Inspiration Shared By Lady Braids

Inspiration On 2/8/12

A good barometer to use, when determining how
a big a role you allow someone to play in your life,
is how they treat others - not you.

If a person is kind and caring and compassionate
in their dealings with people, we are not surprised
when they treat us the same way. Yet, if they are
good to us, and mean spirited toward others, we
are shocked and hurt when, somewhere down the
line, they treat us in the same manner.

"But," you say, "He would never do that to ME."

"But," you say, "She would never treat ME like that."

When we care for someone, and we truly believe
they care for us, we tend to overlook certain
things, and we should. None of us are perfect.

But a person who lies... lies. A person who
gossips... gossips. A person who cheats...
cheats. A person who betrays... betrays.

This is a difficult lesson for many people to learn,
myself included. It took a few good-hard-knocks
on the head, before I realized that friendship is
not a safety zone. If I associate myself with
someone who tends to tell lies, I have no logical
reason to be upset when they tell a lie about me.

People show you their true colors all the time.
Simply look at the way they treat others. It's a
pretty reliable indication of who they really are.

Your friendship garden may be small, when your
closest companions are those who treat the
world with the same love and respect that you
do, but their wondrous blossoms will always be
there for you to enjoy.

 -- Living in love and loving life,
     Terri McPherson

Inspiration On 2/6/12

Evil (ignorance) is like a shadow - it has no real substance of its
own, it is simply a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to
disappear by trying to fight it, stomp on it, by railing against it,
or any other form of emotional or physical resistance.

In order to cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it.

 -- Shakti Gawain

Inspiration On 2/3/12

After you grow up and realize that in life you may not get
the family and friends you want, the body you want, the home
that you want, the prosperity that you want or the career
that you want...you will either 
have a crisis,
conform,
be content,
learn to cope,
commit to change or
create what you really want.

You always have a choice.

 -- Jewel Diamond Taylor

Inspiration On 2/2/12

The only accurate label, is the one that identifies a dangerous substance.

I am, for the most part, an introvert. I enjoy the setting of my quiet country
life, I keep my own counsel and enjoy my own company. But, if you labeled
me an introvert, your assessment of me would be incorrect.

I love to laugh and converse at social gatherings, and I'm perfectly comfortable
standing at a podium and addressing a room full of people. If you stopped by
the local high school on a Wednesday evening, you'd find me dancing up a storm,
with microphone in hand, and calling out steps to my clogging class. You'd hear
a lot of loud laughter too. (Especially when the dancers are following my lead
and I flub a step.)

The 'quiet' me, is the person I am at my core, but my outgoing characteristics
are an integral part of my makeup.

So... how would you label me? An introvert with extroverted tendencies?

You can't slot me into one specific category.

Labels are inappropriate and misleading when they're place on people.
Often times, they're hurtful or have negative connotations. Vague labels,
used to differentiate the 'us' group from the 'them' group, are one of
the biggest blockades on the road to world harmony.

Save your labels for poison. Don't poison your perceptions with them.

 -- Living in love and loving life,
     Terri McPherson

Inspiration On 1/27/12

An Oldie, But Goodie:  A Native American elder once described his
own inner struggles in this manner: "Inside of me there two dogs.
One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean
dog fights the good dog all the time." When asked which dog wins,
he reflected for a moment and replied, "The one I feed the most."

 -- Author Unknown

Inspiration On 1/25/12

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry,
two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is Yesterday with all its mistakes and cares, its
faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed
forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring
back Yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed; we
cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone forever.

The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow. With all its
possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and its poor
performance; Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.
Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of
clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow,
for it is yet to be born.

This leaves only one day, Today. Any person can fight the battle
of just one day. It is when you and I add the burdens of those
two awful eternities, Yesterday and Tomorrow, that we break
down. It is not the experience of Today that drives a person mad,
it is the remorse or bitterness of something which happened
Yesterday and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring.

Let us, therefore, live but one day at a time.

 -- Author Unknown

Inspiration On 1/24/12

An ancient parable tells that the Lord God, who created the
earth, did not want to give happiness to women and men directly,
but rather hide it from them so that they could search for it. So
the Lord called a council of the good spirits and asked where
happiness could be hidden.

One spirit suggested that the bottom of the sea would be a good
place as people would not be able to reach it. But Lord did not
think it a suitable place as they could dive down and find it.

Another suggested that it be hidden in the deepest mine. But
again the Lord said they would soon discover it.

Finally the idea came that it be hidden in the depths of men's
and women's hearts, because they would look for happiness
everywhere except within themselves...

Have you been searching for peace and contentment?

Happiness is, after all, an inside job.

 -- Steve Goodier

Inspiration On 1/18/12

When you are poked or prodded or pinched
or squeezed, what comes out of you?

Does anger come flying out in a torrent of words?
Anxiety dampen your skin with a fearful sweat?
Uncertainty make you apologize for your opinion?

A breakdown of communication between your
mind and heart and soul will leave you unsure
of how you truly feel or why your feelings make
you uncomfortable.

The surest indication of internal separation is
the injurious way you respond to the world. The
surest indication of internal wholeness is the
unflustered, calm and caring way you react in
the face of crisis.

What's inside of you, is what comes out of you.

 -- Living in love and loving life,
     Terri McPherson

Inspiration On 1/9/12

I decided to refuse to find anything in this life boring.
And life, in return, has always surprised me with my
wish. It throws delight at me in the most ordinary of
moments. It cancels out any deviation toward the
mundane.

I discover delight where I walk, where my path takes
me. I find joy in human connections of the most
incidental kind. I meet people at their passion, and
we have spiritual affinity.

I don't miss a thing. I cherish it all. I hold it for a
spell in my heart. Enthusiasm shakes out the
ordinary. What falls out is the preciousness of
my life.

What else is there?

 -- © 2000 Stella Savoie

Inspiration On 1/6/12

What is the disposition, attitude and integrity of the
people you draw in to your life? Draw, as in, attract
and pull toward you.

Your friends and your mates are not playing a role
they got by accident. They are there for one reason
and one reason alone. You allow them to be there.

When you address the world from a place of self
surety and calm strength, people who belittle and
dominate others in order to feel good about
themselves are powerless in your presence. They
feel disconcerted and uncomfortable, and they
don't stick around for long.

When you address the world from a place of fear
and cynicism, people who greet the unfolding
mystery of life with enthusiasm and delight, will
shy away from you. The burden of your negative
behavior will leave them feeling weighted down
and looking for the first opportunity to break free.

The people in your life are a direct reflection of
your beliefs, your attitude and your integrity. They
show the world what you will and will not tolerate.

 -- Living in love and loving life,
    Terri McPherson