Inspirational Short Story, Female Fantasy Art, Relaxing Music

Cultivate your garden.

Let it take root in you until your

thousand eyes open like violets

to morning light.

-- Nancy Paddock

In our imaginations we can mix images and ideas from all over the world -- imagine the thousand eyes of a peacock growing among the purple violets, or babies that grow on trees!

In our imaginations we can also nurture feelings of love, affection, self-esteem.

All of us -- not just writers -- can learn to see the images in our own minds.

We can do this by breathing slowly, relaxing, and looking at the movie in our minds.

We may see a field of wildflowers, or find ourselves wading across a stream in the mountains.

We might see happiness as wildflowers and grass coming up through the sidewalk, breaking the concrete into chunks and sand, growing so slowly yet with such great power.

It may help us appreciate our growth today to look at it this way.

What a man thinks of himself,

that is which determines,

or rather indicates, his fate.

-- Henry David Thoreau

Let us think of ourselves as made of dust, and allow us to be as proud of it as if it were true. For dust is everywhere.

We see it in solemn rooms streaked by sun, dancing like fine angels in a cathedral light. It is the stuff of life. And it drifts down on fancy tables where the richest people eat. It cannot be denied a place. And it returns time and a time again like the seasons.

It is one of the wonders of the world. And when no one sees or cares, it finds a secret corner in which to keep a solitary peace. It intends no harm. We find it at home on old leather books, the ones that preserve our noblest thoughts.

And from where we stand, it seems that even the stars are made of it.

When we feel low, unworthy, or useless, let's remember that these feelings are only a small but important part of us, that even great things are made of small parts, and that we, as whole beings, are always greater than the sum of these parts.

Happiness is not a matter of events;

it depends upon the tides of the mind.

-- Alice Meyvell

It's thought that Abe Lincoln once said, "We're as happy as we make up our minds to be."

In other words, we decide to be happy. Bad weather, lost toys, broken plans, even angry friends don't have to ruin our own happiness unless we let them.

We're always in control of our own thoughts and feelings, and happiness is a feeling we can choose even when others around us have chosen to be angry or sad.

Even when the day is gloomy and none of our plans are working out, we can still be cheerful if we decide to be.

How lucky we are that someone else can't decide for us how to feel. We'd be nothing more than robots if that were true.

_______________

03/01/2014

Dividers from Graphics By Sharon (dead link 07/27/2011)

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