Wednesday, 6 July 2016

Brain

I used to think the brain 
was the most wonderful organ in the body. 
 Then I realized who was telling me that.
 - Emo Philips  
 

Monday, 4 July 2016

Breathe

When the mind is agitated, 
change the pattern of the breath. 
 - Patanjali

Friday, 1 July 2016

July 1, 2016 Chautauqua

 
Beth's Ponderings

   What label(s) do you invoke when things aren’t going your way, in hopes of turning the tide for you?

   You know the labels I mean.  “I am a (fill in the blank with your gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, weight, height, age, education level, etc).”

   Labels that you then use to portray others as being anti-(whatever your particular label is) when they disagree with you?

   Using a label to “blame” or “shame” others is very easy, and it is effective in some respects as the other person can’t argue with the label.  

   But...and it’s a big but, the label usually has nothing to do with the situation or issue at hand.  It allows the person invoking the label to abdicate responsibility for whatever they are doing, that they probably shouldn’t be doing or they wouldn’t be hiding behind the label in the first place, and it puts the other party in the awkward position of being the bad guy when they really aren’t.

   I recently heard a woman, in a position of authority, say that if you disagreed with her current decisions that means that you are anti-women and anti-feminism.

  Uh...NO!

  It means that you disagree with her decisions - which have absolutely nothing to do with her gender, or whether she’s a feminist.

   By invoking the labels of woman and feminist - which she clearly is - she totally derailed the conversation, and shut down any attempts to discuss the nature of her decisions, and their impact on the various parties involved.

   Invoking a label is more an indication of fear, than an indication of confidence.  It is something to hide behind, instead of dealing with reality, and facing the situation head on. 

   Everyone isn’t going to agree with you in this world.  That’s a given.  But, if you are comfortable in your own skin, and feel confident with the choices you make in your life, you have no need to invoke a label to get your own way.

Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kWSy0-P6L5YDT34PceRhqEeefRjcXRgS/view?usp=sharing

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Wednesday, 29 June 2016

Success

“Having it all” 
is someone else's definition of success.
 - Danielle LaPorte
 

Monday, 27 June 2016

Now

You are alive only in this moment,
 and now is the only time you ever have
 for making choices, and that this now
 is always available to you.
 - John Kabat-Zinn
 

Friday, 24 June 2016

Understand

The older I get, the more I understand 
that it’s ok to live a life others don’t understand.
 - Author Unknown

Wednesday, 22 June 2016

Where

You only need to be where you already are and realize it...
there is no place else to go, 
so efforts to get anywhere else are ill conceived. 
They are bound to lead to frustration and failure.
 On the other hand, you cannot fail
 to be where you already are.
 - John Kabat-Zinn
 

Monday, 20 June 2016

Aim

 A goal is not always meant to be reached,
 it often serves as simply as something to aim at. 
 - Bruce Lee 

Friday, 17 June 2016

June 17, 2016 Chautauqua

 
Beth's Ponderings
 
   Did you know that Robbie Burns may not have written the words to “Auld Lang Syne?” Or that Shakespeare – whoever he may have really been – possibly did not write any of the plays or poems attributed to him? And there are countless other examples I could rattle off.
 
   But, does that really matter? 
 
    Really?
 
    Because, at the end of the day, isn't what really matters is that someone cared about something and felt inspired enough to write those words and share them with others? 
 
    And, that those words were so powerfully expressed that they touched so many people when they were newly released, then they resonated with countless generations, and they continue to inspire people even today?
 
    Just look at how much literature we have that has been written by “Anonymous” or “Author Unknown.” Is it worthless because we don't know exactly who wrote it? Does it cease to inspire and move people because we don't know the personality or background of the author? 
 
    I think, instead of “Anonymous” or “Author Unknown” we should acknowledge these mystery writers as “Somebody Who Cared.”
 
    Because, that is the truth. Someone cared enough about something to write about it and share their thoughts. We don’t know who they are, but we can certainly know what they believed, thought, and cared about.
 
    While we have complicated copyright laws, and it is proper and ethical to acknowledge authorship if it is known, and we certainly shouldn’t pass someone else’s work off as our own, it isn’t really the author’s identity at all that touches our hearts and minds, but the story the author has expressed in the sharing of their personal thoughts and feelings. 
 
    And, sometimes, the greatest wisdom and truth - hard as it may be to express, and to be received - can only be delivered in a manner of anonymity, with nothing extra to distract or detract from that wisdom or truth, so the words can really touch us, if we take the time to let them.
 
Beth
 
Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1foOPZBd0O5D2ClEkyBEOmWzUxpkQKxx5/view?usp=sharing
 
Contact The Chautauqua via email: thechautauqua@gmail.com or via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChautauqua

Wednesday, 15 June 2016

Path

 Don't confuse your path with your destination, 
just because it's stormy now, 
doesn't mean you aren't headed for sunshine.
 - Author Unknown

Monday, 13 June 2016

Chose

I chose and my world was shaken.  So what?  
The choice may have been mistaken; 
the choosing was not. 
 - Stephen Sondhein

Friday, 10 June 2016

Worst-Case

If, for some reason,
 their best possible outcome doesn't work out,
 the worst possible outcome would involve
 them being in the situation they are in right now.  
They are so scared of the fear of the worse-case scenario 
that they don't realize they are actually already in it. 
 - Rebecca Campbell 

Wednesday, 8 June 2016

Off Track

Life lessons are less about getting it right 
and more about getting it wrong..
.you are more on track than you feel,
 even if you don't feel it – especially if you don't feel it. 
 For the further you get off track,
 the closer you actually are to abandoning the wrong path 
and leaping onto the right one.
 - Rebecca Campbell 

Monday, 6 June 2016

Wrong Way

My soul was always calling. 
 I was just facing the wrong way.  
- Rebecca Campbell  

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