From the monthly archives:

August 2009

When Wonder Replaces Hope

by Stephen Mills August 31, 2009
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The wonder of your unfolding life has replaced your life of hope, wish, and expectation. You have embraced uncertainty and you have let go of the need to control outcomes which can’t be controlled anyway. You have slain the monster of disappointment.

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The Dash

by Stephen Mills August 29, 2009
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On your tombstone there will be two dates. On mine I hope it will be something like this 1961 – 2061. It might look like this 1961 – 2009. The first date and the last date are two things you have no control over and really don’t matter. All that really matters is the dash in the middle.

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A Shortcut From Here to There

by Stephen Mills August 27, 2009
Zen

Why don’t we just skip these difficult to attain means, skip all the stress and pain that we will encounter along the way, and go directly to the ends we desire? The more I reflect on all this, the more convinced I am that going more directly to the end is a simple and powerful approach that is almost always missed in our “success” oriented modern societies.

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Your Personal Reality and Groundhog Day

by Stephen Mills August 25, 2009
Groundhog Day

Is all this just a bunch of irrelevant doublespeak? No, on the contrary it is an insight that, if you accept and internalize, can make all the difference in the world. Instead of having to suffer in the present to create an ideal reality in a future that may never arrive, you can alter your perspective by changing your personal reality now. Then you may discover that you are already living in an ideal reality right here and right now. Instead of hopelessly trying to create perfection, you are discovering the perfection that you already have.

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The Best Ways to Not Sweat the Small Stuff – Part II

by Stephen Mills August 23, 2009
Sweating the Small Stuff

This is the second article in a series of the best ways I’ve found to not sweat the small stuff and being happy with whatever I’ve got. Here are the others:

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The Best Ways To Not Sweat The Small Stuff – Part I

by Stephen Mills August 22, 2009
Sweating the Small Stuff

If you can truly absorb and practice a mindset that doesn’t sweat the small stuff, you can take a huge step forward toward a life of happiness and peaceful well-being. Adopting this mindset has made a world of difference in my life.

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I Don’t Mind What Happens

by Stephen Mills August 21, 2009

We get caught up in a thousand ridiculously small things that don’t really matter and we burn up our psychic energy dealing with them. I’m not talking about small acts of kindness or taking small steps to get going or other positive small actions. I’m talking about sweating the small stuff of life and blowing them up into things that matter, when in reality they don’t mean squat.

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Links I Loved This Week

by Stephen Mills August 20, 2009

I’m really glad Leo published this article.  If you are a parent you should read it: How to Let Go of Hyperparenting and Learn to Relax With Your Kids This was a nice article about listening to your feedback: What’s Your Canary in the Coal Mine? Excellent list of 100 ways to simplify your life [...]

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Accepting What Is Does Not Mean Giving Up

by Stephen Mills August 18, 2009
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You can be thankful for the fact that you have a job. You can be doing an extraordinary job at whatever it is you do. You can live in the moment while realizing that each moment is a step to the next moment. You can maintain perspective and even consider yourself lucky that you are better off than most.

You can do all of this while at the same time looking to improve yourself and grow in every way you can. You can strive to live each day more than you lived the last while being happy and at peace with what is during each of those days. You can be totally happy now and at the same time strive towards more dreams in your future.

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In Defense of Thinking For Yourself

by Stephen Mills August 16, 2009
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All of this information and technology is a good thing, but somehow we need to make time for the attention and focus required to dig deeper into it. I know this article rambled but I hope it prompted you to think about the responsibility we all have to think for ourselves. Let’s not get so busy that we just mouth the same old tired platitudes as a quick way out. It’s tempting and it’s very easy to do. Let’s take time to to think deeply and reflect wisely. Let’s keep an open mind and allow others the respect of offering up a reasoned dissent without shouting them down whether in town hall meetings held by Democrats, when a conservative speaks at an American university, or on our own web sites. Let’s not prohibit certain lines of thought because they may lead to difficult conversations or violate some pre-defined proscription on what conclusions are allowed.

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