Friday 30 June 2017

Fine

We get so used to things not being fine, 
that we forget what fine is, 
and so what we once recognized as a problem 
no longer seems like a problem at all...
not only does it remain a problem, but...
it gathers force just beneath the surface, 
until at long last it erupts... 
- Lisa Cron

Wednesday 28 June 2017

Change

We're still maddeningly hardwired to resist 
voluntarily making the very changes
 it often takes to get what we want.
 - Lisa Cron

Monday 26 June 2017

Wall

Nothing is holding you back...
Nothing is standing in your way. 
You don't have to go over the wall, 
or around it, or even through it. 
All you have to do is realize the truth: 
The wall isn't there.
 - Gabriela Pereira

Friday 23 June 2017

DNF

Choosing to go the way of DNF [did not finish] 
is not a sign of weakness,
 and it doesn't mean you are not smart enough...
you are showing respect for your time and efforts.
 - Gabriela Pereira

Wednesday 21 June 2017

Monday 19 June 2017

Best Practices

Don't blindly follow someone else's best practice. 
You need to test different approaches 
and only adopt the ones that give you the results you want...
The only best practice is the one that works for you.
 - Gabriela Pereira


Friday 16 June 2017

June 16, 2017 Chautauqua


Beth's Ponderings

   The other day I was listening to a speaker who informed his listeners that he was the ONLY one with the true facts on the subject being presented.

   I didn’t agree.

   The speaker, as I am at this moment, was merely expressing an opinion, and contrary to what he said, it was solely his, as this is solely mine, opinion, and though there are some who would have agreed with him, his opinion was not that shared by the entire world.

   Even when he quoted the various experts and authorities that he based his premise on, he was still just offering us his opinion, and his version or interpretation of the material, which may have been correct, or it may not have been.

   Was he telling the truth?  He thought he was.  Am I?  I think I am.  Yet, someone else, with a different opinion, and different information, could come along and - with their different viewpoint - reveal something totally different.  It all depends on how the situation is interpreted.

   As for whether what he was presenting consisted of true facts, well, I reserve judgement on that too.  Excuse me...but how many years did the Europeans believe BEYOND ANY DOUBT that the world was as flat as a pancake and the sky was an upside down bowl over their heads?  That was an indisputable “fact” that everyone knew.

   I do have to qualify that it was an European belief because pretty much every indigenous tribe around the globe, as well as the ancient Chinese and some northern pre-Celtic peoples, knew that the world was indeed round, not flat.

   And how many of the “facts” that we learned in school have now been proven to be false, or at the very least, incomplete, in all areas of life?  Just because “everyone” believes something, doesn’t make it right or true.


   As humans we love to create, and then mindlessly cling to, certainties in our lives, yet, there is no certainty, really.  We like to think the sun will rise tomorrow (the most certain event in our lives) - and chances are pretty good it will - but we have no certainly it will till we see it rise.

Beth


Contact The Chautauqua via email: thechautauqua@gmail.com or via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChautauqua

Wednesday 14 June 2017

Know

Don't judge your readiness by the things you don't know...
it's about what you do know.
- Mike Dooley

Monday 12 June 2017

Ducks

Your ducks will never line up.
If you are waiting for them to line up,
you are going to wait forever...just go!

- Mike Dooley

Friday 9 June 2017

Bone

To succeed in life, you need three things:
 a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.
 - Reba McEntire  
 

Monday 5 June 2017

Eraser

If you can't be a pencil to write anyone's happiness, 
then try to be a nice eraser to remove their sadness. 
 - Unknown 

Friday 2 June 2017

June 2, 2017 Chautauqua

 


Beth's Ponderings

   According to folk wisdom, if you hear a message or song, or read the same phrase in different resources,, or see a particular sign, three times it is very important and you should pay close attention.

   Well, for the last four years I’ve been told I need to slow down, take it easy, rest more, and other variations of that theme.  Okay, to be totally honest, I’ve heard that message longer than four years, but it’s been louder, and more often, in the past four years since I totally collapsed, most particularly in the past year.  Occasionally, the message has been accompanied by an implied, or spoken, “...or else…” statement.

   Now, in my defence, I honesty thought I had slow down, and I have been resting for a good three-quarters of my time, but still it didn’t seem enough as I kept hearing the message to slow down and rest over and over again from various sources.  And, I’d counter that if I slowed down any more, I’d be at a stand-still.

   I wasn’t...it was worse.

   The end of February my mom fell and broke her right elbow (yes, she’s right-handed), and I wasn’t able to physically cope with the situation on top of my own health issues, and my cries for help were ignored.  When I reached a crisis point, I found myself - not standing still - flat on my back unable to stop crying for a month and a half!  Bone-deep exhaustion didn’t even come remotely close to describing how I felt physically, mentally, and emotionally.

   You’d have thought I had hit rock bottom at that point, but no, I seemed to merely be bouncing around it, as I managed to go down even further!  This was, in part, because I was still doing the paper deliveries each time, even though I was supposed to be in bed.

   Resting, slowing down, taking it easy, and stopping became my only option as I had absolutely no energy reserves left to do anything else. I am required to rest for much longer if I want to recover.

   The good news is that this time of rest is slowly giving my body a chance to recover, rebuild, and replenish itself.  And thankfully I do have people helping me out now, which I really appreciate.

Beth

 

Contact The Chautauqua via email: thechautauqua@gmail.com or via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChautauqua