My beverages are taking to me again.
A while ago I had written an article about the wisdom on the side of a Starbucks coffee cup.
Today I tried a new brand of green tea called Yogi Tea. When I opened the pouch with the tea bag, it had a little message:
Bliss cannot be disturbed by gain or loss.
That’s another way of saying one of my favourite mantras:
Happiness does not depend on circumstances.
I come across so many people who think that their degree of happiness on any given day depends on what is going on around them. Not a chance.
Happiness is a state of being - a philosophical way to be in the world.
It comes from a deep connection to what matters most to you.
It comes from an ongoing spirit of gratitude no matter what natural chaos is coming your way.
It comes from blissful living - being passionate, curious, engaged every day.
When you begin to learn the strategies for shifting into a perspective of joy and happiness, life is a wonderful adventure.
You find wisdom all around you - even in your tea cup.
Where do you find your happiness?
Become a shameless idealist.
That was the call to action I received this year from Craig Kielburger. Craig and his brother Marc founded Free the Children, an organization dedicated to helping young people become socially conscious global citizens.
While Craig’s passion is directed at children helping children, his impact is not reserved for today’s youth. Inspiration is about putting an idea in people’s heads and having them act on it. There have been lots of times in the last few months when I have stopped and asked myself, “What would a shameless idealist do in this situation?” It’s been a great catalyst for moving past inevitable roadblocks and obstacles.
You never know how one thing will lead to another.
I became aware of Craig and Marc’s work when I stumbled upon their book Me to We one day while killing time in an airport in 2004. You never know how one thing will lead to another. I read the book and that led to an exchange of letters and a tour of the Free the Children headquarters in Toronto.
Impressed by the work that Free the Children was doing, I shared their story and website with my oldest daughter who was in her last year of high school at the time. Before I knew it she had begun the application process to participate in a Leaders Today volunteer project. Leaders Today is the youth leadership organization that extends the mission of Free the Children to empowering young people to create positive sustainable changes in the world.
In 2006 my daughter traveled with Leaders Today to Kenya to help build a school in a small village. It was a trip that had a powerful impact on her. Now a university student studying anthropology, she is currently in Tanzania for three months participating in a community health project that addresses malaria and HIV/AIDS.
Helping me set you on fire
Craig Kielburger is certainly a poster boy for making the seemingly impossible happen. He definitely doesn’t settle for mediocre. So it was a simple choice to ask him to write the foreword to my new book Spontaneous Combustion: Setting Your Life on Fire. He recounts how he set his life on fire and in his usual charming way he invites my readers to do the same.
Go ahead.
Spontaneously combust your life.
You never know where it might lead you.
What are YOU waiting for?
Tales from my Italian adventure
Friends sometimes give you the best gifts without even realizing it. That happened to me when my dear friend Victor sent me a David Whyte poem one day several years ago. It was my first encounter with David’s work and at the time it perfectly captured the emotion of the moment.
Over the years I’ve read pretty much all of David’s work and listened to his audio cds. And like that very first poem, I often find that there is one that speaks as if it were magically written just for me in that instant. I have my favourites - like The House of Belonging - which I return to again and again. When new works appear, they are savoured piece by piece with faith that they too will, in their own time, be written just for me.
Retreating to the tuscan countryside
Of course when the opportunity came to travel to Italy to take part in one of David’s week long retreats I jumped at the chance. He and his wonderful staff created an amazing week of conversation, culinary delights, cultural experiences and indeed poetry. It was an opportunity to experience his work in a new and rich way.
His beautiful command of language and metaphor inspires the writer in me.His urging to return to conversation with ourselves and others moves me to find a deeper dialogue.
If you have already enjoyed David’s work, then know you have a kindred spirit.
If this is your first encounter, consider it my gift to you.
What poetry inspires you?
A while ago I had written an article about the wisdom on the side of a Starbucks coffee cup.
