Contamination

Harmony

He who lives in harmony with himself
lives in harmony with the universe.

 Marcus Aurelius

Honesty

Tell the truth, or eventually someone will tell it for you.
 Living a life of honesty creates peace of mind, and peace of mind is priceless.
 Period.
Don’t be dishonest and don’t put up with people who are.

Veggie Protein

Listen

Baggage

I believe that the most important thing to consider when thinking about forgiveness is the effect that it has on ourselves.
Forgiveness isn't always about the person being forgiven. Often, that person will have asked forgiveness and will be very grateful when we do forgive, but probably more often we need to forgive for our own sakes.
 I've carried around anger and resentment for a while, and I've done so quite often. But the thing that always took it away was the realization that my anger wasn't affecting the object of my anger at all, but it was affecting me a great deal, in a very negative way.
 I wasn't sleeping as I could have been.
I wasn't able to focus on the task at hand as well as I could have.
 I wasn't able to relate to other people effectively.

I have to admit, I still get angry and I don't always forgive as I should, but I am getting better.
I don't want that negative baggage to carry around with me.
I want my view of the world to be a view filled with wonder and awe, and carrying a grudge taints that view. I'm the one who suffers from my own inability to forgive.
I'm the only one who can save myself from that suffering by putting things behind me where they belong.

Weapons

Complete

“On a deeper level you are already complete.
When you realize that, there is a playful, joyous energy behind what you do.”

Eckhart Tolle

Inside

Worry

Beyond

Authentic

You are not like anyone else. 
 Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t be exactly who you are. 
In a world of comparison and conformity, take a stand. 
 Make your own statement. 
 Honor your own truth. 
Risk speaking your own thoughts and sharing your own ideas. 
 Express your fears, tears, doubts, and insecurities.
Allow others to experience the authentic you. 

Communication

Kindness

Seeing Beauty

Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty
never grows old.
 Franz Kafka

Beyond The Comfort Zone

You were not meant to sit at the edge of your comfort zone.
 Not trying for fear of falling.
 Not loving for fear of losing love.
Not speaking your truth for fear of what others will think.
 Not looking at yourself in the mirror for fear of what you might see.
Your courage will unfold as your resolve takes hold.
And with each effort you make you will earn a little more confidence which you can use to acquire what no one else can give you: Your self-respect, and the life you were meant to live.

Benefits of Fruit

Primary Choices

Looking Ahead

Nobody gets to live life backwards.
Look ahead.
That is the direction your life is heading.

Control

What others do and say are out of your control.
Realize that you can’t always count on others to respect your feelings, even if you respect theirs.
Being a kind and honest person doesn’t guarantee that others will be the same way with you.
You only have control over yourself, how you respond to others, and over how you choose to be as an individual.
And as for others, you can only accept them, or walk away.

Steps

Actions

Marriage

Marriage, ultimately, is the practice of
becoming passionate friends.

 Harville Hendrix

Crap

Contemplate

Life’s biggest causes of unhappiness are the false beliefs you refuse to let go of.
You are capable of far more than you are presently thinking, imagining, doing or being. 
You will ultimately become what you habitually contemplate.
 Clear your mind and let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future.

Not Understanding

Becoming

"The greatest joy lies not in simply being.
 but in becoming."

Oprah Winfrey

Lowering Cholesterol

Within

When you find peace within yourself,
you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.

Damage

Judging

Kindled

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled,
 but a fire to be kindled."

Plutarch

Not Fitting

 There are certain people who aren’t meant to fit into your life no matter how much you want them to.
  And the only ones truly worthy of your love are the ones who stand with you through the hard times and laugh with you after the hard times pass.
 Maybe a happy ending doesn’t include anyone else right now.  Maybe it’s just you, on your own, picking up the pieces and starting over, freeing yourself for something better in the future.
 Maybe the happy ending is simple letting go.

Within

"What lies BEHIND us
and what lies BEFORE us
 are small matters when compared
to what lies WITHIN us".

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Love

Love is not about sex, going on fancy dates, or showing off. It’s about being with a person who makes you happy in a way nobody else can.
You don’t need a perfect one, you just need someone who you can trust – who shows you that you’re the only one.
If you haven’t found true love yet, don’t settle. There is someone out there who will love you unconditionally, even if it’s not the person you were initially hoping for.

Progress

"Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error;
CHANGE--this is the rhythm of living.
Out of our over-confidence, fear;
out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope.
And, out of hope, PROGRESS."

Bruce Barton

Know Your Worth

We often accept the love we think we deserve.
It makes no sense to be second in someone’s life, when you know you’re good enough to be first in someone else’s.

Waiting

"We must be willing to let go of the life we've planned,
 so as to have the life that is waiting for us."

Joseph Campbell

Losing YOU

Don’t lose YOU in your search for acceptance by others.
Be aware that you will always appear to be a little less than some people prefer you to be, but that most people are unaware that you are so much more then what they see.
You are good enough just the way you are.
You have nothing to prove to anyone else.
 Care less about who you are to others and more about who you are to yourself.

Willpower

Now that you’ve chosen your New Year’s resolutions, here are a few pointers for maintaining a steady supply of willpower. Take it one day at a time. Endurance athletes who run 50-mile races will tell you that if they think of the long road ahead, it unnerves them. So instead they focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
Don’t worry about whether you’ll have the strength to make it through the next week or month. Think only about what you have to do today. Reward yourself — daily if necessary — for a job well done. Ask your friends and family to offer you the same encouragement. When tempted to fall off the resolution wagon, envision yourself having achieved your goal. Think of how great you will feel when you get there! Use this powerful image to bolster you when you’re tempted to cheat.
 Above all else, stay well rested. Stress and sleep deprivation can unravel your resolve, so be sure to treat yourself with love and kindness. Go to bed early, meditate, do yoga, take a warm bath, light a fire, read a book, or watch a funny movie. Give yourself permission to take it easy so that you have the mental energy to stay loyal to your resolution.

Fools

Dance

"Dance, when you're broken open.
Dance, if you've torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance when you are perfectly free."

RUMI

Spending Time

There are over seven billion people in the world right now; don’t let a handful of negative ones ruin your happiness.
 No, you can’t choose every person you meet in life, but you can choose who you spend your time with.
 Be grateful for the people who walk into your life and make it better, but also be thankful for the freedom to walk away from the ones who don’t.

Hmmmm....

Universe

Optimism

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity.
An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

Sir Winston Churchill

Change and Transformation

Transformation is a universal constant that affects our lives from the moment we are born until we leave earthly existence behind. At the root of all growth, we find change. Occasionally, change and the circumstances leading up to it are a source of extraordinary joy, but more often than not they provoke feelings of discomfort, fear, or pain.
 Though many changes are unavoidable, we should not believe that we are subject to the whims of an unpredictable universe. It is our response to those circumstances that will dictate the nature of our experiences.
At the heart of every transformation, no matter how chaotic, there is substance. When we no longer resist change and instead regard it as an opportunity to grow, we find that we are far from helpless in the face of it.

Resolutions