Dare to Dream.

I strongly feel that death is actually a small concern compared to the living dead, who have not fulfilled their dream or who have not been true to themselves. Live a life for which you can be thankful. - Patch Adams

Clearing the inner clutter and freeing ourselves from past patterns that would hold us back is the beginning of liberty. But it is only a beginning. We are the ones we have been waiting for, and it is up to us to cultivate our potential for greatness and offer our gifts to the world. If we have emptied ourselves of prejudice, anger, and fear, then we can be filled with love. We can be the dreamers who make a more lovely and equitable world a reality.

'When I look into the future, it's so bright it burns my eyes.'

We are great mysteries, living in the sea of life. As the ebb and flow of tides of changes wash through us we can choose growth and expansion, or we can cling to the old ways of thinking and being. Still even if we choose to cling, life itself changes around us, and we find that trying to stop the evolution of our souls is the way of death. If we choose to seek and embrace the changes, to ride the tides and trust the powers that is both within and without, we co-create our destinies and become more than we even dreamed we would be.

The power lies in this moment, this choice. At the intersection of here and now lies the opportunity to begin a new and happier pattern by making a different choice.

'Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else'

06/21/2010

Loving what we do.

The first thing to remember is that we must be satisfied with our work, knowing that we've done the best we could do with what we had to work with at the time. Know that, if we're worth our salt, we'll always wish we could do more, improve, become more proficient at our craft or skill.

Those who do good work of any kind always seem to be seeking that next mountain to climb, that next challenge that takes them to another creative level. It is crucial to find satisfaction in our work at this time and at this stage of our development. Be gentle and generous with ourselves. Give credit where credit is due. Do not let that inner voice of censorship overwhelm us with self-defeating criticism.

 Be thankful that a task have been completed and then move on. Let's remember that this is one step in a long process. We do not fall or stand by one project, this is not a "make or break" - this is a signpost, a landmark on a long journey. If we look at successful people, we'll see that the majority work patiently at what they do over the long term. We'll find that everyone has their ups and downs, but it's one who keep going that get somewhere. Trust the process.Loving what we do, giving ourselves permission to do something for the sheer love of it. When love is our motivation, others opinions matter less. The fire is generated from inside, from the center of our hearts.

Love is the compass that guides us across the desert stretches and through the howling wilderness. If we love what we do, we will be able to move beyond our own fears and the negative opinions and actions of others. There is no substitute for passionate and heartfelt belief.

"The best picture has not yet been painted; the greatest poem is still unsung; the mightiest novel remains to be written; the divinest music has not been conceived even by Bach. In science, probably ninety-nine percent of the knowable has not yet been discovered' - L. Steffen

06/04/2010

How would you spend today if it were the one day by which your entire life would be judged?

What would I write if I knew I only had one shot at making a difference in someone’s life?

How would I spend the next hour with my twenty three year old daughter and my twenty one year old son if I knew it was the only hour they’d remember from their teenager years when they are an adult?

How would I spend this evening with my loved ones if it were the last evening we would spend together?

How would I spend my money today if I knew that today spoke financially for the rest of my days?

Would I hold my temper? Would I stop being such a perfectionist?

Would I set a good example?

Would I not worry what the neighbors thought and just run through the sprinkler in my clothes, laughing with my children?

Would I make a perfectly delicious, tasty meal and smile at my children across the dinner table – or would I just throw a box of Tuna Helper out there?

Every single day, we’re making an impact on the people around us. The people we love. The people we merely like. The people we will never directly know. Even on ourselves – our future health, happiness, relationships, skills and finances. Every single day, we have a chance to really make all of those things shine – or we can buy a sack full of double cheeseburgers and sit in the basement all evening watching Friends reruns or texting people we wouldn't have anything to say if they were sitting next to us.

Today is really the only day that matters. You can’t make your past self do anything. You can’t make your future self do anything, either. Your only freedom of choice is right now, and thus today is your one chance to paint your masterpiece.

What are you going to do today to make it your masterpiece?'

 

October 2010

The Obstacle in our Path

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.

Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

Tiny Buddha 09/2010

The Road To Happiness

"The U.S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up to it yourself'"

"When I travel on business, I like to talk to the taxi drivers who take me from the airport to my hotel, or to a convention center, or to a restaurant. Taxi drivers are often immigrants with interesting personal histories and unusual cultural backgrounds. I ask them how long they've been in America, how they chose which city to live in, and what they like best about where they live. Of course, I also ask them for advice on good local restaurants and any special attractions they'd recommend to a visitor. I've had some great experiences on my travels, thanks to the advice of taxi drivers!

On one trip about ten years ago, I was making conversation with the taxi driver, asking him my usual questions about how he came to live where he lived. Then I asked him a hypothetical question: "If you could live anywhere in the world—and if money was no object—where would you live?"

Without hesitating even for a second, he replied, "I live in my heart. So it really doesn't matter where my body lives. If I am happy inside, then I live in paradise, no matter where my residence is."

I felt humbled and a little foolish for my question. Of course he was right—happiness is an inside job. He had reminded me of something I already knew, but had forgotten. If you can't find happiness inside yourself, you'll never find it in the outside world, no matter where you move. Wherever you go, there you are. You take yourself with you.

I am grateful for the wisdom of that taxi driver. And I'm grateful for all the wisdom others have shared with me about how to be happy."  by Mac Anderson and BJ Gallagher

          

You don't have to be a graduate from Harvard to know what that cab driver knew....

Until you learn to be happy with what you have and with whoever you are, regardless of any outside circunstance, no one can help you.

You have to search deep down within yourself to realy find the happiness we all strive for. Happiness is not a when and a where, it is a here and now!

Excuses can be made - when I have a bigger house, when I go on vacation, when I get there, when this or that happens...

There is an immense amount of excuses you can create, or just absorb from others to keep you from facing the real problem, however, until you realize that IF happiness was only encoutered on richness and possessions, millions of people around the world wouldn't have the faintest chance to achieve it, yet without any of the riches people in riches nations have, they know, they have the grasp and understanding what happiness really is. It is so simple that in a capitalist world, in a 'what is in for me' mentality, in a life lived vicariously through ridiculous 'reality shows on TV' it scapes, like the fine sand on the beach escapes through your fingers as you try to hold it, through the majority people's understanding.

Happines has no price, but never fool yourself into believing that because it is a free commodity it has no value...it has no price and it is available to all without discrimination not because it has no value but because there is not enough gold, diamond and money in the world tthat could pay the price that is worth.

The pictures on this post are pictures of few places I've lived in and had the opportunity to visit. There are so many different and gorgeous places that I would need a much bigger album to add all of them, however, today, as I look back,  I realize that I have been blessed enough to live and visit few of the most beatiful places in the world but I also realize that I was only partially happy in every place, because I, like many, I was always looking looking for something outside myself, for what was missing, for 'the next big thing', the thrill...

 

 

Now, those places are thousands of miles away from me, maybe one day I will be blessed enough to visit them again, who knows, life is a wonderful adventure, but the happiness and joy I feel inside can't be tainted by anything else.

 

 

No one, and I truly mean no one, have the power to take it away from me.  Even tough bad things, heart breaks, disapointments, eventual failures and life in general is not a 'perfect life' (whatever that might be), even tough I am still searching for an even better part of myself, I know that, in the end, there is only one person that holds the key to my complete happiness, and that person is myself.

N.Cardoso