Mystery to Discovery to More Mystery

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

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
- Marcel Proust

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

Knowledge is of the mind, wisdom is of the soul.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Our World is Magnificent - All of it

Life: Mystery and Riddle

Beyond Answers

Reverence

Cherish the Whimsey

Kindness, the Best of Being Human

Kindness is perhaps the most essential quality of being fully human.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.
- Joseph Joubert

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.
- Dalai Lama

Kindness in words creates confidence.
Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.
Kindness in giving creates love.
- Lao Tzu

Further reading: The Cab Ride

The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

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

Albert Pike: What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us.
     

None of us is perfect - and that's OK

None of us is perfect - and that's OK.
Life is not about perfection - or a quest for perfection.
Life is about enjoying what we have - for as long as we have it.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Don't let perfectionism become an excuse for never getting started.
- Marilu Henner

Perfectionism is not a quest for the best.
It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves,
the part that tells us that nothing we do will ever be good enough.
- Julia Cameron 
 
When you finally accept that it's OK not to have answers
and it's OK not to be perfect,
you realize that feeling confused
is a normal part of what it is to be a human being.
- Winona Ryder

Generally, your greatest service to someone
in their time of trouble, sorrow, or confusion, is your comfort.
Take the time to listen to their troubles and concerns
with patience, kindness, and empathy,
but without offering unsolicited advice or suggestions.
Your kindly hand on their shoulder, supportive hug, and patient listening
are often the greatest gifts you can offer.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Goodness of Humanity

Progress of the Human Mind

Our Shared Humanity
   

Life Begins...

Life Begins When You Do.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.
- Raymond Lindquist

Formula to live your dream:
1. Be bold. 2. Begin now, 3. No exceptions.
- William James

From small beginnings come great things.
- Anonymous

Further reading: Take Charge of Your Life

Be Simply Yourself

How to Deal with Rejection

Approve of Yourself

Success Tip: Drive Change
   

National Voter Registration Day 2017

Register to Vote - and Vote!

Bad politicians are sent to Washington [and state and local government] by good people who don't vote.
- William E. Simon

We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims.
- R. Buckminster Fuller

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold
is for people of good conscience to remain silent.
- Thomas Jefferson

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

Do you want to know who you are? Don't ask. Act!
Action will delineate and define you.
- Thomas Jefferson

Voting is an expression of INTENT. Intent is a powerful energetic force.
Our INTENT for the future of our world is the greatest power we can ever control - use it wisely and fully.

CHOOSE your future, and take ACTION - be the hammer, not the nail. VOTE!!!

Voting is an expression of three key life principles -
CHOICE, INTENT, and ACTION.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Voting for the kind of America you believe in
is one of the greatest gifts you can give your grandchildren.
Make a difference.

In many ways, our future is determined as much by local school boards and city councils as by US senators.

Further reading: You Are What You Do

Walk Your Path

Either Accept It, or Change It

True Measure of a Successful Life
    

Dance Joyfully

Become more and more innocent,
less knowledgeable and more childlike.
Take life as fun -
because that's precisely what it is!
- Osho

Be happy for this moment.
This moment is your life.
- Anonymous

Life must be lived as play.
- Plato

Today's affirmation:
I accept Life's invitation to Dance Joyfully.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: I Will Fear No Evil

The Dance of Life

Appreciate Your Blessings

Grin Your Smile
      

Unto One of the Least of These

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me:
I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
...
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Matthew 25:35-40

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
- Mother Teresa

Love your neighbor as yourself.
- Leviticus 19:18

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

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

I can only have peace of mind when I forgive rather than judge.
- Gerald Jampolsky

Further reading: To Be a Faithful Follower of Jesus

We Belong to Each Other

Keep the Golden Rule

Tolerance, Not Judgement

Seek To Love
    

Prayer of Thanks

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was,
Thank you, that would suffice.
- Meister Eckhart

Whoever does not regard what he has
as most ample wealth, is unhappy,
though he be master of the world.
- Epictetus

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.
Have you used one to say "thank you?"
- William Arthur Ward

However much or little you have,
"Thank You" is always a more powerful prayer than, "I need more."
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Gratitude for Small Miracles

Zero-Based Gratitude

Unanswered Prayers

The Power of Gratitude
      

Counterpoint to the Clamor

May your life always be Counterpoint to the Clamor of the World.
May you delight in Dancing Lightly With Life.
May you soar on eagle wings, high above the madness of the world.
May you always sing Melody in the Symphony of Your Life.
May you taste, smell, and touch your dreams of a beautiful tomorrow.
May your sun always shine, and your sky be forever blue.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The world clamors, "Do more! Be all that you can be!"
But our Father whispers, "Be still and know that I am God."
- Joanna Weaver

Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness.
It does not believe that I do not want it.
- Mary Oliver

When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world,
we lose connection with one another - and ourselves.
- Jack Kornfield

Today's affirmation:
I am Counterpoint to the Clamor of the World.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Ten Little Tips to Feel Happier Right Now

12 Ways to De-Stress Your Life

Try Meditation

A Life of Harmony

Make Healthy Choices to Relieve Stress
    

Honor and love all of your unique self

Willingly accept the complexity and the contradictions of life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Actions are always more complex and nuanced than they seem.
We have to be willing to wrestle with paradox in pursuing understanding.
- Harold Evans

For every complex problem,
there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
- H. L. Mencken

True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize
how little we understand about life,
ourselves, and the world around us.
- Socrates

I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma,
a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own
mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.
- Umberto Eco

You didn't get stamped out of a mold. You aren't a "black person" or a "white person," a "fat person" or a "skinny person," a "bad person" or a "good person." You are a highly complex human being with emotions, beliefs, capabilities. Each day you face challenges to your health, relationships, finances, and world-view -- and every day you respond to those challenges in ways which are unique to you.

Honor and love all of your unique self. Never diminish yourself with self-applied labels or categorizations.

Further reading: Paradox

Lessons from Life

Stand Rapt in Awe
      

God Knows Best

Everything is a miracle,
not just the beautiful and lovely things.
- Anonymous

Many of our prayers were not answered,
and for this we are now grateful.
- William Feather

Our prayers should be for blessings in general,
for God knows best what is good for us.
- Socrates

Today I offer a prayer of forgiveness:
forgive the pettiness of my ingratitude...
the absence of profound thankfulness.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Our opportunity is to love ourselves exactly as we are -
with all our joys and sufferings.
To be grateful for everything.
To forgive ourselves for our doubts of our own worthiness -
for we have no need to be anything other than what we are.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Gratitude for All of Life

Unity with Spirit and All Creation

Miracles Need Both God and You

Gratitude for the Journey
   

Gratitude and Celebration for Your Life

The more you praise and celebrate your life,
the more there is in life to celebrate.
- Oprah Winfrey

The path to happiness is forgiveness of everyone
and gratitude for everything.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The miracle of gratitude is that it shifts your perception
to such an extent that it changes the world you see.
- Robert Holden

Further reading: A List of Gratitudes

Zero-Based Gratitude

An Attitude of Gratitude

Feeling Blessed
    

The Difficult Choice for Joy

What are the proper grounds for joy?
Is it circumstance which will
determine the stature of my spirit?
Ah, no. It is choice. It is always a choice -
in the face of any event - for joy.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

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

Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world.
We cannot cure the world of sorrows,
but we can choose to live in joy.
- Joseph Campbell

Joy is a choice - but it isn't an easy choice.
It is nearly a certainty that some
of your expectations will not be met today.
Choose Joy Anyway.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Choose to be Peaceful

Life Really Is Good

Fake It 'Til You Make It

Creating Happiness
    

Affirmation of Inner Peace

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

We can never obtain peace in the outer world
until we make peace with ourselves.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

Guide our feet into the way of peace.
- Luke 1:79

If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

You may not seem able to change some outer circumstances
but you can start by changing your inner experience of life and yourself.
- Joy Page

Today's affirmation:
I am at peace with myself,
and with all that is.

Further reading: Life Without Stress

Highest and Innermost God

Experience This Moment

The Enemy Within
     

Be an Observer of Life

Be an Observer of Life.
Gaining wisdom from carefully observing life
is not a substitute for action -
it is a prerequisite for informed action.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

To acquire knowledge, one must study;
but to acquire wisdom, one must observe.
- Marilyn vos Savant

Be aware of what is going on around you today - truly conscious.
Don't make assumptions. Focus on looking behind the obvious.

Today's Affirmation:
I am a Passionate Observer of Life.
I See the events, feel the emotions,
and recognize the difference.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: What You See

Lifelong Learning

New Eyes
      

Respect Yourself - Make Your Own Choices

Unless someone truly has the power to say no,
they never truly have the power to say yes.
- Dan Millman

That you may retain your self-respect, it is better
to displease the people by doing what you know is right,
than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong.
- William J. H. Boetcker

To free us from the expectations of others,
to give us back to ourselves -
there lies the great singular power of self-respect.
- Joan Didion

Once you respect yourself, there is no longer
any reason to disrespect anyone else.
Once you are confident of your own worthiness,
the worthiness of others ceases to be an issue.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Everyone should carefully observe
which way his heart draws him,
and then choose that way with all his strength.
- Hasidic Proverb

Perhaps the surest test of an individual's integrity
is his refusal to do or say anything that would damage his self-respect.
- Thomas S. Monson

Today's affirmation:
I say NO to the demands of the world.
I say YES to the longings of my own heart.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: At the Center of Your Being

Your Own Trail

Make Your Own Choices

Personal Boundaries
    

Choose to Follow Your Heart

Set Life’s Rhythm with Your Heart-Drum
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

You can choose to follow your heart always.
- don Miguel Ruiz

March to the beat of your own drum.
- Proverb

The way is not in the sky.
The way is in the heart.
- The Buddha

Your visions will become clear only
when you can look into your own heart.
Who looks outside, dreams;
who looks inside, awakes.
- Carl Jung

Do what you feel in your heart to be right.
You'll be criticized anyway.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
- Confucius

Further reading: Choose to Follow Your Heart

Living from Your Heart

The Beat of the Universe

Choosing Inner Peace

Changing Your Heart

Gratitude for the Manifold Blessings

Food is our most fundamental material blessing.
Use each meal as an opportunity to feel gratitude for all the blessings of this life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Gratitude is an attitude that hooks us up to our source of supply.
And the more grateful you are, the closer you become to your maker,
to the architect of the universe, to the spiritual core of your being.
- Bob Proctor

I give thanks for the blessings of this food
as a symbol of my gratitude
for all the manifold blessings of this life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

It is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives
for which we should be particularly grateful.
They are the things that fill our lives with comfort and our hearts with gladness --
just the pure air to breathe and the strength to breath it;
just warmth and shelter and home folks;
just plain food that gives us strength; bright sunshine on a cold day;
and a cool breeze when the day is warm.
- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Further reading: Life Really Is Good

Regarding Gratitude and Life

Know that You have been Blessed

A Thankful Heart
      

For the Benefit of Others

The brightest stars are those who
shine for the benefit of others.
- Anonymous

Our lives are to be used and thus to be lived as fully as possible,
and truly it seems that we are never so alive as when
we concern ourselves with other people.
- Harry Chapin

Your success will shine as a light of hope
and inspire numbers you cannot total.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

To measure the man, measure his heart.
- Malcolm S. Forbes

Affirmation:
I shine my light of happiness into the darkness of negativity.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Light for Others

Grant That I May Radiate

The Universal Sacrament of Compassion

Love Tenderly
      

9/11 - 2017

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

Every calamity is to be overcome by endurance.
- Virgil

One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles
possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.
- Albert Schweitzer

Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life.
The evening beam that smiles the clouds away,
and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.
- Lord Byron

Further reading: Draw from Suffering

Overcoming Obstacles

Hard Times

Gather Strength
    

The Gift of Grace

Grace has been defined as the outward expression
of the inward harmony of the soul.
- William Hazlitt

Grace defies reason and logic.
- Bono

Dear God, Please send to me the spirit of Your peace.
Then send, dear Lord, the spirit of peace from me to all the world.
Amen.
- Marianne Williamson

Hope is some extraordinary spiritual grace that God
gives us to control our fears,
not to oust them.
- Vincent McNabb

Grace isn't just a little prayer you say before receiving a meal.
It's a way to live.
- Jackie Windspear

Further reading: Everything is a Miracle

Serenity in Times of Crisis

Faith Plus Action

Be Not Unbending

The Darkest Night
     

Breaking of the Old Sod

Unexpected events can set you back or set you up.
It's all a matter of - perspective.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

We will only understand the miracle of life fully when
we allow the unexpected to happen.
- Paulo Coelho

A world in upheaval is the breaking of the old sod -
the revealing of rich fresh soil ready for new planting.
Rejoice in the opportunity to sow a new crop.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Welcome Newness

Appreciate the Unexpected

Assumptions

Expectations/Demands

Strength in Solitude

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy
is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet,
alone with the heavens, nature and God.
Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be.
- Anne Frank

Spend some time alone every day.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

A quiet mind cures all.
- Robert Burton

In solitude the mind gains strength and learns to lean upon itself.
- Laurence Sterne

Affirmation: Today, I Will Spend Time In Silence.

Further reading: Solitude is a Cure

Choose Inner Peace and a Less Stressful Life

Being an Open Channel

Let me bring peace

The Beat of the Universe
     

Beware the Illusion of Knowledge

The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -
it is the illusion of knowledge.
- Daniel J. Boorstin

We want the facts to fit the preconceptions.
When they don't, it is easier to ignore the facts
than to change the preconceptions.
- Jessamyn West

Beware of false knowledge;
it is more dangerous than ignorance.
- George Bernard Shaw

Truth is not defined by
how many people believe something.
Ask. Question. Think.
Decide - for yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

When you have a very strong FEELING that something is true, often it isn't.
WANTING something to be true doesn't make it true.
Likewise, being AFRAID that something is true doesn't make it true either.

Further reading: The Danger of Assumptions

Truth isn't True. Reality isn't Real.

Perspective on Tradition: An Open Mind
    

Life is Full of Riddles

The book of life is filled with incoherent riddles.
Life's true lessons are inscribed in a corner of the margin.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Read more about The Book of Life

To be surprised, to wonder, is to begin to understand.
- Jose Ortega Y Gasset

Life is a riddle.
We cannot expect to understand life's twists and turns as they occur each day,
and we greatly frustrate ourselves in the futile attempt.
Be content to appreciate that there is an overarching purpose,
though that purpose be known only to God, and to history.
Choose service. Choose joy. Accept the unknowing.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

We learn more by looking for the answer
to a question and not finding it
than we do from learning the answer itself.
- Lloyd Alexander

Half of everything you were ever taught is wrong;
the question is which half.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: The Nature of Learning

Lessons from Life

Beyond Understanding
      

Arms of Spirit

May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields.
And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.
- Irish Blessing

May a thread of comfort be woven through your difficult days.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

Your life within God's arms,
Your dance within God's arms,
Is already Perfect!
- Hafiz

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather,
always bring your own sunshine.
- Anthony J. D'Angelo

Know that to find comfort, relax into the arms of Spirit.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Comfort on Difficult Days

Give Thanks for the Small Miracles

The Secret of Happiness

Beyond Your Worries

Ten Little Tips to Feel Happier Right Now
     

Labor Day 2017

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance
and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Everything that is really great and inspiring
is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.
- Albert Einstein

The world is moved along, not only
by the mighty shoves of its heroes,
but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes
of each honest worker.
- Helen Keller

The end of labor is to gain leisure.
- Aristotle

Make your work to be in keeping with your purpose.
- Leonardo da Vinci

Further reading: Called to be a Street Sweeper

Take Time For Yourself

A Balanced Life
     

Belief is Passive. Faith is Active.

The attitude of faith is the very opposite
of clinging to belief, of holding on.
- Alan Watts

Faith is much better than belief.
Belief is when someone else does the thinking.
- R. Buckminster Fuller

Faith is not belief.
Belief is passive.
Faith is active.
- Edith Hamilton

Can you imagine a life with no fear?
What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats?
- Max Lucado

Further reading: The Power of Faith

The Edge of All You Know

Worrying about Tomorrow

Release the Struggle
    

Choosing Equanimity

Equanimity (or composure) is the state of being calm, balanced,
and in control of one's emotions, even under stress or in the midst of difficulty.

Affirmation:
I choose to respond to life's provocations,
not with anger, resentment, or regret,
but with equanimity and a focus on positive action.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Without accepting the fact that everything changes,
we cannot find perfect composure.
But unfortunately, although it is true,
it is difficult for us to accept it.
Because we cannot accept the truth of transience,
we suffer.
- Shunryu Suzuki

Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity
opinions which differ from
the prejudices of their social environment.
Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.
- Albert Einstein

I know, to banish anger altogether
from one's breast is a difficult task.
It cannot be achieved through pure personal effort.
It can be done only by God's grace.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

Further reading: Complaining Creates Unhappiness

Ancient Wisdom about Uncertain Times

Staying Positive

Restraint

Stillness
     

Soar Your Dreams

Choose to soar. Choose to fly your dreams.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

You are the Michelangelo of your own life.
The David that you are sculpting is you.
And you do it with your thoughts.
- Joe Vitale

No one should negotiate their dreams.
Dreams must be free to fly high.
You should never agree to surrender your dreams.
- Jesse Jackson

Every day is a new beginning -
a day for a new plan and new action.
If today, in conscious awareness, you choose
the same plan as yesterday, you are wise.
If you choose a different plan, you are equally wise.
Whatever you choose, choose with intention.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Further reading: Be Simply Yourself

How to Deal with Rejection

Approve of Yourself

Success Tip: Drive Change