Friday, February 24, 2012

Gratitude and Grace


“When you are grateful fear disappears
and abundance appears.”
~ Anthony Robbins

I was smack in the middle of an “I don’t have a thing to wear” moment, with most of the contents of my closet strewn across the bed and floor, when gratitude first entered my live in a conscious way.  Already late for work, I finally threw on a suitable ensemble and dashed to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast. Standing in front of my open fridge; full to the brim with good, nutritional foods, sweet treats and a jug of clean water – it hit me:  While I was furiously rummaging through my closet FULL of quality clothing - cursing the clothes gods for my lack, and then there fretting in a kitchen stocked to extravagance, 1,000’s, no, 100’s of 1,000’s of women across the globe, likely dressed in their only item of clothing, had been on the move for hours, and would likely spend the rest of the day searching for something their family could eat. The image literally brought me to my knees.  It was an AH-HA moment that struck like lightening and has remained with me ever since.

I spent the next few days in hyper- conscious thought around all my good fortune and its contrast to the many who had so much less. Recalling how inconvenienced I felt when my car broke down and I had to rely on family members to transport me to and from my daily labors for a few days, I thought about the millions of men and women who awakened in the dark to start the long hours of maneuvering through the public transportation system to ultimately reach their work place (where they likely earned barely a living wage).  I recalled the fear and anxiety I felt when my Mom became ill and entered the medical system for the first time, and about the people who carried their loved ones for miles and days, in hopes that the visiting nurse in a hut in the next village might have something to ease their pain.  I thought about the many wonderful vacations I’ve enjoyed with family and friends, and then of all the people who, because of their circumstances, had never left the towns or villages of their birth, had never seen the ocean or a forest.

Gratefully, I resisted the temptation to sell all my material goods and run off to save a third world country, and instead came to this realization:  it is not for us to lord our good fortune over others, nor to discard the gifts we are given, but to receive, with gratitude, that which comes our way and share it, where we can, through compassion, kindness and love. 

That is what I’ve tried to do, in some small way, each day since that morning on my knees in front of the refrigerator. Since then I’ve been committed to being grateful everyday, thoughtfully finding and acknowledging (I keep a gratitude journal) the Grace in my life, the blue of the sky, the laughter of my grandson, the good fortune of having a safe car. And since I started my practice of gratitude, my life has become even more full of things and people to be grateful for and I am.

I encourage you to choose gratitude as your attitude this week – and see what happens. Then, please share your experiences here at The 51 Percent Project blog or on our FB page: The 51% Project.  Your stories keep us inspired, and encourage others’ as well.  Thank you.

Namaste,

Dorothy

We hope you are finding our daily Facebook posts inspiring.  If you missed this week’s offerings, please enjoy them below.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home,
a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
~ Melody Beattie

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the
highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
~ John F. Kennedy

“Gratitude is when memory is stored in
the heart and not in the mind.”
~ Lionel Hampton

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy;
 they are the charming gardeners
who make our souls blossom.”
~ Marcel Proust

“We often take for granted the very things
that most deserve our gratitude.”
 ~ Cynthia Ozick

“Wake at dawn with a winged heart
and give thanks for another day of loving.”
 ~ Kahlil Gibran






Sunday, February 19, 2012

Love

If you require love, try to realize that the only way to get love is by giving it,
 that the more you give the more you will get, 
and the only way you can give it is to fill yourself up with it, 
until you become a magnet.
-Charles Haanel
This weeks Facebook posts are all about love.  We hope they have inspired you and that you have found love in unexpected places all week long.
A bell is no bell 'til you ring it,
A song is no song 'til you sing it,
And love in your heart
Wasn’t put there to stay -
Love isn’t love 'Til you give it away.
-Oscar Hammerstein 
Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.  
-Peter Ustinov

Let your love be like the misty rains, coming softly, but flooding the river.  
-Malagasy Proverb
Do I love you because you're beautiful,
Or are you beautiful because I love you?
-Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Love one another and you will be happy.  It's as simple and as difficult as that.  
-Michael Leunig
Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, 
too long for those who grieve, 
too short for those who rejoice, 
but for those who love, time is eternity.  
-Henry Van Dyke
Love doesn't sit there like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; 
remade all of the time, made new.  
-Ursula K. Le Guin
We wish you a brilliant week filled with kindness and love!
The 51% Project

Saturday, February 11, 2012

With Our Own Two Hands

Unless someone like you cares a whole lot,
nothing is going to get better.
It's not. 
         ~ Dr. Seuss


Anne Frank knew it.  Leo Rosten, Edward Everett Halle and Dr. Suess, too. Even a small, single act can work to make the world a better place. 
 
I find this beautiful piece set to the music of Jack Johnson and Ben Harper a thoughtful and powerful reminder that: Doing nothing is not an option. 
 

 
I hope you are inspired by these words to take action, do something, make a difference with YOUR own two hands!

Last week's daily quotes are also a good reminder of the power of action. If you missed them on Facebook, please enjoy them here today.
 
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a
single moment before starting to improve the world. 
~Anne Frank

 Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does. 
~William James

The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive,
to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all. 
~Leo Rosten
 
Being good is commendable, but only when it
is combined with doing good is it useful.
 ~Author Unknown
 
I am only one, but I am one.  I cannot do everything,
but I can do something.  And I will not let what
I cannot do interfere with what I can do. 
~Edward Everett Hale

It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing
because you can only do little - do what you can. 
~Sydney Smith

  
 
Nameste - Dorothy


 
 
 
 







Saturday, February 4, 2012

Living In Your Top 1%

Dorothy and I read many books, blogs and Facebook pages and through them we have the pleasure of connecting with insightful, interesting people who are making a positive difference in the world.   All of them provide us with inspiration.
This week’s topic was inspired by Alissa Finerman’s book “Living In Your Top 1%”.  Her book is a guide which can help define what true achievement means to you and will assist you in creating a blueprint for a path to follow to achieve your dreams.   
As I move through my day, I’ve been asking myself if my direction and actions support living in my top 1%.  This visualization has clicked for me because it’s a simple question to answer either yes or no.  “Yes” answers happily encourage me, and “no” answers give me the opportunity to reconsider my actions and make changes which will support my progress.   
Our quotes this week are about making remarkable contributions to the world, and the opportunity to live with distinction.  Thanks to Dorothy Mendoza Row of Mystical Sunflower for the quote she posted that sums up our week’s topic beautifully (you can access Mystical Sunflower from our Facebook page).  
Never forget that you are one of a kind. 
Never forget that if there weren't any need for you in all your uniqueness 
to be on this earth, you wouldn't be here in the first place. 
And never forget, no matter how overwhelming life's challenges and problems 
seem to be, that one person can make a difference in the world. 
In fact, it is always because of one person that all the changes that matter 
in the world come about. So be that one person. 
- R. Buckminster Fuller (1895 - 1983) 
We hope you’ve found inspiration on our Facebook page this week, but if you haven’t been there yet, here are this week’s daily posts:
It is not given us to live lives of undisrupted calm, 
boredom, and mediocrity.  
It is given us to be edge-dwellers. 
- Jay Deacon
To move the world, we must first move ourselves. 
- Socrates
Realize how good you really are. 
- Og Mandino
Your spark can become a flame 
and change everything. 
- E.D. Nixon
We all have the extraordinary coded within us, 
waiting to be released. 
- Jean Houston
I will dare to just do what I do.  Be just what I am.  
And dance whenever I want to. 
- Beverly Williams
I believe that when you realize who you really are 
you understand that nothing can stop 
you from becoming that person. 
- Christine Lincoln
We encourage you to visit the pages we’ve “liked” on our Facebook page and hope you’ll find, as we have, a new community of friends and inspiration which will add more joy to your life.   And while you’re there, please “like” us and help us increase our numbers.
If you’re not a regular Facebook user, this is an opportunity to explore a bit.  It’s easy, just search Facebook for The 51% Project, then select pages from the list of “likes” on our page.  All of those shown offer positive outlooks on life and interesting perspectives to consider.
Wishing you an inspiring week,
Susan