BEST POSSIBLE IN ALL THINGS

It's amazing how much more our bodies can endure than we know.
We assume that going "that far" on a run would just be too much.
A yoga instructor urges us to hold a difficult pose for "just 3 more breaths".
Whatever the challenge, it is as simple as giving up to fail.
Dropping my knee from a strong plank position -
I'll never know how long I really could have held it.
Maybe the "just 3 more breaths" was totally possible for me.
Maybe I gave up too soon.

The idea of our best possible.
It's kind of annoying, because (at least for me) it's never satisfied.  
I want to keep pushing and trying.
But, sometimes, the best possible thing is rest.
Sometimes my best possible is to close my eyes and breathe.  
Learning to listen to our bodies and balance the
push-and-pull is an art.

We can do more when we just try.
But, maybe sometimes resting will do more for our inner peace.
We can endure more than we ever thought possible.
Our bodies are amazing.
And our minds control them.

Listen and learn from within yourself,
learn to do your best possible.

26 years

"Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness"
-Anne Frank

These two have helped me find out how to defy and define the darkness in my life.  They have shown me positivity, love and support like I could have never dreamed.  I love them.  Happy Anniversary!! Married November 22, 1987. 

TEA

I love tea.  I love sharing it with people or drinking it alone in my bed.  I love how the mug warms up my hands, how the plain ol' water gets transformed into this magical elixir.  I love the unique aroma and flavor of the different herbs and leaves that get mixed.  My goal is to one day have a small tea garden so I can make my own blends to use at tea time.

history doesn't repeat itself.
there is an ultimate goal in life.
for Jesus to come again.
for us to reach perfection, to know pure love.
to experience a pure life.

that's why we should always strive
to find the good in everything and to work
toward a perfection that will only become
real at the very end of it all.

tiny steps, small realizations, and continuous
acts and words of love for others will teach us,
and give us more than we ever thought possible.

history is linear, going toward a final turning point.
a point where sin & suffering will be gone.
isn't is sad that thinking of that is almost confusing to me?
how could i live without knowing sin and suffering?

i've always believed that Jesus is going to come
that's He's going to take us "home".
i've never made this connection, though.
that history and everything we've experienced
will be culminated and SO WORTH IT
when we finally are at home in heaven.

now, I want to keep remembering that
our experience is linear and dynamic.
we learn and do better because we have
another chance.
we have more moments left
to live and love.
so much to look forward to.
to keep living life as we approach our "goal"
of salvation.

i want to remember that my history,
all history.
isn't doomed to repeat.
it's doomed to keep moving and evolving
into something wonderful in the end.
that's really not doomed at all.
i don't need to be scared or worried.
i just need to live and let live.
love others and love myself.

warm toes, warmer heart.

I'm wearing some stripey, knee-high socks that Jacob gave to me. So warm on my toes (: coziness is so relaxing and comforting to my soul today. I feel lucky. Happy Sabbath!

Take your time breathing in, breathing out, 
Look deeply as you say "This is me", 
You and your breath, you and the wind,
As humming bird and flower, have always been together.
Take gentle steps, feel the ground curl your toes, 
Is there a line between you and this path? 
You and your step, you and this earth, 
As butterfly and blossom, have never been apart. 

Some inspiration from this morning :) 

http://www.mindfulnessmeditationcentre.org/poems.php

Openness

My heart is open. 

My mind is open.

More potent than worries

Lately, I've been doing more thinking than I usually do.
Of course...I always think throughout my days in one way or another.
I go from place to place, doing tasks and completing duties.
I use my brain, but I don't THINK about it.
I don't analyze and try to synchronize my thoughts with
my feelings.

I think that's one of the things that has always given me a
sense of freedom.
I think without thinking.
I use my brain but my heart and feelings steer the thoughts.
Sometimes my heart and feelings give me this euphoria.
And, I could be doing homework and have a sore throat and rent
is due that day, but that amazing Weepies song that's soothing my
ears is giving me this sense of euphoria that is more potent than any
worries present in my mind.

I want to think about pure loving.
Loving without selfishness or "considering self" first.
I want to walk through life with my focus on others
and making it all feel good, rather than
considering and examining how I feel.

Looking out at my backyard fence, at my neighbor in a coffee shop,
or gazing at my teacher who is usually grumpy,
I want to see the happy.  The joy.  The positivity.  The story of each
person.
I want to remember that we're all people.

Today is a new day to look and feel and decide
what I want to make of it all.
And I want it to be good.
In all ways.

happylove

"LOVE IS THE WAY I WALK IN GRATITUDE"

"MY PRESENT HAPPINESS IS ALL I SEE"

"ALL FEAR IS PAST AND ONLY LOVE IS HERE"