All of us have little tricks or tools we use to stay “up” when life is pressing down on us or we have a particular issue with which we are grappling. These are times when we need to step back and stop for a few minutes and refocus.

Mine is what I called my “morning pages.” I learned about this many years when I read Julia Cameron’s wonderful book, The Artist’s Way, a book about unleashing creativity. It’s a simple but powerful tool anyone can use to help stay focused and on track. I heartily recommend her book.

Here’s how it works: When you get up in the morning, before you check your email or turn on the TV or the radio – and let the outside world inside – sit down at your desk or the kitchen table, take out three blank pages of plain, 8 ½” X 11” plain white paper – and start writing without stopping until you have filled the three pages.

Don’t stop and think about what you’re going to say or the right way to say it. Just write whatever is on your mind. You’ll be amazed at what goes down on the paper. In my case, as I have proven to myself time and time again, invariably, by the time I get to the middle of page two, I am addressing the issue, writing solutions to the problem that seemed intractable when I first started writing.

Even though it was a long time ago that I first started writing my morning pages, to this day I will write them whenever a particular challenge presents itself.

Try it. You’ll be surprised at how effective it is. You’ll get up from your desk or the table in a much more positive state of mind, solution in hand, ready to take on the day.

In these words I can sum up everything that I have learned about life: It goes on. Robert Frost.

Living at the speed we live today, subject to an unending stream of distractions, it is all too easy to forget that time is so precious and that we should constantly strive to make as much room as we can for the people we love and care about.

We’re so busy just trying to keep up with our careers and personal lives. The days turn into weeks, weeks into months and before we know it another year has gone by. The pace is crazy. The stress and strain is relentless. It’s not hard to get distracted.

It’s easy to miss the opportunities for magical moments if you’re too busy to stop see them.

Here are just three tips that may help:

1. Share joy, not negativity.
2. Pay close attention to the effects of the media that you consume.
3. Choose your friends with care. If you strive to be spiritually strong, supportive and positive, seek out those who exhibit similar attitudes.

You can get so focused on the “big” stuff that you often overlook the small things and the events – especially when to comes to family and friends – time that can make such a difference in your life and theirs and often turn seemingly ordinary times into magical moments.

Have you ever noticed how people seem to come in and out of your life? Is that just a coincidence, you wonder?

It took me a long time to accept the notion that people do, indeed, show up just when you need them. They come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. The trick is to figure out which it is; then you’ll know exactly what to do.

I stumbled upon the following piece on the Internet many years ago. If you are already familiar with it, there is no need to read further, but if you are not and think there may be some ‘magic’ occasionally going on in your life, you may want to read this… it’s for you to decide.

A Reason, A Season or a Lifetime.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrong-doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What you must realize is that your need has been met, your desires fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. Thank you for being a part of my life.

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For every minute you remain angry, you give up 60 seconds of peace. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I don’t know what it is but the number of positive thinking, happy people I meet on a daily basis I can usually count on one hand. So many seem to spend their day finding fault and focused on the negative.

So when I happen across an exception I always make a point to tell her or him how refreshing they are. I ran across an example yesterday when I approached the concierge at condominium residence in downtown Toronto.

I commented on how pleasant he was as he replied to my inquiry.

“It’s simple,” he said. “I live each day according to what I call the 3 big E’s.”

“Let me guess, I said, Energy….”

With a smile, he finished the sentence for me. “Empathy and Enthusiasm.”

Energy, empathy and enthusiasm. Can you imagine what our days would look like if everyone subscribed to this simple philosophy?

Try it. It’s infectious. I’ll bet you’re smiling… even now, as you read this.

It’s what you know when you know it all that counts. John Wooden.

India is layers and layers… to even begin to learn about the country and its people you have to get out of the bubble. Get out of the air-conditioned car and walk or take an auto-rickshaw or ride on Delhi’s sparking new metro. Yes, Delhi has a metro that is the equal of many wealthy cities in the West and puts still others to shame.

One morning, as I was searching for a coffee shop in a local neighbourhood around the corner from my hotel, I was stopped by a little girl begging for money. You’ve all seen the pictures, the big eyes, the thin arms. She couldn’t have been any older that my granddaughter. I gave her some coins not knowing exactly how much they were. She took them. As we kept walking, she stayed with me, her hand still out stretched.

“Mister, Mister,” she implored. “Rice costs 20 rupees.”

That’s just a few cents. You can imagine how low I felt. I gave her some more.

As I was walking I spotted a coffee shop, Coffee Costa, a U.K. franchise, as I was to subsequently learn. It looked good so I went in. It was like walking into a Starbucks back home – with one big difference. When you place your order, you have to write it out on a piece of paper.

That’s because all the staff, with the exception of one or two supervisors, are all deaf and dumb. Hiring these people is a company policy – it is the way that this particular company gives back to the communities in which they have shops. Incidentally, the company requires that their managers be able to use the sign language as well.

Layers and layers…

Technology has made of us all global villagers, or so we like to think, but we can’t really know and understand each other until we get out of own little corner of the globe, see the greater world and meet one-on-one.

Maybe then there is a chance…