Have you discovered your life purpose?

Have you discovered your life purpose yet?  Your role?  What it is you love and are good at and want to spend your life doing?  Below is a brief but terrific essay on how one person discovered all of this for herself in her mid-fifties.  It's never too late to be who you want to really be and do what you truly love.

http://www.meditationsforwomen.com/artman2/publish/featuredarticle/featuredarticle.shtml

How would your life be different...

"How would your life be different if you were conscious about the food you ate, the people you surround yourself with, and the media you watch, listen to, or read?  Let today be the day you pay attention to what you feed your mind, your body, and your life.  Create a nourishing environment conducive to your growth and well-being today." -- Steve Maraboli, Author/Speaker

Freedom from Obsession

"Freedom from obsession is not about something you do; it's about knowing who you are. It's about recognizing what sustains you and what exhausts you. What you love and what you think you love because you believe you can't have it." ~ Geneen Roth, Women, Food, and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything

U2 & Daniel Lanois -Falling At Your Feet

Authenticity

"Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.” ~ Dr. Brene Brown, The Gift of Imperfection

Our deepest calling...

"Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic self-hood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks--we will also find our path of authentic service in the world." ~ Parker J. Palmer, Author/Educator

I am responsible for my life

I am completely responsible for what I have created in my life. What I have created, I can un-create. What I like, I can produce more of.  ~ Sheryl Ellis, Life Coach

It is better to conquer yourself

It is better to conquer yourself
Than to win a thousand battles.
Then the victory is yours.
It cannot be taken from you,
Not by angels or by demons,
Heaven or hell.
~ Buddha

How We Learn to Know Ourselves

In the main it is not by introspection but by reflecting on our living in common with others that we come to know ourselves. What is revealed? It is an original creation. Freely the subject makes himself what he is, never in this life is the making finished, always it is in process, always it is a precarious achievement that can slip and fall and shatter.  —Bernard Lonergan, Jesuit 

Dive down into your self...

Dive down into your self,

And there you will find the steps

By which you might ascend.

-     Saint Isaac the Syrian

Our Best Work

Our best work, our finest moments, our joy--happen when we're centered, listening to and trusting ourselves, allowing our hearts and souls to guide us.  They happen when we allow ourselves to fully, completely, and in love, be who we are. ~ Melody Beattie, "Journey to the Heart"

I've Learned That I Still Have A Lot to Learn

"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~ Maya Angelou, Author/Poet

The Ability to Stand What We Know

"To be strong does not mean to sprout muscles and flex.  It means meeting one's own numinosity (a supernatural presence; one's divinity) without fleeing, actively living with the wild nature in one's own way.  It means to be able to learn, to be able to stand what we know.  It means to stand and live." ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run with the Wolves

Book Review: The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

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Title: The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
Author: Brené Brown, Ph.D., L.M.S.W.
Publisher: Hazelden Publishing
Publication Date: October 4, 2010
Paperback: 260 pages
ISBN: 978-1592858491
Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Help

From the Publisher:

"I wish my nose was smaller. I feel guilty every time I leave my kids in day care. I’m afraid to say what I really think. I hate these thunder thighs. I should be married by now. I sounded so dumb. Whether we fixate on our bodies, minds, personalities, or actions, every woman struggles with feelings of not being good enough. Each day we face a barrage of images and ideas–from society and the media–telling us who we should be. We are led to believe that if we could only change those flaws by looking perfect and leading a perfect life, then we’d no longer feel inadequate."

In The Gifts of Imperfection, Brené Brown, Ph.D., L.M.S.W., the leading expert on shame, reveals that it is actually our imperfections that connect us to one another as human beings and make us who we are. We are naturally drawn to those we view as authentic, real, and down-to-earth. It makes sense, then, that we should stop reaching for something “better” and, instead, strive to be who we are, fully owning every aspect of ourselves. Through essays, stories, inspiring quotes, meditations, and dynamic creative exercises designed for personal discovery and growth, Brown engages our minds, hearts, and spirits in finding the greatness in our flaws and evolving our self-perceptions. She helps us develop the skills to accept our humanness with compassion and practice empathy with ourselves and others.

Review by Jennifer Higgins:

Have you ever thought to yourself “if only I get this promotion, or if I could just lose twenty pounds, then I will be happy”? If so, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown may just be the answer. The premise of the book, to embrace imperfection, is seemingly simple, yet for many can be quite complex to execute. Brown tells the reader that happiness, or the love of oneself is not conditional on any prerequisites, rather it is a state of mind. Brown offers the reader ten realistic goalposts to help the reader overcome perceived obstacles to becoming happy, which requires one to love oneself and accept being less than perfect. How simplistic sounding, yet how many people are truly content with their current life, body, and circumstances? I personally do not know any and in this media-infused society it appears there are less and less people able to obtain what media dictates as “socially desirable”. Suddenly Brown’s assertion of self-love does not seem so simplistic to achieve. The Gifts of Imperfection is not a “new-age” book nor does it offer up revolutionary ideas. The premise is solid and indeed life-changing for those who are willing to realize that regardless of flaws and imperfections, it is okay, we are all flawed and yet we are all worthy of love and happiness, to be content in the now. I recommend The Gifts of Imperfection to everyone.

(From Jennifer Higgins' blog: www.rundpinne.com) 

Miserable or Strong?

"We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong.  The amount of work is the same." ~ Carolos Castaneda, Writer

Individuals

"One of the most satisfying experiences I know is fully to appreciate an individual in the same way I appreciate a sunset. When I look at a sunset...I don't find myself saying, 'Soften the orange a little more on the right hand corner, and put a bit more purple along the base, and use a little more pink in the cloud color...' I don't try to control a sunset. I watch it with awe as it unfolds." ~ Carl Rogers, Psychologist

What Life is Like

Life is rather like a tin of sardines -- we're all looking for the key. - Alan Bennett, Award-winning English playwright and screenwriter

What Makes Us Weak?

Something we were withholding made us weak,

Until we found out that it was ourselves.

—Robert Frost, “The Gift Outright”

We All Have Masks

Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. – James Baldwin

Who Will You Be?

The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. ~ Emerson