5:23 am. And Inspired.

photography, penguins, nature, inspirational,inspiring,paul Nicklen,photo contest,art,antarctica


Good Wednesday morning.  (Wednesday seemed to come in a hurry this week.)  Here’s my selection of inspiring posts of the week.

The photo above was shared by Canadian Art Junkie in a post titled Paul Nicklen’s World Press Photo Winning Shot of penguins in Antarctica’s Ross Sea.  Be sure to check out Nicklen’s other nature shots in the post at this link.  (Very inspired.)

And here’s more Paul Nicklen inspiration.  DK at Lead.Learn.Live with his December 2012 share of Nicklen’s Ted Talk on The Fear Leopard Seal.  Yes, shameless self-promotion of my own share.  But come on people – not 1 like? This is one of the most inspiring nature talks/videos you will ever see.  It’s a longish 18-minute clip and you need to hang in until the end.  It will be worth your time.

S.L. Hoffman at Eagle-Eyed Editor with the post Top 10 books you don’t want to miss in your lifetime.  Tell me it ain’t so.  I haven’t read one book on this list.  And no, I haven’t read To Kill a Mockingbird.  Check out the link to see how many you’ve read.

Continue reading “5:23 am. And Inspired.” →

4:01 am. And Inspired.

Ha Ling Peak, Alberta, Canada, mountain, sunrise, river, landscape, photography


Good Thursday morning.  (Yes, we’re mixing it up a bit.  Slept in yesterday.)  Here’s my selection of inspiring posts of the week.

That’s Patrick Latter‘s photograph above of Canmore Mountains in Alberta.  Be sure to check out Patrick’s blog, Canadian Hiking Photography, where every post is an inspiration.

John E. Smith @ The Strategic Learner with his post: Why We Have Social Media.  John’s post reminded me of the incredible virtual friendships that I have made on this blogging journey.  Thank you all for reading, following, commenting, sharing and joining me for the ride.  I’m grateful.  Check out John’s short post at this link. Continue reading “4:01 am. And Inspired.” →

5:14 am. And Inspired.

desert


Good Wednesday morning.  Here’s my selections for the inspiring posts of the week:

Alex Jones @ The Liberated Way with his post titled The Little Butterfly: An hour ago an Admiral butterfly emerged out of nowhere fluttering about my head.  In this cold season it is amazing to come across a butterfly let alone in my own home.  In wonder I blinked at this amazing beautiful creature fluttering around the light, apparently it must have been hibernating and had awoken…Read more at this link.

New blood.  John Zimmer @ Manner of Speaking with his post: A Truly Heroic Speech.  Six year-old Benjamin Wheeler was one of the victims of the 14 December 2012 shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Recently, Benjamin’s father, David Wheeler, gave testimony at a public hearing before the Connecticut State Legislature’s Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety...  Read more at this link and be sure to watch the video clip.

Back for an encore. Ray Visotski @ A Simple, Village Undertaker with his post titled “That Was Us“… Oh, the simple life we lived…still seems like so much fun, how can you explain a game, just kick the can and run?…Read more at this link.

More new blood.  Let’s hear it for candor and a few laughs.  Lily Reed @ We All Shine On with her post “Failure“…The past two days, I’ve seen the internet full of FAILURE talk. I don’t mean cutesy memes…Hang on. Failure means that you LEARNED something, right? I mean, if you look at something and say, ‘Wow, that was @#$%%^ up!’ What was your next step? I’m thinking you inhaled. BAM! Another chance.  Read more at this link…And, if you liked this, be sure to check out Now I’m Complaining and Almost 4, Bobby’s Learning How to Ride.

And the Hump Day Inspiring Image of the Week comes to us from Bodhisattvaintraining who takes us to Umbria, Italy – with olive trees, pencil pines, sunflower fields and Lake Trasimeno. SIGH.  Another bucket list destination…

olive trees, sunflowers,pencil trees, Italy, photography

 


Image Source: Desert via Schmackebaetzchen.  And, thank you Stephen Edwards at LifeRevelation for pointing me to Lily.

4:01 am. And, Inspired…

Good Wednesday morning.

Yes.  If you’ve read my “About” page, you get an understanding of why.  Why I do this (blog).  To get someone.  Anyone.  Everyone.  To share a laugh.  A smile.  An “aha” moment.  Perhaps a tear.  A moment of inspiration.  And I’ve come to learn that I “get” far more than I “give.”  I had another one of those moments at 4:00 pm on Sunday afternoon.  It came unexpectedly in an email from a follower.  I don’t know “D.”  “D” is from the other side of this country. I didn’t know he followed my blog.  I’m reading his email: “Hello. I’m finally doing what I’ve been meaning to for months. I’ve never written to a blogger before and I am absolutely compelled to do so now. Your blog; your blog! Since I came across your blog a few months ago, I have been inspired and uplifted. Most profoundly, your posts about your kids have moved this xx year old father to tears. I just want to thank you, David, for sharing. I don’t believe that many days have passed without me going to your blog. And, I can tell you that after I have done so, I feel a genuine sense of gratitude for the kindness and goodness you so obviously bring to this world. Yes, I am very grateful indeed.”  

Thank you “D.”  You moved me.  You made my day, my week and likely months to come.  Thank you “D” and all of my other friends and followers who take the time to check in to visit each day.  You inspire me with long shots of adrenaline to “blog on.”  And now on to the inspiring posts of the week from my favorite bloggers:

Kurt @ CulturalOffering with his share he titles “Pause“: “Within a breath or two of emptying my mind, thoughts came flooding in — nature abhors a vacuum. I felt an itch on my face and wanted to scratch it. A great title for my next book popped into my head and I wanted to write it down before I forgot it. I thought of at least four phone calls I wanted to make and one difficult conversation I was going to have later that day. I became anxious, knowing I only had a few hours of writing time. What was I doing just sitting here? I wanted to open my eyes and look at how much time was left on my countdown timer. I heard my kids fighting in the other room and wanted to intervene.  Here’s the key though: I wanted to do all those things, but I didn’t do them. Instead, every time I had one of those thoughts, I brought my attention back to my breath…(Read more)

Becky Robinson @ Weaving Influence with her post These Exact Places: “I believe that there is nothing random about my path, about the people I’ve encountered, about the opportunities I’ve discovered, the places I’ve lived…Where I live, where I go, what I say, and what I do, makes a difference. Where you live, where you go, what you say, and what you do makes a difference. There are no accidents. You are exactly where you need to be, right now.” (Read more) Continue reading “4:01 am. And, Inspired…” →

4:36 am. And, Inspired…

Good Wednesday morning.  Here’s kicking off hump day with inspiring posts of the week from my favorite bloggers (including a “professional blogger’s” post this week).

Ioanna @ life portOfolio with her post Hate Words.  “Take a moment and think. Your phone rings, at the end of the line is a loved one…“Hey sweetie, my test results are out…”  The rest of the phone call can be guessed…Yes, you lose ground under your feet…”

Seth Segall @ The Existential Buddhist with his post: Does All This Sitting Get Us Somewhere?  “Novice meditators often ask “will all this sitting get me somewhere?” By “somewhere” they mean somewhere else than where their sitting currently gets them — countless cushion-hours accompanied by states of desire, aversion, judgment, pain, boredom, torpor, fantasy, reminiscence, doubt, planning, philosophizing — and, yes — moments of presence and clarity…We marinate in life and are cooked by it. It’s a process that happens, not something we accomplish. We didn’t build that. Things shift. We tire of hanging onto things. We cease repeating old mistakes. We laugh at ourselves. We open and soften. We come alive…

By “somewhere else” they mean their fantasy of whatever-it-was the Buddha experienced at the moment of his Enlightenment. They wonder whether they will ever have an experience like the Buddha’s…The answer is “no.” The Buddha’s experience was his own. Ours is ours. But sitting isn’t about having a spiritual experience. It’s about living a spiritual life. Sitting isn’t where the miracle occurs. Our life is the miracle. Sitting is the mirror. It’s the pot we’re cooked in.” Continue reading “4:36 am. And, Inspired…” →