Friday, 31 March 2017

Forward

I'd rather look forward and dream
 than look backward and regret. 
 - Anonymous  

Wednesday, 29 March 2017

Good

Go for good 
and all that's not the truth of you 
will fall away.
 - Meleah Jacobs  
 

Monday, 27 March 2017

Poop

If you've got to eat a plate of poop,
 hold your nose and do everything you can
 to make the best of a lousy situation. 
But don't compound the problem
 by telling yourself you should enjoy it 
as much as Haagen-Dazs.
 - Jason Blume 
 

Friday, 24 March 2017

Unnecessary

If you mind isn't cluttered by unnecessary things, 
this could be the best day of your life. 
- Ethan Hughes
 

Wednesday, 22 March 2017

Motion

All of life is in constant motion, and we are, too.
 On the upside, since we are constantly moving
 that means problems can be temporary too.
 Our feelings and our circumstances will always change. 
 It's important that we allow them to flow
 through us and around us, and deal with pressing issues
immediately and fearlessly.
 - Robb Armstrong
 

Monday, 20 March 2017

Big

How big are you willing to be?
 - Suzanne Falter-Barns  
 

Friday, 17 March 2017

March 17, 2017 Chautauqua



 
Beth's Ponderings

   Because humans are social animals, we have a deep need to belong.  Whether it is in an ethnic group, a religious organization, a particular political party, a fitness club, a gang, a preferred customer club, a social cause, or any other possible group or organization.  It doesn’t really matter what the group is as long as it keeps us from feeling like we are alone, or worse, outsiders.  And, usually belonging to just one group isn’t enough, and before long, the group identity becomes our sole identity.

   The irony is that in order to “belong” and be a member of a particular grouping of people, we have to isolate and separate ourselves from other people.

   Because, at the end of the day, that is the purpose of any grouping of individuals - no matter how altruistic their motives, ideals and actions - to separate themselves from others in some way, to show how different they are from the mainstream, and to give its members a feeling that they are more special than non-members.

   As a society, we need to have cooperation between people, a pooling and sharing of resources, to enable us to accomplish more than we could possibly accomplish on our own.  It is not possible to thrive as an isolated individual.

   But, at the extreme end, a group’s good can get overshadowed by the need to prove that its members are better than others, or that it knows the only right way to accomplish something.  Usually what results is a splintering of the group into smaller groups, each vying for new members, which in turn leads to more people being excluded, which leads to more people craving to belong somehow.  And when people feel desperate to join a particular group, they aren’t always thinking straight, and are very susceptible to pressure from peers, or group leaders.

   While it would be so easy to say that we just need to get rid of the extreme groups, that won’t solve the problem.  Instead, we need to remind those around us what belonging really means.  After all...“Breathing is nature's way of saying we belong here. Otherwise we wouldn't be doing it!” - Ofosu Jones-Quartly

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://sites.google.com/site/thechautauqua21/home/March%2017%2C%202017%20Chautauqua.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1

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

Wednesday, 15 March 2017

Lived

Life is meant to be lived 
not managed, not controlled, not screamed,
 not stressed, not hurried, not guilt-ridden,
 not regretted, not scripted, not consumed
 by distractions, big or small, obvious or subtle. 
- Rachel Macy Stafford  
 

Monday, 13 March 2017

Suffering

If we learned from suffering, 
wouldn't the world be enlightened by now? 
 - Josh Radnor
 

Friday, 10 March 2017

Goofing Off

What I now know
 is that goofing off is actually critical 
to my journey in this life. 
 - Cheryl Richardson
 

Wednesday, 8 March 2017

Faith

The opposite of faith is not doubt, 
but certainty. 
 - Anne Lamott  
 

Monday, 6 March 2017

Same

I am developing the loving awareness 
that everyone is the same, 
only on different paths.
 - James van Praagh  
 

Friday, 3 March 2017

March 3, 2017 Chautauqua




Beth's Ponderings

   How much space do you take up in this world?  

   Now, let me clarify what I mean by “space.”

   I don’t mean the square footage of your house, or your workplace/office, or if you even have multiple residences.  I don’t mean how many belonging you have and the entire square footage they occupy.  And, I definitely don’t mean the size of your physical shape - whether you are tall or short, bigger or smaller around.

   Space, in the context that I am using it, has both a macro and micro element to it.  

   On the macro level, how large an area does your influence ripple out?  Are you known outside of your immediate community, or do you tend to keep to yourself?  How large is your circle of friends and acquaintances?  You don’t have to be “famous” to have lots of influence, just kind.

   Now, the micro level of space is a bit different, and, of the two levels, is the most important.  It is also the easiest to measure at any given moment, and boils down to just one simple observation - how full and deep was your last breath?

   There are only three types of “fuel” our body needs: air, water, and food, and the most vital one is air, yet, because it enters our bodies predominately without conscious thought, we tend to ignore it.  The vast majority of us barely fill 20% of our lungs with each breath!  No wonder so many of us - myself included many days - feel tired and weak all the time, and when we feel threatened in any way, we tend to shrink inward - like a turtle into its shell - to protect ourselves.

   Yet the only way to really protect ourselves is to relax, inhale fully and deeply, and open our chests.  By filling more energetic “space” with each inhale we are able to sense - with our hearts - more of the world around us, and filling more space with full, deep inhalations is also the secret to thriving and living a healthy life.

   The size of our houses, and the number of belongings we own, matters not if we don’t fully inhabit the energetic “space” that we have been given to embody with each breath we take.

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://sites.google.com/site/thechautauqua21/home/March%203%2C%202017%20Chautauqua.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1

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

Wednesday, 1 March 2017

Breathing

Breathing is nature's way of saying we belong here. 
 Otherwise we wouldn't be doing it!
 - Ofosu Jones-Quartly
 
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)