Friday 27 February 2009

Acts

One sad thing about this world
is that the acts that take the most out of you
are usually the ones that other people
will never know about.
– Anne Tyler

Wednesday 25 February 2009

Reality

Since we cannot change reality,
let us change the eyes which see reality.
– Nikos Kazntzakis

Monday 23 February 2009

Yourself

Always be a first-rate version of yourself,
instead of a second-rate version
of somebody else.
– Judy Garland

Friday 20 February 2009

February 20, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer

Can you spend a blissful hour and half doing something you truly enjoy. Can you immerse yourself totally into the task so that you are completely in the present moment and don’t even notice the world around you? Can you surrender you expectations of the outcome and just enjoy the experience?

As children we were able to do that. How many children can spend hours creating new worlds from a simple cardboard box? Or, do you remember being outside in the summer time and watching the clouds float overhead?

Not only can children teach us to reconnect to those special moments, pets can to. Take a moment to watch a puppy really chewing a bone, or a cat soaking up the sunshine.

If we spent less time frantically rushing around trying to get it all done and more time just enjoying the present experience, we’d find that our lives progress in a smoother fashion, and paradoxically, we would get more done in the long run.

Life is meant to be experienced, not rushed through as though it was a race.

Beth

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thechautauqua@gmail.com.

Wednesday 18 February 2009

Nature

The miracle is not to walk on water.
The miracle is to walk on the green earth,
dwelling deeply in the present moment
and feeling truly alive.
- Thich Nhat Hanh

Monday 16 February 2009

Simplest

Sometimes the simplest ideas
are the best.
– Steve Pavlina

Friday 13 February 2009

Madness

Excessive productivity
can bring the most gifted man
almost to madness.
- Friedrich Nietzsche

Wednesday 11 February 2009

Revise

With pencil and paper,
I could revise the world.
– Alison Lurie

Monday 9 February 2009

Age

I wonder how old you would be
if you didn't already know how old you are?
- Anonymous

Friday 6 February 2009

February 6, 2009 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer
February 2nd is traditionally known as Groundhog Day in North America. A time when we rely on a groundhog to predict for us - by means of observation, or non-observation, of a shadow. However, this holiday has an even more ancient history than many of us are aware of.

Imbolc was a Celtic holiday to honour the goddess Brigid (Brigit) - and it referred to the time when the ewes were giving birth to spring lambs. February 2, when Imbolc was celebrated, is the halfway mark between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.
It was on Imbolc that people looked for the following signs that winter was ending.
· Ewes lactating and giving birth to spring lambs.
· Predicting the weather by watching for hedgehogs, and other burrowing animals come out of their dens.
· People cleaned out their homes to purify them from the dullness of winter.

Whether spring is 6 weeks away or we have 6 more weeks of winter, the days are getting longer and we know it will get warmer out.
Beth
Click here to read the complete issue of The Chautauqua.
To contact The Chautauqua, email: thechautauqua@gmail.com.

Wednesday 4 February 2009

Simplicities

Out of intense complexities
intense simplicities emerge.
-Winston Churchill

Monday 2 February 2009

Present

We look backward too much
and we look forward too much;
thus we miss the only eternity
of which can be absolutely sure –
the eternal present, it is always now.
– William Phelps