Shy

 

Warrior March 14th

  "A warrior is not a person that carries a gun. The biggest war you ever go through is right between your own ears. It's in your mind. We're all going through a war in our mind, and we have to callous our mind to fight that war and to win that war."

David Goggins
Author of: "Can't Hurt Me" and "Never Finished"

Puff

 

Astronaut View - March 21st

 “My optimism and confidence come not from feeling I'm luckier than other mortals, and they sure don't come from visualizing victory. They're the result of a lifetime spent visualizing defeat and figuring out how to prevent it.

Like most astronauts, I'm pretty sure that I can deal with what life throws at me because I've thought about what to do if things go wrong, as well as right. That's the power of negative thinking.”
Chris Hadfield, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

Feeling Love

 

Complexity March 28th

 "Sometimes, I am also identified as a civil rights leader or a human rights activist. I would also like to be thought of as a complex, three-dimensional, flesh-and-blood human being with a rich storehouse of experiences, much like everyone else, yet unique in my own way, much like everyone else."

Coretta Scott King

Thoughts:
We are all complex and unique in our own ways, and every one of us would like to be seen that way and respected for it.

... and if we can't understand someone else and what they do and say, we could try to remember that they, as we, are a product of experience

And if we listen, we may learn something that will help us understand

... and if we don't listen, we will maintain our ignorance

"One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say."
Bryant H. McGill

"The belief that one's own view of reality is the only reality is the most dangerous of all delusions."
Paul Watzlawick

Modify, modify, modify - February 15th

 "The only thing that permits human beings to collaborate with one another in a truly open-ended way is their willingness to have their beliefs modified by new facts. Only openness to evidence and argument will secure a common world for us."

Sam Harris

Shark attacks - Feb 22nd

 “If you see lots of shark attacks in the news, you think, 'Gosh, sharks are out of control.' What you should think is 'Gosh, the news loves to cover shark attacks.”

David McRaney, You Are Not So Smart

“The more pessimistic your explanatory style, the easier it is to slip into learned helplessness.”
David McRaney, You Are Not So Smart

Extraordinary Generosity- February 29th

 “The forest itself is part of much larger cycles, the building of soil and migration of species and circulation of oceans. The source of clean air and pure water and good food. There is a necessary wisdom in the give-and-take of nature—its quiet agreements and search for balance. There is an extraordinary generosity.”

Suzanne Simard, Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

Thoughts: How beautiful is Extraordinary Generosity

Self Esteem - March 7th

 "There is overwhelming evidence that the higher the level of self-esteem, the more likely one will be to treat others with respect, kindness, and generosity"

Nathaniel Branden

Thoughts: to cultivate self-esteem is an act of generosity to ourselves and others. When we accept that we are deserving of our own respect and kindness we can give and receive with acceptance and grace.

Grace recognizes that it is an act of generosity to receive with gratitude as much as it is to give without expecting gratitude. A state where cultivating self-esteem is what allows us to be selfless in the most natural way. 

"Self-esteem is a powerful force within each of us... Self-esteem is the experience that we are appropriate to life and to the requirements of life."
Nathaniel Branden

Note: this musing was inspired by my friend Davee. An inspiring, generous and kind soul whom I respect! Thank you Davee for the gift of this time at Sun Peaks.