Meditative Thought Blog: E.Y.D a year in review

Photo found here on Vi.sualize.us

Looking back to my first posts on E.Y.D, I realized it took a year to find the true voice of this blog.  Now, I feel my direction is clearly defined.  What I hope to accomplish with Enlighten Your Day is a Meditative Thought Blog.  A portal on the net for anyone seeking a momentary pause to contemplate something positive, to see something brilliant, or share some insight.

To celebrate my first year anniversary, I’m sharing what I learned and loved while journeying into the Blogosphere.

Photo found here on Vi.sualize.us

I.)  First and foremost; it’s all about friends.

I have come to know a myriad of wonderful people and gained a community dedicated to sharing wisdom, laughter, and beauty. My first Cyber connection was Matt a.k.a WOlfhOund: a writer, Social Media Guru and Blogger (Homeless Tales).  Although we got off on the wrong foot, (my fault – never blog before being caffeinated!), I quickly learned the value and importance of friendships.  In the world of Blogging, you can’t be an Island and succeed, you need to build bridges.  Next came Babbages4life and TopSurf, true pioneers of the Stumble-Blog.  It was simple, we shared countless photos, lols, and : ).  Thank You.  Finally, to the many Bloggers who have shared their thoughts and wisdom with me, it has been a pleasure.  Big love goes out to Evelyn (Attraction Mind Map), Mommy Mystic (BellaOnline), 1000meditations (axel g), along with so many others for all your support.

Please share links in my comment section to one or more of your posts so that others can find your work.

Photo found here on Vi.sualize.us

II.)  Secondly, God does create a lot of controversy and a comment fight is a good thing.

My most commented post to date:  Amazing tips for living a better life.  One simple line, “God heals almost everything”, sparked a wild debate.  This debate opened my eyes to the revolving door of being both teacher and student as a Blogger.  It was inspiring to learn from people expressing themselves for reasons greater then the need to be right or win. Instead, being interested in understanding other perspectives and challenging their soul to grow.  Here are my two favourite comments readers were kind enough to share.

This first comes from the post mentioned above.  JM Response to Amazing tips:

“Wow. Reading the above postings was a special experience. It’s as though #28 ruined the day for everyone who read it. I’m agnostic or atheist or I don’t really know what, but it’s really irrelevant. I’m just blown away by the negativity that one comment can provoke in people who are logging on to a website based on “enlightenment.” My personal advice would be to “Fucking lighten up.” But perhaps more sage advice would be what a Buddhist monk once told me when I struggled with one of the teachings: “Ignore that teaching. If it is a roadblock to accepting the good parts in the other passages, then you must discard it. Maybe one day you will feel differently about it, maybe not, but don’t let it get in the way of the parts which are helpful to you.” That’s my two cents. Feel free to get angry, I won’t.”

The second comment comes from a question I asked in: Enlightening Chinese proverbs and a Question from a Quote.  “Religion answers questions. spirituality asks questions. Is one inherently better then the other?”

Photo by Photizo on Gaia

Ian Ward’s response was brilliant: “Spirituality is the journey. All religions are just sign posts. The trouble with religion is that if you only focus on the sign posts, you miss out on experiencing the journey. The good thing about spirituality is that you can pick your own path for your journey and don’t necessarily need any sign posts.”  Ian

III.)  The present moment is always best.

My most viewed post to date, 11 Enlightening movie quotes that will touch your heart, was insanely popular.  Kung Fu Panda was hot at the box office at that time, and starting with that quote seemed to me to make all the difference. The reason being, it was in the present moment; which is the secret of enlightenment.

“Quit, don’t quit, noodles, don’t noodles. You are too concerned with what was and what will be. There is a saying, “Yesterday is History, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that’s why it is called a present.” Kung Fu Panda

What can you expect from this second year of E.Y.D?  I think my Bio line on Twitter sums it up nicely:  “A Meditative Thought Blog sharing Your Daily Cup of Enlightened Zen and Artistic Beauty. Find Inspiration, Insight, Gorgeous Photos, Quotes, Meditations, and more. ”

I hope you will join me….

My New Subscription Page:  Subscribe Now!

Photo found here on Vi.sualize.us

Please share some related post or anything you desire below.  The Link Lines are Open…

Recent Realizations

Those that get it are lucky:  Funny Zen story of two monks and a lovely girl

Everybody loves the Alchemist: Inspiring passages for Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist