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Do you see the owl? October 02, 2012 |
Featured Affirmation:
Quotes... “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.” –Mother Teresa “A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard; Why aren't we like that wise old bird?” -Edward H. Richards “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson 
The Owl Story One early evening while I was living in Portland, Oregon I was chatting with a friend on the phone and looking out our family room window. It was early fall and the trees were just beginning to turn golden. Out of nowhere, a single owl swooped up to sit on the branch of this tree. Can you spot the owl?
Over the next two years, I saw the owl maybe twice. It was always thrilling. During the summer of 2010, I was itching to shakeup my habits and decided to stop watching television, completely, 100%, never, ever turn it on. The first few weeks I really didn’t know what to do with myself. Sit in silence? Read? Take up a new hobby? Go somewhere? I can tell you the house had never been cleaner. I eventually eased into the silence and spent much of my free time staring out the windows into our forested backyard. To my amazement, there was the owl. Not just once, or twice, but all of the time. In the morning while I ate breakfast, all throughout the evening. I even discovered that there were two owls who would perch together and swoop around the yard hunting as dusk set in. This made me wonder…how many time had the owl been in the yard and I was too distracted to see him? The owl would be out perched in his tree watching the back of my head as I caught up with the news and my favorite sitcoms. What could you discover if you broke your routine to allow for some silence? Time to peacefully see what you see? No agenda. No expectations. Just open eyes pointed out toward the world. It is ridiculously effortless to become distracted these days by flashy screens, twitter, facebook, e-mail, texting, ipads and ipods. What is waiting for you to turn away from the screen? My upcoming book is about simplifying life to focus on where our values lead us. It is a focus I am putting my full attention on because I don’t want to miss seeing another owl. Journal Exercise What do you need to let go of to allow silence into your life? Marriage Affirmations Finding the resources within: Self Help Resources Simplify your plan: Personal Development Plan Thank you for being a newsletter subscriber! If you signed up for the newsletter before August 16th, you have yet to receive the latest giveaway. I have compiled the Positive Word Dictionary as a gift for the generosity of your time and openness to new ideas. Included you will find:
Download your copy by clicking on the link below: Click to open the file, or right-click and save-as to download it to your PC. The file is in PDF format, to download Adobe Reader, click here. Enjoy! I am in the process of booking speaking engagements for 2013. If you have a group that needs a speaker, you can learn more about my Chronic Resilience Seminars and Keynotes as well as read testimonials at my website: www.DaneaHorn.com Forward this newsletter If you have enjoyed reading this newsletter, please share it with someone you care about. No one will ever have to pay for a subscription so send a friend a copy of this newsletter issue. Speaking of which, did you get this issue forwarded to you? If you're reading this on the recommendation of a friend and would like to receive all of the future editions follow the link below to the newsletter page for more information and a free affirmation download for signing up. Comments? Ideas? Feedback? I would love to hear from you. Just reply to this newsletter and tell me what you think! |
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