief moment, a blossoming tree, a forest flooded with autumn colors, an infant smiling.
Simon Greenberg
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The Wish
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Should some great angel say to me to-morrow,
"Thou must re-tread thy pathway from the start,
But God will grant, in pity, for thy sorrow,
Some one dear wish, the nearest to thy heart."
This were my wish! - from my life's dim beginning
Let be what has been! wisdom planned the whole
My want, my woe, my errors, and my sinning,
All, all were needed lessons for my soul.0 -
I need a kind of spiritual inhalation, a spaciousness that comes when I am living from the inside out. Only in this way can I find my joy again, the tenderness I can feel toward myself and the world. Find is the wrong word. I don't think anyone "finds" joy. Rather, we cultivate it by searching for the preciousness of small things, the ordinary miracles, that strengthen our hearts so we can keep them open to what is difficult: delight in taking a shower or a slow walk that has no destination, in touching something soft, in noticing the one small, black bird who sings every morning from the top of the big old pine tree that guards this cabin. I need to give my attention to the simple things that give me pleasure with the same fervor I have been giving it to the complex things with which I drive myself crazy. Dawna MarkovaI Will Not Die an Unlived Life
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Our language has wisely sensed the two sides of being alone. It has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone. -Paul Tillich
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Compassion makes no distinction between friends and
enemies, neighbors and outsiders, compatriots and foreigners.
Compassion is the gate to human community.
Joan Chittister
Seeing with Our Souls0 -
Expressing gratitude ignites the light within us and is a sure
path to joy. Gratitude is one of the highest vibrations of
energy we can create, it's free, and anyone can give it. It
can be as simple as being thankful for soup, being thankful
one can see, walk, wiggle a finger, or tap to a beat. One
can be grateful for happy children, good neighbors, good luck,
and simply being alive. . . . Part of the journey toward joy
involves not waiting around for trouble, but being
continuously aware of our blessings.
Charlotte Davis Kasl0 -
As you take a few minutes each day to quiet your mind, you will discover a nice benefit: your everyday, "ordinary" life will begin to seem far more extraordinary. Little things that previously went unnoticed will begin to please you. You'll be more easily satisfied, and happier all around. Rather than focusing on what's wrong with your life, you'll find yourself thinking about and more fully enjoying what's right with your life. The world won't change, but your perception of it will. You'll start to notice the little acts of kindness and caring from other people rather than the negativity and anger.
Jack Canfield
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I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them their "divine, magical, and ecstatic" existence.
Clyde S. Kilby
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A seeker searched for years to know the secret of achievement and
success in human life. One night in a dream a sage appeared bearing
the answer to the secret.
The sage said simply: "Stretch out your hand and reach what you can."
"No, it can't be that simple," the seeker said.
And the sage said softly, "You are right, it is something harder. It is
this: Stretch out your hand and reach what you cannot."
Now that's vision.
Joan Chittister
Seeing with Our Souls0 -
If I'm wise, I won't worry about growing old, for I know that
there's a time for everything. I won't worry about whether
someone likes me or not, for I know that all things can't be.
I won't worry about the things that I don't have, for not
having them diminishes me not one bit. I won't worry about
the future and regret the past, for I know that only the present
moment truly matters, for it's all that we can live. If I'm wise,
I will keep my eyes open and notice things that other people
pass by or dismiss as trivial. I will stop and smell the flowers
and marvel at the snow and ice. I will give of myself as much
as I can, knowing that in giving comes our true growth. I will
be grateful for each new day of life that I receive, for I know
that each day is a gift, and it's up to me
to make something of that gift.
tom walsh0 -
There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of the birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for the spring. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. -Rachel Carson
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Each of us makes the choice about how we feel, though it often seems
to be controlled by other people or events. We can alter our perception.
We can restore our balance. We can choose peace of mind. We can
choose the texture of a day.
Each day seems to have a life of its own, but we are that life. We can
choose to change the texture at any point. Take a deep breath, stop for
a cup of tea, smile at someone, think of something that brings you joy,
plan a dream. . . . This minute, experience the part of the journey you are
in now.
Make this minute what you want for a lifetime. Alter the texture of
your day in any way you choose, but recognize that the texture
and the minute are yours.
Jennifer James
Success Is the Quality of Your Journey0 -
Life is not a competition with others. In its truest sense it is rivalry with ourselves. We should each day seek to break the record of our yesterday. We should seek each day to live stronger, better, truer lives; each day to master some weakness of yesterday; each day to repair past follies; each day to surpass ourselves. This is, simply, progress. -C. Smith Sumner
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Real wealth does not depend on worldly status or a bank balance.
It is available in the sweeping cloud formations above you, the soft
grass under your bare feet, the light in your children’s eyes, and
your funny cat. If we could realize the depth and extent of the gifts
we have already been given, we would attain heights of ecstasy
that collecting stuff will never achieve.
Alan Cohen0 -
Divinity is not something supernatural that ever and again invades the
natural order in a crashing miracle. Divinity is not in some remote heaven,
seated on a throne. Divinity is love. . . . Wherever goodness, beauty,
truth, love, are--there is the divine.
Harry Emerson Fosdick0 -
All of nature offers lessons on living, free of charge. One morning
I noticed a dead tree supporting many living things--fungus, vines,
lichen--which taught me that even after death we can continue to
support those who live on. Living trees on our property teach other
lessons. One tree has grown around a barbed wire fence. Another
has grown around a nail, and a third through a chain link fence.
These trees teach me how to accept irritation, absorb the pain and
grow around problems. Nature teaches me how to find my place,
grow toward the sunlight and bypass obstacles. To survive, we must
be able to change in response to whatever is required by the
challenge of the moment. Our bodies know this, but our
minds often rebel when change is necessary.
Bernie S. Siegel0 -
The Sufi poet Rumi wrote, "Your criticism polishes my mirror." If you understand who you are and respect yourself, you will not see criticisms a problem but as an opportunity to become a better person. When you feel inadequate or imperfect, the criticism is threatening and makes you feel that you have to defend yourself. When you are secure--not perfect, but secure--you can listen to the criticism and consider its value. You can say, "I'm sorry." And "thank you for polishing my mirror," and when it is appropriate you can learn from the criticism and improve your behavior. I say when it is appropriate because there are some people who love to find fault in others. That is their problem. Bernie Siegel
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In the rush of daily living it’s easy to forget all the remarkable people, real or fictional, who have been a part of your life. But if you just imagine they are near for a moment, you will realize that anyone who ever touched your heart is always with you, patiently waiting to emanate warmth and support whenever you remember to think of them.
Barbara Sher0 -
Remember, what you possess in the world will be found at the day of your death to belong to someone else, but what you are will be yours forever.
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