Tag Archives: society

Smile Medicine

A smile is one of those powerful tools in our life toolbox, but sometimes we forget to use it. Distracted with our own thoughts, we easily disconnect into our own headspace. But a smile is a gift, a little piece of light and hope we can send out to others, and it does not cost us anything but a little conscious thought and effort. And before we know it, it becomes an easy habit.

Even if you don’t feel like it, send a smile to at least one stranger on your path today. Each smile is full of possibility, the potential to create something good. There is a reason smiles are curved. Yours and the ones you receive back make a circle, a never-ending ripple effect of infinite joy.

Smile, and spread some joy today.

Aside from giving happiness to others, this is an excellent article on why you should smile more often for your own health and well-being: Top 10 Reasons You Should Smile Every Day

Inspirational Smile Quotes:

“I hope that whoever you are, wherever you are, and no matter how you are feeling, you will always have something to smile about.” ~ Sanober Khan

“Peace begins with a smile.” ~ Mother Teresa

“Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.” ~ Mark Twain

“Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.” ~ Roy T. Bennett

“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.” ~ Phyllis Diller

“Life is a mirror: if you frown at it, it frowns back; if you smile, it returns the greeting.” ~ William Makepeace Thackeray

Photo courtesy Rafael Barros, Pexels

The Best Stuff in Us

Times of challenge and strife tend to bring out the best in human beings. When our backs are up against the wall, we dig down deeper and use the best attributes in our tool boxes to help each other pull through it.

We find we have more fortitude, depth, kindness, compassion, courage, spirituality, generosity, industriousness, capability, independence, connectedness, creativity, determination, vision, faith, and good intentions then we ever realized.

That’s quite a list, is it not? I’m sure I’ve missed a few, but..

Oh wait, I forgot the most important one… LOVE.

We find out we have more LOVE than we ever thought possible. Yes, we tap into the potentiality of infinite love, not just for our immediate friends and family, but for our neighbors, for the ones we see are suffering in the greater humanity. We become bigger inside. We grow.

Perhaps that is what this time is all about, yes? This time of challenge is about our soul growth, a reaching out to achieve something that has lain dormant for a long, long time. We will see a burst in humanity that has never been seen before.

It is going to be a very beautiful thing. So, do not be disheartened. With love and determination, together we’ve got this!

Photo courtesy Emma Bauso, Pixabay

Create, not Hate

We cannot always choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we react to them. We are witnessing an anger being expressed perhaps unprecedented globally. As the events external to us unfold, we are coming face-to-face with the shadow aspect of ourselves as individuals.

It is natural to have negative reactions to that which affects us and we do not agree with it. But, when we choose to hang on to those negative emotions, fanning the flame as it were, then we are doing harm not only to the external world, but also to ourselves. No one can “make us” feel anything. We are the autonomous ruler of our own thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

In any circumstance, if we choose to hate, then we must own the hate. It is never anyone else’s fault when we express our shadow or dark side. It is solely our own responsibility. This is a theme I see being played out in so many ways right now. Some people seem to be unable to take personal responsibility for themselves and their own actions.

Let’s choose Creation, not destruction. I fervently hope that we do not have to see ongoing, excessive hatred expressed and tearing the world to shreds, before people wake up and realize that humanity is walking a road with a forked tongue. The two forks in the road will become increasingly divergent, if we let it go that way.

Let’s work together so that the serpent does not win.

Inspirational Quotes:

“Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.” ~ Maya Angelou

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

“I have decided to stick to love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

“All your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate…I choose love.” ~ Johnny Cash

“Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!” ~ Bob Marley

The Great Escape

What would you like the world to look like in future? Do you give much thought to that? It is important to observe carefully the societal trends we see developing right now. Those are going to dramatically change the landscape, and very quickly too.

John Muir (1838-1914), an influential Scottish-American naturalist, whose letters, essays, and books have been read by millions wrote:

“I am losing precious days. I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news.” ~ John Muir

If John Muir was weary of being a “money making machine” and dreaming of escaping from society in the late 1800’s, I wonder what he would be feeling today? It amazes me, really, how much the landscape of society has changed in just one hundred years. I wonder, what it will look like in another hundred?

The current changes hook into so many aspects of our lives, it is hard to know where to start in the analysis. However, there are key themes that reside at the very root of the welfare of our souls, such as integrity, freedom, fulfillment, love, happiness, connectedness to each other and the Earth. These are just some examples. What other ones can you identify as important?

If ever there was a time for you to become more observant and to use your critical thinking skills, it is right now. This is no time for complacency or taking things for granted. The very future of our world rests in our own minds, hearts, and hands.

Photo courtesy Frederico Erthal, Pexels

What is Life?

How do you define life? Many of us, much of the time, tend to be so wound up in the doing of it, we forget to make time to contemplate why we are here, what is the meaning of life, what gives it quality and fulfillment. Do you ever ask yourself, “What am I really aiming for here?”

Life is not simply about “not dying”. Something to think about… There is this important concept in life called BALANCE. Let’s not lose sight of it.

“Ignore those that make you fearful and sad, that degrade you back towards disease and death.” ~ Rumi

“The aim is to balance the terror of being alive with the wonder of being alive.” ~ Carlos Casteneda