Friday, 28 November 2014

Challenge

Our challenge each day is not
 to get dressed to face the world, 
but to unglove ourselves 
so that the doorknob feels cold, 
and the car handle feels wet, 
and the kiss goodbye feels like
 the lips of another being, soft and unrepeatable. 
- Mark Nepo

Wednesday, 26 November 2014

Waves

Most of us are working so hard. 
 It's like we're in a motorboat
 noisily zipping around,
 trying to find a place that is 
quiet, peaceful, and still...
we're just making more waves 
and noise wherever we go...
true freedom comes when we 
throttle back the motor and come naturally
 into stillness.  
- Tara Brach

Monday, 24 November 2014

Instructions

I have just two instructions for you...
One is to breathe, and one is to smile.
 - Thich Nhat Hanh

Friday, 21 November 2014

November 21, 2014 Chautauqua


Beth's Ponderings 

   How committed are you moving forward in your life?

   Not too long ago, the governor of the Bank of Canada gave some advice to unemployed youth and students suggesting they volunteer to get some experience instead of just sitting around doing nothing.

   His remarks have generated quite the backlash across the country and many people are disappointed and disgusted with what he said.

  I agree with him, and here’s why.

  What is the basic career advice given to older adults who are downsized out of a job, or who are nearing retirement, or looking for work after retirement?  What are mothers, returning to the workforce after a prolonged absence to raise their children, told?

   They are told to gain experience and re-establish a good employment record, volunteer in a field that interests you.  Once you have some experience and your foot is in the door, your chances of landing a job improve.  The job may be with the organization you volunteer for, and if it isn’t, you have gained a valuable reference as you continue your search.

   So why should it be any different for a student, or anyone of any age who is having trouble landing a job?

   And what it really comes down to isn’t whether there are any jobs.

   At the end of the day, all that matters is how committed you are to your life, career path, and your community.

   I recently read about an entrepreneurial workshop in which the presenter laid out for an attendee the actual dollar and time commitment required for the first year of their proposed business idea (it was a lot!).  The presenter then asked if the attendee was committed enough to spend that much time and money, because if they weren’t, the business wouldn’t last past the first month or hurtle, whichever came first.

   Yes, a paycheque is necessary to live, but how committed are you really to getting it, because if you are really committed to moving forward in your life, you’ll explore any avenue available to get you to where you want to be, even if it means volunteering.  Who knows what doors it may open for you, and directions it may take you.



Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hLFeBsi6AkcCLsQo_MWpobNUO8GFieuI/view?usp=sharing

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

Wednesday, 19 November 2014

One

How can energy leak away from us 
or become corrupt if there is
 only one energy in the world, 
which is perfect and shared by us all?  
How can we lose soul when we are 
all one soul and part of all-that-is? 
 How can anyone's energy intrude on ours
 when we are all the same energy?
  - Ross Heaven

Monday, 17 November 2014

Nature

Watch the wind in the trees, 
the clouds in the sky, 
or the speed at which a stream flows;
 that's nature's pace. 
 Keep to that and breathe deeply. 
 - Ross Heaven

Friday, 14 November 2014

Leisure

Man learns more by “playing” 
with ideas in his leisure time 
than by sitting in a classroom.
 - attributed to Plato

Wednesday, 12 November 2014

Pause

[Pause]: nowhere you need to go,
nothing you need to do, 
no one you need to be. 
 - Rick Hanson

Monday, 10 November 2014

Empty

Finding yourself doesn’t require 
that you fly to Tibet, join a convent, 
or build a meditation room. 
Just consistently keep a 
minimal commitment to empty time.
- Martha Beck

Friday, 7 November 2014

November 7, 2014 Chautauqua


Beth's Ponderings 

Will this matter in 100 years?

   The statement above, along with multiple variations of years (5, 10, 20, 50, etc), has been repeated often in our family after many seemingly horrible or embarrassing events.

   One time when I was having difficulty with the university over something regarding my Masters program, and I was pacing around the house grumbling about the university staff making my life miserable, my mom asked if it would matter in 5 years.  I responded that it wouldn't matter in 5 minutes, however it really mattered right now!

   I was reminded of that situation when my computer stopped working unexpectedly the day before I had to have this issue finished.  Catastrophe in the extreme!

   Long story short, the problem was easy to fix - a single button had been accidentally pushed that had disabled most of the functions on my laptop.  Button pushed again and all was quickly returned to proper working order.  Whew...

   When looked at from the perspective of a longer bigger-picture view, it is true that the vast majority of what we fret, stew, worry, and get upset about isn’t that big a deal.  Within a few minutes, hours, weeks or years, it will have made no obvious difference to our lives.

   However, it does matter in that particular instant.  And that is the key. While it is always a good idea to look for the silver lining and not wallow in worry or gloom, it is also important not to suppress how we feel when things seem to go wrong in our lives. 

   A study I read once said that it takes a mere 90 seconds for an emotion to be felt and dissipate through our bodies - provided we allow ourselves to feel it.   If we don’t, it is stuck within our muscles forever, and the only way to remove, or process, it is through manipulation of the muscles by massage or other body work.

   By being honest and feeling what we feel in that brief 90-second moment, we can clear our minds and bodies like a summer storm clears the air, before moving forward to either finding a solution to our problem, or realizing that there isn’t actually a problem there at all.  

Beth

 Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HE6Tx5qa27sn4Pu8kbJNp1KNRYBt9C4k/view?usp=sharing

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

Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Fully

Don't dance around the perimeter 
of the person you want to be.  
Step in fully and completely. 
 - Gabrielle Bernstein

Monday, 3 November 2014

Idleness

Work is easy, 
but true idleness takes 
courage and fortitude. 
- Johann Hamann

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