"Don't ever feel like the best days are behind you.
Reinvention is the purest form of hope. Make today your best day yet." - Phil Wohl
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"You're not the same as you were before," he said.
"You were much more . . . muchier . . . You've lost your muchness." Lewis Carroll Alice In Wonderland Recently, 'motivation's' been a topic of conversation in my social circles; from healthier menus to exercise to spiritual disciplines to living larger. I'm rummaging through old photos for projects I'm working on. And I've come across several much muchier pictures documenting my muchness. So, I've started a small collage of past adventures to inspire personal motivation. Life's responsibilities and trials often squelches passion and zeal. Finding the motivation and inspiration to power through is difficult but imperative for a fuller much muchier quality of life, "All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today,"
Down the road from my home is a Nursery I like to frequent during the growing season. Spring before last, I picked up a small pot with a viola plant blooming purple. I plopped it in the ground close to the house and this season, voila, multiplication. The seed pods burst and spray seeds that spread and grow beauty in no particular rhyme or reason. Tulip's growth is interesting as they're planted in the Fall. I buried as many as I could cram into this little plot near my fire pit doubting whether they'd survive a cold snow pack the winter long. To my surprise, come Spring they made a grand appearance. Personal growth seems to often parallel these beautiful blossoms journey; for like them, after a long winter passes the warmth and light of Spring eventually showcases our own growth and glory. Take heart, Spring is on the horizon. "To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same field, it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall never be seen again." - Ralph Waldo Emerson I've spent more than 40 years exploring this area. I've rafted and fished and camped and hiked here. I taught my children how to drive along its quiet dirt road. No matter how many years pass, I am still struck awe by Alaska's grandeur, no matter the season.
"We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us,
but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter." - Denis Diderot "The magic you are looking for . . . is in the work you are avoiding." - Dipen Parmar
A young father recently shared with me anxiety over his son's sensitive spirit. He expressed concern that he's not adequately equipped to contend with the harsh realities of the world outside their home. Shortly after our conversation, I came across this quote.
"Water is fluid, soft and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: What is soft is strong." Philosopher - Lao Tzu This resonates. I fly to remote locations where I work here in Alaska. I am far from the comforts of my home, the familiarity of my family and the gentle companionship of my friends. There are times the pressures require a strength I sometimes wonder how I'll muster. But honestly, I can maintain true to my softer nature in the midst of mandates and demands. "We are not born all at once, but by bits. The body first, and the spirit later . . . Our mothers are racked with the pains of our physical birth; we ourselves suffer the longer pains of our spiritual growth. - Mary Antin
"We find comfort among those who agree with us;
Growth among those who don't." - Frank Clark "The highest reward for a person's toil
is not what they get for it but what they become by it." - John Ruskin "We tend to stay away from mourning and dancing. Too afraid to cry, too shy to dance . . . we become narrow-minded complainers, avoiding pain and also true human joy . . . while we live in a world subject to the evil one, we belong to God. Let us mourn and let us dance." - Henri Nouwen
"People grow through experience
if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built." - Eleanor Roosevelt "The reason to deliberately do hard things is so that when
non-self-elected challenges arrive (and they will), you can tell yourself; 'I don't know how this is all going to turn out, but I am certain I can do hard things.' Don't self-injure. But . . . doing hard things is always worthwhile." - Andrew D. Huberman, PH.D. "You have a choice!
You can throw in the towel, or you can use it to wipe the sweat off your face." - Paul Wellstone |
AuthorIn a culture where people resist the idea of anyone speaking into their lives, I feel most fortunate I've people, who care enough for me, they risk speaking into mine. Their words provide a safeguard. And I love them for their commitment to my best. I also appreciate the words of wisdom of others who, though we've never met, share similar perspectives on life. I am drawn to their words as they encourage, inspire, empower. I hope you'll find their words provide you with the same. Archives
February 2025
Categories - Thought Of The Day |