When I was teaching yoga (I had to take a break due to school overload) I would always start my classes with a specific idea in mind. I would read to my students at the beginning and end of class in an attempt to bring them back to themselves, make them see themselves, their day, in a new light. I would literally search for hours until I found exactly what I was looking for, that thing that felt right for that day. That or I would write something myself. I used everything from The Prophet to Dr. Suess stories. Inspiration can truly be found anywhere as long as you know what you're looking for.
I was reminiscing on some of my favorites and wanted to share. A lot of students loved these and sometimes would even ask if they could take my notes home so they could remember them. I loved those moments, when I knew I had truly helped someone, somehow, even if it was just a little bit. I hope these inspire you as well.
On Joy and Sorrow, taken from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's over?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and your shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
"All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why."
"The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become." - Charles Dubois
Creation: A Sioux Story
The Creator gathered all of Creation and said, "I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it. It is the realization that they can create their own reality."
The eagle said, "Give it to me, I will take it to the moon."
The Creator said, "No. One day they will go there and find it."
The salmon said, "I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean."
"No. They will go there too."
The buffalo said, "I will bury it in the Great Plains."
The Creator said, "They will cut into the skin of the earth and find it even there."
Grandmother mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said, " Put it inside of them."
And the Creator said, "It is done."
"In order to get from what was to what will be, you must go through what is." - Anonymous
"When you're going through hell...keep going." - Winston Churchill
(Funny yoga quote) "Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape." - Anon
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin
Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination. ~Robert Fulghum
"Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness." - James Thurber
A Pencil Maker Told the Pencil 5 Important Lessons
1. Everything you do will always leave a mark.
2. You can always correct the mistakes you make.
3. What is important is what is inside of you.
4. In life, you will undergo painful sharpenings which will make you better pencil.
5. To be the best pencil, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.
"I love the light for it shows me the way, yet I endure the dark for it shows me the stars." - Og Mandino
"Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." - Seymour Mill & Jill Jackson
"Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things, and still be calm in your heart." - Anonymous
"People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses rivers run, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass themselves by without wondering."
The Bear, The Fire, and The Snow - Shel Silverstein
"I live in fear of the snow," said the bear. "Whenever it's here, be sure I'll be there. Oh, the pain and the cold, when one's bearish and old. I live in fear of the snow."
"I live in fear of the fire," said the snow. "Whenever it comes then it's time I must go. With it's yellow lick flames leaping higher and higher, I live in fear of the fire."
"I live in fear of the river," said the fire. "It can drown all my flames anytime it desires, and the thought o the wet makes me sputter and shiver. I live in fear of the river."
"I live in fear of the bear," said the river. "It can lap me right up, don't you know?" While a mile away you can hear the bear say, "I live in fear of the snow."
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