Friday, 14 October 2011

Do


We do without doing
and everything gets done.  
 – Norse runes

Wednesday, 12 October 2011

Open


Like a flower, 
you have to open 
to the rain and the sunlight. 
– Colette Baron-Reid

Monday, 10 October 2011

Thank you

Thank you for being.
– traditional Seneca greeting

Friday, 7 October 2011

October 7, 2011 Chautauqua



From the Editor's Computer


   "We tend to focus on the people in our lives before the tasks...you need to decrease the people tension (home life, relationships, disagreements, health) before you can...focus on the task tension (deadlines, presentations, work life)."  Karyn Goodwillie

   A few weeks ago, a friend and I were discussing stressful people.  I was told that we need stressful people or life would be too dull. I countered that we need exciting people to enliven our lives. 

   The people you interact with, and your reactions to them, have more of an impact on you (mentally, emotionally, and physically) than any other external or internal factors in your environment. 

   Stressful people make time seem like it is never-ending.  A mere five minutes in their company can feel like eons!  You want to run away and hide, avoiding them at all costs.  When you are around exciting people, however, time is meaningless.  Five hours can fly by and only feel like five minutes.  You tend to seek out exciting people, and want to spend as much time with them as you can.

   Stressful people are hazardous to your health as they deplete your vitality and energy.  Normally healthy individuals can develop chronic, even terminal, illnesses just by being around stressful people for extended periods of time.  Exciting people have an extremely beneficial effect on a person’s overall health as you relax and enjoy their presence.  Some health conditions can be completely reversed by spending time with exciting people. 

   Rarely are we completely powerless regarding our contact with stressful people in our lives.  Waiting for stressful people to change is futile, as they won’t. We can, and should for the sake of our overall health, make the choice to minimize, if not totally eliminate, all contact with stressful people.  At the very least, we should change the way we relate to them, setting and enforcing firm boundaries for all our interactions.     

   We should also boost our contact with exciting people, surrounding ourselves with as many as we can.  Equally important, we must each be an exciting person, not a stressful person, in the lives of those around us.         
 
Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W02OVVAPuj-4t76cW94EyEgiF72vbDRz/view?usp=sharing

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

Wednesday, 5 October 2011

Content

Once what you are doing 
has for you meaning, 
it is irrelevant 
whether you’re happy or unhappy.  
 You are content –
you are not alone in your Spirit 
– you belong.   
– Sir Laurens der Post

Monday, 3 October 2011

Focus

Concentrate all your thoughts 
upon the work at hand. 
The sun’s rays do not burn
until  brought to a focus.  
 - Alexander Graham Bell

Friday, 30 September 2011

Disappointment

Disappointment to a noble soul 
is what cold water is to burning metal; 
it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, 
but never destroys it.  
 – Eliza Tabor

Wednesday, 28 September 2011

Nurtured

I think people don't place a high enough value
on how much they are nurtured 
by doing whatever it is
that totally absorbs them. 
- Jean Shinoda Bolen

Monday, 26 September 2011

Strength

Strong feelings do not necessarily 
make a strong character. 
The strength of a man 
is to be measured by the power 
of the feelings he subdues 
not by the power of those 
which subdue him. 
- William Carleton

Friday, 23 September 2011

Postpone

Do not postpone your happiness until you find
the perfect relationship or your ideal job. 
Experience the aliveness of each moment; 
focus on what truly makes you happy, 
creates love, and brings you gladness 
- here and now. This is the path of the heart, 
and I assure you that when you make 
this path a constant choice you will experience 
a successful, abundant, and joyful life. 
- Lynn A. Robinson, Divine Intuition

Wednesday, 21 September 2011

Secrets

When the start point is that you get everything 
you want or something better, 
there is no need to keep secrets.   
– Lyle Estill

Monday, 19 September 2011

Hero

One must think like a hero to behave
like a merely decent human being. 
- May Sarton

Friday, 16 September 2011

September 16, 2011 Chautauqua



From the Editor's Computer


  Last week someone sent me a short video of Miss America contestants answering the following question:  "Should math be taught in schools?" 

   Only one of the contestants asked if it was a joke.  Of the rest that were interviewed, their answers ranged from "every child should have the right to learn what they want to" to "no, because math is not Biblically sound" to "I have no idea what math is so I can't say if this is a good idea or now." 


   While the video clip was meant to be a joke, it highlights a very serious problem we have in our world.  There are truly people out there who have no idea of some of the most basic concepts of life.

  Children in North America are not being educated and are growing up ignorant of the basic knowledge skills needed to cope in life.  And it is not the children's fault.

   I also have to say that it isn't entirely the teachers' fault either.  On one hand, in Alberta, they are mandated to teach according to what Alberta Education decides should be taught, and how it should be taught.  On the other hand, since we have teachers here in Alberta who are unable to read and write, or do basic math, themselves, it is virtually impossible for them to effectively teach the students these skills.

   I personally believe that a child's education is not entirely the responsibility of the school.  Education can, and should, happen in the home and in the community as well.  Unfortunately, we have parents who went through the entire education system and can't read, write, or do basic math. 

   Computers, calculators and other gadgetry do not make smarter people.  Besides, one still needs to be able to read and count to use them properly.

   No wonder so many children, and adults for that matter, have no self-esteem or respect for others or themselves.  Without the ability to read and do math, one can not really function in society.  Their lives must be very frustrating, whether they will admit it or not.

   Ignorance is not bliss. 
 
Beth

Read the complete issue of The Chautauqua here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WtjkISVx8T9yR3c7sz_gdxWNAC7-Ru3R/view?usp=sharing

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

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Choices

Your life is the sum result 
of all the choices you make, 
both consciously and unconsciously. 
If you can control the process of choosing, 
you can take control of
all aspects of your life. 
You can find the freedom that comes 
from being in charge of yourself.   
- Robert F. Bennett

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