The True Nature of Love

"To fall in love is easy, even to remain in it is not difficult; our human loneliness is cause enough. But it is a hard quest worth making to find a comrade through whose steady presence one becomes steadily the person one desires to be."
- Anna Louise Strong

This, in my mind, is as wonderful a description of true, positive, healthy love as I have ever read. The person that I wish to spend the rest of my life with is the one whose sheer act of being in my presence will help to birth in me the individual I am destined to become. Of course, I wish also to be that person for my lover. This advancing together towards a better state of existence is what, it seems to me, true love ought to be.

Food for Thought: It is impossible to find a love that pushes you in the right direction if you do not evaluate what direction you wish to go.

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Where are you going? Why?

Acceptance vs. Pain

"Nobody’s life is entirely free of pain and sorrow. Isn’t it a question of learning to live with them rather than trying to avoid them?The greater part of human pain is unnecessary. It is self-created as long as the unobserved mind runs your life.The pain that you create now is always some form of nonacceptance, some form of unconscious resistance to what is. On the level of thought, the resistance is some form of judgment. On the emotional level, it is some form of negativity. The intensity of the pain depends on the degree of resistance to the present moment, and this in turn depends on how strongly you are identified with your mind."
- Elkhart Tolle

I found this to be a very interesting perspective on pain, and when I think about it, it seems to make sense to me. I know very little of the Taoist philosophy, but my understanding is that it professes the idea that there is a "path" in every moment down which we should "flow." When we flow down the path through which we were meant to flow, we have peace and contentment. When we fight against the path and seek another way we are discontented and experience pain. It certainly seems true in my own experience that all forms of grief are finally released from our consciousness when we learn to truly accept them.

Food for Thought: Are there any elements of your life that you can accept in order to find peace?

Fortune, Fate, and Destiny

''Fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step."
-Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

I found this quote very interesting. People tend to vary widely in their assessment of the concepts of fate, fortune, and destiny. Some famous people (such as Lord Byron) believed that all we do is controlled by our fate or our destiny. Others (such as William Jennings Bryant) believed that fate and destiny were completely controlled by our own actions. I like the quote above because it presents a view that is more balanced.

Yes...we are tossed by storms in our life that are impossible to control, but not only do they stem partially from ourselves, they are able to be endured and thusly controlled by our own actions. We create our storms, we weather them. They are not entirely in our control or entirely out of it. Our lives are a balance of what we may do and what we must do.

Food for Thought: What occurrences in your life do you believe came about as part of your "destiny"?

Stepping Out

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO... a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES."
- Nike Ad

I know it's just a commercial advertisement, but I LOVE this quote. In the end I don't suppose it matters one bit what other people think of us, what they tell us we can or can't accomplish. All that matters is what we believe...what we know in our hearts to be the truth.

I am starting on a new venture myself, and I am truly terrified. But I also have that sharp, almost painful excitement that comes from taking a risk and hoping for the best. Stepping out into the unknown and trying to clear the void...what else keeps us alive?

Proactive Inspiration Video: This concept reminds me of a new song by James Blunt, "One of the Brightest Stars." It speaks to the concept that people love to hitch their wagon to a star and try, in some way, to share in the glory. But when things go south, they are nowhere to be found. Check out the video on the top left.

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Take responsibility for your failures, you and you alone, so that when you succeed you will take responsibility for that as well.

Magic

"I do believe in magic. We all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put in the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God’s sake. And you know why we’re told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wilderness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad at what they allowed to whither in themselves. After you get so far away from it, though, you can’t really get it back. You can have seconds of it. Just seconds of knowing and remembering. When people get all weepy at movies, it’s because in that dark theatre, the golden pool of magic is touched, just briefly. Then they come out into the hard sun of logic and reason again and it dries up, and they’re left feeling a little heartsad and not knowing why. For the briefest of instants, you have stepped into the magic realm. The truth of life is that every year we get farther away from the essence that is born within us. We get shouldered with burdens, some of them good, some of them not so good. Things happen to us. Loved ones die. People get in wrecks, and get crippled. It’s not hard to do, in this world of crazy mazes. Life itself does its best to take that memory of magic away from us. You don’t know its happening until one day you feel like you’ve lost something, but you’re not sure what it is."
-Robert McCammon

Food for Thought: Do you believe in magic?

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Remember the magic. Allow yourself to feel the quiet magic of a sunny day or the gentle happiness of the breeze stirring the leaves.

Dear Mr. President

"When elephants fight it is the grass that suffers." - African Proverb

See the YouTube video on the top left side of the blog..."Dear Mr. President"

Last Lecture

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon--instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today."
- Dale Carnegie

Tuesday afternoon a professor at Carnegie Mellon University gave his final lecture before a crowd of 400 students. Randy Puasch, a 46-year-old father of three, was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer and is expected to live only a few more months. Asked to comment on what he had found to be important in life, he elicited tears from students as he triumphantly shared his life experiences. To read more about his lecture and see a short clip of him speaking, click on the link below:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119024238402033039.html

Stories like this one bring our own mortality into focus and give each of us the chance to re-evaluate our direction and our priorities.

Food for Thought: If you found out tomorrow that you were dying of cancer, what would you wish you had done?

True Greatness

"To endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty; to keep heart when all have lost it -- who can say this is not greatness?"
- William Makepeace Thackeray

Remember that your greatness as a human being is not determined by the present conditions in which you find yourself. Greatness is something that comes from within us. It is something that compels us to change our world, but does not have the power to compel those changes to be always successful or easy. If you are great, it is because you DO strive, because you DO struggle, regardless of the outcome. Every day that you choose to be proactive in achieving your goals is a day that you stake claim to your own greatness. Every day that you refuse to be paralyzed by doubts or fears or guilt or pain or exhaustion, is a day that you earn the reward that you seek.

Food for Thought: If you are facing troubles at the moment, remember, you will succeed someday because of your greatness today, or you will fail for the lack of remembering it. It is, as always, your choice to make.

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Rise up today. Rise up in your mind and in your heart. Resolve that you will not be beaten...that you will not falter. That you will move forward in action towards your life and towards your dreams...that you will put to rout all that is not life...that you will disregard any thought that holds you back.

Persevering Love

"Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little."
-Plutarch in "Life of Sertorius"

I find that there is an unquantifiable, almost mystical, quality to steady, unrelenting love. Violence is like lightening, or an earthquake, it can change our world through jolts and shocks and sudden explosions of fury. But love is more like the ocean waves, or the quiet tapping of the rain. Each instance of love in your life might not serve to dramatically change your existence. But you will find that the steady, persevering application of love to your friends, family, acquaintances, and even strangers will begin to transform not only their lives but your own as well.

Even when people refuse our love, I am a firm believer that we should continue to offer it. There is a great movie that I re-watched recently that reminds me of this concept. It is called "About A Boy" and I highly recommend it. It offers a vivid reminder that persistence can work wonders. For more info on the movie, click here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0276751/

It's a Dog's Life

A friend of mine recently sent me this story with its accompanying tips. It made me smile, so I thought I'd share it here:

A Dog's Purpose (from a 6-year-old)

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined the dog and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to be there when Belker passed. .The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?' The six-year-old continued, 'Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long." Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.
Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently
ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY

In Memory 9/11

"Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong."
- James Bryce

It has been six years since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As we remember those that were lost on this day and since, as we mourn them, we must also look deeply at ourselves and ask if we are living up to the sentiment expressed above. It is not my intention to turn this blog into a political forum, and I am not here to throw stones at any one. It seems to me, however, that this country is in constant need of re-evaluation. We are the super power of the world, we are the leaders of the free world, we are, and always have been, the champions of democracy on the globe. We must strive, through the leaders that we choose for ourselves and the causes that we champion, to be compassionate as well as powerful, righteous as well as strong, fair as well as brave.

It is my hope as we move forward in this new millenium that we will all make choices everyday that contribute to a better tomorrow.

Food for Thought: Remember...We are the change that we hope to see in the world.

Carpe Diem

"I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deeply and suck all the marrow out of life... to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
- Henry David Thoreau

The above is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite authors. Thoreau, Whitman, Emerson and others provide us with plenty of material expounding the virtue of LIVING our lives. This quote says it particularly beautifully. "I wanted to put to rout all that was not life." What an amazing thought! I was wondering about this after I read it. Wondering how much of my own life is spent in merely existing and how much is spent in LIVING! Granted, most of us (including me) have to work for a living. We have jobs and families and responsibilities and we can't just run out and take treks into the Himalayas every time we so choose. But we can make decisions every day that "suck the marrow out of life." We can enrich our lives with new thoughts and ideas, we can reach out to friends, we can try new things, we can do something everyday that scares us just a little.

Food for Thought: What does it mean to you to "suck the marrow out of life?"

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: This week, make a memory that you will remember. Do something that will guard against arriving at your death only to discover that you have not lived.

Do It Anyway

"You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach and you know it might not ever come your way...Dream it anyway. This world's gone crazy and it's hard to believe that tomorrow will be better than today...Believe it anyway. You can love someone with all your heart, for all the right reasons, and in a moment they can choose to walk away...Love them anyway. I sing. I dream. I love. Anyway."
"Anyway" - Martina McBride

I saved this song for last because it is one of my favorites. No matter how difficult my day is, this song always makes me feel hopeful. Often, when we speak of hope, we are talking about believing that things will end up as we would like them to be...that things will turn out "ok." What I love about this song, is that it focuses on things being "ok" simply becuase we do what we ought to do, live as we ought to live...with courage, conviction, and belief, regardless of the outcome. It speaks that the hope is in the journeying, not in the arriving. This type of hope is the greatest encouragement to me because it allows us to be successful on the road to success, it reminds us that just being on the right path is already succeeding.

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Allow yourself to indulge in hope, allow yourself the comfort of belief, and the warmth of faith. What you hope for may not come your way, but your days will always be brighter for having allowed yourself to dream.

The Power of Friends

"Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy, but I've got friends that love me, and they know just where I stand. It's all a part of me, and that's who I am."
"Who I Am" - Jessica Andrews

Thank God for friends that love and understand us! I am often amazed by just how much it can mean to someone, simply to be understood. In the end, our best friends in life tend to be the ones that really "get" us...the ones that seem to know how we are feeling without our having said a word. Our thoughts, our ideas, our dreams, our fears...these things make up who we are as human beings. Our friends may not share the same dreams, the same ideas, but they do understand ours and value them for just how important they are to us. You can watch the entire music video by clicking on it on the left side of the blog.

Food for Thought: Do you tend to understand friends better than they understand you or the other way around?

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Try to equalize any imbalances in this regard. If you tend to understand others better than they understand you, perhaps you are not sharing enough of yourself with those close to you. If you feel well understood, perhaps you would do well to listen more to your friends and try to understand their points of view.

Just Wait

"If ever you are feeling like you're tired, and all your uphill struggles leave you headed downhill...I ask of you a very simple question, did you think for one minute that you were alone? And is your suffering a privilege you share only, or did you think that everybody else feels completely at home?...There's no such thing as a failure who keeps trying. Coasting to the bottom is the only disgrace... Just wait. Just wait. Just wait. And it will come."
"Just Wait" - Blues Traveler

Thanks to Bear for recommending this song. I wasn't able to locate it on YouTube, so if you would like to listen for free, I am including a link to a live version: http://www.archive.org/details/bt2002-11-30.shnf When you go to the link, you will see a box appear on the right, upper side of the screen with the names of songs. Click on the tool bar on the right side of the box and drag the bar down until you come to song number 12 which is "Just Wait." Click on the song and it will start. Give it a chance to get going, the audio quality gets better after the first minute or so of this live version.

This song echoes a theme that I will touch more on in the next post. Simply stated it is "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Sometimes, though, the trying must be tempered with a little bit of patient waiting. Some things in life can't be forced. Perserverance and timing must work hand in hand.

Food for Thought: Is there an area of your life where you are "pushing," where you might be better "waiting?"

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Picture the things you want, the things you are working for, moving towards you through space and time. Slow down. Wait for them.

Loving to Death

"O you'll take the high road and I'll take the low road, and I'll be in Scotland before you; but me and my true love will never meet again on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond."
Loch Lomond - Scottish Traditional

Thanks to Lisa for suggesting this song. I think the version that I posted is a really cool rendition and even those who don't care for traditional folk songs should check it out. Click on the YouTube link on the left side of the blog.

This song was apparently written by a young soldier to his sweetheart. Two of Bonnie Prince Charlies soldiers were captured in Carlisle after the abortive rising of 1745. One wrote the song, the other was released and took it back to Scotland to give to his colleague's sweetheart. The low road refers to the soldier's impending death and the path of his spirit, whilst the high road is either the sign of hope for which he sacrificed his life, or the actual road back to Scotland over the high rugged hills. Hence, his spirit would return via the low road and be back in Scotland first.

I am not a pacifist per se, and I do believe that there are things worth fighting for, even worth dying for. But it seems that perhaps the leaders of our world have become so far removed from the suffering and the dying part of war that they forget that for every soldier lost, there is a love for whom he/she will not return.

Food for Thought: How many wars do you feel are noble and how many are needless?

Standing Out from the Crowd

"Well there's a million other girls who do it just like you. Looking as innocent as possible to get to who they want and what they like, it's easy if you do it right. Well I refuse, I refuse, I refuse!"
"Misery Business" - Paramore

This song is a little angry, but I like the message of the lyrics above. I have never fit in and most of the time I am happy about that. But sometimes I feel the temptation to be fake in order to get what I want. In the end, I would rather have only a few people love me than many people love someone that I pretend to be. Check out the YouTube link on the left side of the blog to watch the music video for "Misery Business" by Paramore.

Food for Thought: Who knows the real you?

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Spend an entire day saying only what you mean and nothing else.

Struggling for Success

"Yes I'm grounded, got my wings clipped, I'm surrounded by all this pavement. Guess I'll circle, while I'm waiting for my fuse to dry...Someday I'll fly. Someday I'll soar. Someday I'll be so damn much more...'Cause I'm bigger than my body gives me credit for."
"Bigger Than My Body" - John Mayer

Thanks again to those who commented on what songs they find inspirational. I picked this one for today's blog because it reminds me that success does not always come when we need it or when we want it. But success that must be patiently earned is oftentimes sweeter than that which comes quickly and without struggle. And, somehow, knowing that others are struggling for their success encourages me to continue the struggle as well. You can listen to all of "Bigger Than My Body" by clicking on the YouTube feed on the left of the blog.

Food for Thought: What do you consider your greatest accomplishment in life so far? How long did you struggle to obtain that goal?

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Find someone in your life who is struggling for a goal and give them a word or a note of encouragement.

Meaningful Moments

"Hoping that he's meant for more than arguments and failed attempts to fly. We were meant to live for so much more...Have we lost ourselves?"
"Meant to Live" - Switchfoot

Thanks to one of our readers for contributing this song as something that inspires him/her. You can listen to all of "Meant to Live" by Switchfoot by clicking on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72FkCoJfhgU

I love these lyrics because they remind us that we ARE meant to live for so much more. Life can become a mundane series of daily events (work, eat, sleep, watch tv, repeat) that numbs us to what we really want our lives to be.

Food for Thought: What do you really want your life to be? When you die, what legacy do you want to leave?

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: As you go through life today, try to separate yourself from the "things" that you must get done in order to appreciate the moments that comprise your life.

Combatting Depression

"Depression is anger without enthusiasm."
- Anonymous

"The madness of depression is the antithesis of violence. It is a storm indeed, but a storm of murk. Soon evident are the slowed-down responses, near paralysis, psychic energy throttled back close to zero. Ultimately the body is affected and feels sapped, drained."
- William Styron

At some time or another, we all battle feelings of depression. I find the above quotes to be true for me when I feel depressed. I also feel tired, hopeless, unable to focus my energy to positive channels. What makes depression so insidious is that it appears often as a shifting cloud, something that cannot quite be named, let alone held back. So name it! I have found that naming the cause of my depression, and then allowing myself to temporarily rage in anger against it, transforms my feelings from shapeless weights upon my spirit to very identifiable demons that can be fought and conquered.

Food for Thought: The next time you feel depressed, ask yourself to identify the sources of your depression (financial difficulties, relationship struggles, the words or actions of another person, etc.) and then name them out loud. Say, for example, "I am depressed because I am going through a divorce!"

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Once you have identified the source(s) of your feelings, allow yourself to express anger at the circumstances that are holding you back from your joy. Say, out loud, "I am angry that a divorce has come into my life, I am angry that my ex is hurting my feelings." Continue expressing your anger until you feel that you have covered all the things that are hurting your spirit. Then, speak out loud your resolve to not let these feelings steal your joy, "I deserve to be joyful, I will not allow this person to steal my joy, I will not allow these circumstances to steal my joy." Resolve within you to fight as strongly against these negative feelings stealing your joy as you would against a thief stealing your possessions, or a murderer trying to steal your life. Your joy is your life. Fight for it.

Proactive Inspiration Interaction: Please continue to post your inspiring music below under the last blog entry. Starting Monday morning we will be selecting songs to feature on the left side of the blog as YouTube feeds.

Musical Inspiration

"There is something very wonderful about music. Words are wonderful enough; but music is even more wonderful. It speaks not to our thoughts as words do; it speaks through our hearts and spirits, to the very core and root of our souls. Music soothes us, stirs us up, it puts noble feelings in us, it can make us cringe; and it can melt us to tears; and yet we have no idea how. It is a language by itself, just as perfect in its ways as speech, as words, just as divine, just as blessed."
- Charles Kingsley

Proactive Inspiration Interaction: Use the "comments" button below the blog entry to share with us what music inspires you. We all have "theme songs", songs that pick us up when we're feeling down. Share with us which song(s) inspire you and we will pick several to feature as YouTube videos on the blog over the next week.

Continuous Inspiration

"It just takes one idea to live like a king for the rest of your life."
- Ross Perot

The corollary to this is that you will have to try many ideas in order to find that one. Nurture your creativity by acting on your ideas. Trying new things and daring to experiment with our time and talents makes us more multi-dimensional and more alive. Not every idea you act on will be the one that may bring you prosperity, but all the ideas you bring to life will bring you something in return. Perhaps a new idea will bring you into contact with new people, it may bring you increased understanding and wisdom, it may help you to see things from a different angle, or it might just be fun. Don't dismiss your ideas as foolishness. I'm sure the idea of men flying through the skies on birdlike wings seemed very foolish at first.

Food for Thought: With all the distractions of life, how often are you simply still in order to allow your mind to wander?

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Start a notebook, and in the notebook write down your ideas as they come to you. Don't censor them or try to determine which are "good" or "valuable"...just write them down. Once a week, read through the ideas and pick one to act on.

Conquering Fear

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past
I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." - Frank Herbert's "Dune"

Fear is what will always bind us to mediocrity. If we desire greatness, we must abandon our fears. What great accomplishment ever came without risk? The insidious thing about fearing failure, is that succumbing to that fear guarantees it. Allowing our fears to dictate our lives is simply a slow, quiet form of failure rather than a loud, obvious one. But it is no less real...and it is no less failure.

Food For Thought: What would you attempt if you knew you would not fail?

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Take time today to identify what fears are holding you back from further success.

Finding Your Joy

"Joy is not in things; it is in us." - Richard Wagner

There are two parts to being a truly proactive individual: the first is planning for the future, and the second is acting in the present. The greatest danger facing the ambitious and the driven in the world is the danger that they will miss enjoying the present as they press on towards their brighter futures. Productivity and hard work do not have to come at the expense of joy.

If you do not find joy in your work and in your play today, on what day will you find it? Joy comes from within ourselves, if we cannot find it now, we will not find it in the future.

Food For Thought: What circumstances in your life are you hoping will change so that you can be joyful?

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Take the circumstances described above and accept them as your reality for today. Perhaps they will change in the future, perhaps they won't. Resolve to live joyfully today in whatever circumstances you find yourself.

Unconditional Love Transforms

"You owe me nothing for giving the love that I give.
You owe me nothing for caring the way that I have.
I give you thanks for receiving it's my priveledge
And you owe me nothing in return.

This is the only kind of love as I understand it that there really is."
- "You Owe Me Nothing," Alannis Morissette

We all like to profess that we have unconditional love for certain people in our lives...most notably our children. But I recognize within myself that when I love someone, I naturally desire their love in return. Alannis challenges me in this song to wonder if love offered for the sake of returns is truly love at all. I am not referring to loving someone who causes you pain, or spending undue resources or time on a love that is unhealthy. I am speaking of loving those that deserve your love, those you have chosen to love, without evaluating their response to it.

Perhaps loving is the end to itself...regardless of whether or not it is returned. We all have different capacities for love and for its expressions. Should we limit our love to others based on their capacity to return our love in the way that we might like?

Food for Thought: How much love would you allow yourself to show for others if you did not care whether or not they returned the sentiment? Could that love change your circumstances in a positive way?

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Today, find one person in your life that you love, but have neglected to tell them enough or ever...and tell them you care about them without expecting any response.

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIp1ASX43vo

What is Proactive Inspiration?

"However many holy words you read,
However many you speak,
What good will they do you
If you do not act upon them?"
- Buddha

We believe that inspiration is like fuel for the rocket ships of our lives. We all require it daily, and if it is not put into action it is useless in and of itself. Through this blog, we hope to not just inspire you, but to inspire you to ACTION! If everyone in the world, or if everyone in your country, or if everyone in your city, or if just everyone on your block took one step each day to make their corner of the world a better place...stop and think for one moment what miracles could be accomplished. Now think what you can accomplish in your own life if you will only take one proactive step towards your dreams, towards the life you desire, every day.

Each post on this blog will challenge you to do just that. We hope that together we will find inspiration in every day, and action for every inspiration.

Food for Thought: How old were you when you gave up on changing the world?

Proactive Inspiration Challenge: Take one step today, however small, in the direction of your dreams.