Tag Archives: social commentary

Words Are Seeds

Words are seeds and they have power. The moment they leave our mouths, we have planted a thought or feeling in someone else.

When words are rooted in negativity, they can create great destruction. Sometimes the destruction is maliciously intentional, which creates its own karma back to the speaker. For indeed, what we sow, we reap.

Sometimes the hurt and destruction are unintentional. We can simply sometimes be careless with our words. We don’t think before we speak.

The world desperately needs our good words. It’s time for each of us to plant more positive, expansive seeds. Words of love. Words of gratitude. Words that initiate cooperation. Words rooted in grace.

“Raise your words, not your voice, it is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” (Rumi)

More Inspirational Words Quotes:

“One must always be careful of books,” said Tessa, “and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.” ~ Cassandra Clare

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple. ~ Jack Kerouac

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

“Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one’s weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” ~ Rudyard Kipling

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice.”
~ T.S. Eliot

Honing Your Wisdom

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Some people have trouble believing in their own wisdom, therefore they do not question anything around them. “Why should I question? There are experts out there who will tell me what to do.” The ability to question and to apply one’s own critical thinking to any situation is not a sign of weakness, but rather it demonstrates maturity.

How did following the crowd in anything become synonymous with strength? I suppose there is strength in numbers, so therein lies the crux. Following the crowd is easy and feels like the safe thing to do. It requires considerable inner strength to develop and maintain one’s own convictions, particularly when they fly in the face of the crowd.

There are those who talk about “love and light” as if that is the solution to all problems. Love and light are very important, yes, but that is only part of the equation. Part of living your own light is having discernment and the strength to say no to that which does not resonate with your own inner wisdom.

Inspirational Gautama Buddha quotes:

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”

“Three things can not hide for long: the Moon, the Sun and the Truth.”

“Be a lamp unto yourself. Work out your liberation with diligence.”

“Greater still is the truth of our connectedness.”

“Doubt everything. Find your own light.”

It’s Time To

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Are you taking note of the shifts in society, the way it is now very quickly being re-shaped before our very eyes? This is a wake up call to take a realistic and pragmatic view of the world around you. Start calmly evaluating how you can take charge of your life to be prepared for whatever comes at you. You are much stronger, resilient, and resourceful than you likely think.

Time to start really paying attention to events, the unfolding, and not only to what you see, but also what you don’t see. What’s missing?

Time to watch for the incongruities, the inconsistencies, and what is between the lines. The signs for what may come in the future are always there, when we pay proper attention and have discernment.

Time to question, question, question.

Time to use not only your logic as you process the world around you, but also to listen to what your heart and your gut say.

Time to take personal responsibility for your life, rather than waiting for some external “authority” to solve the problems.

Do not be dismayed, but rather be heartened by the resiliency of the human spirit. When we pull together, great things can be accomplished. This has been demonstrated again and again throughout history. This is the big opportunity of humanity to step up to the plate, raise our consciousness, and create a better world and society for ourselves.

I feel both excited and tired from the extreme shifts. How are you feeling in the midst of it all?

Inspirational Quotes:

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day.” ~ Albert Einstein

“Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” ~ Voltaire

Daydreaming Joy

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The tightly restrictive early pandemic days were illuminating for me. “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone…” The absence of seemingly small things that gave me every day joy was notable. I missed getting together with a friend for coffee, to share personal space with them, to feel their smile. I suppose it didn’t really matter (in a way) that our smiles were covered by masks. How many of us were sincerely smiling with the joy of life underneath them? Our smiles had been stolen from us overnight.

Also no longer for a time able to take my daily nature walk (yes, they closed the parks where I was too!), I searched for ways to cling to happy thoughts, to overcome the constant feeling of oppression. It occurred to me that replaying some happy memories would help to preserve my feeling that joy is and would again be possible in the world.

I have a friend who started a social media group during that time. She shared (and still does) beautiful pictures of the Alps in Europe – the gorgeous scenery, the activities, the famous spots to visit in a cluster of countries – and together she and the members of the group have protected and kept alive the beauty of life. They helped each other come out the other side of a very difficult time.

What memories of your life give you a feeling of joyousness? This is one of mine that without fail makes me feel light of heart and spirit ~

The magical dragonfly is a fond girlhood memory of summer for me. Paddling around the lake on sultry afternoons, I loved to watch their iridescent colors flitting among the graceful lily pads. They captivated me. There was a purity and magic about these tiny gossamer creatures. They seemed to occupy a mysterious, unseen world, to which for a few moments I was privy.

Peace and a feeling of the goodness in the world were mine, and they still are when I close my eyes and revisit this memory. I also strongly reconnect to a sense of my intrinsic freedom as a human being on this Earth.

Whatever brings you joy, commit to fiercely protecting your memories and vision of what is good and right in the world. Obviously we can’t live solely in the past if we want to manifest a new future, but those joyous memories and history are the strong foundation on which to build it.

Inspirational Quote:

“…What if the point is to stop, then,… and listen to the birdsong, to watch the dragonflies hover, to look at your lover’s face, then up at the undersides of leaves moving together in the breeze? What if the point is to invite these others into your movement, to bring trees, wind, grass, dragonflies into your family and in so doing abandon any attempt to control them? ~ Derrick Jensen

Beauty

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Physical beauty. It’s still often one of the most highly valued attributes in our society, and particularly in women. Of course, beauty is a wonderful thing to behold and enjoy. But are you aware of positive deeper attributes we automatically apply to an attractive face?

Here’s a great Psychology Today article on beauty and its effect on our psyche: The Surprising Power of a Beautiful Face. A short quote: “[what psychologists call] the halo effect causes one trait (e.g., beauty) to drastically color your perception of all other traits. If you think someone is beautiful, you are also likely to assume they’re smart, ambitious, interesting, etc. We’ve all made these assumptions before, for good or ill.”

We are hard-wired to judge based on appearances

The assumptions we make are evidently hard-wired labels in our brains. So we can be forgiven – at least a little bit. As an interesting exercise, the next time you see a beautiful or handsome face, observe your thought process. Do you quickly assume the person is also intelligent, educated, polite, nice, etc?

Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and love, is laughing in her heaven. She knows, beauty has exerted power for eons.

Beautiful Life Quotes:

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
~ Maya Angelou

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”
~ Helen Keller

“Life becomes easier and more beautiful when we can see the good in other people.”
~ Roy T. Bennett

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
~ Marcus Aurelius