At some point the big reasons run out and then all you’re left with is your own quiet decisions … Big reasons run out. The power of your decisions does not.*
Gabe Anderson

Anything that can be prevented, taken away, or coerced is not a person’s own – but those things that can be blocked are their own.**
Epictetus

This is about the difference between musts and shoulds:
The reasons, or the shoulds, come from outside of you, but
those sending them your way aren’t bothered enough with you to
keep telling you everything you ought to be doing;
The decisions, or musts, are always coming from
inside of you, fed by your
talents, energies, and values, they’re
always there to guide you and keep you going
when the way becomes tough – just when
the reasons are likely to say as they flee,
“Estás solo mi amigo.”

*Gabe Anderson’s blog: No Reason At All;
**Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic.

Awe is a feeling we have when we encounter the monumental or immeasurable. We experience a sudden shrinking of the self, yet a rapid expansion of the soul.*
Nick Cave

In silent companionship with the life of the Galapagos, I had come to the conclusion that our personal identity, which we think is based on our beliefs and opinions, is actually more of a function of our ability to pay attention to the world around us. If we had very little in the way of attention for the world, then we actually had very little in the way of real existence.**
David Whyte

I had just read these words when
it was time to pop my wife into work because
I needed the car to get to my
volunteering in a university one town over …
And there it was,
A gentle giant sky with
clouds painted in soft oranges and mauves, and, when
a break appeared between the buildings and trees,
A molten bank of clouds wearing pale yellow and cream,
Embracing the newly born sun.

*Nick Cave’s The Red Hand Files blog: #157;
**David Whyte’s Crossing the Unknown Sea.

Some doodles from this day across the years

When we think about what’s worth doing, we usually think of big things. But when you hear the stories of how people got successful, they usually start with one little action … That one little action changes how you think about yourself.*
Derek Sivers

I think that only daring speculation can lead us further and not accumulation of facts.**
Albert Einstein

We think that we cannot do something that
is important to us because
it has to be big, but we don’t
want to hear that it need only be
small because
then we don’t have anywhere to hide.

*Derek Sivers’ Hell Yeah or No;
**Jean Houston’s The Wizard of Us.

Because it’s not for you. It’s for them. Generosity unlocks doors inside of us.*
Seth Godin

In reality, the secret is simple. When the heart is aligned with its eternal image, abundance cascades forth from the place of origin, infinitely more powerful than the scarcity and constriction of this world.**
Cynthia Bourgeault

Don’t believe the messages that reduce or
demean or limit, you
are an abundance, nothing less –
Everyone is.

*Seth Godin’s blog: The lifeguard hack;
**Cynthia Bourgeault’s The Meaning of Mary Magdalene.

I

I’ve come to believe in the power of writing down your vision. I don’t believe in writing down a vision for your life creates any sort of magic in the universe, but I do believe it sets a general compass for your subconscious.*
Donald Miller

Trying to reach everyone is the same as trying to reach no one, and it has just about the same effect. That’s because there is no “everyone.” There are just individual people, who band together based on their common interests and beliefs, with the goal of survival, whether physical, social, or both.**
Lisa Cron

Thank you for making it to this
four thousandth edition of thin|silence;
It’s kept me on track with what I love and
am fascinated by.

My hope has been that it would quietly
find its way to those it may resource and
help, making it a little more possible to
explore each day creatively, generously, and
enjoyably – as it does me.

*Donald Miller’s Hero On a Mission;
**Lisa Cron’s Story or Die.

If you draw, the world becomes more beautiful, far more beautiful,  Trees that used to be scrub suddenly reveal their form.  Animals that were ugly make you see their beauty.  If you then go for a walk, you’ll be amazed how different everything can look.  Less and less is ugly if everyday you recognise beautiful forms in ugliness and learn to love them.*
Erich Ohser

It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment — not discouragement — you will find the strength is there. Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege!**
Joseph Campbell

We bring change to our story when
we are prepared to notice, and
love is a great helper in our observations,
Slowness, too.

*Austin Kleon’s blog: If you draw the world becomes more beautiful;
**James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter: On loving your fate, how to handle pressure, and the value of being proactive yet positive.

Some doodles from this day across the years

Your soul is much larger than you! You are just along for the ride. When you learn to live there, you will learn to live with everyone and everything else too.*
Richard Rohr

Suddenly it seemed like the most vivid part of reality was this: Souls waking up in the morning.  Souls riding the train to work.  Souls yearning for goodness.  Souls wounded by earlier traumas.  Souls in each and every person, illuminating them from inside, and occasionally enraptured within them, souls alive or numb in them; and with that came a feeling that I was connected by radio waves to all of them – some underlying soul of which we were all a piece.**
David Brooks

We are souls in progress:
All those moments of connection and
wonder – perhaps our
biggest human experience is when we conjunct with
someone or something without prejudice –
Are our attempts to grow into our souls.

*Richard Rohr’s Immortal Diamond;
**David Brooks’ The Second Mountain.

To deepen our understanding of human nature, we must not only accept the idea of the self, but of a cast of selves: the core self (observer); the agent self (observed) plus all the personal and social personae an agent self assumes; all the past selves the core self remembers; and finally, at the deepest level, the hidden self.
Robert McKee

No one thinks as little of you as you do. And no one thinks as often of you as you do. That’s an interesting combination. And can be a slippery slope if you’re not paying attention to what you’re thinking about you.**
Gabe Anderson

There’s a lot for you to think about when
you are thinking about you, but
there’s a difference between being either
too hard on yourself or over-indulgent, and
being truthful …
Accurate –
Something that takes more
than a lifetime with the endless
possibility of development –
We can never say “This is me, full stop”;
It seems that the apostle Paul believed
there to be other me-s to discover and grow: a
compassionate me
kind me
humble me
patient me
forbearing me
forgiving me
loving me –
All available to take for a spin.^


*Robert McKee’s Character;
**Gabe Anderson’s blog: You Thinking About You;
^Colossians 3:12-14