BIG Quotes

“Shoulds' come only from leftover thinking. If we are truly in this moment (the only one there really is), we don’t should on ourselves.

It’s a great freedom.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“My job is to change my VIEW of the world to live in a way not separated from Love; to live in manifested Love; and to shine it so brightly everywhere, that all those ideas about our separateness fade in that brightness.

Remembering the Love that we are is what gives us the power to change our world, from the inside out, where the power always is.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Can we be daring enough to listen?

We talk a lot, we consume vast data, but when we really listen, we set aside the ego to connect with our innate wisdom.

And we lift.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“In those 84,600 seconds we call Today, how many of them we can fill with thanks?

The more we train our brains toward 'grateful,' the more grateful there is to see.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Mindfulness is resilience-making.

It’s like hydrating before a big race: you might not be thirsty when you’re drinking,
but you’re stronger and prepared when reserves are low.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“What if your whole life could be a meditation?

I’m not suggesting some far-off retreat center where the worries of the world couldn’t reach you. Nope. I’m suggesting the opposite.

Create a space inside you that is so peaceful, so unflappable, that you’d never “need” a vacation away from it…and that is how to turn a life into a meditation.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“People don’t think compassion and strength cohabit, but compassion feels good, builds brains, creates connection and stops war (inner and outer).

Now that is strength!”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“We call it 'righteous indignation' as a way to justify our anger, but brain-wise and Love-wise, it’s really 'debilitating indignation.'

Anger always weakens us.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Learn to be your own Question Authority. It may drive your friends and family crazy, but it will definitely highlight the Possibility of More.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Shoulds' come only from leftover thinking. If we are truly in this moment (the only one there really is), we don’t should on ourselves. It’s a great freedom.

Next time you feel a should coming at you, ask yourself if it really belongs to you!”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“We call it a “full moon,” or a “crescent moon,” etc., but the moon never changes its shape. We just see it from a different angle, and that changes everything.
● ☐ ●
Of course we know the moon doesn’t change shape! The point is just to notice how our vocabulary around something makes us “see” it a certain way.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Here’s what I know is a true fact from my own life and what students have helped me learn from teaching more classes than I can count: if things aren’t getting better, I haven’t changed my story.

Not just the story I tell while hiking with my girlfriends, but the story I unconsciously whisper to my very cells that in turn reverberates throughout my being. The story that binds itself with my emotions, my perceptions of the past, and my visions of the future. If my story doesn’t change, nothing else can.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“We tend to think that being mindful, which might be thought of as just turning one’s life into a big prayer of thanksgiving, is a linear thing.

It’s really more a higgledy-piggledy dance, which I hope you’re enjoying immensely.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Begrudged forgiving isn’t true “forgiving.” It’s actually a pretty mediocre thing to do, when you consider it.

If I deign to forgive someone’s really terrible, awful, how-could-they-have-done-that? misdeed (and probably tell all my neighbors), I’m merely re-seating myself at the Table of Bitterness and Anger.

Maybe I think it’s a softer seat, a higher seat (so I can more easily look down at the wrongdoer), or that my new seat distances me more comfortably from the “bad guy.” But if I’m focused on my superior magnanimity, or his flaws, I’m still chained to the table.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Antelopes don’t stress about the possibility of getting eaten by a lion three Saturdays from tomorrow. Just imagine how their faculties would be reduced by diverting their attention to fear…do you suppose the same concept could apply to us?”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Gratitude is such a generous emotion. Offer it attention and it can sweep us out of even the most obstreperous of bad moods, the most tyrannical case of poor-me-ness. Not a bit resentful of any emotion we’d been spending all our time with prior to calling it back into our day, gratitude unconditionally lifts whatever it touches.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“I’d say our society focuses more on hair than prayer. Since one is transient, and one is eternal, it may not be the best return on investment.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Practicing gratitude is like turning the dimmer switch up. Things you never noticed before keep lighting up your heart. (They always were there, just unlit.)”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“What does it even look like, Loving unconditionally, not including even a thought of an exception? If we can do it, it is quite the accomplishment. Children do it. Dogs do it. But by the time we are adults, we think Love needs a reason, or a response, or a repayment.

What if we just shined Love in every direction, expectationless?

Whatever we once thought we needed as “payment” will seem paltry compared to what Love can come up with on her own.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“...the withholding of Love, squeezes us into a teensy, cramped box of not-ness, where Love isn’t given a chance. Then, everyone loses.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Joy isn’t if/then: it’s when/then.

When you invite and expect more joy, then you’re certain to find it.

Entertain fear, anger, resentment, etc., and you will surely find those, too.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“The energy fueling everything we do is what matters most.

EVERY. “LITTLE.” THING.

Even if we’re changing a toilet paper roll, we can do it joyfully, instead of wasting time resenting the person who used that last square and neglected to replace it.

“Little” responses like that add up in the movie of our life. We don’t really get to play the martyr anymore, but that’s a great role to give up. Better to play the happy star of our own show.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Being free is all about letting go. Our culture acts like “allowing” a weakness, but try it and you’ll know it’s one of the most powerful things ever!

Just for today, see what happens if you let go: of expectations, of fear, of resentments, etc.

Imagine how light you’ll be without all that (old!) weight.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Mindful is a way to BE. It is how we stand and walk and sit and laugh in the moments of our life, paying attention to it all, without bothering to attach labels to everything.”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy

“Schlep wisely.

Every thought is from the past. Does it feel good? Do you want it in your bag?

With 70,000 thoughts to schlep, choose supportive travel partners!”
― Kelly Corbet, BIG: the practice of joy