Category: Love Others
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Who Are You Wearing?…
It’s Award Season, a bright spot in these sometimes-gloomy months. The Grammy’s are my favorite, for the music, but you can’t beat the Oscars for the haute couture. Avant-garde, classic, understated, absurd. What fun to watch the rich and famous answer “Who are you wearing?” We all wear an invisible cloak. One that has nothing…
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Who’s Your Family?…
At a recent memorial service, I was struck by the number of people who counted the departed as one of their extended family. The pews were not filled with blood relatives, but with loving friends who gathered to celebrate her life and what she had meant to them. My dictionary app describes family as members…
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Love in the Deeps…
In a tiny book called “true love,” Thich Nhat Hanh offers a “telephone” meditation to bring harmony into a relationship. In today’s world, perhaps we could call it Texting Meditation or DMing Meditation. His suggestion to wait a few rings before answering a ringing phone traces back to when we didn’t know who might be…
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Mantras Make Things Happen…
Another ELAN Principle is “Make Things Happen.” ELAN, which stands for Elevating Life Attitudes Now, is a self-improvement curriculum I created and facilitated many years ago, but I still rely on the tenets to work on my own “life in progress.” One of the most effective ways to make things happen is to write a…
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Zen Again…
How do you add beauty to your world? A fresh, home-cooked meal, or listening to (even playing) your favorite song? Where have you been surprised by joy? A red geranium in a window box, morning birdsong or a tiny flower sprouting in cracked concrete? Zen is found in quiet moments wrapped in wonder. Turn off…
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Broken Zen…
Time to reread old favorites that promote quiet time, non-judgment, inner calm and a Zen vibe. I so easily allow the scary wide world to poke a talon in the loose weave of my pretend peace. I’m not alone in this state of heightened frenzy over our 24/7 365 four-year cycle of coming together (haha)…
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Pivot…
We think life runs in a straight line. But the dash between a life’s beginning and ending years, as posted on gravestones, is really a rectangular box that, when enlarged, reveals hills and dips and even backward steps of ragged years. Those detours and redirects signify an interesting and engaging life. Many blips in my…
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Music Appreciation…
It is quiet in my office, with only the rustling wind announcing a coming storm. Most writing days are like this, but earlier I had cranked up the volume on a favorite playlist to energize me. Moving to the beat really got me going, until my head was bobbing, even banging. I am so thankful…
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Quote of the Week…
“Don’t let people pull you into their storm. Pull them into your peace.” Pema Chödrön, 1936-
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Word of the Year…
This year I’m adopting a focus word for 2024; one to ground me, spur me on toward an inward or outward goal. I’m trained to be a keen observer. That can translate to deep passion on all sides – love but also judgement, joy but also fear, excitement but also agitation. While seeking signs of…
Patty Mayeux Blog 