Stillness From Within

"Every desire you have at its core exists because you think attaining it will make you happy; but happiness can only be attained in the present moment.  Therefore any desire to be happy in the future is blocking your ability to be happy now.  Only when you are at peace with what is NOW, will you ever find happiness now." -Jackson Kiddard  

So many of us struggle with attaining true happiness.  Perhaps we work ourselves to the bone, day in and day out so that we may afford the luxury of a couple of vacations thru the year.  Others may find joy in acquiring a beautiful, luxurious home complete with all the amenities, perhaps cottaging with family and friends brings a smile to your face and happiness in your heart.  But truly, if you ask yourself if you are honestly happy I believe that all too many of us would struggle to answer, at least out loud!

 We live in a fast paced "I" generation.  Very little time is spent on allowing one's self to fully appreciate their blessing in life.  To pay a small fraction of attention to another person, (let alone yourself!) be it a friend or loved one, is something that just doesn't happy often.   Small gestures speaks volumes, even with only a few words.  Taking a moment to smile, offer a helping hand to bring in the groceries, reading to your child at bedtime, sharing a meal with your family and taking part in active conversation, these are a few simple examples of missing elements that we are all criminal to.

 We, as a society have allowed ourselves to loose sight of true happiness.  We have succumbed to the shine of 'the good life' as we call it.  Yet failed to see how much the so called  'the gold life' really costs us all - both individually and as a collective community.  Planning for a future is essential but not the marking of attaining one's happiness.  Trying to connect with our selves and those we love and cherish, that in and of its self is pure happiness.  

Be mindful of your thoughts and your feelings.  Try not to put undue pressure on yourself or others.  Start telling people around you how you feel and that you appreciate them.  Sure they may be puzzled at first, but mark my words, you will leave a positive impact and together, one smile at a time - we may all achieve true happiness.

Much love and peace to all,
Xandra 

 

Daily Questions.....

If today was it, would you die knowing you did your best?

If tomorrow never came, would you be proud of the last thing you said to each person you love?

If "someday" was only "now" would you do everything you've always put off?

If you knew you had a choice about what kind of life you could be living, would you choose different?

If you knew failure was impossible, what would you do?

If it were true that everyone you meet is you in another body, how would you treat them?

If love was the true currency of the universe and the more you gave away the more you received, how would you spend it?  

If fear were the biggest illusion and the greatest lie of all time, how would you choose to live your life?

If the universe always supported a life lived towards achieving dreams, how big would you dream?                   -Jackson Kiddard, author and polymath


I came across this moving and awe inspiring quote just the other day.  It has truly opened my eyes to a great many answers from within the questions that he wrote.  I am in the midst of composing my own answers to these questions and I shall be posting it in the next couple of days.  
I hope that you all take heed in the positivity and vibrancy of these questions and look inward as to how they connect in your daily living.
Be well and smile.
Xandra
                                                           

 

ANYU

On the eve of your funeral a tear drop fell 

from the sky and landed on my cheek.

I spoke to you as if you were near.

Your Love surrounds me -ever still.

 

Today I turned 21, upon the threshold of adulthood;

my heart merely yearns for your embrace.

In my quivering hand 

I hold my birthday card you selected;

 

With a heart on the cover that you traced with your finger -

signing it with your Love, everlasting.

 

My final words to you reverberate thru and thru,

reaching up towards the sky,

as I receive your last kiss

I feel your presence abound.

 

My finger traces the heart you bestowed upon me,

my soul whispers a fond farewell.

Through my tears I gaze unto the darkened sky -

there you are!

 

Shinning brightly, as I bid you eternal Peace and Love

and vow that you will Live forever in me.  

 

 

This poem was written in memory of my grandmother.  She did pass away on my 21st birthday.  The most mystical and moving experience I have ever had came late in the evening after her burial.  She came to me in the form of a star, in an otherwise blackened sky, she spoke to me and kissed her grandchild on her birthday.  Though the star soon disappeared, leaving me a lone in the darkness, I feel her presence within me; and in my most challenging times; she re-appears shedding light on my otherwise challenged path. I called my grandmother Anyu and in Hungarian this word means Mother.