Daily Zen - Friday, January 31

Life can be one satisfaction after another if we let it.

~ John Schindler

I Hear the Drizzle of the Rain

I woke up early this morning to write. I poured a cup of steaming Dunkin Donuts coffee and went to my writing room, where I left the light off and worked by the glow of the computer. A soft tapping on the window caught my attention.

The sound reminded me of a poignant piece of music I love, so I looked up the song and listened. When the song was over, it was just me and the rain again.

You probably know the song, but like me, maybe you haven't really listened to it for a while. It's beautiful anytime, but especially before sunrise, with a warm cup of coffee and the drizzle of the rain.

Daily Zen - Thursday, January 30

Fix your attention on your own path, and do not imitate others. Your life is unique and your karma is yours alone.

~ Taisen Deshimaru

Daily Zen - Wednesday, January 29

That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly.

~ Thomas Paine

Daily Zen - Tuesday, January 28

Happiness never decreases by being shared.

~ Buddha

Daily Zen - Monday, January 27

One of the secrets of life is that all that is really worth the doing is what we do for others.

~ Lewis Carroll

Weekend Zen, January 25-26

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

~ Wayne Gretzky

Daily Zen - Friday, January 24

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

~ C.S. Lewis

Daily Zen - Thursday, January 23

Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside.

                       ~ Og Mandino

Daily Zen - Wednesday, January 22

Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.

~ Sir Francis Bacon

Daily Zen - Tuesday, January 21

Life is ours to be spent, not to be saved. 

~ D.H. Lawrence

Daily Zen - Monday, January 20

Wherever you go, go with all your heart.

~ Confucius

Weekend Zen, January 18-19

Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true. 

~ Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens

Daily Zen - Friday, January 17

You don't build a bond without being present.

~ James Earl Jones

Daily Zen - Thursday, January 16

If you can't change your fate, change your attitude.

~ Amy Tan

Daily Zen - Wednesday, January 15

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

         ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Daily Zen - Tuesday, January 14

This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love; the more they give, the more they possess.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Daily Zen - Monday, January 13

You are not in charge of the universe. You are in charge of yourself.

            ~ Arnold Bennett

Weekend Zen, January 11-12

The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring.

~ Carl Sandburg

Daily Zen - Friday, January 10

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

~ Alan Watts

Daily Zen - Thursday, January 9

I've always believed perfectionism is more of a disease than a quality.

      ~ Rowan Atkinson

Daily Zen - Wednesday, January 8

Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away.

        ~ Elvis Presley

Daily Zen - Tuesday, January 7

The greatest gift we can give one another is rapt attention to one another's existence.

~ Sue Atchley Ebaugh

Daily Zen - Monday, January 6

Greater than a thousand meaningless words is a single reasonable word that brings calm to those who are listening.

~ Buddha

Weekend Zen, January 4-5

Dear Children: do not be afraid of life. How good is life once you have done something good, once you have been true to the truth within you.

                    ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Daily Zen - Friday, January 3

We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.

~ May Sarton

Daily Zen - Thursday, January 2

Only a man in perfect accord with himself, in perfect sincerity, can go to the limits of his own nature.

~ Francois Cheng

Daily Zen - New Year's Edition, 2014

By year's end, I want the person you see from the outside to better represent the person I am on the inside.

     ~ Jeff McKown