Wezie's love

Today marks the day 27 years ago that Wezie and I went on our first date. I can't imagine sharing these years with anyone else. I greatly appreciate Wezie's insight, passion, and love for life. With each passing day we grow older, but our love stays fresh and new. The smile in her eyes, the warmth of her voice, and gentle touch of her hand are what keeps me reminded of just how blessed I am.

Today, I choose to share love.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

affordable healthcare

"My actions are my only true belongings." - Thich Nhat Hanh

The way we treat out neighbors reflects the light within each one of us.

Matthew 25:31-46

Isn't affordable quality healthcare for all Americans a good Christian principle? Are you a goat or sheep?

Today, I choose to be a sheep.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

truth

"We take refuge in pride because we are afraid to tell the truth to ourselves." - Kakuzo Okakura

Today, I choose truth.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

when we suffer

“When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That's the message he is sending.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

Today, I choose to embrace my suffering.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

success

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today, I choose to value success.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

religion is ...

"Religion is not just some dry intellectual idea but rather your basic philosophy of life: you hear a teaching that makes sense to you, find through experience that it relates positively with your psychological makeup, get a real taste of it through practice, and adopt it as your spiritual path.
That's the right way to enter the spiritual path." - Lama Yeshe

Today, I choose to follow my spiritual path.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

seek truth

"The messenger is irrelevant when speaking the truth." - Preston Morgan

Why do I get upset with a person that speaks truth about myself? Truth comes from many different directions. Seek truth.

Today, I choose to seek truth.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

Liberated through karma

"The foolish are trapped by karma, while the wise are liberated through karma."
Stonepeace

Today, I choose to follow the path of wisdom.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

beauty of life

"The beauty of life is, while we cannot undo what is done,
we can see it, understand it, learn from it and change.
So that every new moment is spent not in regret, guilt, fear or anger,
but in wisdom, understanding and love."
Jennifer Edwards

Today, I choose life.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

an open mind

“For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

Today, I choose to keep my heart and mind open.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

no death, no fear

This article lead me to the book "No Death, No Fear" by Thich Nhat Hahn.

http://www.plumvillage.org/transcibe/7-what-happens-when-you-die.html

"what happens when you die" continues to give me comfort and peace.

Today, I choose to embrace my life and attempt to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

peace, happiness and freedom

"Peace, happiness, and freedom are within our grasp, when we choose to embrace impermanence." - Preston Morgan

Today, I choose to be me.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

in search of happiness

Sharon Salzberg: “By engaging in a delusive quest for happiness, we bring only suffering upon ourselves. In our frantic search for something to quench our thirst, we overlook the water all around us and drive ourselves into exile from our own lives. ”

Today, I choose to be mindful - by realizing the ocean of happiness that surrounds my life.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

holding anger

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. " - Buddha

Today, I choose to let go of all my hot coals.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

source of love

“The source of love is deep in us and we can help others realize a lot of happiness. One word, one action, one thought can reduce another person’s suffering and bring that person joy.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

Today, I choose to bring joy.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

words we utter

"Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill." - Buddha

Today, I choose to focus on positive words.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

a father's day gift

As a son, I sometimes feel I don't measure up to my father. He was the one to guide and direct my youthful ways.

As a father, I want to nurture a guiltless individual growth within my children.

The greatest Father's Day gift... First, love and accept yourself. Second, share that love with everyone.

Today, I choose to accept and love.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

purpose of religions

“The purpose of all the major religious traditions is not to construct big temples on the outside, but to create temples of goodness and compassion inside, in our hearts.”
― Dalai Lama XIV

Today, I choose to build a temple in my heart.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

What is a wife?

What is a wife? If we used religious text to define a wife, men would have a lesser support mate. I feel the LGBT community has taken a positive lead in naming their mates, "Life Partner". Wezie is truly my life partner, a equal mate in our journey together. Thank you LGBT community for continuing to make a positive contribution towards a better world.

Today, I choose to walk beside Wezie.

Blessing of Peace and Love,
Preston

Suffering vs. Happiness

“The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

Today, I choose to be happy.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

Let go of anger

"In deep self-acceptance grows a compassionate understanding. As one Zen master said when I asked if he ever gets angry, 'Of course I get angry, but then a few minutes later I say to myself, 'What's the use of this,' and I let it go.'" - Jack Kornfield

Today, I choose to let go of anger.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

friend

One of our skype contacts (Ashwin Baburaj from India) was helping Wezie with a technical question. Wezie simply said "thanks". Ashwin said "never say THANKS to your friend..."  Wezie "why?" Ashwin "because that's what friends do, they help each other" This comes from a friend half way around the world that Wezie and I will probably never meet.


 Please go into the world with an open mind. Beautiful people come in all shapes, sizes, colors and religions.


Today, I choose to be a friend.


Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

Connection

“When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another - and ourselves”
Jack Kornfield

Today, I choose to slow down and connect.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

Truth

"Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth." - Buddha

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

love is a string-less gift

“The will to control or to possess is not love, nor can one demand or expect a preconceived emotion. Love is the thought process and action of the heart. Whether our love is directed towards a spouse, partner, family member, or friend, our love is a string-less gift.” Preston Morgan

Today, I choose love.

Blessings of Peace and Love,

Preston 

the eyes of compassion

Call Me by My True Names
by Thich Nhat Hanh

Do not say that I’ll depart tomorrow
because even today I still arrive.

Look deeply: I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
in order to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and
death of all that are alive.

I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river,
and I am the bird which, when spring comes, arrives in time
to eat the mayfly.

I am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond,
and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence,
feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks,
and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to
Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea
pirate,
and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and
loving.

I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my
hands,
and I am the man who has to pay his “debt of blood” to, my
people,
dying slowly in a forced labor camp.

My joy is like spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom in all
walks of life.
My pain if like a river of tears, so full it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart can be left open,
the door of compassion.

Today, I choose to see the world through the eyes of compassion.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

simple religion

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”
Dalai Lama

Today, I choose a simple religion.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

major religious traditions

“All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.”
Dalai Lama

Today, I choose to practice love, compassion, and forgiveness.

Blessings of Peace and Love,

Preston

spiritual thing

“Perhaps the most "spiritual" thing any of us can do is simply to look through our own eyes, see with eyes of wholeness, and act with integrity and kindness.” 
― Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are

Today, I choose the view of wholeness and the actions of kindness.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

mystery of life

“Within the mystery of life there is the infinite darkness of the night sky lit by distant orbs of fire, the cobbled skin of an orange that releases its fragrance to our touch, the unfathomable depths of the eyes of our lover. No creation story, no religious system can fully describe or explain this richness and depth. Mystery is so every-present that no one can know for certain what will happen one hour from now. “

It does not matter whether you have religion or are an agnostic believe in nothing, You can only appreciate (without knowing or understanding) the mysteries of life.” 
― Jack Kornfield, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path

Today, I choose to appreciate life.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston

the thought of love

“The thought manifests as the word. The word manifests as the deed. The deed develops into habit. And the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care. And let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings.” – Buddha

Today, I choose to focus on thoughts of love.

Blessings of Peace and Love,

Preston

what i believe

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” – Buddha

Today, I choose believe: peace comes from mindfulness and happiness comes from loving kindness.

Blessings of Peace and Love,

Preston 

kindness and compassion

“Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and compassion.” — His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from “Kindness, Clarity, and Insight” by Snow Lion Publications.

Today, I choose kindness and compassion.

Blessings of Peace and Love,
Preston