Lately have you been tasting the sweetness of life upon your tongue? Or have the events and challenges of the past couple of years left you feeling bitter?

Even in the “most normal” of times (what does that even mean anymore?), we all can do better at seeing, appreciating, and tasting the sweetness of life. It’s all around us, all the time. But when we become mesmerized and overwhelmed by the bitter, it can become almost impossible to taste the sweet. This requires requires intention and focus.

Today take the time to taste and savor the sweet aspects of your life. (Children are very good at this. Observe and remember.)

Even if you can only find one small thing to do so, it’s a start. Focus on it and let it expand in your heart and mind. This is one of the important tools for living life consciously and deeply.

Let yourself fall in love with life, all over again.

Inspirational Quotes:

“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” ~ John Steinbeck

“When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.” ~ Shauna Niequist

“Experience life in all possible ways – good-bad, bitter-sweet, dark-light, summer-winter. Experience all the dualities. Don’t be afraid of experience, because the more experience you have, the more mature you become.” ~ Osho

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We make sense of life through our stories. Life is mysterious, scary, wonderful, big – replete with challenges, stumbling blocks, triumphs, sorrow and joy – and we feel a deep need to put it into words. As Maya Angelou said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you”.

When another person listening to our own story looks into our eyes and nods, we feel that we are coming home, the challenges are surmountable, and it will all be alright. We feel understood in our journey.

Look at the story that is currently being written for humanity. (Yes, with the amount of control being wielded on this planet right now, it is someone else’s idea of what our lives should be.)  Is it a story that makes you feel happy? If not, what needs to change in order to make it a better story? How can we each contribute to that better story?

It’s time to start imagining the future WE want.

Inspirational Quotes:

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~ Maya Angelou

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ~ Anne Frank

“Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.” ~ Terry Pratchett

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” ~ Philip Pullman

“If you ever find yourself in the wrong story, leave.” ~ Mo Willems

“If you don’t like someone’s story, write your own.” ~ Chinua Achebe

“Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger.” ~ Ben Okri

© Susan L Hart | HartInspirations.com | Get a free ebook

So much wisdom from one man! Some inspirational quotes from Mahatma Gandhi, a humanitarian and a true leader of the people:

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

“The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful then a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

“Where there is love there is life.”

“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”

“A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”

“The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.”

“They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them.”

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”

“I want freedom for the full expression of my personality.”

“Fearlessness is the first requisite of spirituality. Cowards can never be moral.”

“Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.”

© Susan L Hart | HartInspirations.com | Get a free ebook

No Monday blues here. I’m bringing you some of Nature’s signature green to start your week feeling uplifted and rejuvenated. Think of it as a building block, a foundation for your day (and I hope) for your week. Build on it.

Pen onto your calendar, right now, something that will uplift you each and every day. Commit to those goals. They can be small, and they don’t have to cost money. Perhaps just a little extra time daily to take a walk, ride your bike, pick up that book you’ve been meaning to get to, or more time spent talking with members of your family, face-to-face. Make your well-being and happiness the most important item on your calendar this week.

You know the things that bring you personal happiness, that lift your heart. It is the focus upon and gratitude for all the seemingly small things that give life much of its delight.

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” ~ John Muir

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” ~ John Muir

“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.” ~ John Muir

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
~ Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden 

© Susan L Hart / Shop my books at:  SusanLHartBooks.com

Photos courtesy Luis del Río Pexels, HoliHo Pexels, KANENORI Pixabay, Pixel2013 Pixabay, SplitShire Pexels, denizhosbas_, PIxabay

© Susan L Hart | HartInspirations.com | Get a free ebook