Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
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Photo Challenge: LIQUID
“Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.” Langston Hughes
Photo Challenge: LIQUID
Fela Kuti – Water No Get Enemy
The ordinary man considers solids and liquids and the energy manifestations of the material world to be vastly different, but the yogi sees them as various vibrations of the one cosmic light. Paramahansa Yogananda
Imagine how many aspects of nature we would miss if we lived on the surface of the sun. Without inventing refrigerators, we would only know gaseous matter and never observe liquids or solids, and miss the beauty of snowflakes. Wolfgang Ketterle
As Fela Kuti sings in one of my favorite songs – Water No Get Enemy… it flows through everything. This week’s theme on Liquid fits perfectly with my current weather conditions too. It rained all day yesterday. As I look out the window, right now, it’s still drizzling. Amazing. Water cleanses, washes, destroys and heals. It can solidify and liquefy all in a matter of minutes… and get this, it puts out FIRE! In my humble opinion, liquids rock; starting of course with H2O. Yes, drink more if you need to stay hydrated. Whatever rocks your body, just do it… love yourself.
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Motivation Mondays: LIFE CHOICES
“Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.” John C. Maxwell
Motivation Mondays: LIFE CHOICES
Choices are the hinges of destiny. Edwin Markham
Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever. Keri Russell
The key to accepting responsibility for your life is to accept the fact that your choices, every one of them, are leading you inexorably to either success or failure, however you define those terms. Neal Boortz
Some of our important choices have a time line. If we delay a decision, the opportunity is gone forever. Sometimes our doubts keep us from making a choice that involves change. Thus an opportunity may be missed. James E. FaustPS: I update my blog posts regularly with new information and corrections. Do stop by again to check for new insights and to add your voice. Thank you! 🙂
CHOICE: What critical life choices have you made? The phone rang and even though I didn’t recognize the number on my caller ID, it looked familiar so I picked up the phone. On the other end, the caller spoke in a slow, sultry voice. “Hello… please don’t hang up. In the next 30 seconds, I will share the most powerful information you need to hear this year.” Immediately, my antenna for BS lit up. “I’ll show you how you can make $10,000 from your armchair, without batting an eyelid.” Sultry purred. WTF! Of course, the devil on my left shoulder urged me to listen because hey, you never know. The quiet voice of reason on my right shoulder calmly took the phone out of my hand and placed it back on the receiver. Not today…. Frankly, not any day soon will Sultry sell me parts of the Brooklyn Bridge. Every day, in some fashion, we come up against such events in so many different versions. Some of the choices we make are for mundane things, while others are for very serious life changing matters. Whichever way we look at it, we face daily decisions to choose a position and act on it. Some of our choices can change the trajectory of our lives and we view them as critical decisions. My decision to move to the USA was a critical move that meant leaving my family and friends behind in the UK and Nigeria to pursue my own interests. Some of my plans didn’t pan out but, my decision put me on a new life path with new experiences that continue to impact my life.
As a blog friend suggested to me, when I was mulling over my blog topic for this week, the choices we make fall into a wide range of categories. We find ourselves choosing a position on almost anything; our choices are professional, personal, even arbitrary. We make choices about career paths, marriage and motherhood or staying single. We choose to emigrate or stay local, to get healthy or not, to build new friendships and even relocate to new homes in another state. With each decision we make, there are consequences that we must face and sometimes they are quite unpleasant. But we all know that choices, like change, are a necessary part of life and if we don’t make them, we stagnate. Our choices don’t come with guarantees of success, and some of our choices can take us down a new road filled with opportunities, as well as broken dreams and washed up promises. But, we make them anyway because we must act or perish. Baldwin’s advice in the story below begins with the admonition: Don’t Give Up. I agree.
Don’t Give Up…
The Choice Of Hercules by James Baldwin via readbookonline
When Hercules was a fair-faced youth, and life was all before him, he went out one morning to do an errand for his stepfather. But as he walked his heart was full of bitter thoughts; and he murmured because others no better than himself were living in ease and pleasure, while for him there was naught but a life of labor and pain.
As he thought upon these things, he came to a place where two roads met; and he stopped, not certain which one to take.
The road on his right was hilly and rough; there was no beauty in it or about it: but he saw that it led straight toward the blue mountains in the far distance.
The road on his left was broad and smooth, with shade trees on either side, where sang an innumerable choir of birds; and it went winding among green meadows, where bloomed countless flowers: but it ended in fog and mist long before it reached the wonderful blue mountains in the distance. Story contd below.
“It is our choices… that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” J. K. Rowling
Motivation Mondays: LIFE CHOICES
Your life changes the moment you make a new, congruent, and committed decision. Tony Robbins
It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions. Jim Rohn
I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
CHANCE: Did you take a calculated chance? Choices include those we make after much reflection, those we take without thinking, and some we take as a calculated chance at something great. I think people who come up with inventions or scientific discoveries that revolutionize the world take calculated risks and we benefit. I also believe that people who enter artistic contests or go on reality TV shows take a calculated chance that the exposure might bring them fame and fortune. For some, it becomes the path to great success while others flounder and disappear. Even when we figure out a pathway that we believe will lead us from point A to point Z, it takes more than our game-plan to get there. We need to not only be persistent but also flexible and forgiving. Forgiving? What does that have to do with choices? If you’ve spent any time with a successful, creative person, you’d get to hear about the rejections, the naysayers, and the plain and simple haters who tried to derail their dreams. It comes with the territory and we all have our own versions of such stories. Even our own family members can unwittingly derail our plans because they love us and want to shield us from public pain. We have to learn to forgive the mutterings of others and forgive ourselves too for opening the door to such things. Don’t give in to the stuff. The truth is that we all need encouragement to pursue that pie in the sky dream. How would we ever know what might come of it if we don’t try? I think of Elon Musk and Tesla and Space X…. and so many other brilliant creatives who didn’t listen to people who told them their dreams were idiotic. Don’t give in so easily…
Years back, when I was exploring career paths, I was very interested in dance, modeling, the creative arts and mass communications. I took dance classes at Alvin Ailey’s, acting classes and all sorts of other creative outlets. I enjoyed it but my parents didn’t. I come from a traditional family and my Dad wanted his kids to follow the professional path to success. Get an education! Become a teacher, lawyer, doctor, scientist and on and on he went. We followed his lead but I was never 100% sure that I was following my own heart. As the years flew by, a part of me grew frustrated and resentful and it has taken some time for me to get to the place where I had to let that go and forgive myself first for not saying: No, Dad, I’d rather do X… So, whether our choices to take a calculated chance lead us down a rabbit hole or on the brightest stage, forgiving ourselves for our missteps is crucial to our journey. Baldwin’s Hercules, in the story that continues below, knows to not give in. Don’t give in to others opinions about your heartfelt dreams. Listen. Speak up. Find a way to express yourself and go for it.
Don’t Give In…
Contd from above James Baldwin Story
While the lad stood in doubt as to these roads, he saw two fair women coming toward him, each on a different road. The one who came by the flowery way reached him first, and Hercules saw that she was as beautiful as a summer day.
Her cheeks were red, her eyes sparkled; she, spoke warm, persuasive words. “O noble youth,” she said, “be no longer bowed down with labor and sore trials, but come and follow me, I will lead you into pleasant paths, where there are no storms to disturb and no troubles to annoy. You shall live in ease, with one unending round of music and mirth; and you shall not want for anything that makes life joyous–sparkling wine, or soft couches, or rich robes, or the loving eyes of beautiful maidens. Come with me, and life shall be to you a day-dream of gladness.”
By this time the other fair woman had drawn near, and she now spoke to the lad. “I have nothing to promise you,” said she, “save that which you shall win with your own strength. The road upon which I would lead you is uneven and hard, and climbs many a hill, and descends into many a valley and quagmire. The views which you will sometimes get from the hilltops are grand and glorious, but the deep valleys are dark, and the ascent from them is toilsome. Nevertheless, the road leads to the blue mountains of endless fame, which you see far away on the horizon. They cannot be reached without labor; in fact, there is nothing worth having that must not be won by toil. If you would have fruits and flowers, you must plant them and care for them; if you would gain the love of your fellow men, you must love them and suffer for them; if you would enjoy the favor of Heaven, you must make yourself worthy of that favor; if you would have eternal fame, you must not scorn the hard road that leads to it.” Rest of Story Contd Below!
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for APR 2018/MAY 2018 are:
03/04 – Women’s History Month, National Nutrition Month, Irish-American Heritage Month, American Red Cross Month, 08 International Women’s Day, World Kidney Day, 04 Academy Awards
03/11 – 11 Daylight Savings, 14 Pi Day, 15 World Consumer Rights Day, 17 St Patrick’s Day
03/18 – 19 St Joseph, 20 International Day of Happiness, 21 World poetry Day, 22 World Water day, 24 Earth Hour
03/25 – Palm Sunday, 29 Holy Thursday, 30 Good Friday, 31 Passover
05/06 – 01 May Day, 03, National Day of Prayer, 03 World Press Freedom Day, 04 Star Wars, 05 Cinco De Mayo
05/13 – 13 HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, 16 Ramadan starts, 19 Armed Forces Day,
05/20 – 20 Pentecost Day, 23 World Turtle Day, 24 National brother Day
05/27 – 28 Memorial Day, 30 World MS Day, 31 World No Tobacco Day
Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2018?
– Join the Daily Post Post-a-day or Post-a-week Challenge.
— Join the BlogHer Writing Lab
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Photo Challenge: Our Place In the World
“Never stop fighting until you arrive at your destined place – that is, the unique you. Have an aim in life, continuously acquire knowledge, work hard, and have perseverance to realize a great life.” A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Photo Challenge: Our Place In the World
It is nice finding that place where you can just go and relax. Moises Arias
Be kind, don’t judge, and have respect for others. If we can all do this, the world would be a better place. The point is to teach this to the next generation. Jasmine Guinness
Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative place where no one else has ever been. Alan Alda
The more I thought about this week’s theme, Place in the World, the more I felt it was not one particular destination but the many parts that make up the whole. We are made up of our multifaceted experiences, and those inform our place in the world…. it is a lifelong journey that evolves over time. It changes, it flourishes, it stagnates, it withers away… we all play our role and impact each other’s lives with our actions. I’m sharing a mixture of collages that speak to that global connection we all share. Even my collage of collages is incomplete. There are aspects of my place in this world that I did not include, so should I create yet another collage within a collage to include food, music, fitness, and friendships?
What about my love of the written word and my inner life? We can only show so much; the rest can be inferred or left to the imagination. It is very much like life itself. We pick up pieces here and there, discard a few along the way, or swap them for shiny new objects or relationships that grow or die. The rebel in us might venture from the straight and narrow road for a long walk off the beaten path. Along the way, we might find love and laughter or languish in the debris of our stalled or broken dreams. Yes, our place in the world includes all of the above … and more. Wherever you believe you belong, the journey begins within.
My Place, Your Place, Our Place. – Poem by Shannon Nicole
Imagining a perfect world,
No rules, no mistakes.
Just everything we want,
All laid out and pretty.
No one hates in this perfect world,
Only likeable, friendly peers.
If only there was this secret place,
To set up this imaginary place.
If only there was a group of positives,
That would help create this new experience.
If only we could be those likeable, friendly people,
Then maybe we could live in that perfect world.
“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.” Camille Pissarro
Photo Challenge: Our Place In the World
The planet is a vast and beautiful place, full of exciting and wonderful people. Ashlan Gorse Cousteau
I have the same feeling when I walk in a very beautiful place that I have when I play and it goes right. Jacqueline du Pre
And, obviously, as one who likes to travel around myself a lot, I think the Earth is a beautiful place. And, I’m looking forward to some new perspectives. Duane G. Carey
Each of us occupies a unique place in this world, and we matter to someone. While we might not all be celebrities with fantastic lives or clout chase to become “relevant,” our place in this world has value. I just learned clout chase from someone I admire for their upbeat energy and creativity. The artist, half of a popular hip-hop/rap duo, was saying that he didn’t need to chase after certain in-crowd or “the right” people to matter. I agree with that observation as we all bring something of value, in small and large ways, to this planet. As I gathered my photos to create collages of facets of my life, I was reminded of a song I used to play a lot when it came out. It’s Jill Scott’s A Long Walk. The video shows her walking through her Philly neighborhood as she sings about bonding in a special relationship.
The song A Long Walk resonates well with this topic because we also find our place in our relationships and with our loved ones. We find our place in the long walk we take through life. It is not linear. It meanders, it veers off course, it hits the tarmac at full speed, and it settles into a familiar rhythm as we journey through. As Rumi points out below, we are all guests here, and welcoming/serving/supporting each other is a fundamental part of being human and alive. I’m sharing the video in this post and the lyrics at the bottom of the post page, just before my credits. Enjoy it, and may your journey be rich with adventure and delightful moments.
The Guest House by Jalaluddin Rumi
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning, a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
Some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
Who violently sweeps your house
Empty of its furniture,
Still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
For some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
Meet them at the door laughing,
And invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
Because each has been sent,
As a guide from beyond.
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