There is no remedy for love but to love more.
-Thoreau

Mindfulness teaches us to notice our thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations without immediately categorizing them as good or bad. We learn to be more compassionate toward ourselves, responding to our thoughts and feelings as a friend might, rather than as a slave to a master. Rather than be overwhelmed or ruled by our feelings, we become better able to choose how we want to feel and act in difficult situations.
-Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, PhD

Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.
-Seneca

Beyond living and dreaming there is something more important: waking up.
-Antonio Machado

Share your story of what makes you happy.

A bed fit for two! After much wrestling and playfulness, the two decide to take a nap together. This took some careful negotiations, considering that each like his space.

No bed it too big for Coco Nut. My sister came to visit for the weekend, and once she left, Coco took ownership of the bed. When Coffee Bean jumps on the bed, Coco chases him off. This is now officially Coco’s bed. Anyone wanting to sleep in it wil have tough competion.

Darkness can not drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
-Martin Luther King

I’m in the process of negotiating with a sellers agent to buy an apartment building. The agent is a control freak and answers for the seller, to the point that I’m not certain that the seller even has a voice. I don’t trust him. How do you be kind to someone you don’t trust?

Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny.
-Gandhi

Phu brought Coco home from a farm years ago. Little did he know he would be competing with him for cuddling. Coco cuddles up to sleep with me every night. So warm on a cold Minnesota night. Better than a plush teddy bear. Sometimes Coco forgets about us humans, and arrives to bed at 5 AM. His late nights include looking out every available window to protect his house against neighborhood cats enroaching on his property. When that happens, there is a loud growl to shoo away the trespassers.

A smile is a small gift to give. And best of all, it’s free.