Friday, 31 October 2014

Step

I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: 
I look around for 1-foot bars 
that I can step over.  
- Warren Buffett

Wednesday, 29 October 2014

Thorns

Impatience rails at the thorns; 
patience puts on a pair of shoes. 
 - Rick Hanson 

Monday, 27 October 2014

Flow

Patience knows you can't make
 the river flow any faster. 
 - Rick Hanson

Friday, 24 October 2014

Moment

Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself 
that this very moment 
is the only one you know you have for sure.   
- Oprah

Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Tough Times

Maybe the art of life
 is to convert tough times 
to great experiences.  
We can choose to hate the rain 
or dance in it.  
- Joan Marques

Monday, 20 October 2014

Sunshine

Wherever you go, 
no matter what the weather, 
always bring your own sunshine.
  - Anthony D'Angelo

Friday, 17 October 2014

October 17, 2014 Chautauqua

Beth's Ponderings

   I love to dance.  

   I took Highland Dance lessons for 23 years and earned my Teaching Certificate.  I also took a year of Ballet, and as an adult, I enjoyed Irish Dance lessons for a couple of years.

   I also enjoy dancing waltzes, polkas, and two-stepping.  My favourite part of gym class was the dancing - which always was too brief.  When my sister was in Grade 9, I attended her gym class during the dancing weeks to provide another girl for the boys to dance with, and for the teacher to have a partner to demonstrate some of the dances.

   My Dad was a wonderful dancer, and it was a thrill every time I got a chance to dance with him.  The very first time was when I was 15 at my Grade 9 Farewell at Mirror School.  My Dad was from a family, and an era, where they all got together on the weekends to dance.  When my parents met, Dad was involved in three dance clubs in Calgary and dancing most nights during the week.

   Once, following our performance at the Robbie Burns night in Camrose, a couple of veteran dancers decided they were going to teach my sister and I how to social dance.  After a brief verbal lesson, the music started and we started dancing.  They exclaimed, “You know how to dance!”  Seemed very few “young” people they knew could waltz.

   I also enjoy dancing around the room with my 4 year old niece who enjoys any type of music or rhythm.

   Recently, I came across this quotation...

   “Optimist: Someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it's a cha-cha.” ― Robert Brault 

   It was also a very timely reminder that the healing journey I’m on isn’t a linear Point A to Point B to Point C, etc. journey, but more of a graceful dance circling around, sometimes revisiting a spot I’ve already been before - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  And it reminded me of another famous dance quotation…

   “Life’s a dance, you learn as you go.  Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow.  Don’t worry about what you don’t know.  Life’s a dance, you learn as you go.” (sung by John Michael Montgomery) 

 Beth

 Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17CRqiBpuEaEQbDbIkacPIQOu-7jl00Qp/view?usp=sharing

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

Wednesday, 15 October 2014

Effort

We are responsible for the effort,
 not the outcome.
- Unknown

Monday, 13 October 2014

Diamond

By shining our brilliance, 
we are part of a multi-faceted diamond. 
 - Sandra Ingerman

Friday, 10 October 2014

Crisis

Never let a good crisis go to waste.
  - Anne Harbison

Wednesday, 8 October 2014

Free Will

Free will is mere human myth, and that the time
 we spend planning and worrying 
about the future is folly…
most wild animals don’t plan ahead.  
They take what is available...
  – Mark Sundeen

Monday, 6 October 2014

Actions

A man sitting in a lifeboat…
begins to drill a hole under his seat.  
The other passengers challenge him, but he insists, 
“It is my seat and I can do what I want with it.”  
The passengers cannot convince him 
that they will all go down  together if the boat floods. 
 Each of our actions affects our fellow humans,
 sometimes in ways we cannot
immediately comprehend.
 – Michael Gold

Friday, 3 October 2014

October 3, 2014 Chautauqua


Beth's Ponderings 

   Scientists and researchers have told us that we’re victims of our genetics, that the neural pathways in our brains become fixed, and that we are born with a set point (level) of happiness and optimism.

   Yet, newer studies show beyond any doubt that not only can our genetics been altered by our environment/emotions/thoughts, that our brains are very plastic and our neural pathways can be changed or created at will, and our happiness/optimism set points are not set in stone.

   If we are able to change ourselves - even below the cellular level - why do some people seem incapable of changing, even when their existence depends on it?  Why do some people go around like they have a dark cloud over them wherever they go, spreading doom and gloom?

   We are - from very early childhood - encouraged to try new foods, new activities, learn new information and skills, go on new adventures, develop new habits and more.  

   That is a good thing and important for growth.  However, everyone is unique and what might appeal to one person will turn off another.  What may work like a charm for you, may not for me.

   As you try new activities, learn new skills, and go on new adventures, which ones do you want to repeat?

   The ones that most closely align with your innate personality.
 
   Someone who is naturally rhythmic and is always humming may benefit from activities such as learning how to play a new musical instrument, learning a new style of dance, or being introduced to a different form of music than they normally listen to.  

   On the other hand, they probably would not be drawn to activities that require them to do complex mathematical tasks, or that require them to remain completely motionless for long stretches of time.

   While there is much we can change about ourselves, the best and most lasting changes, are those that “come naturally” to us.  

   Could it be that optimism and pessimism - and thus the secret to success - have more to do with how “naturally” you are living your life, than about what is happening around and to you?

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/160HFGkE8haRJv8vGE6TZDXvVU1rbnnUL/view?usp=sharing

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

Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Brighter

Do whatever makes your inner light brighter.  
– Judith Orloff

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