Simple Living Is Good Living

Da Vinci said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

It is.

Many people live their lives in unnecessary complications that cloud their lives & those around them. Some people think that their complications give their life meaning, when often their complications take away life’s meaning.

To each their own.

If living simply was easy, everyone would do it. It’s not easy to live simply & be happy & fulfilled – to not be comparing & competing, but to just be. & to be happy with what we have.

Abundance & gratitude often breed more abundance & gratitude.

A simple life may lose you some friends, but it will bring you peace.

Attention, Daydreaming, Focus

These three words have similarities & differences.

There are different ways & levels of attention, focus, concentration, and then there is daydreaming – which is a sort of focus within; a meditation.

There is not one right way of living for all people. There is a vast range of ways of living, just as there is a range of attention, focus, and also daydreaming. 

It is all okay.

Here’s a relative Henry David Thoreau quote:

“If a man does note keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”

Listen to YOUR own drummer. 

Listen to the music YOU like. 

Read the books YOU enjoy. 

Do the activities YOU like.

This is not selfish. This is self care. 

Take care of yourself first, and if you need to care for others, then you can do so, but make sure you put your life jacket on first.

Attention, Daydreaming, Focus…oh the places you’ll go…

2024 With A Smile

“Everyone should smile. Life really isn’t that serious. We make it hard. The sun rises. The sun sets. We just tend to complicate the process.” 

Ram Dass

If you are like me & probably most people, you faced challenges & adversities in 2023, and it may have been depressing. It was for me at points of the year. Life happens to us all. The weather changes. 

Anyway, I am reminded today from Ram Dass to smile. Sometimes we overthink or live in a fog or may be afraid to act. 

The sun rises & sets as it does, and we humans sometimes go around thinking & overthinking things, worrying ourselves, complicating things, when simplicity is offered to us.

Sometimes reading Ram Dass quotes is like breath to my soul. 

I hope you have a wonderful 2024!

10 Quotes From Dan Millman’s The Peaceful Warrior To Bring You Happiness Today

1) “There is no need to search; achievement leads to nowhere. It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now! Love is the only reality of the world, because it is all One, you see. And the only laws are paradox, humor and change. There is no problem, never was, and never will be. Release your struggle, let go of your mind, throw away your concerns, and relax into the world. No need to resist life, just do your best. Open your eyes and see that you are far more than you imagine. You are the world, you are the universe; you are yourself and everyone else, too! It’s all the marvelous Play of God. Wake up, regain your humor. Don’t worry, just be happy. You are already free!” 

2) “Reality never matched their dreams; happiness was just around the corner — a corner they never turned. And the source of it all was the human mind.”

3) “Sometimes sorrow, sometimes joy. But beneath it all remember the innate perfection of your life unfolding. That is the secret of unreasonable happiness.” 

4) “And so I awoke to reality, free of any meaning or any search. What could there possibly be to search for? All of Socrate’s words had come alive with my death. This was the paradox of it all, the humor of it all, and the great change. All searches, all achievements, all goals, were equally enjoyable, and equally unnecessary.” 

5) “Act happy, be happy, without a reason in the world. Then you can love, and do what you will.”

6) “The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”

7) “‘What do I do then, now? Where do I go from here?’ Dan asked Socrates.

‘Who cares?’ He yelled gleefully.  ‘A fool is ‘happy’ when his cravings are satisfied. A warrior is happy without reason.  That’s what makes happiness the ultimate discipline—above all else I have taught you.’”

8) “Stay in the present. You can do nothing to change the past, and the future will never come exactly as you plan or hope for.  The warrior is here, now. Your sorrow, your fear & anger, regret & guilt, your envy and plans and cravings live only in the past, or in the future.”

9) “Like most people, you’ve been taught to gather information from outside yourself; from books, magazines, experts.  Like this car, you open up and let the facts pour in.  Sometimes the information is premium and sometimes it’s low octane.  You buy your knowledge at the current market rates, much like you buy gasoline.  Like this gas tank, you are overflowing with preconceptions; full of useless knowledge.  You hold many facts and opinions, yet know little of yourself.  Before you can learn, you’ll have to first empty your tank.

10) “Wake up! If you knew for certain that you had a terminal illness – if you had precious little time left to make use of your life and consider who you are, you’d not waste time on self-indulgence or fear, lethargy or ambition.  You do have a terminal illness – it is death. Be happy now, without reason – or you never will be at all.”

1 Empowering Message From The Alchemist

“…That’s what alchemists do. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”
—Paulo Coelho

Life can be a mysterious experience, and yet, in one way that life is not mysterious is that when we become better versions of ourselves, everything around us improves. 

This is a Fact of Life.

4 Quotes on The Importance of Remembering Death

After reading these quotes, let me know, comment about what the thought of death inspires within you.

“Of all the footprints, that of the elephant is supreme. Similarly, of all mindfulness meditation, that on death is supreme.”
-Buddha 

“Every third thought shall be my grave.”
-William Shakespeare

“To practice death is to practice freedom. A man who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave.”
-Michel de Montaigne 

“So this is how a thoughtful person should await death: not with indifference, not with impatience, not with disdain, but simply viewing it as one of the things that happens to us. Now you anticipate the child’s emergence from its mother’s womb; that’s how you should await the hour when your soul will emerge from its compartment.”
-Marcus Aurelius

Act With Purpose

“Do external things distract you? Then make time for yourself to learn something worthwhile; stop letting yourself be pulled in all directions. But make sure you guard against the other kind of confusion. People who labor all their lives but have no purpose to direct every thought and impulse toward are wasting their time—even when hard at work.”
—Marcus Aurelius

______________________________

What purpose are you living for?

Here is A 3-Step Process to Begin Creating YOUR Life

More helpful resources:

Set long-term goals & Focus

& Then Stop Looking Back & Live Life Like You’re Driving

Nature’s Secret

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

______________________

Have you ever walked through a green forest to admire nature’s beauty and thought “what is your secret?”

And Nature whispered into your ears: “Patience” 

______________________

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
– Lao Tzu

Know Your Why

Why are you doing what you are doing?

Are you just staying busy or are you actually being productive?

And more importantly, what is it that you actually want to do?

What dreams do you have?

And how are you achieving them?

There is a big difference between being busy and being productive.

And we all have experienced both.

What’s important is what you do Today.

Know your why and then take action.

Direction

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”
– Lao Tzu

The direction of your life depends on you and your vision.

(if you aren’t happy with your life currently, a new vision might help) 

Dream.

Pray.

Dream some more. 

Pray some more.

And now you’re on your way.