I Am NOT A Bottle of Wine June 8, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, People.Tags: Happiness, Labels, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, People, Stereotypes
53 comments
I steer clear of labels for several related reasons:
(1) Labels are superficial. Hypocrites wear labels, claiming to be one thing while doing another. Actions speak louder than words.
(2) Labels are superfluous. We don’t have to call ourselves “feminists” to be pro-active in the fight for equality. All we have to do is keep coming back to the task.
(3) Labels are imprecise. Meanings shift from place to place, person to person, and with changing times. A label might mean one thing to me and hold a different meaning for you.
When we characterize our actions and beliefs with labels, we can get caught up defending ourselves against out-dated stereotypes and over-generalizations.
(4) Labels encourage people to pigeon-hole us, to presume to know more about us than they do, all based on a label applied to our countenance.
They ask what we do so they know which cubbyhole to stick us in:
Rich man? Poor man? Beggar man? Thief? Doctor? Lawyer? Indian chief?
Cocktail party questions are a convenient form of shorthand communication. Nothing more.
(5) Labels are misleading. The things we have done and the roles we have “played” don’t define the totality of who we are at THIS moment.
“If who you are is what you do, who are you when you don’t?”
(6) Labels are limiting. Words can’t encompass the essence of “me.” Trying to distill ourselves down to a single word or phrase is frustrating.
How could we ever hope to encapsulate our infinite awesomeness in words?
(7) Once we realize we are NOT the labels we wear, we see who we really are.
And we are FREE.
When I first stopped practicing law, I didn’t know how to respond when people asked the ubiquitous question, “What do you do?”
I didn’t have a “new label” to apply.
I decided I don’t need a label.
I am NOT a bottle of wine.
Or a banana.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Quote to Ponder: Our infinite worth lies beyond all labels.
Related post: Tagline (WP Daily Prompt)
Russian Roulette’s Kissing Cousin June 5, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Fun & Games, Humor, Life Lessons.Tags: Games, Humor, Parties, Phonograph, Roulette, Spin the Bottle
22 comments
Records spun on the turntable. High pitched laughter filled the air.
Across the crowded room, someone suggested spinning something else.
Eyes darted through the smoke to calculate the odds.
In Russian Roulette, players face one bullet and five blanks.
At the wrong party, Spin the Bottle might mean trying to dodge six duds instead of one bullet ~ odds are great that the fickle finger of fate will point straight as Cupid’s arrow at someone you do NOT want to K-I-S-S.
Ever.
Under any circumstance.
No matter what.
But being a teen means taking risks . . . and learning from mistakes.
“Sure. Count me in.”
Round and round and round she goes
Where she’ll stop, nobody knows.
Spin the Bottle might be less lethal than Russian Roulette, but you can still shoot yourself in the foot.
Or worse.
*BANG*
“This is lame . . . Spin the Bottle is for kids . . . let’s play Truth or Dare!”
Aah . . . that’s better!
Did you ever play Spin the Bottle? Truth . . . or Dare!
Three Perspectives on Endings May 23, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Humor, Life Lessons, Poetry.Tags: Dr. Seuss, Humor, Poetry, Shel Silverstein, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
29 comments
How we see life depends on which end of the telescope we gaze through:
There are no happy endings.
Endings are the saddest part,
So just give me a happy middle
And a very happy start.
~ Shel Silverstein, Every Thing on It
Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.
~ Dr. Seuss (perhaps)
All will be well in the end.
If all is not well, it is not yet the end.
~ The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Aah . . . that’s better!
Which quote suits you best? Does it depend upon your proximity to “The End”?
When We No Longer Know May 12, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Poetry, Synchronicity & Mystery.Tags: Journey, Mindfulness, Poetry, Purpose, Wendell Berry
41 comments
It may be when we no longer know what to do,
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go,
we have begun our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.
What You Lose on the Roundabout May 7, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Humor, Life Balance, Life Lessons, Word Play.Tags: Life Balance, Life Lessons, Roundabout, Weekend Theme, Word Play
41 comments
When I first saw Sidey’s weekend theme ~ Swings and Roundabout ~ I didn’t know what she was on about.
So I decided to sit this one out.
Reading Col’s post, A Really Awful Spin on a Pendulum, gave me a glimmer of an inkling.
He shared an expression that no one had ever expressed or uttered before in my presence:
“What you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabout.”
As it turns out, the expression, and its vice versa, is British/Australian.
Here, in the USA, we tend to say, “you win some, you lose some.”
However you express the thought, it’s all about maintaining balance (and our sense of humor) in the face of life’s inevitable twists and turns.
A swing roundabout Google led me to an intriguing book, What You Lose on the Roundabout, written by a 57-year-old Brit misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease who did just that ~ maintained her sense of humor (and got a tattoo!).
Did ya hear that Rosie? . . . she got a tattoo! 
Aah . . . that’s better!
The Sea of Endless Possibility April 28, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Life Balance, Life Lessons, Meditation, Mindfulness.Tags: Change, Life Balance, Meditation, Time, Topsy-Turvy
26 comments
Rushing downhill, time rolls on, with change as a steadfast companion. No matter how hard we tug, they refuse to stop and allow us to catch our breath.
Life becomes a precarious balancing act with no net to catch us when we fall.
But we hold the remote.
When life becomes too topsy and we become too turvy, we can press “pause.”
In the silence of not-doing, we step out of the field of time and into the sea of endless possibility.
And our fear of falling and failing fades away.
Aah . . . that’s better!
The Power of Words April 25, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Life Lessons, Meditation, Mindfulness, Word Play.Tags: Meditation, Mindfulness, Words, Zen Wisdom
41 comments
A meditation master was asked to heal a sick child by saying a few prayers.
A skeptic scoffed at the idea that words could have such power.
The master replied, “What do you know? You’re an ignorant fool.”
Enraged, the skeptic shook with anger, “How dare you call me an ignorant fool!”
The master nodded and smiled, “If so few words have the power to anger you, why should they not have the power to heal as well?”
Aah . . . that’s better!
Paraphrased from The Zen of Eating, p. 113
Related post: Hidden Messages in Water
The Anchor & The Wind April 20, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Life Balance, Life Lessons, Mindfulness.Tags: Life Balance, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Sail, Wind
20 comments
Contentment can be an anchor . . . keeping us moored in “safe harbors.”
Discontent can be the wind in our sails . . . pushing us
to keep moving, growing, and exploring.
Quotes to Ponder:
* Because of our routines, we forget that life is an ongoing adventure. ~ Maya Angelou
* Throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbors. Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~ Mark Twain
* Boats are safe in harbor, but that’s not what boats are for. ~ Michael Lillie
* Dear comerado! I confess I have urged
you onward with me, and still urge you,
without the least idea what is our destination,
Or whether we shall be victorious, or utterly quell’d and defeated.
Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
Here’s to the dawning of a day filled with the uncertainty which arises with all exciting new adventures!
Aah . . . that’s better!
Related post: Happily Dissatisfied (Pix & Kardz)
When Thoughts Turn South April 17, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Life Balance, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Poetry.Tags: Abyss, Boston Marathon, Finish Line, Poetry, Thought, Trolls
26 comments
When thoughts turn South
We can follow them to the abyss
Into the mists of doom and gloom
The depths of despair
Where no trace of light looms
But isolated floating thoughts
Of nameless, faceless, ageless trolls
Are seldom compelling enough
To force us to follow their descent
We can turn from edgeless rough
We need not allow night scavengers
To pull us into their world
Where thoughts are bitter and bland
We can shelve the endless questions
The who, what, where, how, when
We can allow night to drift out of mind
So we can go on with our day
Stepping back into the light
Where peace resides
And right is not held hostage to might
Aah . . . that’s better!
Pools of Sadness April 16, 2013
Posted by nrhatch in Life Balance, Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Poetry.Tags: Bombs, Boston Marathon, Explosion, Peace, Poetry, Sorrow
35 comments
Life is filled with pools
of sadness ~ those we love and
lose, we miss and mourn
Senseless killings make
no sense ~ logic stalls when faced
with insanity
The human race will
never win a marathon
against crazed madmen
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
~ Jimi Hendrix
Aah . . . that’s better!
