Remember:

Life is beautiful!
Have a nice Sunday, everyone :)

Outlook

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"Your outlook on life is a direct reflection on how much you like yourself."
-Lululemon

On the way

source:weheartit

“There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh
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Happy Monday.

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"Winter is long, but Spring will come."
-Amy, in a rare moment of wisdom

Thankfully, we can simulate spring by starting things afresh.
We (your awesome inspire-ers) are shaking off the winter blues by switching up templates (hope you like this one).
What will you do to shake off the blues?
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Please pause to answer our poll. Or the next post will be a frowny face.

Inspiration from tinybuddha.com/blog

Do Happy: Look Longer

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for a minute?” ~Henry David Thoreau

You’re riding on the subway, immersed in a book. You’re running in the park, lost in your iPod. You’re waiting in line at Starbucks, fixated on the menu.

Sometimes we act like we’re completely alone, even when surrounded by lots of people. It’s like we’re following an unspoken rule that suggests we shouldn’t look at each other, at least not for too long.

It happens all the time: you suddenly make eye contact with someone you don’t know, and your discomfort compels you to avert your eyes. If you do manage a smile, it’s probably perfunctory, without real joy and affection behind it. Those are emotions you reserve for people you know–people you’re more intimate with.

Some studies have indicated people who live in cities are less apt to make eye contact with strangers than people who live in suburbs. This may be a response to crowding; when you feel you don’t have enough personal space, you’re more protective of it.

If there’s truth to that hypothesis, it’s somewhat ironic. You move to a city to experience the life that pulsates through it; and respond by shutting down in everyday situations.

Resist the urge to shutdown. Instead of walking with your eyes glued to your feet, hold your head high and connect with people. Really see them and let them see you. If you’re not a confident person, connecting for more than one second may feel incredibly difficult. Just try.

When you make a genuine connection you acknowledge the person in front of you is real and worthy. You remind both them and yourself that no one operates in a vacuum. That the world is so much larger than the constructs we operate within: our families, our teams at work, our friends. And lastly, you foster the type of spirit that stays open to possibilities.

When you look a little longer you see more–more in other people, more within yourself, and more within your reach.

Do happy. It’s something you’re due.

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I found this article especially insightful and fresh. I hope you do too.

On Education

What sculpture is to a block of marble
education is to the human soul.
Joseph Addison

NOTICE:

The writers are extremely busy with school projects, extra-curricular choir trips, and moving! Try to unplug yourself for the weekend and snatch up that dusty book off the bookshelf, you know you want to! ;)

Untitled

Indifference is the strongest force in the universe. It makes everything it touches meaningless. Love and hate don't stand a chance against it. - Joan Vinge

Things that can cause the universe to explode:

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Frowning at a baby koala for twelve straight hours

Sitting on a table and eating from a chair

Being really damn angry on a carousel

Have a Good Monday

source:weheartit

Something a professor shared with my class:

I've learned that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I've learned that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I've learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. The same goes for true love.

I've learned that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I've learned that you can keep going long after you can't.

I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I've learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.

I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I've learned that money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I've learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.

I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.

I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them, and less to do with how many years you have lived.

I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I've learned that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do love each other.

I've learned that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.

I've learned that two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different.

I've learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.

I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you you will find the strength to help.

I've learned that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I've learned that the people you care about most in life are sometimes taken from you too soon

Quotes for Happiness

source:weheartit

"Happiness is in itself a kind of gratitude."
-Joseph Wood Krutch

"Happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external factors."
-Dalai Lama

"True happiness means forging a strong spirit that is undefeated, no matter how trying our circumstances."
-Daisaku Ikeda

One less thing to worry about

You're beautiful!

"Worry never robs tomorrow of it's sorrow. It only saps today of it's joy."
-Leo Buscaglia

Smile! Laugh! Cookies for everyone!

(maybe not that last part..)

Happy Monday folks! ;)

Make Every Day Different

“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.”
-Paulo Coelho

photo source

If you do the same thing every day, they'll all blend together for you.
Find your own way to make each day stand out!
Do something new everyday or work on something different everyday.
Being the list maker that I am, I've started a list which gives a headline for each day,
such as, "The day I bought that new CD and it made me cry, it was so good."
Not a real example, but.. :) You get the idea.
Get out there and do it!
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Can you hear the music?

Happy Twenty-Ten!

source:weheartit

We're back!
This year will be awesome, all because of you!
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