Monday, 7 December 2009

Passion

Great dancers are not great
because of their technique -
they are great because of their passion.
- Martha Graham

Friday, 4 December 2009

December 4, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

I am not really a shopper. Should I have occasion to enter a store with the purpose of purchasing something, I really prefer to go in, get what I need, and be back out in 10 minutes or less. I am not always that lucky.

An exception to my shopping aversion is book buying (for the library). I can easily spend hour after hour after hour in a bookstore happily browsing the shelves. That is if the store is locally owned. I don’t go to Chapters.

That said, I completely change my shopping style around Christmas time. For some reason, once a year, I am happy to explore out-of-the-way novelty shops and boutiques galore as I soak in the whole shopping atmosphere.

Maybe it is the Christmas carols playing merrily in the background? Or, perhaps it is the festive decorations in every store? I believe it is the company I am with.

Each year, prior to Christmas, my sister, Mary, and I go on a couple of sisterly shopping trips - which I combine with book shopping for the library so I have a great excuse to spend lots of time in bookstores! We explore our favourite shops in Ponoka during Moonlight Madness, as Mary marvels that we can spend so much time in a mere two block area. In Camrose, we walk the historic downtown area finding new places to visit, as well as tried and true places that can’t be missed.

As you prepare and shop this Christmas season, have some fun. It shouldn’t be just one more item to check off a never-ending list. If possible, shop with someone whom you enjoy spending time with. The day will be more enjoyable if you do.

Beth

Click here to read the complete issue of The Chautauqua.
To contact The Chautauqua, email: thechautauqua@gmail.com.

Wednesday, 2 December 2009

Stronger

The world breaks every one of us
and afterward many are stronger
at the broken places.
– Ernest Hemingway

Friday, 27 November 2009

Truth

Speak your truth –
even when your voice shakes.
– bumper sticker

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

Genius

Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
genius hits a target no one else can see.
– Arthur Schopenhauer

Monday, 23 November 2009

Other Side

Things are almost always funny
when you stop to look at your life
from the other side of the street.
– Unknown

Friday, 20 November 2009

November 20, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

The most valuable work you do may be done in as little as 5 seconds to 5 minutes. A higher vantage point, a brilliant idea, a key change in habit, a break from pressure, a boost in metabolism or a pivotal decision can produce significant lasting benefits. – P.M. Senge (The Fifth Discipline)

Some of us get hung up on making changes or starting projects in our lives because we feel that we need a large block of time - be it hours, days, or months - to devote to whatever we wish to do.

Yet, as the quotation above notes, we can accomplish so much in a shorter time frame. Five minutes doesn’t seem like very long. Though try to stay quiet for a minute or two, such as we did recently at the Remembrance Day services, and you realize that a minute can sometimes seem quite endless.

If we were to really admit the truth to ourselves, it is probably not so much that we do not think we can accomplish anything in a short time period, such as five minutes, it is that we have a hard time being content and satisfied with what we do accomplish in that time frame.

Just as pennies add up quickly, so too does five minutes here and there throughout the day and week. We are more effective if we do a little bit more often throughout the day, than if we work steadily for hours. Though it may not seem like it, you would have put more time into something with only five minutes a day, than if you devoted a half hour a week to the same project.

Beth

Click here to read the complete issue of The Chautauqua.

To contact The Chautauqua, email: thechautauqua@gmail.com.

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

Lost

A rejected opportunity to give
is a lost opportunity to receive.
- Oral Roberts

Monday, 16 November 2009

Suffering

Sometimes pain is unavoidable,
but your response is what determines
how much you suffer.
– Judith Orloff

Friday, 13 November 2009

Target

When you miss the target,
never in history
has it been the target's fault.
- unknown

Wednesday, 11 November 2009

Remembrance

Lest We Forget

Monday, 9 November 2009

Hope

Everything that is done in the world
is done by hope.
– Martin Luther King Jr.

Friday, 6 November 2009

November 6, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

Sometimes something happens in your life and there is just no rhyme or reason why.

Such was the case with my life lately. A few days after I delivered the last issue of the Chautauqua, my computer stopped working. That is not a real horrendous calamity in my world, except I receive the bulk of the submissions and ads for the Chautauqua via email and I could not check to see if I was getting anything, nor could I send off ad proofs.

I phoned around and the earliest someone could look at my computer was a week later. .

The technician then ended up away from work so when I finally was able to get my laptop into him (thanks to the kindness of a friend), he did not look at it for an additional two days. By then I was getting more than a little antsy as paper deadlines were looming larger and larger on my horizon.

Finally, the long-awaited phone call came. All the hardware worked perfectly. All the software worked perfectly. All the hardware and software communicated and worked perfectly with each other without conflict. Yet, it still did not work! The technician's solution was to wipe everything off the computer and start over. I talked him into a more basic fix and thankfully things are working again.

Sometimes we think that everything would be better if we could start our lives completely over. In truth, a dramatic change may not really be what we need. Rather the simplest fix may be to change our perception and release the need to know why things are the way they are.

Beth

Click here to read the complete issue of The Chautauqua.

To contact The Chautauqua, email: thechautauqua@gmail.com.

Wednesday, 4 November 2009

Blooming

Conduct your blooming
in the noise and whip of the whirlwind.
– Gwendolyn Brooks

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