Friday 30 November 2012

Brag

Birds don’t brag that they can fly.  
 - Swami Adiswarananda

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Spirit

Sometimes the harder it is to accomplish something, 
the bigger the Spirit that’s trying to be born.
 - Author Unknown

Monday 26 November 2012

Dwelling

Dwelling on something 
that you don't intend to change
 is not going to do you any good.
 - Author Unknown

Friday 23 November 2012

Insight

Insight is not a lightbulb
 that goes off inside our heads.
It is a flickering candle 
that can easily be snuffed out.  
 - Malcolm Gladwell

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Guide

We have all a better guide in ourselves,
 if we would attend to it,
 than any other person can be.   
- Jane Austen

Monday 19 November 2012

Life

Life is constantly recycling itself 
and evolving at the same time.  
 – Deepak Chopra

Friday 16 November 2012

November 16, 2012 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer


   Sometimes the only way you can move forward is to go backwards, or even sideways. And, no, I’m not referring to our wintry driving conditions last week.

   Sometimes the only way to accomplish something is to stop.  Totally stop.  Not just take a breather, but completely stop doing what you were doing for an extended time period.

   We tend to think that stopping is a counterintuitive response, but is it?

    When we are working on a task and things start getting bogged down and don’t work as smoothly, what is our instinctive response?

  Do we not throw up our hands and want to quit?  Do we not want to run away and hide? 

   So, if we instinctively know that we should stop what we’re doing for a time, why don’t we?

   That’s easy to answer.  Because we’re human. :)

   For some reason we are determined that we must overcome, override, and ignore our instinctive responses.  Even though we feel like we’re hitting a brick wall, slogging through quicksand, or are going backwards, we continue to keep pushing the situation, the task, and ourselves.

   And then the situation becomes even harder to deal with. 

   Yet, if we stop, and shift our focus to doing something else, we can return to the original task renewed, refreshed, and with new insights for moving the task, and ourselves, forward.

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PyYGhCOx0plAOsvdH_CkM3dG0rDLCVDo/view?usp=sharing

To contact The Chautauqua, email: thechautauqua@gmail.com.

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Joy

Joy can be found only one place at one time; 
right here, right now. 
- Marianne Williamson

Monday 12 November 2012

Inside

Everything we experience is inside us, 
not outside. 
 - Marianne Williamson

Friday 9 November 2012

Statement

My life will not be an apology. 
It will be a statement.
 – Andy Andrews

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Water

You can find ways to adapt to life's 
many changing situations when you flow...
Be flexible like water 
and you will discover indomitable perseverance, 
to stay with the flow of your path...
be like water: formless yet resolute, clear and still, 
seeking the lowest to achieve the highest...
the Path is clear; nothing will obstruct you. 
- C. Alexander Simpkins

Monday 5 November 2012

Busy

To be free to grow fully 
and develop yourself, 
don't be busy all the time! 
C. Alexander Simpkins

Friday 2 November 2012

November 2, 2012 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer   

   In case you were not aware, there is a United States Presidential election on November 6, 2012.  While I admit I have not been following the coverage (for the past four years!), I am interested in what the outcome will be.

   I happened to catch a quick glimpse of an online article the other day.  The author is an American columnist currently residing in Canada.  The columnist started out by saying she’s a proud American, has always voted Republican, and believed strongly that the American’s were always in the right no matter what the issue - be it local or international.

   However, her perception has changed slightly in the short time she’s been in Canada, and as the Presidential election looms closer and closer, her views on the American way are changing.

   First off, by being out of country, and no longer totally immersed in the culture, she can now see that the Republican Party is not as great as she always believed.  In fact, she admitted that it is quite laughable (not in a good way) right now.

   She also has realized that what they have always been told about the American way of life is not necessarily true, and she cited some examples that pertained to her life in particular.

   She even thanked Canadians for opening her eyes and showing her there is a different way to live and be.  By being in Canada, she now realizes it is possible to be an individual and still be nice to others.  She has also noticed that it is possible to be an individual, support private business, and still do the right thing for everyone - i.e. our universal health care system.

   You don’t necessarily need to leave the country to get a different perspective of your life.  Maybe all you need to do is go somewhere closer - that you’ve never visited before, such as the park in your own community - for an hour.  Notice what is around you.  Talk to someone you’ve never talked to before to find out their point of view.

   It doesn’t take much to gain a different view of the world around you.  All it takes is the willingness to see things with different eyes.

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d_muaRd7koP_QBqNE2G7ViQ-yJSlu7aL/view?usp=sharing

To contact The Chautauqua, email: thechautauqua@gmail.com.