Friday, 28 April 2017

School

I guess I can't complain. 
 I had a rich full life before I started school.
 - Arnot Sheppard

Wednesday, 26 April 2017

Bitter

If you are bitter at heart, 
sugar in the mouth will not help you.
 ~Yiddish Proverb
 

Monday, 24 April 2017

Giving Up

Giving up something that is making you unhappy
 is not giving up anything worthwhile at all. 
 - Pamela Phillips Oland
 

Friday, 21 April 2017

April 21, 2017 Chautauqua




Beth's Ponderings


   So...is the glass half full or half empty?  Whichever way you answered, are you really sure?  Do you want some more time to think about that before answering?

   We are taught to perceive the world, and all that is around us, in a certain way, and by and large we never ever question those perceptions.

   The drawback is that often those perceptions, and the conclusions we draw from them about our lives, are based solely on an artificially static state that has no bearing on reality, a reality that is in constant ebb and flow, and changing from moment to moment.  Even we are constantly changing, and the you that just read these words is not even the same you that read the first line.

   In our example, we claim that the glass is in a certain state and assume that state never changes, nor can it be changed.  Yet, the glass is never half empty or half full, it is only ever 100% full, perhaps not full of the exact same substance, but nonetheless, it is always completely full.  Even when the glass appears to us to be completely empty, it is still 100% full of air.

   We lock into a particular way of viewing the glass and its contents, and are hard-pressed to view it in any other manner, even though there are unlimited ways of looking at, and describing, the glass and its contents.

   And the state the glass definitely has the ability to change, and is constantly changing.  The glass can be filled with liquid, it can be filled with a solid, it can be filled with a combination of materials and substances, it can be filled with only air, it can be filled an unlimited number of times without changing the essence of the glass at all.

   But, the one thing the glass cannot be is emptied.  We can remove the liquid, solids, or the air, but the glass hasn’t been emptied, its contents have merely been replaced with other contents.

   When we experience a “loss” in our lives, our lives haven’t been “emptied” at all.  We’ve merely had the contents of our lives shifted and replaced with other contents, so that our lives are always filled to overflowing.

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://sites.google.com/site/thechautauqua22/home/April%2021%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, 19 April 2017

Ambidextrous

Everyone is ambidextrous.  If we are able to use both our legs 
with almost equal effectiveness, than why not our hands? 
The answer is – because we don't practice it. 
 It simply is not essential to be ambidextrous,
 so we quickly begin to favor one hand for certain tasks, 
and the other hand for other tasks.
 - Robb Armstrong
 

Monday, 17 April 2017

Book

Some people manage by the book, 
even though they don't know who wrote the book
 or even what book.
 - Author Unknown
 

Friday, 14 April 2017

When

“When” is the ultimate life hack...
Knowing “when” enables you to perform
 “what” and “how” to your maximum potential. 
 If you didn't change a thing about what you do
 and how you do it, and only made micro-adjustments 
to when you do it, you'd be healthier, happier, 
and more productive...
 - Michael Breus   

Wednesday, 12 April 2017

Ambiguity

I've learned, the hard way, 
that some poems don't rhyme, 
and some stories don't have a clear
 beginning, middle, and end.
 Life is about not knowing, having to change, 
taking the moment and making the best of it, 
without knowing what's going to happen next.
 Delicious Ambiguity.
- Gilda Radner  
 

Monday, 10 April 2017

Sleep

I love sleep.
 My life has a tendency to fall apart 
when I'm awake, you know? 
 ~ Ernest Hemingway 

Friday, 7 April 2017

April 7, 2017 Chautauqua




Beth's Ponderings

   Earlier this year, I was watching some old movies, including some great cinema classics. Almost each one had the following line somewhere in the movie: “If you really love [him/her], you would...”

   While that line is great for creating tension and drama in movies and books, it is extremely dangerous when used in real life.

   The line gives the impression that the speaker loves, and is concerned about, an individual (or in some instances, it refers to themselves) and it is out of this love and concern for that individual that they are addressing the other person. However, what the line really reveals is the speaker's fear.

   If they truly cared so much, they wouldn't be trying to manipulate another person into making a decision, or taking an action, that the person obviously doesn't want to make, and that would only be in the perceived best interests of the speaker, not the other people involved.

   By manipulating others out of fear, the speaker tries to either keep the status quo, or ensure an outcome that will make the speaker - not the other people - happy and feeling secure.  In fact, the true feelings and wishes of the others are not even a consideration for the speaker, despite what they may profess, because this line is usually brought out during a “secret” conversation between the speaker and other person that must be kept hidden from the individual in question.

   Now, the speaker could fear any number of things, depending on their relationship to the individual: that the individual will abandon them for someone else, that the individual will make a horrible mistake, that the individual is growing too independent and doesn’t need their guidance or assistance any more, that the individual is not willing to fulfill the speaker’s dream for them and their life.

   Any time that line is used, and fear prevails, it is to the determent of all parties involved, and creates more problems than whatever the speaker is trying to prevent.

   “If we did not believe in fear in the first place, no one could control anyone.” - James van Praagh

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://sites.google.com/site/thechautauqua22/home/April%207%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, 5 April 2017

Now

The most meaningful life experiences
 don't happen in the “when” 
they happen in the “now.”
 - Rachel Macy Stafford 
 

Monday, 3 April 2017

Path

If you are on the path you are meant to be on, 
everything falls into place; the Universe is telling you that.
 If you are not on your right path,
 you will experience roadblocks along the way,
 and this is also the Universe telling you to stop, look and ask
 if this is where you are supposed to be.
 - Dolores North  
 
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