Living ordinary life with more-than-ordinary awareness and appreciation

I had a goal yesterday; to go to the library and find the book I was looking for. And Providence did respond accordingly as after much searching and almost ready to give up - the book, "Choosing Happiness:Life & Soul Essentials" written by experienced author and psychotherapist Stephanie Dowrick , decided to chose me.




Iona Abbey c.tover2008

I hope to share more with you about her wisdom for life lessons....but here is a wonderful quote from the book in question.

"Whatever our background, culture or race, what rewards us most powerfully and consistantly are the most deceptively simple abilities of all: the ability to be kind, to live enthusiastically and creatively, to appreciate and understand experiences different from our own and to sustain a sense of inner stability and trust even in unwelcome and difficult situations"p4

On my recent travels I found myself very much challenged by Stephanie's wise words (despite not having read them yet) but gained much from the whole travel experience. Travelling can challenge us to 'live the ordinary life with more-than-ordinary awareness and appreciation': the real challenge is then to apply that in your attitude to every day life, wherever you may find yourself.



Barossa Sunset c. tover2008 1 Samuel 2:6-8
"The Lord kills and restores to life; he sends people to the world of the dead and brings them back again. He makes some people poor and others rich: he humbles some and makes others great. He lifts the poor from the dust and raises the needy from their misery. He makes them companions of princes and puts them in places of honour. The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord; on them he has built the world'.