"You don't have the power to make life 'fair,' but you do have the power to make life joyful." 

-Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Thursday's Thoughts - December 6th, 2012

“You have no cause for anything but gratitude and joy.” 
-Gautama Buddha

I would like to begin this addition of Thursday's Thoughts with a sincere apology for not contributing to this series as much as it deserves. Unfortunately, as I search for my own Tao I am finding less time to meditate, let alone write my internal feelings on these quotes. Since meditation is as imperative to me as breathing, it is my time invested in writing that experiences the discourse. Please know that Serenity Sought is of paramount importance to me, as are the thousands of daily subscribers that claim my sources of inspiration for their own.

I have chosen the quote above based on the sincere gratitude that I wish to express based on the success of Serenity Sought. The purpose of these quotes was to provide points of meditation to reflect and discern their meaning as it relates to you, and your response has been overwhelming. Having as many people choose my site, or its sister sites across the social networks, as their daily source of inspiration fills me with an immeasurable amount of joy.

There is a reason that Cicero once said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues but the parent of all others.” Without truly understanding gratitude, we can not appreciate what is to come next, which is everything. We must understand nothing is owed to us, there is nothing that we have coming to us that we have not already earned. This helps eliminate our sense of injury, and the injury that is associated with it. What is left is the sincerest gratitude for life and everything that comes along with it, especially the darkness that provides us the wisdom to endure.

There are many things in life that you can be thankful for even when being bludgeoned by the dark side of chance. Take joy in your existence, and take care not to forsake even the smallest of things that are easily taken for granted. Do you ever pause to express silent gratitude for the sun rising every day? Do you know how imperative it is that it does? We must make a choice on how we see our life, and dismissing the negative emotions as quickly as they appear is the first step. It can be difficult to see the abundance that life has to offer if you continually feed your sense of injury and ego with negative energy and emotions, and it is imperative to dismiss them, or you will not be receptive to the joys that follow.

“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend… when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present — love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure — the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth.” 

-Sarah Ban Breathbach

"All the things that truly matter — beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace — arise from beyond the mind." 
-Eckhart Tolle

"There are many ways to calm a negative energy without suppressing or fighting it. You recognize it, you smile to it, and you invite something nicer to come up and replace it; you read some inspiring words, you listen to a piece of beautiful music, you go somewhere in nature, or you do some walking meditation."
-Thich Nhat Hanh

“Passion is a feeling that tells you: this is the right thing to do. Nothing can stand in my way. It doesn't matter what anyone else says. This feeling is so good that it cannot be ignored. I’m going to follow my bliss and act upon this glorious sensation of joy.” 

-Wayne W. Dyer

"The glow of one warm thought is to me worth more than money."
-Thomas Jefferson

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
-Mahatma Gandhi

"A cheerful temper, joined with innocence, will make beauty attractive, knowledge delightful and wit good-natured. It will lighten sickness, poverty and affliction, convert ignorance into an amiable simplicity, and render deformity itself agreeable."

-Joseph Addison

"When you realize that all things that truly matter - beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace - arise from beyond the mind... you begin to awaken." 
-Eckhart Tolle

"To practice Zen Buddhism is to train oneself to eliminate hatred, anger, and selfishness and to develop loving-kindness towards all." 
-Thich Thien-An

"Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new." 
-Brian Tracy

"Find a time and place of solitude. Look into the distance, and into the future. Visualize the tomorrow you are going to build; and begin to build that tomorrow, today."
-Jonathan Lockwood Huie

"You are the sole individual capable of placing shackles on the feet of your joy. Fortunately, you are also the one who holds the key."
-Nea Joy Justice

"There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us." 
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"There is no fire like lust, no misfortune like hate;
there is no pain like this body;
there is no joy higher than peace."

-Buddha

"Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draws it. Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves."

-Buddha

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."

-Thich Nhat Hanh

"When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love."

-Thich Nhat Hanh