Friday 31 July 2015

Rules

Don't talk to me about rules, dear. 
 Wherever I stay, I make the...rules. 
 - Maria Callas

Wednesday 29 July 2015

Mind

The power to move the world 
is in the subconcious mind. 
 - William James

Monday 27 July 2015

Health

 Hope, self-esteem and education 
are the most important factors
 in creating health daily.  
- Christiane Northrup

Friday 24 July 2015

Choices

We all have to make choices...
since we can't have two lives, only one.  
But, most of these choices we make fresh
 every day, not just once.  
So, if you regret something, 
if you want to change your mind, 
you usually can. 
 - Menna van Praag

Wednesday 22 July 2015

Vacation

Many of us spend our our whole life 
doing the things that are supposed to lead us
 to a great time but that actually lead only to 
more work, aging, stress and exhaustion...
we have a lot of encouragement to 
work through lunch, work late, 
work weekends, and not much encouragement
 to go off and have fun or do nothing for a while.  
This is the way life is, in spite of the fact 
that you all know that you get your best ideas 
when you are on vacation. 
 - Regena Thomashauer

Monday 20 July 2015

Why

Most of us get really hung up on 
the long, crooked, ungratifying trip into 
Why Things Are the Way They Are..
.The problem with looking for the why of it all 
is that you never really, truly find it.  
And if you do, it doesn't necessarily 
make your life any better. 
 - Regena Thomashauer

Friday 17 July 2015

July 17, 2015 Chautauqua


Beth's Ponderings

   Have you ever watched a really good improvisation sketch, or participated in an improv class?


   The basic rule of improv is to say “yes” to everything that the other participants come up with.  As soon as one person refuses, the whole sketch falls apart.


   Pretty much anything and everything is allowed, no matter how zany or bizarre or off-topic it originally seems.  Even if the participants have an idea of how they want the sketch to progress, it can end up in a totally different direction or go around in crazy circles.


   Sounds like life, doesn’t it?


   As we plan and try to figure out what direction we want our lives to go, things happen and we have a choice - do we say “yes” and move forward, or do we say “no” and stall out?


   We are all faced with countless options and choices in any given moment or day.  Some seem familiar, some seem repugnant, some seem just plain bizarre, some are intriguing, some are routine, some seem to come completely out of left field, some seem like they’d be a good match for someone else, and some seem like they are too good to be true.


   In true improv style, we have no idea where each of those choices will lead, or what the next choice will require of us.  Some choices appear to have clear consequences, while others don’t.  We can use our imagination to come up with possible reactions to our choices, however in the end, it is all a mystery till we actually make the choice and say “yes” to whatever is before us.  People rarely respond how we think they will - for example, they say “no” at lot less than we think they will, it is just our fear that holds us back from asking.


   Too many of us say “no” to life’s opportunities before we even think to say “yes.”  Fear is our default setting and holds us back.  We may think we are keeping ourselves safe, yet all we are doing is adding more stress to our lives, and limiting our chance to move forward and grow.


   You never know till you say “yes” what you are capable of doing and being, so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone and isn’t illegal, why not start saying  “yes” to what life puts in your path.  


Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S1JjimSL_pd94nyW0l3bXYytOFrv2onE/view?usp=sharing

Contact The Chautauqua via email: thechautauqua@gmail.com or via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChautauqua

Wednesday 15 July 2015

Adventure

Be careful going in search of adventure
 - it's ridiculously easy to find.
 - William Lewis Trogdon

Monday 13 July 2015

Surface

Look beneath the surface;
 do not let the multiple qualities of a thing 
nor its value escape you.
  - Marcus Aurelius

Friday 10 July 2015

Pleasure

An inordinate passion for pleasure
 is the secret of remaining young.  
- Oscar Wilde 

Wednesday 8 July 2015

Skid

At anytime you decide to improve
 your behaviour and make lifestyle changes,
 they make a difference from that point on.  
Maybe not right away. 
 It's like slamming on the brakes.  
You do need a certain skid distance.  
- Dr. Jeffery Koplan

Monday 6 July 2015

Judging

It's up to us to learn to look beyond what 
separates us and find what makes us alike.  
After all, every spirit is made up of the same energy, 
and the last I heard, energy molecules 
had no interest in judging other molecules.  
- Char Margolis

Friday 3 July 2015

July 3, 2015 Chautauqua


Beth's Ponderings

   What a difference a year or two can make!


    If you had told me a couple of years ago what my life would look like in 2015, and what I’d be doing, I probably wouldn’t have believed it. Yet, here I am.


   Many people I know who have gone through a significant life change some time in the last year or so have commented along the lines of, “It sure is nice not to have to (fill in the blank) any more.”


   Ironically, just before I collapsed two years ago, I started reading a book called “The Laws of Subtraction” by Matthew May. I have only read half the book, however, the premise is that value is found in what you take out, or subtract, not what you add.  Similar to the theme “less is more,” but deeper.  Remember it is the empty space inside a cup that makes it useful.


   We’re all too busy, too focussed on the wrong things, and too tired to even realize it.  If we aren’t rushing here and there, trying to cram endless activities into our schedules, our minds are on overdrive, racing all hours of the day and night.


   One positive thing about a major life change is that it interrupts our lives and thoughts just enough that we can see what is important to us, and what is draining us.  


   For some reason, we find it easier to subtract what we don’t want to do or have when we face a crisis of some nature.  If it is that easy to subtract from our lives, why do we wait?


   There is a fine line between expressing life through your time investment in various activities, and becoming so consumed by those activities (and heaping even more on your plate) that you are actually hiding from life.


   We struggle for the elusive “life balance,” but there is no such thing.  Instead of balance, we should be aiming for manageable - whatever that means for each of us.


   Ultimately it doesn’t matter how many ball (activities) you are able to juggle in your life, you are juggling most effectively if you are only juggling 3 balls (activities) at a once, and you are most proficient when you focus on only one ball (task) at a time.


Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OhAibajSCpC1EXRyh9-GlpnQr4JX6sNi/view?usp=sharing

Contact The Chautauqua via email: thechautauqua@gmail.com or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChautauqua

Wednesday 1 July 2015