“You cannot be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with.” ~ Wayne Dyer
I love my 200 year old live oak. It’s branches extend twenty feet. It’s roots are grounded in soil that is no deeper than 5 inches. Storms and winds cannot shake this tree, it is grounded and gains it strength from roots that stretch far before the shade cast by the tree. When we are grounded, we’re not easily swayed by emotions or spur of the moment impulses. We take time to think, reflect, and weigh our actions. When we are grounded we anchor our roots in a set of values tested by time. We cannot be shaken by the storms that buffet us or the gail winds that try to knock us off balance.
Joe: “I don’t have a beer gut.”
Pete: “What do you call that thing hanging over your belt.”
Joe: “My rib protector.”
Whether working out is something you look forward to or something you dread, you probably can’t deny that exercising just makes you feel better. Not only does exercise give you an energy boost and help you manage your weight, it also reduces your risk of several health conditions and improves your mental well-being.
But staying active doesn’t just begin and end with the 30 minutes you dedicate to your workout. . . . Make an effort to stay active throughout the day while still getting your work done.
In Silence
Thomas Merton
Be still.
Listen to the stones of the wall.
Be silent, they try
to speak your
name.
Listen
to the living walls.
Who are you?
Who
are you? Whose
silence are you?
Who (be quiet)
are you (as these stones
are quiet). Do not
think of what you are
still less of
what you may one day be.
Rather
be what you are (but who?)
be the unthinkable one
you do not know.
O be still, while
you are still alive,
and all things live around you
speaking (I do not hear)
to your own being,
speaking by the unknown
that is in you and in themselves.
“I will try, like them
to be my own silence:
and this is difficult. The whole
world is secretly on fire. The stones
burn, even the stones they burn me.
How can a man be still or
listen to all things burning?
How can he dare to sit with them
when all their silence is on fire?”
When you trust yourself you exude confidence and a belief that what you are doing will turn out successfully.
Life offers opportunity after opportunity to discover our life’s meaning. When life offers an opportunity to find our life’s meaning, it is almost always connected to other people. We find meaning through our interactions and connections to other people We are part of a human community. Our human community may be our family, the neighbors on our street or in our building. Each of our interactions and connections links us to others.The more we reach out to others, the more we learn about ourselves. If we run away from interactions and connections we may be running away from ourselves. Out of these interactions and connections our life’s meaning emerges. If we’re awake, we’ll see it and know it is designed uniquely for us.
Don’t fear asking for what you want. If you don’t ask the answer will always be no. Even if you ask and the answer is no, look for another way. There is always another way.
“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.”
The thoughts we allow to dance in our mind determine the direction of our day, the quality of our relationships, and our destiny. Why not fill your mind with great thoughts, great ideas, great ways to contribute to society? All it takes to make a great difference is one person who takes his/her great thought and puts it into action.
