On thoughts, quotes & blank canvases

Twelve hours of sleep... I am going to sleep. Let the sun rise at six. Let the birds chirp and tweet. You can even let the earth shake, the tide swell or a tsunami hit, but I am going to sleep ...... and that's what I have been doing for the first week of the year. The holidays were soooooo hectic and tiring. Took a week to 'recuperate', ( a word my best friend Aimee uses to describe some of her weekends ).

A blank canvas .... What do you see? What do I see? What do I plan to paint on it? It's just like my life. Being semi retired i have no definite plans, just feeling my way, considering my options, making no decisions, no rush ... not just yet.

Painting starts with a thought ... which becomes a dream. As I contemplate and hopefully act on my dream, only then will it become my reality. I pray for miracles to happen, for more beautiful insights, for bigger aspirations, for a brighter year ahead. (betsisanders)

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As the new year starts, may I quote Marianne Williamson,

"New Year's prayers carry more miraculous power than do New Year's resolutions. Forgiving ourselves and others for the casual unkindness of an unconscious moment; for time wasted in self-pity that could have been used to create something true and beautiful; for lack of gratitude for blessings and privileges. Dedicating ourselves to the purification of our hearts... seeking to stop the chronic indulgence of our weaknesses, and the power to embody our God-given strengths."

She suggests to fill in these spaces...

"I ask forgiveness for....
I grant forgiveness for....
For I would carry none of that burden on my heart into the new year... "

And another one:

"I pray that this or that aspect of my personality be healed, transmuted, miraculously dissolved as I enter the new year...
I pray to embody the perfection of my divine potential, as a blessing on myself and others...

This is the moment of the year when we inhabit inwardly both sunset and sunrise. God created them both, but we ourselves decide how to paint them. Next year will bring whatever next year brings, but what we bring TO it will make all the difference. And the greatest thing we can bring to it is our love."

Quite encouraging , very positive, full of hope .....

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I just read this from a blogger, and I quote:

"Do you know what is the hardest instrument in the orchestra to play? The hardest instrument to play is second fiddle. While all the rest of the instruments have their own sections, the violins are divided into two parts - "first" and "second" violins.

First violins are often the stars of the show. They get the melody lines. They get to show off. They sit next to the audience.

Back behind, where they are hard to see, are the second violins. They play a supporting role. They play harmony to the first violins. Theirs is a service role. Their job is to round out the sound of the other instruments. They serve the orchestra. They do what is not glamorous so that the whole will be beautiful. Without the second violins, the orchestra would sound incomplete.

You know what the hardest role to play in life is? Second fiddle. To play second fiddle is to play a supporting role for someone else. And it is sometimes a service role; doing what is not glamorous, usually behind the scenes, so that the whole can be more beautiful."

........... But wouldn't you want to be first .... ? Sometimes .....? If playing second fiddle causes you sadness, depression or despair... if it feels like being disrespected, or taken for granted, wouldn't you want an end to this kind of relationship? You do not need these from people, and you don't need these people in your life..... Hmmmmmmm......
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On thoughts ......

"If you have selfish thoughts, it does not mean you are a selfish person, it just means that sometimes you have selfish thoughts. If you have depressing thoughts, it does not mean you are a depressed person, it just means that sometimes you have depressing thoughts. If you have angry or fearful or even generous and compassionate thoughts, it does not mean you are an angry or fearful or even generous or compassionate person, it just means that sometimes you identify with those kinds of thoughts. To watch and allow all these mind states and contents of consciousness to arise and pass away without assuming them to be "I", "me" or "mine", is to abide clear and free, like a lotus leaf immersed in, yet untouched by the water surrounding it." (from Happiness)

What about monstrous thoughts? Sometimes, don't you just think of assassinating your frenemy, or pushing her down the staircase? It is just a monstrous thought. Or you could be thinking of baking a red velvet cake or painting a landscape. just your mind playing tricks. One does not deserve an award or a reprimand for these thoughts .. After all , they are JUST THOUGHTS !!!

Blank canvases .... and Christmas decors to keep .... Sigh sigh sigh