How Does Tenacity Figure in Your Life?

*** Consider tenacity to help propel you through tough times.





From Denny: It can be easy to get discouraged in the face of severe adversity. Right now on the Gulf Coast we are facing what may turn out to be generations of adversity. The people here are a hardy bunch and will persevere. The one thing they share is a strong work ethic and a spiritual tenacity to push through difficult times.

This photo of the small child trying to climb that fence at the ocean reminds us of when we were small children. The memories of being so small in an adult world and the obstacles we had to overcome like climbing, sliding, crawling, bumping down stairs too high to conquer any other way. Now that was tenacity in motion every day until we grew stronger and larger, moving on to tougher life obstacles.

Tenacity is often overlooked by philosophers while they are constructing an eloquent argument or elegant vision. Tenacity is that strong drive that often can take our dreams and hopes and propel them into the future vision we have for our lives.

The following quote is from a former president certainly not well liked by history. It was this Republican former governor of Massachusetts who promoted the idea of small government after the scandals of his predecessor President Harding. Harding died suddenly and propelled VP Coolidge into the presidency in 1923. He won the presidency on his own in 1924.

He didn't believe government should invest in large government programs or regulate and have a hand in controlling the economy. Read that as an unrestrained and unregulated free market of greed and corruption. This attitude may have contributed to the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression. The man was a lawyer, not an economist.

He was known as "Silent Cal" since he was a man of few words and uncomfortable in Washington society. It was Alice Roosevelt Longworth who was quoted as saying, "He looks as if he'd been weaned on a pickle."

Coolridge was a quiet guy playing opposite his vivacious wife Grace. He always considered that being president was important and his words brought great weight. "The words of a President have an enormous weight and ought not to be used indiscriminately."

People wrote him off as one stiff guy so he decided to cultivate it. Hey, when you know you can't be a superstar then work with what you think you have. "I think the American people want a solemn ass as a President," he once told Ethel Barrymore, "and I think I will go along with them." In spite of his quiet status, as president he held a stunning record number of press conferences: 520.

One funny story about Coolidge in one of his uncomfortable social situations where he was often the butt of jokes: He was seated next to Dorothy Parker who leaned over to him and said, "Mr. Coolidge, I've made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you." His famous reply? "You lose."

It seems that those who gravitate to the Republican agenda often do not possess the best people skills - and weak social skills as they are usually uncompromising. Many do not subscribe to education to improve their attitude toward others. Many are very rigid emotionally and mentally, even fearful of change and lacking a good sense of humor.

The one thing these people rely upon, often too much and out of balance, is tenacity. Tenacity is great when tempered with sensitivity, education and a willingness to be open to others. Tenacity is a great team mate, and, if used well in combination with other attributes can help propel us through difficult situations. Coolidge used his tenacity to survive uncomfortable social situations as he was an introvert by nature.

One good thing about his presidency is that in the 1920's he actually promoted civil rights for African-Americans and Catholics. This was especially important as the Ku Klux Klan had a large following nationally at this time with over four million members. Under his administration, he did not appoint any known KKK members and the Klan lost influence rapidly. It was amazing the man was not assassinated by the millions of racists in the country at the time who howled at his promotion of non-Protestants and other races. Even today, America is over 50 percent Protestant to 25 percent Catholic.

Coolidge was controversial when he granted full American citizenship to Native Americans in 1924. He allowed them to retain tribal lands and full cultural rights. Not exactly the Republican Party of today that is homophobic and excessively racist and gender biased about equal work should get equal pay.

You can analyze presidents and presidencies for years, finding the good, the bad and the ugly. This man had his good moments and his bad just like everyone else. Perhaps he did not fully realize the impact decades later his economic policies would have on generations of Americans.

What we can learn from him is his focus upon tenacity to help win the day, acting as a mighty force to solve problems. The spirit of tenacity has a way about it that gives us courage to move through difficult situations to achieve our goals.


Quote

* Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. - President Calvin Coolidge



*** Photo by Victor Bezrukov @ flickr


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Have You Ever Thought About The Process of Success?

*** Encouragement Quote From famous Award Winning Novelist





From Denny: Right now the Gulf Coast and even the rest of America needs to read some refreshing and mindful encouragement quotes to help us keep going. So much seems to be coming at us through this chaotic economy, severe job loss and underemployment causing bankruptcies and home foreclosures - and now the huge Gulf oil spill from BP who still has not found a way to slow down or stop the broken well leaks. There are over 100 million gallons of oil spilled and more arriving every day to the tune of two million gallons a day. It's an environmental disaster that has everyone in America talking and wondering about how to move ourselves to less harmful forms of energy.

Current times feel dire to million of Americans and millions more around the world as we all go through some universal adjustment of attitude and lifestyle changes. Meanwhile, it helps to focus upon wise thoughts and comforting thoughts to help us through the transition.

I thought I'd start with this quote from famous author James A. Michener. He had a lot of adversity in his life and well understood the difficulties of maintaining a good attitude and continuing to persevere. He was abandoned by his birth parents and was adopted by a woman of few means yet she had a love of books and learning with which she ignited a passion in him to write. Michener went on to work his way across America and later joined the Navy where he traveled to the South Pacific. With all his financial success he never did find out who were his birth parents.

Michener well understood how we slowly build our character into towering strength, how we pursue our dreams and how we finally succeed at achieving the kind of life we always desired. His quote here addresses mental toughness that can only be forged through trial and error on our part.


Quote

* Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries. - James A. Michener, award winning novelist, click on link to see his bio as he had a very interesting life.



*** SEE ALSO: Destress: 3 Great Encouragement Quotes

*** SEE ALSO: Hope Transforms Our Lives in Tough Times

*** See Also: How Are Hopes, Dreams and Reality Related?

*** See Also: Where Does Hope Guide Us On Our Life Path?

*** See Also: Hope: Unborn Baby Grabs onto Doctors Hand in Surgery

*** See Also: Does Hope Touch Your Soul?



*** Photo by Victor Bezrukov @ flickr


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

111 Insightful Life Quotes

*** Give yourself some mind food to enjoy as you ponder your own place in the Universe.


*** Views Today: 11,754 and Thank You!





From Denny: What a quest this search turned out to be! We people types certainly have our opinions about what we think Life is all about. :) Whenever I'm pondering a concept - and in this case it's Life itself - I like to look at all the facets. It's the intense subtleties in Life, those minute shadings of meaning, that bring so much richness into our awareness.

And, since I so enjoy numbers and numerology, the number "1" kept showing up as a reminder to us that we all really are One in the great universal thought. We are expressed as those individual intense subtleties and facets in Life for we are all, collectively, Life celebrated.






* We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. - Winston Churchill

* How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these. - George Washington Carver

* Life is something that everyone should try at least once. - Henry J. Tillman

* Life is just a mirror, and what you see out there, you must first see inside of you. - Wally 'Famous' Amos

* Life has taught us that love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

* Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. - Danny Kaye

* Where there is love there is life. - Indira Gandhi

* We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

* Live dangerously and you live right. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

* The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved -- loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves. - Victor Hugo







* The purpose of life is a life of purpose. - Robert Byrne

* Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once. - Lillian Dickson

* There is no wealth but life. - John Ruskin

* Life is the sum of all your choices. - Albert Camus

* I have measured out my life with coffee spoons. - T.S. Eliot

* Life is like music; it must be composed by ear, feeling, and instinct, not by rule. - Samuel Butler

* Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars. - Henry Van Dyke

* The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware. - Henry Miller

* Life is a ticket to the greatest show on earth. - Martin H. Fischer

* For if there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life. - Albert Camus








* If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work. - Thich Nhat Hanh

* To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone. - Reba McEntire

* The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but rather what they miss. - Thomas Carlyle

* Life is the flower for which love is the honey. - Victor Hugo

* God asks no man whether he will accept life. That is not the choice. You must take it. The only question is how. - Henry Ward Beecher

* In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on. - Robert Frost

* Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use. - Charles Schulz

* Life is nothing without friendship. - Marcus Tullius Cicero

* While we are postponing, life speeds by. - Seneca







* A life lived in love will never be dull. - Leo Buscaglia

* Your life feels different on you, once you greet death and understand your heart's position. You wear your life like a garment from the mission bundle sale ever after - lightly because you realize you never paid nothing for it, cherishing because you know you won't ever come by such a bargain again. - Louise Erdrich

* One must work and dare if one really wants to live. - Vincent van Gogh

* Life is meaningless only if we allow it to be. Each of us has the power to give life meaning, to make our time and our bodies and our words into instruments of love and hope. - Tom Head

* I am on the side of the unregenerate who affirm the worth of life as an end in itself, as against the saints who deny it. - Oliver Wendell Holmes

* Live every act fully, as if it were your last. - Buddha

* To be awake is to be alive. - Henry David Thoreau

* There is no short cut to achievement. Life requires thorough preparation -- veneer isn't worth anything. - George Washington Carver

* We spend most of our lives conjugating three verbs: to want, to have, and to do. - Evelyn Underhill

* The capacity for hope is the most significant fact of life. It provides human beings with a sense of destination and the energy to get started. - Norman Cousins (who cured himself of terminal cancer by pursuing laughter every day)







* Respect for the fragility and importance of an individual life is still the mark of an educated man. - Norman Cousins

* I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well. - Diane Ackerman

* As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. - President John F. Kennedy

* may my heart always be open to little
birds who are the secrets of living
- e. e. cummings, poet

* Promise yourself to live your life as a revolution and not just a process of evolution. - Anthony J. D'Angelo

* Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. - Mark Twain

* We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. - Thornton Wilder

* Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by its breathtaking moments. - Michael Vance

* Religion is not something separate and apart from ordinary life. It is life -- life of every kind viewed from the standpoint of meaning and purpose: life lived in the fuller awareness of its human quality and spiritual significance. - A. Powell Davies

* There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. - Albert Einstein







* Spirituality can be severed from both vicious sectarianism and thoughtless banalities. Spirituality, I have come to see, is nothing less than the thoughtful love of life. [Spirituality for the Skeptic] - Robert C. Solomon

* I believe in cultivating opposite, but complementary views of life, and I believe in meeting life's challenges with contradictory strategies. I believe in reckoning with the ultimate meaninglessness of our existence, even as we fall in love with the miracle of being alive. I believe in working passionately to make our lives count while never losing sight of our insignificance. I believe in caring deeply and being beyond caring. It is by encompassing these opposites, by being involved and vulnerable, but simultaneously transcendent and detached, that our lives are graced by resilience and joy. - Fritz Williams

* The exercise of an extraordinary gift is the supremest pleasure in life. - Mark Twain

* They're basically moments in which you're in touch with the meaning of life, when your relationship to the rest of the universe makes sense. - Barbara De Angelis

* Most people can look back over the years and identify a time and place at which their lives changed significantly. Whether by accident or design, these are the moments when, because of a readiness within us and a collaboration with events occurring around us, we are forced to seriously reappraise ourselves and the conditions under which we live and to make certain choices that will affect the rest of our lives. - Frederick F. Flack

* To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life. - Robert Louis Stevenson

* Everything you now do is something you have chosen to do. Some people don't want to believe that. But if you're over age twenty-one, your life is what you're making of it. To change your life, you need to change your priorities. - John C. Maxwell

* Life is relationships; the rest is just details. - Gary Smalley

* Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are. - Bernice Johnson Reagon

* Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring. - Oscar Wilde







* Each person must live their life as a model for others. - Rosa Parks, American civil rights leader

* We as for long life, but 'tis deep life, or noble moments that signify. Let the measure of time be spiritual, not mechanical. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

* After sleeping through a hundred million centuries we have finally opened our eyes on a sumptuous planet, sparkling with color, bountiful with life. Within decades we must close our eyes again. Isn't it a noble, an enlightened way of spending our brief time in the sun, to work at understanding the universe and how we have come to wake up in it? This is how I answer when I am asked -- as I am surprisingly often -- why I bother to get up in the mornings. - Richard Dawkins

* Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses. - George Washington Carver

* Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive. If life is to be sustained hope must remain, even where confidence is wounded, trust impaired. - Erik H. Erikson

* What everyone wants from life is continuous and genuine happiness. - Baruch Spinoza

* Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more. - David Steindl-Rast

* I think somehow we learn who we really are and then live with that decision. - Eleanor Roosevelt, American First Lady to President Franklin D. Roosevelt

* People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built. - Eleanor Roosevelt

* Wars and elections are both too big and too small to matter in the long run. The daily work - that goes on, it adds up. - Barbara Kingsolver






* To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. - Oscar Wilde

* What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful. - Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

* Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

* Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain

* It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living. - Oliver Wendell Holmes

* The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt. - Frederick Buechner

* The mystery of existence is the connection between our faults and our misfortunes. - Madame de Stael

* The principle of life is that life responds by corresponding; your life becomes the thing you have decided it shall be. - Raymond Charles Barker

* Whatever is at the center of our life will be the source of our security, guidance, wisdom, and power. - Stephen Covey

* Birth, life, and death -- each took place on the hidden side of a leaf. - Toni Morrison







* Lives, like money, are spent. What are you buying with yours? - Roy H. Williams

* How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. - Annie Dillard

* Everything has been figured out, except how to live. - Jean-Paul Sartre

* Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
and things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art; to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

* I have found life an enjoyable, enchanting, active, and sometime terrifying experience, and I've enjoyed it completely. A lament in one ear, maybe, but always a song in the other. - Sean O'Casey

* Life is God's novel. Let him write it. - Isaac Bashevis Singer

* Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each, is to succeed. - Corita Kent

* To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go. Blackwater Woods - Mary Oliver

* [W]e now know that the human animal is characterized by two great fears that other animals are protected from: the fear of life and the fear of death... Heidegger brought these fears to the center of his existential philosophy. He argued that the basic anxiety of [humanity] is anxiety about being-in-the-world, as well as anxiety of being-in-the-world. That is, both fear of death and fear of life, of experience and individuation. - Ernest Becker

* What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life. - Leo Buscaglia







* Love life and life will love you back. Love people and they will love you back. - Arthur Rubinstein

* The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge. - Bertrand Russell

* Nothing else matters much -- not wealth, nor learning, nor even health -- without this gift: the spiritual capacity to keep zest in living. This is the creed of creeds, the final deposit and distillation of all important faiths: that you should be able to believe in life. - Harry Emerson Fosdick

* Injustice can be eliminated, but human conflicts and natural limitations cannot be removed. The conflicts of social life and the limitations of nature cannot be controlled or transcended. They can, however, be endured and survived. It is possible for there to be a dance with life, a creative response to its intrinsic limits and challenges ... [A Feminist Ethic of Risk] - Sharon Welch

* Reverence for Life affords me my fundamental principle of morality, namely, that good consists in maintaining, assisting, and enhancing life and that to destroy, harm, or to hinder life is evil. Affirmation of the world -- that is affirmation of the will to live, which appears in phenomenal forms all around me -- is only possible for me in that I give myself out for other life. - Albert Schweitzer, medical doctor and humanitarian

* Ethics cannot be based upon our obligations toward [people], but they are complete and natural only when we feel this Reverence for Life and the desire to have compassion for and to help all creatures insofar as it is in our power. I think that this ethic will become more and more recognized because of its great naturalness and because it is the foundation of a true humanism toward which we must strive if our culture is to become truly ethical. - Albert Schweitzer

* That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet. - Emily Dickinson

* The most decisive actions of our life ... are most often unconsidered actions. - Andre Gide

* Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. - John Dewey

* You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. - Zig Ziglar







* The secret of a good life is to have the right loyalties and hold them in the right scale of values. - Norman Thomas

* The goal of life is living in agreement with nature. - Zeno

* Life is something that happens when you can't get to sleep. - Fran Lebowitz

* Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. - John Lennon

* To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. - Emily Dickinson

* Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it. - Christopher Morley

* In the book of life, the answers aren't in the back. - Charlie Brown

* Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. - Marie Curie

* What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
- W. H. Davies

* The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth. - Chinese Proverb







* An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. - Martin Luther King, Jr.



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Sometimes What You Sideline is a Good Thing

*** Views today: 13,815 and Thank You!



Bumble bee and hollyhock flower by audreyjm529 @ flickr


From Denny: How many times have we all heard the story of someone who succeeded at their greatest desire in life without realizing they barely stood a chance at achieving that success? It would seem all the stats were stacked against them yet they succeeded anyway.

Many times it is easy to "over think" a situation or relationship. We can get caught up in planning in too much detail, thinking we can control how Life unfolds. When we do all that planning we tend to be in a stop position. All those strategic goals and time lines for achieving them rarely works out that way - especially if you are on a spiritual path in life.

You can be the most methodical practical person around and I guarantee your plans will get sidelined by the Universe if something more important is to be learned, witnessed or assisted. After all, the greatest honor and job in this Life is to assist another soul in their journey through Life.

The key to success is always to be moving, breathing, living. The best way to succeed is to live in the moment, glide to the next moment and then assess how you feel about it all as you go along. And with that last sentence this quote will give you a grin!


Quote


* Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know that so it goes on flying anyway. - Mary Kay Ash


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3 Positive Attitude Quotes to Help Shape Your World

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From Denny: Lately, the way the economy has been shifting continually under our feet, never knowing what to expect from month to month, it's a good idea to cultivate a positive attitude. After all, what does a negative attitude get us beyond a moment of acting like a safety valve to blow off frustration and anger?

The problem comes when we stay stuck in anger and frustration. When Life seems to be constantly coming at you - and you know darned well it isn't Lady Karma paying a visit but you have to deal with it anyway - catch your balance by giving yourself and your loved ones around you a refocus.

It's important for us not to react to situations but rather step back, slow down, think and then, after pondering for a while, even a few days, to then act. And when you do act, act in progressive stages, a slow step at a time and observe how the situation presents itself.

As you slow down the resolution of the issue you will be able to clearly see which step is the best to take and which step to succeed that one. Eventually, you work your way through the problem or situation. It seems to be in our American DNA that we want instant gratification and instant one step solutions to complex problems. Well, Life just doesn't work that way or they wouldn't call it "spiritual testing." :)

What's also important for our refocus is to remember we didn't come into this world just to pay bills but rather to impact our world in a positive light. In order to successfully fulfill ourselves we need to quit allowing others to keep our emotions in a tail spin like the tail wagging the dog.

We are spiritual people living in a physical world not the other way around. We have more power to address our circumstances if we only take the time to listen inwardly to our spiritual heart that contains all the wisdom of the ages and the universe.

To finish our refocus when Life presses in make sure to add Hope to the list. Hope keeps our attitude from falling off a cliff into despair. It's also a reminder that just as our situation changed for the negative or chaotic it will change again into the positive and the peaceful - if only we will focus upon that good thought. In no time Life will greet us with our positive focus as if to say, "I don't know what you were stressing about. See? You knew what to do all along and everything worked out right."


Quotes


* We are not here merely to make a living. We are here to enrich the world. - Woodrow Wilson

* We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance. - Benjamin Disraeli

* Practice hope. As hopefulness becomes a habit, you can achieve a permanently happy spirit. - Norman Vincent Peale


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Are You Stuck in Life Not Knowing Where to Go Next?

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From Denny: At some point in our lives we have all experienced this situation - feeling stuck. There are some useful questions we can ask ourselves to help us examine where we are and why we are planted there:

* Am I in waiting mode, knowing to wait until the opportunity crosses my path, so should I continue waiting because I'm in perfect timing?

* Am I afraid to advance because I'm afraid of what I don't know as opposed to what I do know?

* Am I stuck because of a previous traumatic event or string of events that just zapped the will out of me and I'm burdened with self-doubt, fear and guilt?


Sometimes, we aren't stuck but only that our spirit has us waiting for the right timing for something - and that process can go on for years - like waiting for the right person to marry. Maybe both of you needed 20 years to mature before meeting so that your marriage will turn out successful.

Other times, especially for creative people like artists, musicians and writers it takes decades to mature both in the craft and the inner person before success beats a path to your door. Many a classical composer did not reach the height of their best written music until they were in their late 50's, even when they had been writing since a child. It isn't enough to be talented unless you also develop some serious emotional intelligence to complement your artistry.

People are often frustrated after a serious of setbacks in life and start to question even the smallest things in their lives - like something so silly as to why they like bananas. That's when you know it's time to take a deep breath, step back, exhale and sit down to collect your thoughts quietly. That's when the rational mind is trying to logically figure out a situation and can't get its balance. And that's when it's time to let go of that and allow your spiritual mind to lead. The spiritual mind generally leads at a slower more deliberate pace, carefully picking and choosing the exact moments to act with force of will and power of decision.

If you want a refresher course on what this feels like, then watch the 2000 movie called "The Legend of Baggar Vance."  The whole movie is set up to bring back a golfer from his war trauma, his self-doubting and interfering rational mind, and help him blossom back into his natural life swing that comes only from his spiritual depths, unique only to him.

Here's a bit of dialogue quoted from that pivotal moment when the golfer rediscovered and got back in touch with his spiritual self:


The Legend of Bagger Vance Movie




Bagger Vance (Will Smith) is a caddy that offers advice about more than the game to young golfer Randolph Junuh (Matt Damon, right) in Dreamworks' The Legend of Bagger Vance - 2000



Quote


Bagger Vance:  What I'm talkin about is a game... A game that can't be won only played...

Rannulph Junuh:  You don't understand...

Bagger Vance:  I don't need to understand... Ain't a soul on this entire earth ain't got a burden to carry he don't understand, you ain't alone in that... But you been carryin' this one long enough... Time to go on... lay it down...

Randolph Junuh:  I don't know how...

Bagger Vance:  You got a choice... You can stop... Or you can start...

Randolph Junuh:  Start?

Bagger Vance:  Walkin...

Randolph Junuh: Where?

Bagger Vance:  Right back to where you always been... and then stand there... Still... real still... And remember...

Randolph Junuh:  It's too long ago...


Bagger Vance:  Oh, no, sir, it was just a moment ago... Time for you to come on out the shadows, Junuh... Time for you to choose...

Randolph Junuh:  I can't...

Bagger Vance:  Yes you can... but you ain't alone... I"m right here with ya... I've been here all along... Now play the game... Your game... The one that only you was meant to play... Then one that was given to you when you come into this world... You ready?... Strike that ball, Junuh, don't hold nothin back, give it everything... Now's the time... Let yourself remember... Remember YOUR swing... That's right, Junuh, settle yourself... Let's go... Now is the time, Junuh...


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Does Your Life Feel Like a Disaster?

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Blue boat photo by cloudzilla @ flickr

From Denny: How easy it is to get our spirits down when Life jumps up and slaps us. I ran across this quote months ago and thought it wonderful then. Today it is even more poignant as I've watched the news. For months the American economy is in turmoil, people by the millions have lost jobs and not replaced them. Terrible earthquakes in Haiti and Chile have left families split apart and destitute.

With so much negativity going on, people look at each other and wonder what is there in Life to sing about? When tough times come along and enter our lives, it is important to take stock of even the smallest things for which we can be grateful.

Why is gratitude so important? Gratitude is powerful. It has the magic strength to heal our hearts when they hurt and are disappointed. Gratitude can help restore our hope. Gratitude helps us develop a new time line, a new path in Life. As you shift your focus to what gratitude reminds you, you will find you are digging yourself out of self-absorption and fear. Gratitude will free you from despair so you can move easily into the next phase of your life.

Included are a couple of links to previous posts, one about Haiti in the news. What the news clip shows is that the Haitians are not cursing God for their misfortune, rather they are literally singing. They choose to sing their way through tough times. What a powerful statement heard around the world!


Quote

* Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. - Voltaire


*** ALSO: 2 Months Later: Haiti Still Suffers Yet Has Faith

3 Quotes About Facing Tough Times


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3 Quotes About Facing Tough Times

From Denny: Today is Saint Patrick's Day. If there is anyone who understands how tough Life can get it was this man. He was stolen by pirates at the age of 16 from his wealthy family in Britain. He was sold as a slave to Ireland where he learned to tend sheep and learn the Irish language that few in Britain could speak or understand.

He knew loneliness and despair yet managed to keep going in spite of it. He was a slave for six years before finding a way to escape, an escape that was a run of 200 miles - and then there were more obstacles. The life tests just kept piling up on this man.

There are a couple of links to other posts on Saint Patrick and funny quotes for his special day where you can read a longer account of how he dealt with decades of tough times. One thing is for sure; he developed mental toughness.

As I researched about Patrick (real name Maewyn) I discovered that he lived a very long life plan. His was a spiritual path that took many unexpected twists and turns. There was no way he could predict what would happen next or how to handle it. He learned how to truly trust that Life would lead the way for where he was supposed to be, doing what was needed, intersecting with others at exactly the right moment. His life story is a fascinating tale of a spiritual seeker gliding from one moment to the next in complete faith.

It's not to say he did not question or worry or wonder "what now?" Every seeker feels and thinks those things. What's important is to take your focus off the negatives as soon as you observe your mind dwelling upon them. Shifting your focus also shifts your time line, your path in life.

What these three quotes offer today is how to develop mental toughness to handle whatever comes your way, to realize you can achieve what you admire in others if only you will begin at the beginning and take the time to develop and, most of all, nothing is that important to take desperate measures.

There is always Life after a disaster, be it a natural one like an earthquake or a personal one like a divorce or financial ruin. Nothing is important enough to warrant suicide. You, and your life are worthy, worthy to continue living.

Check out the links to Saint Patrick and find out how his life unfolded to understand your life will take decades to unfold fully. So, be patient. Go through the unpleasant times as easily as you enjoy the great times. Enjoy living!


Quotes

* Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was. - Richard L. Evans

* You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face. - Eleanor Roosevelt

* In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on. - Robert Frost


*** ALSO: Funny Sarcastic Sayings for St. Patricks Day - Cheeky Quote Day 17 Mar 2010

St. Patricks Day Funnies and History - Cheeky Quote Day 10 Mar 2010

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Spiritual Energy: Can Simple Words Add to Our Quality of Life?

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Awakening photo by Pyrogas Sipo


From Denny: From time immemorial humanity has been given warnings about using our words with forethought and not with rash or cruel intent. There are karmic backlashes to be experienced if we go too far. In every religion or spiritual discipline - from the pagan to Christian to the Koran, even to today's movie "The Secret" - words are examined as important for our personal vision.

The current toxic, and excessive, partisan politics as recently demonstrated by Republican Senator Jim Bunning holding up unemployment checks to the needy across America just to advance his political agenda to make a Democratic President look bad, is a fine example to illustrate. Lying, as is common with the current Republican Party political style, has repercussions as well. Sure, we can not all be expected to like each other - all warm and fuzzy and kum bah yah style - but we can make the effort for self-discipline in order to create a more civil society.

Have you ever noticed, whether it's in politics on a national level, or at home with one of your spouse's family members, that an individual on a scorching words self-destruct acts like a black hole with everyone around them? They literally suck all the joy and energy out of the atmosphere, leaving everyone around them exhausted from trying to counter or avoid them. We all have destructive work bosses, family members or "friends" like that at some point in our lives.

Sure, we all get angry about a situation or politics at one time or another. The energy of anger is to be treated carefully and respectfully. It is a powerful energy that we must learn how to discipline rightly if and when we use it. The true object of well managed anger is to correct an injustice, correct an unbalanced situation or bring awareness to someone not focused in that direction.

The way to that discipline is to not involve your personal ego in the anger. Tough to do at first. Ally your ego and spirit with that of your Higher Self, God, Spirit, All That Is (whatever your favorite term) and choose to see situations from that higher level.

When you feel anger come over you, ask how to dispense it properly. When done properly the energy of anger can bring excellent benefits for others in their lives - like when a child is properly disciplined without malice, abuse or violence. That child changes course and charts a more beneficial path because of a parent who could discipline their anger in order not to be destructive with that authority and energy. Unfortunately, most people are unaware of the energy of anger as a spiritual tool that must be treated with utmost care and respect.

Returning back to words in general affecting your vision, your life path and the lives of others... Keep in mind one thought every time you begin to speak or write: What do I wish to accomplish here? Is it for the betterment of others or is it only to give glory to my ego and my need for status or attention from others? This is the first step to learning how to handle the spiritual energy as it flows more and more to you from your Higher Self, Spirit.

There is nothing wrong about choosing not to fill the air with words just for the sake of making small talk conversation. It's fine to just observe others, wishing them goodwill in their attitudes toward those to whom they are speaking.

When you feel the inner urging, knowing it is time to speak, make it words that others will have food for thought for months and years down the road. My heart has always been warmed when someone brought up to me or my husband seven years later something we spoke to them as counsel for a situation. That recounting validates to us that we were giving out spiritual energy that benefited that person.

Words. They are tiny powerful things in our lives. Words can fly upon the wings of Spirit and make a better world. Have you considered your words today?


Quote

* But words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew, upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps, millions: think. - Lord Byron


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7 Greatest Peace Quotes Ever

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*** Inspirational quotes to pierce our thinking, offering understanding and solutions to help our families, friends and countries along in Peace reconciliations. Incredible photos.


Quest for Peace

There will always be those who reject Peace, both internationally and at home in our own families as they choose to remain contentious. Endeavor to be at Peace with others as much as possible, sometimes by just walking away from a useless fight you know will accomplish nothing. Often that is enough to keep things from bubbling over into a full scale war. Gives new meaning to the phrase “keeping the Peace,” doesn’t it?

As I was searching for some great quotes I was struck by how many were attributed to President John F. Kennedy. Though his tenure was brief at the White House he was known as a deep thinker. Early in his Presidency he was facing some of the world’s first nuclear attacks since WWII. He was keenly aware of war and humanity’s mind.

The notion of Peace is often discussed on an international scale, especially by Peace activists. They talk about Peace as an outward manifestation of military battles causing destruction and loss of life.

From another point of view Peace is discussed by spiritual and self-improvement people as acquiring Inner Peace. Of course, the full blown version of war is sending one’s military into battle. But where does it begin? In the heart of mankind. When humanity chooses to be at Peace internally then the outer manifestations will cease. It’s a simple concept yet difficult to implement until the desire reaches critical mass.

These are some intriguing thoughts to ponder.





The Kennedys about 1953



Photo from the National Archives


From Denny Lyon, 3 March 2009: Mankind must not only seek Peace. We must pursue it with all the deeply felt sincerity of our hearts. We must pursue Peace with the diligent work of our hands every day in every relationship we know. Peace comes a little at a time, rippling outward until one day it touches everyone - and convinces all.




Like water, a gradual erosion over time




Photo by >WouteR< @ flickr


From President John F. Kennedy: Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.







Photo by alicepopkorn @ flickr


From President John F. Kennedy: Our Future... I look forward to a great future for America - a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose.





War and mankind: the vicious cycle




Photo by Jayel Aheram @ flickr


From President John F. Kennedy: Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.





Contentiousness binds us All to destruction




Photo by *Honest* @ flickr


From President John F. Kennedy: Those who make peaceful revolutions impossible will make violent revolutions inevitable.






Loving well and loving deeply




Photo by HAMED MASOUMI @ flickr


From Sam Keen: We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.





Seek Peace



Photo by takomabibelot @ flickr








Photo by TheAlieness GiselaGiardino23 @ flickr



A story about the ultimate Peace which brings an end to war.


Once upon a time...

There was a wonderful story found on the internet. It was so badly written this writer decided to help it along to spread its wings, delivering its beautiful message.





And the Seventh Quote is in the form of a short story:


The Wise Old Man and The Boy


There was an old man who lived, lonely, in a humble house of stone lost in the country.

One night someone violently broke into his home. It was a foolish young boy who had a knife and looked very scared. He said to the old man: “Give me everything you have or I kill you, old man!”

The elder said to the boy: “There is not much here. Take everything you see; it’s yours.”

The youngster was now even more fearful because of the calm reaction from the owner. Violently he began to gather everything in sight: some ornaments, a piece of cloth, a candle holder and other worthless simple crafts.

The old man looked upon the boy quietly while he finished his search. With his hands full, he warned the old man, “Now I’ll go. Don’t follow me or you are dead!”


The foolish young boy left the small house. After some minutes of walking at a fast pace, the boy realized that someone was behind him, and, as he turned back, the elder said to him: “Don’t be afraid; it’s me.”


“I told you not to follow me, silly old man!”


“When you left I remembered I had this golden ring in a box. Here it is; take it.” And he turned away from the boy, leaving to return to his house.

The boy was so shocked with what was happening that he took the ring and started running wildly in circles while he shouted, “Madman, madman!”

It had started to rain.

A couple of hours later, the elder heard a knock on his door. When he opened the door he saw the young thief, wet with rain - and tears.

“What do you want now? I gave you everything I had!” declared the old man.


“No, you didn’t; give me everything,” said the boy desperately.


“Yes, I swear to you I did give you everything.”


“No, you gave me everything you had in your house but you didn’t give me what I really need.”


“I have nothing else to give.”

“Your Inner Peace, wise man, give me Peace; teach me, please,” the boy pleaded.

In that moment of decision a new path began – for both the old man and the boy. Now with a student to teach, the old man was lonely no longer. The boy would learn the wisdom of putting to rest his warring ways to achieve Peace. In time his turn will come to teach the ways of Peace to the next generation.





The Peace Rose released in celebration of ending World War II

Why stand by and allow a third world war to occur? You can do something about it every day as you cultivate Peace in your own daily life. May Peace be with you, always...





Photo by audreyjm529 @ flickr



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Where is the Best Place to Rivet Our Focus?

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From Denny: Have you ever stopped to think about how our modern day culture wastes far too much time dwelling upon the past or worrying about the uncertain future? Living in the present "Now" is wise and makes Life a whole lot more manageable.

Better yet, instead of allowing outside pressures and forces to pull us out of balance, place your focus where it is the most powerful: within. Focusing our minds and inner eye upon what lies within us creates strength to live purposefully and with less stress in our daily lives.

Balance is all about keeping our focus well tuned and well trained to withstand Life's storms. Look within and discover an incredible world full of riches.

Quote

* What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

What Are Your Impediments to Success?

From Denny: How often do we ask ourselves how we are going to get something done? Especially when we don't have the knowledge or acquired skills to do the job?

It's frustration, that's for sure. But don't let that frustration of what you don't know stop you. Learn to think on your feet and research what you do need to know. There's no sense of staying in the dark about a subject; learn it. Teach yourself the skills you need to accomplish what you desire to do.

It is easy to get paralyzed with fear when we are unfamiliar with a situation and not in control of our environment. You get control back by doing what you already know how to do. It releases you to be active.

As you are open to learning new things, others will be drawn to you to give you the information you require. Keeping an open heart and open mind does wonders for pushing away fears and helping us navigate the uncertain waters of a life challenge.

Quote

* Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. - John Wooden


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Do You Treat Your Ideas Like Beautiful Magic?

From Denny: There are a lot of great ideas that end up in the trash because they were not properly watered and helped to grow into the fullness of your vision.

Take the time and use your talent to work with your idea. Sure it will change direction and maybe alter its course as you work with it. Keep working with it until that idea comes into full flower, even in ways you did not imagine. It's all good!

Quote

* An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it. - Bill Bernbach


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Do You Know Your Failures as Your Best Successes?

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From Denny: How often do we hear someone talking about how they learned more from their failures than they did from their successes? Many of us get into this silly thinking that life is supposed to go a certain way, our way, and we try to too tightly control it.

When life is micro managed we lose out on the unexpected unmanageable surprises! It's those surprises that inspire us, sometimes helping us alter our course for greater success.

Never look a failure in the face and tell it to go away. Instead, invite it over for dinner and a drink and have an all night party to celebrate. Years later when the pieces of your life begin to make more sense you will know that seeming failure to be one of your successes. Live life to the fullest!

Quote

* Flops are a part of life's menu and I've never been a girl to miss out on any of the courses. – actress Rosalind Russell


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How is Your Dream Vision Impacted by Life Challenges?

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From Denny: Have you ever felt restless and didn't know why? After you ran down a list of "maybe whys" it still didn't make any sense. Too often we have these strong desires pulling us but without the intellectual explanation to help us make sense of it all.

When one life test after another gets heaped onto us we grouse and worry how we will get through it. We always do get through it, even when it was the darkest. Suddenly, we turn around one day when there is a quiet calm lull in our life and we realize that we have arrived at the very place we most desired to be. Our vision was fulfilled. Our vision was fulfilled in a manner unexpected and with far greater turmoil than we would have scripted for ourselves. Yet here we are!

Quote

* Vision doesn't usually come as a lightening bolt. Rather it comes as a slow crystallization of life challenges that we one day recognize as a beautiful diamond with great value to ourselves and others. - Dr. Michael Norwood


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