Dodinsky is the author of the NY Times bestselling book IN THE GARDEN OF THOUGHTS. His intent was simply to share his reflections about life in order to help heal the wounds inflicted by life’s troubles. At the time, the man known by his readers as Dodinsky had no idea that within months of starting his blog In The Garden of Thoughts, thousands of readers would find healing through the modest words he planted www.dodinsky.com |
You can’t always explain or defend yourself if they are determined to keep on misunderstanding you. How they interpret your words and actions is their own choosing, and how you protect your PEACE is yours. Dreams are lost when you allow temporary missteps to lead you to despair. You must not let a few mistakes become a way of life. Begin again. Your persistence will eventually lead you to your true path Kindness is the most tender and effective form of leaving a memory inside people’s hearts. The things you do out of joy and compassion are sometimes the catalyst that create happiness in people’s lives and yours. Allowing people inside your life is a beautiful thing. Letting go of people who drain your spirit is another beautiful thing you can do for your life. The key to being happy is knowing you have the power to choose what to accept and what to let go. Neglect is often the slow poison in a relationship. The wound it causes cannot be mended by begging to be heard and acknowledged. To do so will only lead to further harm of your worth. It is very painful to release what you had hoped for, but letting go of someone who overlooks what they have in you is a good investment for your future. To worry is the worst way of predicting what will happen next. It achieves nothing while consuming a lot of your time and energy. Let things unravel, and trust in your ability to overcome whatever comes your way. Do not be discouraged by the distance you still have to travel. Instead, appreciate how many “life miles” you have already covered. Your struggles have changed you into a stronger and better person. Don’t let anyone dissuade you from blooming into the person you are meant to be. Keep walking. Do not allow the noise of their negativity smother the whisper of your heart. Let the strength of your character uphold the goals you have set for your life. If they made a monster out of you because you walked away from their drama, so be it. Let them deal with what they have created. Be at peace with yourself, and stay out of the conflict. You can’t stop people from passing judgment. But they can’t build your prison you do. “You are defined by your choices, and you have thousands of them spread through a lifetime to continue re-inventing yourself.” When things fall apart, do not rebuke your heart by filling it up with insecurities. Rise up and say to yourself, “Not today, not a chance and not ever. Life is calling me!” Sometimes when others make you feel like you are nothing, look inside your heart and read what your soul wrote inside, “I am enough.” You can find inspiration from others but determination is solely your responsibility. Every day you either see a scar or courage. Where you dwell will define your struggle. Knowing who you are is the best defense against who they think you are. There are friendships imprinted in our hearts that will never be diminished by time and distance. – There are times when you need to explain your actions to others out of respect. But accept the truth that some people don’t really care about what you say or do. Those times you need to stop explaining out of respect to yourself. “Sometimes I’m doing things considered crazy by others, but then my heart giggles.That’s when I know I am doing the right thing.” No one can pull you down if you raise your awareness to your own inner strength and beauty. It’s wonderful when you can bring sparkle into people’s lives without fading away from your own true color. Keep the hue in you. I define intelligence not by the number of arguments a person has won, but the number of times one has said, “This nonsense is not worth my time.” “Some people cannot stand that you’re moving on with your life and so they will try to drag your past to catch up with you. Do not help them by acknowledging their behavior. Keep moving forward.” | “They who do not fear darkness have learned to light their own candle.” Be there for others, but never leave yourself behind.” “When I reach the place of my dreams, I will thank my failures and tears. They too, kept me going.” “Do not become a stranger to yourself by blending in with everyone else.” “To strengthen the muscles of your heart, the best exercise is lifting someone else's spirit whenever you can.” “People relying on others or someone to complete them are delaying the opportunity to discover the person they are meant to be.” “If you allow momentary defeats to find shelter in your heart, you are allowing your most beautiful dreams to become homeless.” “We are like the little branch that quivers during a storm, doubting our strength and forgetting we are the tree—deeply rooted to withstand all life’s upheavals.” “When someone leaves you, it doesn't give you permission to run away from yourself too.” “It is a fact of life that injustice has no color and stupidity comes in all colors. Still I am grateful and believe the world is brimming with people whose hearts are colorblind. In my eyes, they are the most resplendent.” “The dreams of the broken are mightier than the wishes of the dead.” “It is better to try to form a learned opinion than to dispense an ill-conceived one and rush to the judgment of others.” “Don’t walk too far away from the child within you, and never abandon the sense of wonder that magnifies the smallest of things into mountains of joy. For one day, when you lose sight of happiness, that child within can guide you back to the things that once nourished your heart.” "It is a fact of life that injustice has no color and stupidity comes in all colors. Still I am grateful and believe the world is brimming with people whose hearts are colorblind. In my eyes, they are the most resplendent." —” “Some people will never ‘get you’. Do not spend eternity asking why. People will see you differently, just cherish those who lift your soul.” To breathe your own truth is your heart’s most burning desire. To live your purpose is your soul’s lifelong dream. Unless you let them in, people who judge you cannot enter the courtroom of your mind. Case dismissed! – “They can betray me, but I choose not to betray my peace of mind.” One of life’s fine prints : “Sometimes you need to do crazy things to get out of your crazy mood.” – No matter how loud their opinions are, they do not choose who you can be. Have you ever felt that someone (friends, family or significant others) is trying to change you to fit their standards? A mind preoccupied with thoughts of resentment and bitterness cannot change the past nor does it wound anyone but the soul that beholds them. – “Get angry, get furious–but never crumble into resentment.” “In spite of all the put downs you’ve experienced in this life, how you rise up is no one else’s business but YOUR OWN.” “Sometimes you must cross a bridge and other times you need to burn it. But always keep building one and never lose your faith in life.” “People can let you down, but only YOU can keep yourself permanently down. Rise above it, and get moving!” ” Forgiving is rediscovering the shining path of peace that at first you thought others took away when they betrayed you.” If you persistently seek validation from others you will inadvertently invalidate your own self-worth. |
I believe wherever dreams dwell, the heart calls it HOME. So may you untangle yourself from the twist of melancholy and let your thoughts carry you back to the birthplace of your truth.
The truth is, you will overlook a lot of things in your path if you keep ignoring who really you are. There is an abundance of love within you. Let it flow.
Asking yourself what you deserve is a good starting point when you’re thinking of detaching yourself from the sorrows of the past and reach the beautiful light that shines from within.
In the garden I tend to drop my thoughts here and there. To the flowers I whisper the secrets I keep and the hopes I breathe. I know they are there to eavesdrop for the angels.
No matter what you have gone through and what others have put you through, you are still you. To embrace happiness, to find your passion and to love yourself, remember these things were never taken away from you. Nothing can stop you from rediscovering yourself. The greatest journey always begins within YOU.
I smile when I look back at the troubles that have strengthened me. What seems to be insurmountable struggles then are now beautiful ornaments illuminating my soul.
Sometimes distancing yourself from an argument is the BEST form of rebuttal.
“If you allow momentary defeats to find shelter in your heart, you are allowing your most beautiful dreams to become homeless.”
When you decide to graduate from your regrets and disappointments, there is a brilliant career waiting for you called LIFE.
“When I start getting a little bit tired and defeated reaching for my dreams, I rest upon patience to sustain me. Patience has brought me this far, and it shall continue to take me even further in life.”
When things fall apart, do not rebuke your heart by filling it up with insecurities. Rise up and say to yourself, “Not today, not a chance and not ever. Life is calling me!”
If you’re trying too hard to prove someone is wrong, you may unexpectedly breed antagonism. Sometimes it is better to simply offer your opinion, respectfully leave some space for reflection and hope for a moment of clarity. You’d be surprised what you yourself will discover.
No matter how loud their opinions are, they do not choose who you can be.
Sometimes people will hear you better if you speak with a voice of compassion instead of authority. They long to be understood more than to be lectured.
It is a fact of life that injustice has no color and stupidity comes in all colors. Still I am grateful and believe the world is brimming with people whose hearts are colorblind. In my eyes, they are the most resplendent. —
You should calmly walk away from a heated discussion when the words being traded cease being reasonable. Getting burned by someone’s vitriol can only happen if they are successful enough to ensnare you in their little corner of the world.
It is hard to learn the true lessons from our past when we let regret become our permanent teacher. When the lessons are revealed, linger NOT in your sorrows. You do not belong there.
Do not let the waves of doubt wash away your authentic self.
They can betray me, but I choose not to betray my peace of mind.
You cannot rectify your mistakes by piling it up with regrets, but you’re definitely building the mountain of misery.
“It is quite foolish to hope you’ll reach your dream when you’re hanging onto people intent on pulling you down.”
It is not your mission to help people who willfully build their own prison. You have to identify who needs help and who simply craves attention.
We are like the little branch that quivers during a storm, doubting our strength and forgetting we are the tree—deeply rooted to withstand all life’s upheavals.
Life will not always deliver your desired outcomes. It has to teach you that your spirit will get its muscle by bouncing back and giving it all you can.
“Disappointments are natural life occurrences. Their lifespan depends on how long they dominate your thoughts. The shorter … the better your life will be.”
Realize the beauty of life will manifest when you go after your dreams. Life is better when you trust yourself. —
“The LESS time you spend criticizing how others choose to live, the MORE time you can spend improving the quality of your life.”
You can prevent a lot of disagreements from becoming raging conflicts if you allow TIME to temper your sentiments, instead of letting your pride force the superiority of your opinions.
A beautiful life will bloom from a beautiful mind that is nurtured by beautiful thoughts. At any time you can allow beauty to flow within you.
The past does not have the power to undermine your future. Only you can do that.
Flowers are those little colorful beacons of the sun from which we get sunshine when dark, somber skies blanket our thoughts.
Sometimes you need to remind yourself to follow your heart when everyone is pulling you in all directions. —
When someone gives you a rare insight into their life, do not repay that gesture by betraying their trust.
If it is detrimental to you emotionally, physically and spiritually… what choice do you have left but to let go and flourish with self-respect.
You alone can dismantle the barrier to your happiness. When you rely on others to do that for you, that barrier gets bigger.
“A bad decision is not the end of you. How you choose to deal with your mistakes will determine your fate more than actually making one.”
“When your mind begins to waver during life’s unrelenting storms, let your heart assume control. For when you feel you are running out of hope, trusting yourself will help see you through. ”
You are always given the opportunity to make someone feel appreciated. It makes a world of difference to someone who feels empty or ignored. When it comes to kindness, nothing is ever small.
“In every undertaking you face, always be at your best. Find delight in doing what you do. Someday you will find yourself in a far better place because you learned to value your efforts more than expectations.”
A pointless argument is when both parties assert their position by continuously pointing out each other’s wrongdoings. A lot of blaming and shaming happens in the absence of calm and understanding.
You have to love yourself because no amount of love from others is sufficient to fill the yearning that your soul requires from you.
Do not disown your problems. Do not fear your failures. Do not live in their opinions. Decide that you matter and that there is nothing wrong just being YOU.