Try to be Shakespeare...

"Try to be Shakespeare, leave the rest to fate."

This was another quote read by my yoga instructor that perked me up. She described the meaning as not comparing yourself to others, but it reminded me of an article I recently read by Mark Manson called "In Defense of Being Average." The take away from the story 'was shoot for greatness, but be content with mediocrity.' It's a really great read that pinpoints how today's limited attention only allows for the extreme and can make us feel inadequate when in reality, most everyone falls somewhere in the middle, just like us. Real happiness lies in contentment when we embrace just that and--wouldn't you know it--stop comparing ourselves to others. 

You are not a tree.

I talk about leaving Chicago all the time. I don't know if I ever actually will, but after all these years here, the city has lost a lot of the allure that it had for me in the beginning.

Then I recently saw this quote on facebook (originally shared by Kenny Rogers) and decided I've either got to stop complaining or do something about it. Lots of life decisions to be made in the near-ish future, so we'll see what happens.

Wisdom

We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery

― Samuel Smiles, The Lives Of George And Robert Stephenson

This may not be the exact quote that my yoga instructor gave us at the end of class this weekend, but the message is the same. It reminded me of one of my favorite inspirational quotes about peace. I think about it often in attempt to stay grounded and present.