Enjoy the Wisdom of These Sayings
Last night I was treated to dinner. The restaurant had several thoughtful and uplifting framed aphorisms decorating the restaurant walls. Here are two that I want to share. First, some context; while I enjoy proverbs and sayings as much as the next person, I rarely do more than note them and enjoy them in the moment for their homespun wisdom. But current times are so fraught with turmoil, challenge, strife, sadness, and loss that these particularly caught my eye and engaged me for their pithy, profound meanings. The first states, “When you love what you have, you have everything you need.” To me, this infers something deeper, knowing yourself which then leads to contentment. First, to love what you have, whether that is recognizing your own capabilities and shortcomings, physical items you own, or the environment and community around, you need to know and accept yourself and this evolves into…
This Quote Offers a Plan for Positive Action!
Listening to an interview with André De Shields, the well-known Broadway actor, one thing he said jumped out at me and stayed with me. I keep reflecting on it. I wrote it down but only as a paraphrase, my apologies to the actor. It goes something like this, “all problems are porous when you approach them, so there are ways to work through them.” Immediately I understood what he was saying. I forget the problem or problems he was referring to, but that doesn’t matter. His observation is perceptive and helpful, especially during these times. His description or perhaps the better word is prescription, offers a path to take and a way to start moving. Unpacking his statement, first, it requires courage to start the process. You need to dare to look closely at the problem, no matter how big, or how seemingly hopeless the problem appears. This is not…
Back after Six Weeks!
Six weeks off. I paused writing and posting a blog on July 26th, taking the month of August off. A lot has happened in those weeks. For me personally, I did do many of the fun summer things, attend a theater show and a concert, go to a farmer’s market, take a hike. I also harvested apples, blackberries, tomatoes, potatoes, and cherries. And there is more bounty to harvest. And there were several family gatherings. These seemed particularly special because some of us had not seen each other in at least a year and a half. Of course, I kept up painting, coaching and also kept up with other responsibilities and activities. I did not go to Canada. Although the border was open, the requirements to cross were demanding. That took all the spontaneity and some to the fun out of it. And no ziplining yet. Who knows, maybe that…
Time for a Refreshing Break!
It’s almost August. For several years now I have taken the month of August off to recharge. So no blogs from me until September 6th. I plan to take full advantage of the season; attend some theater performances, some concerts, go on hikes, attend farmer’s markets, finally visit Canada for the first time in I don’t know how long, and maybe try out a zipline. Of course, there is also the garden, and time to harvest apples, berries, cherries, tomatoes and more. And attend family gatherings. The month will be full and pass by all too quickly. I leave you with two things on my mind to mull over during the next month. The first came to me after listening to Glennon Doyle earlier. She is fearless and so articulate! Maybe fearless is the wrong word. She dares to be honest, that’s more like it. I will be reflecting on…
How I Start My Day with a Positive Frame of Mind
Two exercises that have now become habits help me start my day on a positive note. When I wake up, I stay quiet for a minute before getting out of bed. I then do these two mental exercises or practices. They are not physically strenuous or time consuming. The first practice is to think of three things that have happened in the past day, or will happen in the day to come, that I am thankful for. For me, these range from seeing an old friend to hearing that my granddaughter was born, and everyone is safe and healthy to international news about the safe return of hostages, or the successful restoration of wild elephants. Three things I am thankful for. The second practice or exercise is to think of three things that I will do or participate in during this new day that are meaningful to me. Again, these…
Reflections on the invaluable virtue of patience
This week I got impatient. A couple weeks ago I had a minor surgical procedure, but it laid me up. The recovery instructions were to stay quiet for a month to six weeks and gradually increase activity. This was tough to hear, I want to return to my full life ASAP! A friend reminded me that “things take time, be patient.” I didn’t like hearing those words even though I knew she was right. It got me thinking about how much this attribute has been tested during the pandemic, and is being tested now, as we (hopefully) start to put it behind us. But even as we are in that process, there are hiccups, delays, and just plain strange situations to navigate. Even more reason to practice patience. We have all heard that patience is a ‘virtue.’ Browsing the internet, I found these reasons for that designation at https://www.consulting.com/how-to-be-more-patient. …
Why Is It So Hard to Change? What to Do!
A lot has been written and discussed about the difficulty of changing behavior, or not, or even if someone can really change at all. But change is a given. Life is change. Since this is so, why is it so hard to do? Doing some digging, I find these main reasons that real change is hard. Compiled from several websites, particularly tealswan.com, I found these obstacles to making a change. For example, imagine that you want to introduce an exercise program to your daily routine. Your doctor has urged you to do this, and you now realize that it is necessary for your health. It will be destabilizing and threaten a sense of equilibrium and stability that you have had. That is understandable. The lives we live and the world we live in are infinitely interconnected. What may seem like one change ripples out to affect other aspects of our…
I Feel Mad as H*** and Wronged! What’s Really Going On?
The other day a friend explained why some of her friends held particular political views. She said, “they feel wronged.” This blog is not about politics. I’m staying away from that. I’m fascinated by what makes us tick. Intuitively, I knew she was correct about people feeling wronged, I have observed the same phenomenon. But I wondered why. I wanted to understand what makes some people feel aggrieved and not others. What are the factors that determine this feeling? I found this definition of the concept wronged from the Free Online Dictionary, “treated unfairly or unjustly.” Looking deeper for answers I learned that the explanation is complicated. Of course, this should be no surprise, human behavior is complicated. The basis of the answer is that humans are social beings. This means that we are designed to attune to the social world around us and are always aware how well we…
Everything is Connected to Everything, and Everything Counts!
At this time, there is ferment, even turmoil swirling around us. And anxiety about all these forces of change in our lives. This weekend I got some good news that I want to share. It’s about how to move forward into a new future. First, it’s about how interconnected we and everything is, always. Here is a paraphrase of what I heard someone explain. “Everything is part of a whole system. Everything is part of the whole. And because of these facts, everything, anything you do that is a positive act affects the whole system in a positive way. It does not matter what issue you choose to act upon, the environment, climate change, social justice, all efforts effect change for the better throughout the whole system.” And here is a quote from Wendy Robins that illustrates our interconnection, “We share a common earth. We stand among each other. We…
What is change, and how to embrace it for happiness
During the past month so many changes have occurred in my life that I feel everything speeding up. This couldn’t be more different from the static quality of the past 16 months. I started me thinking about the meaning of change itself. I know that philosophers have pondered this fact of life over centuries. I won’t try to capture the wisdom they offer. I favor the philosopher Heraclitus’ perceptions. He used the metaphor of a river to illustrate his concept of time. It is ever moving and changing. “One cannot step into the same river twice…” I now think of change as one of the foundations of life itself. I found several quotes that express this perspective. Octavia E. Butler, a science fiction writer wrote, “All that you touch you Change. All that you Change changes you. The only lasting truth is Change.” Lindsay Baker, an associate editor at the…