FUN with WORDS! August 9, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness.comments closed
In 1878, Lewis Carroll invented the doublet, a puzzle in which a word is changed, letter by letter, into another word of the same length.
Groundrules:
* The words at either end are usually related.
* Each link in the chain must be a word.
* Complete the transformation in as few words as possible.
Two (2) examples to get you started:
HEAD ~ HEAL ~ TEAL ~ TELL ~ TALL ~ TAIL
PITCH ~ PINCH ~ WINCH ~ WENCH ~ TENCH ~ TENTH ~ TENTS
Can you complete the following doublets in 5 or fewer steps?
1. PIG ~ STY 2. FLOUR ~ BREAD 3. FISH ~ MEAT
4. HAND ~ FOOT 5. RICH ~ POOR 6. COAL ~ MINE
7. TEARS ~ SMILE 8. LIVE ~ DEAD 9. APE ~ MAN
10. WORD ~ DEED 11. SLEEP ~ DREAM
Source: The Guinness Book of Words, Martin Manser, copyright 1988
Answers soon!
5 Steps To A Happier You August 9, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Less IS More, Mindfulness.comments closed
When we give ourselves permission to be more fully who we are, we encourage others to do the same.
Instead of competing with others for external rewards, we cooperate with others to bring about lasting change. As we become more conscious of our own choices, we feel less need to control the choices of others.
If you want to be happier, here are 5 steps to getting from where you are to where you want to be:
1. Be Here Now. Focus on the perfection in this magical moment. You are exactly who and where you need to be. Uncertainty holds the promise of infinite possibilities for growth and joy. Get comfortable not knowing.
S.M.I.L.E. –> See Miracles In Life Everyday
2. Become unconditionally constructive. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Strive to lift others up, rather than tearing them down. When you inspire others, you inspire yourself. When you inspire yourself, you inspire others.
Who have you inspired today?
3. Get rid of your tolerations and fill your days with more of what you really want. Stop spending time on things that don’t add to your happiness. Live consciously, purposely, and with integrity. Be absolutely determined to enjoy whatever you choose to do.
If you’re not actively involved in getting what you want, you don’t really want it.
4. Accept and respect yourself (and others) as is. Self-acceptance, self-responsibility, and self-assertiveness allow you to meet your needs while respecting the needs of others. Don’t strive to be happier, kinder, thinner, or smarter than others. Strive to be happier, kinder, healthier, and wiser than your previous self.
The goal is self-confidence, not arrogance ~ use yourself as the only frame of reference.
5. Simplify everything. The less you have, the less you have to worry about.
That is all.
From Dumpster Divin’ To High Fivin’ August 9, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Nature, Sustainable Living.comments closed
In 2008, the Weather Channel aired Forecast Earth on Sunday nights. At the end of one of the shows, Forecast Earth went dumpster diving on a massive scale ~ to a landfill in California which accepts 13,000 TONS of garbage a day.
They predicted that the 400 acre landfill would be filled to capacity in less than 5 years because consumers are choosing NOT to separate out items that could be recycled easily (glass, metal, plastic, aluminum, cell phones, computers, etc.) from the rest of their garbage.
On a positive note, the methane gas from the site is being used to power a near-by electric plant, rather than being released into the atmosphere to wreak havoc on the environment.
That’s good, but we can do better:
* Americans toss 300 millions tons of trash into the garbage each year.
* We house 5% of the world’s population, and create 40% of the world’s garbage ~ on average, 1 ton of garbage, per person, per year!
Much of that garbage could be easily separated for recycling.
To encourage recycling, RecycleBank contracts with cities to reward residents for curbside recycling. Founded in Philadelphia in 2004, RecycleBank has expanded to 26 states and the U.K. ~ now serving more than 1 million homes.
The company fits garbage and recycling trucks with a mechanical arm used to weigh each customer’s recycling. That information is relayed to RecycleBank where points are deposited into the customer’s on-line account.
Families can use their accounts (worth up to $200 a year) to shop at hundreds of retailers, including Whole Foods, Gaiam, and eBay.
Ron Gonen, the C.E.O., recently told Sierra magazine, “We’ve increased recycling by at least 100 percent in the communities we’ve partnered with.”
Even if your community has not yet partnered with RecycleBank, you can earn points with RecycleBank for: sending in your old electronics, using RecycleBank’s exclusive credit card, or joining the eBay Green Team.
For more details: Earn Points
RecycleBank encourages consumers to Live Green with sustainable living tips for home and garden: Green Entertaining, Packing Easy Green School Lunches, Enjoying the Great Outdoors, Lawn Care, and Smarter Auto Care.
From Dumpster Divin’ to High Fivin’ –> Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!
Sources: (1) Forecast Earth; (2) Jessi Phillips, Green Biz, Sierra Magazine, July/August 2010, Vol. 95, No. 4, p. 9; (3) RecycleBank website
* * * * *
If you’ve got a Green Business, learn how to promote your efforts by joining Green Business Network:
Become part of the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse network of socially and environmentally responsible businesses.
Aphorisms from Aa to Zz: Pp August 9, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Magick & Mystery.comments closed
Passion
Passion is power. Follow your dreams.
Living life without passion is like trying to go hot air ballooning with an empty balloon.
Take your passion, and make it happen. ~ Flashdance
If you don’t have the life you want, start making changes . . . because it’s not going to fall in your lap.
Patience
You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.
On the Spiritual Path, people who annoy us are our “teachers.” In time, people who can upset us become harder and harder to find.
We do much damage by not being patient with our own evolution.
Life is stirred with a slow spoon. Be patient. Let the future unfold.
I am patient with stupidity, but not with those who are proud of it. ~ Edith Sitwell
Abolish negative self-talk, and chronic self-criticism.
Each full basket begins with a single cocoa bean.
Patience, child, in time your basket will be overflowing.
Live life slowly . . . savor every bite.
Take each day as it comes. Don’t drive past your headlights.
Peace
Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
~ Celtic Blessing
Peace is not needing to know what will happen next. ~ Hilary Smith
Inner peace, calm, and clarity are seldom achieved when we look to the Ego for guidance.
Peace to All * Go in Peace * Pax * Shalom * May your feet be guided in the path of Peace * Peace be with You. And also with You.
Inner Peace is yours for the asking.
Get comfortable not knowing.
Make peace with imperfection: will this matter a year from now? ~ Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti ~ Sanskrit Mantra for Peace
Silence your mind. Just be. Focus on your breath.
It bubbles with energy and overflows with bliss.
All we are saying is give peace a chance. ~ John Lennon
Make peace your goal.
Perseverance
The world stands aside to let pass those who know where they are going. ~ David Jordan
Nothing can stop a person who refuses to be stopped.
When we retrain ourselves to focus on the positives, we are happier and have more energy. Optimism fills us with the creative enthusiasm and inspiration we need to live the life of our dreams.
You must do the thing you think you cannot do. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Renew your commitment. Keep coming back to the task.
Possibility
In uncertainty lies all possibility.
Those who can, do. Those who can’t, try to tell us why we can’t do it either.
If we limit our choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, we disconnect ourselves from what we truly want; all that’s left is compromise. ~ Robert Fritz
Rather than allowing our thoughts, emotions, and past experiences to dictate our re-actions to new events, we can view life with alert curiosity.
Cultivate optimism. Become the most positive person you know.
Whatever you face in life . . . there are many possible solutions. Check them out before concluding it’s something you must accept, rather than change.
Prayer
Mary’s Prayer (Mary Davis)
I am the light that God shines through
He and I are one not two
He needs me where and as I am
I need not doubt, nor fear, nor plan
If I but be relaxed and free
He’ll work his plan of love through me
God is the breath inside the breath. ~ Kabir
May we remember to access the peace within.
May we trust that we are exactly where we are meant to be.
May we not forget the infinite possibilities available here and now.
May we use our gifts wisely, and share our joy freely.
May we accept ourselves as we are.
May we allow our spirits the freedom to sing, dance, laugh, praise, and love.
May spirit remain ever present ~ a beacon to light our way.
Even in the stillness, the cosmos swirls. Even when silence reigns, we hear its heartbeat.
Principle
In matters of style, flow with the current . . . in matters of principle, stand like a rock. ~ Thomas Jefferson
Don’t sacrifice your values to reach your goals.
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Happiness flows from being true to yourself.
He who trims himself to suit everyone else will soon whittle himself away. ~Raymond Hull
Purpose
The purpose of life is a life of purpose.
Live life on purpose.
Your work is to discover your work, and then with all your heart to give yourself to it. ~ The Buddha
Your purpose is to discover your purpose and then pursue it with passion.
Spirit Lights The Way 