I think

some of these sound cliche, canned, copies of pop messages. despite appearance, they have been, in my mind, fresh, paradigm shifting, illuminating. it feels nice to put some into words.

10 Thoughts of Late, as I hear them in my head:

1) Most people inhabit a mind of repetitive thoughts. Maybe all people do.
2) If you can stop those thoughts, only for a second, you can see something new.
3) The older you get, the less people follow through on their word. All the more reason to appreciate those who do, and to be someone who does so too.
4) Spring is a sudden phenomenon. It is also a verb.
5) Reliable friends are the most precious gift in life.
6) Positive thinking is the most powerful force in life. Circumstances are largely determined by our minds and our vision is always limited. Knowing that, we do have a choice in what to see.
7) Our bodies and our minds are affected by what we feed them. Both are forgiving, but it's hard to know in advance what exactly they will forgive us for.
8) Three of the greatest physical pleasures: good chocolate, stretching, and um, okay, you can guess the last one.
9) People are different in ways we can't always understand- motives, perceptions, histories. Their surface is often like water- the tiniest reflections of real life going on underneathe. Try not to assume.
10) Then as always: people are the most important thing. This, of course, is the subject of a thousand movies, a million books. But I think maybe that's because once you realize it and the power behind connection, you can't help but want to express it to everyone.

10 has been the big one lately. There is so much joy found by relaxing into moments with others, listening more carefully to their story, trying to understand the "why's" in their lives. Then trying to appreciate fully how much they are giving, how much love they embody, how amazing they are.

This was the fuel for me when I traveled (or, I guess it's really been fuel for me all my life). The lonewolf moments are precious too, but connecting with another is what opens doors in the heart and the mind. Humanity is infinite, and it's so clear when looking at each individual's life creation. Constantly learning, and especially about people close to me- watching them open and grow and change and reveal billions of facets and characteristics and beauties I never knew were there.

Tangent: Do we ever really KNOW someone, or do we just have conceptions of who we believe them to be? And them of us? What, then, is our responsibility to truth- what we reveal of ourselves, what we allow to come to the surface? And our responsibility to others, to our curiosity of them? (And by 'responsibility', I mean the best way to live life... as if that is quantifiable).