Some great words from one of my favorite writers, Paulo Coelho.
Avoid those who believe they are stronger than you, because they are actually concealing their own fragility.
Stay close to those who are not afraid to be vulnerable, because they have confidence in themselves and know that, at some point in our lives, we all stumble; they do not interpret this as a sign of weakness, but of humanity.
Avoid those who seek friends in order to maintain a certain social status or to open doors they would not otherwise be able to approach.
Stay close to those who are interested in opening only one important door: the door to your heart. They will never invade your soul without your consent or shoot a deadly arrow through that open door.
Friendship is like a river; it flows around rocks, adapts itself to valleys and mountains, occasionally turns into a pool until the hollow in the ground is full and it can continue on its way.
Just as the river never forgets that it’s goal is the sea, so friendship never forgets that its only reason for existing is to love other people
This is a quote that comes in many shapes. I’ve heard it in my professional carrier as “Where your mind goes, your energy flows”, but I guess this one is a more private one. Anyhow, I think that there is a lot of truth in these simple words.
Life is, at least for me, in many ways is about finding ways to appreciate what every moment means. I think that the hard days truly serves a purpose to keep us from being blasé, when we have the really good ones.
This is a story on that subject; the thin line of being “happy” and being “sad”. There is a cliche in Sweden, that everything is best when it’s “lagom” (a Swedish word for “not to much”, and “not to less”) and maybe happiness is just that; lagom?
I wish you enough
At an airport I overheard a father and daughter in their last moments together. They had announced her plane’s departure and standing near the door, he said to his daughter, “I love you, I wish you enough.”
She said, “Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Daddy.” They kissed good-bye and she left.
He walked over toward the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?” “Yes, I have,” I replied.
Saying that brought back memories I had of expressing my love and appreciation for all my Dad had done for me. Recognizing that his days were limited, I took the time to tell him face to face how much he meant to me. So I knew what this man was experiencing.
“Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?” I asked.
“I am old and she lives much too far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, her next trip back will be for my funeral, ” he said.
“When you were saying good-bye I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?”
He began to smile. “That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.” He paused for a moment and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more.
“When we said ‘I wish you enough,’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with enough good things to sustain them,” he continued and then turning toward me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.
“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish enough “Hello’s” to get you through the final “Good-bye.”
For a long time I’ve been thinking about the word “goodness”.
If you’re looking on a regular Facebook-feed, or other social media you’ll find a number of people telling others about their good deeds, and actually that’s wonderful! Don’t doubt that! We really need good deeds, and we really need good role models!
But a good deed, in my mind, isn’t necessarily a sign of a good person.
Why?
A good deed done in public, is always good (don’t doubt that), but a good deed done in public also has the purpose of giving credit to the person who made it.
So, in that sense, will a truly good person be?
“A person who do great things for others, while no-one else is watching”?
This may be one of the most touching videos I’ve seen in a while. A dad looses his wife due to C-surgery, and during the last days of the son’s life he keeps playing the guitar for his son.
Full description under the Youtube-clip.
“Chris Picco singing Blackbird to his son, Lennon James Picco, who was delivered by emergency C-section at 24 weeks when Chris’ wife Ashley unexpectedly and tragically passed away in her sleep. Lennon’s lack of movement and brain activity was a constant concern for the doctors and nurses at Loma Linda University Hospital, where he received the absolute best care available. During the pregnancy, Ashley would often feel Lennon moving to music so Chris asked if he could bring his guitar into the NICU and play for Lennon, which he did for several hours during the last days of Lennon’s precious life. One day after filming this, Lennon went to sleep in his daddy’s arms.”
In larger cities people get used to being “alone”, while we’re in public. But what would happen if someone broke that barrier, and started to dance? Great social experiment, and a video that suits perfect as a start of the week. Wouldn’t it be great if we started to notice each other, and one’s in a while shared some thoughts, on our way to work, school, shop and so on?
Some 18 years ago, Pascale was reportedly left paralyzed from a car accident that injured her spinal cord. With the help of a friend her dream of surfing eventually came true.
When you’re running your own business, or just enjoying your day-to-day work it’s really easy to get carried away in a single project, a new deal or your next invention. But now and then I think that it’s important to take a few steps back, and either enjoy what you’re achieving or change the situation.
Anyhow earlier today I stepped over this list of one-liners around the subject Success vs. Happiness, and even though I find some of them a little bit strange, the most of them are worth thinking about in our everyday struggle towards happiness… or is it success?
The followers of this blog may remember the post about the “crazy guy walking in the snow“. This must be his counterpart in Summertime, Andres Amador. Amazing manmade patterns in the sand, and what I like the most about it; he’s doing it just for fun!
Earlier today I received a link on my facebook-page from a friend who suggested that I should visit Elena Shumilova:s amazing Flickr-page.
Elena is taking photos of her kids in different environments, and I don’t think that I’ve never seen anyone being so good at reflecting different moods.
This is a great set of examples of “mini-inventions” that will help you in your everyday life. Some of them are actually brilliant in both its simplicity as well as the usefulness!
I’ve never been a hardcore fan of Lord of The Rings or The Hobbit, entertainment wise. But, as many others I think they are stunning to watch and it’s amazing how much work it must be to put it together. The scenery alone makes it worth watching.
During this Christmas Holiday I watched “The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey” from last year, and in that movie Gandalf sums up what I try to have as my guide line in 2014 (and onward off course)
“Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.”
All That Is Interesting have put together an awesome list of street art from 2013. Here are some examples. If you would like to see the rest of them, Click this link.
This is a truly moving and loving story about a wife / mother – Brenda – giving away a christmas present, after she passed away, to her husband when he had found a new love.
The christmas present should consist of three parts. She wanted his new life partner to have a weekend of pampering with shopping, spa and things that make her smile. For the family, an awesome trip for all of them, and finally a night out for all the doctors at the hospital.
Listen to the full story in the youtube-clip down below, and read full article here.
This is a short movie about a photo project, carried out together with patients diagnosed with cancer. Touching, inspiring and beautiful at the same time!
I often cruise around other blogs and it’s amazing how good posts there are out there, so I thought I would share some recommendations for this Wednesday.
Saarimner.com 