Puppy Stays with Dead Mama Dog. {Beautiful Video}

This video made my heart smile *big*

A mother dog is hit by a car, leaving her puppy alone and defenseless against the heat and the most dangerous highway. Rescuers spent hours trying to catch this little guy, who refused to leave his mom. When they finally captured the puppy, he growled and snarled and tried to bite. Rescuers feared the dog to be feral - and yet still never let hope leave their sight.

Just watch what happens next. This is a story about one puppy's unconditional love.

Mindfulness for Our Children.

Source: eatlivewear.tumblr.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.” ― Pema Chödrön

Brother Phap Dung shares his thoughts on helping our children practice mindfulness. "As we teach children physical fitness, we can also teach them mental fitness..."

Take a moment to hear what he has to say.

The Whisper From Within Pandora's Box.

"Hope... which whispered from Pandora's box after all the other plagues and sorrows had escaped, is the best and last of all things. Without it, there is only time. And time pushes at our backs like a centrifuge, forcing outward and away, until it nudges us into oblivion... It's a law of motion, a fact of physics..., no different from the stages of white dwarves and red giants. Like all things in the universe, we are destined from birth to diverge. Time is simply the yardstick of our separation. If we are particles in a sea of distance, exploded from an original whole, then there is a science to our solitude. We are lonely in proportion to our years." — Ian Caldwell

I was speaking with a friend today, about a program called, "Outward Bound." Founded in 1941 by Kurt Hahn and Lawrence Holt—this school was designed to give 'young seaman' the ability to survive harsh conditions. It taught young men confidence, tenacity, perseverance and the ability to build experience through the harshest of conditions

Metaphorically, it also applied to life.

Some years later, the founders were giving a short lecture about the program, and with the intention to compel more youth to join. As the founders fumbled through a not-so-thoroughly convinced crowd, a young man (and graduate of the program) stood up to offer his assistance.

"You're not telling them the real reason why this program is so important," he challenged, "it's not just about the adventure and challenge, rather, it's more so because in doing it you will never again be afraid to try."

In life, there are many challenges—some large enough to knock us right off of our feet. And in their wake may exist a swirling sea of emotions...leaving us so fractured and fragile in our wondering why.

But, just as is the case with Pandora's box—there's always a little hope left inside.

What If They Never Made it Home? Nixon's Moving Speech, "In The Event Of a Moon Disaster."

"For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind."

On July 20, 1969 our entire nation sat glued to their television sets, and watching anxiously from the forward most point of their living room chairs.

They were here, captivated, by the images of a nation's dreams finally coming true - a broadcast all the way from the moon to here.

Ask anyone where they were on 'that day' and they will recall with a most brilliant clarity.

Ask any little 'space dreaming' boy - and they will tell you just exactly what they were feeling.

And yet, somewhere also out in the world, speechwriterWilliam Safire, was tasked to imagine the worst case scenario.

Here is the memo he wrote for then President Nixon to read in the 'event of a moon disaster.' Luckily, this memo was never needed.

So tell me then, where were you on that day?

 

Transcript

To: H. R. Haldeman
From: Bill Safire

July 18, 1969.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IN EVENT OF MOON DISASTER:

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by the nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at the stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

PRIOR TO THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT:

The President should telephone each of the widows-to-be.

AFTER THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT, AT THE POINT WHEN NASA ENDS COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE MEN:

A clergyman should adopt the same procedure as a burial at sea, commending their souls to "the deepest of the deep," concluding with the Lord's Prayer.

,

Date a Girl Who Reads. (reprint)

You Should Date a Girl Who Reads. — by Rosemarie Urquico 

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes, who has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she has found the book she wants. You see that weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a secondhand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow and worn.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas, for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry and in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who read understand that all things must come to end, but that you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

A Little Something About Love.

When I was growing up, I wanted desperately to learn a foreign language. I had dreams of traveling to far away places, exploring new lands and settling in to the most perfect conversations. I used to beg my Mom to take me to the local library so that I could check out the foreign language dictionaries. I would spend hours flipping through the pages, picking out words and deciding upon 'just the right order.'

And then, just out of elementary school, I failed French class—twice. And just like that, my foreign language dreams were shattered.

"Why don't you try something else?" my teachers would ask.

And, even though I nodded softly in return—in my heart, there was just no way I would be giving up that easily.

And then I met Mrs. Li. Mrs. Li was a Chinese teacher at our local school, I met her on a break from English class. I mean, how could she miss me—as I sat outside her door each day, pretending to otherwise be engaged.

But, she could see what was in my heart. Good teachers have a way of seeing straight past our 'veils.'

"Why don't you come in and try today?" she offered, as she motioned me closer to the door.

When I explained my past failures, she simply smiled and said, "Nonsense...you can not fail at learning, you must learn first to look at things the right way."

And with that, she took out her pen, and drew the character for "love" on my spiral bound notebook.

"This is love," she explained. "It's a picture, you see. Top part is 'zhua'...means 'to hold.' Second, you see the 'roof' - that represents 'family.' Now you see, third part - is 'xin', means 'heart.' The heart is always in the center. Last part, 'you' - means, 'friendship.' Friendship ties all of it together. In Chinese, the most important part is always at the center. So you see the 'heart' is most important. Now, what do you think this means?"

"Love?" I asked timidly...expecting to be wrong.

"That's right! This is love...and heart ties everything together."

And just like that, it all made sense.

She was right, you know - in order to learn, we must first understand.

I later learned that my failures at French was to be expected. You see, when I was a very small girl my mother forced me to learn piano. And Chinese characters, it turns out, look a bit like those little notes on a sheet of music.

Turns out, I'm pretty good at Chinese. Thank you, Mrs. Li.

I Can't Believe I'm Going to Post This.

 

(as shared to me by a friend)

Years ago, the Seattle Symphony was doing Beethoven's Ninth under the baton of Milton Katims.  

At this point you must understand two things:  

1.  There's a long segment in this symphony where the bass viols don't have a thing to do.  Nothing.  Not a single note for page after page, and,

2. There used to be a tavern called Dez's 400 right across the street from the Seattle Opera House, favored by local musicians.

It was decided that during this performance, after the bass players had played their parts they'd quietly lay down their instruments and leave the stage rather than sit on their stools looking (and feeling) dumb for twenty minutes.  

Well, once they got backstage, someone suggested that they trot across the street and have a few brews. After they had downed the first couple rounds, one said, "Shouldn't we be getting back?  It'd be awfully embarrassing if we were late."

Another, presumably the one who had suggested this excursion in the first place, replied, 

"Oh, I anticipated we could use a little more time, so I tied a string around the last pages of the conductor's score. When he gets down to there, Milton's going to have to slow the tempo way down while he waves the baton with one hand and fumbles with the string with the other."

So they had another round and finally returned to the Opera House, a little tipsy by now.  However, as they came back on stage, one look at their conductor's face told them they were in serious trouble.  

Katims was furious!

And why not? After all, it was the bottom of the Ninth, the score was tied, and the basses were loaded. 

Bah-dah-dum...

Want To Be In a New Music Video?

Well, now's your chance!

A dear friend has just created a musical masterpiece which shows how we all overcome obstacles, and break free of life's challenges. 

Join the celebration ...whether you are a biker, dancer, athelete or chess master... it's time to show how you strive to be you. 

But most of all, it's your way of joining this amazing effort to show and share your love and inspiration with this world. 

Send me a direct message for details -> tara@taralemieux.com

And, here's a little something to help you get in the video mood. 

Heartbreaking Images from Oklahoma.

“The emotion that can break your heart is sometimes the very one that heals it...” ― Nicholas Sparks

Please continue to send all of your love today. Death toll is expected to rise to 91, with many elementary school children among the victims.

May our attention today be that of unconditional love and healing.

Namaste.

A Little Something About Us Humans.

"All human beings most have as their point of origin a concern for people's welfare and a desire to contribute to human happiness. Otherwise, the human race will just continue to stumble aimlessly, from darkness into darkness. If this happens, what use to us then economics, politics, and culture? Everything depends on people , on their character, on the development of their humanity."

There is much to do in each day and for this world. And it has nothing to do with accumulation of stuff and of wealth. Neither does it concern one ego, or one self over the other.

It has everything to do with being present for others, of taking notice of their suffering - and of extending yourself in service to those whose hearts desperately need you.

Sadly we feeling in helping others we are causing ourselves to become more vulnerable. I suppose in a manner of speaking this is true ~ because, in order to be here now...to help...and to truly love...means that we are opening our hearts to an unconditional exposure.

And sure, sometimes that can be a bit of an unsettling adjustment...but, I promise you in the end it's fully worth it.

In helping others, I am helping myself.

In loving others, I become love.

And when it is that we may all "become love"...well then, won't this planet be so much better off because of it?

Namaste my most beautiful friends ~ today, my self and my love extend to you.

My Love for You This Day.

“Through my love for you, I want to express my love for the whole cosmos, the whole of humanity, and all beings. By living with you, I want to learn to love everyone and all species. If I succeed in loving you, I will be able to love everyone and all species on Earth... This is the real message of love.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh

That's just what love is, you see.

It's not something to be owned or possessed. 

And, love isn't a small trinket to be tucked away into one of life's many pockets. 

Rather, love is a much greater 'gift' for our souls to experience.

Through it, we learn that hearts can not be blasted open ~ instead, you must "coax and nurture it open, like the sun does to a rose.” 

So, when it is that you feel a bit 'distracted' by loving,just  remember, 

"Learning how to love is the goal and the purpose of spiritual life..." — Lama Surya Das

Namaste on this, a most beautiful day ~ 

A True Friend.

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” ― C.S. Lewis

A true friend is someone with whom you can share,

"Here...here are all of my shattered, most broken up pieces...these fractured fragments of life, and life's experiences. And, I love you enough to share them with you...and I trust you enough to know that it will always be ok."

And, I'm so very grateful that a friend like this has been sent my way.

A Little Morning Dance and a Little Something to Make You Smile.

 

“Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance.”

― Oprah Winfrey

 There's nothing better than a little silly dance in the earliest part of the earlier morning.

And, particularly when dancing helps to make your heart smile.

So, dance...dance silly...and dance till your whole heart is content.

Because, feeling silly is something I promise you will love.

And always remember, 

“Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

So, today, I shall dance...because dancing silly helps to make my whole heart smile.

Morning Decaf With a Biker.

“I like my coffee black, my beer from Germany, wine from Burgundy, the darker, the better. I like my heroes complicated and brooding, James Dean in oiled leather, leaning on a motorcycle. You know the color. ("Ode to Chocolate")” ― Barbara Crooker

I had decaf with a biker this morning—an ominous and quite surly sort of fellow.

We talked about life and politics and things...and then he bought me one of those miniature egg sandwiches

And, then I asked him about all of his military patches, I was most interested in the purple heart he had pinned to his hat.

"I got that in 'nam," he said somewhat matter of factly "pulled three of my buddies off of a field"

What he didn't include were the words, "under heavy enemy fire"—because,
real heroes never really have to.

So, I asked him directly, "How did you do that? What went through your head?"

To which he replied,

"Not much, I was stoned out of my gourd."

Apparently, his buddies look a bit like smooth leather balls on a high school football field.

This is sometimes how I spend mornings. People sometimes ask me, "Where do you find your inspiration?"

To which I replied,

"Inspiration is all around me...including a simple cup of morning decaf."

namaste on this, a most beautiful day. 

If You Want to Live in Paradise.

“...The beauty and mystery of this world only emerges through affection, attention, interest and compassion; if you want to live in the paradise where happy mares and stallion live, open your eyes wide and actually see this world by attending to its colors, details and irony.” ― Orhan Pamuk, My Name is Red

There is a robin building a nest in the tree just outside my window this morning.

I have been watching for the last hour as she carefully selects the next bit of straw and string...back and forth, forth and back...weaving her new find in between each layer of softened fibers.

These are the best morning ever—when something as simple as looking out one's window in the morning yields a glimpse into a world you've not had the pleasure yet of ever knowing.

Paradise is there, you know—when we just take a moment to slow down, sip and breathe.

She's out there just outside your 'window' pane—beckoning you each day to come nearer. 

I Met a Cow Today.

“Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That's the problem.” ― A.A. Milne

I met a most beautiful cow on my ride today.

Her eyes were large and soulful, and she was just the most perfect shade of 'caramel'.

And though, at first she tried to feign indifference—still, I could see her peeking up at me through the slats in the fence.

"Oh, you're so beautiful," I called out to her—and just like that, with a little bit of praise, all of those 'fences' were gone.

She moved her snout over for a most careful whiff—checking, I'm sure, to see if any treats had been missed.

I gave her some clover that was just out of reach—and thought to myself what a wonderful treat.

I mean, how lucky is that—that our lives are filled with these most magnificent moments?

The Power of Words.

“Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.” ― John Greenleaf Whittier

I read through some of my older blog postings just the other day—and was amazed at what I had found.

You see, some many months back I had created a 'bucket list' of sorts—a few words to help to set my sails to on days when I felt the wind would soon be gone.

And though, it seemed a silly exercise at first—in time, I began to fully realize the importance of placing a little hope into all of our words.

There's a great power in just a few simple words.

They have the power to delight us, and offer us hope, as they draw us deeper and deeper into the depths of our souls.

Words are to be savored and sipped with life's feast—their cadence bringing life to the "pattering of rain as it breaks through the trees."

They are horrifying, wonderful, tantalizing, and exquisite—and they are the building blocks and mortar of these dreams we may visit.

But these words are special—as they carry the greatest meaning of all.

Because, these words right here served as my 'compass' during the storm.

Indeed, there is a great power in a few simple words—and today, I've just a few more to add to this list.

Because, this life is about living and not ever giving up.

Bonus—Just a few of my favorite words:

“I ate them like salad, books were my sandwich for lunch, my tiffin and dinner and midnight munch. I tore out the pages, ate them with salt, doused them with relish, gnawed on the bindings, turned the chapters with my tongue! Books by the dozen, the score and the billion. I carried so many home I was hunchbacked for years. Philosophy, art history, politics, social science, the poem, the essay, the grandiose play, you name 'em, I ate 'em.” ― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 

Like elephant journal on Facebook.

Compassion is a Verb.

 

Love this, and these few short quotes on kindness: 

“Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.” ― George Sand

“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.” ― Kahlil Gibran

“I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness.”
― Mother Teresa

“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison 

“One of the most spiritual things you can do is embrace your humanity. Connect with those around you today. Say "i love you", "i'm sorry", "i appreciate you", "i'm proud of you"...whatever you're feeling. Send random texts, write a cute note, embrace your truth and share it...cause a smile today for someone else...and give plenty of hugs.” ― Steve Maraboli

“We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over.” ― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 

“One man practicing kindness in the wilderness is worth all the temples this world pulls.” ― Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums

 

“If a person seems wicked, do not cast him away. Awaken him with your words, elevate him with your deeds, repay his injury with your kindness. Do not cast him away; cast away his wickedness.”
― Lao Tzu

Nothing,' wrote Tolstoy, 'can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness.” ― Gretchen Rubin

 

“When you find yourself in need of spiritual nourishment, it is in the opportunities to serve others that you will find the abundance you seek.” ― Steve Maraboli

“A clever mind is not a heart. Knowledge doesn't really care, wisdom does.” ― Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

 

The Kindness Boomerang.

“I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.”  ― Neil Gaiman

This is a short film with a most simple message - that is of the impact of kindness, on this...a sometimes weary world.

What you do matters - and no matter how big or how small.

Even the simplest act of extending a hand, is enough to make the love in this world grow.

Try to do a little something today ~ say hello to a stranger, and smile back in return...then, hold that door of kindness open, just long enough for the next guy to follow through.

Your Quote of the Day.

"Four and a half billion years ago, the Earth was a flaming molten ball of rock and now...it can sing opera."

We are magnificent beings, you and I—even in this, our most imperfect form...as we stand here still, yet today, rising above when all else has failed.

And in our hearts, we hold dear humanity's greatest gift—a brilliant compassion that shines deep from within our very soul.

Compassion is our journey and it is our perfection.

And likewise, it can help shape molten goo into opera.

namaste, my most beautiful friends ~ much, much love to you on this day.