"Life's greatest freedom is having nothing to prove." - unknown. The Merriam-Webster definition of freedom is- the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is a human right that everyone says they want and some have fought
I read this on Pinterest the other day: "One day, your child will sit across from someone and explain to them what it was like to be raised by you. Make sure it's a story worth telling." - unknown, and I thought about the mistakes that
"Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows." - Rainer Maria Rilke. I did it! I have written one post a week for an entire year (which was a test I set up for myself to see if I would ever
"The joy of brightening other lives becomes for us the magic of the holidays." - W.C. Jones. The word joy is used often around Christmas time. I think this is because those who love the season are in a giving mood, and being generous brings a feeling
"Mostly it is loss which teaches us about the worth of things." - unknown. Loss is a separation, and being separated from something we want makes us sad. Since the only thing that is sure in life is change, we will experience many losses before the ultimate loss-
"Music is what feelings sound like." - unknown. I do not know what the most popular Christmas song of all time is, but I read that Bing Crosby's White Christmas is the best-selling (over 50 million copies sold). I found that interesting. The song is wistful
"Be decisive, right or wrong. Make a decision. The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn't make a decision." - unknown. In my last post, I expressed gratitude for being able to choose how to view what happens to me in this life.
"Offering genuine gratitude comes from a willingness to take account for all you have been given and to understand that none of it was guaranteed." - Day Schildkret. The season of thanksgiving is here. Thanksgiving and gratitude are not the same thing. Gratitude is a feeling that you
"No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or get all the credit for doing it." - Andrew Carnegie. Who makes a good leader? A leader is not a manager; they aren't there to make sure that you get your
"I learned the real meaning of love. Love is absolute loyalty. People fade, looks fade. but loyalty never fades." - Sylvester Stallone What does it mean to be loyal? Loyalty is being faithful to something. It can be a person/persons, a country, a brand or business, or
"The real secret of magic is that the world is made of words, and that if you know the words that the world is made of, you can make of it whatever you wish." -Terence McKenna. Our perception shapes language. We describe what we experience using words that
October- the month of ghosts, graveyards, haunted houses, and scary movies. Why do we love to be scared so much that we would make a holiday out of it? Holidays are a way for us to break up the everyday drudgery of life, and being scared does shift our focus
"To deny your age is to deny you've survived." - Nikki Giovanni. I have been contemplating the years that I have been a person on this planet recently. My father just had his eightieth birthday, and I know that, as quickly as time goes by, I
The pressures of modern life can be overwhelming, leading some of us to wish that we either lived in a past time period or perhaps in the future, after the human race has worked through the issues we face now. As time machines are not readily available, we must find
"I remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind." - Edgar Allen Poe. I don't know about you, but I have been convinced that my mind has been trying to kill me for years. It likes to worry, replay past events that
"In the end, we'll all become stories." - Alice in Wonderland? Books are small, but there are so many comparisons that can be made with life. Editing, turning the page, stories, and chapters- let's examine a few! Editing- Cambridge Dictionary gives this definition of
"Deal with yourself as an individual worthy of respect, and make everyone else deal with you the same way." - Nikki Giovanni. I believe that you are a piece of the universe, whether you are physically alive or dead. Your consciousness is energy, and energy cannot be destroyed.
"Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me. At a certain moment in his life, the idea came to him of what he called "the love of your fate." Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, "This is what I need.
The phrase 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' must have been referring to our connection or (lack thereof) to our fellow humans. To become the apex predator species, we had to rely on one another, help one another, communicate, and keep our connections. It
I have often considered writing a personal history throughout the years. I would sit down and start thinking about a time period in my life, write a page or two, read it, crumple it up, and throw it in the garbage. I had almost given up on ever being able
"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life." - Rachel Carson. Nature is our greatest example of beauty. It is all incredible: the stars, the ocean, the forests, the rocks, and the weather. I can be entertained for
"The happiest of all lives in busy solitude."-Voltaire. Solitude is a topic that has been crossing my path lately. As I do not believe in coincidences, I feel that I must explore the subject. Numerous famous people have pondered its benefits and have shared their thoughts. "
August already! We are now well past the halfway point to year’s end. I do not know if you made any New Year’s goals, but I did. In my first-ever post, published on January 1st, I made a plan for overcoming my addiction to sadness. The plan had
Perfectionism is a popular issue that has been discussed by psychologists and the self-help community for many years. What exactly is it, and why is it considered a problem? According to Wikipedia, "Perfectionism, in psychology, is a broad personality trait characterized by a person's concern with striving