Welcome to a new little series Im welcoming to my blog.  Book Inspired.  Do you ever read things that just really make you think and you just want everyone you know to read it too???  I do all the time, so I thought Id start sharing little tid-bits of reading inspired things, along with what it means to me.  Id love for these posts to be inspiring for you, so I invite you to leave in the comments what it may mean for you as well.  And if you feel you would like to do a whole blog post on the subject for this post, leave me a link in the comments so I can see!

Everyday for the past few weeks Ive been reading pages from the book Wisdom of the Ages (60 days to Enlightenment) by Wayne Dyer.  I highly recommend it to everyone in the world!  Today Im going to share the one on Self Image.  I read this one last night and it resonated with me deeply.  Ill start by writing the quote he highlighted in this post:

"This is the true joy in life:  The being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one.  The being a force of nature, instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.  I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.  I want to be thoroughly used up when I die -- for the harder I work, the more I live.  I rejoice in life for its own sake.  Life is no 'brief candle' to me; it is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

~George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

The way this resonates with me...  The word self image goes so much deeper than how you see yourself in the mirror, what you wear everyday, or how you think you appear to the people who see you.  Ive been pondering alot lately to myself about the idea of whether or not I am fulfilling my little purpose here on earth.  After losing my dad, it has opened my eyes up so much to the idea that we as humans have this need inside ourselves to feel purposeful.  With my mom being gone, and both of his kids grown up and living their own lives, I think my dad really lost his sense of purpose in this world.  Not that he didnt have one, I think he just lost sight of it.  And as much as I know in my heart Im fulfilling my purpose of art, using my gifts that have been given to me to my fullest at this moment in my life to the best I know how, I still wonder.  I feel there is a much deeper purpose brewing inside me, and Im just not sure what it is.  Do you ever feel those wheels churning inside you, driving you towards something greater, but just not knowing what that is yet?  I guess Ill know when I get there, and along the way, Ill be keeping my eyes open as much as I can.  

As the quote above talks about being a force of nature, and not someone who sits around and complains wishing things in life were better for them... Dyer talks about how we all know people in our lives like this and its our choice to remove ourselves from situations where negativity and complaining take over the conversations.  And to catch ourselves when we are about to complain about how tired we are, or things we dont feel like doing, and to stop and say nothing instead... and eventually those feelings tend to lessen or disappear b/c we are not giving them any energy.  And to put energy into rejoicing in life for the sake of life itself.  And to ignore criticism.  He quotes one of my favorite Albert Einstein's quotes:

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds"

By allowing ourselves to break free from our own negativity or that placed on us by others around us, we can allow ourselves to open up to the ideas and possibilities that this world has for us.  It can drive the fear away from us, and all of the blocks we place in front of ourselves to keep from fulfilling our own life purposes.  Im happy I read this, as I think this is all something to strive for and work on daily.  And when I say life purposes, I think sometimes we (including myself) tend to get lost in the idea that this must be something big and heroic.  But I do believe that is far from the truth.  I think it is finding the things in this world that we truly enjoy, that in turn creates love and helps other people (physically or emotionally or spiritually or whatevs).  This could be being a mother, a writer.... really anything you can think of, whatever is true for yourself.  And it could be many many little things.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings and thanks to Wayne Dyer for putting together an awesome collection of thought provoking quotes and writings.  Im sure Ill be sharing alot from this book.

 PEACE,

Laura