Wednesday, 31 May 2017

Tears

There are more tears shed over answered prayers
 than over unanswered prayers.
 - Teresa of Avila  
 

Monday, 29 May 2017

Mystery

Human beings need mystery to be happy in life. 
 - Robin Sharma  
 

Friday, 26 May 2017

Nod

Never talk when you can nod. 
 - Eliot Spitzer  
 

Wednesday, 24 May 2017

Enthusiasm

Years may wrinkle the skin 
but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. 
 - Samuel Ullman
 

Monday, 22 May 2017

Uncle

It is healthy to say uncle 
when your bone's about to break. 
 - Jonathan Franzen  
 

Friday, 19 May 2017

May 19, 2017 Chautauqua



 
Beth's Ponderings

   I’m sure you’ve heard, as I have, that it is better to give than to receive.

   Yet, if there is no one, or nothing, to receive, then the giver isn’t really giving.

   Contrary to how we usually view the process, the two actions are not two separate, and completely opposite actions, but two expressions of the exact same action.

   For, when the giver gives, and the receiver receives, the receiver also gives and the giver receives.

   Thus, you would think that giving and receiving would come easily and naturally to us all.  Unfortunately, while we are born with that ability, it seems to lessen as we grow and mature.

   Because of society’s bias towards giving being better, we are taught to give endlessly, in a variety of ways, even to people - or especially to people - who do not want to receive what we are giving.  And, since the other party doesn’t really receive what we give, we haven’t really given anything, nor have we been able to receive anything, so must then try to give more and more and more, until we are depleted physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

   But, the secret to real giving and receiving, is that nothing is depleted, or lost, in the exchange.  It is an “exchange,” something given and something received, every time, by both parties.

   If asked, most of us would say we are pretty good givers and receivers, effectively balancing the two.  So, here’s a question for you...what is your reaction when someone compliments you?  Do you say a simple “thank you” (truly receiving) or do you brush it off (rejecting)?  When someone thanks you for something do you say a sincere “you’re welcome” (truly receiving) or do you brush it off by saying it was nothing or not important (rejecting)?  Or, we can test this in an even easier manner - how deep is your normal inhalation?  The breath never lies, so unless you are regularly breathing in full, deep inhalations, you aren’t really open to receiving, and thus, not truly giving either.  

   As we tend to ignore ourselves, start fully giving and receiving with yourself, and then share with others.

Beth 

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://sites.google.com/site/thechautauqua22/home/May%2019%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, 17 May 2017

Somewhere

If God wants us somewhere else, 
He will orchestrate things to get us there. 
 - Author Unknown
 

Monday, 15 May 2017

Encouragement

More people fail from lack of encouragement 
than for any other reason.
 - Author Unknown
 

Friday, 12 May 2017

Hate

You cannot hate your way to anywhere...
Once you give up the fighting energy,
 you will have a new and more grounded starting point
 for yourself.
 - Amy B. Scher
 

Wednesday, 10 May 2017

Skin

If people get under your skin 
it's because they are not comfortable in their own. 
 - Dennis von Westerborg
 

Monday, 8 May 2017

Things

Animals don't get hung up on THINGS like we do. 
They know that LIFE is the thing.
 - Dennis von Westerborg
 

Friday, 5 May 2017

May 5, 2017 Chautauqua



 
Beth's Ponderings

   I’m sure you’ve heard the expression “think outside the box,” and may have even been challenged to do just that in a job or organizational setting, or maybe even in your personal life.

   How successful were you in that endeavour, really?

   While we can all benefit from getting out of our various “ruts” - whatever form they may appear in, getting “out of the box” isn’t beneficial to us at all.  We’d be further ahead to crawl deeper into the box.

   A panorama view takes our breath away at its majestic beauty, and knowing the big picture, North Star, or “forest,” will help us to navigate, but to really see things differently and move forward in creative ways we need to limit our view dramatically.

   Think about it, it isn’t the forest that moves you as much as the tiny drop of dew glistening on one individual little leaf on one tree.  In other words, it is the things right immediately in front of us, things that we can touch, rather than what’s in our view, yet completely out of reach.

   Artists and photographers know that it isn’t what is OUTSIDE the frame that creates the power of the picture...it is what is inside the frame.  The frame provides a limit, or boundary, yet at the same time it provides endless freedom as you can focus on whatever you want within that frame, and what you choose to focus on will achieve importance.

   The best writers, speakers, and other creative types also apply this principle.  They don’t tell you everything they know, or want to share, they limit it down to one thought or theme, increasing its overall impact.

   The inventions that have had the greatest impact on our lives have been items that dealt with processes we use every day, and objects we hold in our hands.    

   In order to make changes and bring something new to your organization, job, or life, you just need to look at what is immediately around you and decide what one item, or area, you want to focus on.  By bringing your focus down to the tangible and visible, instead of trying to create something new out of the nebulous, you will be able to create something lasting, memorable, and more than likely more applicable to your situation, than anything you’ll find in the vast “outside.”

Beth
 
Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://sites.google.com/site/thechautauqua22/home/May%205%2C%202017%20Chautauqua2.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1

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

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

Blow

When nothing seems to help, 
I go back and look at the stonecutter, 
hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times
 without as much as a crack showing in it. 
 Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, 
and I know it was not that blow that did it – 
but all that had gone before.
 - Jacob Riis
 

Monday, 1 May 2017

Pearl

When small irritations or problems appear in your life, 
see them as blessings in disguise. 
 Consider how the oyster takes an irritation 
and makes a pearl. 
 - Anne Marie Evers
 
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