Live EVERYTHING!

  May 3, 2026

In some ways, I don’t have a true religion… I have my own personal religion. I appreciate the rituals of the Catholic Church, but consider myself a very open-minded Catholic. I like being a searcher of truth… I read many things and learn about the beliefs of many people (Jews, Christians, Vedanta practitioners, Buddhists, Sikhs, Gurus, So-Called Spiritual Gurus, etc.). I reflect on what I read and only believe it if it sounds right to me, as long as it is inclusive, life-affirming, celebrating and uplifting our fellow human beings. I am my own person! I don’t like people that try to brainwash others and that have bad intentions. In many ways, I don’t trust a lot of people (politicians, religious leaders, greedy and superficial people), especially people that only care about themselves.

It’s a good thing to use our critical thinking skills. No one has a monopoly on the truth! But I dislike liars, disingenuous and hypocritical persons tremendously — anyone with bad intentions. Yes, I dislike con-artists, pretenders and people that only think about themselves... people that don’t care about other human beings: narcissists, and selfish and egocentric persons.

I firmly believe that we are in this world to somehow be of service to others. To love and respect other human beings — our fellow men and women. To learn to be kind and compassionate. To be a healing presence to others. And in the process, and in life, we have to learn to love ourselves, because only then, like Leo Buscaglia once said, can we learn to love others better. I understand that a person that has never been truly loved, or that never felt loved, will indeed have a harder time loving others. Anyone with anger and resentment in his/her heart may not have empathy towards others, and many people just want to hurt others because they are in pain (because they have been hurt) and sadly, some actually enjoy causing real pain to others and cannot acknowledge their issues of anger and mistrust. They haven’t learned to forgive, to let go. I personally choose not to be near persons like that. It’s easy for them to hurt us. We need to protect ourselves, our emotional wellbeing, our energy, as best as we can. We are here to be happy and don’t need miserable (toxic) persons to dim our lights. Besides, it feels good to be a “good person.”

Let us try our best to be good humans! Let us continue our journey by listening and discerning the needs of our world, by being patient with the unknown and the uncertainties; by living our questions, like Rilke suggested (“and the point is to live everything”), and by listening gently to our desires and fears, our angers and anxieties... We need to support and love one another and not allow hatred to fester in our hearts.

Let us walk where there are no paths, to enjoy the wilderness and to remind us of our common task: to be there for each other and build community. Let us be peacemakers... and, like I learned from the Medical Mission Sisters, “to discover in ourselves and in our communities the strength we need to really see how great is the hope to which we are called, and to be bearers of light to our world in whole new ways.” Let us create a future that is life-giving to ALL, with an open heart and an open mind, because everything is interconnected, and our thoughts, our choices, and our actions matter! 

“We are here to help each other get through this thing, whatever it is.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

“Our challenge today is to trust the power of love at the heart of life, to let ourselves be seized by love, to create and invent ways for love to evolve into a global wholeness of unity, compassion, justice, and peacemaking.” 

― Ilia Delio

The Power of Thoughts

For many years I have believed in the "Power of Thoughts." We have to pay attention to the thoughts we put in our mind, because they are powerful! Worrying, for instance, is like praying for those things to happen. Like "Peace Pilgrim" said, "Do you know that every moment of your life you’re creating through thought? You create your own inner condition; you’re helping create the conditions around you." We are creating the conditions around us! She also said, "negative thoughts and feelings are much more harmful than disease germs." Also, anger, hatred, envy, and all sort of negative feelings affect us in a negative way. We must learn to let go of those feelings. "We create through thought, we need to concentrate very strongly on positive thoughts. If you think you can’t do something, you can’t. But if you think you can, you may be surprised to discover that you can. It is important that our thoughts be constantly for the best that could happen in a situation— for the good things we would like to see happen."

And from Google AI: "Thoughts are incredibly powerful, acting as the foundation for our emotions, behavior, and physical reality. They can shape our lives by influencing actions, fostering resilience, or triggering stress responses through neuroplasticity, which physically wires the brain based on repetitive thinking. By intentionally cultivating positive thoughts and changing our mental habits, we can transform our personal experiences and overall life outcomes."

Check this website: https://judithjohnson.com/2024/12/26/do-you-know-how-powerful-your-thoughts-are/

I also liked this website: https://xylaservices.com/professionals/news/be-your-own-friend-harness-the-power-of-thoughts/

"A thought is not simply the running commentary in our minds, or fleeting comments passing by. Thoughts are powerful and can influence our mood and our actions." Pay attention!

The Power of Words

 “I believe in the power of words. Surround yourself with good words.” 

— Karol Feld

Have you truly paid attention to the words you use or the words you think? It's easy to think negatively or use negative words often. We must learn to focus on positive words and positive messages. The world is full of problems and we all deal with problems, but if we only focus on the negative we can easily become depressed, despondent, irritable, and simply miserable. We cannot do that! We have to remain hopeful and optimistic no matter what! Remember?

Cassandra Michel, a psychologist, wrote: “you’ve probably read somewhere or heard someone say that words are powerful, but have you ever taken a moment to reflect on that idea? We use words every day to interact with others and convey ideas, thoughts, and feelings, yet we seldom think about the magnitude of the words we use daily. As a spoken word poet, I constantly think about how powerful words are because I enjoy the beauty of putting words together to convey ideas that I have. Words— are free tools that we have, so it’s important that we take some time to reflect on the power of words, especially their impact on our mental health.” Many people have written about this topic in books or essays. Now, it’s our time to reflect on the importance of the words we use every day: they can be uplifting or they can be diminishing; they can make us feel good or they can make us feel bad. Let us pay attention to the words we use and to our thoughts. Words do matter!

I personally love quotes and try to find uplifting quotes every day (I have a big collection of quotes, poems and prayers!). Contrary to negative self-talk, positive self-talk and affirmations help reduce stress, depression, and increases self-esteem, happiness, and one’s overall life satisfaction. Sometimes we worry too much, and worrying is like praying for bad things to happen. Instead of being your own worst critic, you can practice positive self-talk through using positive affirmations. Affirmations are great! Affirmations can best be understood as statements that you repeat to yourself, like prayers. To be effective, affirmations should be short, simple, specific, and easy to remember. If done correctly, positive verbal affirmations can lift you up. Positive affirmations are a great tool to help turn negative self-talk into positive self-love.

Louise L. Hay (a renowned motivational speaker) was a big believer in affirmations. Here are some examples of positive affirmations you can start using to brighten up your day: “I am getting better and better every day.” “I am strong.” “Today will be a good day.” “Good things happen to me every day.” “All is well in my world.” “As I say yes to life, life says yes to me.” “Life loves me.”

Find some good affirmations and repeat them every day. Yes, affirmations are like prayers!

Check these affirmations and find more online:  

https://hellofearless.com/blogs/blog/louise-hay-affirmations

And So It Goes...

 I like the phrase, “And so it goes…”, it reminds me of C’est la vie… I’m aware that it expresses resignation or acceptance that things will continue to be as they have been, and continue to happen repeatedly or persistently, despite our best efforts to change things; but we can only do our best. We can continue to do our best even if we are not completely able to change the world, no matter what. It may be part of the “plan.” To me, the world is like a school. We come here to learn many lessons — how to be a truly caring, loving, kind, compassionate, patient, and a peaceful human being. 

I appreciate the teachings of many religions, Buddhism is one of them. The Buddhists believe in the Principles of Acceptance, Non-Attachment and Surrender. I’ll explain them here: 

The Principle of Acceptance refers to our ability to stay present accepting what is just as it is. Giving up the need to control anything (or everything) or anybody. Trusting life and allowing it to unfold as it is meant to be.

When life presents us with something we find painful and difficult, our tendency is to resist, avoid change or generally push against that. We need to learn to let go of the idea that we can control everything — we can’t! Some things are just meant to be… Yes, we can try our best to improve things, to do our part to help others, to bring awareness about injustices, to teach others about our beliefs and our commitments, to inspire them; but that’s it! We have to learn to let go of the belief that we can solve all of the world’s problems. We can change some things, of course, and make a difference in small ways, and this is perfectly fine. Our efforts do matter! And when many work together towards a common goal, things do happen. There will always be challenges, of course, and this is why we need one another to work together and help each other. 

We can also learn from the teachings of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and the “Little Way” idea; which is a simple approach to our spiritual life—seeking to do ordinary things, little things, with extraordinary love. Performing “little virtues,” not seeking grandiose sacrifices to God, but little acts of holiness. Let us practice the “Little Way.” 

The Buddhists also believe in the Principle of Non-Attachment. The Buddha said that attachment (and its opposite, aversion) is the root of all suffering. We easily attach to things, to people, even to ideas and desired outcomes, resting our happiness on external factors that we ultimately cannot control. The practice of non-attachment —of letting go of our ego’s constant grasping and clinging— helps alleviate our suffering and increases peace of mind. Non-attachment doesn’t imply that we let go of our plans, pursuits or goals; rather, we practice changing the energy or tone of our pursuits, focusing on the journey rather than the destination. 

The third principle is the Principle of Surrender. Surrender is closely related to the notion of acceptance. While this principle, like acceptance, encourages letting things “be,” surrender takes it one step further. When we surrender, we simply let go… we leave it to God, like they say. No matter what we surrender to, the key is that we no longer take ourselves to be supreme and in control. Surrender will feel like relief (or like grace). Surrender is letting go: letting go of the need to be right, the need to hold on to people, memories, and places, the need to judge, and any expectations and desires.

Let us practice letting go of what should have been or what should be. The Buddha said, “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” 

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33 

The song “And So It Goes” by Billy Joel starts, “In every heart there is a room, a sanctuary safe and strong.” Let us remember that that sanctuary is God/Spirit/Love/Peace within. God/Spirit/Love/Peace is always with us! Always present… And let’s not forget the simple and powerful words by Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.” 

And so it goes… 
(January 16, 2024) 

“Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. …get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed. Never once in my life did I ask God for success or wisdom or power or fame. I asked for wonder, and he gave it to me. Wonder rather than doubt is the root of all knowledge. The beginning of our happiness lies in the understanding that life without wonder is not worth living.“ 

— Abraham Joshua Heschel

“Remember that there is meaning beyond absurdity. Know that every deed counts, that every word is power… Above all, remember that you must build your life as if it were a work of art.” — Abraham Joshua Heschel

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Check: https://humblewarriortherapy.com/acceptance-non-attachment-surrender-how-buddhist-principles-decrease-stress/

Billy Joel's song "And So It Goes": 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHO6a2H-pqY

"The Art of Life-2"

A while back (14 years ago) I was following a van with the title "The Art of Life" on the back of the vehicle. I've seen ambulances with this name also, like I said back in July 2010. I still feel that it is a great title! It makes me think, even now, that "Life is Art"... it is up to us to create our best life with optimism and a positive attitude. We are the creators, the architects of our lives. I deeply believe in the powers of the mind, what we put in there matters! We need to be careful to not fill our minds with negative and defeating thoughts. Let us fill our minds with healthy thoughts. Yes, we can do it! We have to believe that no matter what, all will be well. 

I have lived my life with this attitude. If a job no longer serves me, I move on to the next fulfilling job. I know that we all have challenges at times, even serious ones. I have had my share of health challenges. But I'm still convinced in the power of our attitudes towards life; positive and negative attitudes and thoughts make a difference. So we must be careful and be aware of our attitudes towards everything. We cannot get discouraged! We have the support of our family and friends; and if not, we have to find some form of support. Find time to reflect, to pay attention to your thoughts... and to live one day at a time! You don't have to be religious or spiritual, you just have to pay attention to your defeating and negative thoughts and get rid of them! Voice or write down positive thoughts to cancel out the negative ones. Start believing and loving yourself. Walk in nature... find the things you are grateful for (write them down), and focus on the positive, your talents and gifts, the beauty and the good of the world. Do not despair! Remember how beautiful you are! Walk with your head held high... and never, never feel like a victim! We can learn to be peaceful and change our mental attitudes. We can fill our minds with creative and healthy thoughts!

I believe in reading books, websites, and quotes that inspire me. We need to nurture our soul. Inspiration is like nutrition, like Norman Vincent Peale used to say (he popularized the concept of positive thinking and wrote "The Power of Positive Thinking" which I read years ago). He said, "Motivation is like nutrition. It must be taken daily and in healthy doses to keep it going." He also wrote, "I recommend a mind-emptying at least twice a day, more often if necessary. Definitely practice emptying your mind of fears, hates, insecurities, regrets, and guilt feelings. The mere fact that you consciously make this effort to empty your mind tends to give relief." Find the book in PDF format here: https://www.law-of-attraction-haven.com/support-files/the-power-of-positive-thinking.pdf.

Music is also extremely important. Find music that you like and love and inspires you, experiment, and listen to music every day. Music cheers us up. I hope you try your best to stay motivated, to stay in love with your life. Let us try to find ways to remain inspired and strong, to never give up!

“Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ...get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.” ― Abraham Joshua Heschel

"Just to be is a blessing. Just to be is holy." ― Abraham Joshua Heschel

“It's always too soon to quit!” ― Norman Vincent Peale

“Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate.” 

― Norman Vincent Peale

“Optimism, when applied to your life, develops strength and peace within you.” ― Norman Vincent Peale

"The secret is to fill your mind with thoughts of faith, confidence and security. This will force out or expel all thoughts of doubt, all lack of confidence." ― Norman Vincent Peale

"Repeat—slowly, bringing out the melody in each—a series of calming words: Peace, tranquility, serenity, quietness…” ― Norman Vincent Peale

“Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. Make all your friends feel there is something special in them. Look at the sunny side of everything. Think only the best, be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give everyone a smile. Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others. Be too big for worry and too noble for anger.” ― Norman Vincent Peale

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Check the previous blog on The Art of Life here:
https://karolspeaksup.blogspot.com/2010/07/art-of-life.html 
(or under Previous Posts on the right side of this blog)

Don't Take Things Personally

How hard it is not to take things personally! You always find in life people that make you feel bad, that judge you, that criticize you, that talk about you (for no reason at all), that bully you. I know some of us are more sensitive than others. In fact, I believe that as I’m getting older I’m becoming hypersensitive, and I must try harder not to be affected by the words and actions of others (by the negative energy of others). I always remember Maya Angelou’s quote (which I love!) “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” It is so true! So we must try our best not to be bothered by the negativity and “drama” that others create and carry with them. We must try to ignore their "poison."

But how can we protect ourselves from such “poison”? How can we ignore these people? People that take their frustrations, anger, resentments, guilty feelings on others? People that love to make fun of others, that call others names, that bully others in different ways. They either lack empathy, or are in such “pain” themselves that feel the need to cause pain in others. Why? And now we have a president who enjoys doing this... bullying and demeaning others, not a very good example for the citizens and young people of this beautiful country and this world.

Don Miguel Ruiz, who wrote "The Four Agreements" and "The Mastery of Love" wrote: “Whatever happens around you, don’t take it personally… Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves. All people live in their own dream, in their own mind; they are in a completely different world from the one we live in. When we take something personally, we make the assumption that they know what is in our world, and we try to impose our world on their world."

"When we really see other people as they are without taking it personally, we can never be hurt by what they say or do. There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally. The whole world can gossip about you, and if you don’t take it personally you are immune. Someone can intentionally send emotional poison, and if you don’t take it personally, you will not eat it."

"As you make a habit of not taking anything personally, you won’t need to place your trust in what others do or say. You will only need to trust yourself to make responsible choices. You are never responsible for the actions of others; you are only responsible for you. When you truly understand this, and refuse to take things personally, you can hardly be hurt by the careless comments or actions of others.”

What a beautiful message, but so difficult to follow his advice. It is hard isn't it? What a challenge we have to put this in practice for a more peaceful and happy life. We can do it! We can arm ourselves with patience toward others, and fill ourselves with compassion, understanding, love and kindness. Let's try our best to put this in practice and not take things personally - just go with the flow and live one day at a time!

"Don't let the behaviors of others destroy your inner peace." ~ Dalai Lama

"How you make others feel about themselves, says a lot about you."

"You don't ever have to feel guilty about removing toxic people from your life. It doesn't matter whether someone is a relative, romantic interest, employer, childhood friend, or a new acquaintance. You don't have to make room for people who cause you pain or make you feel small. It's one thing if a person owns up to their behavior and makes an effort to change. But if a person disregards your feelings, ignores your boundaries, and "continues" to treat you in a harmful way, they need to go."
~ Daniell Koepke (check her online, she's a clinical psychologist and has written some great quotes)

"Some people will never get you... NEVER. When you accept that, you will have peace and inner direction."

"One of the ugliest things in the world is a human without compassion." 
~ Karen Salmansohn

"Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution."

"Negative people give off negative vibes and are an energy drain. Surround yourself with positive people." (Womenworking.com)

"It's OK to dislike someone, but it is not OK to disrespect, degrade and humiliate that person."
(Womenworking.com)

"Keep your distance from people who will never admit they are wrong and who always try to make you feel like it's your fault."

"The more you love yourself, the less nonsense you'll tolerate."

"Happiness is an inside job. Don't assign anyone else that much power over your life." ~ Mandy Hale

"One day at a time

this is enough!

Do not look back and

grieve over the past

for it is gone

Do not be troubled

about the future

for it has not yet come

LIVE IN THE PRESENT

Live in the present

and make it so BEAUTIFUL

that it will be worth remembering."

~ Ida Scott Taylor

"BE SOFT

Do not let the world

make you hard

Do not let pain

make you hate

Do not let the bitterness

steal your sweetness"

"Try your best to stay POSITIVE."

Poisoned Minds

I recently ordered a book called "Poison Mind"— the true story of the Mensa murderer and the policewoman who risked her life to bring him to justice. This so-called genius (a Mensa member) killed his neighbor, one of her children and a grandchild by poisoning their Coca-Cola drinks, just because he was upset that the teens that lived next-door were very loud. I heard about this story on TV, and yes! I'm fascinated with crime shows (stories of murder)! It is so hard for me to understand how some people become so cruel and angry, and so "poisoned"— that they choose to inflict pain in others, abusing them and even killing them. Some people even feel pleasure when they hurt others (even doing the most inconceivable things). Mind-blowing! I like to try to analyze the minds of others. What motivates them to commit such crimes? How can seemingly "normal" people (or what we thought were normal people) commit such atrocities?

I like to ponder things (many things), and in listening today to Thich Nhat Hanh (a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, a beautiful peaceful person) speak about "Mindfulness," "Happiness" and "Compassion" and how we can learn to accept our suffering and become more compassionate and loving toward others, some questions arose in my mind: Can human beings become so "poisoned"— embracing anger, negative thoughts, resentments, guilt, fear and other negative emotions so deeply — that they lose control or snap and do terrible things? Can people become so afraid that they feel justified in killing others? Can people have such little tolerance toward others, and such anger, that they see nothing wrong in killing, injuring, bullying or insulting others? I'm afraid the answer is YES to all.

And then, the questions are WHY? and HOW? (how did it come to this?) and what can WE do to enlighten others? Hatred, misery, violence are not the answers! I feel that it is our responsibility to do our best to nourish ourselves with positive thoughts and emotions, "to feed our happiness" like Thich Nhat Hanh said. To make sure that our minds are not so "poisoned" and brain-washed, that we see nothing wrong with hating and harming others (physically or mentally). I also heard someone say (today) that one of the hardest things we have to learn is to "love others that are not lovable." This also spoke to me, it is so hard to do! Our goal should be to become "loving" and "peaceful" human beings and all that that entails. Learning to be patient, at times extremely patient, kind, happy, unselfish, caring and understanding people, not an easy task! But so rewarding! We must try our best to avoid conflicts (including wars), through our positive interactions with others, communicating properly and avoiding confrontations. I know, life is hard, we cannot get along with everyone, we cannot be "always" happy; but we can make it a happy life when we learn to get rid of what "poisons" us. When we learn to appreciate what we have (the good things) and understand that it is our responsibility to make our lives happy, that WE CAN DO IT, that we can accomplish and create great things, and just try our best to take it one day at a time, being mindful of the beauty that surrounds us, enjoying our many moments, our family, our friends, nature, etc.

I remember that Norman Vincent Peale (in "The Power of Positive Thinking") wrote that inspiration is like nutrition, we have to take it everyday — "inspiration and motivation are exactly like nutrition, you have to keep on taking it daily, in healthy doses." It is our responsibility to do this!

We cannot feel like victims in this life (even if many terrible things happened to us). We have to learn to forgive, to let go, to heal, to become the best that we can be! We have to, again quoting Thich Nhat Hanh, "understand the suffering that is within us and learn to be compassionate toward others." We MUST learn to love ourselves! "Happiness is like love, we must feed it." We must "be fully present in the here and in the now." "Touch the miracle that you are alive." Learn to love your life or do whatever you have to do to love your life!

Louise Hay is also a wonderful teacher! She believes in the power of affirmations. Check her out! She gives great advice and has written some great books! There are many teachers out there, find them! Find inspirational messages in books, in magazines, in websites, wherever! Positive messages! Don't poison your mind with negative stuff (you can replace "stuff" for any word you wish, anything that diminishes who you are, that makes you feel bad and unworthy, that makes you angry, fearful or anxious). You are a beautiful person (we are beautiful persons), with a special mission/purpose and a spark of greatness within us! Don't ever give up!

Always remember that to be healthier (mentally and physically) we must pay attention to our feelings, thoughts and emotions. These can poison us if they are negative for extended periods of time. We will have them, it's normal, but we must learn to let go of them (whatever it takes without harming others or ourselves). It's easy to become our own worst enemy, like they say, and there's plenty of new research making the connection between our bodies, minds and spirit. If our souls, or minds, or brains, or deeper selves (if you prefer to call it this way) are sick with poisonous thoughts and emotions, our physical bodies will suffer too. We could get physically (and/or mentally) ill. So it's imperative to "pay attention." Take good care of yourselves! All the best to you!