At one of the Dalai Lama’s talks he was asked, “Why is prayer important for a spiritual life?”

His reply was that prayer (meditation) is, “A simple daily reminder of your deeply held principles and convictions.”

Another listener asked, “For someone who is really busy, how does one find the time to do these kinds of prayers and meditation practices?”

The Dalai Lama said, in essence, you can always make time. But then he went on to add:

…if you think seriously about the true meaning of spiritual practices, it has to do with the development and training of your mental state, attitudes, and psychological and emotional state and well-being. You should not confine your understanding of spiritual practice to terms of some physical activities or verbal activities, like doing recitations of prayers and chanting.

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Today is Alison’s birthday, and she’s one of the most wonderful women I know.  In this picture she was getting my son to make goofy faces for her, which he gladly did because he LOVES her!  Hunter cannot get enough of his “auntie” Ali.

For those of you who may not be aware, Ali is my partner on this blog, and we’ve been friends since 1991. That really is saying a lot because, since then I have moved from San Diego to Georgia to Costa Rica to Alabama to Austin and back to Georgia (nomadic tendencies run deep in my family) and Ali has visited me in all of those places.  I really don’t make it easy to be my friend, but let me tell you… she is not a quitter. She can keep up with anything I throw her way.

Posted in Fellowship Fridays, friendship 30 Comments »

From time to time an individual comes along who has a definitive, identifiable passion… almost an obsession. This passion is an intrinsic part of the person without which that person does not feel complete. Adam Lambert knew from a very young age he wanted to sing and perform for a living. The same goes for many other musicians, dancers, painters, mathematicians, athletes, horse-breeders… all sorts of things. These people love one thing more than anything else in life.

In those cases, I would say, “Follow your passion.” Even if you never get rich, you will be happier doing that activity than if you forgo your passion in favor of a lucrative job. So the short answer is: if you have a passion, by all means follow it… see where it leads you. You’ll never know until you try. The risk inherent in this approach is if you cannot do that one thing, finding happiness and fulfillment could prove to be extra challenging for you. Do it anyway.

Posted in balance, choices, happiness 3 Comments »