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A Perfect Universe: The Tao of Desiderata
2007-10-26 13:00:00
This guest post was written by Carol L. Skolnick of Clear Life Solutions. “And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should” —From Desiderata     “Open yourself to the Tao, then trust your natural responses; and everything will fall into place.”               —Tao Te Ching, Verse 23 Albert Einstein is said to have told a reporter, “I think the most important question facing humanity is, ‘Is the universe a friendly place?’ This is the first and most basic question all people must answer for themselves.”  Einstein likely felt this question was so important because he knew that to believe in an unfriendly universe is to be at war with it. Einstein was all about understanding and working with, not against, what is. The literature of spiritual wisdom from time immemorial points to this peaceful viewpoint as well, perhaps most significantly, the classic Chinese text, Tao Te Ch...
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If You’re Working Too Hard, You’re Doing It Wrong!
2007-10-24 13:00:00
Today’s post in the Desiderata Project was written by Jean of Cheerful Monk. If you’re working too hard, you’re doing it wrong! Swimming is a lazy sport. —A great teacher of swimming…and of life I can’t remember her name, but I will never forget her. It was my second quarter of swimming at Stanford University. At that time we all had to take two quarters of Physical Education, and the first quarter almost turned me against swimming for life. The teacher was looking for perfection and was critical of everything we did. But I had always loved being in the water, thrashing around and calling it swimming. I could be turning blue with cold when I was a kid and would steadfastly deny it. I didn’t get much chance to swim and I was going to make the most of it. So I signed up for another quarter and hoped for the best. And I got it. This teacher’s aim was to teach us to trust the water. She taught us to float…not in the usu...
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Just Be Grateful!
2007-10-15 02:44:00
The other day, I overhead my wife and five year old daughter having a conversation at the kitchen table. My daughter wanted a snack, so my wife got her a glass of milk and some graham crackers. “I don’t want that kind of graham crackers,” daughter said. “That’s the only kind we have,” replied my wife. My wife was enjoying our one remaining piece of a banana cake that she’d made a few days before. “I want a piece of cake instead,” said daughter. “Here, you can have part of mine,” my wife replied. She cut the cake in half and put it on my daughter’s place. “I didn’t get as much icing as you,” bemoaned my daughter. “Could you just be grateful for something!” This little situation reminded me of how so many of us approach our daily lives. We go through our day creating a little tally of all the things that don’t go right in our lives. I know that often by the time I start my...

MyTurn/YourTurn: What happens to a day deferred?
2007-10-14 04:20:00
MyTurn: Life can be chugging right along full speed ahead, but then suddenly you find yourself at a complete and sudden stop. Nothing slams on the brakes quite so well as unexpected illness. This happened in our family late Thursday and early Friday when my wife went from thinking that she had a “stomach bug” to worrying that she was experiencing appendicitis. While our two little ones slept, we went from confirming her symptoms with some research online to trying to arrange for child care for the day. Once we got our kids taken care of and I arranged lesson plans for a substitute teacher, we were off to the emergency room. It’s amazing how your knowledge and awareness of the outside world just sort of stops when things like that happen.  Occasionally, I would glance at my watch and think about what I’d be doing on a “normal” day.  There’s nothing normal about helping your wife change into an emergency room hospital gown.  All that v...

Glitches and Outages
2007-10-13 15:25:00
I apologize to those of you who tried to access the blog yesterday, and couldn’t.  Temporarily, my account was suspended by Wordpress.com.  Apparently, there were quite a few blogs around the net yesterday impacted by this.  To their credit, support at Wordpress was very quick in responding to my email when I discovered what had happened.  They apologized for the “technical glitch” and got the blog back online. I’d like to thank those of you who emailed me to ask what was up.  I appreciate your concern.  It seems like everything is back to normal now. In other news, I haven’t received today’s Desiderata post yet.  I’ll post it as soon as it’s available. Glad to be back!
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What’s your relationship with money?
2007-10-10 13:29:00
Today we are pleased to welcome Maurice Denis from Change Starts Today. Maurice continues our Desiderata Series with this post based on the following section of Desiderata: Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. The three Phrases that changed my relationship with money forever: The person who said money can’t make you happy, never had any money. I heard a man say that to my father and I never forgot it. I grew up most of my life not having and mostly wanting. At young age my life became an endless stream of desiring the things I thought I would never have. As early as I can remember I searched for ways to make money, to better myself and live a different life. I went from lemonade stand to Amway before I was in middle school. By the time I was in high school I had already started paper trading stocks. I majored in finance in college and became a Stockbroker trainee a month after graduation. The chase was on… all the things I never ...
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S.T.O.P. - 4 Steps for Enjoying your Life
2007-10-09 12:26:00
Today’s guest blogger in the Desiderata Series is Aaron Potts from Today is that Day. Enjoying your life is simply a matter of the way that you feel. There is a common belief that happiness comes about as a result of having certain things (money, material goods, relationships, etc.), but in all actuality, whether or not you are enjoying your life has always boiled down to the simple question of how you feel about your life. No amount of of money will help you to enjoy life if you are miserable on the inside. No relationship will define or complete you when a relationship - by definition - involves two or more people. No cache of toys and treasures will make you happy if you believe that you must have toys and treasures to be happy. “Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.”  In order to provide a simple formula that people can use on a daily basis to enjoy their lives rather than constantly focusing on the future, I have used the acronym S.T.O.P. S - Stop Th...
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Work hard. Play harder.
2007-10-09 04:46:00
“My work is a game, a very serious game.” M. C. Escher   Note:  I apologize for not publishing today’s Desiderata post.  It has not been submitted. 
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Finding Peace Amidst Chaos
2007-10-01 13:00:00
This is the first in a special series of guest posts based on Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata. This series will run throughout the month of October. You can view the posting schedule here. Today’s guest blogger is Danny from Be Inspired Every Day. Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. Most of us are aware of how our fast-paced, stressful lives can harm our immune systems and rob quality of life. So, we try to relax from time to time: take a bath, read a book, take a vacation. But, moments of true silence and relaxation are few and far between for most of us. They are rare breaks from real life in a world that is noisy, obnoxious and busy. Real life is exhausting and stressful. We reserve peace and joy for those rare moments we manage to escape real life. But, why are happiness, peace and contentment not apart of real life? This passage of Max Ehrmann’s Desiderata suggests that it can be. We can choose to be at peace, to be ...
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MyTurn/YourTurn: Pivotal Choices
2007-09-30 15:59:00
MyTurn:  I recently accompanied some of my high school students to a college presentation.  As the presenter was handing out the glossy brochures promoting her university, I was taken back to my own final high school months.  It doesn’t seem so long ago that I was the one flipping through those brochures and trying to decide where to go to college. I absolutely did not want to go where I ended up going.  All of my top choices were out of state. They seemed so exotic, so cool, so unlike anywhere any of the other members of my graduating class were going.  But none of those places gave me a full scholarship.  My local state university did.  So, I swallowed my pride and went to my last choice.  The boring old state university just over an hour from home. As I look back on that one choice, it’s amazing how many other things are tied to it.  Chief among those is the fact that as a sophomore a met a smart, pretty, and funny freshman who later became my wife.  Also, m...
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Crisp Beauty
2007-09-30 06:20:00
A perfect day for visiting an apple orchard — beautiful clear sky above a ground that was green mixed with a golden hue. The transition to autumn has clearly begun. Walking down the rows to find just the right apples hidden among the branches. My son snuggling into my shoulder on the wagon ride back from the field, tuckered out from the excitement. Just three beautiful things from a very beautiful day of fun. Visit these people who are also admiring beauty:  Mo, and Lady Thinker.
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Giving Away the Giveaway
2007-09-30 05:25:00
Congratulations to Laura of Laura Williams’ Musings. She is the winner of the My Favorite Things Giveway.  A lil’ box o’ goodness will be on its way to her as soon as she sends me her address. Thanks to Laura and Sam for playing.  And hey, Sam was kind of a winner, too.
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Glorious
2007-09-27 04:38:00
God is bigger than the air I breathe The world we’ll leave God will save the day and all will say My glorious! –Martin Smith & Stuart Garrard My small group Bible study is using Max Lucado’s “It’s Not About Me.” It’s a refreshing and challenging book for me. The chapter we discussed tonight focused on God’s glory. Basically, it said that God’s #1 purpose is to reveal His own glory. Lucado writes that everything that God has done or created has been for His own glory. He said that if there were God staff meetings there would only be one agenda item: “How do I reveal my glory today?” This was a challenging concept for me, because at first it made it sound like God was sort of pompous or selfish. I am more comfortable with the whole “God is love” thing. That’s easier for me. But the idea that God’s creation exists solely to glorify him was puzzling. But Lucado develops a “life b...

Beautiful Monday
2007-09-25 04:19:00
Three beautiful things from today’s minutes included: 1.  Stretching out on my recliner to watch a video with my kids. When I asked “who wants to sit with me,” both of them found a way to pile themselves onto me.  We were a cozy little pile of movie-watchers enjoying the cuddle. 2.  The nightly little ritual that my daughter and I have developed is that I get to tell her “what to dream about” right at the end of her day when I kiss her goodnight.  I’ve found that her favorite theme is to be some kind of an animal, usually pregnant and on the verge of giving birth.  Tonight, if she follows my suggestion, it’s a horse. 3.   My little son had more trouble getting to sleep tonight than usual. After a lot of crying on his part, it felt so good when he finally relaxed against my shoulder for that last hug of the night. Here are some other people celebrating the beautiful things in their lives:  Desert Diva, Chai, and Amelia.
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My Heroes Have Always Been Villains
2007-09-24 19:00:00
“Now you see that evil will always triumph — because good is dumb.” Dark Helmet in Spaceballs I admit it. I root for the bad guys. They’re just cooler! For as long as I can remember, I have been a fan of villains. Star Wars was one of my earliest obsessions, with Darth Vader clearly my favorite character. When the Batman craze hit during my teen years, I became an expert in all things Joker. Bad guys look cooler (Vader), have more awesome powers (Force lightning), have a better vocabulary (”You imbecile!”), and they have snappier catch phrases (”Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”) So while it doesn’t necessarily fit with the overall mood I’m trying to set with this blog, if I’m going to honestly tell you about my favorite things I must admit to you that I prefer the bad guys. So as part of my favorite things giveaway, I am including a figurine of my favorite Disney villain, Captain Hook. T...
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The Desiderata Project
2007-09-23 22:08:00
Throughout the month of October, we will be fortunate to read guest posts from a variety of bloggers. Each will be offering his or her personal interpretations and reflections based on a section of Desiderata . I am fortunate to have so many fellow bloggers who are willing to participate in this project. For your convenience, here is the anticipated schedule for the project. I’ve linked each blogger here so that you can go ahead and visit them and get to know their personal style. You’ll quickly see that we are in for a treat because we have some great writers assembled from a wide background. October 1. Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. Danny from Be Inspired Every Day October 2. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. soupornuts.com October 3. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Adam ...
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MyTurn/YourTurn: Antici…….pation
2007-09-23 08:27:00
MyTurn:  My daughter, who is in kindergarten, recently brought home her first “book order” form from school.  I was about to just recycle it when I had some happy memories of receiving my own book orders as an elementary-aged kid. I remember bringing that sheet home and poring over it, trying to decide if I would get the Masters of the Universe book or the Transformers stickers. So many choices!  I’d take my order back to school in an envelope with the five dollars my mom had sealed inside and wait for what must have been about six years for the day when my teacher would walk into the room carrying a big cardboard box that I just knew contained my long-awaited loot.  Then she’d sit it down behind her desk and launch into some lesson about the schwa or remainders or something.  JUST OPEN THE BOX, WOMAN! When she finally passed out our stuff, my book and/or stickers would be just as great as I’d imagined they would be.  The long wait was worth it. ...

The Brighter Side
2007-09-22 08:00:00
optimism - noun 1. a disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome. My daughter keeps a little flower box next to our garage door. The flowers we plant there always make her happy. She tends to them diligently with water and loving care. While we were away for a week’s vacation, there was no rain. We forgot to ask a neighbor to come over and water the flowers, so they were quite dried up when we returned. Undaunted, she’s convinced that with enough water and enough love she can nurse those flowers back to health. If only I could maintain the same attitude about the “lost causes” in my life. Are there things that I dismiss too quickly? Could I turn some situations around if I just worked a little harder on them? To put it another way: There’s a dark and a troubled side of life There’s a bright and a sunny side too Though we meet with the darkness and strife The s...
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Favorite Things: Halloween
2007-09-21 08:01:00
Since I’m a theatre teacher, I shouldn’t have a costume phobia. But I do. If my dad weren’t a smoker, I probably wouldn’t have this problem. When I was six, Halloween was like an amazing dream come true. I was going to get to dress up as Frankenstein, complete with a cool plastic mask that I’d purchased weeks before. (I had been rehearsing my Frankenstein arms-out-in-front-of-me walk ever since.) I’d get to go around to the neighbors’ houses to get candy, and then we’d go uptown to see the parade. I’ve already established that I love a parade. When Halloween came, it lived up to my expectations. In my Frankenstein costume, I impressed the neighbors into giving me lots of candy… I even scored a few Reese’s. My parents packed me and my Halloween loot into the car to head up to the parade. My dad needed to stop off at the corner grocery store for some cigarettes. Let me mention that the store is right across th...
More About: Things , Favorite , Ween , Favor

Positive Post Round-Up Vol. 1
2007-09-19 17:01:00
I’ve been zooming around the blogosphere collecting positive and inspiring posts for you. Here is a delicious sampler platter of some of the best that I found. Enjoy! (While you’re here, you might want to find out about the upcoming Desiderata Project or My Favorite Things Giveaway.) Jason at Escape Adulthood recalls a wonderful story about his meeting with a woman named Dorthy, who decided at age seventy that rather than die, she’d rather live a wonderful life. Don’t miss this beautiful post. And I could see the childlike joy shine from her eyes as she described traveling to Italy for the opera, another life-long dream. “It was so wonderful!” she exclaimed. “They so love their opera over there. The old theater was beautiful, so opulent — and it was even an opera I knew!” Chris at soupornuts.com has some great advice on how to have a great day. He challenges us to recognize that we largely shape how our day will develop. Every action and ever...
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Favorite Things: Blank Books
2007-09-19 08:28:00
“The blank page gives the right to dream.” - Gaston Bachelard I get a little bit too excited about buying any new “office supplies,” but I’m particularly giddy when it comes to new notebooks. To me, a blank notebook holds so much great promise and is essentially begging for someone to come along and be creative with it. My favorite type of notebook is the Mead Composition book. I love the “old school” feel with its stiff covers and sewn binding instead of the spiral wire. I have chosen the classic black and white cover for you since that is the most iconic version. I hope that you will be inspired by its potential. I also love a blank calendar, particularly of the new year. I always make grand goals for what I am going to achieve and gaze at all of those months stretched out before me just waiting for me to fill them with tackled projects. Now if only I can get as good at achieving goals as I am at setting them… Nonetheless, I...
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Going once…. Going twice… Actually, just going once.
2007-09-18 23:14:00
I am overwhelmed at the positive response to The Desiderata Project!  October is going to be an exciting month around here.  We’ve got such a variety of great bloggers from many different backgrounds and perspectives lined up to offer their interpretations of different sections of Desiderata. We have only one lonely little section waiting to be claimed: 11. Especially do not feign affection.   If you know a blogger that would be able to write about this topic for us, please let them know about the project!   Also, I currently only have two entrants in my Favorite Things Giveaway. Now would be a good time to join in on the fun.   Finally, I’ve  adopted a new look for the site. Let me know what you think!  
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Love One Another
2007-09-18 08:01:00
I’m a Christian.  I regret that I  almost have to apologize for that statement these days due to the bad name given to Christianity by right-wing bigots who want to use their faith as justification for discrimination. So many people are turned off by “Religion” and religious people.  People have been burned by churches and by church-goers.  A friend of mine once said “I like Jesus. It’s his fan club that I have a problem with.” If you ignore all of the right-wing stuff, though, and focus on what the Bible (particuarly the New Testament) says, you get a much clearer picture of what God actually is and what He wants for us. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:12) Or if you prefer another way of looking at it, you can turn to Broadway: To love another person is to see the face of God. - Les Miserables If you want to know what God is all about, just think of love.  ...
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Calling All Bloggers! Only four remain…
2007-09-18 00:47:00
I need four three two more bloggers to claim a spot in our upcoming Desiderata Series. If you or someone you know would be interested in writing a blog post during the month of October based on one of these four three two unclaimed sections of Desiderata, please let me know in the comments. 8. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. 11. Especially do not feign affection. 12. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass. 13. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
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Favorite Things: Snacks
2007-09-17 08:08:00
I’m a “comfort food” kind of person. An emotional eater. I know it’s bad and I fully embrace that. But when I’m down, having a food that I really enjoy lifts my spirits. I am particularly fond of snack foods, and two are at the top of that list. The first is Reese’s. I have fond memories of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups dating back to my elementary school days. My mom used to buy those packs of eight individually wrapped cups and we kept them in the produce drawer of our refrigerator. When I’d come home from school, I would enjoy one with a cold glass of milk while I sat on the carpet in front of the TV watching cartoons. Does that make my mom a bad mother since she let me eat candy and watch TV at the same time? I loved the “there’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s” slogan that the company used for a while. I have enjoyed nibbling the edges off all the way around the cup, I like eating them bite at a time, an...
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MyTurn/YourTurn: Happy Songs
2007-09-16 08:01:00
MyTurn: As I mentioned, I worked at a small-town radio station as a teenager. Within reason, I could pretty much play whatever pop music I wanted. It was a fun job and I was very much into music at that time, sort of delighting in being part of the “entertainment industry.” I read Billboard magazine for fun. The station signed off the air at midnight back in those days, and my shift was usually a weekend night from 6PM-Midnight. That meant that I got to play the very last song of the day. I chose as my “signature” sign-off song “Shiny Happy People” by R.E.M. It’s not exactly the most philosophically provocative song in the world, with simple little bubble-gum lyrics like: Everyone around love them, love them Put it in your hands Take it take it There’s no time to cry Happy happy Put it in your heart Where tomorrow shines But hey, what’s wrong with a little song that makes you happy? The song always made me smile, with its ...
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Help Wanted: Desiderata Series
2007-09-15 20:58:00
There is one piece of writing that comes very close to summarizing my philosophy of life: Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. I can fully embrace all of the advice offered by this beautiful piece, and it has long been one of my favorites. As such, I intend to explore Desiderata throughout the month of October here on this blog with a series of posts. However, I would like very much to have some guest writers help me with this project so that we can get a variety of viewpoints on this beautiful piece. Would you look over the Desiderata below and see if there is a section you’d be interested in writing about? If there is, post a comment “claiming” your section by referring to the corresponding number of your section. Then, in order to help generate some interest in this project, please leave a link to this post on your own blog. I will then be in touch with you via email with more details about the project and how we can proceed. Thank you very much! (more…)
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Wonderful
2007-09-14 04:22:00
“Anything looked at closely becomes wonderful.” A. R. Ammons
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13 Ways To Celebrate Fall
2007-09-13 13:00:00
Hello, Thursday Thirteeners! While you’re here, be sure to check out my contest that just started. At the end of this month, I’ll be giving away a box of my “favorite things.” I’d love to have you play along.  Some cooler weather blew into my area this week, breaking a long heat wave. It’s got me thinking about my favorite season, fall! Let’s explore some ways to celebrate this beautiful season.   (more…)
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Want To Win a Few of My Favorite Things?
2007-09-12 05:20:00
We’re having ourselves a contest! Want to play? I went on a shopping spree, gathering up some of my “favorite things.” I’ve put together a little prize pack, and now I want to give it away! What’s in the prize pack? Stay tuned, dear readers. I will let you know. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be using the items as springboards to tell you more about some of the things that I enjoy. What I can tell you is… (Cue “The Price is Right” style music and voice-over here) It’s a fabulous prize package with a retail value of…. $10.57! So, it’s no Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, but who doesn’t like getting a box of stuff in the mail? Am I right? Here’s how you play: To be eligible for the drawing, please link to this post on your blog. After that, each time you post a comment on this blog, you will receive an additional entry in the drawing. If you do a MyTurn/YourTurn post on your blog an...
More About: Things , Favorite , Favor , My Favorite Things