Truly powerful thoughts to ponder for within each of us is the ability to put down that selective reaction and in it’s place find ourselves open to the diverse beauty of those that surround us and their unique offerings to the garden we call life.

Let us be grateful for all people, for they are the charming gardeners, flowers and blooms that make our gardens so beautiful.

Peace and Love, Jim

We all experience happy moments. They lift us up, open our hearts and expand our energy. Maintaining this elevated state of being, well that is not always a realistic goal. We can however enjoy the moments when they occur and extend them to the best of our abilities with a little practice!

Research suggests that happy feelings last for about five minutes before they start to fade. However, when we appreciate, share and relive our happy moments, we can extend the life of our positive emotions.

Make it a daily practice to recognize, appreciate and savor all of your positive moments. Here are three ideas designed to boost your happiness. Experience one this week and enjoy basking in the glow.

Keep a daily log. Capture your positive experiences. The act of writing anchors the memory in your brain and lifts your mood.

Share your highlights. Make it a ritual to recount the day’s highlights at dinner. Sharing joy exponentially expands your positive emotions.

Take a picture–it lasts longer. Snap a shot of everything you enjoy. Create a slide show (or iMovie), using your favorite song, and feel how much you have to appreciate in life.

Awaken each morning with a great motivation to bring joy into the world. In the process you bring a lithe into your own life as well!

Peace and Love, Jim

We are all simply leaves on the same tree of life. Although life has adapted itself to new functions and conditions, it is basically the same principles repeated over and over again. Growth, change, life in general are not really new since they all spring from the same basic force. Therefore there is no real difference between the tree and the person who plants it.

Revel in your magnificence and know that you come from an eternal source that knows no boundaries, no limits and no time. Blow gently in the breeze with the other leaves and contribute to gentle sounds of life.

Peace and Love, Jim