Contemplations before eating:

♥This food is a gift of the earth, the sky, numerous living beings, and much hard and loving work.

♥May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive this food.

♥May we recognize and transform unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed and learn to eat with moderation.

♥May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that reduces the suffering of living beings, stops contributing to climate change, and heals and preserves our precious planet.

♥We accept this food so that we may nurture our brotherhood and sisterhood, build our Sangha, and nourish our ideal of serving all living beings. ~Thich Nhat Hanh

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy,
if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you,
if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand,
rejoice, for your soul is alive. ~ Eleonora Duse

It was recently discovered that dogs do see in color, just not as vivid as we see. All dogs, regardless of breed, are direct descendants of wolves and technically of the same species.  A dog’s whiskers — found on the muzzle, above the eyes and below the jaws — are technically known as vibrissae. They are touch-sensitive hairs than actually sense minute changes in airflow. Source: MSPCA

In life, the joys are not in doing things to make yourself happy, but the pleasure in seeing a smile on someone’s face that you made happy. ~Rashida Rowe

The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another’s, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises. ~Leo F Buscaglia

To find the universal elements enough;
to find the air and the water exhilarating;
to be refreshed by a morning walk
or an evening saunter;
to be thrilled by the stars at night;
to be elated over a bird’s nest
or a wildflower in spring
– these are some of the rewards of the simple life.

~ John Burroughs

Unforgiveness is the poison you drink every day
hoping that the other person will die.

~ Debbie Ford

A cat’s jaw can only move back to front, not side to side.  This makes sense because they are predators (meat-eaters), rather than grazers (plant-eaters). Cats don’t really have nine lives…that myth became a popular saying because cats have keen senses and quick reflexes – and they tend to survive dangerous situations that other animals may not. Source: mspca

The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering the more you suffer because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt. ~Thomas Merton