Wednesday 27 February 2019

Clarity

A great way to gain clarity on which decision
 feels right to you is by asking yourself, 
If no one else’s opinion mattered, 
what decision would I make?
 - Jessica Ortner

Monday 25 February 2019

Pushing

This journey definitely isn’t about pushing more. 
Nor is it about forcing things. 
- Jessica Ortner

Friday 22 February 2019

Neighbour

First principle: stay close to your neighbour.
Second principle: don’t crowd your neighbour.
 - Jim Taylor

Wednesday 20 February 2019

Excuse

If you don’t want to do something, 
one excuse is as good as another.
 – Jewish proverb

Monday 18 February 2019

Idea

People will accept your idea much more readily 
if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first.
 – David Comins

Friday 15 February 2019

February 15, 2019 Chautauqua


Beth's Ponderings

   A while back I was listening to some women discussing confidence, in particular body confidence, but more specifically why they FEAR confidence because displaying any form of confidence means that one becomes a target for personal attacks, ridicule, and shame.

   How on earth did we get to the point in our society where that is the pervading belief we are taught and hold?

   Think about this for a moment...when was the last time you saw someone confidently accomplish something (ie a musician play a complex movement), or a person confidently enter a room, and your first thought was “I have to attack them,” or your first action was to find someway to humiliate them in order to destroy their confidence? 

   I’d be willing to bet that your first reaction was more along the lines of “I wish I was like that!”

   We don’t, as a rule, start a battle with a truly confident person because confidence is a form of strength, and a truly confident (meaning not arrogant or pompous) person has no desire, or need, to battle with anyone.

   Yet, we’re taught (especially females) that if we are confident in anyway that we are hurting others, and making them look bad, so we must dim our lights and play small.  We must not show our strengths at all as others will be threatened by them.

   That is so WRONG!

   We should be celebrating our strengths and confidently display them as an EXAMPLE for others to follow, thereby giving them permission to also confidently display their own strengths.  That would be a much better lesson to teach our children than teaching them to hide who they naturally are, and would create a better society.

   Changing that cultural norm won’t happen overnight, yet each of us has at least one area where we are truly confident in our abilities and strength.  All we need to do is start there - in that one area - by shining our lights, and then it will spread to other areas and other individuals.


   After all, a chain is made strong, and more valuably useful, by its strongest links, not the weak ones.  

Beth 


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

Wednesday 13 February 2019

Monday 11 February 2019

Friday 8 February 2019

Wednesday 6 February 2019

Genius

It takes a lot of time to be a genius. 
You have to sit around so much, doing nothing,
 really doing nothing.
 - Gertrude Stein

Monday 4 February 2019

Stall

Sometimes if you have a difficult decision to make,
 just stall until the answer presents itself. 
- Tina Fey

Friday 1 February 2019

February 1, 2019 Chautauqua

       

Beth's Ponderings

   I recently heard about a concept called a “Depth Year.” The idea is that for a whole year you go deeper into your life, instead of wider.

   Now, specifically, that would look different for each person, but for the most part, it could run along lines such as these:
    • instead of buying new clothes, wearing what you already have in your closet
    • reading all those books or magazines on your shelves that you’ve been going to read “someday”
    • instead of learning a new skill (or skills), focussing on perfecting one or two skills you already possess and taking them to the next level
    • revisiting an old hobby you enjoyed in the past that had fallen by the wayside in recent years
    • using up supplies - personal, household, work-related, hobby, etc - that you already possess before buying more
    • noticing and appreciating what you currently have (large and small), instead of always wishing for something else
    • instead of getting distracted by everything going on, and filling your calendar to overflowing, limiting your focus to one or two meaningful activities per week that you really enjoy and that energize you
    • spending quality time with the people who really matter to you
   
   Now that doesn’t mean you can’t buy something new, or learn something new, for a whole year, but rather that you become more aware when you make the choice to do so, and you’re not just acting on autopilot.  Maybe you only want to go deep in one particular area of your life, and not your entire life, for a year.

   One advantage of a Depth Year is that you have time to discover what you really want in your life, and what you can eliminate.  You can really explore what does work for you, and what doesn't.  You can immerse yourself in activities that light you up and make your heart sing.  


   And, who knows, you may discover something you never even knew about yourself in the process.

Beth 


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