The Universe Is Smiling: "Angels"

Q: What is this week's wisdom?
A: Call on your angels for support. They are ready to help you out. And make someone smile :)

"When we are touched by something it's as if we're being brushed by an angel's wings."
- Rita Dove
"The way people come into your life when you need them, it's wonderful and it happens in so many ways. It's like having an angel. Somebody comes along and helps you get right."
- Stevie Ray Vaughan

The Universe Is Smiling: "Vacation"

Dear Visitor,

It's been a while since my last post. I was on vacation and family visit for the last three weeks in Germany and had hoped to continue posting from there, but the computers didn't comply. Now I am back and what came out in the first drawing - "vacation" - even though I was far from any palm trees :)

I hope that you have some time away from the troubles of this world and enjoy life in peace, the way it should be for all beings on this planet.

"Vacation is what you take when you can't take what you've been taking any longer."
- Author unknown
"A vacation is like love - anticipated with pleasure, experienced with discomfort and remembered with nostalgia."
- Author unknown

The Universe Is Smiling: "Peace"

Q: What is today's wisdom?
A: Have a peaceful day and make someone smile.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."
 - Jimi Hendrix
"Peace begins with a smile."
- Mother Teresa
"Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding."
 - Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances."
- Mahatma Gandhi

The Universe Is Smiling: "Blessing"

Q: What is today's wisdom?
A: Blessings are around us. Let's have the clarity to recognize them.

"You never know where a blessing can come from."
 - Teena Marie
"Nourish beginnings, let us nourish beginnings. Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest. The blessing is the seed."
- Muriel Rukeyser

The Universe Is Smiling: "Stillness"

Q: What is this week's wisdom?
A: A moment of stillness brings us in contact with our true, divine Self. Enjoy some stillness this week - with a smile :)

"Learning ho to be still, to really be still and let life happen - that stillness becomes a radiance."
- Morgan Freeman
"In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you."
 - Deepak Chopra
"How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank.
Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears; soft stillness, and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony."
- William Shakespeare

The Universe Is Smiling: "Friendship"

On January 9th I had put up this drawing for a contest, asking for a title and a matching quote. The contest ended on February 13th. I got a lot of great quotes to chose from but left it to the voters on Facebook and an independent jury of friends that hadn't sent in any submissions. The first winner got the print of the drawing mounted on a 6"x6"x2" wood block with the winning quote on the back panel, while the second and third winner got a print of the drawing. It was a lot of fun, and we'll do another contest in the Fall.
The wood block is available on my ETSY store "TheUniverseIsSmiling".

1. winner: "Friendship" "There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first; when you learn to live for others, they will live for you."  - Paramahansa Yogananda

2. winner: "Sentience"  “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.” 
- Anatole France

3. winner: "Trust "You are Loved. All is Well." - Abraham-Hicks  

The Universe Is Smiling: "Ease"

Q: What is today's wisdom?
A: Take a deep breath and be at ease - with a smile.

"When the heart is at ease, the body is healthy."
- Chinese Proverb
"He who would live in peace and a ease,
Must not speak all he knows, nor judge all he sees."
- Benjamin Franklin
"Being at ease with not knowing is crucial for answers to come to you."
- Eckhart Tolle

The Universe Is Smiling & Asking for Your Participation

This week's drawing doesn't have a theme nor a quote. I want YOU to find a title for the drawing & a matching quote.

The 1. winner will get a print of the drawing mounted on a 6"x6"x2' hand painted woodblock, with YOUR winning title & quote on the back panel.
The 2. winner will get a print of this drawing (6" x 6").
The contest will end February 13th.

Have fun, feel inspired and let your creative juices flow - with a smile :)
Send me an email with your suggestions.

The Universe Is Smiling: "Floating"

Q: What is today's wisdom?
A: Taking a break by floating above the clouds of concern.

"Seeds of great discoveries are constantly floating around us, but they only take root in minds well prepared to receive them." 
 - Joseph Henry
"At night, when the sky is full of stars and the sea is still you the the wonderful sensation that you are floating in space."
- Natalie Wood

The Universe Is Smiling: "Conversation"

Q: "What is today's wisdom?"
A: "Get your inspiration through silence and good conversation."

 "A single conversation across the table with a wise person is worth a month's study of book."
 - Chinese Proverb
"Silence is one of the great arts of conversation."
- Marcus Tullius Cicero

The Universe Is Smiling: "Zen Story"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:

 Mr. Mouse, a wise teacher was telling a Zen story to his student, the cat:
"One day while walking through the wilderness a man stumbled upon a vicious tiger. He ran but soon came to the edge of a high cliff. Desperate to save himself, he climbed down a vine and dangled over the fatal precipice.
As he hung there, two mice appeared from a hole in the cliff and began gnawing on the vine.
 Suddenly he noticed on the vine a plum wild strawberry. He plucked it and popped it in his mouth. It was incredibly delicious!"
"What do you think," said the mouse, "is this story teaching us?"
The cat is still pondering the question and if you can come up with the answer (there may be more than one) let her know and write a comment.

The Universe Is Smiling: "The Wave"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:
Q: What is today's wisdom?
A: Ride the waves of life with confidence and a smile :)

"Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me."
 - Albert Schweitzer
"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment."
- Henry David Thoreau  

The Universe Is Smiling: "Going Ahead"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:

Q: What is today's wisdom?

A: "Finding your balance between action and relaxation"

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us."

 - Henry David Thoreau

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one."

- Mark Twain  

The Universe Is Smiling: "Dream"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:

Q: What is today's wisdom?

 

A:"Make your dreams come true ....! "

 "Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." 

- James Dean 

"Dream and give yourself permission to envision as You choose to be."

- Joy Page

"Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Universe Is Smiling: "Opportunity"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:

Q: What is today's wisdom?

A: Dare to go for the opportunity!

"The future has many names: For the weak, it means the unattainable. For the fearful, it means the unknown. For the courageous, it means opportunity."

- Victor Hugo

The Universe Is Smiling: "We are all in it together"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:

Q: What is today's wisdom?

A: We are all in it together.

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

- Henry Ford

"We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box."

- Author unknown    

The Universe Is Smiling: "Companions"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:

Q: What is today's wisdom?

A: Come along for the ride!

"The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind of companion."

- William Makepeace Thackeray 

The Universe Is Smiling: "You Are Not Alone"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:

Q: What is today's wisdom?

A: "For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."

- Audrey Hepburn

"But I tell you what hermits realize. If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you'll come to understand that you are connected with everything."

- Alan Watts

"Healing yourself is connected with healing others."

- Yoko Ono  

The Universe Is Smiling: Simple Philosophy

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:

Q: What is today's wisdom?

A: "Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life."

- Buddha

"I have a simple philosophy: Fill what is empty. Empty what's full. Scratch where it itches."

- Alice Longworth Roosevelt    

The Universe Is Smiling: Let's Expand Our Horizons!

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:

Q: What is today's wisdom?

A: "We all live under the same sky, but we don't all have the same horizon."

  - Konrad Adenauer

"The horizon leans forward, offering you space to place new steps of change."

- Maya Angelou