In February, a person can’t go very far without this reminder: it is the LOVE month. Red hearts on cards and candies, clothes, mugs, and little cupid images flying everywhere especially next to and in your face. I love February as much as anyone else, however, I know a few friends who are trying to keep their thoughts positive and their chins raised up high during this giddy month, while deep down inside, the pain of a lost love either through death, divorce, separation or simply an estranged relationship lingers like an unwanted guest in their minds.
To tie this award with thoughts of helping anyone struggling to get through February, the theme that has evolved is the, ABC Simple Guide on the Art of Content Living focusing on a variety of cool quotes and words from my small collection.
Many of the quotes come from Fulton J. Sheen‘s book: Guide to Contentment ( GTC) and words from David Olsen’s book: The Words You Should Know. Other quotes not noted are from Wikiquote.
ABC Simple Guide on the Art of Content Living
A–Angels . . . “God sets many angels in our paths, but often we know them not; in fact, we may go through life never knowing that they were agents or messengers of God to lead us on to virtue, or deter us from vice.” ~(GTC)
Here’s a simple prayer to remember when life gets a bit rough:
Angel of God, my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day, be at my side
to light, to guard
to rule and guide. ~Amen.
B–Blog! “A blog is merely a tool that lets you do anything from change the world to share your shopping list.” ~Anonymous
Blogging is an excellent way to get out of yourself and meet the world! You can be a support to someone going through difficult times or simply create a place you feel good about. Your goodness will shine out to those who find your blog!
C–Cheerfulness… “is that quality which enables one to make others happy.” ~(GTC)
D–Dancing . . . “People dance because dance can change things. One move can bring people together. One move can set a whole generation free. One move can make you believe like you’re something more. … Dance can give hope.” ~ Moose (Adam Sevani)
Turn up your music and dance, dance, dance!! In the living room . . . kitchen, bedroom, anywhere!
E–Equanimity is the ability to stay calm, even-tempered even in a difficult situation. Strive to live each minute with equanimity!
F–Felicity. . . something that gives rise to sublime contentment . . . bliss . . . extreme happiness!
“A mind always employed is always happy. This is the true secret, the grand recipe, for felicity.” ~Thomas Jefferson
G–God’s grandeur… is gargantuan! Enough said!
H–Holiness . . . “an oil which increases a hundredfold the energies of the body, which is the wick.” ~Francis Thompson
I–Influence “is that which a man is, the sum total of all his beliefs, actions, goals, habits, values, affections, manifested in all he does and does not.” ~(GTC)
J–Johnny Depp.
A bit of eye candy for this special day with Mr. Johnny Depp ~~ Image via Wikipedia
Oops, I meant, “the way we JUDGE others is very often the judgment which we pronounce upon ourselves.” ~(GTC)
K–Kindness “drives gloom and darkness from souls and puts hope into fainting hearts. It sweetens sorrow and lessons pain.” ~Lawrence G. Lovasik
L–Love and Life . . . “The greatest thing in the world is to be in love and be loved in return.” ~Moulin Rouge
Don’t ever give up on life. Life can be so beautiful, especially after you’ve spent a lot of time with it. ~Yoko Ono 9 June 2009
M–Meditation . . . “Man does not want to be with God as much as God wants to be with man. This is the secret of meditation. Try it and be happy.” ~(GTC)
N–Ne plus ultra . . . if you receive the Ne plus ultra Blog Award, it means you have arrived at blog nirvana dude!
O–Optimist . . . “ Optimist” is a word which here refers to a person…who thinks pleasant thoughts about nearly everything. For instance, if an optimist had his left arm chewed off by an alligator, he might say, in a pleasant and hopeful voice, “Well, this isn’t too bad. I don’t have my arm anymore, but at least nobody will ever ask me if I am right-handed or left-handed”, but most of us would say something more along the lines of “Aaaaah! My arm! My arm!” ~Lemony Snicket
P–Peace . . . “You may assuredly find perfect peace, if you are resolved to do that which your Lord has plainly required,— and content that He should indeed require no more of you,— than to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him.” ~John Ruskin
Q–Quintessence . . .“It is easy enough to be friendly to one’s friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
R–Reading . . . “Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest.“ Book of Common Prayer, collect for the Second Sunday in Advent.
S–Sleep . . . A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book. ~Irish Proverbs
T–Theater . . . (my fave quote!!) “All the world’s a stage ~And all the men and women merely players ~ They have their exits and their entrances ~ And one man in his time plays many parts …“ ~William Shakespeare,
U–Understand . . . “Understanding someone is better than words sometimes.” ~Anonomous
V–Victory . . . “One of the greatest victories you can gain over someone is to beat him at politeness.” ~Josh Billings,
W–Water . . . “I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man.” ~Henry David Thoreau
X–X-ray vision . . . some people wish they had it like Superman!
Y–You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. ~Kahlil Gibran
Z–Zero . . . What can I say?? Zero has no hero . . . or ”The point about zero is that we do not need to use it in the operations of daily life. No one goes out to buy zero fish . . .” ~Alfred North Whitehead
There you have it. A few words, okay, lots of words on content living. Let me thank a few blog friends who simply filled my world with lots of love!
Cosy Travels of the Viking and His Kitten
That’s it!
To all my blogger friends . . .
HAPPY SAINT VALENTINE’S DAY!! Image via Wikipedia
To my friends who may feel a bit out of the love fuss of this day just remember . . .GOD LOVES YOU IMMENSELY!!
~May you be blessed beyond measure~
Sunshine XOXO
I am SO laughing, blushing, thrilled by your generous words–you have NO idea how amusing it is to have my picture published on the same page with the (currently single!) Deppster–holee guacamole!!
Congrats on your award (I dare say you did a better job on your list than I)!! You are so very lovely–as are both your blog, and this ABC “List”! And I DO mean that from my sincere Valentine’s heart!
Wishing you every joy of this “love” holiday–and God’s blessings always!! love, your friend (still half-crazy) Caddo
Woohoo!! The Deppster and Caddo!! That’s the way to roll I would say Caddo!
Thanks again for the award and kind words too!
XOXO
Lovely, just lovely.
Jess
Thank you Jess! Happy you stopped in and stayed to chat
Congratulations on your ABC Award. I am honored and humbled that you have nominated me to receive it as well. What a special gift to receive from someone you have never physically met, but are of like spirits, this recognition. I will be in prayer and follow up as soon as I have a theme. Thank you again.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
Hey Francine! No rush on anything, just take your time and have fun with it. I’m happy you are part of my blog family. Thank you so much!
God Bless!
Happy Valentine’s Day!!! May this day be special for you! Thanks so much for the nomination of the ABC award!!! I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart!
I figured you needed something nice after your comment mishap ordeal!
Okay Sunshine, now you’ve outdone yourself. This was a great post! First of all, congrats on your honor – very well-deserved. You are a beacon in the fog-blogosphere! Secondly, I love, love, love the heart and mind of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen!! He is one the great ones. Third, thank you for being so selfless and giving. Lastly, you shouldn’t have, but thank you for the honor for my blog. It is humbly appreciated, my friend!
Until the next comment!
MJ
Oh, and I can’t believe you threw in Mr. 21 Jump Street!
Well, MJ, you know how eye candies can be . . . so yummy you can’t put them down!
MJ, funny thing about the Archbishop Sheen, his books sat on my bookshelf for so long and only now I’m finding out what a mind he had! He’s amazing! Okay, I have to stop now so I can run over to your new place! See ya!
Congrats on your award and thanks for thinking of me and passing it on!
Hi Peg! Oh, so happy you liked it and it is always a pleasure visiting you and having you over here. Thanks!
Congratulations on your award and Happy Valentine’s Day. I loved Johnny Depp showing up in the middle of all those quotes.
Bongo, you and the Deppster have one great thing in common:
YUMMY EYE CANDY!!!!
I bet your persons have to hire bodyguards to keep you protected from your sweet fans!
See ya cutie!
Hey my dear friend!!
Congrats for your nomination, and thanks for nominating my blog!
I’m so glad for it.
Everything you worte is quite inpiring so thanks again for all and for encouraging us to keep writing, I love your work as well.
Hope you had a great Valentine’s Day!!
Thank you Andrea for your kind words and lots of power to your blog!
Valentine’s Day was sweet as ever! Thanks!
Congratulations on your award and thank you to share Johnny Depp… sorry, I mean to nominate me as well. Thanks, I appreciate it very much:) I loved this post. Have a sunny day!
Angelswhisper, glad you got the award and it’s always a treat with Mr. Depp!
God Bless!!
Happy Valentines Sunshine
Thank you Jake!!! Hope it was a sweet day for you and your family on Valentines!
Congratulations with the award. And thanks for the quotes. I enjoyed going through the whole alphabet. A great post.
Hi Otto!! Oh, so glad you enjoyed the quotes and thanks for visiting and chatting. Always twice as nice
Be seeing ya!
when you do!
Oh my, thank you thank you so much Sunshine!! I really do appreciate the award!
I am so happy, thank you for thinking of me. I am glad to be part of our blogging family. And I enjoyed reading the alphabet post too!
And congratulations for the award too! This greeting may be a bit late but I want to say a Happy Valentine’s Day! By the way, I enjoy reading your posts, such a great inspiration.
I had a sweet Valentine’s Day Gracie, thanks! Never to late and I’m hoping you had a great day as well.
Many thanks for all your inspirational posts Gracie.
Congratulations on your award! And this is an Awesome post — the whole alphabet inspiring, encouraging, loving, and Mr. D! Your blog always brings me that bit of sunshine when I need it. Thank you for your generous heart, and for nominating me for the ABC award. I’m truly grateful. Blessings.
Hello there Suitablefish (I just love that name!!) you made me happy with your happiness
Wishing you lots of power energies for your blog!
~Peace and love to you!
Oh thank you sunshine.
You sure are my award goddess
This is such a lovely award … fun
Teehee . . . award goddess eh? Lots of laughs Amira! I thank you because you know
laughing is an inexpensive medicine and anything free and helpful is radically good in my books!!
Congratulations to you.
Great post and thank you so much for the recognition. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this award. Thanks again.
Well, I’m happy you got it now Lorrelee. See ya!
Congrats on the award and thank you a million times over for passing one onto me!
- Cafe <3
Glad you liked it Cafe23! ~Fun times on WordPress!
Sunshine, you’re so kind! Congratulations on your award! I love your quotes! Thank you so much for giving me the honor, for passing along the ray of ‘Sun’ in the midst of February. ♥ Excellent timing. You were the very first visitor to my blog, back when I was trying to figure out how to start and was struggling with what to even write about, in the *about*
Thanks for all the encouragement~
Ah, the fun times on WordPress! I’m delighted you found something to warm your heart Pencilpoint. Sending lots of power to your blog!!
Beautiful! I’m honored. Such an amazing award that brings inspiration to others. Best gift a blogger could get. Thank you my friend.
Island Traveler, you always have comforting and peaceful words that can soothe the soul. It was my pleasure for sure.
Thank you!
great list! Johnny Depp – lovely!
Congrats on the award – I started it as a way of sharing with friends and it is exciting to see it travel around the blog world – and it also means I get to find lots of lovely new blogs to enjoy too!
If you want to know where it all started – click here http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/abc-award/
and happy blogging!
Thank you Alyson! It’s nice to know how these awards come to be
~ Abundant blessings to you and your blog!
Congratulations for your award:) and thank you for passing it to me, I’m very honored to be nominated by you for such a wonderful award. please find my acceptance and thank you post on:
http://ranaarmoush.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/the-abc-award-and-the-spirit-of-love/
I loved your acceptance speech Rana! Woohoo! Congratulations!
Congrats and Happy V Day to you too!
Thank YOU Eliz!! Hope you had a heart filled day too!!
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Congratulations on your ABC Award!
You may be interested to know that I have now set up a Facebook group for all bloggers who have been given the ABC Award – a place for you to meet new bloggers, and share and support each other. You can join the group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ABCaward/?bookmark_t=group
Please also let any other bloggers, that you know have been given the award, know about this group too – then we can all ‘spread the word’
I have also set up a Facebook page – the ABC Award – where you can now add links to all of your blog posts and writing – share your work with a new audience, gain new readers, and find out what other ABC Award bloggers are writing about.
You can find the page here:
https://www.facebook.com/ABCaward?bookmark_t=page
Just ‘like’ the page and get started – and do let all your blog readers know about this page – I believe that all of our blogs can only be improved by letting our readers know about other blogs – that way you will also have new readers discover you too!
Happy blogging – and congratulations again on the ABC Award – you’re awesome!
Thank you Ferragudofan for letting us all know about this ABC Facebook page. You are appreciated and you are AWESOME too!
~Abundant blessings~
thanks!
you’re very welcome!
I’m not sure how I stumbled here, but I am glad I did. Love this, especially LMNOPQ. {{{hugs]}} Kozo
ha ha…well, you see, i was updating the post because it had images from a blog site that no longer is available. i don’t know what happened to the blogger. just up and left. the images were no longer viewable so originally it was an award post that i had to somehow update after i deleted all the broken links. sheesh
what a nightmare. thank goodness i was able to save mr. depp ☺
i guess things updated goes to the reader?!? oh, but i am so happy you stumbled over here!!! ☼sunLOVE!!!