Kangaroo

Get more active and lose some weight.
Try to go to temple at least once a week.
Meditate EVERY day.

I don't post a lot here but I do read just about everything.
I just wanted to say thank you to those that share their knowledge and wisdom with us on a daily basis.
Thank you to the moderators for your dedication and efforts.
Thank you to those that leave their soul on the page.
Thank you.

I'm still waiting for the perfect alter table to find me. I'm currently using a cardboard box covered with a sheet. Perfect for now.
@theeccentric on my alter I have also placed a bell (singing bowl) and a small light.
BTW it looks like we use the same Buddha

I found this prose the other day and have read it many times since.
I think it's a fitting message for not just the holidays but everyday.

Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its shams, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

I believe someone here posted once that the Buddha shouldn't be treated as a decoration. This rang true to me. I keep my buddha statue in a small alter area.