Follow your heart
and use your mind
to navigate the heart-chosen path.
- Fred Croker
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Friday, 30 October 2015
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
Path
If you can see your path laid out in front of you
step by step, you know it's not your path.
Your own path you make with every step you take.
That's why it's your path.
- Joseph Campbell
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Monday, 26 October 2015
Yesterday
I can't go back to yesterday
because I was a different person then.
- Lewis Carroll
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Friday, 23 October 2015
Wrong
What might be the right path one day
may be completely wrong the next.
- Dr. Bernie Siegel
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Wednesday, 21 October 2015
Sky
We can sometimes migrate
from place to place and job to job...
until we realize that the sky above us
is the same everywhere we go...
- Dr. Bernie Siegel
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Monday, 19 October 2015
Time
Find the time in your life
to have the time of your life.
- Dr. Bernie Siegel
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Friday, 16 October 2015
October 16, 2015 Chautauqua
Beth's Ponderings
Aren’t you glad we live in the 21st century with all of our gadgets and technology?
Just imagine how difficult - in fact, practically impossible - it would be for us to complete so many of our daily tasks if we didn’t have our umpteen modern appliances and gadgets.
Yet, “Labour-saving machinery only creates endless and worse labour.” - J.R.R. Tolkien
Don’t believe me, then ask yourself this...what are our lives really like now with all this technology?
Yes, it took all day to wash clothes by hand in a hot tub of water, with a scrub brush and scrub board, however, there was less to wash. The average family - even if there were a lot of children - generally had one good outfit (Sunday, parties, weddings, or funerals) and their every day outfit (which they wore more than one day in a row!) and a work/chore outfit. So, while it looks like we’ve gained with our washing machines and dryers, complete with all the latest bells and whistles, we haven’t really as we just stuff our closets, and then those washing machine, with more and more clothes. Laundry is an endless task now, as we spend more time washing some outfits than we do actually wearing them!
The same is true of our homes. It used to be possible to completely clean a home with a pail of water, a scrub brush and a broom. Once vacuum cleaners became the norm, and now our Swiffers and the like, our homes have gotten larger and larger. It is almost like we needed to justify having the convenience, and thus complicated our lives more.
And, let’s not forget telephones! Gone are the days when you had to walk next door to talk to your neighbour. Do any of you remember when we used to get into the car (or sneak into the bathroom) to get away from the ringing phone? Now phones are everywhere, and are considered so vital to existence, for more than just talking to someone.
Technology, in and of itself, isn’t bad. It does help us in numerous ways and makes life easier. Yet, we have, as a society, negated so many of those benefits by filling our lives so full of stuff and information.
Beth
Read the complete issue of The Chautauqaua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kKgMgERgxvgPAR3anGdDD9mELav9-yWt/view?usp=sharing
Contact The Chautauqua via email: thechautauqua@gmail.com or via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChautauqua
Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Monday, 12 October 2015
Thank You
When I say “I love you” to someone,
what I mean is “Thank you.”
- Robert Holden
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Friday, 9 October 2015
Wednesday, 7 October 2015
Want
The truth is,
nobody actually wants it all...
We only want what we want.
- Kate Northrup
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Monday, 5 October 2015
Work
Nothing is really work
unless you would rather
be doing something else.
- J.M. Barrie
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Friday, 2 October 2015
October 2, 2015 Chautauqua
Beth's Ponderings
“I can’t afford __(fill in the blank__”
How many times do you say that in a day? In a week? In a month?
Do you say that about small items, or just big-ticket ones? Frivolous wants, or actual needs such as food and shelter?
I recently read that we shouldn’t say we can’t afford something. Instead, we should say we “choose not to have” something.
I’m sure you can think of at least one instance where you didn’t have the money for something you really needed or wanted, and yet you moved heaven and earth to get it. You may have borrowed the money, worked a extra job, or even traded something else to get it.
The truth is that if we really truly wanted whatever it was, and valued it enough, we would find a way to obtain it.
That’s the key - value it enough.
It’s not enough to just want something or desire it. It has to also match up with our internal values. It has to be something that is vitally important to us.
This is true of everything in our lives, not just the items we purchase.
If you value education, you will find a way to obtain it even if you don't go to university or trade school.
If you value employment, you will find a way to get a job even if it means taking a salary cut, taking a different career path, or working as a volunteer or intern to acquire some experience in your chosen field.
If you value family and friends, you will arrange your schedule to accommodate them and make decisions that will foster those relationships.
If you truly value yourself, you will choose to take the necessary steps to take care of your wellbeing such as scheduling downtime, doing things that you enjoy doing, and making healthy habits part of your daily life.
The interesting thing that happens when you choose to follow your values, and not what the crowd (aka “they”) says, is that affording what you want becomes effortless.
It only becomes hard work when you don’t really want it.
Beth
Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vcggQzDekSpjd5iUiPQPfLWbzIMgkxHZ/view?usp=sharing
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