Welcome to my thoughts on Living with Joy, Purpose, and Conscious Choice.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

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Here, I share my thoughts on spiritual power, relationships, simple living, managing stress, work-life balance, career decisions, money, politics, the environment, and much more.

See my self-help articles including How to Move On and How to Succeed, browse my large collection of Inspirational Quotes, and sign-up for my free Daily Inspiration - Daily Quote email and my Positive Affirmation of the Day email.

The content of all my blogs/websites consists entirely of personal opinion.
See a medical professional for all issues of physical and emotional health.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

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Overcoming Disability

Although I cannot move and I have to speak through a computer,
in my mind I am free.
- Stephen Hawking

Life would be tragic if it weren't funny.
- Stephen Hawking


Steven Hawking, born January 8, 1942, is one of the world's greatest theoretical physicists and cosmologists. Hawking was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (related to ALS) at age 21. His condition has degenerated over the years, and he is now almost entirely paralyzed and communicates through a computerized speech generating device.

It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability.
One has to get on with life and I haven't done badly.
People won't have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.
- Stephen Hawking

If you are disabled, it is probably not your fault,
but it is no good blaming the world or expecting it to take pity on you.
One has to have a positive attitude
and must make the best of the situation that one finds oneself in.
If one is physically disabled,
one cannot afford to be psychologically disabled as well.
- Stephen Hawking

If I am happy in spite of my deprivations,
if my happiness is so deep that it is a faith,
so thoughtful that it becomes a philosophy of life.
If, in short, I am an optimist,
my testimony to the creed of optimism is worth hearing.
- Helen Keller


Helen Keller (1880-1968) overcame being both deaf and blind
to become a famous author, lecturer, and activist
for women's suffrage, workers' rights, and ending war.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.
Only through experiences of trial and suffering
can the soul be strengthened,
vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.
- Helen Keller

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

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How do you have dreams again?

Question from a reader: Because of numerous setbacks I have let go of having dreams and now I don't know how. How do you have dreams again?

My answer:

Having Dreams (inspiring visions in which you see your life purpose fulfilled) is important, but don't make it feel like work. Create a calm and receptive environment for your dreams. Then relax and enjoy your life.

1. Be grateful for what you do have now. It is easier to build a great future upon a base of gratitude than upon resentment.

2. Start small.  If you have trouble running, walk first - or even crawl. Just do what you can do.

3. Focus on being of service to others. Most of the great life-purpose dreams are about helping others.

4. Spend as much time as possible in the company of those who support your dreams (and to the extent that you can't currently identify your dreams, support you in discovering your dreams and your life purpose).

Further reading: How to Choose Your Life Purpose

When is Your Best Good Enough?

How to Make a Decision You Won't Regret 

May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Sunday, February 24, 2013

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Fired and Depressed

A reader's question: I was terminated from my job. Since I was fired, I am not able to move on, and am feeling very depressed because I think I was working hard and was going the extra mile to help them. I miss my co-workers because they were very nice to me and I was considering them as my sisters. I am lonely. I don't know if I should go to my previous workplace to talk to my ex-co-workers, because I am afraid of their reactions. I want to move on but I am not able to. Please help me.

My answer:

It is most important that you find new and positive things to think about. If you want to invite one or two of your ex-workplace friends to have lunch with you one day, that might be good, but I would recommend against returning to your former place of employment.

Positive things to focus on.

1. Talking to good friends about leads for a new and better job.

2. Get out in nature for a three hour walk by yourself to clear your head.

3. Find a supportive group. If you belong to a church, that is a good place to begin. Otherwise, call upon good friends, or a community group, or see what's in your area at www.meetup.com (look for a larger established group - and always use common sense).

4. A great way to feel better about yourself is to help others. Look for an opportunity to volunteer your time in your community (for example, at a soup kitchen for the homeless) or for your church.

These articles may help you further:

The Silver Lining of Losing Your Job

What to Do When Your Whole World is Falling Apart

Ten Little Tips to Feel Happier Right Now

There are many more of my articles at www.sail7.com

May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Friday, February 22, 2013

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Practice Conscious Awareness.


The average human looks without seeing,
listens without hearing,
touches without feeling,
eats without tasting,
moves without physical awareness
inhales without awareness of odor or fragrance,
and talks without thinking.
- Leonardo da Vinci

The question is not what you look at, but what you see.
- Henry David Thoreau


It is worth the effort to pay attention and to think deeply -- every day. Your surroundings may be the same as yesterday, but you are not the same, so use your new eyes to see your world newly each day.

There is no evil and there are
no evil forces in the world.
There are only people of awareness,
and there are people who are fast asleep -
and sleep has no force.
The whole energy is in the hands of the awakened people.
And one awakened person can awaken the whole world.
One lighted candle can make millions of candles lighted
without losing it's light.
- Osho

Do the small things of life with a relaxed awareness.
When you are eating, eat totally -
chew totally, taste totally, smell totally.
Touch your bread, feel the texture.
Smell the bread, smell the flavor.
Chew it, let it dissolve into your being.
- Osho

Look closely... See with new eyes...
Don't just pass by what is familiar without a thought.
Pay attention and look closely.
There is beauty - there is discovery -
there in a whole new world hiding
beneath the face of the familiar.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie


Affirmation:
I practice conscious awareness.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Monday, February 18, 2013

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The Only Two Rules For Living A Successful Life


Truly, there are only two steps to success.

1. Decide what "success" means to you. The measure of success for you may be money, or prestige, or power, but perhaps being successful just means living a happy life. Think deeply about how you choose to measure your success in life.

2. Focus. You get what you focus on. Visualize your success as already accomplished, and take positive action toward your success each day.

If you don't know what you want, you will probably never get it.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
- Henry David Thoreau

The indispensable first step to getting
the things you want out of life is this:
Decide what you want.
- Ben Stein

I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know:
the only ones among you who will be really happy
are those who will have sought and found how to serve.
- Albert Schweitzer

A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night,
and in between he does what he wants to do.
- Bob Dylan

Money has never made man happy, nor will it,
there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness.
The more of it one has the more one wants.
- Benjamin Franklin

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

Visualize your end result as having already been accomplished.
Let the image of your success play on the giant screen in full color
with surround sound - so real you can smell and taste it.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Success is not the key to happiness.
Happiness is the key to success.
If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
- Albert Schweitzer

Note that this Schweitzer quote only makes sense when using the traditional measure of success: money/prestige/power. I would be more inclined to say,
"If you love what you are doing, you ARE a success. -jlh"

Always be a first-rate version of yourself,
instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
- Judy Garland

Find a time and place of solitude.
Look into the distance, and into the future.
Visualize the tomorrow you are going to build -
and begin to build that tomorrow, today.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Be resolute in your goals,
but flexible in your tactics.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie


Further reading: How to Choose Your Life Purpose

How to Motivate Yourself

How to be Successful in Business

Success Quotes

Life Purpose Quotes

Happiness Quotes

Values Quotes

Friday, February 8, 2013

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What is Moral versus What is Right

Never let your sense of morals
get in the way of doing what's right.
- Isaac Asimov


What can Isaac Asimov possibly have meant in this quote? I interpret the quote this way...

"What is Moral" is what we have been taught by our parents, teachers, religious leaders, and other influences.

"What is Right" is what we know in our heart to be compassionate, generous, honorable, and noble.

As an example, in the Bible, when Jesus healed the sick on the Sabbath he was criticized by the religious authorities for being immoral in violating the Commandment against doing work on the Sabbath. (Luke 13:10-17)

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

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Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

I recommend that you read this article on aarp.org by Bronnie Ware, who worked for years with those in the last few weeks of their lives. The following is a summary of the article.

Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I didn't work so hard. [and spent more time with my family, rather than on the job]

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

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My Personal Motto

Question from a reader: WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO IN LIFE? AND WHY?

My Answer: I don't know that I have chosen a single personal motto. The "why" is that we can't control what happens to us, but we can control how we react - and that choice creates all our happiness or unhappiness.

The following mottos/quotes all reflect the idea that happiness is a matter of choice, rather than external conditions.

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference.
- Reinhold Niebuhr (Serenity Prayer)

Life is as easy or as hard as you think it is.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Happiness depends upon ourselves.
- Aristotle

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...
It's about learning how to dance in the rain.
- Vivian Greene

Happiness is a choice.
- Anonymous

You don't have the power to make life "fair,"
but you do have the power to make life joyful.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

We cannot choose our external circumstances,
but we can always choose how to respond to them.
- Epictetus

Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions,
it is governed by our mental attitude.
- Dale Carnegie

Attitude is everything.
- Charles Swindoll

Life is 10 percent what happens to me
and 90 percent how I react to it.
- Charles Swindoll

Choose the World You See, and See the World You Choose.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

The beauty does not live out there; the beauty's in my eyes.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

My happiness depends on me.
- A Course in Miracles

Happiness is a function of accepting what is.
- Werner Erhard

The key to happiness is not to have what you want
but to want what you have.
- Anonymous

Success is getting what you want;
happiness is wanting what you get.
- Dale Carnegie

------------

Further reading: 7 Secrets for a Happy Life

Attitude Quotes

Happiness Quotes

Quotes about Choice

Quotes to Live By

May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie