When I let go...

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

--- Lao Tzu --

This is such a great reminder to put our energy towards what it is we want to see and who it is we want to be in life.  Rather than carrying around old habits and baggage, we get to choose who we want to be and how we want to show up.  This can be in the form of drastic changes or subtle shifts in your choices of focus.  We all have the ability to make choices that allow us to become more of who we are and who we want to be.  Sometimes that includes letting go of the 'ego' and how we identify with titles, positions, statures, achievements, etc.  We can be proud of what we've accomplished in life, but if these identifications inhibit us from breaking free and choosing a new path that our souls know is where we want to be, I think it's safe to let it go and allow yourself to grow.

All that we are...

All that we are is the result of what we have thought.  The mind is everything.  What we think, we become.

--- Buddha (Buddha 2nd link)---

It's amazing how powerful our thoughts can be.  There are some people that say we only use 10% of our brains, while others discount the scientific validity of that claim.  I am a big believer in the idea that our thoughts are powerful players in our lives, and we are what we think.  Now think about it, how we think and what we spend our time thinking shapes everything that we see, do, and experience in life.  It's SO important to be conscious of what we think.  With multimedia platforms, television, movies, facebook, blogs :), email, and tons of different ways to be distracted, we often loose sight of what we are thinking.  In fact, we begin to believe that what other people think is what we think, without even checking it against our own personal morals, values, and beliefs.  It is easy to be bombarded with messages and think that they are your own thoughts.  We are in desperate need for a call to critical thinking - not to critique others, but to examine our own thoughts and imaginations.  This quote is dedicated to everyone who is on 'auto-pilot' as a reminder to think about your thoughts and move them gently and intentionally in a positive direction.

 

Make the most of yourself...

Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.

--- Ralph Waldo Emerson ---

This is one of my all time favorite quotes... poetic, to the point, and empowering.

...Capable of Becoming

I want to be all that I am capable of becoming.

--- Katherine Mansfield (wikipedia) ---

I found this quote in a book that I received as a gift from a friend in college, and also found this quote to be quite simple, inspiring, and to the point.  It's a reminder that at the end of the day, regardless of all other things, we want to fulfill our own capacity for becoming who we want to be as individuals.