Why is our world....

...so full of rules and regulations? (The amount of hoops we are made to jump through at times is enough to make your head spin!!)  All of this is partly because it is full of people who love to make laws. It is mainly, though, because of an even greater number of people who love to follow them. If they don't have plenty of dos and don'ts to obey, they feel nervous and insecure.
Who cares whether those laws are appropriate or even necessary, just bring them on and lay them down. That may be the way most people think, but is there really any need to honour pointless protocols?

Sometimes our greatest asset is our capacity for independent thought.

Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into 

flames of achievement.      (Golda Meir) 

We reap what we sow....

....as we've heard many times. Our thoughts and feelings are like seeds. People who exercise every day grow stronger. People who regularly practise a skill become more adept. People who eat a lot become capable of eating more. People who indulge their anger grow irritable. People who frequently criticise others find ever more reasons to be critical. 

What are you now giving a lot of time and attention to? Is it a negative activity or a positive one? Invest your energy wisely.

Charity, they say, begins at home. Clarity, though, begins anywhere. At any time. 

It merely requires a little willingness to stop, reflect and learn.

We should always try....

not to get into an argument...... It's like a black hole in one of those deep space, science-fiction films. If you steer your craft anywhere remotely near it you will be rapidly, irresistibly sucked in. The way to express your opinion, to assert your strength or to make your point is to act with confidence and conviction.

Keep well clear of the ifs, buts, maybes, could-bes and all other games that are played in the world of words. And dutifully ignore other peoples assumptions, while you're at it.  Just demonstrate, by your actions, that what you believe is valid and worthwhile.

You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.  (Buddha)

The world is full of....

....worried people. What do they all have in common? A strange delusion! They believe, against all obvious evidence to the contrary, that they are in a minority. They think that everyone else is feeling just fine. And that they are the only ones who are feeling edgy and apprehensive.

Here's a question: have you ever met anyone, in your whole life, who isn't secretly worried about something?

What are you worried about at the moment? How worried should you really be?    Relax!

The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery. 

The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.    (Atisha)

Time to have a twist....

....on the usual and be reflective, so here's something to ponder on - 

I've just read the following passages from scripture - The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice (Proverbs Chap 12 verse 15) and Pride....breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.  (Proverbs 13.10)......and one more for luck - Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed (Proverbs 15:22)

It's true what they say, just as it's true that we all have blind spots.  Those who genuinely love feel compelled to point out the shortcomings.  We have to be big enough and smart enough to go beyond the sting of the words and listen to the truth in the message.  Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.   (Aye, another piece from the book of Proverbs.)

So here's the question - Who tells you the truth, or who told you the truth?  

That person, a person you may have banished, is your real friend.

Very few questions....

....have only one answer. Unless, that is, they are mathematical questions. Numbers do exactly what they are supposed to do most of the time, at least. People and ideas, though, rarely relate quite so closely to the concept of 'correct' and 'incorrect'. Most destinations can be reached by several routes. Most events can be explained by several different theories. 

Be wary, of absolutes and definites. 

Time makes more converts than reason   (Thomas Paine)

If you want change to occur....

.... try to think well of the new and the different! Embrace alternative ideas, philosophies and suggestions. Be willing to experiment. Be optimistic about the untried and the untested. Be tolerant of challenges to conventional wisdom and traditional routine. Take small steps into the realm of innovation and exploration. Do just a few things differently.  It's the only way to grow, to evolve.

Consider the ways in which you may be resistant to change and take steps today to let change know that if it knocks on your door, it will be made welcome.

Live dangerously and you live right.  (Johann Wolfgang von Gothe)

It takes a while to learn....

....to ride a bike. Then there comes a moment when something clicks. Balance is found. Control is attained. That skill, once gained, is never forgotten. What's next? Riding with no hands? Juggling whilst pedalling? Twirling flaming batons whilst astride a unicycle? Repeating the whole exercise on a high wire? 

There is always further to go, always a greater challenge to rise to. But if you find yourself pushed too far, which can happen, get back to your comfort zone for a short while, then try again.

What worries you, masters you.   (John Locke)

Personalities are a bit like....

....suits or uniforms. We put them on when we have to go out into the world. Even the greatest extroverts don't wander around alone, at home, being bubbly. And many introverts secretly sing in the shower! 

We may rarely take off the psychological armour that we wear - but we are mistaken to think that we cannot remove, alter or change it. 

As the twig is bent, the tree inclines.   (Virgil)

Not all of us are generous....

....with our money. Only some of us are generous with our time. It's surprising, though, how many people are willing to make free with their opinions. Given half a chance, they'll come out with many suggestions about how various people, organisations or governments could improve. 

We imagine that such criticisms don't cost us anything - but when we find too much fault, we pay a psychological price. Stress... and conflict.

Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man's growth without 

destroying his roots.    (Frank A. Clark)

If it hadn't been for this....

....there would have been no that. Person X is to blame for Situation Y. Problem Q is a direct consequence of Decision Z. And so forth. We make these cause-and-effect connections without so much as a second thought. Very rarely, though, can we support them with anything more than weak and circumstantial evidence - and biased supposition. 

You may think you know why things are as they are, but you cannot be sure. But you can be quite sure that they don't have to stay as they are if you don't want them to.

To be alive at all involves some risk.  (Harold Macmillan)

If only all disputes could be....

....resolved with common sense. Then surely, the right solutions would prevail for the benefit of all. But emotions don't just colour the judgement of the foolish. They cloud the vision of the wise. 

And the wise become particularly unreasonable when they can hear what they think are the foolish expounding unsustainable theories as if they were unassailable facts. Outraged by this insult to their intelligence, they forget to explain and withdraw from dialogue. 

But that's not the sort of mistake you'll make at such times, is it? 

We are rarely proud when we are alone  (Voltaire)

You may not have heard of....

....the theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr, but I suspect many of you know his plea for patience or Serenity Prayer - 'Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.'  It's much favoured, to this day, amongst many who seek wisdom and inner strength, regardless of their religion. 

Feel free to make it your own personal, private, recitation today. If you say it with sincerity, you may find it actually works.

Forgiveness is the final form of love.  (Reinhold Niebuhr)

Greek athletes were rewarded....

.... for their victories with a wreath made of laurel leaves. When they felt they had won enough races, they stopped entering competitions. From this we derive the phrase, 'to rest on one's laurels.' But there are times when this may be entirely appropriate. None of us should push ourselves endlessly, just for the sake of proving our own worth. 

Perhaps it is not your laurels that you are resting on now. Perhaps you are just pursuing an old objective. Even so, it may be time to make changes.

Many are called, but few get up.   (Oliver Herford)

At a guess, I suspect you wouldn't....

 juggle with freshly-laid eggs, hand grenades or sharp knives. When dealing with anything that's fragile or likely to prove problematic we need to take as much care as we can. One step at a time. That's the way. Or, at least, it is if that's an option.

Sometimes, you don't get a choice. We have to hope for the best and be respectful of danger, yet simultaneously brave enough to ignore it!

Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be unlocked from the inside.   

(Marilyn Ferguson)

Experience is the greatest teacher....

.....And when the lesson that needs to be learned is important enough, it hardly matters whether that experience is positive or negative. When we look back on all the events that seem to confirm our wisdom, we have to wonder whether these have helped us or just conditioned us to remain upon a path that is so straight and narrow that it offers no scope for discovery. 

Through looking at what has gone wrong in the past, you stand the best chance of making things right in the future.

Our best thoughts come from others   (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Even the least powerful....

.... amongst us have the ability to make a few of somebody else's dreams come true. There's always something we can do for those around us. Always something we can give. Always something we can share. 

Why should we do all that when we can't even meet our own needs? Because of the ancient 'law of attraction'. Somehow, indirectly, but inevitably, we get back what we give out.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. 

If you want to be happy, practice compassion. 

(Dalai Lama)

Different people have....

....different views. That's what makes them different people. If they mainly had the same views, they wouldn't be so different! And if they had entirely and exactly the same views about absolutely everything? Well, what would be the point in them ever even talking? 

A life that contained no surprises would be so dull. A spark of conflict may be the only way to ignite a fire of constructive co-creativity. Don't automatically reach for the extinguisher.

You don't lose friends because real friends can never be lost.

You lose people masquerading as friends and you're better for it. (Mandy Hale)

A win is a win....

....even if it happens in the final moment of a competition and is achieved far more by luck than by skill. A loss, no matter how unfair or undeserved, is still a loss. Or is it? 

Those who judge success and failure by such narrow criteria may be making a dangerous mistake. Losses that later spur a person on to some great victory, are actually gains! Triumphs that give rise to a mood of complacency are potentially punishments.

Don't promise when you're happy, don't reply when you're angry, and

don't decide when you're sad.

Understandable.....

How about this.....

.....for your focal points for today - and every day

They say the definition of insanity....

.....is to 'keep doing the same thing' whilst expecting a different result. If you want your life to become more sane and less stressful, you've got to change some of what you keep on doing. You're not single-handedly creating the situation that you find yourself in, but you're certainly shaping it to some extent. You can't control anyone else's behaviour, but you can at least modify your own. 

That's all you need to do. Alter an attitude. Break a habit pattern. Try a new approach. Experiment with a different plan. Then suddenly, all that seems so exasperatingly impossible will begin to become pleasingly feasible.

Peace comes from within.  Do not seek it without.    (Buddha)

Why would we not want to....

Don't we all?....

See, we always need to do more....

.....of somethings, and much less of others

When you were a child....

....did adults ask you what you would like to be when you grew up? How much thought did you ever put into that answer? Or did you just say the first thing that came into your head? Even if you did have a plan, and even if that plan influenced the choices that you went on to make, your ideas and expectations evolved over time. We are still evolving. 

We can't let your choices, today, be too heavily influenced by the needs we were feeling or the desires we were entertaining, just a short while ago.

Great acts are made up of small deeds  (Lao Tzu)