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“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
― Oscar Wilde
“This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
― Alan Watts
When the why is powerful enough, the how becomes simple. We can stop ourselves from moving forward because we get paralyzed with planning, thinking and worrying instead of just doing. Figure out why you want to do something first, and then begin. If your desire isn’t strong enough, the most gentle of breezes will blow you off course. If there is no doubt in your mind that you will achieve something before you begin, the details become irrelevant. The conclusion is foregone.
Counting the Days – There are 170 days left in the year. That means 170 more opportunities to wake up in the morning and work on something that you want to see accomplished. It could be anything – starting a business, painting the kitchen, or writing your novel. If you worked diligently for 15 minutes every day for the rest of the year on one task, where would you be when you turned the calendar over to 2021? That 2550 minutes of focused action, or 42.5 hours, could become anything. We can all focus for 15 minutes, so why not set the timer right now and do the thing you keep thinking about but never starting?
Get Healthy – Try eating more raw foods. Big salads and fresh fruit snacks are easy to consume during the hot summer months, and they can help you lose weight and feel more motivated to be active. Heavy, cooked foods can weigh you down. Dedicate one day a week to eating only living food and see how you feel. No, you won’t starve. You might be amazed at how quickly the body and mind respond to having less digestive work to do. Digesting food takes a lot of energy and by lightening the load, you free up the body’s ability to turn its attention to healing. You have nothing to lose except for weight, sluggishness and that tired feeling that never goes away.
Thought of the Day – See how long you can go without thinking. For many people, this seems impossible and they can’t last for more than a few seconds. To exist in a state of mental alertness without the endless parade of thoughts is to live in a state of joy and bliss. By not thinking, your full awareness is engaged and the silence is both restorative and healing. Try it, but don’t be surprised if you don’t make it more than a few seconds. It’s a good exercise to do while engaged in a mindless activity, like chopping up the fresh fruits and vegetables you are eating on raw day.
Have a bliss-filled day.
“If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
― Lao Tzu