Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Henry Miller

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Attention, Banned books, France, Henry Miller, Life, Love, moments, Quotes, wisdom

The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.

Henry Miller

I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive.

Henry Miller

Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.

Henry Miller

The only thing we never get enough of is love; and the only thing we never give enough of is love.

Henry Miller

The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.

Henry Miller

Miller was an American Novelist. Here’s his Wikipedia page for more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Miller

Have a great Wednesday, folks. My Nephew left today. I just got back home from the airport. He had a good time and his grandmother (my mom) loved every minute of his stay. My brother is still here. We’ll hang out today. He heads back home tomorrow.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Exciting Projects

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change, Excitement, Life, Love, Monday, motivation, passion

There’s nothing more motivating than working on something that you enjoy doing. The motivation is internal, because you enjoy it, you are good at it, and it feels great when you’ve accomplished something that fits all these parameters. It’s hard to be demotivated when you are doing something you enjoy.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Many of you highlight your love of quilting, woodworking, you name it. Are you ever unmotivated to do that thing that wakes you up in the morning? I know I am not. When I am working on my book or learning something new, it is just so easy for me to get to work. Now, I’m not a professional writer by any stretch of the imagination. I write for me.

Photo by Thijs van der Weide on Pexels.com

Perhaps you do woodworking like my blogging friend does, for the sheer love of the project and how a new piece will serve your family and add to the decor of your place. Perhaps you enjoy gardening like my Mom does. Each year it is one project after another to get those healthy, fresh vegetables to the dinner table, but each year, despite her age, she is out there in that garden. Why? Because all of the people I have described have a passion for these things.

Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com

If you ever find yourself having some issues with a favorite project. The project starts to lose its excitement and your passion is wilting on the vine. Take a break from it. There’s no harm in taking some time off from one of your favorite things. Life can also get in the way. Illness in the family, and perhaps other issues, are stepping on your ability to really enjoy your favorite project because you have so many pressing needs. That’s ok too. We all need to take care of ourselves.

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Life also causes us to change. Maybe writing is no longer your thing. Maybe gardening is becoming too much now that the kids are out of the house. Perhaps, you have changed your interest area. That’s ok too. Go with it. There’s no rule in the book about how long we stay interested and passionate about a thing we’re doing. The only rule is one we create for ourselves.

Photo by Craig Adderley on Pexels.com

Have a great Monday, folks. Here’s to all of our favorite projects and the motivation and passion that go along with it.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – The Amazing Effects of Gratitude

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Benefits, effects, Gratitude, Life, Looking at the bright side, TedEd, Thankful, Thankfulness

I figured since we are so close to Thanksgiving, this would be an appropriate video for those of you may not keep a Gratitude Journal or practice counting your blessings each day. It is a wondrous time of year!

A good friend of our family provided a quote that I’ve kept close to the chest since hearing it. He said, “When things go bad in your life, you have to remember that these things are not done to you, but for you.”

This quote is all about turning a sour note to a wondrous melody. Sure, we all have our relationship, financial, health, and other problems, but in the end there’s some lesson to be learned. We learn how strong we are. We learn how loving we are. We learn how resilient we are. I think we learn the most when times are tough. What a gift, right?

Gratitude is about looking at every situation with a sense of thankfulness. It’s being thankful for what we have, not what we do not have. It is realizing that we have all we need. Perhaps it isn’t all we want, but it is what we need.

I hope you enjoy this video.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Life

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Adventure, Dark Night of Soul, enduring, Happiness, Humility, Life, Love, Overcoming, Tragedy

I’m sitting here in my living room, with laptop up, and our little dog Bella resting in her doggy bed. Mom and Dad are out running errands, and I am just relaxing while I knock out my daily tasks.

Today, I am grateful for this life. I have experienced so many things, and sometimes I reminisce and am blown away by all the things I have done, all the people I’ve come to know, and all the adventures that await. It has been one terrific ride.

Now that I am retired, the adventure continues. I have more time to read, write, learn, and pursue all kinds of things. It is terrific to have so many choices and so many opportunities.

Has life been easy. Far from it. But, every experience is a treasure. The hard times made me stronger, more grateful, and more humble. The good times created good memories I can revisit over and over again, when I think about life, like I am today.

Each one of you has experienced trauma, loved ones passing, sickness, and all kinds of tragedies, too many to mention here. You survived, and even though the troubled times may have lingered, things always got better, right?

When I am ever in the “dark night of Soul”, I remind myself that “this too shall pass”. And you know what? It does.

So here’s to the many shades and colors of life. May all of our lives be filled with adventure, love, laughs, tears, and all the rest. Life is truly worth living and one hell of a rollercoaster ride!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – William James

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5 Quotes, Belief, Life, philosophy, Prejudice, Psychiatry, Stress, Wednesday, William James, wisdom

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

William James

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.

William James

The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.

William James

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.

William James

A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.

William James

As always, if you’d like to learn more about William James, here is the fascinating life who influenced a great deal of our thought today https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Home

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cozy, Grateful, Gratitude, Happy, Home, Life, Nook, Thankful

Today, I’m grateful for a warm, comfortable home. It’s paid for, everything works, and it is just so cozy. I have my little nook in the living room by the front room window where I do my work, read, write, learn, etc. When I go to bed at night, I think about how grateful I am for this life. It didn’t turn out the way I thought it would, but the surprises in life along the way have been terrific.

Life is full of surprises, yet in the end, things always work out for the best—a “best” we could not have foreseen. I’ll leave it here for today. Take stock of what you are grateful for. I do this every day, and it is a treasured time to contemplate all the good in my life. We have so much control over how we react to the challenges, joys, and surprises in life. Look for the good and you’ll find it.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – 4 Lessons

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Balance, Changes, Lessons learned, Life, Pandemic, Patty McCord, vaccination, Work

All of us experienced lockdowns in one way or another in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic touched everyone across the globe. In this video, Patty McCord discusses what the pandemic taught us over the last year. I wanted to share this today, because I am getting the COVID vaccination today. My folks and I need to get this thing because they both have underlying conditions and since I live with them, need to get vaccinated as well. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I did.

Have a great Tuesday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – 5 Quotes

Tags

Chinese, Content, Daoism, kindness, Lao Tzu, Life, Love, Nature, Philosopher

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Lao Tzu

Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.

Lao Tzu

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.

Lao Tzu

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

Lao Tzu

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

Lao Tzu

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/biography/lao-tzu-biography

Lao Tzu is credited as the founder of Daoism. If you’d like to learn more about this Chineses philosopher, click the link above.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Birthdays

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Birthday, born, Day Off, eat some good food, Happy, Life, play some games, Read, Relax

This is going to be short today, folks. It’s my 57th birthday and I’m going to be taking the day off. I’m grateful to be alive, grateful to have been born, and grateful for this life. It has been one hell of a journey so far.

Have a great day, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – 5 Quotes

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5 Quotes, Earl Nightingale, Enjoyment, Life, Quotes, wisdom, Wisdom Wednesday

Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.

Earl Nightingale

Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.

Earl Nightingale

We can let circumstances rule us, or we can take charge and rule our lives from within.

Earl Nightingale

The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.

Earl Nightingale

The biggest mistake that you can make is to believe that you are working for somebody else. Job security is gone. The driving force of a career must come from the individual. Remember: Jobs are owned by the company, you own your career!

Earl Nightingale

I hope you are having a great Wednesday! I took my nephew and his girlfriend back to the airport today, for their flight back to Arizona. We had a great time with them. Enjoy these quotes and have a great day!

Until next time…

Dave