One evening last week after dinner, i took my mountain bike and headed for the Gatineau park. It was a beautiful spring evening. The sun was low in the sky and the light was creating a magical atmosphere in the forest. The colors were vibrant. The woods felt alive. I felt alive. I remember vividlyContinue reading “The pearls of solitude….”
Category Archives: A meaningful life
The science of well being
I am in the third week of Yale’s course, available on http://www.coursera.org I can only say good things about this course. I have always had an interest in well being and happiness. I consider myself a very happy and grateful person. But there is also much to learn about happiness and well-being. It is aContinue reading “The science of well being”
Happiness is home made.
On a cool rainy gray afternoon, there is nothing like fire to create warmth in my home. Music, dog, book.
Life mostly gives us what we worked for…
I like this idea, i read it somewhere, it’s not an original, but i can’t remember it’s source. It resonates with what i am living now, working on now but it’s also an interesting ideas for our teenagers who worry about what to do next and what they will become. Stop worrying about what youContinue reading “Life mostly gives us what we worked for…”
Time is our most precious resource
You can’t buy time. Once spend, it’s gone. Realize this and ask yourself, am i using this time wisely? Am i enjoying this time as i should? If you want a powerful image about the finitude of life Here is one.
The reconnection…
I have disconnected my phone from Facebook, i uninstalled the app. I have taken a Kindle unlimited membership to celebrate this moment. From now on, when i read on my phone, i will read books and reliable sources of information and news. There is a lot of good stuff on Facebook but there is alsoContinue reading “The reconnection…”
To really love someone…
Love is a verb of action. Love is not a feeling. Affection and desire are felt inside our heart. Love is demonstrated by doing things. What we feel inside, the emotions are joy, trust, interest, acceptance, attraction. When we say “i love you”, it should really mean “i am there for you, to do theContinue reading “To really love someone…”
Do not disturb…
Last week, i activated the “Do not disturb” function on my iphone and i set it to be active all day, 24 hours. I realize that my smartphone is a very powerful tool that i should master on my own terms. In the last years, very subtly, my iphone has taken over the control ofContinue reading “Do not disturb…”
To sit in a quiet room
Old wisdom from the 17th century still rings true in the “modern” world… With all that noise that surrounds us, With all the hurry in the way we live, I feel the need to stop, breathe and just be, Slow down, enjoy a quiet moment with yourself, Say no to the social imperative And youContinue reading “To sit in a quiet room”
Being HALTed
About HALT… If you are feeling one of these, stop, take one step back and look at your life. You might want to: Take care of you. Put yourself at the center of your life. You need to be full before you take care of others.
Vitamin S, the most powerful supplement available…
If i told you there exist a supplement will make you fitter, slimmer, healthier. It cost almost nothing. Moreover, it helps prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. Even better, it helps you learn things faster, become more intelligent and might even prevent alzheimer. Would you be interested? This supplement is widely available and it’s called: sleep.Continue reading “Vitamin S, the most powerful supplement available…”
How to help…
I was asked today the question: How do i help a friend who has so many problems for which i have no solution to offer? My answer was: Just listen. Being here, offering an ear that listens and a shoulder to cry on is a lot. Allowing oneself to shed tears helps one tap intoContinue reading “How to help…”
About YES and NO…
In the many adventures and challenges life has offered me in the recent years, i have learned a lot about my resilience in the face of change and adversity. I have learned to say YES to life’s opportunities because it means having the courage to try, to expose oneself, to make mistakes, to be vulnerableContinue reading “About YES and NO…”
Art and society…
This morning, I had breakfast with a master sculptor from Cantley in an Inn in Rivière Rouge. Random encounters in life, I often make them because I love people. It is without hesitation that I offer a stranger sipping his coffee to sit down with him to discuss. It is fascinating to follow the journeyContinue reading “Art and society…”
Just do it…
We don’t need a new diet, we just need to eat more good food and less bad one, just do it. We don’t need a new training method, we just need to move more, just do it. We don’t need a new book on how to live our lives and how to be happy, weContinue reading “Just do it…”
My first book – Life advice in 53 words, 300 characters
Thank you to everyone who inspired me, this has been a long process. I started dreaming of this a decade ago. I worked so hard for this. Here is my book published for free, for all to read. It’s the smallest book ever published. It was first published in 2019 and was updated in JulyContinue reading “My first book – Life advice in 53 words, 300 characters”
A quiet moment…
Tonight i scheduled a moment with myself. After i put Liam to sleep, i took a bath. I put on comfortable clothes I started a fire I lit a few candles I put few drops of essential oil in the diffuser The atmosphere was set for a moment with myself. I sat, in silence, withContinue reading “A quiet moment…”
Empathy without words…
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” – The Dalai Lama
Where happiness is found…
Happiness is not something that we seek out there, it is something we make right here, in our mind and in our heart. It is a kind mixture of love, gratefulness and forgiveness to self and to others. It is appreciating what is right here in front of me and letting a feeling emerge inContinue reading “Where happiness is found…”
The answer…
I found this for you this morning… While i am away, i am thinking of us… This emotion that unites us, Let’s never forget it. Let’s cherish it. Let’s be grateful for it. Let’s hold on to it, And never let it go…
Be here now…
It’s a « worth watching » documentary available on Netflix. It’s about cancer. Life. Family. Love. Death. It does not get more real than this. Up close and personal. What i get from it: Live here now… A confirmation of what i understood in the last year: time is the most precious resource in ourContinue reading “Be here now…”
Home sweet home…
My schedule of the last month has been hectic… Mountain bike in Whistler, training in England, work in Puvirnituk. I have lived a lot and learned a lot but this very far from my objective to slow down… Some opportunities, those that come once in a decade, i just could not pass and i hadContinue reading “Home sweet home…”
Start with one…
I am so deeply touched by this testimony that I need to share it. “Forget the 80 million, start with one”
Life is a succession of hardships…
No one is spared. No matter how successful you are or how much money you have… We, humans, are all walking toward this same final destination. The only thing we can do is to decide how we want to walk this path, prepare ourselves and prepare our kids for what life brings. Today i realizeContinue reading “Life is a succession of hardships…”
The value of time…
I think a lot about time. Time is the most precious thing in my life. I have a finite amount of time and once spent, i can never get it back. I want to use it well. The most frequent answer i used to give for not doing something is “I don’t have time”. IContinue reading “The value of time…”
Martin Pham Dinh 