Last week was my birthday. Or I should say, one of my birthdays. That’s because we all actually have many birth-days or major turning points during our lifetimes if we choose to remember and acknowledge them. Each one of these birthdays marks a significant turning point in our experience here on planet Earth. And even though there are always a large number of major and minor days of significance for each of us, I believe my life contains four extra-ordinary days of beginning. By sharing my special days with you, perhaps it will be easier for you to pinpoint and acknowledge similar events and birth-days in your life that you might want to honor and commemorate.
Website of the Week—TED.com
Happy SMART Day Everyone!
I’m taking a chance here that there are some of you who read SMART Living 365 who don’t already know about TED.com. But if you don’t, then it is definitely time you did. TED.com is mostly a website that posts videos of people who speak at TED conferences held annually around the world. The very best of those talks—called Ted Talks—are condensed versions. What is TED? TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. But a better way to think of TED is explained on their website where it says they are, “Ideas worth spreading. Or Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world.” How SMART is that?
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Enjoying the Good Things In Life—For Free!
The best things in life are free!
Yesterday evening Carlsbad, California began its Annual Music Festival with a free Village Music Walk. Similar to free art walks held regularly in cities around the county, the music walk was an introduction to the music to be performed at different venues over the weekend—and just like most art walks—it was absolutely free. Now, most of us know deep down that the best things in life aren’t “things.” But until we stop, think about it and then start enjoying the many free experiences that bring us joy, we might be missing out on the good right in front of us.
The Power Of Your Words
“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.” –Buddha
Do you realize how much power you possess every time you open your mouth? Or what about when you post something on Facebook or send out that email? Every communication we have with others carries with it the ability to bring a smile to someone’s face and potentially lift one’s spirit. Or, we simultaneously have the power to create fear, doubt, or even worse. While we usually can’t turn another person’s life around without their cooperation, we can, with the simple words we say or write, instantly shift the energy in a person or in a room. Let’s start remembering that the words we share with others are like a wand bestowing blessings or curses.
[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgi0t2ap-us[/tube]
What Does The “S” Stand for in SMART?
Happy SMART Day Everyone!
It occurred to me that it would be wise to go through and explain what I am attempting to include with each letter in the word SMART. As some of you know, Thom and I have been actively involved in the “green” and sustainable movement for the last couple of years. We never, or at least I never, considered myself to be a “treehugger.” I still don’t. But what I have grown to discover is that living in a green or sustainable way means that you take care of what you have, you aren’t wasteful or inconsiderate with what you use, you honor the gifts that are given and don’t abuse them, and you realize what you give out you get in return. Not only does that philosophy apply to how we treat planetary resources, it also applies to just about every thing we do–physically, emotionally and spiritually.