Take a wistful walk along....

...memory lane for a moment, and think back to your childhood.  Can you remember a particular item of clothing that you loved so much that you really didn't want to take it off?  Where is it now? How would you feel if you were to come across it again? Actually, no matter how nostalgic the rediscovery might make you, it would also cause great frustration. You have surely long-since outgrown it.

In a similar way, we all outgrow various attitudes and opinions as life makes us wiser. Don't apply yesterday's standards to today's decisions.

Truly hearing what is said requires us to listen with an open mind; a mind that is void of 

assumption, interpretation or judgment.

Clever people....

....aren't always as intelligent as they imagine. Those who think of themselves as brighter than the folk around them are particularly stupid.

They may understand more in some ways and at some level, but if they think that this entitles them to disrespect the beliefs and opinions of their fellow beings, they are very foolish.

Nothing will work unless you do     (Maya Angelou)

If you don't....

Almost every item....

.... of clothing that we possess has a little label attached to it somewhere, carrying the maker's name. (I remember when that label used to be all important before I started to realise exactly what is important.)  Yet when we look at a new-born baby, we see no such stamp. Trees, leaves, fruits and vegetables all come beautifully to fruition without showing so much as a brand name or a bar code. And where, in nature's great plan for the propagation of every species, is the business model and the profit margin?

Surely life is about appreciating what feels right and natural and worrying less about the rest.

There are blessings every day. Find them. Create them. Treasure them.

Once upon a time....

....there was a storyteller. The storyteller had a favourite story. This is how it went: 'Once upon a time, there was a storyteller. The storyteller had a favourite story. This is how it went: "Once upon a time..." Beware the tendency to go round in the same old circles, acting out the same old dramas, getting nowhere.

The story of  life may seem similar to a tale that has been told before. But it can have a very different outcome this time, if you want it to.

Every day you wait is another day you won’t get back.

Let's have a 'they say' moment....

....We just live for them, don't we!!............They say, 'You should learn to walk before you can run.' It's true. You should. Often, though, we end up feeling as if there just isn't time to practise. So, instead of walking - or running - we just crawl as fast as we can and wear out our knees in the process.

You may be in a hurry but, regardless of the pressure you face, you need to remember that five minutes with a map, in a calm frame of mind, could save hours of wandering round in circles.

Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.    (Rabindranath Tagore)

Please take a moment....

....to think about the gifts and presents we buy. They provide a great example - We want them to be pristine. If the box or the packaging is battered, we feel that it does not make an appropriate offering - even though we know that within moments of handing it over those bits of card and plastic will be consigned to the rubbish. We want the wrapping paper to look right too, yet it is the very first thing to be removed and discarded.

We should always take care not to value presentation more highly than content.

The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing

as long as we live.     (Mortimer Adler)