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"The glow of inspiration warms us; it is a holy rapture." -- Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid) The Funny Side of Zen 1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me the heck alone. Link I'd Like To Share With You http://www.mathiasheng.com Mathias Heng, an international photojournalist and a pal from Singapore who now resides in Melbourne, Australia, devotes his time to chronicling humanity -- in our best and in our worst. In spite of his exposure to many conflicts and their effects on civilians, Mathias has never lost his passion and commitment to humanity, nor his ability to capture images that speak to people around the world. His work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Australian, The Age, and newspapers across Asia and Europe. *****
The Paradoxical Commandments People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway. -- Kent M. Keith *****
What Inspires Me... 1. Travel To travel is to open the window to humanity in all its diversity and splendor. Having been to Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Norway, The Netherlands, Finland, Malaysia, Indonesia, I am honored and humbled by the people I’ve met and known. Travel also gives me the opportunity to experience Nature, to savor her every nuance, quirk and awe! 2. Laughter Laughter brings forth a lightness of being that is fun and magical. The very act of laughing is like an injection of energy, awakening us to what joy is like. Laugh and we cease to be used by significance and seriousness. What a wonderful tonic! 3. Personal growth workshops Effective personal growth workshops can be mind-blowing when you get epiphany after epiphany about your life. It’s like finally finding the user’s manual to the car that you’ve been driving all your life – being able to know what causes breakdowns and how to repair them is a liberating experience like no other! Workshops are an access to freedom! 4. Art Art is beauty expressed. And beauty sustains the soul. When I see art, I am awed by what the human spirit is capable of expressing. 5. Children’s art Children’s art is raw, no-holds-barred, pure. It doesn’t strive to be perfect, it just is. Reminds me to just BE… 6. When children learn something new An eraser of jadedness. When I observe a young child learn something new and communicate his excitement about it, it fills me with awe for the human mind and the way it absorbs wonders. 7. Flowers Flowers are a treasure for our senses – smell, touch, sight and even taste. They are a reminder of the gentler side of life. At the same time, because of their array of colors, they literally brighten our lives. And their smell – they really go to the head! 8. Good food Eating good food is like tasting beauty. It is ecstasy when you have the perfect combination of tastes on your palate. Ummm... 9. Funky products Funky shoes, bags, clothes, accessories, household items, furniture, architecture, business cultures – they all are epitomes of what the human mind can imagine. What no-limits there are! 10. Community projects that work When people are able to step out of their lives to do something for their community, it reminds me that it is possible to make a stand for someone else, to step beyond the indifference that can so often plague us into inaction. It's All Invented A shoe factory sends two marketing scouts to a region of Africa to study the prospects for expanding business. One sends back a telegram saying, SITUATION HOPELESS STOP NO ONE WEARS SHOES The other writes back triumphantly, GLORIOUS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY STOP THEY HAVE NO SHOES *****
[Please click on "The Invitation" above to access poem.] One of the most beautiful poems ever written. By Oriah Mountain Dreamer. |