Wednesday 31 October 2018

Sleep

There is unfortunately no long-term trophy
 for sustained sleep deprivation.
 - Randi Zuckerberg

Monday 29 October 2018

Lopsided

What if it were okay to pick 
a few things to focus on each day? 
What if it were all right to give yourself permission
 to be well lopsided instead of well balanced?
 - Randi Zuckerberg


Wednesday 24 October 2018

Thoughts

Stop and face the bears thoughts, you can’t outrun them. 
Don’t push hard, but don’t stand still either;
 find the right amount of effort.
 Laugh and be noisy. 
Then take some time to be still.
 - Anjali Kumar

Monday 22 October 2018

Sleep

Human beings are the only species
 that deprive themselves of sleep
 for no apparent reason.
 - Matthew Walker

Friday 19 October 2018

October 19, 2018 Chautauqua


Beth's Ponderings

   Is there a particular phrase that you have always wanted/needed a particular person in your life to say to you?

   Are you waiting for someone to tell you that they are proud of you?

   Do you long for someone to tell you that they love you?

  Maybe you want someone to give you permission to do something that you (secretly) have always wanted to do?

   Is what you need to hear most include “I see you” or “I hear you” or “I believe you?”

   Do you need to hear from someone that they forgive you, or perhaps you need to hear someone apologize to you?

   Or, is the phrase that you want to hear more than any other simply “thank you?”

   How long have you waited to hear that particular phrase?  Is the person that you long to hear it from even part or your life, or still alive?

   As humans, we have a part of us that longs to hear phrases of love or validation from others.  We look to those in our lives around us to say what we feel we so desperately need to hear so we live our lives more completely. 

   Yet, the person we MOST need to hear these phrases from isn’t anyone in our lives, but OURSELVES.

   If you want someone to say those phrases to you, it’s because you aren’t saying them enough, or at all, to yourself!

   The person you REALLY want to be proud of you...is yourself.  The person you really want to hear say “I love you”...is yourself.  The person you really want to get permission from...is yourself.


   You could write the phrases on post-its or a card that you could carry around.  Yet, “hearing” the words is more important than just seeing them, why not record yourself speaking them so you can play the audio.  But, an even better practice would be to stand in front of a mirror as you say the phrases to your reflection so you can really soak them in.

Beth


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

Wednesday 17 October 2018

Monday 15 October 2018

Unfolds

Things tend to turn out best
 when we don't cling too tightly. 
We can hold life lightly,
 remain clear on our intention, 
and then see what unfolds.
 - Steven Hickman

Friday 12 October 2018

Better

Look back a ways, you see thet everythin’ happens
 for the best an’ things work out better
 than if you done it yourself.
 - Zane Grey

Wednesday 10 October 2018

Friday 5 October 2018

October 5, 2019 Chautauqua


Beth's Ponderings

     How do you transition from one week to the next?  Leisurely and calmly, frantically and stressed out, or do you barely notice and then wonder why the days/weeks/months all blur together and time seems to be going by faster than you can blink?

     Some people desire to go on pilgrimages - whether to spiritual sites, or to those of famous personages, or even just to a particular location that calls to them.  For example, they long to walk where someone they admire lived, touching the common everyday items the person used, and seeing the area from the person’s vantage point, literally walking where that person walked.

  Yet, how many of us fully walk in our own lives?  Do we even see what makes us uniquely special, and what we contribute to others?

   I supposed it is a bit like trying to tell a fish to notice the water it is swimming in.  We are so immersed within our daily lives that it is hard to step back and notice what we are even doing, yet, that is exactly why it is important to do so.

   One reason why it feels like life is spinning out of control at such a frantic pace is because we aren’t pausing enough.  Scientists tell us that we are hard-wired for the negative - as a survival mechanism - so it is much easier to focus on what didn’t get done, what needs to get done, what could happen, and, of course, what we dread will happen.

   Yet, there is another way to approach our lives.  By pausing and noticing our lives...by walking where we have walked, as it were.

   Gratitude is a choice.  A choice to pause and consciously look around and see what makes our lives uniquely our lives.  It is a choice to consciously step back and see what we have done, how we have touched others, how we have triumphed or persevered, and how far we have come.  It is a choice to acknowledge who we are, as we are.


   While Thanksgiving is a time when we tend to collectively focus on gratitude, it is something we could do at the end of our week to help us transition fully from one week to the next. And, for an added benefit, why not make it a daily habitual way to end each day.

Beth


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

Wednesday 3 October 2018

Own

So you plant your own garden
 and embellish your own soul,
 instead of waiting for someone
 to bring flowers to you
. - Jorge Luis Borges