Category Archives: Love

Aug8

Thoughtful Thursdays #28

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e.e. cummings said: “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting”.

When I read this it was almost too much to bear because it was true. It is a fundamental truth that no one talks about or even realizes till it’s almost too late. The truth is that society has set up rules so that if you don’t follow a particular like-minded tribe you will be lost and alone to the point of death. This mentality comes from the ancient survival mechanism in our brains that looks for safety. And it’s also has a clear undercurrent of power and control of a group under the guise of safety. I don’t know about you but I have been a loaner most of my life and I know that lost and empty feeling of not fitting in. I fooled myself for a long time with relationships, jobs, incredible ideas, trusting those I should not have and fabulous fashions but they all faded. The only thing left is me. Warts and all.

I have had sweeping changes and disappointments galore and guess what, I have survived. I still stand-alone and I enjoy being alone as much as I enjoy company.

Society has its own truths. I would never give up my truth to be myself. No matter what.

Be forewarned that acting true to yourself brings lots of jealousy and criticism. It’s a small price to pay for your own happiness. Be content and improve yourself regardless of what others think.

It will take a great deal of courage but you can do it. When there’s opposition, express it by doing something creative. Writing, painting, running what ever makes you happy.

Is this selfish, you may ask. No, because how can you be functional and productive when you have that feeling of uneasy boredom, are unhappy and living by habit?

No one can do your life the way you do so be proud of you and your life.

Aug6

10 Wishes

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Wishes may seem frivolous and childish but I tend to disagree.

Here’s why. Wishes are meaningful to the one making the wish. The wish could be for something good or something bad. They may happen or may not. I think that the good wishes have a really good chance of coming true especially if you send the wish to someone else. And thank our lucky stars that the last time you wished someone dead it didn’t happen.

So here are my 10 Wishes for you:

I wish you clarity of mind so you know clearly what you want.

I wish you good fortune so you can help yourself and others.

I wish you acceptance in your universe so you can accept others.

I wish you peace of mind for the next time you are challenged.

I wish your deepest desire to come true and I don’t mean money.

I wish you friendship and kindness so you can be a friend and kind.

I wish you a virtuous life so you can be a good example.

I wish you knowledge of yourself so you can understand others.

I wish you connection to others so others can connect with you.

I wish you open doors so you can open them to others.

Funny thing about wishes. When you send them out with goodness they will come true.

What are your 10 wishes?

Jul25

Thoughtful Thursdays #26

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I ran across the mention of a Tibetan yogini by the name of Machig Labdron. She lived in Tibet from 1055 CE to 1149 CE.  You can Google her is you want to know more about her fascinating life. She is known for the following 5 sayings. To practice all of them covers just about every aspect of negativity that holds you back. If you practice them you will become brave and confident. Guaranteed.

 1. Confess your hidden thoughts.  (This is not the same as confessing to a priest. It is acknowledging what is bothering you. You can write or tell someone, it’s up to you).

2.Approach what you find repulsive.  (For example, you see a dirty, homeless person and you are repulsed. Try looking at that person instead of ignoring them)

3.Help those you think you cannot help. (For example, speaking to someone who can’t help himself or herself like a struggling addict).

4.Anything you are attached to, give it back. (This means, instead of being so attached to something that it obstructs your life, let it go and trust that if its meant to stay it will).

5.Go to places that scare you. (That job interview, new places, eating alone in a restaurant, speaking up, the cemetery or any place that creeps you out. Not unsafe situations).

 This practice is easier said than done most of the time. Because life has a way of keeping certain issues in front of you time and time again. Those issues will stay there until you face them. These sayings or method of eliminating stressful issues will work if you try them.

 Happy hunting down those pesky stubborn issues that won’t go away and dissolving them.

Jul7

Love

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What a loaded subject. There are so many different definitions of love that no one knows for sure what it means. Love is defined as physical attraction, falling in love with the shoes in a department store window, a pet, a person, a lifestyle, an emotion, the list is endless.

I am now going to put an end to all false notions of what love is. Here goes:

Love is an attitude. It’s the choice to be kind-hearted even when others are not.

Chew on that for a while and you will see that situations mentioned on the endless list eventually fade because people are moody and fashions go out of style and life flows and is not static. However the one thing that will remain the same and have permanent impact is choosing loving kindness. Kindness to anyone or anything ripples positive personal power. Kind-hearted love reaps permanent change and brings us all closer to each other, cooperative and happy. Loving kindness creates trust. Choosing this kind of love will make you a hero to those who know you. This love is free and easy to apply. Just like jam on bread. Sweet and tender like a baby.

So try it. Choose to be loving for just one day and see the difference. And this love will come back to you many times over.

Jun9

Thoughtful Thursdays #6

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I saw a lightening bug as I was walking to my class this morning at about 8:30 am. That’s unusual because lightening bugs usually come out in the evening on hot August nights, not in June. The reason why I am mentioning this is it reminded me of the cemetery. Not because  I am into ghosts, the dead, vampires or Dracula but because the cemetery is a sanctuary for wild life. I live across the street from an old 1700’s cemetery with a lot of history and wild life. The wild life has rabbits, cats, countless birds and raccoons,opossums all kinds of bugs,birds, butterflies, worms and beetles. I haven’t seen them but I have heard there are even lizards. Well, maybe that’s not true because here in NYC they wouldn’t survive the weather.

Nature has a way of always righting itself. In the past city officials decided to spray for West Nile bugs. When that happens all the butterflies and lightening bugs disappear for the season. Since the area was not sprayed again the next season the butterflies and lightening bugs returned with a vengeance. One night last August the cemetery was lit up like a bright summer morning by the fireflies. The entire neighborhood came out and people stopped in their cars to watch.

There were hundreds and hundreds of them happy to have returned to live in a popular spot. Blinking and swimming in the air, floating their fat bodies in the humidity and clinging to anyone or anything that got in their flight path. My dog snapped to catch one and I stood there in awe and amazement. I had six in my hair and my dog had four on his fur. It  made me so happy to see them alive again in my neighborhood.  Watching the lightening bugs ebb and flow from season to season was inspiring. Even though the area was  infected with poison for bug control nature re-calibrated itself to wholeness again. Like magic the ground was made meticulous for the new crop of lightening bugs. Nature was back to normal to keep the fireflies alive and the other creatures too.

This brings me to the following conclusion: Nature always rights itself with us too. If a catastrophe happens, the upheaval leaves us rearranged for a while. What happens next is the same as the lightening bugs. We pick up where we left off stronger that before.

Happy lightening bug hunting.