“Learn to make people your own. They already belong to you. They come from the same soil and breathe the same air which you expel. You are connected – so much connected.” ❤
😀
WE are connected. ❤ We belong to each other. Not just humans. All sentient beings. We all have the same basic wish to avoid suffering and all gravitate toward pleasure, happiness, life…. 😀
I hope you are having a beautiful day or night wherever in the world you are! ❤
xoxo Kim
Resolutions
“-To forget past mistakes and press on to greater achievements.
-To put first things first.
-To make my work a joy.
-To allow nothing to disturb my peace of mind.
-To never lose self-control.
-To spend so much time improving myself that I have no time for criticism of others.
-To think the best, work for it and expect it.
-To be a friend to man.
-To stand for the right.
-To be true.
-To be kind.
-To take every disappointment as a stimulant.
-To live on the sunny side of every cloud.
-To smile.
-To look ahead.
-To keep moving.”
This is out of a 365 day book I have called, Today is Mine, by Leroy Brownlow. In the book, for each day, there is a concept to meditate upon and act upon that day. This resolutions one is for January 1st but really it doesn’t matter which day or in which order we practice these. They apply to every day. It’s a religious book (Christian, it seems) but it can apply to all of us religious or not, atheist, theist, Buddhist….whatever. There is a secular quote and a biblical quote at the end of each page.
The book inspires me so deeply & is motivational. Just reading it stirs inspiration in me but also motivates me to act. It’s filled with so much wisdom. I always can’t wait to see what’s in store for whatever date I’m looking up! I also love to randomly flip through the book & see where I land. I’m never disappointed!
These are great resolutions, aren’t they?! And it doesn’t matter what day of the year we put them into action. Every day is a great day to resolve to be great!<3 😀
I hope these resolutions resonate with you as deeply as they resonate with me! I can’t even think of any to add at the moment; these ones are so great!
Much love & light, always!
xoxo Kim
“When life knocks you flat on your back, remember it leaves you lookin’ up.” ❤
😀
This is something I posted on Instagram a while ago & now sharing it here!
When we are brought to ruin it’s just an opportunity to build our self up even stronger than before, to have a firmer foundation. Always look on the bright side! Struggles, challenges, pain, setbacks, relapses, mistakes…can deepen our wisdom & empathy/compassion and strengthen us if we allow it to. Challenges help us develop or strengthen the virtue of patience and reveal inner strength we may not know without it. Instead of focusing more on the unpleasant aspects of the situation, let’s ask “What can this teach me?” “How can I use this to help others?” “In which ways can this strengthen me?” “What beauty still exists in this dark place?” Let’s choose positivity in challenging situations, even if it has to be forced until it comes more naturally.
When we’re as low as we can be the only way is up! 😀 ❤
Much love,
Kim<3 xoxo
At night, I open the window
and ask the moon to come
and press its face into mine.
Breathe into me.
Close the language-door,
and open the love-window.
The moon won’t use the door,
only the window.”
What a beautiful poem! I’m not sure who the author is. This is one of those writings that resonates with me in a deep way. My interpretation is that it’s about experiencing life to the fullest and not necessarily in the ways we may think living to the “fullest” means, like traveling, skydiving, mountain climbing…though those things are great! This poem seems to be about truly experiencing each moment each & every day wherever we are, whatever situation we are in, the sunrise or sunset, the moonlight, the first light, the feel of flower petals, the fragrance of Spring, the stars up above glittering in a midnight sky….all the simple treasure nature blesses us with each day & each night. ❤ We don’t need any certain level of intelligence to experience it, just the wisdom to open up to the beauty and receive it.
“While there is time
Let’s go out and feel everything
If you hold me
I will let you into my dream
For time is a river rolling into nowhere
We must live while we can
And we’ll drink our cup of laughter”
The Finer Things – Steve Winwood – mobile
“The finer things keep shining through
The way my soul gets lost in you
The finer things I feel in me
The golden dance life could be”
An incredibly beautiful song!! I love it and sometimes when I’m depressed and listen to it, it brings life back into me. It’s a beautiful reminder to cherish all the treasures of life, all the beauty, the hope, the possibility, the Light. There’s so much beauty all around us that we don’t need money to experience. The cool night air, the changing of the seasons, people, animals, insects, daylight, buildings, the sounds of nature, the sounds of the city, the sweet fragrances of the seasons, the feel of soft blankets and skin, the feel of animal fur or feathers, the taste of our favorite food or drink, the sky above us, Earth below us, the heart pulsating within….❤
Each day I look around me and feel the awe well up and surge through me for the life surrounding me and the rhythm of life pounding through my chest. Often this feeling of awe comes naturally but when it doesn’t I can usually intentionally tap into that place within me, that wellspring of wonderment that always exists even when I forget that it does.
Let’s remember to be mindful each day of the wonder all around & within and give thanks for it all! :mrgreen:❤
I hope you are having a beautiful day or night wherever in the world you are! It’s a cool night here in Philadelphia! 
“It’s gonna be a cool night
Just let me hold you
By the firelight
If it don’t feel right
You can go” ❤
Cool Night – Paul Davis – mobile ❤
Much love & light,
xoxo Kim ❤:mrgreen:
Big Ass Headache – Justin Moore -mobile
No, I did not get the job I been waiting for or any job! I lost my job of ten years after the store went out of business and mentioned that just over a week ago I got an interview, which I’m very thankful for! It’s always great for the experience. The job interview went well and I got to meet two adorable kitties! It’s a pet sitting\walking place and they had two really big cats there. But I never got the phone call for a second interview or any rejection e-mail or anything, which is nothing new; I’m used to that! I’m still positive about it though even though it can be a bit discouraging.
Anyway, I am not congratulating myself for success with jobs! Something even better! I handled this mad headache, a result of my tmjd, without screaming! 😂
He’s My Son (a heartbreakingly beautiful song)
On Pain, Hope, & Life Lessons (Healing Hands)
And then a hero comes along with the strength to carry on
It’s like being burned. Like scalding hot water being poured over the side of my face, scalding my eyeball, head, face…mixed with the worst toothace, earache, sinusache imaginable, and an intense pressure in the eardrum building up, up, up til eventually it feels like it’s being punctured and as if it will very soon explode. It’s worse than it sounds. The disorder I have can feel like various kinds of other disorders and headaches.
The reason I am happy about it is I was able to meditate through the episode. I could never do that before! With these headaches, there’s no staying still.
If we only work to be positive, to meditate, to practice gratitude, to focus on breath….during problems then we don’t get much practice and not only that but it can be difficult to find the motivation or desire to do these things when serious pain arises, especially emotional pain. We may be tempted to give into the pain, let the pain conquer us and not practice positive techniques. But if we consciously practice positivity in general, whether or not we are naturally positive, we will be more ready when serious pain occurs. I can’t stress it enough! It’s depression that taught me this! But it applies to physical pain as well and any problem!
https://inspirationalgem.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/serendipitous-strength/
I took all my experience with meditation & mala recitation each day and applied it to my waking nightmare last night. I chose not to judge the pain. This isn’t bad. It just is. Just like I don’t judge my straying mind or bodily sensations or thoughts during meditation each day. They just are. And that is ok. Something can be bad but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing that it’s bad. Just let it be bad.
I sat in meditation posture in a dark room, right hand lightly cupped in my left, thumbs gently touching, back straight, feet flat on the floor and i just breathed. Then I envisioned the Buddha before me surrounded in bright white light of wisdom, compassion, love and I breathed in that white light and breathed it out into the uni-verse. At first I kept gasping for breath because the pain was too much but eventually my breath calmed. And I stayed like that for a while. But even in the midst of so much horror and this technique helping me cope, I knew I want to not just help me but i have this strong desire to help others. Visualizing the Buddha was helping me greatly but that may not help everyone else in need. Not everyone is into Buddha. We don’t have to be Buddhists to benefit by his wisdom and follow his teachings or practice Buddhist techniques. But still, some aren’t interested in Buddhism. So I imagined Buddha fading away into his bright white light but the light remaining and I kept breathing.
It still helped me greatly. Whoever isn’t into Buddha can just imagine the white, sparkling light or imagine another religious figure in his place or a fictional character in a novel or movie or any person dead or alive. Any figure who stands for or symbolizes love, peace, strength, compassion, hope, fierceness….will do. Just breathe in the wisdom of that figure. And keep holding on. Very likely the pain will end even if not right now. And in the off chance that it doesn’t we can learn to live with it and live well. We have to detach and not judge or identify with the pain. It may take practice and some serious work and setbacks and relapses but it is possbible to live with whatever it is. Whatever the struggle is, we can endure it and survive it together. Whether it’s grief and loss, depression, anxiety, severe physical agony, chronic illness, addiction, sexual assault, an eating disorder, a devastating diagnosis, a breakup, a common cold, a bad day at work….no matter how seemingly serious or trivial the problem, we can do things to help it be better and to help others. We can live with it. Bringing light & love into the mix.
As soon as my head attack hit, I knew I would share my experience to potentially help, inspire, uplift, console, or even just entertain another. I want to bring hope to anyone suffering or in any kind of pain, whether it’s as bad as I was, not nearly as bad, or way worse. There’s always hope. Life is hope. Just breathe. Keep breathing.
(i found this wall at 3rd street & girard avenue, here in Philadelphia! Thank you whoever is responsible for this deeply inspiring message! ❤)
When pain or anxiety or fear make it too difficult to keep our positivity, faith, philosophy,meditation or gratitude practice going, that is when we have to push even harder to keep it going strong. That’s when we have to be firm, be tenacious, stand strong against the winds and not be uprooted. This is when we can’t slack or stray. We have to keep going. It’s ok to fall, to scream, to cry, to sob, to relapse but keep getting back up and holding onto that positive philosophy even if the mood isn’t positive and we can’t right now feel it. Keep meditating, keep giving thanks, keep exercising, keep working, writing, running, keep searching for the beauty in the world…whatever it is we do that helps us, keep it up. Keep breathing. ❤😀
“She dropped the phone and burst into tears
The doctor just confirmed her fears
Her husband held it in and held her tight
Cancer don’t discriminate or care if you’re just 38
With three kids who need you in their lives
He said, ‘I know that you’re afraid and I am, too
But you’ll never be alone, I promise you’
When you’re weak, I’ll be strong
When you let go, I’ll hold on
When you need to cry, I swear that I’ll be there to dry your eyes
When you feel lost and scared to death,
Like you can’t take one more step
Just take my hand, together we can do it
I’m gonna love you through it.”
I’m Gonna Love You Through It – Martina McBride – mobile
I’m Gonna Love You Through It – desktop
Much love & light to you, now & always. I’m wishing you the best, cheering you on, loving you through whatever it is and even if it’s nothing. If you are having a happy, pain-free day or life, I’m so happy! May you know inner-peace and joy, always. ❤😍😀
xoxo Kim ❤
I posted this on Instagram today & here it is on the bloggy as well! 😀
I saw this sticker today, “:-D Take it easy
Life is short” I especially love it because it’s on the back of a hearse! What better place for a sticker like that! Looks like someone has a light & playful heart! 😀 ❤
I took the liberty of looking inside. I promise I’m generally not nosy and don’t go around looking in people’s car windows! The hearse is parked here everyday and has new jersey plates. But it’s just today I saw the lovely sticker!
I did not have my phone with me so I walked back with my phone after getting home. When I looked inside the back (the curtain is slightly pulled open) I saw a blank space, no casket. But there is a crinkled up towel thrown on the part where the casket slides in(umm eww?). In the front I saw a couple Wawa coffee cups and some folded black bag (body bag?). Along with not being nosy, I’m also generally not morbid. I actually have a slight aversion to death and anything that has to do with it. I inherited that off my mom except her aversion is not slight. It’s more on the extreme side. She won’t hear of anything to do with funerals, corpses, caskets…it’s an off limits topic.
Also, the color of the hearse is quite cheerful, wouldn’t you say? Much better than gray or white or black!
Anyway, how about heeding these wise words?! Life doesn’t have to be so serious! Who cares what people in general think, if we get cut off in traffic, don’t have much money, aren’t very successful with jobs or other things…we are alive and can be happy anyway! There’s always something to smile about! Lighten up! 😀
I hope you are having a beautiful day or night wherever in the world you are! 😀 ❤
xoxo Much love & light, always. ❤
xoxo Kim
“Appreciation can make a day – even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.”
Earlier tonight I was about to prepare a post on selfishness when a thing popped up on my Kindle saying “Alexia is now on Kindle Fire” and I thought it meant someone who is my friend on a social media account like Facebook maybe, just got another social media account. But I soon realized that Alexia is some program that answers questions that we speak into the Kindle, like questions about sports or weather. All night I have been wracking my brain trying to determine if today is November 15th or 16th. I guess when were out of work it doesnt matter what the date is so we lose track? lol jk I was looking through a book of inspiring words for each day of the year and couldn’t recall the exact date. The one for yesterday is more inspiring than the one for today. I think so anyway.
So anyway i asked Alexia what’s the date for today and she answered! The 16th of November! yipee! I was thrilled! lol I was so thankful I decided to thank her even though shes a robot and probably wouldnt understand but…..she said “no problem, you’re welcome!” lol! I was so filled with disbelief & joy over something so simple! I even laughed out loud! 😀
And of course me, who finds wisdom in just about everything, am reminded to be thankful and express thanks often, which I already am and do, and remind others to. I always say thank you to bus drivers and store cashiers and people who hold doors for me and I’m sure most\many of us do, right!? But reminders are always, always great! Even when I don’t say thank you, I try to show it. Unlike some people, I don’t thank every person who follows my blog or instagram account but I do show it by following back usually or “liking” their content. Expressing thanks in any way is great! Even if we think someone may not appreciate our thanks, we are putting loving energy out into the uni-verse and comfirming\maintaining an attitude of gratitude in our own head. ❤
Someone can be so moved\uplifted\inspired\warmed by two simple words, “Thank you!”
And even if we don’t always feel the gratitude, we can say it to practice til we feel it and to just show kindness to others. There are different depths of gratitude, shallow, deep, ..bone deep….and all are great! 😍 😀 Sometimes I’m angry at someone and still feel thankful but don’t want to say “thank you” at someone I’m pissed at but I usually force myself to anyway.
So let’s remember to give thanks each & every day, even if just in our heads, it still generates positive energy, but especially out loud. ❤ 😀
Much love & light to you, always & thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
xoxo Kim
P.s. I got me a job interview tomorrow morning! I just applied yesterday and got the phone call today! I only been outta work for a little bit over two weeks and already I’m on my way! Go me! It’s for dog walking\pet sitting. Wish me luck! 😉 😀 ❤
This is something I posted on Facebook & Instagram today and here it is here on WordPress as well!
“What’s broken can be mended. What hurts can be healed. And no matter how dark it gets the sun is going to rise again.” ❤
~Big bear hugs to everyone who wants any!~ ❤
This is me in May 2015 but I give hugs any day of the year! 😀 ❤
Also, thank you for the recent comments! I will respond soon! 😀
xoxo Kim ❤
(Not my photo)
Recently I have been seeing blog posts and Instagram posts where people share a photo that says “I am…” then go onto reminding us all how very powerful our thoughts and words are and give examples of positive “I am” statements: I am creative, I am strong, I am intelligent…
(not my photo)
I have known for a long while that thoughts are powerful and that it’s wise to watch how we talk to\about our own selves whether it’s in our head or out loud.
I rarely feel negative or unpleasant emotions or feelings about myself and even more rarely do I speak\think insulting or abusive words about myself. So when I ever do feel or especially think an unpleasant word about myself, I feel the very toxic effect of it instantly. I’m used to only thinking positive and feeling positive things about me. For as long as I can remember, I had positive self esteem in general, often even when I am depressed.
When I do think or feel unpleasant things about myself, it’s almost always just when I’m depressed and even then I’m careful how I think\speak about myself. When I was young and depressed I often abused myself with words and thoughts but not now. Sometimes still, usually when depressed, I let myself get consumed in feelings of worthlessness and pointlessness.
Anyway, recently I was reminded how powerful words\thoughts are. I have been sick for a few days. Physically. My sinuses are very sensitive since I was little and I get sinus colds and allergies sometimes, not as badly as some people but very uncomfortable on some occasions and sometimes really painful. Usually not very bad though. But recently my sinuses have been hurting really badly and then my throat started to become sore. Also, I have been very fatigued.
I kept thinking “I’m so sick, I’m so weak (physically), ” I am so fatigued!…” and each one of those thoughts, i felt taking even more energy out of me. The fatigue scared me. It was bone deep and so all consuming. I was reaching for a book on my bookshelf thinking “I am so sick” when suddenly I remembered that trend thing I keep seeing around with the “I am…” and how those two words are so powerful so whatever comes after them better be good.
And I thought to myself “I am…strong” “I am resilient” “I am optimistic” “I am beautiful”
And of course I’m still going to be sick and fatigued and whatever else because words and thoughts very likely won’t directly cure something but the point is to shift our focus to what is good, to place our awareness on our positive qualities and situations.
(not my photo)
This isn’t about denying or repressing or ignoring our unfortunate or unpleasant situations. That is unhealthy. But so is dwelling on them, feeding into them with too much of our attention.
Thinking positively generates positive, healing energy. And just makes it easier to cope with unpleasant things. So let’s list some positive “I am…” statements.
I am strong.
I am powerful.
I am thankful.
I am beautiful.
I am wise.
I am creative.
I am hopeful.
I am resilient.
I am optimistic.
I am fierce.
I am empowered.
I am enough.
I am confident.
I am compassionate.
I am warmth.
I am tender.
I am beauty.
I am Light.
I am sacred.
I am Love.
😀 ❤
It’s not even a really bad cold, just unpleasant. But this cold gave me the opportunity to put positive thinking into practice and see incredible instant results and be reminded of a life lesson. And I want to share in hopes that it may inspire someone else. I am so thankful for all the people who have been posting the “I am…” things. We may not always realize just how deeply our posts on social media can touch others. Let’s keep sharing that positivity!
Much love & light to you, always!
😍 ❤ 😀
xoxo Kim ❤
