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It is easy to be negative about past mistakes and unhappiness. But it is much more healing to look at ourselves and our past in the light of experience, acceptance, and growth. Our past is a series of lessons that advance us to higher levels of living and loving.

The relationships we entered, stayed in, or ended taught us necessary lessons. Some of us have emerged from the most painful circumstances with strong insights about who we are and what we want.

Our mistakes? Necessary. Our frustrations, failures, and sometimes stumbling attempts at growth and progress? Necessary too.

Each step of the way, we learned. We went through exactly the experiences we needed to, to become who we are today. Each step of the way, we progressed.
Is our past a mistake? No. The only mistake we can make is mistaking that for the truth?

Today, help me let go of negative thoughts I may be harboring about my past circumstances or relationships. I can accept, with gratitude, all that has brought me to today.

Melody Beattie


At moments in our lives when we really need help, the universe moves to support us in ways that may seem strange to us. Angels sometimes show up in our lives in odd bodies, odd shapes, odd forms, odd experiences. Our job is to keep our hearts open to angels in disguise.

Mary Manin Morrissey



Most people want the weekend to get here, but some people want the weekend to be over. Empty spaces can be unbearable until we discover the power of silence. We are deeply afraid of the silence, the void, the emptiness. That is because a materialistic prejudice thinks that what cannot be touched does not exist. The void is not material; it is a FORCE.

The void is where God is. Empty places, empty moments are not really empty; they're pregnant. God is the potential fullness gushing out from every empty space, the ever-present possibility of a magic moment or miraculous thought. Off the blank page jumps a cosmic summons to write your own names. Out of that silence came the opening chords of Beethoven's Fifth.

We try to consume the external, to give us a feeling of internal satisfaction. And yet we cannot satisfy that yearning, because nothing outside of us is the stuff for which we hunger. The more we grab, the less centered we are. And so we disintegrate; we do not grow. We take on the characteristics of neurotic, needy people, for that is who we decide to be when we look to the world for what the word cannot give us.

It is imperative, therefore, that we give time each day, each week, to silence, to the internal search, to honoring God before the world. WE must embrace the void instead of resisting it. That is the way of the mystic. It is the only way we can heal.

Marianne Williamson


A good way to manage your worry is to challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking. When encountering thoughts that make your fearful or anxious, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense. Instead of worrying about something that probably won't happen, concentrate on what you are able to do. Everything else you can leave in the hands of God.

Stan Popovich



Can you imagine what your life would be like if you simply dropped your complaints? It's a radical proposal, since most of us have been trained to question, analyze, and criticize everything we see. But then we end up questioning, analyzing, and criticizing ourselves. Then we miss out on joy, the only true measure of success.

Alan Cohen


What is not love is fear. Anger is one of fear's most potent faces. And it does exactly what fear wants it to do. It keeps us from receiving love at exactly the moment when we need it most.

Marianne Williamson


Sometimes we can be so tough on ourselves and one another. This may be the time to put that soul hammer down and give everyone some room to breathe, grow and be!

Greg Barrette



In separateness lies the world's great misery; in compassion lies the world's true strength.

Buddha


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"The way to experience true abundance is to stop worrying about what's wrong and start being thankful for what's right. For whatever you focus upon will grow stronger. Focus on the positive, and by so doing you'll create more of it. Live each moment with sincere gratitude, and as each day goes by you'll have more for which to be grateful."

Ralph Marston


"The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live. He has penetrated the whole mystery of life: giving thanks for everything."

Albert Schweitzer


"Gratitude releases a dynamic current of spiritual energy to go before us to exert a mighty influence in our world."

John Randolph Price


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And remind yourself each of day of your life, 'This day will never come again.' You will never see the same sunrise or sunset. You will never sit at the same table twice with the same people in exactly the same way. You will never look upon the faces of people you love in exactly the same way tomorrow, for you might not even be here tomorrow. You will never walk down the same street in the precisely the same way. Such tiny realizations are also the most profound soul awakenings. You have resources yet to be unleashed. Make bold, outrageous choices. Live as though you have the power to change the world - because you do.

Carolyn Myss


A seeker asked God, "How is it that a loving Creator allows people to be disabled, lonely, and poor? Why don't you do anything for them?" And God replied, "I did. I created you."

Mary Manin Morrissey


"Make me sweet again, Fragrant and fresh and wild, And thankful for any small event."

Rumi


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If you were fully appreciative of just one-tenth of your blessings, it would cause you to spring to life with such exuberance that nothing would stop you. Consider for a moment what it truly means to be you, here, now. Think about the abundance of powerful, positive options that are available to you this very moment. Then stand up tall, step forward and live. Live this day for everything its worth and immerse yourself in the joy of being fully alive.

Ralph Marston


"Usually we figure out what we think would make us happy, and then try to make those things happen. But happiness isn't circumstance-dependent. There are people who have every reason in the world to be happy who aren't. There are people with genuine problems who are. The key to happiness is the decision to be happy."

Marianne WIlliamson


"It is sometimes not easy to find happiness in ourselves, but it is not possible to find it elsewhere."

Agnes Repplier