power of belief

It's crazy to think how much our beliefs can change our physical health...

If we can do all that with our minds, can we also change our circumstances too?  I don't think it's possible all the time, but I do think we can make our own luck.

percolating thoughts (#12)

['Percolating thoughts' is an on-going collection of quotes I have found and gained wisdom from.  These are the ones that I've recently discovered and that I'm currently sitting with and reflecting on...]

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."
-Steve Jobs

"Peace is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find it."
-Thomas Merton 

"All real living is meeting."
-Martin Buber, from I and Thou 

trusting anyway

H and I had a conversation the other day about how as people get older and gain more life experiences, there's much more opportunity to get heart broken, be hurt, become resentful, distrustful, cynical, etc.  As we get older, we become more sullied by life.

H asked me  how I have been able to push past all the hurt I've experienced in my own life.  Scars have been made, and I've been left wondering at times how to trust myself and others.  Why not cloister myself away in a safe place?  I can work to keep myself from getting hurt again.

But my answer to her was this... As humans, we are really left with no choice.  We have to trust ourselves.  We have to trust others.  The reality is that we may get hurt again (and most likely we will, as loss and hurt come with love), but cloistering ourselves away to a safe and protected place only cuts ourself off from the world.  It is a suicide of the soul.  If we do not choose love and trust, what is left?

last night

Last night I dreamt you came looking
for me.  I was in a safe and hidden place.
Protected.
I tried to make a little extra noise.
Unsure if I wanted to be hidden or found,
I secretly kept hoping you'd peak inside my room.
But you kept walking by
in search of God knows what.
And I awoke to realize
you were only a shadow
of another dream I once had.

for when things get hard...

I wrote a list of things for myself to remember when I was going through a tough time last year.  I came across that list yesterday and thought I'd post it here.

FOR WHEN THINGS GET HARD:

• There will always be challenges.  How will you deal with them?
• What is going to help you move forward?
• Don't forget how far you've come.
• Today will be what you make it.
• There will always be things in your current situation that you may never find again.  Take advantage!
• Embrace your personal growth.
• Look for God... in all things.

 Sometimes I try so hard to do good things, and I can get kinda down on myself when things aren't better.  However, I've come to realize that my story is not mine to write.  My job is simply to be open, accept what comes to me, and work as hard as I can when given a task.  That's all that can be asked of me.

the beloved man

A Siberian shaman asked God to show him a man that He loved. The Lord advised him to look for a certain farmer.

“What do you do to make the Lord love you so much?” the shaman asked the farmer when he found him.
“I say His name in the morning. I work all day and say His name before going to sleep. That’s all,” the farmer replied.  I think I found the wrong man, thought the shaman.

Just then the Lord appeared and said, “Fill a bowl with milk, go to town and then return. Without spilling a single drop.”

The shaman did so. On his return, the Lord wanted to know how many times he had thought of Him.
“How could I? I was worried not to spill the milk!”

“A simple bowl made you forget Me,” said the Lord, “and the farmer, with all his tasks, thinks of me twice a day.”

[Originally found here]