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In humble places <3

“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.”
A lovely reminder to see beauty everywhere. There’s nowhere it doesn’t exist. In the most mundane, ugly, plain places, in our most wretched states of body or mind, beauty lives still. 

I hope you are having a beautiful day or night wherever in the world you are!

😀

Xoxo Kim ❤

Know our worth

(Not my photo!)

This is a fantastic reminder to not see ourselves through the eyes of those who do not think much of us whether they outright mistreat us or just pay us no mind.

There have been occasions I liked/wanted to be friends with someone who had no interest in me at all and occasions people tried to degrade me and I began to see myself through their eyes and assumed everyone must think of me how they do or that it must be true, I must be worthless. I don’t have a habit of doing this but there have been occasions it occurred.

It’s not just an adolescent thing either. Even adults can be deeply troubled by how others view them or how we think they do.

Not everyone is going to like everyone and there’s nothing wrong with that. We don’t all have to be close friends or acquaintances but it’s important to remember that the low opinions of others or the apathy have nothing to do with us.

All that matters is our own opinion of ourselves and if it’s low we can fix it. Focus on our good qualities and self growth and treat our own selves how we would treat a good friend.

And always try to build each other up, not drag anyone down. 

Also, thank you to everyone who wrote me comments recently!! I greatly appreciate it and will respond soon! 

😀

❤

Much love & light,

Xoxo Kim

There’s a place…❤

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“It takes all different kinds of people to run the world. We need everyone.” ❤

I saw this quote (don’t remember where; it was on a photo) and find it so inspiring. 

“‘Cause there’s a place in the sun
Where there’s hope for ev’ryone
Where my poor restless heart’s gotta run
There’s a place in the sun
And before my life is done
Got to find me a place in the sun”

Place in the sun – Winjama (reggae version) – mobile

Place in the Sun – Winjama – desktop

There are so many kinds of people in this world and we need us all. 

My dad used to watch the tv show The Sopranos every night a few months ago until all the seasons ended.

There’s a few episodes where a woman who is an FBI agent in the show pretends to be just a girl shopping at a mall I think, to deceive the girlfriend of a member of the Mafia so she can get information the police need.

They have been watching this man and his girlfriend for a while and an FBI agent tricks the girlfriend and they become close “friends.”

The girlfriend tells the agent things about herself and life she never told anyone, not even her boyfriend, because she feels so close to her.

The FBI agent is sweet and warm and very personable. She pretends to be a great friend to this other girl. Then the FBI people decide to tell the girl the truth, that this new friend of hers is no friend at all but actually an agent of the FBI who has been watching her and her man. 

The FBI agent after confessing that’s what she is, all of a sudden is now assertive, no longer warm and sweet. She has a no nonsense way about her now. She’s all stiff and firm.

These are only fictional scenes in a tv show but real detectives and FBI agents for their job sometimes really have to pretend to be someone they aren’t and trick people, maybe even innocent people who get caught up in unpleasant stuff. 

I was imagining myself in the FBI character’s place and think I don’t have the heart to ever deceive an innocent person or even not so innocent person who trusts me into thinking we’re close friends and we’re really not. I wouldn’t have a job where I may have to do that. 

This girl is the lover of a member of the New Jersey Mafia but she’s just an innocent girl. She knows he’s a murderer and all and chooses to stay with him but she herself is just a regular person. She thought she had this new friend she was able to tell things to she felt she couldn’t tell anyone else, like the fact that she had an abortion years ago. 

Imagine finding out your closest friend is a fake? Maybe you don’t have to imagine. It’s a heartbreaking situation. 

When the FBI people approached her, not only was she terrified about the trouble they were in but she was heartbroken over the loss of “friendship” or what she thought was genuine friendship. I think this hurt her even more than the prospect of going to prison. 

I felt a range of emotions when I realized I can never be like that. I felt thankful that I don’t have it in me to be deceptive and trick an innocent person. I also felt a tinge of envy that I don’t have that kind of aggression or backbone, I guess you can say, like some do, to have a job like that, even though I don’t want that kind of job. And I also felt gratitude that there are people like that in this world, those who do have it in them to trick and deceive for work or other necessary situations. I am inspired.

I don’t want to have it in me to do that but I’m so thankful there are people who do. We need them. We need people who have the ability to be aggressive and deceive people because it’s sometimes necessary, like for certain jobs including police jobs.

Police, attorneys, doctors, and other people of certain professions are sometimes criticized for being cold, aggressive, detached, deceptive, immoral….but it’s actually a good thing that we have people who have a place in them where they can summon feelings of aggression, detachment, and other things that may seem unpleasant. 

We need people who can detach and not get worn out having to encounter so much suffering each day at work, like some doctors who have to work with dying people and dead individuals, detectives who have to investigate cases of homicide and other violence and horror….Imagine if they did not have the ability to detach or distance themselves to a certain degree. Many would probably experience burnout or breakdowns of some sort. This isn’t to say they aren’t compassionate or empathetic people ever, just that they have the ability to “turn it off” to a point when necessary. And it’s great to have people in the world who can temporarily put aside their general morals and conscience to do work that may call for it. Not everyone can do that. And for those who cannot, that’s good too.

It’s good if we have compassion and empathy and morals so strong and so constant that we can’t or won’t stop it. This world needs both, extreme empathy and strong sense of morality but also those with the ability to tune out of it in certain situations. 

We need people with extreme empathy for criminals, like forensic psychiatrists/psychologists. By empathy, I’m not referring to compassion here. I’m talking about the sharp ability to be able to “get into their heads” and truly understand them, why, how they do certain things, how/why they feel certain ways, the ways they reason. It doesn’t mean the professional person is justifying any of it or taking pleasure in it. It may seem creepy that someone can understand a murderous criminal mind so well and want to do that kind of work. But it’s so great we have people with that strength and desire. We need them. 

And for those who can’t even begin to understand the mind of a murderer and don’t want to ever understand, that’s great too! It’s great to be sane and good and “normal.”

In courtrooms we need people who have within them a place of aggression, maybe even callousness, people who can tear others to shreds for their jobs. Some jobs call for aggression, cold, clinical, ways. Warmth, softness, sap, sweet words and gestures are beautiful and needed in this world but not in every situation, not for every job, not with every person.  

I always thought if I were in a position to need a lawyer, like a defense attorney, I would prefer a woman because girls can be so vicious! Girls/women of all ages, even generally sweet, warm ones, just can have a kind of aggression or potential for aggression that men don’t have and a job as an attorney requires aggression. How wonderful it is to take that and use it for good or to be productive, helping out our system and helping people instead of using it to drag each other down.

Some jobs call for extreme compassion and not much aggression, like schoolteacher jobs and nurses or doctors or other caretakers, nursing home staff…. and it’s great to have people who are generally very nurturing and mild mannered. 

There are people who are very simple or generally lazy, not very motivated, or just don’t want to work much or not work at challenging jobs so have easy jobs (not everyone with an easy or no job is lazy or lacks motivation) and we need those people. We need professional people with big demanding careers and we need those with cashier jobs and janitorial jobs and desk (jobs which some see as “low” or frivolous)…..

I work at a store as a server and cashier and the job itself is unimportant. But it’s important to my boss to have employees helping with her business. And it’s important to the customers who come. 

Imagine if no one chose to take jobs as a janitor in buildings or a cashier or food server because the jobs are too “low” or boring and imagine if no one chose to be a doctor because it’s too sad or gruesome or demanding. Imagine if there were no lawyers because it’s an “immoral” job.

Imagine if there was no one with the strength and courage to be aggressive, detached, deceptive, bold….

We wouldn’t have anyone to be lawyers, doctors, detectives….all of which we need. 

In a fiction book I read recently (I don’t remember which one but it may be ASBO or Housemates both by Iain Wright {horror novelist}) there are these thug people, physically strong and aggressive and can overpower just about anyone they want. They are some kind of gang members or organized murderers and one of them tells one of their “victims” that he could never be strong or tough enough to do what they do.

And at first I kind of thought of that as a bad thing. Being wimpy and physically weak isn’t good. Just because we’re not gang members and don’t abuse our power over others doesn’t mean we’re weak or wimps but it’s good to be able to have the power and strength to defend ourselves against attacks by others. There’s nothing wrong with being strong and powerful as long as we don’t abuse it. 

But then the character in the book says he is happy he doesn’t have what it takes to be a murderer or gang member, that he would never want to be.

There may be some people who don’t ever want to be in a gang or have a certain job but still wish they had the strength or courage to do that kind of work.

But this character is thankful he doesn’t even have what it takes. 

It’s great to be “tough” and “streetsmart” and physically strong and bold but it’s also good to be innocent and not even have it in us to be like that. We need us all. 

And we don’t just need everyone for the jobs we can do, but just for the beings that we are.

It’s great and ok to have outgoing people, shy people, those who are soft and those who are badass…

Short people and tall people, those with much energy and motivation and those who just want to keep it simple, loud and quiet, and those with a combination of characteristics, religious and non religious, light skin, dark skin, blonde, brunette, orange hair, purple hair, tattooed, pierced, hetero., homo., bi/pan, lgbtqa, healthy, sick, disabled, young, old, introverted and extroverted, financially rich, poor, homeless, jobless, career people and stay at home parents…logical, creative, spiritual, artistic, skeptical, grounded, idealistic, realistic, wild & adventurous, safe & cautious, romantic, dreamers, simple, complex, human, animal, insect……there’s a place for us all. 
We can all teach and learn, all have hopes, fears, needs, desires….all ultimately want to avoid suffering. 

People with less power or resources than us can teach us or remind us of compassion and those with more can inspire us. 

Each situation we experience can teach or remind us something , awaken our wisdom deep within, each person can open a new door for us if we allow it. 

We can see the positive in everyone and the worth of every being no matter the species, size, religion, color, status, nationality, profession…..if we pay attention. 

We all have different weaknesses and strengths. 

We all complement each other and bring balance to the world. There’s always going to be beings and situations that need and call for just what we can provide. Maybe it’s our compassion, our aggression, our softness, our bold personality, our determination, our calmness, our passion, our acceptance, our sarcasm, our soothing energy, our knowledge of  seemingly trivial things, our ability to be deep and serious, our ability to be lighthearted and carefree, our simplicity or our complexity, our “tough-love” or our smothering, warm, sappy love ….that the situation calls for or that someone needs at the moment.

Not all of us can be or provide all of these things and that’s ok. We can all be and provide something when it’s appropriate. We all have gifts and skills that others do not. 

If we or our beautiful qualities are not needed in a certain situation or not desired by a certain someone, it’s not because someone else or some other way is better. It’s just that different people and different situations need different people and things. 😀

There’s always going to be someone who is better for someone or something than someone else. And that’s ok. 

The world needs us all. 👪

We can bask in the beauty of our Oneness but also appreciate diversity and see the beauty in it. 💙

Remember, it takes various kinds of people to run our world. 

We need everyone.  

❤ ❤
<33

Much love & light to you always & forever,

Xoxo Kim 

Listen to the Buddha ❤

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(Not my photo but I’m going to make one like it with a pic of the adorable Buddha amulet I recently got in the mail! 😀 )

If you need a reminder to let go whether it’s something trivial like being looked at the wrong way, an annoying person you must deal with, … Or something a bit more serious seeming like unrequited love, traumatic past, loss, anything at all, here it is! Envision yourself breathing in the bright white light of the Buddha, all his unconditional love, indestructible compassion, and deep wisdom and exhaling all of your struggles, pain, fear, anxieties,… In the form of dark smoke leaving your body. This is what we do in meditation class. ❤

Buddha is a very wise man! 😄 😀

Much love & light & inner peace now & forever! 💙

 

Xoxo Kim 💝

 

Road to nowhere

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“We’re on a road to nowhere
Come on inside
Taking that ride to nowhere
We’ll take that ride
I’m feeling okay this morning
And you know
We’re on the road to paradise
Here we go, here we go”

Road to nowhere – Talking Heads – mobile

Road to nowhere – desktop

This is a photo I made using an app on Kindle Fire. The bridge is mine. Well, not the bridge itself. That’s the Ben F. Bridge here in Philadelphia! It’s the photo that is mine and it’s blended into a background of a beautiful photo of a city, which is not mine (the city or the photo…at least I don’t think it’s my city…). The app can do some amazing things! I’m so thankful! 😍

And also, I love the song! And the interpretation I have of it. I love how they seem so happy and simple with not a care in the world. I can relate. They don’t mind that they’re going nowhere. Lol 

It’s OK to not always have some big plans for the day or for life in general. Just sit back and take pleasure in the beauty all around each moment! ❤

Much love,

Xoxo Kim

 

Happy Birthday, Pomchies!!❤

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July 30th is my babies’ birthday!! They were born two years ago just after 10:00pm! My dog, Boobie had them. ❤💝

She was old when she had them and only had two. My family kept them both. She ran out of milk and we had to feed them with a dropper.

Now they are big and strong and mischievous! Lol Always up to no good! 😏😒

They each got a bone stuffed with flavored gunk in the middle! Lol And since their daddy loves bones too we got him one so he wouldn’t feel left out. My other two doggies who don’t care as much for bones got peanut butter cookie ones they can eat right up and they did eat them right up! 

Also, they got a jumbo hot dog at Wawa! My sister & me have this joke that our boy pomchi is a jumbo wawa hot dog! Lol He has a big round belly and loves to eat! 😍

My mom calls him the little porker.

He is little but plump. So cute!!

 

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They loved it!!

They haven’t been being very good! They keep getting into quarrels over the bones, barking and growling all day and night even though there’s enough bones for each of them. All three of them want all three of the bones all to themselves! Greedy little things! They kept waking me up all night growling at each other. I was so annoyed so I took their bones and put them under my pillow so they wouldn’t have them to argue over. Then when I woke up and went to get their bones to give them back, the bones were gone! Lol They took it upon themselves to retrieve them. I found them at the end of my bed!

 Annoying but adorable! 😍 😀

I hope you are having a wonderful day or night wherever you are! ❤

Xoxo Kim

  

Once in your life you find her…❤

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Someone who turns your heart around…❤

Best that you can do *Arthur’s Theme* – mobile

Arthur’s Theme – desktop

Recently I watched the movie, Arthur, with my dad, mom, and sister. My dad loves the movie and I have never seen it before recently, though I have always loved the theme song and wanted to see the movie.
It’s a beautiful movie.
Arthur is a man who lives a life of folly and fun, entertained by prostitutes, almost constantly drunk, he never worked a day in his life, his family is financially rich beyond belief. Arthur is to inherit over 8 million dollars!! Eight million! Whoaa!

But he only gets the money if he marries a girl who is a member of another financially rich family. If he refuses, he doesn’t get the money.
He is not in love with the beautiful woman his family demands that he marry so he refuses to marry her. But his dad tells him to kiss his inheritance goodbye and when Arthur finds out just how much money he would have gotten, he decides that he will marry the woman his family insists he marry. It can be kind of hard to resist 8 million dollars! Lol

Then Arthur sees her. Her. The woman of his dreams. A thief and dirt poor who lives at home with her daddy who is very good to her.

Linda is a cutie and full of life. She dresses in vibrant colors and isn’t afraid to speak up. She has a bright light around her. 

Arthur sees her in a store where she is caught stealing a gift for her dad. He comes to her rescue and they have an automatic and beautiful connection.

Unfortunately Arthur is already engaged to a woman he is not in love with.

He keeps meeting up with Linda and realizes it’s her he loves and wants to spend forever with.

Now Arthur is faced with a difficult dilemma. Does he disappoint his family and give up over 8 million dollars or does he choose true love?

I love the messages in the movie. One of them being that love is more valuable than money. 

And another that money does not necessarily bring happiness but doesn’t prevent it either. 

We can be happy being financially rich or poor.

One of my favorite scenes is when Arthur, his grandma, and Linda are all standing together outside and Arthur says he has always been rich but not really happy. Linda says she has always been poor and happy. And Arthur’s grandma says she has always been rich and happy.

I love the deep wisdom the movie conveys here, that money doesn’t make us truly happy but doesn’t prevent it either. And that being poor doesn’t prevent happiness necessarily. It’s about our attitude and choices, not money or material wealth itself. 

Here will be a spoiler if you haven’t seen the movie.

Arthur chooses love and gives up his inheritance. 

But…..

His grandma decides he can have the money anyway!

But…

He decides to refuse it and plans to get a job!
This doesn’t influence Linda to leave him because it’s love she’s committed to, not his money. 

But…

Grandma insists he take the money. She won’t have a member of their family be working class. 

So he takes the money and they all win!

I love the message that it’s not bad or wrong in any way to be financially rich or to desire material things as long as we don’t mistake them for definite channels to true happiness and love.

They can surely bring us a kind of joy we wouldn’t have without them. Of course we’re going to be happy having over 8 million dollars in a way we won’t be happy without it but we can still be just as happy without it.

Various people and things can bring out different kinds and depths of joy and happiness in us that we wouldn’t know without them. But we don’t need them to be happy. They complement us, not complete us.

I noticed that while this movie is full of love & beauty, it’s not a very sappy movie, at least in my opinion. I love sappy movies, songs, and books (but not usually poetry) and wouldn’t have minded it being sappier but it’s not so if you aren’t a fan of sap, you may appreciate it! Some people like love, romance and all but without the lovey dovey cheesy stuff! 

And the theme song is one of my favorite songs ever! I love the songs Christopher Cross sings. They are beautiful and often with a tinge of melancholy or a kind of sadness or somewhat dark beauty. There often seems to me, to be a hint of longing or allusion to some kind of pain or struggle blended in with the stunning beauty. 

“Wake up and she’s still with you
Even though you left her way across town
You’re wonderin’ to yourself
Hey what’ve I found” ❤

His singing voice itself, soft but profound, echoes a kind of melancholy, a haunting beauty, a subtle yearning for something deep, quiet and unspoken, a gentle but passionate quest for something always just out of reach. I feel that beneath the music notes and tender lilt is something, some kind of delicate daydream with the potential to unfold and become reality. It’s inspiring.

Always one of my favorite singers. I am so thankful he sings the theme song for Arthur. ❤

Much love,
Xoxo Kim 

If I could make days last forever …❤

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“If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I’d save every day like a treasure and then
Again, I would spend them with you” ❤

This is a photo I made using a Kindle Fire app! That’s my watch! Lol

And what a lovely song! ❤

 

Time in a bottle – Jim Croce – mobile

Time in A Bottle – desktop

I hope you are having a lovely day or night! It’s late at night here in Philadelphia! 

Also, I want to thank everyone who reads, likes, “likes,” comments, shares, follows….my content here or anywhere! Words cannot completely express my gratitude! I’m always so honored to have even just one person read my posts. I don’t always see comments on social media right away and don’t always respond quickly but I never intentionally ignore people to be rude. I’m the worst at seeing and responding to Facebook comments! I keep my account public and am added to many groups and things so have thousands of notifications a day for various things. I just completely suck at keeping up with it all. My main intention is to post inspiring things for others even if I do not personally or individually connect with everyone. But I deeply appreciate every person who reads, likes, shares….always!! ❤💙💚💛💜💖💝

Thank you so much!! 😀

Much love & light to you, always,

Xoxo Kim ❤

 

Somewhere the sun is shining through a silver lining

“Hey, little girl, come to your window And hear the music sing you a sweet song Don’t let the rain make you unhappy In just a moment we’re going to be walking in the sun Little gray clouds will cheer up They’re going to smile and clear up When they hear those rainy day bells Pitter-patter, rain day bells”

Today was a glorious rainy day & tonight is wonderfully rainy!! So in honor of this lovely pleasant surprise, here are a few of my rainy pics! And a sweet rainy song!!
.Rainy Day Bells – the – Globetrotters
-mobile

Rainy Day Bells – desktop

These photos were taken with my new Marshmallow phone and edited with  Snapseed.

This rainbow appeared right on the counter at work! How magical! Lol j/k! I put a bokeh effect on the pic! 😉


😀


I hope you are having a beautiful day or night wherever in the world you are;! 😀

Much love,

Xoxo Kim

Stillness ❤

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Sailing – Christopher Cross- mobile

Sailing – desktop

“Well, it’s not far down to paradise, at least it’s not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away and find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see” 💝

Stillness is a beautiful place we can all discover deep within. It doesn’t matter what is going on outside, how calm or chaotic. There are a multitude of ways to tap into that place. It can be through meditation, some activity like walking, sailing, listening to music, coloring…

I think it’s important each day, at least once, to engage in the thing/s that are avenues to stillness, whatever it may be for us.

I find walking in a light rainy mist, certain songs, meditation, listening to the sound of rain, reading certain quotes and things are all great ways to tap into that place of stillness within me. Also, just sitting and intentionally stilling my mind, focusing on each breath in & out is a great way to find stillness. Distractions are OK, loud noises, phones ringing, yelling and talking going on outside…are all great opportunities to practice focusing the mind within, even with chaos or distractions going on in our physical environment.

My city, Philadelphia, is a busy city. It is alive at night and full of people laughing, yelling, arguing, chatting, sometimes playing instruments, cars screeching and beeping, lights, police cars and ambulances, construction work, protests and awareness walks…and meditation classes I attend some Thursday nights and on the weekends are in Center City Philadelphia where lots of action and noises take place. We are encouraged to silence our cellphones and keep quiet as possible during class but that doesn’t stop the clatter and drama and noise outside. But I see the outside distractions tempting us to lose focus on our inner world, as an amazing opportunity to truly strengthen our practice of maintaining inner stillness.

It’s like the saying “no one ever learns to be a great driver by driving along a perfectly straight road.”

If things outside are always quiet and peaceful our practice may not be as strong. In this life, no matter how peaceful our outter environment generally is, most of us will still experience occasional annoyances, something that disturbs our composure at one point, losses, possibly trauma of some sort, some kind of pain, …anything that potentially provokes unsettling emotions in us.

When we practice generally keeping our minds still, we will be equipped with the necessary skills to handle life’s ups and downs in a healthy manner.

Distractions, loud noises, people acting in a rude manner…are all gifts that we can use to our advantage, to be great for others as well as our own self. When we are calm and loving, our energy is peaceful and touches others for the better. 

Just taking a few minutes each day at home, work, walking…and focusing on the breath can do wonders for us. The results are amazing. It takes some practice and self discipline to develop the habit but is very well worth it.

We do not need some big, deep, time consuming meditation practice (although if we have one, that is wonderful!) To find stillness. Any activity we find calming that generates inner peace is great. And techniques can be incorporated into our mundane experiences in creative ways, brushing our teeth, showering, cleaning, eating…all are activities we have to each day that we can also use to practice calming techniques like breathing mindfully or other mindfulness activities, such as truly experiencing each sensation, the feel of the water on our skin, the bristles of our toothbrush in the mouth, the taste of our food, the texture…

I hope you have or soon find that thing or things that set you free no matter what is going on around you.

Much love, light, & stillness to you, always! 😀

Xoxo Kim ❤