Ralph W. Emerson on How to Succeed~Laugh Often and Love Much

"To have played and laughed with enthusiasm

and sung with exultation;

To give of one's self;

To find the best in others~

This is to have succeeded."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"To laugh often and love much;

To leave the world a better place;

To know even one life has breathed easier

because you have lived~

This is to have succeeded."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

To Leave the World a Better Place

These delicious Emerson quotes and accompanying images

were inspired by Delightful Repast's 

food photo for Ground Beef Chili with Beans. 

I've been following Jean on Delightful Repast for 8 years 

as she shares wholesome recipes to delight my palate and

heart-warming stories that add sweetness, 

spice and a bit of nostalgia to the recipes.

As I was on my way to saving her Ground Beef Chili with Beans 

recipe so I could give it a try, I was struck by what a simple--

yet beautiful--presentation Jean made of the Chili, 

and I quickly got sidetracked copying her photo and playing with it. 

Although I've never met Jean face to face, over the years we've  

struck up an on-line relationship and I know a few things about her-- 

especially her love of Ralph Waldo Emerson--so I knew the Emerson

quotes would provide just the right finishing touches to the

pictures I cooked up from Jean's Chili photo.

I choose the Emerson quotes I felt Jean embodied to adorn the art.

Sometimes you just know a person--even if you've never met them.

If you are interested in recipes that use organic, nonGMO, 

grass-fed and free-range cooking ingredients, check out 

Delightful Repast

 What is the origin of the name 'Delightful Repast'?

Says Jean, "My husband is very polite and humorous, often simultaneously, and has said to me after nearly every dinner I've ever made for him, "Thank you for the delightful repast." How could I name my food blog anything else!"

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes letting go and moving forward with life easier than ever before.
                                                            
Do you know someone who could benefit from uplifting messages? Please share Lightarted Living with them. If you or someone you love is interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the FREE Lightarted Living mailing list.      

Lightarted Living: Decoding The Hieroglyphs of Life

Lightarted Living: Decoding The Hieroglyphs of Life: Love Showing Up Ever wonder the meaning of the momentary messages life sends you? Is that love showing up or love passing...

Decoding The Hieroglyphs of Life

Love Showing Up

Ever wonder the meaning of the

momentary messages life sends you?

Is that love showing up or love passing you by?

How do you know? 

How do you decode the hieroglyphs of life?

Imagining Your Dreams

I've found if I sit quietly and 

silently stare long enough into the moment,

images emerge that show me the desires of my heart

and the best way to move forward in life.

Hieroglyphs

That's what I did the other day~

sit quietly and stare into the moment~

when Lee, my artist and life co-conspirator

sent this image titled, 'hieroglyphs' 

and left me to figure out what it was 

and what it was to be.

By the time I finished playing with it, 

I had a smile on my face as 

I realized I had decoded the hieroglyphs of life~

and I had to share it with you 

(in case you hadn't figured it out yourself).

Listen Quietly

Life's truths are always

available to you~

waiting beneath your consciousness

to whisper into your soul

and set you down a positive path.

Listen for the Uplifting Messages

The not-so-hidden messages

lingering beneath your conscious awareness

are simple and uplifting~

Trust them. 

Take a chance on Life.

Enjoy Life.

Trust Yourself.

Trust Life.

Mix a bit of silliness with your seriousness.

Carpe Diem

Be ALIVE!

Love Birds

Take a chance on love.

The Hieroglyphs of Life Decoded

(Believe it!)

Life is Short....

And there will always be dirty dishes....

So Let's Dance!

"Life is Short and there will always be dirty dishes,

so let's dance!"

James Howe

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes letting go and moving forward with life easier than ever before.
                                                            
Do you know someone who could benefit from uplifting messages? Please share Lightarted Living with them. If you or someone you love is interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the FREE Lightarted Living mailing list.

       

Lightarted Living: Let Your Life Dance Lightly on the Edges of Time

Lightarted Living: Let Your Life Dance Lightly on the Edges of Time: "Alas for those that never sing, but die with all their music in them." Oliver Wendell Holmes Be Surprised ...

Let Your Life Dance Lightly on the Edges of Time

"Alas for those that never sing,

but die with all their music in them."

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Be Surprised by Joy!

Sing! Dance! Laugh!

Enjoy Yourself--

It's later than you think.

Chinese Proverb

The Unsung Song

"I have spent my days 

stringing and unstringing my instrument,

while the song I came to sing

remains unsung."

Rabindranath Tagore

To Change Your Life

"To change one's life~

Start Immediately!

Do it Flamboyantly!

No Exceptions!"

William James

"Spend the afternoon.

You can't take it with you."

Annie Dillard

Be happy while you're living,

for you're a long time dead.

Scottish Proverb

"Let Your Life Lightly Dance on the Edges of Time~

Like the Dew on the Tip of a Leaf."

Rabindranath Tagore

Still Just Hanging Around? Get Dancing

Death twitches my ear.

"Live," he says, "I am coming."

Virgil

If you can talk, you can sing.

If you can walk, you can dance.

African Proverb

"To dance,

put your hand on your heart 

and listen to the sound of your soul."

Luigi Faccuito

My Musical Muses

Sue Flynn, the cellist, and her grandson Finn, the dancer, served as my muses. A music stand, bird and cat pictures, computer screen, and hanging coat added the base for the whimsical and pensive figures in the background.



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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes letting go and moving forward with life easier than ever before.

                                                            

Do you know someone who could benefit from uplifting messages? Please share Lightarted Living with them. If you or someone you love is interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the FREE Lightarted Living mailing list.

Lightarted Living: The Pale Moon~Judith L. Smith-Foote

Lightarted Living: The Pale Moon~Judith L. Smith-Foote: After wandering across the night sky The pale moon pauses  Above the windswept sea  To ponder the thin c...

The Pale Moon~Judith L. Smith-Foote

After wandering across the night sky

The pale moon pauses 

Above the windswept sea 

To ponder the thin cover offered by 

Waning clouds and slips of canyon fog

The Pale Moon

After wandering across the night sky

The pale moon pauses

Above the windswept sea

To ponder the thin cover offered by

Waning clouds and slips of canyon fog

And to wait for the

Rising sun’s glow and warmth

Before making its descent.

Judith L. Smith-Foote
Malibu Bay 2013

Judith L. Smith-Foote

Judith L. Smith-Foote aka Dr. Smith aka Judi is one of my all time favorite people. She's had a profound influence on my life. 

As my chosen mentor at UCLA, I was fortunate to sit alongside Judith to absorb her  insights into the world of physiological science and life. She was, and still is, like the rising sun's glow and warmth to me.

Both whimsical and wise, Judi has always engaged in a full array of extra-curricular activities in music and art--but writing poetry first appeared when she paused to retire after 42 years of wandering through a distinguished career at UCLA--and before she slipped into 'rehirement' to help establish the UCLA Herb Albert School of Music and to serve as Dean of the department. 

I don't think Judi will mind my recreating her Malibu Bay photo for her Pale Moon poem. She was always encouraging students to imagine what wasn't there, helping us think into the future. This is just one more exercise that allowed me to wander into pausing and pondering what is, what has been, and what is to be. 

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes letting go and moving forward with life easier than ever before.

                                                            

Do you know someone who could benefit from uplifting messages? Please share Lightarted Living with them. If you or someone you love is interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the FREE Lightarted Living mailing list.

Lightarted Living: The Happy Pugs~ George and Leo

Lightarted Living: The Happy Pugs~ George and Leo: Don't put off your happy life! George and Leo The Happy Pugs Every day is the Best Day! George and Leo ...

The Happy Pugs~ George and Leo

Don't put off your happy life!

George and Leo

The Happy Pugs

Every day is the Best Day!

George and Leo

The Happy Pugs

Play~It's what's good for a body!

George and Leo

The Happy Pugs

George and Leo, the happy pugs 

Are rotund and very playful plugs.

Never naughty or pugnacious pugs;

They're just silly, nosey and bullish pugs.

George and Leo own the heart's of Rosemary, Janine and Robert Meyerott.  Thanks to Janine for sending the photos.

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes letting go and moving forward with life easier than ever before.
                                                            

Do you know someone who could benefit from uplifting messages? Please share Lightarted Living with them. If you or someone you love is interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the FREE Lightarted Living mailing list. 

Lightarted Living: Carefree as a Bird that Sings

Lightarted Living: Carefree as a Bird that Sings: Carefree to Be " Carefree to be, As a bird that sings. To go my own sweet way; To live and love each day . To reck n...

Carefree as a Bird that Sings

Carefree to Be

"Carefree to be,

As a bird that sings.

To go my own sweet way;

To live and love each day.

To reck not at all what may befall,

But to live and to love each day

Carefree as a bird."

Robert W. Service 

Origins: Titmouse Nest

The background and inspiration for today's

'carefree as a bird that sings' art

is this birdcam image 

of a Titmouse nest 

from Sue Flynn. 

There's a mama and two babies in this nest.

The sweet poem, 

written by Robert W. Service in 1912,

gently landed in my lap

~softly as a feather~

as I scanned my landscape

looking to unleash the truths

created by this image 

in my head.

Just think--

this poem 

has been flying around

in the ether 

for years 

waiting for a place to land.

Wishing You a Carefree Day

Wishing you a carefree day,

to be as a bird that sings,

~In your own sweet way~

~to live and love as you wish~

carefree as a bird.

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For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes letting go and moving forward with life easier than ever before.
                                                            

Do you know someone who could benefit from uplifting messages? Please share Lightarted Living with them. If you or someone you love is interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the FREE Lightarted Living mailing list. 

Lightarted Living: The Poetry of Life

Lightarted Living: The Poetry of Life: Alas for those that Never Sing "Alas for those that never sing, But die with all their music in them." Oliver Wende...