Quotes Archives < Arwen, Professional Joy Seeker

How Many Bananas Per Monkey?

How Many Bananas Per Monkey? My own monkeys need those bananas.

[Tweet “My own monkeys need those bananas. What about yours?”]
#affirmation There’s a saying floating around on the internet. I’ve heard that it definitely comes from one place. I’ve heard that it definitely does not come from that place. For me, where it comes from is less interesting than the message itself.

“Not my circus, not my monkeys”

Said to be from a Polish saying, “Nie mój cyrk, nie moje ma?py”, it is said to be invoking the message of “I’ll mind my business.”

It speaks to me. And, like the “not Chinese” and “not ancient” curse “may you live in interesting times”, it works–shady roots and all.

I use it for when other people’s crazy starts bleeding over into my life. I wish I knew how to say it in Polish. Then I could say it in meetings but no one would know what I was saying.

I hear a lot of crazy. That’s okay. My friends hear a lot of my own crazy. It’s one of the things friends do. I just have to remember to sympathize and listen. I don’t need to offer bananas to fix their monkeys.

My own monkeys need those bananas.

So what about you? What do you use to help yourself stay out of other people’s crazy? Or do you allow yourself to be dragged into it? Sometimes it’s easier to critique other people’s monkey training rather than work on your own.

Gotta go…the chimpanzees just let the orangutans out.

Today’s affirmation:

I am a strong, capable human. I own my own crazy. I have all the tools I need to create a beautiful life. I walk an amazing path filled with what I need.

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

Quotangle by Stephanie Arwen Lynch, 9/5/2014, sharing is fine as long as you don’t alter the picture in any way.

Learn more about Zentangle here.

#dailyaffirmations
#affirmation
#zentangle
#quotangle
#seekjoy

Dreams, Presidents + Roses

She understood and believed in the beauty of her own dream.”] I want someone to say that about me some day.

So today’s card isn’t a card. It’s a quote + picture from one of my fave sites–Brainyquote.com

And it’s a quote from one of my favorite women. Eleanor Roosevelt had an amazing way with words (or her speech writers did but I’m pretty sure it was Mrs. Roosevelt.)

One of my all-time favorite quotes by her (because is shows her sense of humor)is:

“I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.”

Snicker. Funny lady, that Eleanor.

She also chided us to remember that “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

And isn’t that just the damned truth? With powerful words like these, she is my choice for the Queen of Swords. She knew how to slice to the heart of the matter. Her passion was for the communication of ideas.

[Tweet “She understood and believed in the beauty of her own dream.”] I want someone to say that about me some day. Maybe today. What about you?

What is your dream? Faltering isn’t failure. Stopping is. (bad paraphrase from the new Dracula series…with a Dracula who is so freaking sexy he ought to be called Crackula!)

Tell me your dreams. One of mine is that everyone who wants to write a book will be helped by my . Big dreams. Huge dreams. Amazingly beautiful dreams.

Right here.
Right now.

What about you?

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

How Do You Row?

Today’s card is not a card. It’s a tangle. At work, my desk area is plastered with quotes. I find ones that speak to me then put them on unlined note cards. Then I pin or tape those cards all over my area.

“If there is no wind, row.”

It is a Latin proverb according to the little calendar I found it in. And it speaks to me. Sometimes I feel as if I’m not moving. I have to remember that I move myself. I cannot always depend on others to help me get where I need or want to be.

So how do you row when there is no wind? How do you invigorate yourself? How do you motivate? Or, as I am fond of saying, motorvate?

Today’s affirmation is:

Today I will focus on the bright things. I will acknowledge both sides but my focus will remain on the joy. I will move with comfort. I will move with ease. I will navigate today with a joyful outlook. I am loved and loving. That is enough for this moment. Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

Zentangle Art Journal Page, Arwen Lynch, 2013

Seek Joy, Y’all. Pass it on!

Who Do You Believe In?

Today’s card is not a card. It’s a Zentangle Quote. You will see that the design shows several paths. They all point the same way.

Or do they?

Maybe they point the direction you are heading. Maybe the person next you is heading a different direction. Maybe you are going the same way but wearing different shoes.

Do you think that makes a difference?

I do.

Do you think that makes one of the path walkers wrong?

I don’t.

There are many ways to get to where I think we are all going. That’s the Center for me. Others call it something else. And it’s all good.

As long as it is good.

I can’t, and won’t, deny that there are those who are on the wrong path. Those whose course needs correcting. Those whose journey seems to be a mission to hurt others.

I choose to make sure those I’m walking with are on journeys to the positive, the sacred, the good as I see it.

I think that a key part of that journey is to believe in yourself. I can tell you that I believe in you. That may give you a warm fuzzy inside. You can tell me that you believe in me. I know that gives me a warm fuzzy inside.

Still, when the leather hits the road, the only belief that keeps me moving is my own. I believe in myself. Better yet? I know.

Today I am a beautiful soul. I walk with grace and joy. I open my eyes to see fellow joy seekers. I hold out my hand to make a circle of opportunity. I am loved and loving. Today is a beautiful day. Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

Zentangle 5142013, Stephanie Arwen Lynch, feel free to share.