A SAD ILLUSION

It has created untold strife for centuries. It has been the cause of hatred, anger, violence and countless wasted lives. It is the illusion that one person can profit from another’s misfortune.

How can you possibly gain from hurting another? That other person is just as much a part of your world as you are. When you seek to hurt another, any appearance of a gain is far outweighed by the reality of the loss. If you seek to profit from the loss of another, it focuses you on the negative. That negativity, no matter where it is directed, becomes your own heavy burden. You cannot hurt another and avoid hurting yourself in the process.

Lasting fulfillment comes from being creative, not from being destructive. The creativity and positive energy you put forth come back to you many times over. So do the hurt and destruction. Which would you rather get back?




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WITH LOVE

Put no demands on love, and love will bring you much. Give love away, and it will be yours in greater and greater abundance.

With love, what was weak will grow strong. With love, what was impossible becomes real.

Love can find the beauty and value in even the most desperate situation. Love will bring hope where nothing else can.

Though love cannot be explained, it can never be denied. Love has its own reality that transcends the most oppressive limitations.

Love elevates what it touches to a higher dimension. When love is present, fears are calmed, wounds begin to heal, and joy is gloriously within reach.

Love, not because there is a reason, but because there is the possibility. Love, and you will know what you cannot understand.

FOOLISHNESS

Just because you appear foolish, doesn’t mean you are. In fact, some of the most brilliant, creative people can often appear to be quite foolish at first.

Anything that’s out of the ordinary can seem foolish. Yet the way to make real progress is to go beyond what’s ordinary and expected.

Don’t live in fear of looking foolish. Because you’ll discount your best ideas before you even have the chance to explore them.

There’s nothing to be gained by proving how ordinary you are. Instead, find the great value in your own uniqueness and let that value freely flow from you.

There is so much of your own special creativity and innovation within you. Don’t hold it back out of worries about what other people might think.

Let your words and actions be true to the unique, authentic person you are. And if others see you as foolish, that’s just their own foolishness.

COURTESY AND RESPECT

It takes no more effort to be courteous than it does to be rude. And yet courtesy can bring so very much more value into your life, and into the world around you, than rudeness ever will.

Every time you interact with another person you have a valuable opportunity. You have the opportunity to treat that person with courtesy and respect. Even when you disagree, you can still be courteous and respectful about it.

Does everyone deserve to be treated with courtesy? Probably not. But that doesn’t really matter. Because the courtesy and respect that you exhibit toward others says more about you than it does about them.

Be genuinely respectful and you’ll be respected. Be truly courteous and you’ll win the admiration of others. Every interaction is your opportunity to earn the respect of others. Think of all the people with whom you come in contact on a daily basis, and just imagine what an impact your commitment to courtesy and respect could have.

Courtesy and respect toward others will cost you nothing and yet they can powerfully improve every relationship. Use them liberally. With them you’ll uncover some of life’s greatest treasures.

THE MIRACLE THAT IS TODAY

Open your eyes, open your heart, and see the miracle that is today. Feel how good and powerful it feels to be alive.

You don’t have to wait for some distant, imagined time before you can relish the sweet, profound experience of being fully alive. Because right now, today, in this place, in this situation, the miracle of your life is here for you to live.

No day is really ordinary, because each day comes with its own bundle of unique treasures. No moment is useless or pointless, because every moment is filled with priceless possibilities.

Remind yourself how truly fortunate you are to be you. Look beyond all the distractions of superficial things that come and go, and feel the awesome power of life that exists within you.

Imagine the most amazing, fulfilling thing you can imagine. And realize that you have the ability to make it real, through the power of your life.

Today there is more hope, and there are more possibilities for fulfillment, than ever before. Because today you are here to bring the best of life to life.

LIFE'S GIFT

You cannot avoid effort, for avoiding effort is itself an effort. What you can do is to make your efforts count for something, something as grand and magnificent as you can imagine.

Life will ask something of you each and every moment. The more willingly and graciously you give what life asks of you, the more positive value you’ll receive as a result. That which life asks of you is also life’s gift to you. Those places where you spend the most effort, where you give the most of yourself, are the places where you’ll realize the most value.

Sadly, too many people miss out on the best that life has to offer when they attempt to avoid challenge and discomfort. By so doing they end up making their lives even more challenging and even more uncomfortable.

Life is persistent and generous in providing you with plenty of nourishment and opportunity. So the challenges will continue to come your way until you’re ready to make something truly grand and meaningful out of them. Give what life asks, promptly and enthusiastically. And you’ll experience the very best that life has to give.

MAKE NEW JOY

It is great to treasure the joys of the past. When you do so, those joys will always be with you, bringing new pleasure each time you think of them.

But don’t get so dependent on past joys that you neglect to make new ones. Instead, allow the joys you’ve previously experienced to inspire you to make even more.

Circumstances have surely changed, and you’ll never again have the exact same joyful experiences you had before. However, you most certainly can create new, original joyful memories to treasure.

Be thankful about all the great times you’ve known. And be willing to make more great times with this day, with this moment, wherever you may be.

Don’t limit the possibilities for joy by assuming that the new joys must be just like the previous ones. Continue to open yourself to new, creative options for adding richness and fulfillment to life.

There are plenty of ways, right here and right now, to bring fresh joy to life. Treasure the joys of the past, and make some new ones today.

EASIER SAID THAN DONE

Taking consistent, persistent, focused action is easier said than done. Disciplining yourself to rise above the distractions and put forth meaningful effort, is easier said than done.

Just because something is easier said than done, is no reason to give up on it or avoid taking action. Because there’s really no reason why you must make the easiest choice. Everything is easier said than done. But just because something is difficult to do, doesn’t mean it is impossible.

In fact, the more difficult something is, the more valuable it is when you do in fact get it done. Instead of complaining that it’s easier said than done, put your energy into making it happen.

On the other side of great challenge is great reward. Work through the challenge, and get yourself to the reward.

Yes, that will take time, effort, commitment, decisiveness and persistence. And it will be worth all that and more.

The way to get it done is to start where you are, to keep going forward, and to constantly remind yourself why. Though it’s certainly not as easy as just saying you will, it is absolutely within your ability to make good and valuable things happen.

Act in accordance with the way you wish your life to be. Though it’s easy to say, it’s much, much better to do.

EVERY NEW MOMENT

Time will pass no matter what. Give yourself something to show for it.

Give yourself some adventure, some achievement, some fellowship, learning, exhilaration, and other great moments of experience. Give yourself the benefit of working with discipline and focus to tackle a meaningful challenge.

Time moves forward, so get yourself moving forward with it. Make this day uniquely fulfilling, and then create even more fulfillment tomorrow.

You cannot go back and reclaim the hours, days and years that have already passed. Yet you can work to make the very most of every new moment that arrives.

Make time your friend by filling it with positive purpose as it arrives. Make time work for you by doing your best work with the time you have.

Time is filled with great promise and possibility. Claim all that value with purposeful, focused effort and lift your world higher as each moment passes.

DREAM

A dream won’t do much for you until you do something for it. Yet the moment you begin to take action, that dream starts to become real.

It may very well take years to accomplish. Long before it is accomplished, though, it is adding value to your life.

For the value of your dream is not in possessing whatever it brings. The value is in reaching for it.

The value is in what you do to get yourself there. Because in that process, you fulfill your own unique destiny.

Right this very moment, you can reach out and touch the reality of your most treasured dream. That’s because right this moment, you can act on that dream.

If you’ve been waiting, you’ve waited long enough. Today is the day to truly live your dream.