Reflections

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  1. Presley Gleason
    PMoney$
    2 weeks ago

    My best friends
    My dad working from home
    My dogs
    Snow
    Pieces of art
    Jesus!!!!!

  2. Robin Ann
    Robin Ann
    2 weeks ago

    Knowing I will moving sometime very soon, seeing my family members and friends happy, spring time, travelling to a new destination and knowing I am getting a raise and our annual bonus soon!!

  3. sparrow51014
    sparrow
    2 weeks ago

    ”Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
    Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
    Brown paper packages tied up with strings
    These are a few of my favorite things
    Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
    Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
    Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
    These are a few of my favorite things
    Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
    Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
    Silver-white winters that melt into springs
    These are a few of my favorite things
    When the dog bites
    When the bee stings
    When I’m feeling sad
    I simply remember my favorite things
    And then I don’t feel so bad.” ♥

    Oscar Hammerstein II
    for Mary Martin

    I think that one of Yram’s favorite things
    is for windshield wipers that work,
    as well. 🙂

    1. Yram
      Yram
      2 weeks ago

      You nailed it. Thank you!

    2. Michele
      Michele
      2 weeks ago

      I can hear Julie Andrews singing it – great movie and song, thank you!!

    3. Mary
      Mary
      2 weeks ago

      Just the best song, it never gets old!

    4. Robin Ann
      Robin Ann
      2 weeks ago

      Love that song and that movie!!

  4. Barb C
    Barb C
    2 weeks ago

    Reading this question, actually! Apparently the word “smile” makes me smile, for starters.
    My cat being silly.
    Seeing my husband come home when he’s been out running errands. That’s my sweetheart!
    Seeing either of my daughters either on screen or in real life where I’ll be getting some wonderful hugs.
    The moment when I’m on my bike at the intersection with the road that takes me toward town and my best friend comes rolling up on her bike so we can ride together.
    Doing improv.
    Sunshine after rain.

    Much, much more but I’ll stop here for now.

    1. Avril
      Avril
      2 weeks ago

      The question made me smile too

  5. D
    Drea
    2 weeks ago

    Birds. They inhabit such a different reality sometimes. Night migrations, the intimacies of their songs, where they choose to nest … I marvel at them. Now that it is spring, I’m seeing and hearing so many birds, and it’s easy to smile.

    1. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      2 weeks ago

      🦜🦜

    2. L
      Loc Tran
      2 weeks ago

      Drea, I’ve been hearing them churp every morning I wake up. It’s getting to be that time of year.

  6. Elizabeth H67151
    Elizabeth H
    2 weeks ago

    Flowers, sun shining into the house, new leaves on trees, seeing dogs out on a walk enjoying themselves, other people giving me a genuine smile, babies smiling, a good joke, cool clouds, watching birds enjoy our bird bath.

    1. Jenifer
      Jenifer
      2 weeks ago

      Anytime I see a baby, I can’t help but make silly faces in hopes of making them smile 🙂

  7. Linda72766
    Linda
    2 weeks ago

    My adorable niece and nephews. My loving husband.

  8. J
    John
    2 weeks ago

    A puppy.
    The second and third graders that I tutor.
    My wife after even a brief absence.
    Friends.

  9. Charlie T
    Charlie T
    2 weeks ago

    I tend to smile when meeting or greeting someone. Kind of an automatic response. My default. It means I’m not good at intimidating people. 😁
    Also, any kindness and beauty in general make me smile.

    1. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      2 weeks ago

      I have been told I can be a bit cantankerous, never have I been told intimidating!

    2. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      2 weeks ago

      I’m not good at intimidating people either,
      dear Charlie . . .
      I have no desire to even try.
      That must mean something. ♥

  10. Carol Ann Conner
    Carol
    2 weeks ago

    Good Morning, I am sending an excerpt from Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh in which he expresses the power of smiling. It addresses today’s quote and today’s question. Hanh often says that “…smiling is the simplest form of meditation.” I am very thankful for today’s question. I needed this reminder.

    “From time to time, to remind ourselves to relax, to be peaceful, we must wish to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness, when we can walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend, enjoy being together as if we are the happiest people on Earth. This is not a retreat, it is a treat. During walking meditation, during kitchen and garden work, during sitting meditation, all day long, we can practice smiling. At first you may find it difficult to smile, and we have to think about why. Smiling means that we are ourselves, that we have sovereignty over ourselves, that we are not drowned into forgetfulness. This kind of smile can be seen on the faces of Buddhas and bodisattvas.”
    “I would like to offer one short poem you can recite from time to time, while breathing and smiling.
    Breathing in, I calm my body.
    Breathing out, I smile.
    Dwelling in the present moment
    I know this is a wonderful moment. ”

    “Breathing in, I calm my body.’ This line is like drinking a glass of ice water-you feel the cold, the freshness, permeate your body. When I breathe in and recite this line, I actually feel the breathing calming my body, calming my mind.
    ‘Breathing out, I smile.’ You know the effect of a smile. A smile can relax hundreds of muscles in your face, and relax your nervous system. A smile makes you master of yourself. That is why the Buddhas and the bodhisattvas are always smiling. When you smile, you realize the wonder of the smile. ”
    “Dwelling in the present moment. While I sit here, I don’t think of somewhere else, of the future or the past. I sit here, and I know where I am. This is very important. We tend be alive in the future, not now. We say, ‘Wait until I finish school and get my Ph.D. degree, and then I will be really alive.”
    ‘When we have it, and it’s not easy to get, we say to ourselves, ‘I have to wait until I have a job in order to be really alive. And then after the job, a car. After the car, a house. We are not capable of being alive in the present moment. We tend to postpone being alive to the future, the distant future, we don’t know when. Now is not the moment to be alive. We may never be alive at all in our entire life. Therefore the technique, if we have to speak of a technique, is to be in the present moment, to be aware that we are here and now, and the only moment to be alive is the present moment.”
    “I know this is a wonderful moment.’ This is the only moment that is real. To be here and now, and enjoy the present moment is our most wonderful task.”

    1. Jenifer
      Jenifer
      2 weeks ago

      Carol, Thank you so much for sharing this! I also felt my body at ease after I read “breathing in, I calm my body” good stuff!!

    2. Barb C
      Barb C
      2 weeks ago

      I have those four lines of his poem on a post-it note I keep with my journal.

    3. Elizabeth H67151
      Elizabeth H
      2 weeks ago

      Thank you for this quote, Carol– the quote is especially powerful to me knowing that Thich Nhat Hanh was incredibly compassionate and did feel the sorrow of the world as well as the joy. And that he did a huge amount of concrete good in this world. So I don’t have to feel guilty about smiling, even despite all the tragedy in our world. I especially like the first part of the quote and the potential of even turning parts of a regular day into a retreat in the way that Thich Nhat Hanh describes– after all, he is including kitchen and garden work as part of the “retreat” day.

  11. Yram
    Yram
    2 weeks ago

    I usually smile at most things. Today will be more of a struggle to do that. My husband’s rehabilitation placement was denied. We will go it at home. My smile will be that he will be home in a more quiet environment. May healing surround us.

    1. Mary
      Mary Mantei
      2 weeks ago

      Indeed, Yram. May healing surround you and yours.

    2. Michele
      Michele
      2 weeks ago

      Sending healing prayers to you both

    3. Ose
      Ose
      2 weeks ago

      May healing be with you and your husband, dear Yram, and blessings.

    4. Mary
      Mary
      2 weeks ago

      I hope that in the peaceful environment of your home,
      your husband’s healing will come more quickly and easily.
      Sending my love and best wishes to the both of you.

    5. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      2 weeks ago

      Yes, dear Yram, may healing surround us. Thank you.

    6. Patti
      sunnypatti
      2 weeks ago

      I pray for healing to surround you both as well.

    7. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      2 weeks ago

      You and your husband,
      dear Yram,
      are in my heart
      as you face new challenges . . .
      I hope there are people who can help you with this. ♥

    8. D
      Drea
      2 weeks ago

      May healing surround you ❤️.

    9. Carol Ann Conner
      Carol
      2 weeks ago

      YRAM, you are an ispiration

  12. Michele
    Michele
    2 weeks ago

    Last night I went to the Flyers vs Lightning game – there were many times I smiled. I love people watching and there were some good shenanigans going on at that game even though the Flyers lost.

    1. Joseph
      Joseph McCann
      2 weeks ago

      The Philadelphia Flyers and from where Lightning? Hockey, right?

      1. Michele
        Michele
        2 weeks ago

        yes, Tampa Bay Lightning

  13. L
    Loc Tran
    2 weeks ago

    Ngoc’s affection and playfulness, especially when she tickles me. And BTW, I remember mentioning here on this site before a few times last year that I’m the most ticklish person of all.

  14. Patti
    sunnypatti
    2 weeks ago

    This question makes me smile 🙂
    Really though… my husband makes me smile in so many ways, our dogs make me smile, pictures of my young nephews in CA, getting my feedback and passing score yesterday for my studies really brought on a big smile, both internally and externally! This time of year also makes me smile. There is so much in bloom right now, and I’m truly enjoying all of the crabapple trees, the redbuds, the daffodils, the bradford pear trees, and the tulip trees or magnolia janes… omg, they are my favorite!

    1. sparrow51014
      sparrow
      2 weeks ago

      . . . making me anxious to see first blooms here. ♥

      1. Joseph
        Joseph McCann
        2 weeks ago

        A way off here, but all good things take the proper time.

      2. Patti
        sunnypatti
        2 weeks ago

        This is definitely my favorite time of year… growth, color, more birdsong, longer days, warmer weather… OM….

        1. sparrow51014
          sparrow
          2 weeks ago

          I can appreciate that,
          dear Joseph . . . ♥

    2. D
      Drea
      2 weeks ago

      Sunnypatti, congratulations on your passing score! Also tulip and magnolia trees, so beautiful. We don’t have them here but I get excited about the catalpas and apple blossoms.

      1. Patti
        sunnypatti
        2 weeks ago

        thank you! one more section to go before certification. I am both nervous and excited!
        I had to google catalpa trees, and I think I’ve seen them before… very pretty! Would love to see some apple blossoms. There were so many orchards in WNC, but I didn’t have a chance to take advantage of them during our short time in the area.

  15. Ngoc Nguyen
    Ngoc Nguyen
    2 weeks ago

    When I recall loving words from Loc and others….

    1. L
      Loc Tran
      2 weeks ago

      My Ngoc, I love your long hair and natural sweet voice.

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