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Frugal February: Less is the new more
“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” ~ Epictetus, Stoic philosopher I spent part of last week purging my closets. Like many women I know, I own too much clothing. My latest pile of discards contained some nearly new, barely worn items — a fact that tugged on my conscience as I folded and packed it all into black garbage bags. The shame I felt for being so wasteful (and extravagant) was only partly erased by the knowledge that my unwanted clothes will be donated to a charity. I’m on a roll now. Having successfully completed the Dry January challenge, I want to keep clearing…
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Funny Friday: Tact and diplomacy
“Be wiser than other people if you can; but do not tell them so.” ~Dale Carnegie
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Within our reach
“Happiness, not in another place but this place. Not for another hour, but this hour.” ~Walt Whitman How are things going? If you’re working on “resolutions” for the new year, it’s easy to lose sight of the good things within your reach right now. Worthy goals inspire motivation, but they also keep us hyper-focused on the future. For instance, we might convince ourselves that we won’t be happy until we drop another 10 pounds, write a novel, find the perfect job, clean the basement, or finally remodel the kitchen. Walt Whitman believed that happiness is attainable in the present moment. Right here, right now. What have you enjoyed so far…
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The door inside you
“Remember: The entrance door to the sanctuary is always inside you.” ~Rumi Whenever I’m stressed or in a bad mood, I usually reach for an easy distraction — reading a novel, surfing the web, or watching X-Files reruns on TV. These diversions provide temporary relief, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But as the poet Rumi says, there is a key to lasting serenity. We won’t find it in the refrigerator or on television, or anywhere outside ourselves. The challenge is learning how to unlock the door to our own place of peace and comfort. ~CL
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The philosopher’s guide to managing stress
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself. It is due to your estimate of it, and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius was the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age remembered for peace and stability that lasted from 27 BC to 180 AD. Today, Marcus Aurelius is best known for his Meditations, a collection of writings on Stoic philosophy. His timeless wisdom has inspired monarchs, politicians, entrepreneurs, and ordinary people like me. Today’s quote from Meditations gives us a tool for handling stress. When a distressing event occurs,…
