Look Within for Renewal

Health problems and our own bodies are stark reminders of the fate that awaits the accouterments of the physical world.

Our inner realms, however, offer a vast resource for restoration and renewal.

Be sure you don't miss the opportunities.

Listen to your wake-up calls

Sometimes our wake-up calls come in the form of broken relationships, loss of loved ones, failures and health problems — but not always.

Many of us make it a practice to keep our dials turned to learning mode in the laboratory of life. We are consciously self-aware and attentive. This is known as mindfulness, and it is a skill that we can develop.

In whatever form your lessons come, it’s important to pay attention. They hold the potential to bring us greater wisdom, joy, peace, freedom and more. They can also give us the insights we need to cultivate more of the understanding, compassion and kindness we need in our personal lives, and the lives of the people around us.

Keep a balanced perspective

Of course, there are times when outward changes are in order. Changing bad policies, moving to a new location, buying a new possession or entering a new relationship may help us a breakthrough to the next level.

But we have to look no further than the institutions around us, and situations within our families and among friends to see what happens when we drag the same, old negative patterns into fresh, new situations. The material world is temporal.

Don't forget to laugh

Science is catching up to what we know intuitively and from human experience. Laughter is good for our health. It helps heal our minds, bodies and spirits. Nelson Mandela — the South African anti-apartheid revolutionary who became President of South Africa after serving 27 years as a political prisoner there is remembered by family and friends as a man who loved to laugh.