Category: Uplifting Thoughts

“Stop longing. You poison today’s ease, reaching always for tomorrow.” — Robin Hobb

Do you know what day it is? Is it Tuesday? Saturday? Or is it just another day when the sun rose early this morning and will set later this evening?

Do you know that keeping track of the days can create stress in your life?

I rarely have more than two days in a row away from my paying job. A job where I am responsible for a lot of planning. Planning for today, tomorrow, next week, next month and beyond. But recently, I had the opportunity to string three days away from work along with a weekend to give me five days in a row at home.  I had a lot of enjoyable projects to work on at home and by the fourth day I realized that I had lost track of the date and the day. I hadn’t needed to plan on what I was going to do for the next few days.

Because no long term planning was required, I found myself waking each morning, focusing only on what I wanted to do for the next few hours.

What a pleasant feeling. I had no concerns about what would happen if I didn’t do this by a certain time or if I didn’t get to this, that would happen.
At days end, there were no should of,  could of, or would of to haunt my thoughts. And, a bonus to this was that the day seemed to be longer. Much more was accomplished with a lot less stress.

The little bit of time that I DID keep track of came from me watching the sun. Long before man invented time pieces, he tracked his time of day by the sun. What worked for ancient man, worked for me. And it worked quite nicely, thank you very much.

I’ve experienced this present moment feeling before. And, it always amazes me. The simple act of not thinking. Not thinking about what day it is can have such a positive effect on your present activity. “Not thinking” about the future relieves stressing out about tomorrow’s activities. The “not thinking” allows you to be in the moment with what you are doing so much more than when you have plans and dates running in the back of your mind.

So, the next time that you have a few days to yourself, forget about time! Live in the present day and don’t be concerned about which day it is. Try to not remember if it is Tuesday or Saturday.
When you forget today, it is easier to not think about tomorrow. Take a few days to forget time.

Do you know what day it is? If your answer is no, then…………………. Congratulations! You are one step closer to living in the moment.

Namaste,
Dave

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Creative Commons Attribution

“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful: they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul.”  — Luther Burbank

A simple quote that says a lot. When we look at flowers, we feel better. But before anyone comments, let me say that I know we can be so down in the dumps that our eyes see the flowers, but out brains do not register anything. Thoughts of poor health, financial setbacks, or family issues can keep us from really “seeing” the beauty that is in our own yard or neighborhood.

Luther Burbank’s words always stick in my head when winter turns into spring. After a dreary winter, the signs of spring flowers usually have a positive impact on most people. The nurseries are packed on the weekends and the landscape suppliers are busy loading potting soil and mulch into pickup trucks. Gardeners are anxious to get going with their spring garden plans. Even those with little or no property, those in condos and apartments are out in force, trying to bring a little bit of nature’s beauty into their lives. From full-fledged landscaping projects, to setting up patio garden rooms, or to potting up a few annuals for a balcony, the “gardener” in folks is yelling to get out. Get out and grow something!

There are many reasons why we get excited about gardening this time of year. I believe a subconscious reason plays over and over in the back of our minds. Flowers do, somehow, make people better, happier, and more helpful. A stroll through the yard in the early evening proves over and over that the sight of flowers can change our outlook on any particular situation.

There’s something special about their colors and shapes. The human eye takes in the picture and changes within us affect our thoughts and emotions. Our worlds seem better, more peaceful, more in tune with our surroundings.
“Stop and smell the roses” is a cliché that we hear a lot. That goes for stopping and seeing as well. If you remember this saying when you look at what is flowering in your part of the world, perhaps you will also remember Mr. Burbank’s words and recognize in yourself that you really do feel better and happier in that moment.

It’s the awareness of these reactions that enables us to repeat the results over and over.

The key is to take the time, slow down, and focus on what the eyes are seeing. By being mindful and enjoying every little moment, we begin to understand how the flowers around us have the power to be medicine for our soul.
It doesn’t matter your gardening experience. It doesn’t matter how much space is available. From planting one hundred perennials to gluing seeds to a popsicle stick and potting it in a cup, the pleasure of seeing your home-grown plants bud and flower will reward you over and over. It never fails.

Feeling like your soul could use some medicine?

Grow Some Flowers!
Namaste,
Dave

“I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.” — Albert Einstein

Are you thinking too much about next week, next month, next year?
Do you catch yourself saying “If this happens, I’ll have that’ or “When I get to that age, I’ll go there”?
Are you missing today’s beautiful sunset because you can’t wait until tomorrow’s sunrise?
Stop thinking so much about the future. Take heed to Mr. Einstein’s advise to “never think of the future. It comes soon enough”.

Enjoy today fully and relish this evening’s sunset.
Namaste,
Dj

Photo: Sunset at Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia

Quote Source: discovery.com

“A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.” — James Allen

I enjoy slowing my life down by doing a little gardening. Basic stuff… prepare the pots by cleaning and filling them with fresh potting soil, followed by planting either seeds or cuttings. Occasionally, I do not have the time to do the planting part until some time later. And every time I let the soil sit in the pot without having planted the seeds or cuttings, I return to find weeds growing  in the containers.

This same thing happens to our minds when left lying empty and barren. Just like the weed seeds that take root and flourish in a pot full of bare soil, allowing our thoughts to run wild can cause depressing seeds of sorrow and worry to take hold of our lives.

James Allen speaks of the intelligently cultivated mind.

Intelligently cultivate. Think about what you are thinking about. Put yourself behind the thoughts that are causing discomfort. Try to look at those thoughts and realize that they are just that…..thoughts.

Thoughts are the seeds that all of us have in our heads. It makes no difference if they are seeds that we planted or seeds that others and the world have given to us. Thoughts, when focused on repeatedly, are what we will take action on in our lives.

If you do not monitor what your thoughts are, your mind will gather thoughts from wherever your senses guide it. Taste something bad, you think about how bad it is. See something that you shouldn’t participate in and you think about doing it. Feel something that you can’t resist and all you want to do is touch it. Our brains react to our senses without our help…..good or bad.

Try to spend a few moments today thinking about your thoughts. Be the person behind the mind and think about what seeds are planted inside your head. Separate yourself from all of those ideas, wishes and opinions that ramble on and on in your head throughout the day. Do not judge what hear yourself say. You can start pulling the weeds and intelligently cultivating tomorrow.
Today, just focus on being aware that you are aware of your thoughts.

Namaste,
Dave