Domino Sugar Factory and Bicycle with Rider

"Once we conclude that the basic nature of humanity is compassionate rather than aggressive, our relationship to the world around us changes immediately. Seeing others as basically compassionate instead of hostile and selfish helps us relax, trust, live at ease. It makes us happier." -The 14th Dalai Lama

Auntie Karen gave me a thick book of photographs and Buddhist quotes a year or so ago. Its the kind of coffee table book that I'll look at, nod my head and file away somewhere far from the coffee table. At some point down the road we will be cleaning out the apartment and I'll hold it up and say "Do we really need this?" and my wife will shake her head and the book will go out on the street.
For whatever reason, I started to look at this particular book at a regular clip; something just kind of stuck out about it. I would read a little quote and look at the picture almost everyday. Actually, sometimes I skip a day, or a week and I have some catching up to do. But when I do get back to it, I am always struck by the reality in there.

"The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are the moments when we touch one another." -Jack Kornfield

I really have to pay attention to what I am given.