Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Growing up an Irish kid in the suburbs of (what I saw as very much) a small Irish-American city (Buffalo, NY), I have always been interested in my Irish heritage (both real and stereotypical). As a child, I participated in traditional Irish dancing; as a college student, I visited Ireland for the first time, truly began to appreciate traditional Irish music, and of course, drank more than my share; as a graduate, my brother and I took time to examine and begin to learn the Irish Gaelic language at the local Irish Community Center (where, of course, beer was allowed in our college-professor taught course--yay!).
Whether you are Irish or not, my hope is that you can appreciate the wisdom and positive words, traditions, and vibes of St. Patrick's Day.
Today, my thought was to fill your heart up with words of wisdom from traditional Irish blessings and famous quotations. In my mind, the more you are able to be content and grateful for your life, the more likely you'll be to be not only happy, but also healthy and (hopefully) mindful in your daily life.
The first blessing is for a beautiful life:
May your joys be as bright as the morning,
and your sorrows merely be shadows that fade in the sunlight of love.
May you have enough happiness to keep you sweet,
enough trials to keep you strong,
enough sorrow to keep you human,
enough hope to keep you happy,
enough failure to keep you humble,
enough success to keep you eager,
enough friends to give you comfort,
enough faith and courage in yourself to banish sadness,
enough wealth to meet your needs and one thing more;
enough determination to make each day a more wonderful day than the one before.
Source: Litera
The second, a blessing for life and work:
May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your window pane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
Source: Litera
The third, a brief blessing for happiness:
May you live a long life full of gladness and health.
Source: Litera
The next, words of truth attributed to Oscar Wilde:
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.
Source: Good Reads
And just in case you don't yet know the (often) sick humor of the Irish:
May those who love us, love us;
and those who don't love us,
may God turn their hearts;
and if He doesn't turn their hearts,
may he turn their ankles
so we'll know them by their limping.
Source: Litera
Today's Challenge: (As cheesy as it may sound) Take time to breathe, eat, drink, love, and live.Labels: March Mindfulness, Mindful Mondays
