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Graduation

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Graduation –

I’ve spent the last few weeks staring at graduation photos of young women and men whom I’ve had the privilege in some way to be a part of their lives. They are graduating from college, earning their masters and doctorates. I am blown away! I have known these “kids” for most of their time on this planet and to watch them succeed and exceed my wildest dreams is a testament to the wonderful people they are and to parents, mentors, teachers, and guides as they’ve walked the road of life.

I often hear only negatives about this new generation. They’re weak, spoiled, “snowflakes” and I don’t see it. The ones I know would rather lead with their hearts than with their mouths (a problem I notice in the 40 years and older crowd a lot!) They don’t believe because you say so. They want to see it lived before they make up their minds. They are incredibly smart and committed. They know how to spot a fake and people “going through the motions.” This is why church attendance for this group is dwindling but are still spiritually seeking. They aren’t afraid to challenge the norm, call a bluff, or stand up and resist the many wrongs in our world.

Is this group perfect? No. Can they turn around a dying planet consumed by greed and consumption? Maybe. What can we older ones do? We can support them or at least get out of the way and let them try.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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Knocking

Mar 16

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Knocking –

This morning I woke up with a headache. It felt like a giant was knocking on the front door of my face. I at breakfast took a pill and laid back down. It helped a little but it’s been painful off and on most of the afternoon.

Last week a friend told me he had a “secret knock” whenever he went over to his mother’s home. He said this knock was for her to know that it was him without looking out the window to see. I liked this idea both the reality and the thought behind it.

We have ideas which knock on the doors of our heads. Some of these thoughts, especially the ones filled with doubt, confusion, anger, can take us to places we don’t want to go. Wisdom teachers call this; “monkey mind” a mind filled with chatter like monkeys in a tree, never-ceasing or giving a moment’s peace. It can also be called; “thought train” which is a mind that’s on a particular set of tracks taking us to places it’s not always wise to go.

The good news is we are able to train our minds to recognize “monkey minds, thought trains” and refuse to let them take over our spirits and emotions. The key to mindful living is to be present, in the now. Our minds are not all-powerful and we do have the capability of saying; “No” to negative, repetitive, thoughts and “Yes” to those which keep us centered, balanced and at peace. We simply need to know when and when not to open the door.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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No Hurry

Jan 1

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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No Hurry –

I’m not sure what caught my eye first; the quote in the picture above or the picture. It is green, sunny and beautiful, unlike today when it is mostly cloudy, windy and frigid!

The weather forecast is for more cold this weekend which makes sense because it is winter. I don’t care for this season. The nights are long, the days are short, the extra layers of clothes make me feel claustrophobic. I know from wisdom teachers we are not to hurry through any moment or experience no matter how miserable because there are lessons to be learned and life to be lived. So, I take a breath and try to be still in a place and time I’d rather not be.

Life demands that we hurry. In the Christmas season just passed we rush to get our shopping done so we can “enjoy” the holidays and by the time we finish our “to do,” list Christmas is over. Then we quickly move into the new year with all its demands and before we know it, its spring, then summer, fall and winter quickly follow and we start all over again. Hurrying seems to be what we do best until we remember that all of these days which are flying by are our lives fading.

2018 is here. May we not hurry, take our time, experience each day and the ups and downs they bring. May we cherish each moment because moments are what make up our lives.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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Tags: #2018, #above, #beautiful, #best, #bestill, #blessings, #care, #cherish, #christmas, #claustrophobic, #clothes, #days, #demands, #enjoy, #experience, #extra, #eye, #fading, #fall, #finish, #first, #Flying, #follow, #forecast, #frigid, #green, #hurry, #Hurrying, #layers, #learned, #lessons, #life, #lived, #lives, #long, #matter, #miserable, #mostlycloudy, #move, #newyear, #nights, #no, #passed, #picture, #place, #quickly, #remember, #rush, #season, #short, #spring, #summer, #sunny, #teachers, #time, #todo, #unlike, #upsanddowns, #windy, #winter, #wisdom, breath, Holidays, moment, Shopping, Weather

Secrets

Dec 29

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

Secrets –

Secrets can destroy lives. Secrets can make enemies of friends. Secrets have a way of eating at us, not giving us any peace and taking over all we say and do. Yet, most of us still hold on to them for fear the secret being found out is worse than the misery it causes each day.

Several years ago I had a friend who was ready to leave his current job for a “better” one. We went out to eat and he laid all his grievances out about his current job. He disliked his occupation, didn’t agree with his boss about the direction of the company and was sick to his gut every day he came to work. To others, he was the model employee but secretly he desperately wanted to go somewhere else. After he finished making his case he took a breath and we talked about the new opportunity and I told him I would be happy to give him a recommendation.

A few hours after our lunch my cell phone rang and it was my friend. We chit chatted a few moments and then he said; “I forgot to ask you, what do you think about me leaving?” I told him it sounded like a good job, the move on his family would be disruptive but manageable and to remember wherever he went he was taking himself with him. I went on to explain that some of his unease and difficulty with his present position was not just the job but were the secrets and burdens he carried with him. “No matter where you go,’ I said quoting one of my favorite wisdom teachers, ‘there you are. “

Don’t carry your secrets and burdens with you.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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Tags: # moments, #after, #ago, #agree, #blessings, #boss, #burdens, #carried, #carry, #case, #causes, #company, #current, #desperately, #destroy, #difficulty, #direction, #disliked, #disruptive, #eating, #employee, #enemies, #explain, #favorite, #fear, #finished, #forgot, #found, #friend, #friends, #giving, #grievances, #gut, #hold, #laid, #leave, #Leaving, #lives, #manageable, #misery, #model, #move, #occupation, #opportunity, #position, #present, #quoting, #ready, #recommendation, #remember, #sayanddo, #secretly, #secrets, #several, #sick, #sounded, #takingover, #teachers, #unease, #wanted, #way, #wisdom, #worse, #years, Family, breath, Peace

Anticipation

Dec 24

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Anticipation –

There is a noticeable lack of Christmas spirit in my family this year. It’s been a long year as my dad battled cancer and passed away on the first of December. The anticipation of Christmas coming has been replaced with a feeling of; “Is it over yet?” I don’t think it’s Christmas per se’ but we’re anticipating the end of 2017 and 2018 to begin.

Anticipation can be a dangerous state of mind, emotion, and spirit. For all we know, 2018 will be as rough, perhaps more so, than 2017. It’s not a pleasant thought but it is a possibility. This is why wisdom teachers discourage anticipation. Life rarely lives up to what we think, or wish would happen. It’s almost always different and this can be good or bad, negative or positive. When life fails to fill our desires suffering, pain, confusion can occur.

So, my family and many others wait in this no man’s land hoping Christmas will not be too difficult and 2018 will be a better, certainly different, year.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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Tags: #2017, #2018, #anticipation, #bad, #battled, #begin, #better, #blessings, #cancer, #certainly, #christmas, #confusion, #dangerous, #december, #desires, #different, #discourage, #end, #fails, #feeling, #fulfill, #good, #happen, #hoping, #Isitover, #lack, #life, #livesup, #newyear, #noman'sland, #noticeable, #occurs, #pain, #passed, #pleasant, #positive, #possibility, #rarely, #replaced, #rough, #spirit, #suffering, #teachers, #think, #wait, #wisdom, #wish, #year, Family, Emotion, Mind, Negative, Thought

Best Teachers

Mar 27

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Best Teachers –

This morning, while getting ready for work, my mind drifted to a place from several years ago. It was a place I worked at for little over a year and yet it seemed much longer. I thought about the people I knew there, the one who brought blessings into my life and the ones that brought difficulty.

It’s hard to know who your life teachers are especially when going through a painful experience. It’s hard to learn the lessons when you are looking to escape.

There are days when looking back over our lives we wonder if there were teachers in our midst, people we would’ve learned from if we had eyes to see. These instructors-in-disguise might be the ones we struggle with the most but still have valuable lessons to teach us. What is being taught might also be what we don’t want to learn but needed.

Wisdom tells us that people, nature, circumstances are some of our best teachers. All we need is a willing, humble spirit.

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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Tags: #bestteachers, #circumstances, #Difficultpeople, #eyestosee, #hardtolearn, #lessons, #life, #teachers, #wisdom, Nature, People

Best of Teachers

Aug 19

Posted by thewannabesaint.com

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Best of Teachers –

I come across many types of animals traveling the back roads of South Central Tennessee. In the last few weeks, I’ve seen turkeys, deer, turtles, armadillos, and most recently two dogs walking in the middle of the road without a care in the world. I slowed down and honked the horn, multiple times. Finally, one decided to heed the warning and move out of the way, the other, however, just increased its pace. I am sure, it felt that it was moving fast but for me, it was still too slow. I honked again and as we passed another street that turned off to the right the dog went one way and I the other. He never wavered from staying in the middle of the road he was traveling.

I increased my speed, continued on to my destination, shook my head, and smiled. Most canines like the first scurry at the first sign of trouble but the other knew where he was going and nothing, not even truck weighing thousands of pounds, with a driver in a hurry was going to deter it.

I think the dog could teach me multiple lessons about life’s journey, determination, and more.

A famous wisdom teacher said; “I’ve learned many lessons of wisdom from the best of teachers; all of them cats.”

blessings,
@BrianLoging (Twitter)
thewannabesaint.com

Posted in Mindfulness

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Tags: #determination, #journey, #life, #lifesjourney, #teachers, #wisdom, knowwhereyouregoing

Essentialist

Essentialist, contemplative, author, advocate, old soul

Blog Archives

Knocking

No Hurry

Secrets

Anticipation

Best Teachers

Best of Teachers

Essentialist

Essentialist, contemplative, author, advocate, old soul

Blog Archives

Graduation

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Knocking

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Best Teachers

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