Glimpse

Good Morning,

Many times we get so caught up in the day to day activities that seem
to take over. Many times it feels as though we are always playing
catch up, always just one step away from our goals. Today I would
like to encourage everyone to take a moment and take stock of where
you are, what you are doing, where you may have failed and what you
may have learned. Life is so simply sweet, if we do not try to
control it, to understand it or even to live it. If we simply
acknowledge where we are for just a moment, we can come to catch a
glimpse of life in all all it unpredictable beauty and power.

There is a little verse that always brings a smile to my face and I
felt compelled to share. There is always something beautiful when we
consider others above ourselves and this little verse reminds me that
even earth can have it's pleasures:

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet upon her
surface
and the winds long to play with your hair.

Enjoy the day, it's another gift of creativity.

Peace and Love, Jim

Forgive

Good Morning,

We have all been hurt by someone in our life, that is simply how it
is. Often times that hurt is partly because we had expectations about
a certain event or person, maybe things did not play themselves out
according to our view, maybe someone was genuinely malicious and out
to hurt others. Regardless of the circumstances, forgiveness and
understanding are the keys to being released from the pain.

Forgiveness can indeed be difficult. Yet in the long run, it is far
easier to forgive than to live with resentment or continuing
retribution. Through forgiveness, we can move away from the pains of
the past. With forgiveness, we can achieve real freedom. There are
always opportunities to benefit from the value of forgiveness. We can
forgive ourself, we can forgive others, and we can forgive even when
we don't know exactly who to forgive. Because forgiveness is not
about who is to blame or who is at fault. Forgiveness is mostly about
letting go, completely and permanently, within ourself.

Forgiveness is recognizing the reality that what has happened has
happened, and that there's no point in allowing it to dominate your
life. Forgiveness refreshingly clears the slate and enables us to
move positively forward.
Carrying around a load of resentment can be an enormous and
unnecessary burden. Forgive early and often, and we'll considerably
lighten our loads.

Have a quite day and carry this thought - To forgive is to set a
prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.

Peace and Love, Jim

More Questions

Good Morning,

Sometime back I made a post with several humorous questions (most
without answers), it was lighthearted and became a very popular post
with many people sending me equally humorous answers and responses.
In the spirit of that I would like to end the week with a few more.
Have a insightful weekend and enjoy the today for what it brings!

Why is abbreviation such a long word?

Why do we sterilize the needles for lethal injection?

Why do people pay to go up tall building and then put money in
binoculars to look at things on the ground?

If identical twin brothers married identical twin sisters would their
kids be identical?

Why do they put Braille on the number pads of drive-through bank
machines?

Why does Porky Pig wear a towel around his waist after a shower, and
then remove the towel and put on a shirt with no pants?

If there is no symbol for zero in Roman numerals, how do you indicate
that amount?

What happens if a vampire with Type A blood bites someone with Type B
blood?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If there is a barber who shaves all and only those men in the village
who do not shave themselves, does the barber shave himself?

Why does a leech have 31 more brains than a human? Are 32 brains
better than one?

In Alaska, why is it legal to shoot bears, but not legal to wake a
sleeping bear for the purpose of taking a photograph?

Why do a mere ten percent of American households leave milk and
cookies for Santa Clause?

You're supposed to live each day as if you were to die tomorrow -
wouldn't that force you to see all your relatives, make arrangements,
write a will, in a fairly short period of time?

If peanut butter cookies are made from peanut butter, then what are
Girl Scout cookies made out of?

If time heals all wounds, why do we have belly buttons?
How does the person who drives the snowplough get to work in the
mornings?

You know how most packages say "Open here"? What is the protocol if
the package says, "Open somewhere else"?

Why are there flotation devices under plane seats instead of parachutes?

Why are cigarettes sold in gas stations when smoking is prohibited
there?

Why do you need a driver's license to buy liquor when you can't drink
and drive?

If you tied buttered toast to the back of a cat and dropped it from a
height, which side up would it land?

If you're in a vehicle going the speed of light, what happens when
you turn on the headlights?

What do you plant to grow a seedless watermelon?

When sign makers go on strike, is anything written on their protest
signs?

If it's zero degrees outside today and it's supposed to be twice as
cold tomorrow, how cold is it going to be?

You know that little indestructible black box that is used on planes?
Why can't they make the whole plane out of the same substance?

Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?

...Philosophy has a very broad definition, in my opinion. It is not
necessarily a confusing question without an answer. Philosophy is an
ideal, an interesting question or statement which inspires one to
think outside the box. A philosopher is one who seeks wisdom and/or
pointlessness.

Peace and Love, Jim

Work

Good Morning,

Recently at work we have been working on a rather difficult project.
It's not that the work is difficult or anything we have not done
before. This particular client simply lacks vision, understanding and
true objectives, which in turn make the work feel unrealistic,
tiresome and without a real point. This is no reason to despair, but
it is taking a certain amount of courage and fortitude to carry off
the tasks. For the past two weeks I have been constantly asking
myself if this was another client would the work feel differently,
would we feel differently about the job at hand and why does it feel
this way in the first place?

Maybe the questions are unwarranted, maybe it's all in our heads? The
one thing I keep returning to is there is a joy in productive effort
that is like no other. If we can create value through whatever we do
then the feeling is so very good and right. It may sometimes seem
that our work is a burden. Yet work is a burden only if we decide to
see it as such. Actually, work can be one of life's greatest joys.
For it is our opportunity to create. If we resent having to work,
consider the alternative. Imagine how boring life would be if we were
never able to make a positive, productive difference. The main thing
that makes work unpleasant is our attitude towards it. With a correct
attitude, not only are our efforts more enjoyable, they produce more
valuable results.

I like anyone struggle daily to remind myself of these things, but I
know that in order to make life full and rich I must start with
taking a joyful approach to the work I do. If we can discover joy in
the effort, then our rewards will naturally follow.

Have a serene day and think on this - Your work is to discover your
world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.

Peace and Love, Jim

Progress

Good Morning,

If we look back at our history, we can see that progress and change
have never had it easy in our societies. Seems that the majority of
people have always seem limited by what they think they know. Today's
post is a collection of quotes and stories that demonstrate exactly
this point. Thank you for those who imagine outside their realm of
possibilities, who are courageous enough to get confused, make
mistakes and move forward anyway. To use one of my favorites quotes:
All progress depends on the mad men of the world and their daringness
to not accept the standard. Have a great day and try to step outside
of what you know today, you may find something of great value.
This `telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered
as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.
Western Union internal memo, 1876

It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that
encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children,
practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.
Pat Robertson, speaking of the Equal Rights Amendment Mar. 22, 1930

I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.
Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943

I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked
with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a
fad that won't last out the year.
Prentice Hall, editor in charge of business books, 1957

But what ... is it good for?
Anonymous engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM,
1968, commenting on the microchip.

So we went to Atari and said, `Hey, we've got this amazing thing,
even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about
funding us? Or we'll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our
salary, we'll come work for you.' And they said, `No.' So then we
went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, `Hey, we don't need you. You
haven't got through college yet.'
Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer Inc. on attempts to get Atari
and H-P interested in his personal computer.

There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.
Ken Olson , President, Chairman and founder of Digital Equipment
Corp., 1977

640K ought to be enough for anybody.
Bill Gates, 1981

Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil?
You're crazy.
Anonymous drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project
to drill for oil in 1859.

The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn
better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible.
Anonymous Yale University management professor in response to Fred
Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith
went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

Everything that can be invented has been invented.
Attributed to Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents,
1899.

Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and
reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against
which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily
in high schools. New York Times, in editorial about Robert Goddard's
revolutionary rocket work, 1921

Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction.
Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

The good Christian should beware the mathematician and all those who
make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the
mathematicians have made a covenant with the devil to darken the
spirit and to confine man in the bonds of hell.
Saint Augustine

First, . . . to want to affirm that in reality the sun is at the
center of the world and only turns on itself without moving from east
to west, and the earth . . . revolves with great speed around the
sun . . .is a very dangerous thing, likely not only to irritate all
scholastic philosophers and theologians, but also to harm the Holy
Faith by rendering Holy Scripture false. Nor can one answer that this
is not a matter of faith, since if it is not a matter of faith "as
regards the topic," it is a matter of faith "as regards the speaker";
and so it would be heretical to say that Abraham did not have two
children and Jacob twelve, as well as to say that Christ was not born
of a virgin, because both are said by the Holy Spirit through the
mouth of the prophets and the apostles.
Cardinal Bellarmine, in a Letter to Foscarinin, April 12, 1615

The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would
pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?
Anonymous associates of David Sarnoff's in response to his urgings
for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau.
Irving Fisher, 1929

Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?
H. M. Warner, founder of Warner Brothers film studios, 1927

Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.
Lord Kelvin, 1895

Flight by machines heavier than air is unpractical and insignificant,
if not utterly impossible.
Simon Newcomb , 1902, eighteen months before Kitty Hawk

Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.
Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de
Guerre.

Peace and Love, Jim

Equalizing

Good Morning,

Now I have nothing against individuality, but sometimes we miss out
on the fact that we are more alike than different. This can be
powerful for those who do not feel they belong and quite humbling for
those who pride themselves on their uniqueness.

Try this; instead of going through our day caught up in our own
world, take a few minutes, or a few hours, to focus on practicing
"equalizing". It is simple and direct, yet a real eye opener to
consider others a different way. When you meet another person we
think. "just like me, this person wants to be happy; this person does
not want to suffer. Just like me this cashier or waiter who is
looking tired wants happiness and does not want suffering. Just like
me, this parking attendant who seems impatient wants joy and vibrancy
in their life. Just like me all the people standing in this long line
getting restless want happiness and don't want suffering.

When we practice this we encounter our own habit of thinking we are
the center of the universe, and that out pains, our fears, our
dreams, our yearnings are somehow different and more important. It
can be quite shocking and humbling to realize how alike we all are.
The more we cultivate this practice of equalizing, the more difficult
it becomes to draw a solid line between "us" and "them". This makes
it difficult to justify hurting or neglecting others.

The Buddha said: "See yourself in others. Then who can you hurt? What
harm can you do?"

Have a restful day and hold this thought - When the sun rises, it
rises for everyone.

Peace and Love, Jim

Available

Good Morning,

Just because I may believe that things are as they should be (and
maybe some of you do not share in this view, and that is OK as well)
does not mean there is no room for improvement. The fact is that
there is always room for improvement, but that improvement comes in
how we perceive and understand our lives. There is always something
new to be learned. There are always fresh ideas to be explored. No
matter how good life is, there are ways to make it even better. Love
and joy and fulfillment do not ever get used up.

Today can be more beautiful, more productive, and more meaningful
than yesterday. Each moment is another opportunity to create new
value. Each day is ours to fill with experience. Whether we've been
up or we've been down, whether life is now good or not so good, this
is the time to make it better.

I had a profound realization this weekend, something that has always
been lingering on the tip of my tongue and it finally found words
riding down the road. . . Life is not available to us to be be
controlled, beaten and wrangled into place. Instead we must be
available to life, to let life teach us and wrangle us into something
beyond ourselves!

Have a peaceful day and ponder this - Life is a process of becoming,
a combination of states we have to go through. Where we fall is in
wishing to remain in one state of mind, one type of life, while
avoiding everything else.

Peace and Love, Jim

Humorous Thoughts

Good Morning,

I thought I would end the week with a bit of humor. So today I have
compiled a list of quotes, one liners, and musings I have collected
from friends and family. Read them with a light heart and ginger
mind, hopefully a smile will find it's way into your day. Enjoy!
I am a creationist; I refuse to believe that I could have evolved
from humans.

Time is nature's way of making sure that everything doesn't happen at
once.

Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

No one is listening until you fart.

Always remember you're unique. Just like everyone else.

If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of
car payments.

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes.
That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have
their shoes.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish,
and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old.
All you have to do is live long enough.

Anyone who says he can see through women is missing a lot.

How do you feel about women's rights? I like either side of them.

I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the
set, I go into the other room and read a book.

Have you ever noticed? Anybody going slower than you is an idiot, and
anyone going faster than you is a maniac.

I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it.

Marriage is the chief cause of divorce.

Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's
too dark to read.

Contraceptives should be used on every conceivable occasion.

The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation
with the average voter.

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time
we have rushed through life trying to save.

Peace and Love, Jim

Transformation

Good Morning,

Transformation can come gradually, almost imperceptibly, or in a
sudden, life altering flash. However it happens, what's important is
that transformation is real and possible. Like life itself,
surprises, twists and turns can be the opportunity for
transformation. The question is do you want it to happen to you and
what will trigger it?

I have compiled a simple list of observations about being human.
These are simple but can have a profound experience on our lives:

1. Life is what is happening to you right now.
Many of us play the "one day I will start having the life I want"
game. If we pay attention we can see the illusion behind this
thinking. Life is here and now and awareness helps us notice this
simple fact. By looking into the life we have we can begin to live
today.

2. Your mind is your friend.
We have an amazing ability to conjure up all types of stories and
scenarios. We also possess and innate talent for justifying almost
anything we do. If we understand the nature of our mind, it's core
functions we turn our minds into our allies. A heart beats (that's
it's function), no one believes because their heart beats that is who
they are. So why when mind generates thoughts (it's function) we
follow it and believe that's who we are? Understanding this subtle
point can be transforming.

3. Go ahead change.
It really is possible for us to transform our view and make a fresh
start. This is not delusional and has nothing to do with believing in
something. It is our natural human capacity, so go ahead make a change!

4. More uncertainty is better.
So many of us try to hang on, control, or preserve our points of view
and lives. We resist change and uncertainty, yet the greatest student
is one who knows nothing and comes to class with an open mind.
Uncertainty contains the greatest opportunity for learning and life
can be both our teacher and classroom on a daily basis.

5. Anyone can transform themselves.
Just be honest with yourself and understand the nature of who and
what you are.

6. Love is real.
When all the confusion, conceptions and believes fall away, love and
delight show up as our basic features of being human. Who does not
love or want to be loved? This is a very real and basic bond between
us all. Embrace it.

7. Believe in others.
What else are you going to do? The world is full of people, believing
that we all have a basic goodness, a common bond allows us to believe
not only in others, but ourselves.

Have a beautiful day and ponder this thought - Personal
transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes
the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the
world is ultimately a personal one.

Peace and Love, Jim

Notice

Good Morning,

Have you noticed how beautiful life is today? Look around with
thankful, loving eyes and you'll see.

Can you comprehend how many wonderful possibilities are available to
you right now? Follow one or two of them, and you'll understand. Do
you realize how creative and effective you can be? Allow your
thoughts, words and actions to express what's in your heart, and
you'll discover. Are you aware how much of a difference you can make
in the world? Move forward with sincerity and positive purpose, and
you'll be astonished at what you can accomplish.

Do you know all the good things you're capable of achieving? Make use
of this moment to begin to find out. The possibilities for joy and
fulfillment are all around you. Jump in right now and explore them
fully.

Have a beautiful day and hold this thought - We have more
possibilities available in each moment than we realize.

Peace and Love, Jim

Criticism

Good Morning,

It is quite easy to get approval if we ask enough people, or if we
ask those who are likely to tell us what we want to hear. The
likelihood is that they will say nice things rather than be too
critical. Also, we tend to edit out the bad so that we hear only what
we want to hear. What does this mean in the long run?

Well we have a tendency to believe that when others tell us something
is good, such as our work or attitudes, that we believe it is so
because others are agreeing and telling us so. Now knowing that
people are simply trying to be nice, we can assume that whatever we
are doing and whatever is being commented on is probably OK, but it's
probably not so great either. So what am I trying to point out with
this conundrum?

If instead of seeking approval what if we sought criticism? What if
we ask how we can do better, make it better, or improve the outcome?
Most likely we will get a more truthful and more thought out answer.
So I challenge everyone to actually seek criticism instead of praise.
The improvements offered up by such a simple shift in perception are
vast and we are always in a position to reject the criticism if we
find it wrong.

Can you find fault with this?

Have a wonderful day and hold this thought - The proof of growth lies
in being able to embrace criticism without resentment.

Peace and Love, Jim

Mistakes

Good Morning,

The person who is unlikely to make mistakes is unlikely to make
anything.

Benjamin Franklin said, I haven't failed, I've had 10,0000 ideas
that didn't work.

Thomas Edison said, of the 200 light bulbs that didn't work, every
failure told me something that I was able to incorporate into the
next attempt.

Joan Littlewood said, If we don't get lost we will never find a new
route.

Each of these people understood that failures and false starts are a
precondition to success. Even in most companies this is true. Few
people get fired for making mistakes, but many people lose their jobs
for having no initiative. This IS a positive attitude and can make
for not only a great company culture but a way of approaching life.
FAILURE IS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO SUCCESS!

So embrace the unknown, do not be afraid of your mistakes, simply
start over with the knowledge learned and you are on the road to your
next success.

Have a beautiful day and remember this - A persons errors are their
portals of discovery.

Peace and Love, Jim

Give Away

Good Morning,

Maybe you remember from school other students preventing you from seeing their answers by placing their arm around their exercise book or exam paper. It can be the same in life. people are secretive with their ideas and thoughts.

The problem with hoarding is we end of living off your reserves and eventually we become stale. If we give away everything we have (thought wise), we are left with nothing. This forces us to look, to be aware, to replenish. Somehow the more we give away the more comes back to us. 

Believe it or not, our thoughts and ideas are open knowledge. . .we can never claim ownership, they are not ours anyway, they are someone else's. They are out there floating by on the ether. We just have to put ourselves in a frame of mind to pick them up. 

Running our lives simply on what we know and foregoing outside thoughts and opinions is like coloring with one crayon, sure the picture is there, it's just a little monochromatic. Life is full color and so should be our thoughts, actions and ideas. . .use all the crayons and colors available to you. Collect your palette from friends family and teachers, share your crayons with them then color inside and outside the lines together and in the end you will find a more complete picture!

So have a wonderful weekend and give away what you hold, you may yourself getting something in return!

Peace and Love, Jim

Importance

Good Morning,

We all have jobs or situations in which we have to deal with "putting
out fires" on one level or another. Clients, coworkers and bosses put
us through hoops and make even the smallest tasks seem urgent. The
problem is when we only take care of the urgent matters, many new
urgent matters will appear to take their place. When we take care of
the important matters, then we're making real progress.

Many of life's most important concerns do not jump up and demand our
attention, at least not at first. It can be easy to ignore IMPORTANT
matters in favor of more URGENT matters. Yet most of the urgent
concerns turn out, in the long run, to be fairly trivial. If we focus
only on what demands our immediate attention, there will surely come
a time when we regret it.

The quality of our life depends upon where we put our priorities. The
most important and meaningful aspects of our life deserve our
consideration and support on a daily basis. The more attention we
give to the important things, the less we'll feel the need to be
controlled by the urgent, but relatively meaningless, matters. The
more we focus on what's truly important, the more firmly we'll be in
touch with our life.

When investing your precious time and energy in something, take into
consideration how important it really is. Find time to work on the
important things, and the rewards will still be with you long after
the work is done.

Have a meaningful day and ponder this thought - Happiness waits for
those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who
have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of those
things that have have touched their lives.

Peace and Love, Jim

Poverty

Good Morning,

There are many organizations out there that attempt to eliminate
poverty and this is a wonderful thing because poverty can be a road
block for so many people. What about spiritual poverty? Many times
this is the most detrimental state of the human condition and like
material poverty it can truly be a road block to the human spirit.

It is the poverty of the mind and spirit that is going to take the
largest toll on our condition. Yes, while curing material poverty is
difficult, compared to spiritual poverty, material poverty is
relatively solvable. In many circles it is thought that if we can
eliminate material poverty then most of the worlds problems will be
solved. Yet as long as there is great spiritual poverty, people will
still suffer, be unfulfilled, and unhappy. Do not believe me? Simply
look around, America claims to be a spiritual nation, we have the
highest standard of living in the world and yet we have the highest
depression rate, and consume the most anti depressants of any nation.

Spiritual poverty is extremely common, yet with at least half of the
worlds 6.5 billion people living in dire circumstances - experiencing
hunger, sickness, and homelessness - we are plagued with the
erroneous understanding that suffering comes from only material
poverty. How many financially secure people do you know that don't
have happiness or even a sense of security?

We must ask ourselves why is it that though most of us have our
material needs covered, we still suffer? If we do this then we can
understand the importance of reducing not only material poverty, but
spiritual poverty as well. We can also realize that in some form or
another we all suffer, regardless of circumstances. This view puts us
all in the same boat and should bring us together for the greater
purpose of reducing all poverty.

Have an aware day and hold this thought - Poverty often deprives a
man of all spirit and virtue; it is hard for an empty bag to stand
upright.

Peace and Love, Jim

Vision

Good Morning,

We teach many things in our schools, reading, writing, math and most
of the basics. There are however somethings we simply seem to be
missing in our educations. We do not teach compassion, or how to
unlearn something once we find out it is not relevant. Yes these
would be extremely difficult subjects to teach, but we should
consider them worthy subjects in our society. One of the fundamental
ways to begin reaching these hard to understand subjects is through
visualization (something else we do not teach). If you can see not
only what is there, but also what is not there, then you have a
better chance of seeing the complete picture. Visualization allows us
to move into areas unknown and uncharted, to take a peek into the
bigger picture.

Take effort for example. Can we visualize our efforts?

On one side of effort is motivation. On the other side of effort is
the achievement. From where you may now stand, effort may look like
something you would rather avoid. The challenges may appear to be
imposing and even insurmountable. Visualize for a moment, though,
about what things will look like from the other side of the effort,
when it is finished. Consider how it will be once you've made the
effort and moved through the challenges. Visualize what success looks
like.

By visualizing your effort, you'll be thankful for the energy it
takes to get there. Visualizing the challenges, you'll come to know
how much stronger and more capable the effort can make you. By
visualizing the whole experience, you'll realize that your commitment
and persistence can take you somewhere special. When put into action
you will see that your visualizations can take you precisely where
you had chosen to go.
Visualization can make significant demands of you, and yet the
rewards are many.

If you can visualize the map to the path you are currently on you can
then choose to start working your way to the destination.

Have a peaceful day and carry this thought - Visualization allows us
to run the race before we ever step up to the starting block.

Peace and Love, Jim

Good Morning,

The other morning I was sitting on the back patio taking in the
trees, breeze and sunshine when something caught my wandering eye.
Perched atop our terra cotta chimnea was a small plastic flower pot.
It was fairly new and caught the sunlight just right turning it's
surface into a shiny almost mirror like finish. The pot was empty and
my wife was saving it for another planting. Upon closer examination I
saw a tiny lime green inch worm gently perched on the lip of the vessel.

My little lime green friend seemed to be resting, as though he had
travelled some great distance to get where he was or quite possibly
survived and incredible journey to arrive on the lip of this shiny
pot. Then as I gazed on, the little worm began doing his inch worm
thing and headed out, making his way around the lip of the pot. The
edge upon which he tread was no wider than his own tiny body and yet
he walked it like a master. Each motion producing the characteristic
"inch worm hump" which I accompanied with squeak toy sounds in my
head (squeak, squeak, squeak).

As I watched him circle the pot like a small train (whoo, whoo!) it
became apparent to me why I thought he seemed to be tired. . . he had
been going around and around the lip of this pot for hours! As I
continued to watch I could see that from his unique and tiny
viewpoint the gentle curve of the circular pot was more like a slow
bend in the road to him. No matter where he was on the lip it seemed
that whatever he was looking for (food, freedom, a friend?) was just
around the curve! So he kept inching his way around and around and
around.

How many of us do the same thing in our own lives? We keep circling
around the wheel of life searching for the same old things and
thinking that if we just hang in there for one more round we will
find what we are looking for. We endure incredible odds to go around
the lip one more time, only to discover that we still have not found
what we seek or if we are lucky, we realize that we are right back
where we started (the circle becomes visible). Like the small inch
worm, we can do this until our death and never realize we were going
in circles, or we can wake up and find another more productive means
of living our life.

As for my little friend. . . I watched him make several more laps at
which point I placed a small twig on the lip to indicate a starting/
ending point for the little feller. After one lap with the twig in
place, he realized that he had been there before, at which point he
shot out a small web and lowered himself off the edge to the warm
ground below. Funny how just a little reminder in his path stopped
this endless cycle. Even more intriguing is that it's not all that
different for us.

Have a beautiful experience and carry this thought - Repetition does
not transform a lie into a truth or fantasy into fact, it simply
occupies the mind and consumes time that could be better spent.

Peace and Love, Jim

Mistakes

Good Morning,

Well the weekend is here and having a holiday in the middle has made
for a short and strange week. I will end the week of thoughts with
this very simple (one of my favorites) thought:

Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes. Learn. Love. Live.

Peace and Love, Jim

Learning

Good Morning,

To continue with the thought a day:

Learning only takes place in a mind that is innocent, open and vulnerable, what do you protect yourself from?

Peace and Love, Jim

Hardest

Good Morning,

Continuing along with my thought for the day. . . 

Todays Thought:

Those that we find the hardest to love, or the ones who need it the most.

Peace and Love, Jim

Good Questions

Good Morning,

I thought that this week I would change up my posts a bit. Many times
in life a simple saying, thought or well phrased collection of words
is enough to trigger something positive and enlightening in each of
us. I would like to take the opportunity this week to post such
musings and inspirations. May you find some glimmer of insight and
illuminate your journey with the candle of wisdom.

Today's Thought:
A good question is never answered. It is not a bolt to be tightened
into place, but a seed to be planted and to bear more seeds toward
the hope of greening the landscape of idea.

Peace and Love, Jim