A Short Guide to a Happy Life - Book Notes

On my GoodReads list, I have A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen as a book I wanted to read. This week I read it. It is, indeed, a short book - only 50 pages with a good percentage of them full-page black-and-white photos. 

Despite its short length, there was a lot of good information in it. Some highlights include:

- No man ever said on his deathbed I wish I had spent more time at the office.

- John Lennon said,, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

- You are the only person alive who has sole custody of your life...your soul.

- I am a good mother to three good children. I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh.

- Turn off your cell phone. Turn off your regular phone, for that matter. Keep still. Be present.

- Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you.

- Get a life in which you are generous. 

- Life is glorious, and that you have no business taking it for granted. 

- All of us want to do well. But if we do not do good, too, then doing well will never be enough.

- It is easy to waste our lives: our days, our hours, our minutes. 

- It is so easy to exist instead of live. 

- It's ironic that we forget so often how wonderful life really is. We have more time than ever before to remember it. The men and women of generations past had to work long, long hours to support lots and lots of children in tiny, tiny houses. The women worked in factories and sweatshops and then at home, too, with two bosses, the one who paid them, and the one they were married to, who didn't.

- Those of us who are second and third and fourth generation (immigrants) are surrounded by nice cars, family rooms, patios, pools - the things our grandparents thought only rich people had. Yet somehow, instead of rejoicing, we've found the glass half empty. Our jobs take too much out of us and don't pay enough....Let's be honest. We have an embarrassment of riches. Life is good.

- I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that this is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get. 

- Think of life as a terminal illness, because, if you do, you will live it with joy and passion, as it ought to be lived. 

- School never ends. The classroom is everywhere. The exam comes at the very end. 

Waymaker - Book Notes

The local library had some new books displayed in its entry including Waymaker - Finding the Way to the Life You've Always Dreamed Of by Ann Voskamp. 

I started reading the first chapter which interested me and then - by the second chapter - I could see that the book was going in a direction that didn't feel like it was the right fit for me. It had a religious focus which wasn't what I was expecting. 

That being said, there were a couple of parts that I found interesting. I just wish the rest of the book would have built upon the concept of finding and creating one's dream life, but in a secular way. 

Here are some highlights: 

- We may think we know what we want, but what we really want is to be known. Heard, Seen. Safe.

- How do you hope to find a way out of all that's going wrong in your one and only life? 

- Life is never made unbearable by the road itself but by the way we bear the road. It's not the hard roads that slay us; what actually slays us is the expectation that this road isn't what we hoped it to be.

That's where I left off...at the end of the first chapter. I wish the book addressed this last quote - especially as it relates to more aspects than love and marriage which seems to be the focus of Waymaker. 

Having gone back to work after homeschooling my daughters for about 18+ years, my job isn't what I was anticipating it to be. In many ways, it is a huge disappointment after having had the opportunity to have the best job in the world - being a mother and homeschool educator to Sophia and Olivia. Nothing...no job...will ever top that one. 

So, my challenge is to figure out how to make this next phase of my life more bearable, to deal with the loss of no longer homeschooling the girls, and to figure out how to identify the positive points of my job each day. This, ultimately, will be a key to getting through each day. Each week. Each month.    

Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers - Book Notes

 A couple weeks ago, I read a book by Fred Rogers that I enjoyed. There were many quotes and ideas in it that resonated with me. Mr. Rogers wrote another book, Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers, that I found equally interesting. 

Below are some notes and quotes from the book:

- Each person in the world is a unique human being, and each has unique human potential. One of the important tasks of growing is the discovery of this uniqueness: the discovery of "who I am" in each of us - of "who I am" in relation to all those whom I meet.

- If we're really honest with ourselves, there are probably times when we think, "What possible use can I be in this world? What need is there for somebody like me to fill?" That's one of the deeper mysteries. Then God's grace comes to us in the form of another person who tells us we have been of help, and what a blessing that is. 

- You are a very special person. There is only one like you in the whole world. There's never been anyone exactly like you before and there never will be again. Only you. And people can like you exactly as you are.

- You're much more than your job description or your age or your income or your output.

- It's very important, no matter what you may do professionally, to keep alive some of the healthy interests of your youth. 

- There's often a tendency for us to hurry through transitions. We may feel that these transitions are "nowhere at all" compared to what's gone before or what we anticipate is next to come. But you are somewhere...you're "between."

- It's my belief that the capacity to accept help is inseparable from the capacity to give help when our turn comes to be strong.

- Sometimes it helps me to get away from the work - by taking a walk, sitting in a quiet room, listening to music, or talking with a friend. Sometimes I just go over to the piano and play out my feelings through music. That kind of break seems to nourish me, and I can come back renewed. 

- Try your best to make goodness attractive. That's one of the toughest assignments you'll ever be given. 

- We don't always succeed in what we try - certainly not by the world's standards - but I think you'll find it's the willingness to keep trying that matters most. 

- You can't be a winner all the time.

- I trust that you'll look back over your journey and recognize the blessings - great and small - which helped to carry you through, and also realize how other people shared their truth and their light with you and made the trip less lonely. 

   You know, none of us gets to be competent, mature people without the help of others. By now you've discovered that you don't have to go it alone. In fact, no one gets to be a graduate without the investment of other people - people who have loved you all along the way.

   During this extra-special time, I'd like to give you a minute to think of those who have believed in you...those you have helped you live your life knowing what was good and real. A minute of silence for all of us to remember those who have cared about us through our lives - people who have made a significant difference in our being who we are right now. One minute of silence. 

   Whomever you've been thinking about, whether they're here or far away or even in heaven, imagine how pleased they'd be to know that you recognize what a difference they've made in your becoming. 

- May you seek out your own continuing life education and, over time, over your whole lifetime, may you grow in faith and reverence, uprightness in morals, knowledge of language and arts, forgiveness, honesty, commitment, maturity, and your capacity to love. 

- My hope for you at the beginning of this new moment in your life is that you will take good care of that part of you where your best dreams come from, that invisible part of you that allows you to look on yourself and your neighbor with delight. Do your best to appreciate the gifts that you really are and always will be...to look for every opportunity that allows you to clap and cheer, loving your neighbor as yourself. 

- In the acknowledgments of Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers, there's a statement, "Fred's pioneering spirit calls on us to forge ahead and blaze new trails, much as he did in his lifetime." 

Bittersweet - Book Notes

A few months ago, the pastor at church had mentioned a book he read while on sabbatical called Bittersweet - How Sorry and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain. His sabbatical focused on grief and loss, so I was curious to check this book out of the library and see what it was about.

Although there were some parts that resonated with me, the majority of the book seemed like it was meant for someone else. I did find the section about how creativity can be associated with sorrow and longing particularly interesting. 

At any rate, here are the parts that were most interesting to me: 

- Humans are wired to respond to each other's troubles with care. This instinct is as much a part of us as the desire to eat and breathe.

- Sad moods tend to sharpen our attention: They make us more focused and detail-oriented; they improve our memories, and correct our cognitive biases. 

- What if we took whatever pain we couldn't get rid of, and turned it into something else? We could write, act, study, cook, dance, compose, do improv, dream up a new business, and decorate our kitchens; there are hundreds of things we could do, and whether we do them "well," or with distinction, is beside the point. This is why "arts therapy" - in which people express and process their troubles by making art - can be so effective, even if its practitioners don't exhibit their work on gallery walls. 

- Whatever pain you can't get rid of, make it your creative offering - or find someone who makes it for you.

- Min Kym, a famous violinist, had her violin stolen. "The moment my violin was stolen, something died in me....I have to accept that the person I was with the violin gone. But I've been reborn....There's space now for a new me to emerge....When you do recover from any loss - when you heal, when your soul starts to heal from the shock - a new part grows." 

- In our house, getting into a good college was the holy grail. My mother dreaded my departure, but even more she desired my success.

- May I be free from danger, May I be free from mental suffering, May I be free from physical suffering, May I have ease of well-being.

- May I be safe, May I be happy, May I be healthy, May I live with ease. 

- A mother who developed Alzheimer's kept saying to her daughter, "I just want you to know what a good daughter you've been. I just want you to know." She would say this every single time the daughter called and visited. I won't be able to tell you much longer, so please remember how much I love you. A good daughter, a good daughter, you've been such a good daughter." 

The World According to Mister Rogers - Book Notes

 Recently I came across two books by Fred Rogers at the library. The first one I read is The World According to Mister Rogers - Important Things to Remember. It's a short book, yet one filled with a lot of wisdom and things to reflect upon. Below are some of my favorite passages from the book. 

- Some days, doing "the best we can" may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn't perfect - on any front - and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else. 

- It takes strength to face our sadness and to grieve and to let our grief and our anger flow in tears when they need to. It takes strength to talk about our feelings and to reach out for help and comfort when we need it. 

- Who you are inside is what helps you make and do everything in life. 

- Solitude is different from loneliness, and it doesn't have to be a lonely kind of thing. 

- You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully, your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are. 

- All life events are formative. All contribute to what we become, year by year, as we go on growing. As my friend the poet Keneth Koch once said, "You aren't just the age you are. You are all the ages you ever have been!"

- I believe it's a fact of life that what we have is less important than what we make out of what we have. The same holds true for families. It's not how many people there are in a family that counts, but rather the feelings among the people who are there. 

- To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now. 

- It always helps to have people we love beside us when we have to do difficult things in life. 

- Mutually caring relationships require kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism, joy in the other's achievements, confidence in oneself, and the ability to give without undue thought of gain. 

- Each one of us contributes in some unique way to the composition of life.

- I believe that infants and babies whose mothers give them loving comfort whenever and however they can are truly the fortunate ones. I think they're more likely to find life's times of trouble manageable, and I think they may also turn out to be the adults most able to pass loving concern along to the generations that follow after them. 

- You bring all you ever were and are to any relationship you have today. 

- Imaging something may be the first step in making it happen, but it takes the real time and real efforts of real people to learn things, make things, turn thoughts into deeds or visions into inventions.

- There is no normal life that is free of pain. It's the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth. 

- As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has - or ever will have - something inside that is unique to all time. It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression.

- Anyone who does anything to help a child is a hero to me. 

- We want to raise our children so that they can take a sense of pleasure in both their own heritage and the diversity of others. 

- When you combine your own intuition with a sensitivity to other people's feelings and moods, you may be close to the origins of valuable human attributes such as generosity, altruism, compassion, sympathy, and empathy. 

- Spend one minute thinking of someone who has made a difference in the person you have become. 

-As you play together in a symphony orchestra, you can appreciate that each musician has something fine to offer. Each one is different though, and you each have a different "song to sing." When you sing together, you make one voice. That's true of all endeavors, not just musical ones. Finding ways to harmonize our uniqueness with the uniqueness of others can be the most fun - and the most rewarding - of all.

- Who in your life has been such a servant to you...who has helped you love the good that grows within you? Let's just take ten seconds to think of some of those people who have loved us and wanted what was best for us in life - those who have encouraged us to become who we are tonight - just ten seconds of silence. 
    No matter where they are - either here or in heaven - imagine how pleased those people must be to know that you thought of them right now. 
     We all have only one life to live on earth. And...we have the choice of encouraging others to demean this life or to cherish it in creative, imaginative ways. 

- If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourselves that you leave at every meeting with another person. 

- Whether we're a preschooler or a young teen, a graduating college senior, or a retired person, we human beings all want to know that we're acceptable, that our being alive somehow makes a difference in the lives of others.

- The real issue in life is not how many blessings we have, but what we do with our blessings. Some people have many blessings and hoard them. Some have few and give everything away. 

- The purpose of life is to listen - to yourself, to your neighbor, to your world and to God and, when the time comes, to respond in as helpful a way as you can find...from within and without. 

- The world needs a sense of worth, and it will achieve it only by its people feeling that they are worthwhile. 

- In The Little Prince there is a phrase, "L'essential est invisible pour les yeux." (What is essential is invisible to the eyes.) The closer we get to know the truth of that sentence, the closer I feel we get to wisdom. 

- I find out more and more every day how important it is for people to share their memories. 

-  Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. 

Deliberate Acts of Kindness - Book Notes

Recently I read Deliberate Acts of Kindness by Meredith Gould. 

The author examined how service is a spiritual practice. Below are some points from the book that I found interesting: 

Eight Degrees of Tzedakah

1. To give grudgingly, reluctantly, or wit hregret;

2. To give less than one should, but with grace;

3. To give what one should, but only after being asked;

4. To give before one is asked;

5. To give without knowing who will receive it, although the recipient knows the identity of the giver;

6. To give without making known one's identity;

7. To give so that neither giver nor receiver knows the identity of the others;

8. To help another to become self-supporting, by means of a gift, a loan, or by finding employment for the one in need.

"Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead," wrote James in an epistle to members of the early church.

Buddhists...practice generosity, morality, renunciation, patience, truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness, and evenmindedness.

List what you think are totally perfect ways for you to serve, letting reason and logic dictate your choices. 

Ask yourself: "What sort of person would I like to become?"

"Fill yourselves first and then only will you be able to give to others." St. Augustine

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

- LEVEL 1 - Physiological Needs - air, water, food, clothing, shelter, sleep

- LEVEL 2 - Safety and Security Needs - order, stability, certainty, routine, familiarity, protection from fear and disease, physical safety, economic security, freedom from threat

- LEVEL 3 - Social Needs - love, acceptance, belonging, affection

- LEVEL 4 - Esteem Needs - respect and recognition from others, self-respect, a sense of prestige

- LEVEL 5 - Self-Actualization Needs - peak experiences, fulfilling a sense of self and calling, opportunities for learning and creating at higher levels

Grant us ears to hear,
Eyes to see,
Wills to obey,
Hearts to love; 
Then declare what you will, 
Reveal what you will, 
Command what you will,
Demand what you will. 
- Christina Rossetti

While it may seem only logical to serve the homeless if you've been homeless, counsel battered women if you've been one, or to do hospice work if you've watched a loved one die without dignity, you may not be emotionally ready to serve in these ways.

As you behold evidence of tragedy, waste, abuse, and simple ignorance in people's lives get into the habit of asking yourself: What would make a difference? How could I make a difference? 

Combine service work for others with R&R for yourself by looking into volunteer gigs at museums, theaters, concert halls, nature preserves, or community playgrounds. 

"The way you begin to change the world is through service." Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Gig is Right for You If...

- You not only respect but like people in charge - their values, dedication, and human decency.

- You feel immediately at home with other volunteers, sensing they're exactly the kind of folk with whom you want to spend time. 

- You experience a sense of satisfaction despite whatever frustrations and disappointments quickly - or gradually - emerge. 

The Gig is Wrong for You If...

- You feel entirely too overwhelmed by the enormity of what needs to be done. 

- You can't help but notice that everyone is a heck of a lot nicer to those being served than they are to anyone on the volunteer staff. 

- You not only start dreading the prospect of showing up, but you unconsciously - or consciously - act out by arriving late or calling in sick or too busy.

"Charity begins at home." - Terence

Agree to serve on a trial basis. Establish a mutually acceptable period of time to check out the setting, staff, and other volunteers. Committing to at least one month and preferably three will give you - and them - an opportunity to experience the match. 

Do all the good you can,
by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can, 
all the times you can, 
to all the people you can, 
as long as you can.
- John Wesley

Start a prayer journal when you begin a new type or place of service. Note what you're being called upon to do and record any thoughts, feelings, and attitudes that emerge as a result. 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love, 
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy. 
O divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek 
To be consoled, as to console, 
To be understood, as to understand, 
To be loved, as to love, 
For it is in giving that we receive; 
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. 
- St. Francis of Assisi

"Compassion is the only source of energy that is useful and safe." Thich Nhat Hanh 

Model loving self-care by canceling your appearance and staying home when you have a splitting headache, drippy nose, moist cough, or fever. One of your gifts to the world should not be your germs. Showing up sick is not heroic, it's inconsiderate. 

If you can't seem to arrive on time, something else - like resistance - is going on. Maybe you're in the wrong environment entirely. 

You were led to the perfect place to doing as well as being, and now you're deep into wondering: "Is it still God's grace if I hate it?" What happened? This divinely inspired service gig is not the slightest bit illuminating, it's more heart-hardening than opening, and for sure you are not having fun. Unfortunately, you're also beginning to love watching lots of incredibly stupid TV because it takes your mind off the nonsense that goes on in the name of serving others. You're feeling lousy physically, never fully able to share the dull headache...Welcome to the shadow side of service. 

Every six months, take the time to reassess what you are doing and where.

Boundaries are the limitations you set on what you perceive as insensitive behavior coming from others. The more firm the boundary, the greater your protection.

Establish a healthy separation between private and public worlds by creating a ritual to mark your entrance into and departure from service situations. 

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." Gandhi

Do not underestimate the stress of being around a lot of noise from people, equipment, traffic, and natural disasters. The best antidote to noise is silence. Make sure you eliminate or at least significantly reduce all aural stimulation as soon as you can. Listen to soothing music on your way home. Once home, turn the phone, television, and other noise off. You need a period of silent "down time" to calm body, soul, and spirit after a tough day of giving. 

The Zero Point Agreement - Book Notes

The Zero Point Agreement - How to Be Who You Already Are by Julie Tallard Johnson is a book I discovered on Goodreads. 

A person I know read it and it looked intriguing. There is a lot of good information in it and I'm glad she posted that she was reading it. Below are the parts of the book I found relevant to me and/or that I wanted to remember.

- We can't follow someone else's hero path. We must pave our own paths through life. We can of course borrow from those who we discern have gone successfully before us, like Christ or Buddha, or poet and pacifist William Stafford, or author and environmentalist Aldo Leopold, who each paved their own way.

- Creativity, inspiration, and all that goes into living a meaningful life come, too, from our ability to distance ourselves from all that limits the expression of our free will.

- When someone or something outside ourselves directs our choices and experiences, we are not living life from our side and we are held captive by this limitation. When limited by our perceived choices for a prolonged stint of time, we become uninspired.

- An enduring lack of inspiration can lead to giving up, addiction, depression, hopelessness, and helplessness. We then get held back, too, by blaming others for our lack of happiness or success.

- People often create their life works from what they want but do not have - like how Jane Austen wrote of romantic love but lacked it in her life. Many poets write about what they long for. 

- Let go of the "right and wrong," the dogma, or someone else's way and walk your own life. Write your own story. Paint in your own way. 

Out beyond ideas of right-doing and wrong-doing

There is a field

I will meet you there.

- Rumi, 13th century Persian poet

- When we experience ourselves as separate from natural phenomena, from each other, and from ourselves, we tend to "cover up" with the false self. The false self is made up of our pain stories and outdated myths and underlying assumptions, agreements, and beliefs that are linked to our past. 

- An undisciplined mind, an inability to stay focused, makes you vulnerable to internal and external distractions. These distractions can ultimately lead you away from your creative and spiritual intentions. 

- Everyone knows their calling - it boils down to listening to the call and following it, rather than getting lost in all the distractions.

- Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Your beliefs become your thoughts,

your thoughts become your words,

your words become your actions,

your actions become your habits,

your habits become your values,

your values become your destiny.

- Mahatma Gandhi

- In Buddhist practices, we hold ourselves accountable for how we respond to our circumstances.

I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother 

to endow it with the most useful gift, 

that gift would be curiosity.

- Eleanor Roosevelt

- To see the new story that may be offering itself up to you (or that is calling to you), you have to release old stories about how things are supposed to be or look. 

There is no passion to be found playing small - 

in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

- Nelson Mandela

- We settle for the comfort in the routine, for what feels familiar, for what we know. Sometimes we settle for what someone else wants for us. Every time we want to create something new, leave behind some old way of being, or challenge ourselves to try something different - resistance arises and we find ourselves on this slippery slope of settling. 

- If you are not moving toward your dream, you are settling. So if you claim that nothing out of the ordinary calls to you - you are probably settling. 

- Most of us have settled. Maybe not entirely, but in part we have given our time and resources to something or someone that is less than what we want or, more importantly, what we are capable of. We lie to ourselves and say that "this is enough" or "I need to give this more time." 

- We settle for less in ourselves and then in others and miss the fulfillment of a vision.

- Dare to give ourselves more time to be creative or dare ourselves to do something larger like change vocations. 

What you are comes to you.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

- The happiest among us are those of us who take risks and are loyal to our spiritual (ethical) and creative commitments no matter the results.

 Depression is based on our interpretations of our life situations, our circumstances, 

our self-conceptions. We get depressed for not being the person we want to be. 

We get depressed when we think we have not been able to 

achieve the things that we want to achieve in life. 

- Traleg Kyabgon

- Depression is not about you. It affects everyone around you, including your larger community. Self-absorption is not a cure and will result in an even greater sense of isolation.

- Life is constantly in motion and changing, and when we hold on to an old story that is no longer even possible, depression can take root.

- A person who is depressed and angry....they are leaving a large part of their life unlived. Their antidote is simple (but not easy): they need to activate their creative life - take that class, bring out the guitar, write that book, or hold more conversations and take more trips. They need to commit to the active creative life and do so in the open. 

- Antidotes to depression: spend time outside in a natural environment. Watch Off the Map.

- A troublemaker can be a person, situation, or event that presents us with some difficulty. When a troublemaker shows up in your life, you have the opportunity to let it pull you away from your creative intentions or use it in your creative and spiritual pursuits. 

- Let go of the opinions of others. Typically the threats made by a bully include ruining others' opinions of you, whether explicitly or implicitly. So when you can let go of others' opinions as being meaningful to you, a better fate awaits you. 

Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. 

What a man thinks of himself, that is what determines, or rather, indicates his fate. 

- Henry David Thoreau

- The illusion is that "when I get this I will be happy." The focusing illusion includes putting our happiness on outward objects and circumstances and typically looks into the future. There is a lack of creativity involved because we are putting our energy in an illusionary state of when.  This illusion forgoes living life from your side because the focus of your happiness is on something outside of yourself.

Most people believe that they would be happier if they were richer, 

but survey evidence on the subject of well-being is largely inconsistent with that belief. 

- Daniel Kahneman

- If we work hard all day and then give nothing to our spiritual or creative life, or to our relationships for that matter, everyone suffers. 

- Clutter is often a manifestation of this agreement to put our creative life on hold. As the piles of paper, waste, and stuff accumulate, it gives us more and more things we have to get to before we can get to our creative lives. Then, the door closes and it is too late.

Good artists copy; great artists steal.

- Pablo Picasso

- You can't live the creative life without borrowing from the dead, or from the living. You must steal shamelessly from those who came before you and those around you now. Then you must make it your own. In making the materials you own you get what you want - a personal and direct experience that is both creative and spiritual.

- A large part of my life's work is to leave behind a truly rich compost pile for those who will live off my life. Whatever we leave behind makes up our compost. Our books, our art, our ideas, our children, our teachings, our attitude, our beliefs, our legacies all go into our life's compost. 

- Stealing is different from just copying or plagiarizing others. When you copy, you haven't put yourself into it.

- If we only duplicate what inspires us, nothing truly creative will come of it. Steal what inspires you, then do something inspirational with this association. Make it your own somehow. 

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. 

- Albert Einstein 

- Read Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. 

- Spiritual activism is the creative act of showing up in intimate and open conversations with everything around you.

- Treating every conversation and interaction as if it were our last invites us to invest more in what we say, and in what we don't say, to each other. 

- Have some kind of daily practice (journaling, walking) that reinforces your creative and spiritual life. Don't waste this precious lifetime by putting things off or ignoring the daily call to be active in your spiritual and creative life. Remember, none of us know the day or hour of our death. So let's not be frivolous with the remarkable opportunity of this day. 

The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln - Book Notes

Recently, I read The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln - A Treasury of Quotations, Anecdotes, and Observations by James Humes. 

The quotes were divided by subject which made it easy to understand the context in which the quote was said. There were many things that Abraham Lincoln said that I had not heard before. Some include:

- I say "try" - if we never try, we shall never succeed.

- Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it - the real thing is the tree.

- He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help.

- All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother.

- When I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he were fighting bees.

- I shall meet with some terrible end. 

- Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.

- I always assume my audiences are wiser than I am, and I say the most sensible thing I can to them and I never found that they did not understand me.

- Don't shoot too high [when public speaking]. Aim low and the common people will understand you. 

- If we could know first where we are and whither we are tending we could better judge what to do and how to do it. 

- The pioneer in any movement is not generally the best man to carry that movement to a successful issue. It was so in the old times: Moses began the emancipation of the Jews, but didn't take Israel to the Promised Land after all. He had to make way for Joshua to complete the work.

- If we cannot give freedom to every creature, let us do nothing that will impose slavery upon any other creature. 

- Wealth is a superfluity of things we don't need.

Another section of the book was devoted to different things that related to Lincoln's life or appearance - such as his beard or hat, or actions or situations that he was in. Some of the information about Abraham Lincoln that I found interesting included:

- Lincoln, unlike contemporary politicians, employed no speechwriter. 

- Lincoln's humility was rooted in an awareness of his and any man's limitations.

- If the log cabin birth and violent death frame his life, the warm colors of his honesty and humanity constitute the picture. 

- Lincoln's silk stovepipe hat was part of his office. It served as his desk when he would jot notes on its flat top and also his file drawer where he would keep his datebook, checkbook, and letters. When he would think of an idea, he would scribble it on a piece of paper and then insert it in the hatband. 

20 Quotes (Swap-bot)

There's a swap on Swap-bot that intrigued me in which 20 words were given and the challenge was to find quotes, lyrics, sayings, or titles that included those words. I chose to focus on quotes. I've included photos that I've taken or that were taken of me throughout the years that tie into the quotes.

Dog 

“Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog. It merely expands the heart.”―Author Unknown

Baseball 

“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday’s success or put its failures behind and start over again. That’s the way life is, with a new game every day, and that’s the way baseball is.” – Bob Feller

Love 

“A life lived in love will never be dull.” – Leo Buscaglia

Man 

“You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.”
― Brigham Young

Holiday 

“A holiday is an opportunity to journey within.” —Prabhas

Mountain 

“Everybody wants to reach the peak, but there is no growth on the top of a mountain. It is in the valley that we slog through, the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak.” – Andy Andrews

Remember 

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." - Benjamin Franklin

Race 

"No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them." - Elie Wiesel

Horse 

​”Through the days of love and celebration and joy, and through the dark days of mourning – the faithful horse has been with us always.” ​- Elizabeth Cotton

Hospital 

“Still, when you work in a hospital, the papers you file aren't just papers: they are fragments of narratives filled with risks and triumphs.” ― Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air

Music 

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” ― Albert Einstein

Night 

“The moon will guide you through the night with her brightness, but she will always dwell in the darkness, in order to be seen.” ― Shannon L. Alder

Drama 

“If only people put as much energy into helping people as they do into creating drama.” ― Akiroq Brost

Beach

"Every time I stand before a beautiful beach, its waves seem to whisper to me: If you choose the simple things and find joy in nature’s simple treasures, life and living need not be so hard.” – Psyche Roxas-Mendoza

Eyes 

"Your eyes show the strength of your soul." Paulo Coelho.

Sad 

"Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Fell 

"If you fell down yesterday, stand up today." - H. G. Wells

Drive 

“Passion and drive are not the same at all. Passion pulls you toward something you cannot resist. Drive pushes you toward something you feel compelled or obligated to do. If you know nothing about yourself, you can't tell the difference. Once you gain a modicum of self-knowledge, you can express your passion.....It's not about jumping through someone else's hoops. That's drive.” ― Randy Komisar, The Monk and the Riddle: The Education of a Silicon Valley Entrepreneur

Home 

"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place we can go as we are and not be questioned." - Maya Angelou

Funny

"There's only one true superpower amongst human beings, and that is being funny. People treat you differently if you can make them laugh." - Jeff Garlin

Tao Te Ching (Book Notes)

 One of the books that was recommended for the photography class I took earlier this spring was Tao Te Ching by Stephen Mitchell. This is a new English version of the Tao Te Ching written by Lao-tzu.

There were some parts that resonated with me. I've noted them below:

- In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present. (8) 

- Care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity. (9)

- We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move. We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want. We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable. We work with being, but non-being is what we use. (11)

Horse and buggy in southeast Minnesota.

- When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists. Next best is a leader who is loved. Next, one who is feared. The worst is one who is despised. (17)

- Express yourself completely, then keep quiet. Be like the forces of nature: when it blows, there is only wind; when it rains, there is only rain; when the clouds pass, the sun shines through. (23)

- He who stands on tiptoe doesn't stand firm. He who rushes ahead doesn't go far. He who tries to shine dims his own light. He who defines himself can't know who he really is. He who has power over others can't empower himself. He who clings to his work will create nothing that endures. (24)

- Thus the Master travels all day without leaving home. However splendid the views, she stays serenely in herself. If you let yourself be blown to and fro, you lose touch with your root. (26) 

- A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants. (27)

My mom, sister, and me on vacation in the late 1960s.

- Weapons are the tools of violence; all decent men detest them. (31)

- Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich. If you stay in the center and embrace death with your whole heart, you will endure forever. (33)

- When there is no desire, all things are at peace. (37)

- In harmony with the Tao, the sky is clear and spacious, the earth is solid and full, all creatures flourish together, content wit hthe way they are, endlessly repeating themselves, endlessly renewed. When man interferes with the Tao, the sky becomes filthy, the earth becomes depleted, the equilibrium crumbles, creates become extinct. (39)

- Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe. (42)

- I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. Simple in actions and in thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world. (67)

Sophia putting one of many scarves out for someone who is cold to take.

- The best leader follows the will of the people. [This embodies] the virtue of non-competition. (68)

- Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail. (76)

The Guerilla Art Kit (Book Notes)

I've been interested in the guerilla art movement and came across the book The Guerilla Art Kit - Everything You Need to Put Your Message Out Into the World for Fun, Non-profit, and World Domination" by Keri Smith. 

There are a lot of fun ideas in the book. Below are some of them.

- Make seed bombs - add greenery and life (and also food) to places that are neglected or rundown. There's an artist Masanobu Fukuoka who was referenced. The seed bombs will self-germinate when the right conditions occur. You need 2 parts mixed seeds (native is preferred), 3 parts compost, 5 parts powdered red or brown clay, and water (enough until mixture is damp enough to mold into balls).

   Pinch off a penny-sized piece of the clay mixture and roll it between the palms of your hands until it forms a tight ball. Set the balls on newspaper and allow them to dry for 24-48 hours. Store in a cool place until ready to sow. 

- Chalk Quotes - collect some quotes - the shorter ones work best. Find a good location - in front of the post office, the library, or on a street. Sidewalks use up chalk rather quickly, so bring more than you need. Visit the location at another time and watch people responding to the quotes. 

- Guerilla Gardening - you'll need a towel, seeds, watering container, and soil (optional). Look for sidewalk cracks, empty planters, ditches, ugly green spaces, spaces next to ugly buildings, etc. Add soil if the conditions are less than desirable. Plant and water.

- Public Chalkboard - paint the desired surface with chalkboard paint (either green or black). Leave chalk for people to share their own thoughts. 

- The Unexpected Object - you'll need a jar, found object, paper, and pen. Get a jar and write on the lid, "Pick me up." Put something of interest inside it - a note, a found object, etc. Leave on a park bench. You could also put tags on objects that say, "A Gift for You." Another idea is to leave hand-written or typed notes in the pockets of pans for sale in a store. 

- Moss Graffiti - you'll need 12 oz. of buttermilk, several clumps of garden moss, a plastic container with lid, blender, and paintbrush. This recipe will create several small pieces or one large piece of graffiti. Gather several clumps of moss and crumble them into a blender. Add the buttermilk and blend just long enough to create a smooth, creamy consistency. Pour the mixture into a plastic container. Find a suitable damp and shady wall onto which you can apply your moss milkshake. Paint your chosen design onto the wall (either freehand or using a stencil). Return to the area over the following weeks to ensure that the mixture is kept moist. Soon the blended moss will begin to grow into a rooted plan and create the design. 

- Wish Tree - create an envelope or use an existing one. Cut out blank tags from paper or fabric and punch a hole near one end of each tag. Tie 5" pieces of string to the holes. Place tags in envelop. Affix envelope and pen to a tree somewhere nearby. Write some of your own wishes on a few of the tabs and hang them there to encourage others. Instead of tags, use colored ribbons approximately 10 inches long. 

- Origami Additions - choose an origami format (e.g., crane, balloon). Make multiples (30 or more). Find a place, such as a tree, to hang the objects.

Living Well Spending Less - Book Notes

This past week I read Living Well Spending Less by Ruth Soukup. 

Although there was a lot of information I already was taught or knew, there were still some new things that I learned. Below are some things that I thought were helpful:

These are some of the quotes that were in the book that I liked: 

- What would happen if we took the time to actually write down our current priorities? How would our perspective change if we took just a few moments to determine what it is we want most out of life?

- If I were to die tomorrow, what would people remember me for?

- If you are discontent, consider that:

- You are reading a book (people in many countries in the world have tightly restricted access to books, newspapers, and the internet)
- You are not hungry - 870 million people or roughly 1/8 of the world's population, are suffering from chronic hunger.
- You have access to medicine - between 1.3 and 2.1 billion people in the world do not have access to even the most basic medicines

- You can drive - only 9% of the world's population owns a vehicle.

- You can turn on the lights - 1.2 billion people don't have access to electricity.

- You are not thirsty - 780 milllion people in the world lack access to clean water.

- You have a place to sleep tonight - 100 million people do not have homes around the world, including between 600,000 and 2.5 million homeless right in the United States.

- Find someone you can bless today.

- Living in our sweet spot means not only taking the time to discover our passions and to realize what it is we were made to do, but also being willing to take the next step.

- Taking the time to write down your vision of the future not only forces you to self-evaluate and to decide what is most important, but it also motivates you to act on those dreams.

- Do Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and resources on DaveRamsey.com

- Put your most important tasks first each day. 

- Take the first 30 minutes of your day to work only on long-term goals.

- Eliminate things in your day that don't align with your priorities and are taking up time but not adding value.

- Do our choices match our calling - our vision, goals, passions, and dreams?

- Stuff isn't bad or dangerous in and of itself, but in a world where we are constantly told that what we have isn't quite good enough, the love of things can so easily consume us. The pursuit of it all...makes us forget all the things that actually matter.

- Less stuff equals more joy.

- Give your children a life filled with the things that matter most, things like faith, joy, peace, fellowship, contentment, gratitude, and compassion.

- Cut all nonessential spending for one month. Only spend on normal bills and perishable food items (e.g., bread, milk, vegetables). Everything else is off-limits.

- As I was growing up, the first and only rule of money was that we didn't talk about money.

- Only 32% of Americans actually prepare a detailed budget each month and only 24% have a long-term financial plan.

- Create a stockpile in your pantry or cupboards of the grocery staples and food items your family eats.

- Consider going meatless or two days a week.

- When was the last time you reached out to a friend to find out how they were doing, without the ulterior motive of sharing your own latest news? 

- When was the last time you picked up the phone just to catch up, or dropped off a meal just because you knew they could probably use it?

- If friendships are to be a priority in your life, you have to be purposeful about making time for your friends, even when you are busy.

- Creativity is born out of limitations rather than out of abundance.

- Ways to cultivate more creativity in your life:

- Read more - the more you read, the more you know. Reading engages your brain and makes it work better.

- Reflect

- Ask questions

- Pay attention

- Play

- Brainstorm

- Rest

- Cultivate and enjoy the creativity of the people around you.

- Give of your time and talents:

- Cook or bake: deliver a meal to a sick friend, neighbor, or shut-in; volunteer to cook in a local soup kitchen or women's shelter, or send a care package to a college student or soldier. 

- Good with children: become a Big Brother/Big Sister, become a tutor, volunteer to read at the local library or school.

- Love animals: volunteer at a local animal shelter, volunteer at a local wildlife center, 

- Introvert: shelve books at the local library, volunteer at the local food pantry, donate blood, write encouraging notes or cards to teachers, friends, neighbors, soldiers, prisoners, or other people who may feel lonely or discouraged.

- Outdoorsy: volunteer at the local park or work in a local community garden. 

- Serve in love in your home:

- Offer genuine encouragement and know what's going on in their days.

- Show grace - forgive and forget without harboring a grudge or resentment.

- Be generous - give freely and generously of your time, energy, and resources. Take care of the home and cook meals. Help out without being asked and without expecting anything in return.

- Slow down - if overcommitted, then be intentional about eliminating the things that don't need to be done so you can have more time to just be.

- Have fun - laugh and play games with your family. Go for walks or bike rides. Spend a day at the beach. Do something completely unexpected, just for fun. 

- Make a list of three areas in your life where you could stand to be more generous.

- How many hours a week or month do you spend volunteering or doing service work? Make a plan to volunteer or serve some time in the next month.

- Write down three goals for making improvements in serving those people closest to you. Give the best of yourself to your spouse and children.

QUOTES 

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of the intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that one life has breathed easier because you lived here. This is to have succeeded." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

"Contentment makes poor men rich. Discontentment makes rich men poor." (Benjamin Franklin)

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that." (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

"The greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not our circumstances." (Martha Washington) 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." (Romans 12:9-10)

"People are most successful when they are in their sweet spot. Your sweet spot is the intersection where your passion meets your greatest strength." (Ken Coleman)

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully." (Romans 12:6-8)

"Things that matter most should never be at the mercy of things that matter least." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Add these quotes to the purple book of quotes that I keep:

"Have nothing in your houses that you don't know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." (William Morris)

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:11-13)

"We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like." (Dave Ramsey)

"The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty." (Proverbs 21:5)

"A bargain ain't a bargain if it is not something you need." (Sidney Carroll)

"I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home...I am thankful for the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby." (Nancie J. Carmody)

"You aren't really wealthy until you have something that money can't buy." (Garth Brooks)

"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give." (Winston Churchill)