Publilius Syrus quote:

Look to be treated by others as you have treated others.
- Publilius Syrus

There will be a few times when you are kind to someone and they are unkind to you in return, but generally, people repay kindness. Even as small an act as smiling at the bank teller will be rewarding.

More importantly, the kind energy that you radiate into the world is returned manyfold. Some label it karma, but whatever you call it, the effect is very real.

Today's Affirmation: I radiate my kindness into the world.

Further reading: Mary Anne Radmacher: As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.

Aesop: Gentleness and kind persuasion win where force and bluster fail

Whatever you do, do with kindness. Whatever you say, say with kindness. Wherever you go, radiate kindness. - jonathan lockwood huie

We attract abundance when we ask from a compassionate heart - jlh

Vince Lombardi quote: Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is

Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is.
- Vince Lombardi

It's one of life's great paradoxes ...

Accepting with gratitude whatever life throws at us is critical to happiness.

Yet without a goal and commitment, life lose much of its value.

The best we can do in the face of this paradox is to play to win, but be cheerful in defeat and ready to play again.

Further reading: Failure? Never

Life is as easy or as hard as you think it is - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Lao Tzu: A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.

Helen Keller: Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

Mary Anne Radmacher: Courage doesn't always roar

courage doesn't always roar.
sometimes courage is the quiet voice
at the end of the day, saying,
"i will try again tomorrow."
- mary anne radmacher

Further reading: The Serenity Prayer - God grant me the serenity...

Courage Quotes and Sayings

Courage affirmation: I release the familiar that I may better discover my inspiring future.

Loving is the most unmitigated and courageous act I perform in a day. - Mary Anne Radmacher

John Quincy Adams quote: If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
- John Quincy Adams

Your example is far more influential and inspiring than any words of instruction, or threats, or even words of encouragement.

When the best leader's work is done the people say, "We did it ourselves."
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: The Wisdom of Gandhi

Jimmy Yen - My Personal Greatest Hero

Let today be the day that you choose to become your own greatest Hero

William Shakespeare quote: To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first

To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first.
- William Shakespeare

Patience, persistence, and perseverance. A little more each day, a little better each day.

Further reading: Lao Tzu: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished

Another Sunrise, Another New Beginning - jlh

C. S. Lewis You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream

Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly. - G.K. Chesterton

Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.
- G.K. Chesterton

Life is easier and happier for us mortals when we take ourselves lightly.

Further reading: Fly Life on Free Wings, and Sing to its Glory. - jlh

Life's burdens are lighter when I laugh at myself. - jlh

Thich Nhat Hanh : Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

How do You View the World?

Everything that can be invented has been invented.
- Charles H. Duell (Commissioner, US Patent Office, in 1899) [attributed]

Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?
- Harry Warner (of Warner Bros), 1927

640K ought to be enough for anybody.
- Bill Gates, 1981 [attributed]

For some of us, the world appears to provide only a fixed quantity of each resource - a limited amount of food, of money, of love, of success, of appreciation. In this world-view, each of us is in competition with each other human being for these limited resources. The way to gain more is to beat out others, to be the fastest, sharpest, hardest working - to get to the goal first and grasp the money, the stuff, the "best" romantic partner, the promotion, before anyone else. In this view, life has winners and losers, and one should strive to be a winner.

For others, life is unlimited. Their world expands with the generosity, compassion, inventiveness, and service that they contribute. In this world-view, money that is spent or given away returns multiplied. The more love that is given, the more love returns. The more a helping hand is given, the more hands are strengthened and empowered to help. In this view, we can help each other to all be winners. We can all have food, and jobs, and love, and happiness.

How do You View the World?

Further reading: Eleanor Roosevelt quote: The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

The Paradox Of Living In The Moment - How To Be Happy Today And Prepare For Tomorrow

Standing in the inspiring vision of my future, I boldly take every step - large and small - with courage and intent - jlh

Martin Luther King, Jr. - Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

Ten Little Tips to Feel Happier Right Now

Ten Little Tips to Feel Happier Right Now

1. Smile. Raise the corners of your mouth. Soon your smile will become genuine. The smile that begins as an effort and a pretense quickly grows to become genuine, and given time, a habit of happiness. In the words of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, "Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."

2. Breathe deeply and slowly. Focus your entire attention on each in-breath and out-breath. Imagine drawing new clean energy in through the top of your head on each in-breath, and expelling old stale energy out the soles of your feet on each out-breath.

3. Take a quiet walk by yourself. Focus on each step and on your breathing. As stray thoughts enter your mind, thank each one, and quickly release the thought and return to a focus on your breathing and your steps.

4. Count your blessings. Make a gratitude list. You have thousands of reasons to be thankful. Be thankful for those who serve you. Make a list of those you depend upon. Everyone has many people who help along the way. Don't forget those who grow and deliver your food, keep your electricity and telephone running, provide emergency medical care, and protect the safety of your community and your nation.

5. Forgive someone for something right now. Release the resentment and anger. This practice is for you to become happier. Telling the other person that you forgive them is completely optional, and is merely a bonus.

6. Stretch your body. Do yoga, do qigong, or just stand and stretch. As a simple stretch, stand and hold your arms out to your sides forming a cross. Gently bend each hand back at the wrist until the fingers point straight upward. Twist each hand and arm in a wringing motion as if you were operating a screwdriver.

7. Turn on happy music and dance. Don't stop 'til you're tired. Dance with someone or dance all by yourself. Choose music that makes you want to move and keep moving such as Latin Fitness Dance music.

8. Spend some time with a furry friend. If you don't have your own, borrow a cat or dog to love today.

9. Be of service. Find someone who has worse troubles than you and do something nice for them today.

10. Have a conversation with God (or whatever you call your Higher Power). Approach the conversation with an attitude of gratitude rather than neediness.

Further reading: Go With the Flow - Six Ways to Live a Happier Life

Gratitude itself is a source of joy. - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Stop Anger Before It Stops You

How To Stop Worrying By Using the Qigong Release Exercise

What To Do When Your Whole World Is Falling Apart?

How to get over regrets and resentments

Gandhi quote: A 'No' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.

A 'No' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

There is happiness and inner strength in being your own person.

Affirmation: I make my own choices. I decide what I will and will not do. I am proud of my independence.

Further reading: Joy is a Choice - but Not an Easy Choice

Mary Anne Radmacher: Your informed, “no,” to a particular service allows another to offer their gifted and unreserved, “yes.”

The Wisdom of Gandhi

A life lived in fear is a life half lived

A life lived in fear is a life half lived.
- Anonymous

The most painful and debilitating fear is fear of the unknown. Something bad MIGHT happen tomorrow, or five minutes from now, I'm worried...

Our greatest enemy is the belief that life is SUPPOSED to be safe. But life is always dangerous, and eventually fatal. Our opportunity for happiness lies in CHOOSING to live without fear of the unknown, not because life is not dangerous, but because life IS, by its very nature, a hazardous undertaking.

Remember that life is an ADVENTURE, and cheer Wheee... all the way down the slippery razor-blade of life.

[The phrase "razor-blade of life" comes from the 1960's Tom Lehrer song, Bright College Days... "Soon we'll be out, amid the cold world's strife. Soon we'll be sliding down the razor blade of life."]

Further reading: What To Do When Your Whole World Is Falling Apart?

Five Ways To Cope With Loss, Grief and the Fear Of Your Own Mortality

John Lennon: Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans

Beware the Rattlesnake of the Mind - jlh

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
- Anonymous

What are the moments that took your breath away? Perhaps the birth of your first child? Those moments, however fleeting, give more meaning to your life than thousands of hours of meaninglessness. Live boldly, and savor every moment.

The picture is of Kauai's Na Pali coast, which I took during an amazing helicopter ride. To others, it's a pretty picture, but for me it's a reminder of a breathtaking moment. Cherish the reminders of your breathtaking moments.

Further reading: Shed the scales from your eyes

Life is all in the perspective we take on it. - jlh

Henry David Thoreau: Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.

Mahatma Gandhi quote: We must be the change we wish to see

We must be the change we wish to see.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Sometimes change is about action, and sometimes change is about one's relationship with life. Strength and courage are as much about attitude as about combat.

Further reading: The Wisdom of Gandhi

mary anne radmacher: courage doesn't always roar

May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself. - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Affirmation: Today, I will be gentle with myself.

Let today be a day to cut yourself a little slack, a day not to be overly demanding.

Further reading: This Above All, To Thine Own Self Be True - 5 Ways to Apply William Shakespeare's Advice Today

Time, like life itself, has no inherent meaning - JLH.

Lao Tzu: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished

Socrates: Beware the barrenness of a busy life

Love Quotes - Relationship Quotes - True love has no limits

I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for that part of me you bring out.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

True love has no limits.
- Anonymous

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.
- Matthew 5:44

The magic words for a great relationship are, "I love you just the way you are."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Every day is Christmas when you are open to receiving love.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Love them as they are, and forgive them everything.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

You are my ground and you are my rainbow.
You are my butterfly and you are my ecstasy.
You are the start of my journeys and always my destination.
You are my home - the place to which I always return.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Happy Quotes - Cheerful Quotes

Here are a few happy quotes - cheerful quotes to brighten your day...

Life's burdens are lighter when I laugh at myself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Earth laughs in flowers
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Another Sunrise, Another New Beginning
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.
- Marianne Williamson

A flower is a weed seen through joyful eyes.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

It is of the small joys and little pleasures that the greatest of our days are built.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Grin your smile; giggle your laugh; unfurl your joy
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Mark Twain quote: Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great ...

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
- Mark Twain

Like so much of life, it's a balance. It's important not to abandon family and friends, but it's also important to spend most of your time in the company of people who support you without meddling, who give you the space to grow, who applaud when you spread your wings in whatever way YOU want to fly.

Further reading: Happy Friends - Happy You

May your spirit soar

Erica Jong: Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.

George Washington: It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company

Meddling - 5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Offering Helpful Advice

Martin Luther King, Jr. quote: Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

If it's important enough to complain about, it is important enough to take action on.

Further reading: Martin Luther King, Jr. - Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

Martin Luther King, Jr. - Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

Let today be the day that you choose to become your own greatest Hero

Dont shoot the messenger

"Don't shoot the messenger"

It has been recognized since the time of ancient Greece that people have a tendency to react badly to a person who delivers bad news, especially when the person who actually caused the unwanted event is not accessible or when the calamity is a natural occurrence.

While "shooting the messenger" is an automatic response, it causes needless suffering, arguments, and broken relationships.

Affirmation: "I will be conscious never to 'shoot the messenger.'"

As an example of "shooting the messenger," recently a subscriber of Daily Inspiration email reported that after several months of finding benefit from my daily messages, the emails had suddenly stopped arriving. After running through my standard troubleshooting checklist, I escalated the issue to my mailer GetResponse. They discovered that the subscriber, apparently accidentally, had clicked the "Spam" button in her email reader for one of our emails, which caused GetResponse to follow their legal obligation to add her email address to their "blacklist." GetResponse requested that I ask her to send them an email stating that she wanted to receive emails from me again so they could legally remove the "blacklist" block on sending email to her address. Was she happy to have an easy resolution for her problem? No, her reaction was to "shoot the messenger" by angrily asserting that she had NOT clicked the Spam button, and that she would have no use for further Daily Inspiration emails.

This also reminds me of the old saying, "Biting off your nose to spite your face," which also causes much unnecessary suffering.

Further reading: Aesop: The Fox and the Grapes

Is today the day to find joy?

Lao Tzu: He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.

Ralph Waldo Emerson quote: Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let today be the day to take charge of your own life, regardless of the well-meaning advice or criticism of others.

Further Reading: Ralph Waldo Emerson: The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common

Ralph Waldo Emerson: People only see what they are prepared to see

Ralph Waldo Emerson: Nothing can bring you peace but yourself

Ralph Waldo Emerson: A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds

Ralph Waldo Emerson: Earth laughs in flowers

Ralph Waldo Emerson: Every wall is a door

Albert Einstein quote: The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.
- Albert Einstein

There is so much we can never know. Breathe deeply and relax into the not-knowing. There is much that we do not have to know in order to live joyfully.

Further reading: Albert Einstein quotes

To know yet to think that one does not know is best; Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty.
- Lao Tzu

Mark Twain: It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.

Mark Twain quotes

Robert E. Lee quote: But what a cruel thing is war

But what a cruel thing is war to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world, to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world!
- Robert E. Lee

The above quote is from Robert E. Lee's letter of Christmas Day 1862 to his wife. More of his letter follows...

"...I will commence this holy day by writing to you. My heart is filled with gratitude to Almighty God for His unspeakable mercies with which He has blessed us in this day, for those He has granted us from the beginning of life, and particularly for those He has vouchsafed us during the past year. What should have become of us without His crowning help and protection? Oh, if our people would only recognise it and cease from vain self-boasting and adulation, how strong would be my belief in final success and happiness to our country!

But what a cruel thing is war; to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbours, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world! I pray that, on this day when only peace and good-will are preached to mankind, better thoughts may fill the hearts of our enemies and turn them to peace.

Our army was never in such good health and condition since I have been attached to it. I believe they share with me my disappointment that the enemy did not renew the combat on the 13th. I was holding back all day and husbanding our strength and ammunition for the great struggle, for which I thought I was preparing. Had I divined that was to have been his only effort, he would have had more of it. My heart bleeds at the death of every one of our gallant men."

May You be Blessed and May Others be Blessed by You

When you are tempted to judge, may you be reminded that we are ALL ONE, and that every thought you think reverberates across the universe touching everyone and everything. - from the Simple Truths movie May You Be Blessed

Franklin D. Roosevelt quote - The only thing we have to fear is fear itself

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

President Roosevelt spoke those words in the darkest days of the Second World War. Today, fear again grips America - in public and in private. Remember FDR's words and focus with courage on the job at hand - the job of living joyfully regardless of external circumstances.

Further reading: A Friend Died Today - 5 Ways To Cope With Loss, Grief and the Fear Of Your Own Mortality

The Silver Lining of Losing Your Job

Mark Twain quote: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. Throw off the bowlines.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain

A 2592 x 1944 high-resolution poster version of this photo and saying is my gift to you. Click here to download. Have it printed wherever you wish - in whatever size you wish. The file is 2.8MB.

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.
- Mark Twain

Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain.
- Mark Twain

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.
- Mark Twain

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
- Mark Twain

The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice.
- Mark Twain

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.
- Mark Twain

Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?
- Mark Twain

It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.
- Mark Twain

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.
- Mark Twain

Humor is mankind's greatest blessing.
- Mark Twain

It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the
dog.
- Mark Twain

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small
people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can
become great.
- Mark Twain

Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time, and it annoys the
pig.
- Mark Twain

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could
hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I
was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.
- Mark Twain

Always do right; this will gratify some and astonish the rest.
- Mark Twain

Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.
- Mark Twain

Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.
- Mark Twain

The more you explain it, the more I don't understand it.
- Mark Twain

Albert Einstein quotes: I am a deeply religious nonbeliever - this is a somewhat new kind of religion.

Albert Einstein is one of my heroes, both a great scientist and a man who had true insight into life - a highly spiritual man who held no place for judgmental theologies.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
- Albert Einstein

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
- Albert Einstein

Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.
- Albert Einstein

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.
- Albert Einstein

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
- Albert Einstein

A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.
- Albert Einstein

Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools.
- Albert Einstein

I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil.
- Albert Einstein

I am a deeply religious nonbeliever - this is a somewhat new kind of religion.
- Albert Einstein

I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war.
- Albert Einstein

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.
- Albert Einstein

Oscar Wilde quote: Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike.

Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike.
- Oscar Wilde

I don't agree with the universality of this Ocsar Wilde quote, but there is a painful degree to truth to it. By all means have values, and support those values. However, be conscious of never mistaking the superficial differences of others as being an attack on your core values. Let your motto be, "Live and Let Live."

Some describe Oscar Wilde (1854-1900 Irish playwright, poet and author) as brilliant, others as snotty. Personally, I don't resonate with his style in general, but I find value in the following sayings.

The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.
- Oscar Wilde

A man can't be too careful in the choice of his enemies.
- Oscar Wilde

A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.
- Oscar Wilde

An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.
- Oscar Wilde

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
- Oscar Wilde

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.
- Oscar Wilde

Everything popular is wrong.
- Oscar Wilde

Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.
- Oscar Wilde

Hatred is blind, as well as love.
- Oscar Wilde

I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.
- Oscar Wilde

I am not young enough to know everything.
- Oscar Wilde

In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.
- Oscar Wilde

Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.
- Oscar Wilde

Life is too important to be taken seriously.
- Oscar Wilde

Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.
- Oscar Wilde

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.
- Oscar Wilde

George Eliot quote: It is never too late to be what you might have been

It is never too late to be what you might have been.
- George Eliot

George Eliot was the pen name of English novelist Mary Anne Evans (1819-1880)

What is age but a number. What you can dream, you can become, at any age.

Further reading: George Bernard Shaw: We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing

Time is my friend

How do you want to be remembered? Live life full out - Begin today - jlh

The Serenity Prayer - God grant me the serenity...

The Serenity Prayer is most commonly attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr, although there is some evidence that it existed before he popularized it in the 1930's. This prayer became well known with it's adoption by Alcoholics Anonymous in 1941.

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

To apply this great wisdom...

1. The past cannot be changed, so what there is to do is to accept what has been with no regrets, no resentments, and no call for vengeance.

2. Remember that there are a million "wrong things" in the world (as well as a billion "right things"), so focus your energies on addressing with courage the few issues closest to your heart, and accept the rest of life with serenity.

3. Never waste your time or energy complaining. Either take positive action, or accept with serenity. This is especially true with regard to politics and money.

Further reading:
Serenity - make a conscious choice to live a stress-free life

Life only appears to be rushing toward us

The River of Life has no meaning - no good, no bad, no better, no worse, no love, no hate, no fear, no anger, no joy. - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The Eye-of-the-Storm

Real excellence and humility are not incompatible one with the other, on the contrary they are twin sisters. - Jean Baptiste Lacordaire

Real excellence and humility are not incompatible one with the other, on the contrary they are twin sisters.
- Jean Baptiste Lacordaire

Like many people, I have a constant battle with self-importance. Sometimes I am very pleased with myself and believe that other people's happiness depends on me. Much more often, I have self doubts and believe that I am inadequate. I fully identify with the words my friend Philip wrote recently, "I usually go back and forth between feeling like I'm more important than I really am or that I'm not important at all. Either way is simply self-centeredness. What I would like to be all day, every day, is God-centered."

I find self-centeredness to be a great cause of self-inflicted suffering, whether it shows up as an inflated ego or as feeling worthless. For me, happiness comes when I remember that others' opinions of me are just their opinions - nothing more. I find happiness in moving toward my goals regardless of the applause or the jeers of others.

Further reading:
Abraham Lincoln: Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?

Happiness blooms in the presence of self-respect and the absence of ego. - jlh

How to be Happy - 7 Secrets for a Happy Life

Eleanor Roosevelt quote: The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

Powerful Dreams Inspire Powerful Action.
When you can taste, smell, and touch your dream, you can enroll the world.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Never stop dreaming your inspired future. Believing in your dreams is only the first step, but unless you have a dream that you believe in, you are leaving your future to random chance.

Further reading: Eleanor Roosevelt: It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness

Mary Anne Radmacher: Dare to dream of your great success

Martin Luther King, Jr. - Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

How to get over regrets and resentments

If you aren't in the moment, you are either looking forward to uncertainty, or back to pain and regret.
- Jim Carrey

Regrets and their cousins, resentments, are a huge cause of self-inflicted suffering. Sometimes it takes years of psychotherapy to gain freedom from regrets about what you did or did not do, and freedom from resentment over what others did or did not do. Sometimes it takes a lifetime of self-talk to remember to put the past in the past where it belongs. However, sometimes a simple symbolic act can help immeasurably to grant ourselves freedom from the past.

One of the quickest ways to move past a regret is to hold a RELEASE ceremony. Reverently build a small fire. Write each regret or resentment on a slip of paper. Hold the paper for a moment, and then feed the paper with the regret or resentment to the cleansing fire. Visualize your trouble going up in smoke. Try it, it's amazingly freeing.

Further reading: How To Stop Worrying By Using the Qigong Release Exercise

The Paradox Of Living In The Moment - How To Be Happy Today And Prepare For Tomorrow

Does it ever get easier to release the resentment and the anger, and to forgive?

Why I Choose to Believe that Others are Never the Cause of My Unhappiness

What To Do When Your Whole World Is Falling Apart? 6 Support Ideas To Stop Anxiety and Give You Back Your Life

Regrets, Resentments and the Path to Forgiveness - Stop Anger & Live Happy With Conscious Awareness

You don't have the power to make life "fair," but you do have the power to make life joyful. - jlh

Pravs World quotes and images - Pravs J inspires India, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka

Pravs J's Pravs World quotes and images provide inspiration to India, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka.

Pravs J is the virtual name of a young man from Mumbai who has been anonymously providing inspiring quotes and images over the internet for the last ten years at pravsworld.com and more recently pravstalk.com. India, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka, and to some extent, Indonesia, Japan, and Singapore have been captivated by the inspirational quotes he superimposes over graceful pictures. The words are seldom Pravs J's own, but are are carefully selected famous and not so famous inspiring quotes and short stories - which are seldom attributed to their authors.

Pravs J describes himself as a biker and cricket fan who frequents internet cafes. His modest dreams include being President of India and driving a Formula 1 racing car.

"I believe life's rich experiences need to be shared with others - for me this is the way one builds knowledge." - Pravs J

Rabindranath Tagore quote: Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom.

Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom.
- Rabindranath Tagore

The next time you say, "my wife," "my husband," "my children," or even, "my friend," pause for a moment and ask yourself whether there isn't just a tiny bit of possessiveness in that statement.

True love is a process of co-creation in which neither feels ownership or superiority. Jealousy is a highly destructive force for love and relationships.

Further reading: The #1 Secret of Great Relationships
Rabindranath Tagore quotes

Learning to Dance in the Rain

"Life's not about waiting for the storms to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain." ~Vivian Greene

Value your own opinion more, and others' opinions less - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Value your own opinion more, and others' opinions less.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Whatever anyone else says or does, their words and their actions are truly about themselves. Don't take it personally when they rant, even if they direct their unhappiness in your direction.

While I appreciate how unpleasant it is to have others making unreasonable demands of you, it may help to remind yourself that it's not personal. Others are often 100% focused on their own issues and their own perceived needs. They project their frustration out into the mirror of life. When they look into that mirror, they think they are seeing your face, but in reality, they are seeing their own emotions.

Remember to love yourself and to take time for yourself.

Further reading: Joseph Campbell: The world is perfect. It's a mess. It has always been a mess. We are not going to change it.

We are most like God when we forgive

A wise one said, "We are most like God when we forgive." It is easy for us to blame, but hard for us to forgive. Yet that is what we are called upon to do - to forgive everyone for everything. And the reward? In this life, the reward for forgiveness is your own happiness. Unconditional universal forgiveness is the key to your own happiness.

Love others for your own sake. Love without regard to size, shape, external beauty, color, geography, or belief system. Do not offer your love to others merely in the hope of receiving their love in return. True love is a unilateral gift. The joy you receive comes from the act of giving. When others return your love, that is only a bonus. Love, like forgiveness, compassion and generosity, is its own reward.

Further reading only for Christians: Jesus own Words about Forgiveness

Further reading for all: FORGIVENESS - the second Point of Simply An Inspired Life

Independence Day

Today is a day to cherish independence of nation and independence of self.

United States of America
Bill of Rights:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Further reading: Stay Conscious and Aware - Do not decide who to trust, decide which ideas to trust.

The Next Generation

Do you ever worry about the next generation? Can they cope? What will their values be?

I want to share with you a couple of quotes from the 2009 graduating class of the high school I attended. These young people just now graduating from high school renew my faith in the future of America and the world.

"If I can offer one piece of advice, it is this, 'Keep your finger on your own pulse.'"
- Sebastian Kann - '09 Valedictorian Hopkins School, New Haven CT

full text | video

"We have worked together while respectfully appreciating one another's differences."
- Hilary Hoffman - ’09 Salutatorian Hopkins School

full text | video


Further reading: Affirmations of an Inspired Life - Young-Adult Version

Know that Spirit transcends all cultural differences and embraces all creation.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
- Mother Teresa

Let today be a day of acceptance, compassion, and understanding. Let us feel our bond of humanity with each of our planet's six billion souls. Put aside color, geography, wealth, education, political and religious beliefs, and feel the throb of each human heart in your heart. Never let your compassionate connection with all creation be limited by your politics, your language, or your traditions. Know that Spirit transcends all cultural differences and embraces all creation.

Affirmation: I choose acceptance and compassion toward all humanity.

Further reading:
Try a new perspective on diversity. Across the country and around the world, we are all one.

UNITY - I Am One With Spirit and All Creation

Perspectives on the Divine

Honor Diversity

Each of us is of infinite value

My message, "You're not as important as you thought you were", generated an unusual level of response, both positive and negative. The positive comments expressed a sense of relief and of putting one's trust in God.

"Just what I need during a difficult time... Today, I will meet my friend for lunch as planned, and then just come home and love my dog." - Emily

"We ALL need to realize our smallness in God’s grand scheme of things. Live life joyfully, live life lovingly.” - Glenn

"Great message today. I usually go back and forth between feeling like I'm more important than I really am or that I'm not important at all. Either way is simply self-centeredness. What I would like to be all day, every day, is God-centered." - Philip

The negative comments, including one that began, "I no longer wish to have your emails coming into my home," believed my message to be demeaning their value as human beings, which is, of course, the exact opposite of my intent.

Each of us is of infinite value, and each of us has the ability to make a profound difference in the lives we touch. We leave our most profoundly positive impact on those around us by the nature of our lives and the example we set - not by how busy we are, or how important we believe we are. Setting an example of being loving, relaxed and joyful, regardless of external circumstances, is a great legacy for our family and for the world. Self importance - ego - is not a path to happiness. Focusing one's whole life on responsibilities, without taking time for self-renewal and play, abandons the joy and the true value of life. I want my tombstone to read, "Inspired others," rather than, "Never missed a day at the office."

Five Questions to Ask Yourself When You Feel Sad for No Apparent Reason

It is surprisingly common for people to feel sad for long periods of time without knowing the reason for their sadness. If your aunt, or your pet goldfish, died recently, or your boyfriend dumped you, at least you know why you are sad. You may not like the feeling, but at least you know the cause and have a specific issue to deal with.

However, when your sadness is generalized, continuing, and has no obvious cause, you need to look deeper at what is going on. Ask yourself these five questions.

1. Have you ever considered suicide or harming yourself in any way? If you have, you must get professional help at once. This is more than a casual sadness and a skilled professional can help.

2. What activities bring you joy? If you can't write down at least several activities you enjoy, your sadness probably relates to an emptiness - a need to have an enjoyable focus to your life.

3. How often do you engage in activities that bring you joy? If you can identify activities that you enjoy, but seldom spend time in those activities, your sadness again is an emptiness, being unfulfilled.

4. What are you committed to? What do you fervently believe in? The absence of a strong commitment to a cause or a set of ideals can lead to continuing sadness. A fulfilling commitment could be a dedication to your Higher Power, but it could also be a commitment to world peace, ending hunger in your own town, or becoming a concert pianist.

5. Who are you committed to helping? The path to happiness is usually found in helping others. Compassion and generosity of your time and love lead out of sadness into happiness.

Further reading:
Take Charge of Your Life - 9 Secrets for Getting Un-Stuck

Affirmations of an Inspired Life - Young-Adult Version

How To Be Happy In Life - The 9 Paths To Happiness

Happy Friends - Happy You

How to be Happy - 7 Secrets for a Happy Life

Be Happy Dont Worry Quotes - Stop Worrying and Be Happy