Tag Archive | love

Beauty Abound <3

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“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.” ~ Camille Pissarro

There is beauty to be found, felt in all kinds of places even places we would never expect it, even in mundane, places, everyday situations. We often overlook things in our own city or place we live everyday. If we make it a point to look for beautiful things, we are likely to find them.

For as long as I can remember I have been aware of the beauty surrounding me, experienced with all my senses. Cool Summer breezes, frosty windows in Winter, the taste of candy in cold air, the seasons changing, the sound of traffic outside, the feel of soft fleece and blankets, the city buildings….I wasn’t making it a point to appreciate these things. It just has always come naturally to me but as I grew up I have come to know it as mindfulness & gratitude and realized that those are habits we can develop if we don’t have them already and strengthen to greater extents if we already do experience them.

It’s a beautiful way to live and I think that’s what it is to truly live to the fullest. Living fully just means making the most of each breath we take, each moment we live, even the monotonous.

I often feel like I’m in another world when I see everything with wonder and I point out something amazing to someone and the person isn’t even fazed by the incredible beauty I see. I often look around me and see people just going on and on with walking and working and living, not even stopping to take in the wonders around us. Sometimes it amuses me and I probably seem like the biggest idiot sometimes.

One night it was a full moon somewhat recently and I couldn’t take my eyes off it and I felt immense joy running rampant inside me and I looked to see evidence of others experiencing the same thing. I was hoping to jump for joy together. lol But no one even seemed to care. People were walking lost in conversation, packing trucks, getting into cars…no one was stopping to bask in the great beauty of the brilliant moonlit night. I was perplexed.

Recently I was in Center City, Philadelphia one morning and I just love the buildings there and the air. My eyes just drink in the incredible views and my skin dances with glee in the warm December air. And still, everyone was just going on their way not giving an ounce of attention to the beauty around us.

On vacation we often stop to appreciate the scenes and take pictures but there’s just as much beauty and novelty in our own city or wherever we live! It never gets old to me. ❤

This picture above is one I took a few days ago while waiting for a bus. The view is incredible.

I love that building in the sunlight with the reflections & bare trees.

Pure love. ❤ 😀

My former coworker was recently telling me she loves this Philadelphia December weather this year. It's extremely hot. At some points it seriously feels like a heatwave! In Philadelphia! In December! For real!

I'm not exaggerating! It's nearly 80 degrees everyday.

She said she loves it so much and people here pay to go on vacation to tropical places for this warmth and now we have it right here everyday!

I'm not as thrilled as my coworker (or former coworker, but I still think of her as my coworker) about this freaky weather in December but I love how she put it. We all have somethimng amazing that someone else would give just about anything to have. Let's appreciate our blessings now.

Sometimes we don't realize how amazing something is until we no longer have it.

You have something that someone else would kill (hopefully not really!) for. Whatever it may be. I'm not thankful at someone else's expense. I'm not thankful it's me alive and not someone else or that I get to live in a house instead of others. But we so often are so used to what we have we don't realize how valuable it is until we lose it or hear/know of someone who would love to have it.

If you are reading this you have a life, you can probably see or hear or at least comprehend. How often do we stop to give thanks for our cognitive abilities?! Probably very rarely, if even ever!

Let's all stop once in a while and appreciate what we have right here, right now.

Much love & ligt to you!

xoxo Kim ❤

It’s ok not to be perfect <3

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(the pictures in this post are not mine, they are of a beautiful little girl named Sa’fyre Terry –
http://abcnews.go.com/US/girl-lost-family-fire-christmas-cards-presents/story?id=35675085 )

“In the eyes of a child there is joy, there is laughter
There is hope, there is trust, a chance to shape the future
For the lessons of life there is no better teacher
Than the look in the eyes of a child”
~ Air Supply

Yes, it is ok not to be perfect! 

But this little baby IS beautiful just the way she is. 

What a wise little girl. ❤

My sister told me about this sweet little Earth angel who she is going to send a card to and then I saw someone share her story on Facebook. 

Isn't she just the cutest?! 

She wants people to send her cards for Christmas. 

She was burned in a tragic house fire where her family was killed. 

I stare at her picture over and over and have nothing but love and compassion for her, not sorrow or pity. She doesn't need that. All she wants is LOVE and true love is seeing someone's beauty just the way it is. 

One of my biggest dreams has been to do volunteer work in a burn unit for children. In the movie "Shallow Hal," the girl volunteers to work with little kids who have suffered burns. I always found that to be the sweetest thing and ever since I saw that movie, years ago, I  decided I want to do that too!

I haven't been able to find any volunteer opportunities like that. Some volunteer jobs I found in similar settings require previous experience, which I don't have.

Hopefully one day though I will realize this dream! ❤ ❤

Some people have trouble looking at people who are seriously disfigured or deformed but I just cannot have that trouble because I feel too connected to others to see them as anything but beautiful, to see them as anything unlike myself. That body, that face, scarred or disfigured or deformed or flawless is a part of who they are. It's hard to explain in words but the closest I can come to explaining is their face or body is a big part of them like mine is a big part of me and I would never want someone to have difficulty looking at me and I'm sure no one else wants that either. What is the difference if my face is flawless or scarred or deformed? It's mine and inside I am still me. Just like all of us. 

We are much more than what we look like but how we look is a part of us and it's good to embrace it and each other.

I am no different than this little girl. She has emotions, dreams, goals, interests, love, joy, pain, sorrow, happiness, scars, perfections, needs, desires, life, beauty…just like me.   

When I look at her, I see a reflection of my own self.

My struggle with depression and severe facial pain & headaches has always inspired me to feel deeper connections to people with both seen and invisible disabilities.  

A person with a physical scar or deformity may not feel the same or agree with me and I understand but my severe facial pain disorder, though it can't be seen, has always allowed me to feel a strong identification with others with facial disorders and even physical scars, deformities, birthmarks. 

Mine cannot be seen but it's just as real. Mine is physical but also brings with it deep emotional scars and pain. It even hurts me to write or think about it. 

But we all have basic empathy and can tune into it and strengthen it whether we have a disability or not. We don't need depression or any other disorder to empathize with others. But those things can help. We can all draw on our own experiences, both pleasant and painful, to identify with each other.

Also, at any second, any one of us can be slashed, scarred, disfigured, burned. And we would still be us. Would you want someone to cringe when those people look at you? Whether or not your face is disfigured, imagine a person having difficulty, emotionally, looking at you. It's not pleasant.  

Not everyone who can't bring themselves to look at someone with a deformity or disfigurement is cold or cruel. Some are but most probably aren't. We aren't used to seeing things like that and often when a person is scarred or disfigured, it's the result of a serious injury and that's what often comes to mind when we see the scars. It doesn't make us callous or horrible if we have the urge to look away or cringe or stare but that can be overcome through tuning into our empathy and strongly identifying with the person. That person is not unlike someone with a perfect face. We are the same, we are One.

For this little girl, we can do more than just send her cards. We can live a life of compassion and empathy and learn to see the beauty of every single person we lay eyes on or encounter in any way. Even if we do nothing to help in a practical way, having a loving, compassionate attitude, essence, is very helpful and can contribute to us acting in loving ways consciously and unconsciously. Loving energy is very good. People sense our energy/vibration. Let's make it one of Love. All encompassing Love. 

“You’ve found the place to walk the path you’ve chosen
You’ll never miss the world you’ve left behind
When life gives life, it’s happiness unbroken
When you give love, it’s love you’ll find”
~ Air Supply

Two of the most beautiful things are self confidence and compassion for others. 
It's beautiful when a woman with a big scar on her chest can still wear revealing clothing, when a person with a facial scar still shows her/his face knowing people will stare and whisper, when a person not considered society's definition of beautiful will still have the courage to dress how she wants, when a person with gray hair embraces it instead of covering it just for what others may think, when a woman with no hair as a result of a medical/health condition doesn't feel the need to wear a wig or scarf just because other people will think something unpleasant, it's beautiful when we overlook all the trivialities and see beauty in places it's not considered to be, when we embrace each other in our love.

It's ok to conceal our imperfections for us if it's truly what we desire. A person who is confident may still just wish to cover or get rid of something undesirable to that person and that's ok. But it's not something we should feel the need to do because of what others may think. 

Cosmetic surgery, hair dye, wigs, makeup, anti-aging creams, weight loss techniques…there's nothing wrong with it and it's not necessarily an indication that someone is insecure or lacks self love.
Some people just desire some changes. But I don't think it's something we should do out of fear or embarrassment for what society or others think. I think those things are best when done for our own selves because it's what we want based on our own desire, not the desire or demands or rules of someone else.  

Even if we do not know a person or any living sentient being we come across, we know enough to love that being. We know that living, sentient being, just like us, is someone, someone with pleasure, joy, and pain, fear, hunger, someone with the need to avoid suffering and the desire for happiness or absence of suffering. 

We can not tell jokes about people's physical appearance, we can choose not to be shallow and judge based on physical appearance, we can choose to see how we are all connected. We can choose to genuinely compliment someone when someone else slings insults. We can choose to seek what is good in each other and forgive the less than good. 

I have much sympathy for the little girl who lost her family in a fire and I have so much sorrow for all the lives lost. Her daddy covered her with his body to save her life. He did not survive. The little girl does have a family, even if not the whole one she was born into, but she has people who love and care for her and now all the people around the world who encountered her story and love her. Family isn't just biological or legal. 

Sa’fyre’s aunt says this about her:

“She’s a living message to people that there’s hope, and no matter what you can get through anything,” Dolder said. “That’s why we share Sa’fyre with everyone.”

What a gem this little girl is! ❤

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This little darling girl inspires me so deeply! She is so happy and positive and adorable! She looks so cute in her little Christmas clothes! I’m so happy she chose to put her story out into the world and to show her beautiful face, to touch so many lives with her young life. 

I am so thankful she survived. 

I’m also so thankful she still has her sense of vision, that it wasn’t completely destroyed. And thankful for her beautiful smile. 😀

I’m so thankful to her family for bringing her into the world and for sharing her with us. ❤

I hope we will cherish the lives of all sentient beings and wish the best for everyone. By best I am referring to happiness and inner peace no matter the circumstances.

“When you look to the past for life’s long hidden meaning
For the dreams and the plans made in your youth
Does the thrill to achieve match the warm hidden feeling
That lies so still and lives in you”

The Eyes of a Child – Air Supply – mobile

Eyes of a Child – desktop

Beautiful song that brings chills!

Much love & light to you, always. ❤ ❤

xoxo Kim ❤

Mindfulness <3

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“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgmentally.” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

Yeaaahh! There’s so many beautiful things to be mindful of and tune into using all the senses we have!

Especially this season! I love the holiday season! All the lovely fragrances and decor! This year it’s hot as hell in Philadelphia! It’s often freezing cold & snowing by now and this year people are still walking around in shorts! Walking to work today, it felt like Summer!

I love cold weather but at least with it so warm, work is opened more days. We often close for “bad” weather. And another great thing about warm temps is some flowers are still in bloom and Summer bugs haven’t all died off. I love those things!

One visited me tonight at work.

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What a beauty! They are green with clear green wings. If you can identify this beautiful creature, let me know, please! ❤

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It kind of sucks because we already had Spring & Summer this year! We don’t need another. But it’s still beautiful and I’m looking at the bright side!

😀

Much love to you!

xoxo Kim ❤

Happy Green/White Tara Day!!! <3

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(Green Tara – not my photo)
“There is a true feminist movement in Buddhism that relates to the goddess Tārā. Following her cultivation of bodhicitta, the bodhisattva’s motivation, she looked upon the situation of those striving towards full awakening and she felt that there were too few people who attained Buddhahood as women. So she vowed, ‘I have developed bodhicitta as a woman. For all my lifetimes along the path I vow to be born as a woman, and in my final lifetime when I attain Buddhahood, then, too, I will be a woman.'”
~Dalai Lama, 1989

Today is Tara Day!!

Tara is the female Buddha of love and compassion. She represents Perfected Wisdom.

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE

This is the mantra for Tara. It appeals to longevity, merit, and wisdom.

Listen here:

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE – mobile

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE – desktop

It may be easier to understand at first if you read the mantra while listening.

Om
ah- essence of awakened body
o- essence of awakened speech
m- essence of awakened mind
Tare –
quickly with boldness
Tuttare –
clearing away all fear, distress and suffering of all beings
Ture –
complete victory of truth over all negativity
Soha/svaha –
all accomplishments

Tara’s Vow

“There are many who wish to gain enlightenment
in a man’s form,
And there are few who wish to work
for the welfare of living beings
in a female form.
Therefore may I, in a female body,
work for the welfare of all beings,
until such time as all humanity has found its fullness.”

White Tara(1)

(White Tara – not my photo)

Tara is often mentioned as Green Tara or White Tara.
Green Tara represents youth and vitality. Green Tara is depicted as being youthful and girlish. White Tara is more womanly and mature and more “motherly” or maternal. White Tara is full – breasted and represents day while Green Tara represents night.

Green Tara is said to help people with immediate and worldly concerns such as wealth while White Tara responds to problems relating to emotional and physical health. She is associated with health and beauty. Her love is said to be so powerful, it can cure diseases.

Isn’t that beautiful?!

Also, check out these beautiful  legends.

“Origin of White Tara

According to legend, White Tara originated from the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.  When Avalokiteshvara witnessed all of the suffering in the world, he was so moved that he began to cry.  It is said that White Tara emerged from the tears flowing from his left eye.  Her essence is the compassion within Avalokiteshvara’s tears.”

“From the Tears of Avalokitesvara
Tara is a female form of Avalokitesvara, the bhodhisattva of compassion.  There are many legends of how Tara came into existence. One legend, similar to the legend of Kuan Yin says that as Avalokitesvara wept for those sentient beings trapped in the lower realms Tara was born from a lotus flower that grew from his tears.  Another version of this story tells of how the Green and White forms of Tara were born from 2 tears of Avalokitesvara.  Yet another version of the legend says that Tara was created from a blue beam of light emanating from Avalokitesvara’s eye.”

How inspiring these myths are! We can look to this beauty, Tara, in both her White & Green forms, for inspiration. We can channel our inner Tara to be more compassionate to others and be more loving in everything that we do.
When we chant her mantra, we can summon all the love and goodwill and strength we have within, bringing it to the surface of our mind to be more conscious of it.

Here is me channeling my inner White & Green Tara!

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Celebrating our femininity. ❤

There are 21 praises of Tara. Here are some of my favorite ones.

1
Homage to Tara swift and fearless
With eyes like a flash of lightning
Lotus-born in an ocean of tears
Of Chenresig, three worlds’ protector.

2
Homage to you whose face is like
One hundred autumn moons gathered
And blazes with the dazzling light
Of a thousand constellations.

3
Homage to you born from a gold-blue lotus
Hands adorned with lotus flowers
Essence of giving, effort and ethics,
Patience, concentration and wisdom.

9
Homage to you beautifully adorned
By the Three Jewels’ gesture at your heart.
Your wheel shines in all directions
With a whirling mass of light.

10
Homage to you, radiant and joyful
Whose crown emits a garland of light.
You, by the laughter of TUTTARA
Conquer demons and lords of the world.

12
Homage to you with crescent moon crown
All your adornments dazzling bright.
From your hair-knot, Amitabha
Shines eternal with great beams of light.

15
Homage to the blissful, virtuous, peaceful one
Object of practice, nirvana’s peace
Perfectly endowed with SOHA and OM
Overcoming all the great evils.

16
Homage to you with joyous retinue
You subdue fully all enemies’ forms
The ten-letter mantra adorns your heart
And your knowledge-HUM brings liberation.

18
Homage to you who holds in your hand
A moon like a celestial lake
Saying TARA twice and the letter PEY
You dispel all poisons without exception.

19
Homage to you on whom the kings of gods,
The gods themselves and all spirits rely.
Your armor radiates joy to all
You soothe conflicts and nightmares as well.

21
Homage to you, adorned with three natures
Perfectly endowed with peaceful strength
You destroy demons, zombies and yakshas
O TURE, most exalted and sublime!

They are all beautiful but here are just some.

You can find all 21 and other information about our Tara here!

http://cubuddhism.pbworks.com/w/page/24906657/TARA

I hope to one day receive a Tara Empowerment at the Buddhist center. I received the one for Avalokitesvara, the masculine version of Tara.

So, in honor of Tara and Tara Day, which is the 8th day of each month, here’s this post! Sometimes I attend the chanting ceremonies at the center. They are beautiful and inspiring. We chant together to Tara to generate positive energy and receive her love & wisdom into our own minds. Even if you aren’t a Buddhist, it’s an inspiring way to open your mind to greater love for all and just as a state of being. It’s a great ritual to develop inner strength and deepen our wisdom. Tara symbolizes great love & beauty and equality which is good for anyone. Tara is to remind us that a woman can do many things as well as a man can and we can do this while cherishing our feminine nature.

“For all my lifetimes along the path I vow to be born as a woman, and in my final lifetime when I attain Buddhahood, then, too, I will be a woman.”

Happy Tara Day!! 😀

Much love to you,

Xoxo Kim ❤

Kindness <3

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(I made this! Isn’t it pretty?! Lol It’s a picture of a container of vanilla frosting with confetti pieces in it! Perfect for the quote, don’t you think? I wasn’t baking a cake! I ate this whole thing right out of the container! In one night! I do that lots of days! My favorite is buttercream! And I put bokeh effects on it.)

Any act of kindness is never really small, no matter how simple. In the moments the person is receiving that kindness, and even years later in memory, it can really uplift, help heal, and inspire someone. And even if someone is not thankful for our kindness, it’s ok! We are still putting loving energy out into the world and planting seeds of love, strengthening our own kind way of life. And it’s not about being appreciated, it’s about truly wanting to help.  

Recently I was struggling to carry stuff at work. Things were almost falling. My arms were so full. My boss’ mom helped me. She’s a sweet little lady around 80 years old and is the cutest thing! Her name is Dolores and she wears little pink pj’s in the summer and reminds me of a baby doll! Lol She still drives and walks and gets around so well! She wears makeup sometimes and gets dressed up. And she still has good vision! Probably better than mine!  
Her car looks very old fashioned like something out of a movie! 

You definitely don’t want to get on her bad side because as little and sweet as she is, she will have no problem telling you off! And that’s scary! Lol

I would know. I have been a victim of her wrath on more than one occasion!

I remember one day years ago, shortly after I met her, she thought I lost grocery store coupons (I don’t know if it was really me who lost them!) and she was yelling there’s going to be hell to pay! Lmao I remember telling my coworker later and we both burst out laughing about this little old lady fuming over store coupons. I still laugh hysterically when I remember that!  

;-D

Anyway, she helped me and I am so incredibly thankful! I couldn’t have gotten out the door with all that stuff without her helping me along with another sweet lady, Margie, I know at work! 

I like to remember and honor all acts of kindness I receive (which is too many to always remember!) even if just in my own head. It’s great to forget what good we do for others but always remember what others do for us! 

“Blessed are those who can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.”

Each act of kindness is timeless, even years later it can still have an effect on those who witness and receive. It’s not just about the practical help but just the fact that someone cares to help is sweet. So let’s scatter some kindness around everyplace we go! 

I would like to encourage everyone to savor each kind thing someone does for us and always remember it if it feels the world has grown cold. Each simple act of kindness can warm up any cold moments. There’s so much more goodness & love than negativity within and around us, we just have to look and summon it when it feels like there’s more bad than good. 

Let’s focus more on the love! 

❤ 😀

Much love to you!  

Xoxo Kim 

Uniformly Considerate

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“The habit of being uniformly considerate toward others will bring increased happiness to you.” ~ Grenville Kleiser

😀

I agree with this. I think it’s important to be mindful of others and how our words/actions may affect them, not just for what we get out of it but because it can help them be happier and put more love out into the world. ❤

It's a great reminder that I think most of us can use sometimes. It can be tempting to be thoughtless or rude on occasion, especially when other people are unpleasant first.

I found this quote in the book on my Kindle app, "Happiness 365." It's a whole book full of happy quotes!

Also, I love it because the authors dedicate their book to us & our happiness.

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I love when an author dedicates a book to people in general or certain people they don’t even know! ❤

Much love & happiness to you!

😀 ❤

xoxo Kim