Tag: motivational

Posted in Life, Photography Art, Quotes, Random Thoughts

Practicality of the Rainbow

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“Nullum Dolorum, Nullum Quaestum”

Trying something new is always a venture of exciting possibility, realization of dreams as well as fear of which side the balance will tilt towards, success or failure. The best thing about all these emotions, is that its’ a part of surviving and living. Everyone has their own set of fears, insecurities, burdens and pain whether its’ of physical, spiritual, emotional, moral, internal or external type or kind. For more proof, nature holds the evidence.

Caterpillar. Chrysalis. Butterfly.

Rain. Sun. Rainbow.

Carbon. Pressure. Diamonds.

Pyramids of Giza. Roman Colosseum. Great Wall of China.

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 As evidenced by history and time along with nature, showing in its’ magnificent examples, unless we toil and sweat, there wouldn’t be any gain. The key to surviving and taking life in all its’ colours, is to look beyond the immediate and overcome the bad slow and steady. If at times, things don’t go the way it should have, worry but don’t despair. Find the courage, time and hope to improvise for another shot. Just like the beauty of diamonds, pressure has and will always be a part of achievements.

“One that would have the fruit must climb the tree.” Thomas Fuller

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Posted in Family and Society, Life, Quotes

From Bare to New

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“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” Lewis Carroll

As the white blanket starts receding and colours come to vibrancy, the landscape starts changing giving us new perspectives. While most of us welcome the spring and the break from the thaw, the stark beauty of winter will be missed for a while. As John Steinbeck once said, “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”

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The spring air speaks of new beginnings, projects and life experiences. As we venture into new territories, the lives that we lead often reminding me of the trees, bare and broken in winter but green shoots springing to life in spring. The resilience of human nature is amazing. We all have had our own shares of downfalls and setbacks; yet like the skeleton-bare eerie and snapping branches give to new life of crispy, silk-soft branches with the smell of baked apples growing stronger; our lives echo the same when we decide to move forward and ahead.

“Then spring came. The white blanket melted away, the evergreens and spruces scented the air with their new growth; the little streams rushed hither and thither as if they were joyfully carolling, birds sang and built everywhere. Children were out for wild flowers, and raced around like deers.” Amanda Minnie Douglas (From “A Little Girl in Old St. Louis”)

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As Mr. Frost runs away for the youth of Spring to take over, the young buds protected from the winter come to life. In a way, nature teaches a few basic life lessons to man; the ability to stay strong and not quit as well as to survive the drought, keeping in mind that better days will come when we seek and yearn for it.

“Each solstice is a domain of experience unto itself. At the Summer Solstice, all is green and growing, potential coming into being, the miracle of manifestation painted large on the canvas of awareness. At the Winter Solstice, the wind is cold, trees are bare and all lies in stillness beneath blankets of snow.” Gary Zukav

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Posted in Life, Personal Musings, poetry, Quotes, Work

Facing the Days On

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Into the next year, some of us have already started and gone ahead on our dreams and projects while the rest of us have yet to begin or refine the procrastination that we often find ourselves in. However there may be a few among us, for whom the year had started off on the wrong note like being diagnosed with a terminal illness, death of a loved one, being unemployed, failure of a project to list a few. For them these few months would have been tough.

Never give up, and be confident in what you do. There may be tough times, but the difficulties which you face will make you more determined to achieve your objectives and to win against all the odds. Marta

Looking deeper, each one of us would have gone through this phase at one point of time or other. It would be easy for one to say take heart and that things would be better. Yet from experience, these dark phases will pass and weathering through the storms, we become stronger and tougher. For as long as the earth rotates on its’ axis, nights won’t stay forever nor shall the clouds permanently darken the skies. The more mentally and emotionally we persevere, the shorter the difficult days become and the better equipped we become to tackle life head-on.

“Lighten up while you still can, don’t even try to understand. Just find a place to make your stand, and take it easy.” Jackson Browne

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Take it easy. Take a breath. It’s gonna be all right.
There will be autumn and leaves. And the rain in the hood.
There will be a forest and a cool transparent day,
And the sunset on the cliff of amber yellow …

Take it easy. Take a breath. You know, winter is coming …
And from the gray suddenly white will become at home,
Again holidays, life, vanity and frost,
Ice on the roads, a weathered nose …

Let’s warm up in a cafe, remembering our year,
You will cover from hundreds, from thousands of adversities ,
You will tell about the sun in the rays of a lantern,
I will wrap myself in a gray scarf of January …

There will be tenderness without words and daggers in the back,
There will be a cat dreaming about something at the window …
We are born again with the purest soul.
Take it easy. Take a breath. It’s gonna be all right.

Rus Svyataya

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Posted in Family and Society, Life, Personal Musings, poetry

Approach of Dawn

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“We went down into the silent garden. Dawn is the time when nothing breathes, the hour of silence. Everything is transfixed, only the light moves.” Leonora Carrington

One of the perks of being a morning lark or a really late owl is that we can see the marvels of nature, the break of dawn thereby giving the spark to start the day. Dawn as always been one of the points of focus for many ranging from scientists to poets, naturalists, hikers, photographers, artists and even children. The ole adage of “sleeping on our problems over the night and let everything make sense by the light of the morning”, makes sense especially when the light of the dawn chases away the bleakness of the night.

“Through the blackest night, morning gently tiptoes, feeling its way to dawn.” Robert Breault

 

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If one has witnessed the breaking of colours in the sky, it would be a treasured memory to keep in the dark times. Dawn and dusk has been always the times where we can view with wonder as well as contemplate on one’s personal quest in our pages in the journey through life and time. To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn”. Through the early days of spring to the fresh snow of winter, the break of dawn will always be a source to renew one’s purpose and strengthen the resolve to make our existence in this world quite meaningful.

“Have you ever seen the dawn? Not a dawn groggy with lack of sleep or hectic with mindless obligations and you about to rush off on an early adventure or business, but full of deep silence and absolute clarity of perception? A dawning which you truly observe, degree by degree. It is the most amazing moment of birth. And more than anything it can spur you to action. Have a burning day.” Vera Nazarian

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“Dawn comes to those who have seen darkness
In all its murderous majesty …
Who cried from someone else’s indifference,
But was not indifferent to anyone!

Dawn comes to those who were on the road,
Not knowing neither fatigue nor laziness.
Who, exhausted, fell to his knees,
But he rose, continued to walk …

And, clamping his will into fists,
Suddenly he found a chamomile field,
And, choking from aching pain,
Hid his palms in his petals!

To those who, having buried their dreams,
And, having remembered them, rushed on.
Who could among the betrayal and falsehood,
Do not lose spiritual purity!

Accidentally in the blue of the sky,
Suddenly the sunny doors will open.
Dawn comes to those who believe in the light.
Absurd, to the last. But he believed!
– Rus Svytaya

“Let every dawn be to you as the beginning of life, and every setting sun be to you as its close.” John Ruskin

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Posted in Life, Quotes, Reflections, Work

Courage for Today

Posted on by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“First, in feelings of fear and confidence the mean is bravery (andreia).The excessively fearless person is nameless…while the one who is excessively confident is rash; the one who is excessively afraid and deficient in confidence is cowardly.”-Aristotle  (Source: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics)

The progress and changes that man has seen, witnessed or underwent is the culmination of events that have taken place when one has decided to act on their thinking, feeling and emotions. In the course, choices have to be made between the right and the wrong, to conquer fears and pains to reach the intended goal.

“Courage is about doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared. Have the courage to act instead of react.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

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The decision or the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation can be termed as courage, bravery or valour. Yet true forms of courage can be physical or mental. While the former is bravery in the face of physical pain, hardship, death or threat of death; moral courage encompasses the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, discouragement or personal loss. Add perseverance and patience to courage; then courage becomes fortitude.

“And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” Steve Jobs, Stanford commencement speech, June 2005

For the world today, courage is needed not just for achieving records, dashing car rides, conquest of mountain peaks, quests to discover new places or attempting new events and the like. While they do require us stepping outside our comfort zone; there are many more instances where we have to put on the cloak of courage knowingly or unknowingly.

“Sometimes standing against evil is more important than defeating it. The greatest heroes stand because it is right to do so, not because they believe they will walk away with their lives. Such selfless courage is a victory in itself.” N.D. Wilson, Dandelion Fire

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Courage entails the process of acting despite the gnawing fear. Courage helps us to follow our hearts and persevere in the face of adversity. Courage helps us to endure suffering with the hope to renew our struggle for the brighter tomorrow.

“There is no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bear witness that a man has the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.” Frank

Man will need immense courage to follow his dreams, faith and strive hard in the face of constant criticism, opposition and doubts. He will need courage to raise children, stay as family, grow trees and build a house. Today he will need courage to do the simple and necessary things in the right manner than for bright lights, glory and fame.

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” Mary Anne Radmacher

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Posted in Life, Personal Musings, Quotes

Refocus the Purpose

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“When you are standing in the middle of a storm you have two choices: Pray to God that it goes away. Or, start praying to God that he gives you the wisdom to figure out why you’re standing in the middle of a storm.” Shannon L. Alder

One of the constant battles that we often wage with ourselves is whether what we are doing is of any purpose or not. Man is filled with uncertainties and doubts of whether the life he lives is of any meaning. Unfortunately there are no guarantees to life that ensures that we would be able to predict the entire course of events, or that what we do would be of purpose all the time. While every second of our life may not be meaningful, as long as we are happy and at peace the time spent is worth it.

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“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

The who, why, where and what centering around us drive our existence. Our purpose in life is the reason why we rise up to each day and live it. To find purpose, we need to centre our lives around those or someone or something we care about. From meaningful satisfying work to responsibilities to family, friends and oneself; we need to find a focus to direct our attention, will and energy. For then that purpose will to guide our decisions, influence our actions and behavior, shape goals, offer a sense of direction, and create meaning. Each person has their own unique perspective and purpose, with different paths that will intersect with other fellow paths at certain point of time. As our purpose and paths will fluctuate depending on our experiences, life lessons as well as interests, there is no set purpose for anyone. But we can have a common outlook which is why no matter how purpose driven our life is, unless we make emotional, spiritual and mental connections, we often find ourselves in a rut or loss of impetus.

“I don’t want to live in the kind of world where we don’t look out for each other. Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand. I cant change the way anybody else thinks, or what they choose to do, but I can do my bit.” Charles de Lint

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Posted in Christian, Daily, Random Thoughts

Words To Remember By

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The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them… Whether you find satisfaction in life depends not on your tale of years, but on your will. Michel de Montaigne

As Ralph Marston had said, “If you so choose, even the unexpected setbacks can bring new and positive possibilities. If you so choose, you can find value and fulfillment in every circumstance.”

Are we important ? 

We often stumble across this thought at our various stop points or crossroads in our life. Sometimes the feeling that we are of no importance in this world engulfs us. Yet despite the pep talk we give ourselves, there will be days where the feeling that “we are not worth a story” haunts the inner recesses of our emotions. That is when we have to remember a few things.

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When we may think that we are not at all important in this world. Remember that someone drinks coffee every morning from their favorite cup which you gave them.
Someone heard a song on the radio that reminded them of you.
Someone saw a picture or message from you and smiled.
Someone read the book you recommended to him and plunged into it.
Someone had chuckled to themselves while waiting at a traffic light thinking of their good times with you.
Someone remembered your joke and smiled, returning in the evening from work.
Someone keeps the notes you have written, the messages you had sent, the emails that you had forwarded or archived the conversations and emails for rainy days, to live the hope they recieved on reading them.
Someone now loves themselves a little more, because you had given them a compliment.
Someone thought of you while shopping in the grocer’s knowing how much you loved their cookies.
Someone misses the good old days where you were a part of their circle.
Someone suddenly remembers the parking space, the directions or guidance that you had given without a second thought.

There may be many more instances that we may not even be able to think of, where others have often thought of us even we may have merely met them just once in our lifetime. Never think that we don’t have an influence on anything.Our traces, which we leave behind, even with small acts of kindness can never be erased.

A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love. Saint Basil

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