At lunch today I had some french fries and poured my ketchup and thought, "Wow, this sure poured out easy today, I didn't have to do anything to the bottle to force the ketchup to pour any faster than a perfect, steady, free pour". And I got to thinking how this compares to how a lot of us view life.
Are we disappointed when life doesn't flow freely? When we turn the ketchup bottle and it doesn't come on it's own and it needs to be shaken, hit, or helped with a knife to free the ultimate companion to french fries? I digress, life can be tough. Sometimes life requires hard work and it isn't easy. There will always be goals and projects that we have to work hard to get through it. Anything worth working for is 80% negative gain and 20% positive gain. But that 20% gain is 100% gratifying. So I choose to live for the days that life isn't easy, that I have to grab it and shake it and work to get it moving in the direction I want.
I live for the days that I have to work to get what I want out of life and I am thankful for the days it flows freely.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Finding center in chaos
Is it possible to work in chaos? To find peace while you here the sound of people talking, the sounds of construction, or with the sound of children in the background? Is it possible to be calm, collected and have a mind like water state when it seems like the world is trying to pull your mind away at all times?
Read the below, then try visualizing it with your eyes closed:
Picture a hurricane. The winds are blowing at break neck speeds taking debris into the air, blowing over trees, flipping cars, and sending waves crashing upon ships and buildings at the shore. Now pictures standing in that wind; you can barely stand let alone keep a calm peaceful center as the wind roars deep into your being through your fragile ears.
Now step into the eye of that hurricane. The roar of the wind is still there and the chaos is still in sight but here you are standing in it's center.
Finding your center is similar. You are still in the middle of the chaos but you are not sucked into it. You are a casual observer of the chaos while you yourself remain at peace.
Read the below, then try visualizing it with your eyes closed:
Picture a hurricane. The winds are blowing at break neck speeds taking debris into the air, blowing over trees, flipping cars, and sending waves crashing upon ships and buildings at the shore. Now pictures standing in that wind; you can barely stand let alone keep a calm peaceful center as the wind roars deep into your being through your fragile ears.
Now step into the eye of that hurricane. The roar of the wind is still there and the chaos is still in sight but here you are standing in it's center.
Finding your center is similar. You are still in the middle of the chaos but you are not sucked into it. You are a casual observer of the chaos while you yourself remain at peace.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
The importance of action
Am I truly capable of anything? No not really.
Am I capable of accomplishing anything I set out to do? No; there are things that are impossible to accomplish.
Is this futile? No, not at all! It is not futile to attempt to accomplish impossible things because you don't really know it is impossible or not until you try. Action is the core of self and is needed regardless if it seems futile or not.
What am I truly capable of? I am truly capable of attempting anything. I am capable of taking action and moving towards any goal. I am capable of failure but I am also capable of learning from and overcoming those failures in order to grow and accomplish things that make the original failure obsolete.
Taking action towards the alleged impossible is not futile or foolish. It is the only way to find out what the limits really are. The supposed impossible is tomorrows innovation or miracle. It may very well be impossible to travel faster than light but should we stop trying? No, even if it is proven? No because proven theories are disproven every day. The only way to move forward is to take action and we are always capable of taking action.
Am I capable of accomplishing anything I set out to do? No; there are things that are impossible to accomplish.
Is this futile? No, not at all! It is not futile to attempt to accomplish impossible things because you don't really know it is impossible or not until you try. Action is the core of self and is needed regardless if it seems futile or not.
What am I truly capable of? I am truly capable of attempting anything. I am capable of taking action and moving towards any goal. I am capable of failure but I am also capable of learning from and overcoming those failures in order to grow and accomplish things that make the original failure obsolete.
Taking action towards the alleged impossible is not futile or foolish. It is the only way to find out what the limits really are. The supposed impossible is tomorrows innovation or miracle. It may very well be impossible to travel faster than light but should we stop trying? No, even if it is proven? No because proven theories are disproven every day. The only way to move forward is to take action and we are always capable of taking action.
Friday, May 15, 2009
From today's meaning journal - no thought
Meaning today is action without thought but thoughtful thoughtlessness or Mushin, I am attaining meaning today by moving through my day with effortless effort, I am taking out the trash and living in this ever present moment
Brian Darnell
darnellster@gmail.com
http://12hourhalfday.blogspot.com
http://www.unvoicedvisions.com
follow me on twitter - http://www.twitter.com/12hourhalfday
On values
My values are who I am, they speak from the true me. the big values I think I should have are Honesty, integrity, character, worth, productiveness, ethics, hard work, morality, compassion, love, happiness. Are these truly my values? I support being honest but I think this might be because of a knowledge of the consequence of dishonesty and an over focus on how I feel people should regard me. Much of the time I worry about what people think of me and if people like me, this ends up being one of my major values and what dictates my actions So current values are lack of confidencelack of directionworrystress What are my values when I am in the zoneI am not sure, this seems like it could be a valueless state but it could be the value of the moment. Value of the moment - knowing what you are doing is exactly what you should be doing.
Brian Darnell
darnellster@gmail.com
http://12hourhalfday.blogspot.com
http://www.unvoicedvisions.com
follow me on twitter - http://www.twitter.com/12hourhalfday
Brian Darnell
darnellster@gmail.com
http://12hourhalfday.blogspot.com
http://www.unvoicedvisions.com
follow me on twitter - http://www.twitter.com/12hourhalfday
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
On God
I am grateful for God in my life. He is a part of my life in the big in the small who loves us when we are good and when we are wicked. He is with us all the time and I am grateful. i am grateful that I never have to feel along because he is always with me. He showers love upon me even when I am not present with him.
My prayer:
Oh Lord, thank you for the gift to realize that you are here with me and to be aware of the gifts and answered prayers you have given me throughout the years. Thank you for the awareness of my answered prayers and to know that I have always been heard and you have always spoken back. Thank you Lord for being in my life and I praise you for the good times and for the times I perceived at the time as bad. Thank you for the realization that it is all good.
I am a sinner through and through Lord and you are still with me. I continue to resist you and you are still with me. You forgive and renew me know matter what to a point I cannot even fathom and I praise you! I am not present with you, I try to do it on my own, I continue to hold onto the illusion of control even though it is in your hands! and I praise you for being with me all that time! I love you Lord and I thank you!
I entreat you to fill me with your holy spirit and help me to focus on your will not mine, help me to see your will, to want it and do it! Please look after the leaders of my life, the leaders of this country and other world leaders who have influence on others. I ask Lord to fill me up and help me to do what you want, not what I want.
I pray all this in Jesus name; if it be your will.
Amen
My prayer:
Oh Lord, thank you for the gift to realize that you are here with me and to be aware of the gifts and answered prayers you have given me throughout the years. Thank you for the awareness of my answered prayers and to know that I have always been heard and you have always spoken back. Thank you Lord for being in my life and I praise you for the good times and for the times I perceived at the time as bad. Thank you for the realization that it is all good.
I am a sinner through and through Lord and you are still with me. I continue to resist you and you are still with me. You forgive and renew me know matter what to a point I cannot even fathom and I praise you! I am not present with you, I try to do it on my own, I continue to hold onto the illusion of control even though it is in your hands! and I praise you for being with me all that time! I love you Lord and I thank you!
I entreat you to fill me with your holy spirit and help me to focus on your will not mine, help me to see your will, to want it and do it! Please look after the leaders of my life, the leaders of this country and other world leaders who have influence on others. I ask Lord to fill me up and help me to do what you want, not what I want.
I pray all this in Jesus name; if it be your will.
Amen
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Practicing love
Riding my bike brings me to center. Can this be duplicated by any physical activity? No, not for me, not int he same way. Riding my bike is something I love to do; I have been riding since I was about 9 more or less continuously throughout the years. I get on the bike and it feels like an extension of my body and it feels good.
why does this bring me to center? Because I love it and that will never change. By practicing something I love it gives me a reference point to what love feels like and if I continuously practice feeling myself expressing love, I can stay in that place more often.
why does this bring me to center? Because I love it and that will never change. By practicing something I love it gives me a reference point to what love feels like and if I continuously practice feeling myself expressing love, I can stay in that place more often.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Taking the world in with good humor
Today for my daily affirmation I am visualizing myself as quiet and confident and taking the world in with good humor.
In my minds eye I am smiling, my breath is traveling deeply, slowly and gradually and as I breath I am moving through my work without haste, without stress but with a sense of urgency based on my values. I am quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry, and quick to smile. I am living for God, not for people and I am showing it in my actions; it feels sublime.
Even after writing this affirmation I feel lighter and I feel enthusiastic about the day. I feel as if anything can happen and I will smile and relax because I know God is in charge.
In my minds eye I am smiling, my breath is traveling deeply, slowly and gradually and as I breath I am moving through my work without haste, without stress but with a sense of urgency based on my values. I am quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry, and quick to smile. I am living for God, not for people and I am showing it in my actions; it feels sublime.
Even after writing this affirmation I feel lighter and I feel enthusiastic about the day. I feel as if anything can happen and I will smile and relax because I know God is in charge.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Don't take sin back after giving it to God.
I am grateful for the freedom from sin that Christ gives me. There is no need to stress and hold onto guilt because Christ has already died for that pain. I am done with sin and I can let it go and I am thankful for that. Join me in letting go of sin. For the next few minutes after reading this, pray and confess your sins to God and once you have given them to him, let them go; you are done with those sins and don't have to pick them up again.
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