Winter Heart Full Moments 2019-2020

HEART-FULL MOMENTS
A monthly feature of “Listening with Heart” blog, sharing wise words, meaningful things read or good things found, to help warm your heart.

These are the most impactful quotes I have read or heard this month that give me pause or uplift my heart. Wisdom is spoken in just a few words. They reflect what I’ve been reading or learning, or values I share, or what’s been going on in our world.

It’s been another very challenging month, and I know we each need some insight and encouragement to keep carrying on. I am happy to share these quotes – that speak to kindness, being in the moment, change, justice, and even some words and videos in remembrance of loved ones lost and some humor. Take a moment to go through them and maybe highlight and share a few that speak to you. Enjoy…

• “In a world that is more focused on getting than giving, a New Year’s resolution to do one kind thing each day, or to give thanks in one small way, is a pretty radical act.” – Christine Carter, Greater Good Magazine
• “A fundamental part of that noticing is an ability to become more ‘conscious of our treasures’ as Thornton Wilder reminds us. The treasures that are right here, right now—a measure of health, a family, a pet, a friend, a warm meal, a strong faith, the sounds of a beautiful piece of music, or the warm glow of a candle. The list is endless.” – Janice Marturano
• “The Inuit culture views scolding — or even speaking to children in an angry voice — as inappropriate”, says Lisa Ipeelie, a radio producer and mom who grew up with 12 siblings. “When they’re little, it doesn’t help to raise your voice,” she says. “It will just make your own heart rate go up.” – Lisa Ipeelie, Inuit mom
• “The term ‘solstice’ derives from the Latin word ‘solstitium’, meaning ‘Sun standing still‘. On this day the Sun seems to stand still at the Tropic of Capricorn and then reverses its direction as it reaches its southernmost position as seen from the Earth.”
• “Thank you for everything. My last ask is the same as my first. I’m asking you to believe – not in my ability to create change, but in yours.” – Barack Obama
• “When we put energy towards protecting our mental health, we make an investment that pays off all year,” – Ginger Houghton
• “Therapists facilitate open and honest conversations between the person you are, the person you were, and the person you wish to be.” -@melanatedsocialwork
• “Confidence is not walking into a room and thinking you’re better than everyone else. It’s walking into a room and not having to compare yourself to anyone at all.” -@heribcrediblemindset
• “The opposite of poverty is not wealth. The opposite of poverty is justice.” – Bryan Stevenson
• “Meditation is the ultimate mobile device. You can use it anytime, anywhere, unobtrusively!” – Sharon Salzburg
• “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” – @maíz.co…
• “Speak to people with love and compassion, and you have the ability to create change in them!” – Matt Valentine
  Mother Teresa writes: “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”
• “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey,” the quote said. “If you guys can understand that, what you’ll see happen is that you won’t accomplish your dreams, your dreams won’t come true, something greater will. And if you guys can understand that, then I’m doing my job as a father.” – Kobe Bryant to his daughters
• He said that he’d been trying to come up with something positive that had come out of the deaths, but it’s been hard…“The best thing I think I was able to come up with is this: gratitude,” Jimmy Kimmel said. “It seems to me all we can do is be grateful for the time we had with them and for the time we have left with each other and that’s all.”
• “If you can worry you can meditate.”- Justin Michael Williams, Stay Woke – A Meditation Guide for the Rest of Us
• “Asking the mind to stop thinking is like asking your heart to stop beating, and we all know how silly that would be.” – Justin Michael Williams
• “Beneath every aggression or effort to attack is a wounded human being.” – Rhonda Magee
• “It has come out of a sense of my own agency and what I often call personal justice: This idea that justice starts with us, how we treat ourselves. Taking care of myself feels like the first approximation of whatever it is I’m trying to offer in the world.” – Rhonda Magee
• “Thoughts are not facts. Depression is not me” – Dr. Zindel Segal
• “I want to understand you, and I want you to understand me – even if we never agree…” – Van Jones
• Kobe Bryant on why meditating every day was important to him https://youtu.be/ucNODrsGdx0 Thank you, Kobe, for your many contributions to the world.
• Peace and Justice Memorial Center in Montgomery, Alabama – powerful video https://vimeo.com/391385997. May we all bear witness. (The video requires a password. Please enter kiva when prompted.)
• “Parents Are Seriously Relating to This ‘Children’s Clothing Ad’ From ‘SNL’. This hilarious Macy’s commercial parody captures the horrors of dressing kids during the holidays. Watch it here
• ‘Hair Love’ – sweet video https://youtu.be/kNw8V_Fkw28

So that’s this quarter’s shortlist of Heart-Full Moments that holds some meaning for me. I hope your New Year and Winter (even as it turns to Spring) has been graced with kindness and justice. And that you might take a moment of pause to connect with what consoles you and replenishes your soul.

Please share with me any feedback you have that come from checking this list out. I’m curious to hear what’s touching your soul or uplifting you these days. Take good care…

If you or someone you care about is struggling to find moments of full heartedness, please contact me for a therapy appointment.