i have always believed...

-that life should be lived simply, without too much physical, emotional or mental clutter. and if these things should start to get out of hand, that a person should focus within and focus on clearing out all of the unnecessary

-that life can and should be lived as a work of art in progress

-that soft words and silence can speak louder than words spoken loudly or at regular tones

-the nature is a wonder and a blessing to us humans if we can stop to take notice of it

-that poetry exists in everything and everyone

-that television watching can be detrimental to the soul

- that sometimes absolute silence in necessary, maybe with the exception of listening to children play in the distance, or listening to the sound of rain or wind

-that innocence is never lost

-that the world evolves us and makes us face ourselves and question who we are really here to be in this life

-that God sends the right people into my life at the right times to teach me something i need to learn

-that patience can be cultivated, even in very impatient people like myself

-that healthy periods of solitude help me to stay centered

-there is never too much praying that a person can do, for anything

-that gratitude brings more blessings to your life

-that family connections are often taken for granted in a world full of loneliness and confusion

-that sometimes, it is absolutely necessary to take 'mental health days' off from work

-that your passion in life will never leave you alone, no matter how far away from it you get in your everyday life

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being the control freak that i am, i'm finding a lot of solace in the quote below, which i came across again in the book i'm reading - 'happy for no reason' by marci shimoff.

"If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace."

-The Venerable Ajahn Choh, twentieth-century Buddhist Monk