[blockquote source=”His Holiness, the Dalai Lama “]“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”[/blockquote]
We see a lot of videos featuring the voice of the Dalai Lama, but never before has a film so brilliantly captured the truest essence of his heart.
In this film, His Holiness the Dalai Lama discusses our basic human right to happiness.
From the filmaker, Mojebory:
“I see a harmony in ordinary activities — joy and sadness at the same time. Everything around us is magical. When I take pictures or shots I look at the world through the eyes of a child… everything seems so interesting and unusual! I’m hungry, I want to grab everything!”
The short film draws you in with the Dalai Lama talking about a person’s right to happiness and transitions to Max Richter’s soulful mix of Dinah Washington’s “This Bitter Earth” underscoring more than five years of footage of people in ordinary, everyday scenes in Poland and Europe.
Please take a moment to enjoy this stunning video ~ “A Happy Life” by Mojebory.
[blockquote source=”Dr. Wayne Dyer”]”There is a voice in the Universe urging us to remember your purpose for being on this great Earth. This is the voice of inspiration, which is within each and every one of us.” [/blockquote]
My darlings, who would you be if you could be anything?
I remember the very first time someone asked me that question. It was kindergarten 1974—well before I had learned of self-imposed limitations. And, by the tone in Ms. Dingledine’s voice, I knew this was perhaps the ‘most important question in the world.’
“Who would you be if you could be anything?” My goodness, she was beautiful, and with such hope-filled eyes.
“I want to write stories,” I answered sheepishly, knowing full well that I hadn’t even learned my alphabet.
“Well, then—I can’t wait to read your stories,” she smiled—never once pausing to question how.
We have such a habit of talking ourselves out of our dreams—falling into that trap of, “there’s nothing to be done.”
Or, worse yet, that we are not ‘the one.’
But, could you just imagine if the opposite were true? That no dreams would be left unexplored, nor wishes unfulfilled.
Every child has dreams, my dears. Even at the youngest age we are prompted by our school teachers to answer that first, and very big, life question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
And when Dergin Tokmak answered, “I want to be a dancer,” well, let’s just say, that it wasn’t met with the same level of enthusiasm.
You see, Dergin wasn’t like all the other children. At just one year old, Dergin contracted polio—leaving him partially paralyzed from the waist down.
So, when this young boy chattered on excitedly about his dreams? There were those who were only too quick to remind him of his ‘limitations.’
And yet, today?
Dergin is a featured dancer with the critically acclaimed Cirque Du Soleil show “Varakai”—proof positive, that when we follow our hearts, anything is possible.
[blockquote]”I want to pass on to the next generation … so people can see that no handicap is too big or too limiting to dance. My message as an artist is to show the world that there is a creative soul in everyone with or without a handicap.”[/blockquote]
This is a story about a young man who challenged–and subsequently defied–all others expectations, to pursue his ‘one big dream’ of becoming a dancer.
My darlings, when we believe—anything is possible.
“If you are at first lonely, be patient. If you’ve not been alone much, or if when you were, you weren’t okay with it, then just wait. You’ll find it’s fine to be alone once you’re embracing it.” ~ Tanya Davis
Morning is my meditation; my time to gather…to reflect…to just simply be.
I love watching the world stretch wide its arms, in order to embrace this brand new day.
Oh, and the sounds…the birds chirping their call, and the squirrels playing chase across the fence.
I love the sounds of life, waking up. I love the feeling of daylight against my face.
And when the morning sun lifts her veil to me, I watch with heart as her light dances across the outlines of this earth.
But, most of all, I love this time just being alone.
People are so afraid of being alone, but for me—I rather much enjoy it.
In this video, poet Tanya Davis carries us gently through to a place we often fear—our very own ‘aloneness.’
If we can learn to embrace our own solitude, we might just find a much deeper happiness within it.
“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” – Josh Billings
My dears, sometimes the path we choose is not the one initially intended. And, that’s just the evolution of our lives unfolding – these twists and turns that soon become our destiny.
We just haven’t quite sorted that bit out yet – this idea that we are sometimes destined for much greater things.
Such begins the story of a little puppy named, “Pesto.” His owner worked in the children’s section of the local library. And, each day should would bring the little pup in to socialize.
You see, Pesto was being trained as a guide dog for the blind, and his training required a substantial interaction.
He soon became a regular at the library, happily greeting ‘his’ children and patrons with a promise to make all of their days brighter.
Kimistry Howard was just one of those many patrons. She had frequented the library daily to home school her two little boys – Javaé, a 5-year-old with autism and Javary, a 7-year-old who weighs little more than 30 pounds due to a rare health condition that causes growth defects and extremely flexible joints.
In both cases, Kimistry had been told by doctors that her children’s lives would be forever constrained by their ‘debilitating conditions.’ But, as is the case with all loving Mothers, she believed – she believed in a life outside of that which had been defined for them.
And, it’s a rather good thing that she did – as, doctor’s don’t always account for the power of one human spirit within their diagnosis.
From the moment they first met, the boys and this irrepressible pup became the best of friends.
“I said I never believed in love at first sight, well, I had love at first sight,” said Kimistry Howard, “It’s a love story from beginning to end…”
As time went on Pesto gave Javary a reason to step out of his wheelchair and Javae a reason to speak. “Javaé barely spoke,” Kimistry says. “Pesto gave him so much to talk about.” And Javary navigates around the library, half walking, half crawling, snuggling up to Pesto whenever he got the chance. “He really shouldn’t be able to walk right now, but with Pesto as an inspiration, he doesn’t want to stay in a chair,” Kimistry said.
The story should have ended there – with two boys whose lives had been forever changed by the kindness of one incredible little dog.
But, as is the case with all wonderful stories – this one was destined for a much happier ending.
“At the college Pesto excelled in all of the courses — from urban challenges and intelligent disobedience to traffic training and city work. Then in January, after two months of schooling, it came time to take the final exam, and the 18-month old canine had a sudden change of heart, and failed to graduate.”
Luckily, a deal had been struck between the former owner and Kimistry – who promised that Pesto would be given to the boys if he failed to graduate from guide dog school.
And, on January 31 of this year – the three were finally reunited.
“The boys had no idea Pesto was going to be theirs until January 31 when they were at the library as usual. Pesto ran up to an unsuspecting Javary. It took a minute for Javary to recognize the dog. A huge smile crossed his face as he immediately turned to his mom and asked, “Is this Pesto?””
According to Pesto’s former owner, “Magical things happen in the library every day. This is one of them.”
To which Kimistry replied, “What he brings to us, we can never give it back to him.”
Indeed, the magical things that happen when animals may choose their humans.
And, we never quite know the greatness to be born from failure.
[blockquote source=”Chad Sugg”]And like a colorful bloom of temporary lights in the sky, you will shine.[/blockquote]
My dears, I was having just a little bit of trouble finding Inspiration this morning. She seemed to have tucked away into the darkness of night, swept into the swirling waves of a cold, freezing rain. And as I sipped my tea, and helped myself to the last of the cookie ‘stash’ – I felt that familiar nervousness settling in, that…
“What if I forget how to write?”
Oh, I know it’s a silly thought, isn’t it? We are all born to explore and discover; destined to leave our imprint in some fashion or another, as we boldly challenge the formalities of the day with a splashing-dash of this ‘being human.’
And, try as you might…my dears, you can’t ever escape it. This gnawing, aching, drive-you-out-of-your-head need to create will find you in the dead of any dark night, as it sends you stumbling through the dead of the night, tripping your way to the nearest notebook.
Oh, and so many mornings have greeted me with baggy eyes, squinting and fumbling for my favorite coffee mug.
You see, Inspiration travels through our every vein, in a desperate search for that one single crack by which its energy may finally break free…
It is a brilliant, awesome and a most wonderful thing…
And, sometimes…a rather inconvenient pain in the hind-choppers….
But, always…I am most grateful when Inspiration shares with me this gift of being able to connect right here with all of you.
And, isn’t that the point?
That we might find and forge these passages from one human spirit to the next? That we might build a community of ‘not ever feeling alone’ in a world that is often times quite bitter?
My dears, I used to suffer such a fear of writer’s block….worried that I might wake to a world that was one day completely empty of words….
But I have learned…that the words are always right here, inside my heart…and, just waiting for that moment to finally break free.
The trick is, learning to get out of your own way…to have faith, even on those days which seem intent on challenging you.
I mean, after all, everything we do that helps us to better connect ~ my dears, isn’t that the most beautiful manifestation of creativity on this earth?
So, don’t worry so much about the what to create – focus instead, on the true gift that Inspiration brings…
And create a space for Compassion’s roots to firmly take hold.
[pullquote align=”left” background=”on”]No sun outlasts its sunset, but will rise again and bring the dawn. – Maya Angelou[/pullquote]
When Nelson Mandela passed away at age 95 this week, the world mourned the loss of a man whose sense of social justice was never corrupted by power and whose capacity for forgiveness was limitless. Mandela’s greatness is not simply that he was an inspirational leader in a freedom movement that had an urgent moral imperative; it is in large part about the way in which he acceded to power in South Africa and began the healing process in a tragically torn society. In this film, Maya Angelou reads a prose-poem in tribute to the memory of Nelson Mandela, issued by the US Department of State on behalf of the American people. (from KarmaTube)
[blockquote]
“Nelson Mandela’s day is done. We confess it in tearful voices. Yet we lift our own to say thank you. Thank you, our Gideon. Thank you, our David, our great, courageous man. We will not forget you. We will not dishonour you. We will remember and be glad that you lived among us, that you taught us and that you loved us all.”
[pullquote align=”left” background=”on”]”What a privilege it was to edit the words of one of the greatest men of our generation.” ~ Timothy Shieff[/pullquote]Published on Nov 21, 2013
This video is presented through the brilliant creative spirit of Timothy Shieff, who so painstakingly pieced together the better portions of a most simple truth.
That, there is so very much we are unable to see – but, that doesn’t diminish the power of its presence.
Love permeates our every being… and underscore our every thought, every word…and every action.
We are not ever alone, my dears – rather, we are inseparably intertwined in this fabric of love.
Here’s a download link to the audio for you to carry with you, always.
Despite being 108, Holocaust & Cancer survivor Alice Herz Sommer still practices piano 3 hours each day. She lives by herself in a small flat in London. When she was (only) 104, she had a book written about her life which was entitled “A Garden Of Eden In Hell.”
Alice has survived the concentration camps and thrived by way of her music, her optimism and her gratitude for the small things that came her way – a smile, a kind word, the sun. When asked about the secret of her longevity, Alice says: “I look where it is good.” Alice is a remarkable lady.
“To stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge—that is the path of true awakening.”
That’s the trick, isn’t it? To find peace in our hearts even in those moments intended to topple us to our knees. To find strength within our hopelessness. To find faith, when we’ve lost our willingness to believe.
We may see these moments as our spiritual ‘test’—but, aren’t they really, at heart, our own spiritual awakening?
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.”~ Rumi
To which, some may challenge, ‘easier said, than done.’
Because, being silently drawn is often much simpler—when it is, that life tucks cleanly out of our way.
We are somewhat ‘programmed’ aren’t we? To solve any issues that may come our way. We spend hours contemplating each what if scenario—but fewer less moments, coming nearer to the real truth of our understanding.
Not everything is meant to be solved. Sometimes these moments are intended to be our teachers.
“Things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.” ~ Pema Chödrön
Life is just this way. Sometimes the ‘crisis is the healing.’
And fear, is often the ‘vanguard to courage.’
Video: Pema Chödrön: The Nature of Fear and Fearlessness
“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut
A dear friend of mine wrote a most brilliant passage the other day, and one which I gladly posted to my daily news feed. She has a way of spinning her words into the most magnificent of images – a true artist down to her deepest core.
I remember first meeting her, this new writer filled with the excitement of having just broken through her shell – hesitant, uncertain…and precarious in her steps.
I have taken such great delight in watching this most beautiful spirit grow. As I have so many others who, have learned to give so unconditionally each day from their soul.
They are my heroes, my inspiration – as, their purpose fuels my resolve.
You know, finding one’s heart can often prove a difficult sort of business – as we find ourselves standing at the highest point of our sharpest spiritual cliff, toes inching forward as that feeling of unabated nervousness grows deeply within our ‘pit.’
And, I…I want so very much to be that one hand, reaching through doubt’s heaviest mist – offering comfort when fear seems to take hold.
My dears, I want so very much to help you soar.
To share with you how boldness feels, as the wind rushes through your hair…
Let go, my dears – and leave unease at the stepping off point…
Fashion your wings from fearlessness…and have faith enough to soar.
The view is so very much better up here – when it is that we finally understand the gift of our flight.
Namaste, my most beautiful friends ~ and try not to be so fearful of life’s ‘edges.’
