Wednesday, 30 December 2009

My Life

I own my life. And only mine.
And so I shall appreciate my person.
And so I shall make proper use of myself.
- Ruth Beebe Hill

Monday, 28 December 2009

Change

How lovely to think
that no one need wait a moment,
we can start now,
start slowly changing the world!
- Anne Frank

Friday, 25 December 2009

Christmas

May you have a very
Merry Christmas Day!

Wednesday, 23 December 2009

Gratitude

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos into order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast,
a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today,
and creates vision for tomorrow.
- Melody Beattie


Monday, 21 December 2009

Peace

Work and live to serve others,
to leave the world
a little better than you found it
and garner for yourself
as much peace of mind as you can.
This is happiness.
- David Sarnoff

Friday, 18 December 2009

December 18, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer


May the blessings of this
special time of year reside
in your hearts today
and for always.


Thank you to everyone who supported The Chautauqua this past year. I look forward to working with you in 2010!


Beth


Click here to read the complete issue of The Chautauqua.

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

Wednesday, 16 December 2009

Measure

The true measure of a man
is how he treats someone
who can do him absolutely no good.
- Samuel Johnson

Monday, 14 December 2009

Time Flies

The bad news is time flies…
the good news is you’re the pilot.
- unknown

Friday, 11 December 2009

Joys

One of the greatest joys in life
is to be in search of one thing
and to discover another.

– Anne Wilson Schaef

Wednesday, 9 December 2009

Still

Still loving, though discouraged,
Still giving, though spent,
Still patient, though exasperated,
Still sensitive, though offended,
Still hopeful, though worn down by life.
– Larry Crabb

Monday, 7 December 2009

Passion

Great dancers are not great
because of their technique -
they are great because of their passion.
- Martha Graham

Friday, 4 December 2009

December 4, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

I am not really a shopper. Should I have occasion to enter a store with the purpose of purchasing something, I really prefer to go in, get what I need, and be back out in 10 minutes or less. I am not always that lucky.

An exception to my shopping aversion is book buying (for the library). I can easily spend hour after hour after hour in a bookstore happily browsing the shelves. That is if the store is locally owned. I don’t go to Chapters.

That said, I completely change my shopping style around Christmas time. For some reason, once a year, I am happy to explore out-of-the-way novelty shops and boutiques galore as I soak in the whole shopping atmosphere.

Maybe it is the Christmas carols playing merrily in the background? Or, perhaps it is the festive decorations in every store? I believe it is the company I am with.

Each year, prior to Christmas, my sister, Mary, and I go on a couple of sisterly shopping trips - which I combine with book shopping for the library so I have a great excuse to spend lots of time in bookstores! We explore our favourite shops in Ponoka during Moonlight Madness, as Mary marvels that we can spend so much time in a mere two block area. In Camrose, we walk the historic downtown area finding new places to visit, as well as tried and true places that can’t be missed.

As you prepare and shop this Christmas season, have some fun. It shouldn’t be just one more item to check off a never-ending list. If possible, shop with someone whom you enjoy spending time with. The day will be more enjoyable if you do.

Beth

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Wednesday, 2 December 2009

Stronger

The world breaks every one of us
and afterward many are stronger
at the broken places.
– Ernest Hemingway

Friday, 27 November 2009

Truth

Speak your truth –
even when your voice shakes.
– bumper sticker

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

Genius

Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
genius hits a target no one else can see.
– Arthur Schopenhauer

Monday, 23 November 2009

Other Side

Things are almost always funny
when you stop to look at your life
from the other side of the street.
– Unknown

Friday, 20 November 2009

November 20, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

The most valuable work you do may be done in as little as 5 seconds to 5 minutes. A higher vantage point, a brilliant idea, a key change in habit, a break from pressure, a boost in metabolism or a pivotal decision can produce significant lasting benefits. – P.M. Senge (The Fifth Discipline)

Some of us get hung up on making changes or starting projects in our lives because we feel that we need a large block of time - be it hours, days, or months - to devote to whatever we wish to do.

Yet, as the quotation above notes, we can accomplish so much in a shorter time frame. Five minutes doesn’t seem like very long. Though try to stay quiet for a minute or two, such as we did recently at the Remembrance Day services, and you realize that a minute can sometimes seem quite endless.

If we were to really admit the truth to ourselves, it is probably not so much that we do not think we can accomplish anything in a short time period, such as five minutes, it is that we have a hard time being content and satisfied with what we do accomplish in that time frame.

Just as pennies add up quickly, so too does five minutes here and there throughout the day and week. We are more effective if we do a little bit more often throughout the day, than if we work steadily for hours. Though it may not seem like it, you would have put more time into something with only five minutes a day, than if you devoted a half hour a week to the same project.

Beth

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Wednesday, 18 November 2009

Lost

A rejected opportunity to give
is a lost opportunity to receive.
- Oral Roberts

Monday, 16 November 2009

Suffering

Sometimes pain is unavoidable,
but your response is what determines
how much you suffer.
– Judith Orloff

Friday, 13 November 2009

Target

When you miss the target,
never in history
has it been the target's fault.
- unknown

Wednesday, 11 November 2009

Remembrance

Lest We Forget

Monday, 9 November 2009

Hope

Everything that is done in the world
is done by hope.
– Martin Luther King Jr.

Friday, 6 November 2009

November 6, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

Sometimes something happens in your life and there is just no rhyme or reason why.

Such was the case with my life lately. A few days after I delivered the last issue of the Chautauqua, my computer stopped working. That is not a real horrendous calamity in my world, except I receive the bulk of the submissions and ads for the Chautauqua via email and I could not check to see if I was getting anything, nor could I send off ad proofs.

I phoned around and the earliest someone could look at my computer was a week later. .

The technician then ended up away from work so when I finally was able to get my laptop into him (thanks to the kindness of a friend), he did not look at it for an additional two days. By then I was getting more than a little antsy as paper deadlines were looming larger and larger on my horizon.

Finally, the long-awaited phone call came. All the hardware worked perfectly. All the software worked perfectly. All the hardware and software communicated and worked perfectly with each other without conflict. Yet, it still did not work! The technician's solution was to wipe everything off the computer and start over. I talked him into a more basic fix and thankfully things are working again.

Sometimes we think that everything would be better if we could start our lives completely over. In truth, a dramatic change may not really be what we need. Rather the simplest fix may be to change our perception and release the need to know why things are the way they are.

Beth

Click here to read the complete issue of The Chautauqua.

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Wednesday, 4 November 2009

Blooming

Conduct your blooming
in the noise and whip of the whirlwind.
– Gwendolyn Brooks

Monday, 2 November 2009

Difference

Never underestimate
the difference you can make.
- unknown

Friday, 30 October 2009

Give

Give advice sparingly.
Give love freely.
Give your time carefully.
Give yourself wholeheartedly.
- unknown

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

Stress

Stress comes from knowing what is right
and doing what is wrong.
– unknown

Monday, 26 October 2009

Friendship

Friendships should be easy.
If you have to work hard
to maintain the friendship,
then it isn’t really much of a friendship.
Friends accept you
and let you bet the way you are.
– Larry Winget

Friday, 23 October 2009

Success

Success is simple.
Do what’s right, the right way,
at the right time.
– Arnold Glasow

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

Appearances

Things are how they are supposed to be,
all evidence to the contrary.
– Anne Lamott

Monday, 19 October 2009

Opportunity

It is better to be prepared for an opportunity
and not have one
than to have an opportunity
and not be prepared.

- Whitney Young

Friday, 16 October 2009

October 16, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

I recently read the following: “By one estimate, each of us will have at least 35 hours of unfinished work in front of us our entire life. In short, we’ll never catch up!” (Robert Cooper) Now, I don’t know about you, however I find that a very freeing thought.

If we’ll never catch up, then why stress about it? Why cram our schedules with tasks that we are trying to catch up on? Why let those 35 hours of unfinished work prey on our mind day after day after day after day?

What is all that unfinished work? Is it books we want to read, movies we want to watch, projects we started and think we should finish, classes we want to take, or (fill in the blank)?

If we’re never going to get that unfinished work finished, does it really need done anyway?

Obviously it isn’t hurting us that it is unfinished, otherwise, we’d have finished it and it wouldn’t be hanging over us. So just forget about it. Free yourself from that 35 hours of unfinished work.

Larry Winget, the World’s Only Irritational Speaker, suggests tossing to-do lists and creating “Get it Done” lists. He explains that to-do lists are really lists of what you wish to get done, whereas get-it-done lists are lists of things that have to get done (or else!). The things that have to get done can be anything from daily tasks to perusing your biggest and grandest dreams.

Though, do you really need to create a list? The things that absolutely have to get done will still get done...because they have to!

Beth

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

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

Receive

If we just do what we love,
love what we do,
and express ourselves freely,
we are serving others
in accordance to our purpose.
All that is left is for us
to open ourselves to receive.
– Arnold Patent

Monday, 12 October 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday, 9 October 2009

Odd

Read odd stuff. Visit odd places.
Make odd friends. Hire odd people.
Cultivate odd hobbies. Work with odd partners.
- Tom Peters

Wednesday, 7 October 2009

Life

Life is like a buffet;
you have to serve yourself.
- Larry Winget

Monday, 5 October 2009

Talent

The most valuable of all talents
is that of never using two words
when one will do.
- Thomas Jefferson

Friday, 2 October 2009

October 2, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

Last month a cousin sent me a link to an online jukebox and I have been having fun getting reacquainted with some great oldies from my childhood years.


These tunes, from the early 1950s, include:

  • Hernando’s Hideaway (Archie Bleyer)
  • Shake Rattle and Roll (Bill Haley & The Comets)
  • Sh-Boom (Crew-Cuts)
  • Dear Hearts and Gentle People (Bing Crosby)
  • That’s Amore (Dean Martin)
  • A Guy is a Guy and Secret Love (Doris Day)
  • The Old Master Painter (Dick Haymes)
  • I Get So Lonely (Four Knights)
  • Rose, Rose I Love You and Cry of the Wild Goose (Frankie Laine)
  • Jambalaya (Jo Stafford)
  • Pretend (Nate King Cole)
  • Changing Partners and Mockin’ Bird Hill (Patti Page)
  • Slow Poke (Pee Wee King)
  • Papa Loves Mambo (Perry Como)
  • Botch-a-me (Rosemary Clooney)
  • Stranger in Paradise (Tony Bennett)(br>
Before I go any further, I must point out that I personally was not a child in 50s...I’m not that old, no matter what my sister may say!


While I did not grow up during the era when these songs were big hits, I was introduced to them by my parents and grandparents and they are a pleasant part of my childhood memories.


Maybe it’s time you took a trip down a musical memory lane.


Beth

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Wednesday, 30 September 2009

Begin

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began.
– Mary Oliver (Journey)

email: thechautauqua@gmail.com

Monday, 28 September 2009

Want

If you really want something,
you can figure out
how to make it happen.
– Cher

Friday, 25 September 2009

Believe

I never cease being dumbfounded
by the unbelievable things
people believe.
– Leo Rosten
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Wednesday, 23 September 2009

Paint

To paint a fine picture
is far more important
than to sell it.
– Edward Alden Jewell

Monday, 21 September 2009

Creative

Very few people do anything creative
after the age of thirty-five.
The reason is that very few people
do anything creative
before the age of thirty-five.
– Joel Hildebrand

Friday, 18 September 2009

September 18, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

Is your company or organization based on the traditional pyramid model with the owner/CEO/president at the very tip, the supervisors/managers in the middle, and the front-line workers/labourers at the very bottom (or under the bottom)?

We are so used to that old model that often we do not see that may be there is another way to organize things.

I just read about a model for organizing a company or organization that definitely turns the old pyramid one on its head.*

Instead of a pyramid, think of your company or organization as a fruit tree. In this alternative model, the front-line workers/labourers are the fruit with access to the all the best resources (the sunlight and air that a tree needs to grow). The supervisors/managers are the branches which provide support for the fruit. The owner/CEO/president is the trunk with provides the central support for the whole structure. Cash flow, policies, and other resources are the water that enters through the roots and nourishes the fruit via the trunk and branches.

If everyone worked together to ensure that the front-line workers/labourers - the ones who the public sees and interacts with on a regular basis - was able to provide excellent customer service then just imagine how well your fruit tree of a company or organization would produce.

* From “Orbiting the Giant Hairball: a corporate fool’s guide to surviving with grace” by Gordon MacKenzie

Beth

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Wednesday, 16 September 2009

Learned

The wisdom of a learned man
cometh by opportunity of leisure:
and he that hath little business
shall become wise.
- Apocrypha Ecclesiasticus 38:25

Monday, 14 September 2009

Leisure

Those who decide to use leisure
as a means of mental development,
who love good music, good books,
good pictures, good plays,
good company, good conversation –
what are they?
They are the happiest people in the world.
– William Lyon Phelps

Friday, 11 September 2009

Time

The time you enjoy wasting
is not wasted time.
– Laurence J. Peter

Wednesday, 9 September 2009

Health

He had had much experience of physicians,
and said,
“the only way to keep your health
is to eat what you don’t want,
to drink what you don’t like,
and do what you’d druther not.”
- Mark Twain

Monday, 7 September 2009

Blossom

No person is your friend (or kin)
who demands your silence,
or denies your right to grow
and be perceived as fully blossomed
as you were intended.
– Alice Walker

Friday, 4 September 2009

September 4, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

I came across a new word this past week...leela. Leela is Sanskrit, and literally translates to “God’s play.” It refers to the aspect of our lives and universe that seems to be quite humorous and playful.

When you are in a situation where life just seems to be going every way but the way you want it to, and you decide you might as well laugh as cry...that is leela.

When you are in a situation when everything is going your way and you aren’t sure if you should enjoy it or wait for the other shoe to fall...that is leela.

Leela is what makes you laugh when the day is going downhill very rapidly. Leela is what lets you recognize that there is still breathtaking beauty all around you even as you are mired in deep pain. Leela is the creative spirit at work when you are faced with overcoming some of life’s toughest challenges.

Leela gives us a chance to release some tension from our lives and lighten up as life happens just as it is going to happen - with or without our permission.

Beth

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Wednesday, 2 September 2009

Happy

Happy to have,
but just as happy not to have.
And happy to be,
but just as happy not to be.
- Unknown

Monday, 31 August 2009

Glad

Glad that I live am I;
that the sky is blue;
glad for the country lanes,
and the fall of dew.
– Lizette W. Reese

Friday, 28 August 2009

Eyes

If you have one eye on yesterday,
and one eye on tomorrow,
you’re going to be cockeyed today.
– Unknown

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

Alone

If people don’t ask for help,
leave them alone.
– Ernesto Sirolli

Monday, 24 August 2009

Play

You can discover more about a person
in an hour of play
than in a year of discussion.
– Plato

Friday, 21 August 2009

August 21, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

“What would make you willing to do _(fill in the blank)_ for the rest of your life?” That question is the main question in the book The Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar.

The question is not asking what you actually will do for the rest of your life, rather it asks what excites you so much, and has so much meaning for you, that you would be willing to do that for the rest of your life if you could?

Another way to look at the question is to ask yourself if you are doing what you want to be doing for the rest of your life if you found out that your life was going to end unexpectedly in 24 hours? If you’re not, why not?

Those are good questions to ask yourself before you start a new job, task, or take on a new committee position. If you are unable to change the job you are in, or resign from a committee, what do you need to change to make that job or position something that you would be willing to be involved in for the rest of your life?

If it doesn’t have significant meaning, or really excite you, why is it part of your life?

Beth

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Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Misfortune

Accept misfortune as a blessing.
Do not wish for perfect health
or a life without problems.
What would you talk about?
- David Bader

Monday, 17 August 2009

Goodbye

To depart is to arrive.
To leave is to stay.
To say goodbye
is to begin a lengthy conversation
at the front door.
– David Bader

Friday, 14 August 2009

Attitude

There are three essentials
for enjoying life to the fullest:
attitude, attitude, attitude.
– Ernie Zelinski

Wednesday, 12 August 2009

Better

Things will get better –
despite our efforts to improve them.
– Will Rogers

Monday, 10 August 2009

Riches

A learned man has riches within himself.
– Latin proverb

Friday, 7 August 2009

August 7, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

This spring and summer I started eating healthier food. I’m not buying anything new, rather I’m taking advantage of nature’s bounty within our yard.

Some of the “new” foods that I’ve added to my diet include:
· baby dandelion greens and blossoms
· clover leaves
· lilac blossoms
· caragana blossoms (they are so sweet I think they are the candy of flowers!)
· violas and pansies
· portulaca
· rose petals

The more intense the colour, the more flavour, and more nutrients. The variety of flavours make each bite a mini adventure. Each night the salad is slightly different depending on what is most plentiful. As well, the greens and flowers are very filling and satisfying.

There are lots of healthy greens and flowers that we could be eating that are readily available. (*Note: Don’t eat any plant that has been treated with chemicals).

Beth

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Wednesday, 5 August 2009

Slack

Cut yourself a little slack in your day.
Every so often stare into space
without a clear purpose.
– Ernie Zelinski

Monday, 3 August 2009

Day's work

A day’s work is a day’s work,
neither more nor less,
and the man who does it
needs a day’s sustenance,
a night’s repose and due leisure,
whether he be painter or ploughman.
– George Bernard Shaw

Friday, 31 July 2009

Life

Life is easier to take than you think;
all that is necessary
is to accept the impossible,
do without the indispensable,
and bear the intolerable.
– Kathleen Norris

Wednesday, 29 July 2009

Chance

Allow more chance in your life.
The more chance you let in your world,
the more interesting your world will become.
– Ernie Zelinski

Monday, 27 July 2009

Boil

Do not put your spoon into the pot
that doesn’t boil for you.
– Romanian proverb

Friday, 24 July 2009

Happiness

Be the source of happiness
instead of looking for it.
– Ernie Zelinski

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Problems

No one can solve problems for someone
whose problem is that
they don’t want their problems solved.
– Richard Bach

Monday, 20 July 2009

Forgive

Always forgive your enemies,
nothing annoys them so much.
– Oscar Wilde

Friday, 17 July 2009

July 17, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

Sometimes in life, you find a special friend;
Someone who changes your life
just by being part of it.
Someone who makes you laugh
until you can't stop;
Someone who makes you believe
that there really is good in the world.
Someone who convinces you that
there really is an unlocked door
just waiting for you to open it.
This is Forever Friendship.
-author unknown

We all need friends in this life. People who will know how we think and can give us another perspective on whatever is happening around us, who stand by us no matter what we’re going through, and who help us put the stress in our lives in its proper place.

However, it is also important that we each be that type of friend to others. Friendship is a two-way street. To have a friend, you have to be a friend.

To my friends who have a special place in my heart and life...thank you for your friendship.

Beth

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Wednesday, 15 July 2009

Kindness

Act with kindness
but do not expect gratitude.
– Confucius

Monday, 13 July 2009

Peace

To feel happy, relaxed
and at peace with the world,
you must be able to sit back
and let life take its natural course.
Learn to go with the flow more.
Let things happen
instead of always trying
to make things happen.
– Ernie Zelinski

Friday, 10 July 2009

Ease

If you can handle three elements,
handle only two.
If you can handle ten,
then handle only five.
In that way
the ones you do handle,
you handle with more ease,
more mastery,
and you create a feeling of strength
in reserve.
– Pablo Picasso

Wednesday, 8 July 2009

Education

Formal education will make you a living;
self-education will make you a fortune.
– Jim Rohn

Monday, 6 July 2009

Zen

Zen is sweeping the floors
when you sweep the floors,
eating when you eat,
and sleeping when you sleep.
– Zen master

Friday, 3 July 2009

July 3, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

Summer…camping trips and RV adventures...visits with family and friends...day trips to museums, zoos, and more.

Summer means a lot of time spent driving on the highways and byways. It also is a time when many people seem to have a heavy foot as they eagerly travel to their destination.

Various companies have calculated the savings accrued by speeding. Unfortunately they are in miles so I had to do some converting. For a 30 mile (48.3 km) trip, if you drive 70 mph (112.7 km/h) it will take you 25 minutes, 43 seconds. Traveling at 60 mph (96.6 km/h) will take you 30 minutes. If you travel my speed - just a bit faster than 55 mph (at 90 km/h) then the trip takes approximately 32 minutes. (http://fetinsurance.com/speed.htm)

So a heavy foot doesn’t really save you lots of time or get you to your destination any faster. If anything, it really slows you down as you end up sitting at the tracks waiting for a train to pass for about 7 minutes longer than I do! :-)

Enjoy your summer and stay safe!


Beth

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Wednesday, 1 July 2009

Canada Day

Happy Canada Day!

Tuesday, 30 June 2009

Purchase

The day, water, sun, moon, night…
I do not have to purchase
these things with money.
– Plautus

Monday, 29 June 2009

Ease

The really efficient labourer
will be found not to crowd his day with work,
but will saunter to his task
surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure.
– Henry David Thoreau

Friday, 26 June 2009

One thing

The shortest way to do many things
is to do only one thing at once.
– Samuel Smiles

Wednesday, 24 June 2009

Living

Don’t go around saying
the world owes you a living.
The world owes you nothing;
it was here first.
– Mark Twain

Monday, 22 June 2009

Disasters

Some things that don’t happen
keep disasters from happening.
– Rumi

Friday, 19 June 2009

June 19, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

The World Professional Chuckwagon Association’s 2009 season is in full swing. With the first two tour stops (Grande Prairie and Medicine Hat) behind them, the drivers and outriders are gearing up for the races in High River June 19 - 21st.

Congratulations to Reg Johnstone, the Bashaw Flash, and his outriders Butch Stewart and Wayne Wright, for winning the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede, driving the Blue Wave Energy outfit. This is the second time in Reg’s career that he has won at Medicine Hat. This win puts Reg in second place in the World Standings.

Best of luck to both Reg and Jason Johnstone as they travel the circuit this season.

Beth

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Wednesday, 17 June 2009

Obvious

The obscure we see eventually.
The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer.
– Edward R. Murrow

Monday, 15 June 2009

Hiding

God hides things by putting them near you.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friday, 12 June 2009

Problem

It isn’t that they can’t see the solution.
It is that they can’t the see the problem.
– G.K. Chesterton

Wednesday, 10 June 2009

Advice

He who builds to every man’s advice
will have a crooked house.
– Danish proverb

Monday, 8 June 2009

Let

There is a time to let things happen
and a time to make things happen.
– Heather Prather

Friday, 5 June 2009

June 5, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

In 1958 the Avro Arrow burst onto the aviation scene, and Canadians were hailed as taking the aerospace industry to unprecedented levels. The Avro Arrow, with a top speed of 1,650 mph, was the most sophisticated and fastest fighter plane the world had ever seen.

Then, just when Canada was poised to step into her own, the whole project was cancelled in 1959 by Prime Minister Diefenbaker and the 6 planes and all blue prints were destroyed. Note, they were not shelved or reworked, but totally destroyed.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada, and the 50th anniversary of the end of the Avro Arrow project, instructors and students from the Aircraft Structures program at NAIT are at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin to help to refurbish a full-scale model of the legendary Avro Arrow. The model should be ready for display in July.

How many of us, just as we are on the brink of completing a successful project in our own lives, allow fear to cancel our good effects as the government allowed fear to shut down the Arrow Project? How would our lives be different if we revived some of our past “almost” successes and showed them to the world?

Beth

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Wednesday, 3 June 2009

Regrets

I have no regrets.
I wouldn’t have lived my life
the way I did
if I was going to worry about
what other people were going to say.
– Ingrid Bergman

Monday, 1 June 2009

Momentum

The world is wide,
and I will not waste my life
in friction when it
could be turned into momentum.
- Frances Willard

Friday, 29 May 2009

Golden Rule

The golden rule is of no use whatsoever
unless you realize that it is your move.
– Anonymous

Wednesday, 27 May 2009

Time

Time makes more converts than reason.
– Thomas Paine

Monday, 25 May 2009

Peace

It is better to do less with peace
than it is to do more with stress.
– Joyce Meyer

Friday, 22 May 2009

Mountains

Sometimes the miracle of moving mountains
is God granting you the strength
to keep shoveling.
– Shane Littlefield

Wednesday, 20 May 2009

Second Mile

There are no traffic jams
on the second mile.
– Anonymous

Monday, 18 May 2009

Achieve

We overestimate
what we can achieve in a day,
but underestimate
what we can accomplish in a month.
- Suzanna Olivier

Friday, 15 May 2009

May 15, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

When we have fixed goals, we are struggling to force things to turn out a certain way. Hence we close ourselves off from seeing what is possible and what else is available to us. We can't see the bigger picture. - Baron Baptiste

It is the May Long Weekend and the unofficial start to the summer season. Summer is a time when we look forward to doing fun things and leaving our usual schedules behind.

What if we use this long weekend as a time to start opening ourselves up to living in a way that is less rigid and more fluid. What if we open ourselves up to what is happening around us and enjoying it - in all its unexpected surprises - rather than forcing our idea of what should be happening onto the events and people in our lives.

What if we live summer-like all year?

Beth

Click here to read the complete issue of The Chautauqua.

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

Wednesday, 13 May 2009

Impress

Did you ever see an unhappy horse?
Did you ever see a bird that has the blues?
One reason why birds and horses
are not unhappy
is because they are not trying to impress
other birds and horses.
- Dale Carnegie

Monday, 11 May 2009

Difficulties

There are two kinds of person in the world:
those who think first of difficulties
and those who think first of accomplishments
in spite of the difficulties.
– Samuel Warren

Friday, 8 May 2009

Satisfaction

If you don’t get satisfaction
from doing something on a small scale,
you won’t get any more satisfaction
doing it on a global scale.
Nothing, multiplied by five billion,
is still nothing.
– Mother Teresa

Wednesday, 6 May 2009

Idleness

We owe most of our great inventions
and most of the achievements of genius
to idleness – either enforced or voluntary.
– Agatha Christie

Monday, 4 May 2009

Mistake

A mistake is simply
another way of doing things.
– Katherine Graham

Friday, 1 May 2009

May 1, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

I was reading a book on retirement the other day - and yes, I am allowed to read retirement books as I’ve been semi-retired my whole career!

In the book was a list of things one should do in their retirement years to be productive citizens, and not a burden on society. The list included:
· you can work
· you can play
· you can sleep
· you can improve your mind
· you can improve your health
· you can work in civic activities or educational activities
· you can work in some spiritual area
(Hammond Stith, paraphrased)

Those items are a good formula for those of us at all ages, not just for the retired.

Beth

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

Wednesday, 29 April 2009

Friend

No person is your friend
who demands your silence,
or denies your right to grow.
– Alice Walker

Monday, 27 April 2009

Defeat

Being defeated is often a temporary condition.
Giving up is what makes it permanent.
– Marilyn vos Savant

Friday, 24 April 2009

Synchronicity

Synchronicity holds the promise
that if we will change within,
the patterns in our outer life
will change also.
– Jean Shinoda

Wednesday, 22 April 2009

Be the Best

As simple as it sounds,
we all must try to be the best person we can:
by making the best choices,
by making the most
of the talents we’ve been given.
– Mary Lou Retton

Monday, 20 April 2009

Battle

You may have to fight a battle
more than once to win it.
– Margaret Thatcher

Friday, 17 April 2009

April 17, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

Our small communities are fortunate to have so many nonagenarians.

In this modern age, it is becoming more and more rare for someone to reach such an advanced age of wisdom and experience. Due to its increasing rarity, all of us who are younger are fascinated and eager to learn the secrets of their longevity.

However, there are no secrets as we know what we need to do to live longer lives.

First...eat good wholesome homegrown food. Dieticians freak when they consider the diets of the pioneers which included lots of red meat, fats, and more. Yet, the food was healthier for people. The vegetables and fruits were grown in rich soil and then canned for winter. Eggs and dairy products didn't have all the nutrition destroyed so they truly helped boost the immune systems. Animals weren’t fed food that wasn’t natural to their diets .

Second...lots of activity. Those who have lived longer than us were more active so their bodies used the food they ate. My grandpa Richardson, who was over 90 when he died, chopped wood virtually every day of his life.

Third...community. While today we can be in touch 24/7 with anyone and everyone around the globe electronically, people of yesteryear were literally in contact with each other all the time through church and community events, social gatherings of all kinds and by really lending a helping hand when needed.

If you asked our nonagenarians why they have lived so long, I doubt that they would list such things as TV watching, fast food, or the like. There is a lesson for us all there.

Beth

Click here to read the complete issue of The Chautauqua.

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

Wednesday, 15 April 2009

Change

That’s the risk you take if you change:
that people you’ve been involved with
won’t like the new you.
But other people who do will come along.
– Lisa Alther

Monday, 13 April 2009

Life Challenges

Life’s challenges are not
supposed to paralyze you,
they’re supposed to help you
discover who you are.
– Bernice Johnson Reagon

Friday, 10 April 2009

Body

The body is the envelope;
our attention should be on the letter within.
– Saint Therese of Lisieux

Wednesday, 8 April 2009

Finish

Finish each day and be done with it.
You have done what you could.
Some blunders and absurdities have crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day;
you shall begin it serenely
and with too high a spirt
to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Monday, 6 April 2009

Ups and Downs

Ups and downs are the very texture of life,
but you don’t have to go up and down with them.
– Unknown

Friday, 3 April 2009

April 3, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

Every single one of us - assuming we are alive - has been breathing literally from our very first moments following our births. It is something we do automatically without a lot of conscious thought. So you would think we would be pretty proficient after our many years of experience. Apparently that is not so.

Too many of us breathe shallowly, rapidly, or hold our breath. These bad breathing habits affect our health and stress levels, and thus, every part of our lives.

To breathe properly, we should be breathing slowly with a full inhale, with expansion of both the chest and abdomen, followed by a full exhale, which lasts longer than the inhale. A slight pause should occur between the exhale and inhale.

As the first air to reach your lungs, even with proper breathing, is what is left in your airways, when you breathe shallowly and/or rapidly, you are creating a buildup of carbon dioxide in your bloodstream as very little new fresh air (oxygen) is taken in. This buildup leads to all sorts of complications in the body, as well as making you feel stressed and unable to handle anything.

Take a moment and notice your breathing. Can you even tell that you are breathing? Slow it down if necessary...deepen the breaths...relax.

Slowly now...inhale...exhale...repeat.

"If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly." - Andrew Weil, M.D.

Beth

Click here to read the complete issue of The Chautauqua.

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