Work Out Your Own Salvation

Cheri Huber begins her chapter, Work Out Your Own Salvation Diligently, in her book, "Trying to Be Human," with the following notion:

"At the moment of death, somebody else's enlightenment is going to be of no help to us. The only thing we take with us is what we is what is available to us in that moment. So it is imperative that we not worry about what anyone else is doing, not compare ourselves to anyone else, or imagine how we ourselves might be at some future point. Instead we should devote all our time and energy and attention and effort to being as present as we can in this moment."

I think that about sums it up. "Here and now, boys and girls, here and now."

To Accept Life

Early in the first chapter of Personal Development for Smart People, Steve Pavlina offers us this gem:

"Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such."
--Henry Miller

Raison D'être

The following pearl of wisdom showed up in my inbox this morning, courtesy of Adam Khan, creator of MoodRaiser.com, among other websites:

"Man is by nature a productive organism. When he ceases his productivity — whether he is producing a pail or a poem, an industry or an ideology — his life begins to lose its meaning. Though he may be finally buried twenty years after his death, the person who has no raison d'être is not really alive. He is merely the ghost of who he once was or might have become."
-- Allen Wiesen, psychologist

Joy to the World

Whilst reading "The Book of Understanding" by the incomparable Osho I came across the following joyful message:

"Joy arises only in creating joy for others; there is no other way. The more people you can make happy, the more you will feel happy. This is the real meaning of service. This is the real meaning of being religious: help peple to become happy, help people to become warm, help people to become loving. Create a little beauty in the world, create a little joy, create a little corner where people can celebrate and sing and dance and be, and you will be happy. Immense will be your reward."

I don't know what I can add to this deep wisdom. Now that we know the secret of a life of happiness and joy -- what are we waiting for?