How To Live (not merely exist . . . )

ByMatthew

“To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common — this is my symphony.” – William Henry Channing

Short of similar sentiments from Emerson and Thoreau, this is one of my favorite thoughts on how to live (and not merely exist).

I found it here (#6).

Similar Posts

  • Remember: You’re The Tree

    ByMatthew

    We are like the little branch that quivers during a storm, doubting our strength and forgetting we are the tree—deeply rooted to withstand all life’s upheavals. – Dodinsky When the winds of change and challenge blow, remember you are the tree. The strong, flexible tree, able to bend and not break, to both sway with…

  • Fear and Passion

    ByMatthew

    I am interrupting my watching of Seth Godin on Jonathan Fields’ Good Life Project to explore an idea Seth presented. Brother Seth was talking about how people begin things and how whether they are 1) afraid and 2) if they care impacts what happens (if anything). I had an idea to map the idea, using a…

  • Impossible, or Just Hard?

    ByMatthew

    Everything hard was impossible, until someone did it. What’s “impossible” for you? What was once “impossible” for you? The only thing you need is to believe you can start. You don’t have to believe you can finish, or succeed, just some clarity that it’s worth starting. After you start, just keep going until either 1)…

  • How To Not Be Stuck

    ByMatthew

    The world is full of people who want to change, who say they need to change, but remain stuck.* I look at one of those people in the mirror every day.                   The above chart illustrates someone who says his Ideal Weight is one number and, yet,…

  • What is Fear?

    ByMatthew

    I was reading something from Michael Neill (his e-mail newsletter, if you’re curious) and he said something useful: fear is a function of the mind, not circumstance. So if fear is (just a) thought, and not anything real or tangible, then I can think differently. And not be afraid as much, or even anymore. I…

  • Honor Your Gifts

    ByMatthew

    “Every human has four endowments – self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.” – Stephen R. Covey Something that has been coming up for me a lot lately is the idea of honoring our gifts. What does it mean…