Happiness is as easy as a little gratitude. Check out this hilarious excerpt from Conan O’Brien. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll think about it…

This video came from Usually Barefoot Meg - lots of comments to peruse there as well. For more information on this comedian, check out the wiki for Louis CK.

I stumbled on this fabulous quote from L. Frank Baum:

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

I can’t overemphasize the power of breath. A single deep breath has the power to calm your entire body - actually moves you one step closer to the parasympathetic nervous process of “rest and repose”. Traditions ranging from physical to emotional to spiritual emphasize the power of the breath in one way to change your state. I use breath in my practice to help anchor emotions in the body, to allow you to feel them more fully, to move and expand them.

So stop holding your breath.

Happy Friday,
Ephraim

I was dead, then alive.
Weeping, then laughing.

The power of love came into me,
and I became fierce like a lion,
then tender like the evening star.

He said, ‘You’re not mad enough.
You don’t belong in this house.’

I went wild and had to be tied up.
He said, ‘Still not wild enough
to stay with us!’

I broke through another layer
into joyfulness.

He said, ‘Its not enough.’
I died.

He said, ‘You are a clever little man,
full of fantasy and doubting.’

I plucked out my feathers and became a fool.
He said, ‘Now you are the candle
for this assembly.’

But I’m no candle. Look!
I’m scattered smoke

He said, ‘You are the Sheikh, the guide.’
But I’m not a teacher. I have no power.

He said, ‘You already have wings.
I cannot give you wings.’

But I wanted his wings.
I felt like some flightless chicken.

Then new events said to me,
‘Don’t move. A sublime generosity is
coming towards you.’

And old love said, ‘Stay with me.’

I said, ‘I will.’

You are the fountain of the sun’s light.
I am a willow shadow on the ground.
You make my raggedness silky.

The soul at dawn is like darkened water
that slowly begins to say Thank you, thank you.

Then at sunset, again, Venus gradually
Changes into the moon and then the whole nightsky.

This comes of smiling back
at your smile.

The chess master says nothing,
other than moving the silent chess piece.

That I am part of the ploys
of this game makes me
amazingly happy.
-Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks

Aliveness is only the beginning! And laughter is one of the great signs of that. I see it as exhilaration really, dancing and spinning in the sheer beauty of joy and laughter. And then comes the madness - the madness of divine irrationality perhaps - a joy that is truly incomprehensible to those who are not in it. Who can truly understand surrender so great, so huge? And in this poem, even dieing is not the end, but another beginning.

What do you think?

Photo by Jeremy Pegg

 

If there is to be any peace, it will be through being, not having.

Henry Miller

The idea that peace is conditional, depending on certain needs being met - being loved and appreciated, financially secure, well rested, having good work - is eventually replaced by the realization that the moment you’re experiencing right now is the only one, and it can’t be changed.
- Joan Borysenko

Joy, peace, love. Everything we want and can feel can be felt right now, enjoyed right now. The present is all there is. Don’t put off your joy.

Have a delicious day,
Ephraim

I ran across these fabulous ideas for living the other day. Abraham Feinberg is a prominent rabbi, singer and social activist - see the link for a biography and much more of his writings. you can find these tenets all over the Internet if you do a search - I liked them enough I thought I’d share them again. let me know what you think: 

Ten Spiritual Tonics

1. Stop worrying. Worry kills life.

2. Begin each day with a prayer. It will arm your soul.

3. Control appetite. Over-indulgence clogs body and mind.

4. Accept your limitations . . .

5. Don’t envy. It wastes time and energy.

6. Have faith in people. Cynicism sours the disposition.

7. Find a hobby. It will relax your nerves.

8. Read a book a week to stimulate imagination and broaden your views.

9. Spend some time alone for the peace of solitude and silence.

10. Try to want what you have, instead of spending your strength trying to get what you want.