Hi Friends!
I’m so grateful for each and every one of you.
Thank you for allowing me space in your life.
I’m experimenting with a new format—adding constraints to challenge myself and add value.
The format has an acronym, WISE, which stands for:
Wisdom: A quote or enduring truth to add perspective.
Inspiration: A photo or quip to spark your soul.
Story: Always true. Always real. Not always comfortable.
Explore: Something to enrich your life.
I hope you like it.
Wisdom
If that which you seek is not within you, where will you go to find it?
—Doreen Valiente
I’ve had this quote in my head for as long as I can remember—childhood, early teens.
The concept was reinforced during my religious studies. I read some version of it in every tradition I explored.
What you seek is seeking you.
—Rumi
I’m sure you’ve seen variations on this theme in your own experience, too.
What we think, we become.
— Buddha
This concept has been a grounding force in my life, but I honestly didn’t know where it came from until today.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
—Matthew 7:7-8
Doreen Valiente (1922 - 1999) is credited with the quote and was known as the “Mother of Modern Witchcraft,” which may not mean much to you.
If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?
—Hillel the Elder, Pirkei Avot 1:14
But isn’t it magical to learn this little factoid today, Thursday, December 21, 2023, on the winter solstice?
Happy Solstice, everyone 🍂🌝✨
Inspiration
My wife Keylea has a curious fascination with aircraft in the sky.
With all the wonder and amazement of a small child, she’ll point and say, “Look at all those people up there! Where do you think they’re going? I bet some are on their way to see their families, and others are going on vacation…Oh, what fun!”
And she means it.
Keylea finds true enjoyment in the adventures of others—even total strangers.
One of the great many reasons I love her.
Just think of all the people in your life who change the way you look at the world.
Keylea does that for me.
Every time I see an aircraft, or its trail of condensation, floating against the deep blue sky, I’m inspired to feel a sense of joy for those people, way up there, jetting into the future.
And now, hopefully, you’ll be inspired too.
Story
Show Me The Way To Remember
Show me the way to remember.
I fear I’ve lost my way.
The sunrise darkens so quickly now.
In shades of forgotten gray.
.
Show me the way to remember.
Show me how not to forget.
My things are not where I left them.
I’m not ready to go just yet.
.
Show me the way to remember.
That prayer that mothers pray.
Show me the way to remember.
The things we did that day.
.
Show me the way to remember.
My words, they dance and flee.
I’m left here grasping at fragments…
of who I used to be.
.
Show me the way to remember.
I’m sure it’s just ‘round the bend.
Please say it won’t be long now.
Please make this nightmare end.
.
Show me the way to remember.
Show me to whom I belong.
The faces I see, some smiling at me,
but something about them feels wrong.
.
Show me the way to remember.
So many more things I must do.
I scream, I yell, and I tell them all,
but still, I’m not getting through.
.
Show me the way to remember.
No, I don’t recognize your face.
Your photographs and stories mean nothing.
Will I ever get out of this place?
.
Show me the way to remember.
I promise I’ll be at my best.
No reason to hold me. No reason to scold me.
I don’t know how I made such a mess.
.
Show me the way to remember.
Before it all just fades away.
I don’t know where I am here.
I don’t like it. I don’t want to stay.
.
Show me the way to remember.
In a way I will never forget.
You tell me your name,
and say that you love me…
But I still can’t remember you yet.
Explore
We’re surprisingly bad at doing nothing…
…because there are just too many things to do, right?
Yet, ironically, the better we are at doing nothing, the more we actually get done.
Ask any trainer or fitness expert. They’ll tell you that recovery is just as important, if not more important, than your training.
Ask any productivity expert (Hi Ashley! 👋), and they’ll tell you the same.
We need time and space away from our everyday obligations to recover.
Carve some time out of your week to go play hookey, take a drive, or a long walk.
Even better?
Go sit under a tree, by a campfire, on the water, or perch atop your local mountain. Take some time to bask in the amazing experience of simply being your own unique expression of Life on this tiny blue dot in space.
How do we pick up on a signal that cannot be either heard nor defined?
The answer is not to look for it. Nor do we attempt to predict or analyze our way into it. Instead, we create open an space that allows it.
A space so free of the normal overpacked condition of our minds that it functions like a vacuum. Drawing down the ideas that the universe is making available.
—Rick Rubin, The Creative Act
Your turn…
What are your favorite ways to relax and recharge?
Please take good care of yourselves.
And as always, thanks for reading! ☺️
I love you guys ❤️🔥
-Paul
Wonderful! These two quotes especially spoke to me:
"If that which you seek is not within you, where will you go to find it?"
—Doreen Valiente
"How do we pick up on a signal that cannot be either heard nor defined? The answer is not to look for it. Nor do we attempt to predict or analyze our way into it. Instead, we create an open space that allows it."
—Rick Rubin
I really struggle with this, even though I know it to be true!