Quotes of the Week from Me:

“The peace of a blank mind dissolves with the rise of a blind one.”

“Perhaps somehow, we could all learn to love ourselves.”

“Tap into feeling what’s there, and what’s not.”

Quotes of the Week from Others:

“In order to realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the stress of the storm.” – Corrie Ten Boom

“If you feel like you’re losing everything, remember, trees lose their leaves every year, yet they still stand tall and wait for better days to come.” – Unknown

“Birds chirped in the cold still, knowing still the warmth would come.” – J.R. Conway

Quick Optimism:

Progress, achievement, success, or whatever you want to call it for yourself is a collaboration of different types of effort. Hard work, focus, grit, and a strong mentality are all necessary but insufficient independently. They need each other.

Pick the one that makes you think, “I can’t stop, nor will I ever desire to.”

Questions of the Week:

Are you a good friend… to yourself?

If you are already familiar with James Norbury, you know of his wonderful art and stories. Most of his work, Big Panda and Tiny Dragon, is painted in black ink and water colors. And many of his stories, and their wisdom, come from studying spirituality, specifically Buddhism.

I quickly became a fan, and this week I wanted to share two random excerpts from his works, Friends to Ourselves, from The Cat Who Taught Zen, and Light, from Big Panda and Tiny Dragon.

Friends to Ourselves:

“‘Wherever we go, we are our own companion,’ said the Cat.

‘And that is why we must try to be a good friend to ourselves and treat ourselves with gentleness.

After all, we are the one we spend the most time with, and we have a habit of taking our own opinions very seriously.’”

Light

“‘The world can be a dark place sometimes,’ said Tiny Dragon.

‘But where it’s darkest,’ said Big Panda, ‘your light will make the most difference.’”

I am so glad I stumbled upon these stories this week. It always resonates with me most when I sit down to think and write and then I find something so similar to what I am thinking about. The quote above, “Perhaps somehow, we could all learn to love ourselves,” hit me randomly this week. I don’t remember what I was doing or watching, but I wrote it in my notes and then found these Norbury pages a couple of days later.

These stories and quotes are also a testament to the importance of relatable, quality writing. The concepts could be applicable to thousands of scenarios and circumstances in our lives. They become a sigh of relief when we find 5 minutes to take a break from everything that is happening.

I strongly suggest you explore James Norbury’s work and always make time to think about the power of how you treat yourself.

Make it a light, gentle Monday.