The Hindrances - Part 4 (Sleepiness, Restlessness, Doubt)

Good Morning,

Well all week I've been writing about the five hindrances that keep us from fully realizing our potential. Today I am going to try and cover the three remaining hindrances Sleepiness (or sloth), restlessness, and doubt in this single post. 

Let's start with sleepiness or sloth. This is a dullness or heaviness in the mind. It's not so much sleepiness in the traditional meaning, but more akin to murky, confused and disconnected states of mind. Sloth has many causes, sometimes it is simply an energetic imbalance. We as humans are always walking a fine line between calmness and tranquility and alertness and presence. It's quite common for our minds to develop the relaxing, being at peace mode faster than the interested, energizing, alert aspects of the mind. This makes it easy to fall off into a dreamy, drifting state, oozing along enjoying the movie and images playing out in your mind. There is nothing wrong with us for this state of mind we just need to be aware that when we are in that state we simply are drifting along with no clear definition or precise sense of what is happening. This leads us to boredom. Boredom has been my all time personal arch enemy. Ever since I was a child I hated and feared being bored (just ask my mother). Boredom is a form of sloth. It has taken me many years and countless lessons to finally recognize and welcome boredom into my life. Funny thing about boredom - It is not caused form a lack of stimulus, it is caused from a lack of attention. Don't believe me? Try it next time you're bored. Just find something, anything and focus really hard on it. Look at it as though you have never seen it. Where did the boredom go? 

The fourth hindrance is restlessness and it is the opposite of sleepiness. Like sleepiness, restlessness comes from an energetic imbalance, but in this case it is the alert, enthused aspects of the mind that are dominate. Sometimes we feel as though we are going to jump out of our skin and we can feel this same sensation emotionally, mentally, or psychologically. I use to try and find security through control. I thought that if I could control everything, I could control the outcome of every situation. The reality was that there was very little I could control so my mind would fight it and move faster and faster to try and overcome it. Believe me when I say it can become compulsive. Restlessness can bring on guilt - our jumping minds start recalling things we said or moments we are not particularly proud of and our minds begin tumbling with guilt. Having these memories is not a problem, but their discomfort can make us feel very restless. So how do we work with restlessness? One way is to simplify your experience and slow down the mind by literally coming back to the moment. Feel and notice your breath or the breeze as it blows across your face. Forget about the giant overall experience and just get present with whatever you are doing. The restlessness will not go away but become more focused more direct. At this point what is restlessness?

The last and final hindrance is doubt. This is probably the most prevalent and powerful of all the hindrances. Doubt in the context of a hindrance is defined as "great indecision." The doubting mind is like a horse in the pasture - it runs all over the place. Doubt is the inability to make a commitment or take a the risk of finding out for yourself where a certain decision may lead you. When we let doubt hold us back from meeting the consequences of our choices, we never learn to make better ones. There is one aspect of doubt that is wholesome and that is the ability to question. We should never accept anything as a truth until we question and discover it's answer for ourself. Most forms of doubt are detrimental and they remove us from the process of discovery. How many times have you not tried something new in front of others because you are afraid of how you or they may respond? In todays modern world we are bombarded with so many choices we start to doubt even the most basic decisions. The mind starts playing out the which one is better, which is faster, should I get this or should I get that? We begin to worry and doubt that we are making a "good" decision. Doubt is seductive, we believe strongly that doubt is speaking the ultimate truth and we give it a lot of power. Yet with devotion and confidence in our ability to awaken we can cultivate our capacities to understand doubt and put it in its place.

I will summarize all the hindrances and more ways to deal with them in my next post. Until then take care, have a meaningful weekend and remember this as you journey through it: Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. With respect to luxuries and comforts, the wisest have even lived a more simple and meagre life than the poor.

Peace and Love, Jim

The Hindrances, Part 3 (Aversion)

Good Morning,

The second major hindrance or obstruction of understanding is aversion. We experience it in many ways: as anger or hatred, fear, irritation, annoyance, or sorrow. It can be one of the tougher hindrances to recognize, but it's overall characteristic is an expression of a "condemning mind." When we experience pain and we want to avoid it or worse we start judging ourselves over it (poor me I am in so much pain) that is aversion. It also comes in the form of bargaining such as - I'll do this because it's good for me, or I'll become aware of this if it will make it go away, again this is aversion.

A typical aversion scenario use to play itself out over and over in my life. Back in my school days there was always this one person in our circle of friends I just could not stand. I did not care for the way they walked, talked, ate their lunch or dressed. Funny thing is I had never spoken with this person or had any real interaction with them and yet my mental projections of them would play themselves out in my mind as these mini dramas or stories. It took me many many years to recognize that what was going on was a form of aversion. I was letting the thoughts or memories of this person trigger an emotional roller-coaster that always took me for a ride.

Just as with desire we need not judge our fear, anger, frustration, contraction, irritation, annoyance, or the many other forms of aversion we experience. We simply watch and note the experiences as they arise, this is the beginning of recognition and acceptance. Recognition without judgement is the toughest part of working with aversion,or any hindrance for that matter. If we can watch ourselves and recognize the feelings and how they feed the hindrance then we are on our way to relinquishing the power they have over us.

Enjoy the day and contemplate this thought: Your entire life has been conditioned by attraction to the pleasant and aversion to the unpleasant: we should not be ruled by them; they are only obstacles in our path.

Peace and Love, Jim

The Hindrances, Part 2 (Desire)

Good Morning,

So I started talking about the five hindrances in yesterdays post. Today I will talk about the first of the five.

I have been examining the hindrances for sometime now. I am just now getting to where I am mindful enough to recognize them as they arise. The point is to simply be able to recognize them, by doing so we change our experience with them. We are not bad people or poor at some type of mind game, this is simply how our minds work and we have the ability to recognize and understand this.

The first and probably easiest hindrance to identify is "desire." We've all experienced it at some time or another and that's quite natural, but that's where most of us stop. When we speak of desire as a hindrance we are referring to a force of craving, clinging, or grasping. Desire in this context means a holding on in the mind. The intensity of desire has a huge range varying from a passive craving for chocolate to full blown addictions that can trap us again and again. We can desire peace or become attached to happiness, it's all the same - wanting for something too badly sets us up for suffering down the road.

None of this is to say that we should not enjoy our life or find pleasure in it, quite the contrary. Recognizing desire when it appears without getting caught up or lost in it allows us to see it more clearly, to investigate it more deeply and truly have a better appreciation for the pleasure. All desire is born out of pleasure it's why we want in the first place. Our aspiration is not to judge ourselves for having desires but to not be so lost in, or driven by the force of desire. If we can ask ourselves where is this desire taking me? Do I want to go there? What will be the end result? The we can reflect on our answers and prioritize where we put our energy.

Enjoy the day and hold this thought: The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring.

Peace and Love, Jim

The Hindrances, Part 1

Good Morning,

Some of you may have recently heard me speaking of the five hindrances. You may have even heard me noting them quietly on occasions. Many of you no doubt know them first hand while others may have never heard of them (at least not in a formal sense). So just what are these "hindrances"? Well in the course of training our mind we take on an incredibly difficult task, one that requires tremendous courage, steadfastness and perseverance. The difficulties that arise are very much a part of that training and ultimately life itself. The things that throw us or cause us distractions or suffering are called hindrances and there are five root hindrances.

Now think about that for a moment. All of life's seemingly endless array of problems can be boiled down to only five basic causes. Now that is much more manageable than what can often seem like thousands upon thousand of compounded complex emotions and situations! For the rest of this week here within the daily buddha, I would like to shed a little more light on these hindrances so that we may all understand them and the ways in which we may recognize and deal with them.

The five hindrances as they have been identified for us are: Desire, Aversion, Laziness, Restlessness, and Doubt. I feel it is important to share and understand our experiences as we all move through life and as you come to understand these hindrances feel free to share your personal stories with me through emails or through this blog for no one lives alone and everyone can use a hand.

Have a beautiful day and carry this thought: The greatest hindrances to realizing your true potential are those that are within you.

Peace and Love, Jim

Success

Good Morning,

Having started my own business several years back I have had to personally and professionally define many parameters such as what am I doing? Where am I trying to go? or How will I know when I get there? Ultimately they all seem to require some definition success. In both our lives and our work we often question if what we have done and what we are doing is successful. Am I moving in the right direction? Is my business going to achieve it's goals? Well much like happiness we must ask ourselves what is happiness for me? What is success? It is a simple question and there is no harm in seeking an answer, after all how can one achieve their goals if they do not know what they look, taste, or feel like?

I have been on many teams in my life, I have walked alone at times. I have slowly sought to define the things that once seemed so important to me. This has allowed me to to affirm many beliefs in my life and redefine many more. As for happiness ask me over a cup of tea. As for success - success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, and becoming all that we can be.

So be.

Peace and Love, Jim

Education

Good Morning,

I was in discussions with a dear friend the other day about education and what has become in todays institutions. In the course of our talk I mentioned that what I felt was more useful knowledge for life and success (however you define that) is not taught and I was not sure it good be. Can we teach people to see opportunity instead of strictly problem solving? How many things in life truly have a "right" answer? Now I was not saying that the fundamentals and foundations of formal education are to be ignored or glossed over, I simply felt there are some subjects in dealing with life that should have a place in our classrooms. Skills are very important in life but as Napoleon once said "Ability is of little account without opportunity." Maybe my points are mute. It has been some years since my last venture back to school. I may not have a well based experience to comment from, but it was many years and time spent outside the classroom that I learned continuous effort, not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking our potential.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Peace and Love, Jim

Together

Good Morning,

Last night I celebrated being with my beautiful wife Kelly for 18 years. We have quite a history together and endless tales of growth, pain and learning. . . none of which we would have done any differently. I feel fortunate to have found someone to walk with and although we are strong individuals we are an even stronger team. One of the most important things we have awaken to over the years is that what we need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring us to this very moment, and this is the moment we can choose to make everything new. Right now.

When we are asked what the secret to a successful marriage we have only one answer and that is love. The thing is love is not a clock. You simply cannot take it apart just to see what makes it tick, and even if you could, you probably could never get it back together again. So instead of trying to figure out love or how to love correctly we have always kept one thought shared between us - Life has taught us that love does not consist in looking at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.

Have a beautiful day and may you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough perseverance to make you happy.

Peace and Love, Jim

Experience

Good Morning,

Many times we see people who seem to be real experts at what they do. No matter what is thrown at them or the direction circumstances take, they always appear able to handle it with grace, knowledge and directness. One may wonder how someone gets to this point, whether it be their personal life, business affairs or their relationships. You might wonder what book they have read or what mentor led them to their skilled ways and it can all be summed up in one word - experience.

Experience is the culmination of many things and unfortunately you can not go and buy it off the shelf. It's the stuff that separates children from adults, great leaders from simple order takers and the wise from the merely informed. The funny thing about experience is that a great deal of it comes from bad judgment, it's just the way the plan unfolds and the lessons are given to us.

So to have experience we need not fear making mistakes or going in wrong directions. What we do need is to be aware of the moments we are in and conscience of the decisions we take so that we can note the experience and learn from it regardless of the outcome. It is through this lens that we can enrich our experience, be present to the lessons of life and develop our pool of resources from which we can make better decisions. Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.

Have a great day and carry this thought: We are not judged by the number of times we fail, but by the number of times we succeed: and the number of times we succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times we fail, learn and begin again, so is there ever any real failure?

Peace and Love, Jim

Seeds

Good Morning,

Sometimes in life we can see not the effects we have upon the world. This often prevents us from understanding that like a pebble dropped into the ocean we too create a ripple in the vastness of our world. Our actions, our words, and even our thoughts ripple outward to be reflected in everything around us. My grandfather was somewhat of a history buff and would clip out stories from the newspaper. The following story just goes to show that regardless of what we can see, it is what we do that is more important.

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. He wanted to pay the farmer for saving his sons life. The Scottish farmer would not accept payment for what anyone would do, and refused the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel. The nobleman offered to take the farmers son under wing and provide him a good education.

Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin. Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.

As it has been said we reap what we sow.

Have a beautiful day.

Peace and Love, Jim

Bounce

Good Morning,

We've all had times in our lives when things simply seemed at their worst. For some reason or another we hit what seems like a rough spot and get thrown off the horse so to speak. There is nothing wrong with this or us for getting thrown. There is no good or bad fall after all - it simply is what happens.  It's what you do after you hit the ground that matters. Some of us fear the fall itself and spend the rest of our lives safely missing well. . .  our lives. Some of us never pick our selves back up and miss the point entirely.

So is there a point? No not really. To live is to have ups and downs. When babies are learning to walk they fall, over and over and over. . . .not once do they ever stop trying because they fall. If that were the case would anyone learn to walk? When we fall on what seems like the downside of life we are simply in the process of learning - try to remember this. When we are on the upside of life we should enjoy the moment and know that it will not last forever -  try to remember this as well.

No where was it written that life should be a steady constant, that we should live in some type of blissful perfection. Life has it's ups and downs. How can it be any other way? 

If I have learned one thing in my time thus far it's that life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce. 

Peace and Love, Jim

As It Is

Good Morning,

Many people may consider my writings here as "feel good" messages or "have a nice day" philosophies. While it is my intention to have a positive outlook and contribute to the world in meaningful way, I do not mean to gloss over the realities of life. I know there is pain and suffering in the world. I know that we will all have days and moments that are for difficult. I know not everyday can be a good day. That's the point of much I say here. All of these things do exist, but that does not make them "BAD". It simply means they are here. It also does not make us bad people when we falter in the moments of life, again we are still simply people.

The point is things simply are the way they are, everything is here for purpose, for balance and we should not avoid the lessons life's ups and downs hand us on a daily basis. We all possess the ability to turn life's arrows in flowers, but we must wake up and learn that to do so is to understand that ALL IS AS IT SHOULD BE. The good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful are simply the way life unfolds before us and if we are awake to this simple rule, we can embrace all of our experiences from a more positive and understanding experience.

Life is not about having a "good day." It is about being awake and available to whatever it is life hands us. We learn form our mistakes, so do not fear making them. We grow from understanding, so be curious about all things good or bad. And we awaken to the realities of life by being present for ourselves and those we love. So do not feel that everyday is going to be a "good" one, simply know that everyday gives us exactly what we need to grow, learn and wake up to our own possibilities.

If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.

Have a meaningful weekend.

Peace and Love, Jim

A Piece

Good Morning,

Over the last few weekends I have been helping out some friends with a construction project. One day while taking a break sitting atop a gravel pile I began to notice the individual pieces of gravel. As I looked more intently I also found the plastic pieces of the blasting caps that separated these small rocks. Each rock I picked up was individual and unique in it's own way, no two were alike and yet they all came (were blasted actually) from the same giant source rock.

In my younger days I would have no part of religion. I was not anti religious it was just being presented to me in a way I did not care for, therefore like most I simply avoided it. God for me was simply a concept I neither cared for or had no place in my life for (at the time). These days I am constantly reminded by moments like those on the rock pile that I did not just appear here and although I may be unique, I still come from a single source. Many people may be uncomfortable with calling this source "God" and that's fine, my point is that we must all come from one original source. Many people can believe that all apples originated from a single apple seed somewhere back in the dawn of beginnings and most can even believe that other forms of life started with an original gene pool, yet we often do no want to believe that in all of our individual glory we too stem from one source.

For me these days the logic can be no other way. I am like the rock or the apple. I have characteristics which make me different, but really I come from one source, I am connected to all people through that source. We all ultimately came from that one big rock and as we were blasted away from the source material we became aware of what we were and the world for us changed in that instant.

Being aware and conscience of this has brought me closer to people, it has allowed me to see the threads that connect us all and that connection has changed my perceptions and attitudes towards a world I once felt I did not fit into. I am still not a religious fanatic (although some may perceive me as crazy) I have simply reached a point in my life where spirituality and being connected with others is more important than being a individual piece of stone. I am a part of all that I have met.

Have a beautiful day and carry this thought: The entire ocean can be affected by a single pebble.

Peace and Love, Jim

Life's Little Lessons

Good Morning,

I receive so much input and feedback from readers of The Daily Buddha. What started out as a way to share my experiences from my chosen path with others has become a wonderful resource of joy, imagination and inspiration. This morning I would like to share a simple list of things I have received over time from some of you. It truly demonstrates the power and desire to make a difference. Thank you all.

Every so often you push your luck.

Never underestimate the power of a kind word or deed.

Never give up on anybody -- miracles happen every day.

Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

Learn to listen.

Think big thoughts, but relish small pleasures.

Don't expect others to listen to your advice or ignore your example.

Opportunity sometimes knocks very softly.

Leave everything a little better than you found it.

Don't forget: a person's emotional need is to feel appreciated.

Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.

Make new friends but cherish the old ones.

Don't use time or words carelessly, neither can be retrieved.

Judge your success by the degree that you're enjoying peace, health, and love.

Smile a lot: it costs nothing and is beyond price.

As always have a wonderful day, you are loved.

Peace and Love, Jim

Creative Spirit

Good Morning,

In my work as a creative director I have came to understand the nature of problem solving and seeking starting points to problems that can not be readily seen. These same skills also seem to carry over into my daily life. I have learned there is strength in understanding the beauty and reality of imperfection and impermanence. There is courage in being willing to make silly mistakes. Ideas are free so there's no harm in having many, even if some prove to be worthless. Life is flexible -- so are we - be able to change as the situation changes, to break habits, to face indecision and changes in conditions without undue stress.

So I encourage everyone to live creatively, welcome those things into your life which are unexpected, unplanned or spontaneous. There is no joy in knowing what's around every corner or how each day will play itself out. The fun of life is encountering each moment as it arises and seeing not obstacles but opportunities.

Have a beautiful day and carry this thought: The art of creation is older than the art of killing.

Peace and Love, Jim

Learn

Good Morning,

I was doing some reading and found the following words from Winston Churchill and found something very genuine and real about it. I simply wanted to share and hope you find something inspiring. Life after all is a one lesson after another. The best thing in life is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your mind, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honor trampled in the sewers of lesser minds. There is only one cure for it all -- to learn. Learn why the world moves and what moves it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Besides look many things there are to learn.-Winston Churchill

Peace and Love, Jim

Jump In

Good Morning,

When I was a little boy and we would go to the beach, I would try to play in the water, but the waves scared me. I would run out into the water, and I'd see the waves coming and get scared and run back. But the waves would be faster than I could run and it would always overtake me, and throw me off balance, and I would go tumbling. Then I learned that the way to deal with the waves was to put your hands out in front of you and jump into them when they came. The same truth has revealed itself over and over in my life, so now when I encounter the occasional fear in my life I simply face it head it on and jump right in!

I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Peace and Love, Jim

Potential

Good Morning, When we plant a flower seed in the earth, we notice it is small, but we do not criticize it as "rootless and stemless. We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed.

When it first breaks ground as a tender seedling, we don't condemn it as immature and underdeveloped, nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder and allow the process to take place, giving the seedling the care it needs at each stage of its development.

The flower is a flower from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change: Yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfect as it is.

A flower is not better when it blooms than when it is merely a bud; at each stage it is the same thing -- a flower in the process of expressing its potential.

We ask or expect no more from ourselves. At every point in our life we too are simply in the process of expressing our full potential. Have a great day and remember it's not what you have but what you use that makes a difference.

Peace and Love, Jim

Work

Good Morning,

Lately I have been engaged in conversation with many people about work. We all spend the larger portion of our time working and yet most of us consider it part the of our life we just go through to get to the weekends. If we look at that for what it is then most of us blaze through five days of our lives to get to (and hopefully enjoy) two days. Put another way we spend 60 hours a week for 24 hours of pleasure. It's no wonder there are so many people not happy within their jobs or happy at all!

Work can be the greatest pleasure of all, after all you are achieving something, you are learning something, and you are contributing to something. Now whether any of this is true or applies to you personally depends on answering one important question: Why do you go to work? If your only answer is to provide for my family and be comfortable, then chances are you are less than happy in your work. It's not that those are bad reasons for going to work, in fact they are quite noble. It's just that we all go to work for those reasons - that is a given. We need to work for reasons that have more meaning and purpose. Let me propose it this way: We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about! It really is that simple!

Being active and engaged in our work allows us to find creativity, inspiration and accomplishment in our work lives. No matter what you have chosen, or how bad your boss is, or how dismal your companies culture, you are always the chief executive of your inner life (CEIL).

I know this all sounds deceptively simple or like some ideal world that does not exist. I know many people feel they have to work in jobs they do not like. I know many people do not care about any of this at all. I know there are those that simply want a paycheck and to be comfortable. Cows and cats are comfortable and as people we learn sooner or later it's not enough. Believe it or not our work and our jobs can hold greater things for us - lessons to be learned, exciting new possibilities, feelings of accomplishment and so much more that will never show up on your check stub, yet will make you rich beyond your imagination.

Have a fruitful day and carry this thought: If you do it for the money it will not not bring you happiness, but it will make your misery comfortable.

Peace and Love, Jim

What Lies Within

Good Morning,

I hope everyone enjoyed their time over the long holiday weekend! I was speaking with a dear friend one day when the subject of suffering came up. The conversation began with something like. . ."there is so much pain and misery in the world, why should we have to endure it?". Yes there is a great deal of pain and misery in the world, but there is also so much good and love, we simply do not always see it and the news certainly sees no ratings advantage in telling you everything is as it should be! Now the worlds problems are certainly no small issue, but far too often we allow ourselves to be upset by things that are not quite so bad. Perhaps someone we helped has proven ungrateful, someone we believed to be a friend has spoken ill of us, some regard we thought we deserved has been denied to us. We feel such disappointments so strongly that we can no longer work, or even sleep. We lose many irreplaceable hours brooding over grievances that in a year's time will be forgotten.

We will never move forward with these issues big or small if all we ever focus on is the outcome of such events. If we begin to look at and hold our awareness on the positive aspects of what we are trying to achieve we began to gain a more empowering perspective on the situation at hand. Let us devote our lives to worthwhile feelings and actions, to great thoughts, real affections and enduring actions for others because life is too short to be little.

Have a beautiful day and carry this thought: What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us. -Ralph Waldo Emerson-

Peace and Love, Jim

Build

Good Morning, A great and wise man once called one of his workmen to him saying, "Go into the far country and build for me a house. The decisions of planning and of actual construction will be yours, but remember, I shall come to accept your work for a very special friend of mine."

And so the workman departed with a light heart for his field of labor. Material of all kinds was plentiful here, but the workman had a mind of his own. "Surely," he thought, "I know my business. I can use a bit of inferior materials here and cheat on my workmanship a little there, and still make the finished work look good. Only I will know that what I have built has weaknesses."

And so, at last the work was completed and the workman reported back to the great and wise man. "Very good," he said. "Now remember that I wanted you to use only the finest materials and craftsmanship in this house because I wanted to make present of it? My friend, you are the one I had you build it for. It is all yours."

So can be our life. We may build as we like, we may choose not to build at all, but the day comes for each of us that we must live in the life we have built. So what do you build today?

Peace and Love, Jim

Today (two days)

Good Morning, There are two days which we should not worry, two days which should be free from fear and apprehension.

One of the two days is YESTERDAY, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed. We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday has forever passed.

The other day we should not worry about is TOMORROW, with its possible adversities, its burden, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds -- but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.

This leaves only one day -- TODAY -- anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities -- yesterday and tomorrow -- that we break down.

It is not the experience of today that drives us mad -- it is remorse or bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring.

Let us, therefore, live in the here and now, let us live but one day at a time and be open to the moments infinite possibilities.

Have a beautiful day!

Peace and Love, Jim