FEED YOUR CURIOSITY

Feed Your Curiosity

To discover something new, look where you’ve never looked before. To energize your thinking with a pleasant surprise, get out of your regular routine.

There are things that would fascinate you, help you, change you for the better. Problem is, you don’t know to look for them.

Don’t assume life is the way you assume. Let your curiosity run ahead of you like a beagle puppy, sniffing out unexpected treasures with wild abandon.

Go beyond merely opening yourself to new experiences. Get into places, relationships and situations ripe with new facts and experiences.

Despite all you know, all you’ve done, you’ve only been exposed to a fraction of reality. Be thankful there’s so much more to experience, and get yourself out there where you’ll encounter it.

What at first seems random can take to you what’s meaningful and valuable. Feed your curiosity, and follow where it leads.

— Ralph Marston

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

POSITIVE AND REALISTIC

Positive and Realistic

Being positive about your prospects will improve your prospects. You’ll be more energetic, more persistent, more effective.

A positive perspective might be justified, or it might not be. In either case, it’s the best choice.

Being positive does not mean you must deny that negative factors exist. Rather, it means you commit yourself to successfully working through those negative influences.

You’ll encounter plenty of challenges pushing back against your efforts. Don’t let your own outlook be one of those challenges.

Though negativity might be the most obvious reaction, it is not in your best interest. You can always choose to be both positive and realistic.

Give yourself the advantage of a positive perspective. No matter how difficult the situation, being positive will put you in the best position to deal with it.

— Ralph Marston

GET THE WORK DONE

Get The Work Done

Every effort you make, makes the goal feel more achievable. Celebrate each small victory by immediately going to work on the next one.

Every step you take creates more motivation to take the next step. If you don’t feel motivated to work, the very best thing you can do is get to work.

You are in control of what you do from moment to moment. Choose over and over again to exercise that control wisely.

Benefit your life by putting effective effort into it. Expand the richness of your whole world by giving your time, your thought, your focus, your action to make a difference.

Feel your feelings, enjoy them, learn from them, but don’t let them imprison you in complacency. Whether you feel like it or not, it’s in your best interest to make the effort.

Decide not to let the distractions, setbacks or excuses stop you. Get going, get the work done, and discover again how great it feels.


— Ralph Marston

NO GO AND STUN THE WORLD

SAYING 'NO' IN A LOVING WAY

Saying “No” in a Loving Way

You may not think that saying “no” can be a loving act.
Yet, if your child is putting his hand on a hot stove,
you say “no” quickly and firmly.
You do not want him to hurt himself.

And then you put your arm around him
and reassure him that you love him.
How many times does your brother come to you with his hand on the stove?
You cannot support behavior
that you know will be hurtful to another person.
And you don’t want your friends
to support that kind of behavior in you.

From Everyday Wisdom by Paul Ferrini
www.paulferrini.com