Wednesday 31 July 2019

Productive

The idea that we need to be constantly productive
 and operating at 100 percent is just [something]...
we’ve been conditioned to believe in by society.
 - Jennifer McCartney

Monday 29 July 2019

Invented

I’m lazy. But it’s the lazy people who invented
 the wheel and the bicycle because
 they didn’t like walking or carrying things.
 - Lech Walesa

Friday 26 July 2019

Better

Lazy people live longer.
 Lazy people work better and more efficiently.
 - Jennifer McCartney

Wednesday 24 July 2019

Lazy

Being busy is bullshit...Being busy is for idiots...
Studies show the smarter you are, 
the lazier you tend to be...People with a high IQ can sit around 
and be perfectly content with their own thoughts. 
No activity required. 
- Jennifer McCartney

Monday 22 July 2019

Stand Out

Why try and fit in, 
when you were born to stand out.
 - Dr. Seuss

Friday 19 July 2019

July 19, 2019 Chautauqua


Beth's Ponderings

  My favourite time of year recently occurred - the 10 days of the Calgary Stampede.  A time when all things western are showcased, and relics of our early cultural history are revived.

   As our province has a very long history of ranching, it should come as no surprise that at one time, almost every community had their own blacksmith and livery stable.  The blacksmith was one of the most important individuals in a community, probably even more important than any law, in all honesty.  As horses were a mode of transportation, a form of farm machinery, and so much more, whomever helped you keep yours shod and in good condition was pretty vital to your livelihood.  But, blacksmiths were necessary for more than just their ability to make horseshoes, as they kept wagons in good repair and made a number of household items.

   And yet, despite their high esteem, our communities no longer have a local blacksmith.  Why?

   Because they were replaced by a viable alternative. 

   Now, we could argue whether that alternative was better, or more advantageous, but there is no denying that what we know today as gas-powered vehicles and farm machinery, and their associated businesses, have changed the way we travel, work, farm/ranch, and play.

   And now the oil and gas sector is in jeopardy of going the way of the blacksmiths and livery stables.  Or is it?

   Shutting down the Canadian oil and gas sector will not eliminate the use of oil and gas in this country, nor in the rest of the world, it will just raise the price of everything because oil and gas is so pervasive in our culture - it’s not just the gas we use to drive around - EVERYTHING around us either uses oil and gas, is made from a by-product of oil and gas, or is brought to us via oil and gas.  And, quite truthfully, while there are greener alternatives, at this time, there is no VIABLE alternative to oil and gas that is affordable, and available to everyone.


   Eliminating a whole sector isn’t the answer to living greener, the answer is to reduce your individual usage till a viable alternative appears.

 Beth 

 Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://sites.google.com/site/thechautauqua26/home/July%2019%2C%202019%20Chautauqua.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1

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

Wednesday 17 July 2019

Wisely

You’ve been afforded very limited time on this planet;
 use that time wisely, and wisely for some 
may not be wisely for others, and that’s OK. 
- Humble the Poet

Monday 15 July 2019

Copied

The secret to success is not having a magical idea, 
but realizing that you are the key executioner 
that can’t be copied if anyone tried.
 - Humble the Poet

Friday 12 July 2019

Butterfly

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly,
 but rarely admit the changes it has gone through 
to achieve that beauty.
 - Maya Angelou

Wednesday 10 July 2019

Transformation

Transformation has no timeline.
 It never looks like meditation, flowers, unicorns and such. 
Instead, it often looks like a glimpse of heaven
 and feels like hell. 
- Danette May

Monday 8 July 2019

Seed

For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, 
it must come completely undone. The shell cracks,
 its insides come out and everything changes.
 To someone who doesn’t understand growth, 
it would look like complete destruction. 
- Cynthia Occelli

Friday 5 July 2019

July 5, 2019 Chautauqua


Beth's Ponderings

   What’s your personal “style?” Do you know, or are you still searching for it?

   While this seems to be a concern in a number of different areas of our lives, it tends to be most prevalent in the creative/artistic field where writers, singers, musicians, artists, and other creative people are encourage, after they have mastered the basic techniques, to go “find their own style.”

   I once heard a speaker talking about developing your personal style, and after he explained how style shows up in different parts of your life, he then pointed out that it is impossible NOT to express your own style because no matter what you do, you are ALWAYS doing it in your own unique way, from your own unique perspective.

   Even if you are imitating the way someone else dresses or talks, or writes or paints, you aren’t an exact copy of that person because, you aren’t that person.  You are you, and that comes out in all that you do, whether you are consciously aware of that or not.

  Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from other people and incorporate their tips and tricks into your own repertoire, it just means that you can’t get hung up on doing things exactly the way someone else did, or get hung up on trying to discover your way of doing things, because you will end up doing it in the best manner for you, no matter what you do.

   For years, I struggled to find my writing “voice” - one that fit into the “list” that I was once given in a writing class.  Yet, no matter how hard I tried, and how much I practiced my writing, I could not get my writing style to fit into a pre-established neat little box.  Then I was given one of the all-time best compliments I ever received about my writing, when I was told that when the person read what I wrote, they could “hear” my voice speaking the words because they were written the way I express myself verbally, giving my writing the feel of a  conversation.


   Instead of spending time and energy trying to figure out your “style,” all you need to do is do what you do, the way that you do it, and people will easily see and experience your style.

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://sites.google.com/site/thechautauqua26/home/July%205%2C%202019%20Chautauqua.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1

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

Wednesday 3 July 2019

Enjoy

Let’s enjoy what we have, while we have it, 
and not spend it worrying about
 a future we may never see or an ending we can’t avoid.
 - Humble the Poet

Monday 1 July 2019

GDP

GDP: [doesn't measure] the health of our children, 
the quality of their education, or the joy of their play.
 It does not include the beauty of our poetry
 or the strength of our marriages;
 the intelligence of our public debate or 
the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither 
our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; 
neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; 
it measures everything, in short, 
except that which makes life worthwhile.
 - Robert Kennedy

Happy Canada Day!

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