Have you seen the video about Christian the lion and his reunion with friends John Rendall and Ace Berg?
If you haven’t, it’s worth a couple of minutes of your time.
Seems though that there are some people who question whether or not this video is a fake.
My response?
Whatever.
Here’s a video that tugs on people’s hearts. You have to be a big lump of concrete to not be moved in some way when you watch this video. It stirs our deepest desires for connection, for love, for enduring friendship.
Personally I choose to believe its the real deal.
Just the possibility is delightful. Isn’t it curious that some people would rather choose cynicism and turn away from a heart warming of our collective core.
Whether it’s a fake or not is hardly the point. People are feeling a rush of emotion and having conversations about love and possibility. Works for me.
Now go call someone you love.
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?
Unplugged used to mean listening to Eric Clapton playing an acoustic guitar without the benefit of an amp. Now it applies to a new movement called secular sabbaths - a day devoted to unplugging yourself from any form of technology.Recently New York Times journalist Mark Bittman chronicled his attempt at connecting to himself rather than his computer. Although skeptical at first, he actually found some benefits in disconnecting for 24 hours.
I remember thinking that the debit card idea would never catch on.
Okay I’m seriously dating myself but twenty-five years ago, mainstream technology only showed up in sci fi movies. Now it is literally impossible to walk down the street without seeing people with something plugged into their ears or fingers frantically tapping out a message on a miniscule keyboard.
Last month the deputy minister of the Canadian department of Citizenship & Immigration sent a memo to employees requesting them to implement a Blackberry blackout between 7 pm and 7 am and on weekends and holidays.
I wonder how that’s going.
Most people I know get a little twitchy at the thought of not being available and in touch at all hours of the day and night. They are afraid of what they might miss or that some how they will be seriously out of the loop.
Here’s a thought:
What might you be missing if you don’t unplug for a day?
How out of the loop are you with yourself when you don’t take time to have a little silence?
Before you know it we’ll all have little microchips in our heads that let us stay plugged in 24/7. So go ahead and unplug. The idea of taking a secular sabbath - completely disconnecting from cell phones, TV, Ipods, computers and anything else with a cord - is worth a try.
How disconnected are you from yourself?
