Phosphorescence

by Julia Baird

What is the point of all you have learned if you can’t employ it when you are floundering in a nadir?

we have the ability to find, nurture and carry our own inner, living light —

Wonder makes us stop and ask questions about the world, while marvelling over something we have not seen before, whether spectacular or mundane.

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.

‘experiences of awe bring people into the present moment, and being in the present moment underlies awe’s capacity to adjust time perception, influence decisions, and make life feel more satisfying than it would otherwise.’

we seem to have forgotten how comforting it can be to feel small and experience the awe that comes from being silenced by something greater than ourselves, something unfathomable, unconquerable and mysterious.

sometimes, in order to learn, you need to slow down, shut up and allow yourself to sit in silence.

We see so many startled eyes, smooth foreheads and puffy lips that we have almost forgotten what beauty is — and this matters, because too many of us feel like failures the moment we look in the mirror, before our days have even begun. We need to change our lenses, be gentle with ourselves and harsh with those forces that try to teach us to hate ourselves.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, no one can make you feel inferior unless you consent to them doing so. She was right — and we need to refuse to give that consent.