ABLE TO GIVE

Able To Give

If you don’t give value in return for value, your life gets out of balance. If all you do is take, that takes a big toll on you.

Getting something for nothing is not something you want. It may seem good on the outside, but it will tear you up on the inside.

Tokens of achievement are a poor substitute for being a person who does the achieving. The goodies alone will not fulfill your deep-seated desire to make a difference.

Take a continuing, active role in your own fulfillment. Anything less is not true fulfillment at all.

Jump at the opportunities to create value. Get away from people who promise or who seek something for nothing.

Your heart wants to be able to give. Do yourself a favor, and let it.

— Ralph Marston

BE CAREFUL OF YOUR SELF-TALK

Be careful of your self-talk. Without monitoring your mind and your mouth, the majority of what you say to yourself can poison your attitude, weaken your spirit, drain your energy. Be aware that, left unchecked, the negative storyteller in your brain can shut down your faith, amplify your fears and activate a spirit of hopelessness and self-sabotage. Turn off and banish the automatic negative thoughts that will ruin your life, if you let them.

Learn to keep your heart open and love yourself unconditionally. The universe is on your side waiting for your next move. Celebrate what is working in your life. Focus on the positive and on what you can do right now. Give thanks for what you have and that you are still here. That, alone, says that your life still matters. You have something special. You have GREATNESS within you!

LES BROWN

SOFTENING THE SWORD'S EDGE

Softening the Sword’s Edge

As long as you are trying to choose
between two strongly held points of view
you will sharpen the edge between them.

The pressure to decide is a double edged sword.
It hurts everyone it touches.

Step away from the pressure and the urgency.
Be patient with yourself and others.

Take the sword of division and love it.
until its edge softens and it can no longer do harm.
Then you can decide.

Because then you will rest in the heart-space
where all needs are considered
and everyone is enfolded in your love.

From Everyday Wisdom by Paul Ferrini
www.paulferrini.com

STOP WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO RESCUE YOU

Do not stop now!! Continue to work on yourself and your dream. Do not look for others to hold your heart, take your hand or have your back. You are responsible for your own life and for creating your own path. Commit to move out of your own way. Stop procrastinating or waiting for someone to rescue you.

Be clear about who you can count on and who you must count out. Make adjustments and surround yourself with positive energy, people and thoughts. Great things take time, effort and sacrifice!! Keep looking up and moving forward with the end in mind. You have something special. You have GREATNESS within you!!

LES BROWN

DO YOU TRULY LIKE THE COMPANY YOU KEEP IN THE EMPTY MOMENTS?

“It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive. 

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it. 

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human. 

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy. 

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day,and if you can source your own life from its presence. 

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children. 

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. 

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away. 

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.” 

― Oriah Mountain Dreamer

LAUGH OUT LOUD AT LIFE

Laugh out loud at life. It is good medicine for your heart and spirit. It is a way for you to say "Life ~ I am still standing with my head up high." Laughter strengthens the immune system and increases your capacity to cope. It has the power to heal you at the cellular level. Sometimes all you can do is laugh, even through your tears and pain.

When you are overwhelmed, laugh at your bills, your body, your kids, or at any unexpected challenge of life. This is not denying what is in your life. It is defying it! One minute of anger weakens the immune system for 4-5 hours, while one minute of laughter boosts it for over 24 hours. So try this...make silly faces in the mirror, laugh from down deep and bring out the child in you! Find some popcorn, get a few family, friends together and allow yourself to really laugh. Interrupt your worries and choose to make yourself feel good in spite of it all. You Deserve!

LES BROWN

MAKE UP YOUR MIND

There is nothing as powerful as a made up mind. Do not give yourself another excuse to put off making up your mind. You know in your heart of hearts that once you do that you have got to act.

You owe it to the world, your family and most importantly, to yourself to live a life of no regrets. Stop worrying about what other people will think, say, or do. You only have one life. LIVE IT now. You have GREATNESS within you!!

LES BROWN

"MY ROOTS WILL SET OFF TO ANOTHER LAND"

“Well, now

If little by little you stop loving me

I shall stop loving you

Little by little

If suddenly you forget me

Do not look for me

For I shall already have forgotten you

If you think it long and mad the wind of banners that passes through my life

And you decide to leave me at the shore of the heart where I have roots

Remember

That on that day, at that hour, I shall lift my arms

And my roots will set off to seek another land”

― Pablo Neruda, Selected Poems

LETTING GO

Letting Go

When something in your life is not working,
you try to fix it. Then, if that doesn't work,
you may pretend for a while that it's fixed
even though you know it isn't.

Finally, you realize that your heart
just isn't in the job or the relationship.
That's when you are ready to let go of it.

Letting go is an act of substantial courage.
There is always some degree of pain
in the release of someone or something
that once brought you joy and happiness.

You will have to be patient and mourn the loss.
But when your mourning is over,
you will see things differently.

As the old dies, the new is born.
The phoenix rises from the ashes of destruction.
If you stay centered in your life
while the fire burns around you,
opportunities you never could have dreamed of
will begin to reveal themselves.


From Everyday Wisdom by Paul Ferrini
www.paulferrini.com

THANKFUL NO MATTER WHAT

Thankful No Matter What

Whatever you are thankful for gains value from your thankfulness. Whatever you appreciate becomes more useful and accessible by virtue of your appreciation.

You get much more from life when you appreciate what you already have. That’s true for relationships, resources, skills, situations, and experiences.

The circumstances hardest to appreciate are where appreciation can make the greatest positive difference. Find a way to appreciate, and you find your way to new value.

Goodness comes into your life in countless forms. Gratitude takes you to the heart of goodness, no matter how it appears on the outside.

It’s easy to be thankful for the pleasant things, and certainly a good idea to do so. Yet it is even more empowering and transformative to be thankful for all the other things.

Find a way to be thankful, no matter what. You’ll find new value each time you do.


— Ralph Marston

TRUST

Trust

When you know that your life is okay, 

no matter how ragged and unfinished it seems,
there is room for movement.

A shift can happen. A door can open.

The most important door is the one to your heart.

If it is open, then the whole universe
abides in you.
If it is closed, then you stand alone
against the world.


From Everyday Wisdom by Paul Ferrini
www.paulferrini.com

JUST BECAUSE

FACILITATING HEALING

Facilitating Healing

You cannot help people heal
unless you are feeling love in your heart.

Then what you say and do will flow through your love,
not through your fear,
and you will inspire, encourage and uplift.

Remember, you are here to empower others,
not to fix them or to take responsibility for their pain.

So don’t force your gift on others.
Give to those who ask for your help
and are ready to receive it.
Then, you will not trespass on them
or exhaust your own energies.


From Everyday Wisdom by Paul Ferrini
www.paulferrini.com

BEAUTY

Beauty

See others not for their labels, but for their beauty. Pay attention not to the noisy false urgencies, but to the profound beauty surrounding you.

Live this day feasting your awareness on beauty in all its forms. Let your heart be filled with thanks for the many joys, simple and accessible, you can experience.

You don’t really have to know the latest news flash, for it is no different than the last one. Invest your life in living the beauty, and in making more.

Imagine that you could never again watch a cloud drift through the sky. Then go out and watch one, live and in person, brimming with gratitude for the chance to be.

You don’t need to control, acquire, or prove you’re right. Beauty calls, joy beckons, and you answer.

As real and serious as troubles may be, they are nothing compared to beauty. Live the beauty, share the beauty, and help to push the troubles away.


— Ralph Marston

RESPECT YOURSELF

RESPECT YOURSELF!! Listen to your own voice, the one in your heart that is the keeper of your dreams. Never let someone convince you that you can not do something ~ especially if they have not done it. Take the time to find your own path and trust your inner voice. Know what is true for you!

Respect yourself by limiting access to people who are negative and unhappy. Many times they project the anxiety and dissatisfaction with their own lives onto your life. One negative comment can be more damaging to you than one positive comment. Own the responsibility for your life and your journey. Give yourself the gifts of experiences and relationships that strengthen your deepest convictions about your dream and honor the calling on your life. You have something special. You have GREATNESS within you!


LES BROWN

CONNECTIONS ARE MADE WITH THE HEART

“You can talk with someone for years, every day, and still, it won't mean as much as what you can have when you sit in front of someone, not saying a word, yet you feel that person with your heart, you feel like you have known the person for forever.... connections are made with the heart, not the tongue.”

― C. JoyBell C.

10 THINGS I'VE LEARNED IN 40 YEARS

LES BROWN_10 THINGS I'VE LEARNED IN 40 YEARS

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GOD IS WITHIN

God is Within

You prepare the inner temple for God to enter.

And who is God but the One within
who loves and accepts you without conditions,
under all circumstances, now and for all time?

God is not outside of you, but in your heart of hearts.
When you ask sincerely, this is the One who answers.
When you knock, this is the One who opens the door.


From Everyday Wisdom by Paul Ferrini
www.paulferrini.com