Surrender to what is, let go of what was,
and have faith in what will be.
- Sonia Ricotti
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Friday 30 March 2018
Wednesday 28 March 2018
Brighter
The world always seems brighter when
you've just made something that wasn't there before.
- Neil Gaiman
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Monday 26 March 2018
Later
Friday 23 March 2018
Shine
Life is not about getting it right,
figuring out the answers to the really big questions
(or even the small questions, for that matter),
reading all the right books, taking all the right courses,
or studying with the masters...
The only thing that matters is that you
allow yourself to be all of who you are!
It's that simple! Just be yourself...
Shine your light as brightly as you can.
- Anita Moorjani
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Wednesday 21 March 2018
Unclear
If the world outside is unclear,
it may simply be a signal that
something inside is unclear.
- Jacob Liberman
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Monday 19 March 2018
Clutter
Every time we express ourselves,
we lose a little more emotional clutter.
- Jacob Liberman
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Friday 16 March 2018
March 16, 2018 Chautauqua
Beth's Ponderings
There is a movement
in our world to make our society completely cashless, and more digital - in
various areas, not just in money transactions.
Now, I can
understand these people feel that going totally digital will make our lives
easier (while governments want to use it as a means of keeping a closer eye on
us and our activities), but will it really make our lives easier?
Ever since the
Industrial Revolution, we humans have been on an insatiable quest to make our
everyday lives easier and less labour-intensive. And, by and large, we were successful. For example, power machines made jobs easier,
vacuums and automatic washing machines changed how household cleaning was done,
and microwaves made meal preparation a snap.
Then, along came
the Technology Revolution, which has had the biggest impact on our lives, in
the shortest amount of time. Computers
of all sizes have now infiltrated every area of our lives - we literally can’t
get away from them. People, who used to
complain about the phone always ringing, now can’t put down their cell phones
for even a minute lest they miss out on something.
But...are our lives
any better?
And what is going
to be the ramification of all this digitalization?
Because, even
though we have a fairly stable power grid here in North America ,
the power does go off occasionally. Most
times it is only for a short period of time, but sometimes it lasts for days
when Mother Nature occasionally likes to remind us that she is in charge, not
us, as she wreaks havoc on our infrastructure.
And even if we don’t
have to worry about our power sources, technology isn’t infallible. It can, and certainly does, break down, or
just stop working at the most inopportune times.
Now, I’m not
advocating that we return to pre-technology days, because there are advantages
to our technology, but I think we do need to be cautious how much faith we put
into that technology, because at the end of the day, we can’t eat digital food
or breathe digital air.
Beth
Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://sites.google.com/site/thechautauqua24/home/March%2016%2C%202018%20Chautauqua.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1
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Wednesday 14 March 2018
Monday 12 March 2018
Friday 9 March 2018
Step
All large change is made through many small steps.
Notice that word in there – 'step.'
Walking leads us a step at a time.
- Julia Cameron
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Wednesday 7 March 2018
Walk
Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.
- Thich Nhat Hanh
email: thechautauqua@gmail.com
Monday 5 March 2018
Friday 2 March 2018
March 2, 2018 Chautauqua
Beth's Ponderings
Have you ever been on the receiving end of a
very hard sales pitch? One where the
person tried to sell you something you didn’t want and they just wouldn’t quit,
even after you told them “no” a number of times. Or, maybe you did want it, but were so turned
off by their go-for-the-jugular style that you just walked away from it.
Have you ever been forced to believe a
certain way by someone employing scare tactics on you? They used fear and manipulation to get you to
buy into their vision, even if it was the total opposite of what you personally
believe.
Have you ever had someone just show up in
your life and tell you that the way you live, and what you do, is wrong and
they continued to harass and shame you over and over and over again until you
gave in and made a change just so they would leave you alone?
I’m sure we could all come up with one or
two examples, if not more. Even the
daily news highlights many examples.
So, if those methods turn people off, and
don’t work in the long run, why are they still used?
Part of it, I believe, is the way we are
trained in school, business, and other areas of our lives. We’re taught that we have to be forceful and
not give up until we “win” the person to our side (or make the sale, or make
them EXACTLY like us), because, we all know it’s a “dog eat dog” world out
there, and you have to eat before you are eaten.
Yet, if most of us were honest, we would
admit that those methods don’t work on us.
So, if we don’t respond positively to them, why on earth would we expect
others to?
We seem to have forgotten the Golden Rule - which
is so universal it appears in some form in virtually very culture on this
planet - treat others the way you want to be treated.
The goal isn’t to make everyone exactly like
us, yet if we stopped to consider how we would feel if someone said or did to
us whatever we are about to say or do to others, I’m sure we’d all get along
much better.
Beth
Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://sites.google.com/site/thechautauqua24/home/March%202%2C%202018%20Chautauqua.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1
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