Friday 21 September 2012

September 21, 2012 Chautauqua


From the Editor's Computer


   This is my depressed stance. When you're depressed, it makes a lot of difference how you stand. The worst thing you can do is straighten up and hold your head high because then you'll start to feel better. If you're going to get any joy out of being depressed, you've got to stand like this.” (Charlie Brown, Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz)

   Are you concerned about how others are treating you?  Look at how you stand or sit.

   Do you slouch and try to hide yourself like a turtle retreating into a protective shell?

   Or is your head hanging to the ground, like Charlie Brown’s, as if to hide it like a frightened ostrich?

   Perhaps your chin thrust forward, along with your chest, as you puff up in an attempt to intimidate like a bulldog?

   Shape-shifting isn’t a mythical ritual that only special healers can accomplish.  All of us change our shape (stance) every day, mostly unconsciously.

   When we are happy, we are more open and our movements are more expansive and free.

   When we are with someone we like, we lean in closer like a family pet waiting to be petted.

   On the other hand, when we feel threatened in any way, we go on the defensive and our hackles are raised.  We hiss and growl, snarl and attack like a cornered beast.

   One of the easiest ways to make a change in your life and your interactions with other people, is to change how you stand or sit around them. 

   Looking people in the eye when you talk to them, and not retreating, will go a long way to making people approach you in a friendlier manner.

   We can all do our best to stand tall, yet flexible, opening to others, and life around us, as a flower stretches and opens to the sunshine.

Beth

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