Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Choices and Accountability
No matter what happens, we always have a choice in what we do about it. Even when it seems that there is no option, there is always something else that can be done. At the end of the day, what happens in our lives is the result of decisions that we make.
On Strife and Adversity
Where is that magic switch that we can turn “on” that makes everything all right? When in the grip of adversity and hopelessness, how can we muster up the strength to pick ourselves up and do something about it? We can read about a solution to help us work through it, we can listen to positive speakers, and (often as a last resort) pray. When we pray, we put our consciousness on another (spiritual) level. At best, it gives us hope and somehow helps us cope with a particular situation. When our prayers aren’t answered, what then?
When we pray, it is usually about someone, us, in a situation. We pray to our Supreme Being for relief, for a solution, for strength to endure. When we pray, what are we really praying for? We often pray for enhancement of worldly things, situations or relationships. Perhaps we should pray for wisdom and favor from the One. This would take the focus off the “worldly” things (our very bodies included) which, by their very nature, don’t last. Wisdom to be able to come closer to the Truth and favor that we are fortunate enough to learn to be in an enlightened state.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Giving Thanks For What's Really Important
[written 9/29/09]
With Thanksgiving around the corner and the stress of work obligations, deadlines, schedules and the personal obligations at home, got me thinking about what's really important and whether I was focusing on the "right" things.
We often lose sight of what Life is all about. Sometimes we need to stop and take a few minutes to reflect on our lives and where we are going on a personal and professional level. What are YOU thankful for?
I'm thankful for...
Being able to think, to cry, to laugh, to play, to appreciate, to love...
That's what life's all about and for which I'm eternally grateful.
With Thanksgiving around the corner and the stress of work obligations, deadlines, schedules and the personal obligations at home, got me thinking about what's really important and whether I was focusing on the "right" things.
We often lose sight of what Life is all about. Sometimes we need to stop and take a few minutes to reflect on our lives and where we are going on a personal and professional level. What are YOU thankful for?
I'm thankful for...
- Being able to "see" the tall grass in our yard that needs cutting;
- Being able to "feel" muscles aching after a strenuous task or jaunt in the cold of winter or the heat of summer;
- Being able to "sit up, stand up, lie down" without assistance;
- Being able to say "Good morning" and know that it always is - if you allow it to be;
- Being able "to remember" good and bad times, faces, places, AT ALL;
- Being able "to realize" mistakes made with lessons learned and being able "to choose" to correct them;
- Being able "to love and be loved" unconditionally.
So, I'm grasping that one-way ticket on life's journey train as tightly as I can, knowing that
Being able to think, to cry, to laugh, to play, to appreciate, to love...
That's what life's all about and for which I'm eternally grateful.
The Power of Negative Thinking
After five hard days canoeing the Delaware, fatigue was beginning to set in. As the two canoes approached the town of Lambertville, John, Suzie, Mark and I read the sign hanging from the bridge as we drifted by. "6 People Have Drowned Attempting to Run the Rapids at Lambertville."
We knew that these rapids were classified as some of the worst on the river, but we had handled ones rated just as bad the day before. We pulled up alongside the wing dam past the town. John and I walked out on the dam to check out the rapids downstream. The river was funneled into a gap between the arms of the dam, creating a water flume between them. The speed of the current was impressive, but even more was the boulder field that lay just beyond the turbulent main flow.
Not sure if it was really the rapids itself, our depleted energies, the fact that there was no one else running the rapids, or maybe it was the words of the sign just sinking into our consciousness. There was this sinking feeling of dread and doom, just looking at those rapids. Where a day earlier, we would have taken these on without a second thought, today we were not those brave souls. Mark just refused to take on the run, which left the three of us to take the two canoes through or to port them around the rapids. John, who saved his words for something important, our strongest paddler, just nodded his head, looked at Suzie and said "let's go".
Five minutes later, after back paddling upstream and positioning themselves to take the rapids on dead center, I watched them shoot on through. They navigated the flume with no problem, but then as they approached the rock field, a boulder loomed straight in their path. John could have maneuvered around that rock any day, but today, he was sluggish and his paddle strokes seemed ineffectual. The boat didn't respond, and continued head on, straight into the boulder. Suzie at the bow, just fell forward, but somehow John got the worst of the collision, and actually flew out of the canoe. I held my breath as he disappeared beneath the white water. A long two-seconds later, he popped out of the water with one hand still on the gunnel and hoisted himself back into the boat. They made their way to the Jersey shore to bail and recover.
Later that afternoon I volunteered to run the second canoe, if John would handle the stern. He agreed, and we were off to take our chances. As we shot through the flume, huge walls of water sandwiched us between them. From my perspective, it looked like we had nothing to worry about. Just after that thought though, I found myself still seated in the canoe upright, but water over my head. There was this halting motion of the boat as it struck some submerged rock. Next thing I knew, the boat rose back up to the surface. We had somehow cleared most of the rock field below the dam and starting limping our way back to the shore. On pulling the aluminum canoe out of the water, I let out a gasp. The front bottom had been buckled in with a foot wide dent. Thoughts of not getting our deposit back raced through my mind, as John grabbed a paddle, flipping it over, slammed the end of the handle into the center of the dent. To my surprise and relief, it just popped back out, with out a trace of the dent.
Years later, I wondered how much of the problems we encountered that day were due to the rapids, and how much was due to our attitude. We were in prime condition and should have been able to handle those rapids, but I believe that our energy draining attitude predisposed us to failure. I have found that Negative Thinking can actually assure a negative outcome. It was one of life's hard lessons, but one that has helped me through many tough times since.
We knew that these rapids were classified as some of the worst on the river, but we had handled ones rated just as bad the day before. We pulled up alongside the wing dam past the town. John and I walked out on the dam to check out the rapids downstream. The river was funneled into a gap between the arms of the dam, creating a water flume between them. The speed of the current was impressive, but even more was the boulder field that lay just beyond the turbulent main flow.
Not sure if it was really the rapids itself, our depleted energies, the fact that there was no one else running the rapids, or maybe it was the words of the sign just sinking into our consciousness. There was this sinking feeling of dread and doom, just looking at those rapids. Where a day earlier, we would have taken these on without a second thought, today we were not those brave souls. Mark just refused to take on the run, which left the three of us to take the two canoes through or to port them around the rapids. John, who saved his words for something important, our strongest paddler, just nodded his head, looked at Suzie and said "let's go".
Five minutes later, after back paddling upstream and positioning themselves to take the rapids on dead center, I watched them shoot on through. They navigated the flume with no problem, but then as they approached the rock field, a boulder loomed straight in their path. John could have maneuvered around that rock any day, but today, he was sluggish and his paddle strokes seemed ineffectual. The boat didn't respond, and continued head on, straight into the boulder. Suzie at the bow, just fell forward, but somehow John got the worst of the collision, and actually flew out of the canoe. I held my breath as he disappeared beneath the white water. A long two-seconds later, he popped out of the water with one hand still on the gunnel and hoisted himself back into the boat. They made their way to the Jersey shore to bail and recover.
Later that afternoon I volunteered to run the second canoe, if John would handle the stern. He agreed, and we were off to take our chances. As we shot through the flume, huge walls of water sandwiched us between them. From my perspective, it looked like we had nothing to worry about. Just after that thought though, I found myself still seated in the canoe upright, but water over my head. There was this halting motion of the boat as it struck some submerged rock. Next thing I knew, the boat rose back up to the surface. We had somehow cleared most of the rock field below the dam and starting limping our way back to the shore. On pulling the aluminum canoe out of the water, I let out a gasp. The front bottom had been buckled in with a foot wide dent. Thoughts of not getting our deposit back raced through my mind, as John grabbed a paddle, flipping it over, slammed the end of the handle into the center of the dent. To my surprise and relief, it just popped back out, with out a trace of the dent.
Years later, I wondered how much of the problems we encountered that day were due to the rapids, and how much was due to our attitude. We were in prime condition and should have been able to handle those rapids, but I believe that our energy draining attitude predisposed us to failure. I have found that Negative Thinking can actually assure a negative outcome. It was one of life's hard lessons, but one that has helped me through many tough times since.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Relax to Reduce Your Stress Levels - Stop the Merri-go-round and Get Off!
With tight deadlines, having to work more with less, and the stress of maintaining a "sane" life/work balance, it's no wonder many people suffer from tension headaches, anxiety, and other health related problems. Reclaim your life! Get off the Merri-go-round that's spinning you to your overall ineffectivesness in everything you do. Sit in a quiet place (restroom/closet/cubicle?) Close your eyes, take a deeeeeep breath for 3 seconds while concentrating ONLY on the air that is going into your lungs. Take the next 3 seconds to "see" it slowly exiting your mouth. Congratulations! You've just experienced a mini-mini meditation that, if you've done it correctly, disconnects you (momentarily) from the persistant noise of everyday life that affects you negatively. Liberate yourself from all the craziness. Get a grip, learn how to relax, and become the best you can be! Here's a video that can help you get started:
How to Relax Your Body to Reduce Your Stress Levels Video
How to Relax Your Body to Reduce Your Stress Levels Video
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Behaviors For The Sake of Religion
One question that has always perplexed me is: Why do we have wars in the name of religion where both sides feel they are right? If both are “right”, is anybody “wrong”? In any organized religion, it’s always “us” (we’re right) versus “them” (they’re wrong because they don’t believe as we do). Why can’t people just respect other people’s beliefs, especially when those beliefs are based on love and peace and bring unity for our world regardless of what one calls the “Supreme Being”? Could it be that this Divine Entity is one and the same for all and that the only difference is really how one goes about finding that inner peace and what one calls this Divinity?
Generally, we as human beings inherently “search” for the Supreme Being, The Light, The Almighty, etc., through some form of organized religion or spiritual path. As worshipers, we call this Deity by different names and “approach” this Being in various ways that ensure that our “obedience” will please the One. In our zest to please the Almighty, coupled with our human stubbornness about “we’re right and you’re wrong”, we often approach our Lord without regard to the respect for others’ beliefs. Ironically, however, this lack of respect for others’ beliefs manifests hate, bigotry, racism, war, separatism – the very acts that are in direct contradiction to a “blissful, loving state that is often required for true inner peace!” The very cornerstone of what one can call, a religious foundation. The state of blissful connection to the One then becomes pure folly for the sake of fighting for the “right” religious perspective. At their base levels, all “religions” strive for believers to acquire that inner peace, bliss, and love that can exist only by having that fine-tuned, spiritual connection with the One, that only true believers in that particular religion “rightfully” possess.
Perhaps those who focus on convincing others they are “right” even to the point of using physical means of destruction to prove their point (we’ll wipe them out if they don’t believe the right way like we do), could make more of an impact in this world by striving to understand the “why” of core beliefs different from their own. The point being that a better way could be FOR unity through understanding rather than being AGAINST something or someone because their beliefs are different. If one searches within, one may realize that the “why”, if the intention is truly loved based, is always connected to one’s purpose of bringing peace and love into this world. As human beings, our nature is to reach out to the One. How we go about it, however, is the cause of strife in the world.
Generally, we as human beings inherently “search” for the Supreme Being, The Light, The Almighty, etc., through some form of organized religion or spiritual path. As worshipers, we call this Deity by different names and “approach” this Being in various ways that ensure that our “obedience” will please the One. In our zest to please the Almighty, coupled with our human stubbornness about “we’re right and you’re wrong”, we often approach our Lord without regard to the respect for others’ beliefs. Ironically, however, this lack of respect for others’ beliefs manifests hate, bigotry, racism, war, separatism – the very acts that are in direct contradiction to a “blissful, loving state that is often required for true inner peace!” The very cornerstone of what one can call, a religious foundation. The state of blissful connection to the One then becomes pure folly for the sake of fighting for the “right” religious perspective. At their base levels, all “religions” strive for believers to acquire that inner peace, bliss, and love that can exist only by having that fine-tuned, spiritual connection with the One, that only true believers in that particular religion “rightfully” possess.
Perhaps those who focus on convincing others they are “right” even to the point of using physical means of destruction to prove their point (we’ll wipe them out if they don’t believe the right way like we do), could make more of an impact in this world by striving to understand the “why” of core beliefs different from their own. The point being that a better way could be FOR unity through understanding rather than being AGAINST something or someone because their beliefs are different. If one searches within, one may realize that the “why”, if the intention is truly loved based, is always connected to one’s purpose of bringing peace and love into this world. As human beings, our nature is to reach out to the One. How we go about it, however, is the cause of strife in the world.
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