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Weekly Photo Challenge: DOORS
“Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.” Coco Chanel
Weekly Photo Challenge: DOORS – All kinds of doors
Where there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything, to keep what you want from ending, do it. Pry the door open or, if need be, wedge your foot in that door and keep it open. Pauline Kael
I love taking pictures of doors and my favorite shades tend to be red and orange doors, followed by white, blue, and then other colors. Orange doors are hard to come by so the Kyoto Temple door remains one of my all time favorite doors. There is something about a door that makes you wonder what’s behind it… Some tell happy stories and some mask experiences of horror and shame. Either way, I see doors as positive symbols of growth and prosperity but we must open them and venture out into the world. Doors open us to possibilities – we must walk through them to get from here … to there.
“Why do you stay in prison When the door is so wide open? Rumi
Weekly Photo Challenge: DOORS – All kinds of doors
You have to come to your closed doors before you get to your open doors… What if you knew you had to go through 32 closed doors before you got to your open door? Well, then you’d come to closed-door number eight and you’d think, ‘Great, I got another one out of the way’… Keep moving forward. Joel Osteen
My collages are a mixture of door from around the world and even some doors in my neighborhood. Because I recently wrote a post that featured a lot of doors, I knew that I needed to take some new ones and add a few more to my collection. I took a walk this morning and carried my DSLR Canon camera with me. I was determined to find more doors and, like Joel Osteen suggested above, to keep moving forward. Some of the shots in the collage are from that walkabout. I enjoyed the exercise as it gave a\me a chance to explore the gardens again and I captured a few more photos of plants and deer… Yes, the deer are not afraid of us at all. I might upload a shot of one glaring back as I strolled along. Their nature doors lead to our doors.
“Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.” John Barrymore
Weekly Photo Challenge: DOORS – Some of my favorites
In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself. Jiddu Krishnamurti
I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can’t make it through one door, I’ll go through another door – or I’ll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present. Rabindranath Tagore
I love all the quotes I found, but the two above by Krishnamurti and Tagore gave me much to ponder. We do hold the key to our happiness door, and we must do everything we can to open it, keep it oiled and nourished, and let others we love and trust enter it to communicate and celebrate with us. A closed-door has nothing to give back to the world… Stay alert to those doors that open quietly and walk bravely through them.
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Try The World: A Taste Of Tokyo
“Food, in the end, in our own tradition, is something (special). It’s not about nutrients and calories. It’s about sharing. It’s about honesty. It’s about identity.” Louise Fresco
Try The World: A Taste Of Tokyo
Try The World: A Taste Of Tokyo
What I’ve enjoyed most, though, is meeting people who have a real interest in food and sharing ideas with them. Good food is a global thing and I find that there is always something new and amazing to learn – I love it! Jamie Oliver
Konnichiwa! This month’s special Try The World Gourmet Food Box comes to us from Tokyo, Japan. What comes to mind when you think of JAPAN, Nippon, or Nihon; formally 日本国? This beautiful, island nation in East Asia is – the country of Tea Ceremonies, Temples, Towering skyscrapers, snow-capped Mount Fuji, Sushi, Rice fields, Kimonos, Origami, Ikebana (Flower arranging), Hanami (Cherry Blossoms), Sake, Koi fish, the Bullet Train, the highest life expectancy nation in the world, and a rich tradition that combines modern innovations with traditional excellence. Japan holds dear memories in my heart because my visit there with my kids was both memorable and gastronomically satisfying. We traveled with a friendly group and saw/did everything from visiting Mount Fuji to attending a Tea Ceremony.
In between our daily adventures, we had a chance to meet and greet local people who were welcoming and curious about our travels. They recommended places to eat and sightsee, and we were able to sample a wide range of delicious dishes and desserts. We bought lots of gifts to bring home to friends and took photos of the many, many temples we visited and of everywhere else we went. I would recommend spending at least 3 weeks in Japan and touring as much of this historic and beautiful country as you can handle. I know you will enjoy the Tokyo Box; it will transport you to a place and time that is both ancient and modern.
“When a man’s stomach is full it makes no difference whether he is rich or poor.”Euripides
Try The World: A Taste Of Tokyo
Most of us have fond memories of food from our childhood. Whether it was our mom’s homemade lasagna or a memorable chocolate birthday cake, food has a way of transporting us back to the past. Homaro Cantu
When I opened Try The World’s Tokyo Box, I was greeted with an invitation to use my items to do two things: (1) Host a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony, and (2) Make my own Okonomiyaki Dinner Date. Of course, all the ingredients I needed were included in my box. My Japan Guide Book, (a guidebook is included in every box with details about the country featured), and a food description sheet were going to make these two events very special. My box held seven wonderful food items to whet our appetite and prepare us to enter this very special gourmet food world. It had Takaokaya (seaweed snack), Ishiguro (yamaimo soba noodles), Kasugai (the gummy candy), Wadakan (umami ponzu sauce), Aoi Tea (blueberry matcha tea), Otafuku foods (Okonomiyaki kit), and Morinaga (milk caramels). Do come back as I will dig deep into the food mentioned and put together some recipes to help us create an authentic and divine meal together.
Sign up today and delve into Try The World’s gourmet food items. As an Ambassador for this terrific brand, I’d like to invite you to take advantage of our special deep discount. SPECIAL OFFER: Try The World has made a special offer of a 30% discount off the first subscription box to all my readers. You can use the 30% discount code on purchasing your first $39/box subscription option. Use the coupon code MIRTHANDMOTIVATIONTRAVELS during your checkout to get your awesome discount.
What about pricing? Subscriptions now start at $33/Box.
A bi-monthly subscription is $39/box charged every two months
A 6 monthly tour subscription is $35/box charged every six months
A year tour subscription is $33/box charged every year
People have the option to order a gift single box and/or gift tours.
If the Tokyo Box pulls your heartstrings, sign up today, save 30% on your first box and the new box will be shipped as soon as it becomes available.
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Motivation Mondays: TRUST
“Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” Stephen Covey
Motivation Mondays: TRUST – Open Doors to Trusting Self & Others
Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement. Golda Meir
TRUSTING YOURSELF: What does TRUST mean to you? Often when we think of the word, we jump to our beliefs around trusting others, but TRUST begins with us. SELF-TRUST is the key to building confidence in our abilities and achieving our goals. Before we can learn to trust others, we must first learn to trust ourselves. Whenever you find people who claim they have trust issues, it has more to do with experiences, fears and unresolved events that have tainted their ability to trust. To move forward, we must rebuild our trust in ourselves and know that with time, effort and grace, we will strengthen that quality to trust again. Trusting ourselves is the foundation to our intuition, decision-making and goal setting. Trust is like a door we open to ourselves and to others. We have to walk in and close that door, and build up our confidence levels and develop other important skills. When those skills are sharpened, our trust quotient increases. How do you know when you have developed self-trust?
A Story: The Trusting Frog
A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, when two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep it was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. She fell down and died. The other frog continued to jump as hard as she could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at her to stop the pain and just die. She began jumping even harder and finally made it out. When she got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?” The frog explained to them that she was deaf – she thought they were encouraging her to jump out of the hole the entire time. She trusted them to encourage her, and she trusted herself to get out of that hole.
“Look for 3 things in a person – intelligence, energy and integrity. If they don’t have the last one, don’t even bother with the first two.” Warren Buffet
Motivation Mondays: TRUST – Trusting Self & Others
The toughest thing about the power of trust is that it’s very difficult to build and very easy to destroy. The essence of trust building is to emphasize the similarities between you and the customer. Thomas J. Watson
TRUSTING OTHERS: What trust issues do you have? As pointed out above, trust begins with us and then flows into our trusting relationships with others. When we feel confident that others have our best interest at heart, we act boldly and with a degree of inner trust that we can do it. In the quote above, Mr. Buffet mentioned three things to look for in a person. Integrity comes with the knowledge that we can deliver on our promises to ourselves. That trust becomes something we seek in others; when we know who we are and what we trust in ourselves, we look for those qualities in others. When we begin a trust relationship, it is critical that we take our commitments seriously and avoid any miscommunications or acts of carelessness. When a trust is broken, it takes tremendous work to patch things up… and in some cases, the damage is irreversible. When I think of trust, I am thinking also of a soul connection with others and a commitment to treat each other, and others, with love and respect. If there is no respect in a trust agreement, the chances of fissure are greater. Where are your trust issues holding you back?
A STORY: The Story of the Three Turtles
One day, three turtles named Mick, Andy and Roy decided to go on a picnic.
Mick packs the picnic basket with beer and sandwiches.
The trouble is that the picnic site is ten miles away and it takes them ten days to get there. When they get there, Mick unpacks the food and beer and says “OK Roy, give me the bottle opener.” “I didn’t bring it,” says Roy “I thought you packed it.”
Mick gets worried; he turns to Andy and says, “Did you bring the bottle opener?” Naturally, Andy, who prefers political discourse to food related matters, didn’t bring it. So they’re stuck ten miles from home without a bottle opener.
Mick and Andy beg Roy to go back for it, but he refuses as he says they will eat all the sandwiches. After two hours, and after they have sworn on their tortoise lives that they will not eat the sandwiches, he finally agrees.
Roy sets off down the road at a steady pace. 20 days pass and he still isn’t back. Mick and Andy are starving, but a promise is a promise. Another 5 days go by and he still isn’t back; but a promise is a promise.
Finally, they can’t take it any longer so they take out a sandwich each, and just as they are about to eat it, Roy pops up from behind a rock and shouts: “I KNEW IT… I’M NOT GOING!” Needless to say, they never spoke to Roy again… What would you have done?
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for June and July are:
06/01 – SIMPLICITY
06/08 – POSSIBILITIES
06/15 – SACRIFICE
06/22 – DETERMINATION
06/29 – TRUST07/06 – FREEDOM
07/13 – WORRY
07/20 – WEALTH
07/27 – GRACE
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