Judge Not

Judge not, that you be not judged.
For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged;
and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
- Matthew 7:1-2

As soon as we find someone to blame,
we act as if we've solved the problem.
- Margaret J. Wheatley

Class, race, sexuality, gender and all other categories
by which we categorize and dismiss each other need
to be excavated from the inside.
- Dorothy Allison

The impulse to blame something or someone is foolishness.
There is nothing to be gained in blaming,
whether it be others or oneself.
- Epictetus

Today's affirmation
I Resist the Temptation to Judge Others.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Love All, Judge None

Hypocrisy

Criticism and Complaint

Letting Go and Accepting This Moment

The Illusion of Knowledge

Choosing a Joyful Life

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

We can always choose to perceive things differently.
You can focus on what's wrong in your life,
or you can focus on what's right.
- Marianne Williamson

We cannot choose our external circumstances,
but we can always choose how to respond to them.
- Epictetus

Count your blessings - not your troubles.
- Dale Carnegie

Further reading: Your attitude determines the quality of your life

When You Have Been Wronged

Beyond the Cloud

Love All of Life

You are the Window

The Essence of Life

The essence of life is not in
the great victories and grand failures,
but in the simple joys.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Life in abundance comes only through great love.
- Elbert Hubbard 

It is neither wealth nor splendor;
but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness.
- Thomas Jefferson

It is always the simple that produces the marvelous.
- Amelia Barr

Be content with what you have,
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: What If Happiness...

Simply Marvelous

Life Lessons I Learned From My Cat

Simple Needs

Life is Really Simple

Knowing the Difference

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.
- Reinhold Niebuhr (Serenity Prayer)

You have to accept whatever comes
and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage
and with the best that you have to give.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

Could we change our attitude,
we should not only see life differently,
but life itself would be different.
- Katherine Mansfield

Do your best, and always accept life as it comes.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Serenity in Times of Crisis

Letting Go and Accepting This Moment

Eye Of The Storm

Humor in the Face of Adversity

Burned by Your Own Anger

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal
with the intent of throwing it at someone else;
you are the one who gets burned.
- The Buddha

Anger is often more hurtful than the injury that caused it.
- English Proverb

For every minute you remain angry,
you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

You cannot hate other people without hating yourself.
- Oprah Winfrey

You create stress in your life by getting angry,
and you can instantly remove
that stress by granting forgiveness.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

He who angers you conquers you.
- Elizabeth Kenny

Being angry harms your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Further reading: Stop Anger Before it Stops You

Allow Love to Conquer Hate

Never Speak while Angry

A Reflection

Anger is Its Own Punishment

Revenge, the Deadliest Sin?

To Keep the Golden Rule

To keep the Golden Rule we must put ourselves in other people's places,
but to do that consists in and depends upon picturing
ourselves in their places.
- Harry Emerson Fosdick (Founding Pastor of New York's Riverside Church)

Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality.
- Arthur Schopenhauer

Do not do to others what would anger you
if done to you by others.
- Isocrates (Ancient Greek)

Do to others as you would have them do to you.
- Luke 6:31 (the "Golden Rule") 

That which is hateful to you,
do not do to your fellow.
That is the whole Torah;
the rest is the explanation.
- Talmud (Jewish Wisdom)

Know that the true essence of the Golden Rule
is always being compassionate, kind,
generous, and being in service to others.
Compelling others to behave as you wish
them to behave in the name of the
Golden Rule is a corruption of a sacred principle.
Compassion is the universal standard for moral living.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Three Wise Monkeys

Go and Do Likewise

Love Your Neighbor

Love Your Enemies - Jesus

Memorial Day 2015

Those we love don't go away,
They walk beside us every day,
Unseen, unheard, but always near,
Still loved, still missed and very dear.
- Anonymous

A hero is someone who has given his life
to something bigger than himself
or something other than himself.
- Joseph Campbell

No person was ever honored for what he received.
Honor has been the reward for what he gave.
- Calvin Coolidge

Death is not extinguishing the light;
it is only putting out
the lamp because the dawn has come.
- Rabindranath Tagore

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments,
but what is woven into the lives of others.
- Pericles

Farewell My Friend
It was beautiful as long as it lasted
The journey of my life.
I have no regrets whatsoever
save the pain I'll leave behind.
Those dear hearts who love and care...
And the strings pulling at the heart and soul...
The strong arms that held me up
When my own strength let me down.
At every turning of my life I came across good friends,
Friends who stood by me,
Even when the time raced me by.
Farewell, farewell my friends
I smile and bid you goodbye.
No, shed no tears for I need them not
All I need is your smile.
If you feel sad do think of me
for that's what I'll like when you live in the hearts
of those you love, remember then
you never die.
- Gitanjali Ghei

Further Reading: Coping with Heartbreak

Going Home to God

Tears and Laughter

Coping With Loss, Grief, and Mortality

What is Honor? Is there a place for Honor today?

Feed the Hungry

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.
- Mother Teresa

The only way you can serve God is by serving other people.
- Rick Warren

Love your neighbor as yourself.
- Leviticus 19:18

It's a privilege to serve the poor.
- Bono

If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.
- W. Clement Stone

We come nearest to the great
when we are great in humility.
- Rabindranath Tagore

Further reading: Making a Difference

Channels Made for Sharing

Pay It Forward - as an Expression of Universal Gratitude

The Power of Generosity

To Know Yourself

Knowing your own darkness is the best method
for dealing with the darknesses of other people.
- Carl Jung

Deal with the faults of others as gently as with your own.
- Chinese proverb 

Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: Driving Out Darkness

Categorizing People

Prejudice

Radiating Light and Love

The most eloquent prayer is the prayer through hands that heal and bless.
- Billy Graham

As we cultivate peace and happiness in ourselves,
we also nourish peace and happiness in those we love.
- Thich Nhat Hanh

Anyone can heal who believes that he can
and will take the time to put that belief into motion.
- Ernest Holmes

Grant That I May Radiate Thy Light, Thy Love,
Thy Healing, Thy Joy, and Thy Peace,
to All Those Around Me
and All Those in My Thoughts
This Day and Ever More.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading:  Create Light for Others

Acts of Kindness

A Light from Within

Radiating Kindness

Radiate Your Happiness to the World

Belief - Point-of-View

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact.
Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.
- Marcus Aurelius

We see life through the fun-house mirrors of our own point-of-view.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past,
threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.
- Maya Angelou

Everyone believes that their beliefs are the right ones -
that is why they are called beliefs.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Get the facts first.
You can distort them later.
- Mark Twain

We never see Life as it really is.
All we can ever see is the reflection of Life - distorted by our unique perceptions.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Point of View

You Make Your World

Perspective on the Past

You are the Window

Choosing the World You Live In

Creating Happiness

Happiness depends upon ourselves.
- Aristotle

Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions,
it is governed by our mental attitude.
- Dale Carnegie

Consistent happiness is found through
living in a state of constant gratitude.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Things turn out best for the people
who make the best of the way things turn out.
- Art Linkletter

Today's affirmation:
I become happy when I choose to accept and love all of life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Radiate Your Happiness to the World

Finding Joy

The Secret of Happiness

Ten Little Tips to Feel Happier Right Now

Learning from Failure

The successful man will profit from his mistakes and
try again in a different way.
- Dale Carnegie

If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up.
Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
- Michael Jordan

If you can dream it, you can do it.
- Walt Disney

Choose your goal and keep your eye on it. Never give up.
Perhaps you will need to change your plan
and approach you goal from a different direction, but don't quit.
Keep thinking. Keep re-planning. Keep going.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Today's affirmation:
I make friends with my fear. I am unstoppable.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Another Door

Keep Moving

Curious - Adventurous

Making Dreams Come True

Dangers of Pessimism

Dare to Fail

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.
- Robert F. Kennedy

Take a chance! All life is a chance.
The man who goes farthest is generally
the one who is willing to do and dare.
- Dale Carnegie

All Life is a risk - even crossing the street, or sitting in your easy chair.
So relax, don't worry, and live the most productive and enjoyable life you can.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Life's Daring Adventure

The Myth of Security

The Shadow of Worry

Courage to Overcome Fear

Scared of What MIGHT Happen

Create Happiness

Create happiness for others.
- Dale Carnegie

Kind words can be short and easy to speak,
but their echoes are truly endless.
- Mother Teresa

The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others
will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.
- Helen Keller

Spread love everywhere you go.
Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
- Mother Teresa

It costs you nothing to make another happy -
and you gain your true self through the act of spreading joy.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Radiate Your Happiness to the World

Happiness in Cheering Others

Acts of Kindness

Practicing Compassion

Offering Comfort

A Truly Successful Life

To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children,
to leave the world a better place,
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived,
this is to have succeeded.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I expect to pass through this world but once.
Any good therefore that I can do,
or any kindness that I can show to my fellow-creature,
let me do it now.
Let me not defer or neglect it,
for I shall not pass this way again.
- William Penn

It is not what we get.
But who we become, what we contribute...
that gives meaning to our lives.
- Tony Robbins

Further reading: What Is Life All About?

What You Become

To love - To be loved

What Really Matters?

Love is Everything

Love is the ultimate meaning of everything around us.
Love is not a mere sentiment.
Love is the ultimate truth at the heart of creation.
- Rabindranath Tagore

You know that you have fully experienced love
when you turn into love -
that is the spiritual goal of life.
- Deepak Chopra

Love is an act of faith,
and whoever is of little faith is also of little love.
- Erich Fromm

Lord, grant that I might not so much
seek to be loved as to love.
- St. Francis of Assisi

Further reading: Natural Goodness

The Power of Unconditional Love

Giving Love and Comfort

What Does Love Look Like?

Cherish Mystery

The possession of knowledge does not
kill the sense of wonder and mystery.
There is always more mystery.
- Anais Nin

Mystery creates wonder
and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand.
- Neil Armstrong

We have to stop and be humble enough to understand
that there is something called mystery.
- Paulo Coelho

Bringing a childlike wonder
and a beginner's mind to life
maximizes both success and joy.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Our World is Magnificent - All of it

Life: Mystery and Riddle

Beyond Answers

Reverence

Cherish the Whimsey

The Wisdom of Patience

Patience is a form of wisdom.
It demonstrates that we understand and accept
the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time.
- Jon Kabat-Zinn

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Patience is an ever present alternative
to the mind's endemic restlessness and impatience.
Scratch the surface of impatience and what you will find
lying beneath it, subtly or not so subtly, is anger.
It's the strong energy of not wanting things to be the way they are
and blaming someone (often yourself) or something for it.
This doesn't mean you can't hurry when you have to.
It is possible even to hurry patiently, mindfully,
moving fast because you have chosen to.
- Jon Kabat-Zinn

A man who is a master of patience is master of everything else.
- George Savile

Patience, persistence, and perseverance.
A little more each day, a little better each day.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Today's Affirmation:
I will not be governed by the tyranny of immediacy.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Further reading: Mastering Time

Model Nature's Patience

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

12 Life Lessons I Learned From My Cat

Rattlesnake of the Mind

At the Center of Your Being

What lies behind us and what lies before us
are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.
- John Wooden

Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared
believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance.
- Bruce Barton

Nothing is more valuable than your self respect.
When you lose respect for yourself, you have lost everything.
Whatever it takes, and whoever you upset,
do what you know - deep inside - is the right thing.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Conscience

Be Yourself

Character

Who You Are

Integrity

Listening

Seek first to understand,
then to be understood.
- Stephen Covey

Friends are those rare people who ask how we are
and then wait to hear the answer.
- Anonymous

Most of the successful people I've known are the ones
who do more listening than talking.
- Bernard Baruch

Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening
when you'd have preferred to talk.
- Doug Larson

Most people do not listen with the intent to understand;
they listen with the intent to reply.
- Stephen R. Covey

Give whatever you are doing
and whoever you are with
the gift of your attention.
- Jim Rohn

We have two ears and one mouth so that
we can listen twice as much as we speak.
- Epictetus

Further reading: Be Aware

Pay Attention

Focus

Be skeptical, but learn to listen

Win-Win vs. Compromise

Mothers Day 2015

Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.
- William Makepeace Thackeray

A mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled.
- Emily Dickinson

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss
at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.
- Honoré de Balzac

God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.
- Jewish Proverb

A mother is not a person to lean on,
but a person to make leaning unnecessary.
- Dorothy Canfield Fisher

Further reading: The #1 Secret of Great Relationships

What is Love?

A Happy Family

What is a Home?

Marriage

With Love in My Heart

Do all things with love.
- Og Mandino

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 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 as 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 Mandino

Where love is, there God is also.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it.
Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it.
Hatred darkens life; love illumines it.
- Martin Luther King Jr.

A new command I give you: Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
- Jesus of Nazareth (John 13:34)

Further reading: Love One Another

Giving of Yourself

The Brick - a story of brotherly love

Choose to Follow Your Heart

Love and Relationship

Appreciating Today

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

Yesterday is history,
tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift.
That is why it is called Present.
- Anonymous

The key to happiness is not to have what you want
but to want what you have.
- Anonymous

It is nearly a certainty that some
of your expectations will not be met today -
choose Joy anyway.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Resolve to keep happy, and your joy
and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.
- Helen Keller

Today's affirmation:
I walk today's march with courage.
I create today as my celebration of life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Life Lessons I Learned From My Cat

Celebrating Rainbows and Butterflies - the Small Miracles of Our Life

Simple is Marvelous

Being Fully Present in TODAY

What If Every Day Were Your Day

Today is for Living
 

A Life Without Fear

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

If we let things terrify us,
life will not be worth living.
- Seneca

If people are good only because they fear punishment,
and hope for reward,
then we are a sorry lot indeed.
- Albert Einstein

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear.
- The Buddha

People living deeply have no fear of death.
- Anais Nin

Know that the greatest fear is fear of the unknown.
Seek to meet the unknown with courage and a sense of adventure.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Choose To Be Fearless

A Life Beyond Fear

Keep Your Head

Life's Daring Adventure

Inner Peace in a World at War

The Power of Courage

Goodness of Humanity

You must not lose faith in humanity.
Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty,
the ocean does not become dirty.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.
- Anne Frank (died in Nazi concentration camp at age 15)

The impulse to blame something or someone is foolishness.
There is nothing to be gained in blaming,
whether it be others or oneself.
- Epictetus

Today's affirmation:
I choose acceptance and compassion toward all humanity.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

All Brothers and Sisters

Natural Web

Progress of the Human Mind

Perspective on Diversity

We are most like God when we forgive

Using Your Time Wisely

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff.
- Richard Carlson
Read several of Richard Carlson's 100 ideas from Don't Sweat The Small Stuff.

Do first things first, and second things not at all.
- Peter Drucker

It is the mark of great people to treat trifles as trifles
and important matters as important.
- Doris Lessing

You will never find time for anything.
If you want time you must make it.
- Charles Buxton

It is a better thing to weigh and measure priorities
in the illuminating light of your own mission
than to have your activities formed by the
impressions and expectations of others.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

If a task is important, do it now.
If it is not truly important, forget about it forever, relax,
and do something that really is important.
Caution: The most important things in life are seldom the most obvious.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: How to Choose Your Life Purpose

Focus

Demands of the World

Know The Difference

What Really Matters?

The Power Of Choice

Working Toward a Better World

To leave the world a bit better ...
to know that one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

You don't make progress by standing on the sidelines,
whimpering and complaining.
You make progress by implementing ideas.
- Shirley Chisholm

If we all did the things we are capable of doing,
we would literally astound ourselves.
- Thomas Edison

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment
before starting to improve the world.
- Anne Frank

Believe in yourself,
in your vision for your future,
and in your ability to take a small step
each day toward achieving your vision.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Pay It Forward

Stand Together

Plant Trees For Your Grandchildren

Turn Crisis into Progress

March On

Serving Others

Life's most urgent question is:
what are you doing for others?
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

You can't live a perfect day without doing something
for someone who will never be able to repay you.
- John Wooden

What power there is in our service
when our actions line up with our mission, skills and joy.
– Mary Anne Radmacher

Every charitable act is a stepping stone toward heaven.
- Henry Ward Beecher

Further reading: Being of Service

Feeding the Children

Love Your Neighbor

Happiness in Cheering Others

The Least Of These

Light for Others

Focus on Peace

Let there be peace on earth. And let it begin with me.
- Jill Jackson Miller

Each one has to find his peace from within.
And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Resistance creates suffering.
Stress happens when your mind resists what is.
The only problem in your life
is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds.
- Dan Millman

Know that you can always choose your own inner peace -
regardless of circumstances.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Pause. Breathe deeply. Focus on your own inner peace and the peace of the world.

Further reading: Serenity in Times of Crisis

Inner Peace in a World at War

Finding Peace in Forgiveness

Cease Striving

Choose Joy Anyway

Complaining Only Makes You Miserable

It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
- Chinese proverb often quoted by Eleanor Roosevelt

The world will persist in exhibiting before you
what you persist in affirming the world is.
- Emma Curtis Hopkins

Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Complaining only makes you miserable.
Either plan and take effective action,
or gracefully accept the circumstances you are called upon to bear.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: The Serenity Prayer

Disappointment

Serenity in Times of Crisis

Aesop: The Fox and the Grapes

A Different Life

Is today the day to find joy?

Gratitude for THIS Moment

Be Here Now
- Ram Dass

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious
privilege it is to be alive -
to breathe,
to think, to enjoy, to love.
- Marcus Aurelius

He who can give thanks for little
will always find he has enough.
- Anonymous

Fully experience THIS moment -
breathe in, breathe out - nothing more.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light,
for your life, for your strength.
Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living.
If you see no reason to give thanks,
the fault lies in yourself.
- Tecumseh

Inner peace is a choice -
make that choice today.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Be Fully Present in TODAY

Rainy Days

Nurture Yourself Today

Regarding Gratitude and Life

A List of Gratitudes

Self-Care