Much

“There is much in the world for us all”
“If only we have the eyes to see it”
“And the heart to love it”
“And the hand to gather it to ourselves.”

L.M Montgomery

Meeting Yourself

Some people find it easy to strike up a conversation with almost anyone they meet. Others find it hard to greet a passerby in the road! And yet others seem to attract people without any effort at all. And even once you've introduced yourself, and the usual topics for strangers such as the weather and where you might live are exhausted- what then? Does communication just break down? Why should this be the case? What happens to us that we suddenly find that someone potentially interesting or beautiful is causing us distress by mere silence?

OK, so maybe we just don't trust that we are interesting enough or similar enough to be engaged with. And what do you think that person is thinking at that time? The same thing that you are? Possible AND likely!

"Our thoughts are unseen hands shaping the people we meet. Whatever you truly think them to be, that's what they'll become for us." (Richard Cowper)

So what do you think of the person when you meet them?
Maybe some of these look familiar?
-"They look scared that I approached them"
-"They look suspicious of my intentions"
-"They look bored"
-"These are not people that I usually mix with"
-"I hope they don't think I'm weird"
And a whole host of other thoughts as well! Maybe subconsciously?!
"When two people meet there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him and each man as he really is." (William James)
And that, in my opinion, is the best reason to meet people. We ARE different. And sometimes it IS difficult. We come to a person with all our complexities and assumptions. But if we persist and explore it is truly amazing what we can find in another person!
Don't be afraid of rejection. By being afraid of it we are, in effect, rejecting a whole range of people by simply not giving them a chance to 'discover' us!
"Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people- your family, friends and coworkers and even strangers you meet along the way." (Barbara Bush)

"Hi, I'm Brett"

Mountain

I climbed a mountain.

A place i am already "familiar" with. A beautiful place. I've climbed this mountain once before but this time i succeeded in reaching the summit. It was far harder than i remember or expected. But i achieved the stillness amidst the clouds. And i learnt a valuable lesson along the way.

"I've learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.”

I made a friend along the way. I pushed my limits. I changed my perspective. I admired the views and understood the valleys and paths. I felt what it meant to be small and large at the same time. My body was small but my heart was large. My pain was small but my willpower large.

And i had fun!

I climbed a mountain.

Who Are We? Words of Nelson Mandela

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

All sunsets are essentially the same, it is just how we see them that changes.

Hidden in a Cliche

Yeah, it's ironic that the biggest cliche in the world is also the greatest truth.

"Its all in the mind"

I can tell you or me to "have a good attitude". That's the easy, cheap, simple and worthless part.

The difficult, worthwhile, freedom inducing reality is when we apply it.

How?

How can we not. Every time i have a bad thought, its my mind working for me- as it should. So what about when i have a good thought? Its the same process. No "buts"! If i can think bad thoughts then i can think good thoughts. So i decide( because "decide" is a thought followed by action) to only have good thoughts. And when Bad intrudes then i wash it with waves of Good.

Sounds philosophical? Sounds like bullshit?

Your choice, i just wrote it.
With the knowledge that i will accept it as it is. Reality for me. And i choose to believe that it will spread a simple truth.

The Greatest Truth.

Hidden in a cliche.

Friendship

Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words.
George Eliot

To love and be loved is the greatest happiness of existence.
Anonymous

Never consider anyone unworthy. Because you might wake up one day and realize that you have lost a diamond while you were too busy looking for stones....
Anonymous

Never explain yourself to anyone because the person who likes you does not need it, and the person who dislikes you will not believe it.
Anonymous