We May Never Pass This Way Again August 10, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Life Balance, Mindfulness, Music & Dance, People.comments closed
Yesterday, I spent some time reviewing photo albums filled with ghosts from the past, memories resurrected that crumbled back to dust as soon as I turned each page.
Nostalgia for the past, memories of the way we were, no matter how strong the pull, will not allow us to make a U-Turn on our one way journey through life.
As Anna Nalick noted in Breathe (2 AM) :
Cause you can’t jump the track, we’re like cars on a cable
And life’s like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button, now
Sing it if you understand
And breathe . . . Just breathe. Oh breathe . . . Just breathe.
It’s a one way trip through life, like it or not, as Eddie Money captured in I Wanna Go Back (accompanied by some killer sax!):
I know that things will never be the same
I wanna go back, back, and do it all over
But I can’t go back, I know
I wanna go back, go back
Cause I’m feeling so much older
But I can’t go back, I know
A similar sentiment is expressed in one of my favorite songs by Seals and Crofts, We May Never Pass This Way Again.
We May Never Pass This Way Again celebrates our one way ticket through life, reminding us that, although the future’s obscured from view, we must let go of our fear and keep sailing forward:
Like the twilight in the road up ahead,
We don’t see just where we’re goin’.
And all the secrets in the Universe,
whisper in our ears
And all the years
will come and go,
take us up,
always up.
Like Columbus in the olden days,
We must gather all our courage.
Sail our ships out on the open sea.
Cast away our fears
And all the years
will come and go,
and take us up,
always up.
Make the most of this moment . . . you’ll never pass this way again.
Stress: Portrait of a Killer August 10, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Health & Wellness, Life Balance, Meditation, Mindfulness.comments closed
Last night, we watched a fascinating look at stress in primates: man and ape.
Stress kills. It destroys our immune system. It clogs our arteries. It frays our D.N.A. leading to premature aging in our bodies and brains.
And it’s not the stressors that cause the problem . . . it’s how we view those stressors that does the damage.
Keeping a sense of humor about life and its challenges does much to negate the damaging effects of stress.
Meditation, creative visualization, yoga, and other relaxation techniques counter-balance the stress in our lives by allowing us to see that we have far more control over our thoughts (and the perceived stressors in our lives) than we ever imagined.
Close your eyes and put these practices to use in your life.
More information: Stress: Portrait of a Killer
Evolution: From Ape to Man August 10, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness.comments closed
Yesterday, in FUN with WORDS, I tossed out a few doublet challenges for you from the Guinness Book of Words.
Here’s a solution to #9: the transformation (evolution) of Ape to Man:
APE – APT- OPT- OAT – MAT-MAN
Did you have this solution? A different one? A shorter one? Please share your solution below.
More evolution on the way!
Related post: Lewis Carroll is Climbing Up and Down Words (Mr Weis’s Classroom Blog)
Actions Speak Louder Than Intentions August 10, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Life Balance, Nature, Sustainable Living.comments closed
The Yale Project on Climate Change teamed up with the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communications to poll 1,001 adults about their conservation beliefs and practices.
Here are the results (as reported in Good Intentions, Sierra Magazine, July/August 2010, Vol. 95, No. 4, p. 21):
Use Public Transit ~ 73% believe that using public transportation is important; 10% actually use public transit
Walk or Bike rather than Driving ~ 73% believe that walking or biking instead of driving is important; 15% regularly engage in the practice
Buy Locally Grown Food ~ 76 % believe that buying locally grown food is important; 26% actually use their food dollars to buy locally grown food
Recycle ~ 88% believe that recycling is important; 50% actively engage in recycling efforts
Compost ~ 62% believe that composting is important; 14% actively engage in the practice
Reduce New Purchases ~ 75% believe that reducing consumption is important; 41% have put those beliefs into practice
Conserve Water ~ 84% believe water conservation is important; 48% take active steps to turn off the tap
Washing Clothes ~ 75% believe that washing clothes in cold water is important; 47% actively engage in the practice
Raise Thermostat in Summer ~ 84% believe that raising thermostats in summer is important; 49% actually engage in the practice
Turn off Unneeded Lights ~ 93% believe that turning off lights is important; 84% actively engage in the practice
Can we pave the road to conservation and sustainability with good intentions?
* * * * *
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For a related post: Stop Intending. Start Doing.
Aphorisms from Aa to Zz: Qq August 10, 2010
Posted by nrhatch in Humor, Mindfulness.comments closed
Que Sera
Que sera, sera (whatever will be, will be) ~ Doris Day Theme Song
The “What Is” Is.
The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves. ~ Sophocles
Hardship is inevitable, misery is optional.
When life hands you lemons, remember to spit out the seeds! ♥ ♥ ♥
Accept the things you cannot change. ~ Serenity Prayer
Embrace ALL with Joy . . . Anything can be a Gift of Gold in Disguise.
Souls don’t break . . . they bounce!
Question
Question your life. Never get comfortable with it. Keep reinventing yourself.
Don’t expect an answer until you voice the question.
Look deep ~ the answers lie within.
The spark of divine spirit knows where its been.
Always be questioning.
Quietude
Quietude, even more than solitude, provides clarity.
How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterward. ~ Spanish Proverb
Silence the mind, just be, focus on your breath. It bubbles with energy, and overflows with bliss.
Sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits. ~ Satchel Paige
Don’t just do something, sit there.
True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment. ~ William Penn
Quips
In reality there is perhaps not one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself. For even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility. ~ Benjamin Franklin
He is a modest man who has a good deal to be modest about. ~ Winston Churchill
Although every cloud has a silver lining . . . by the time you find it, it may be tarnished.
Raising teenagers is like trying to nail jello to a tree. ~ Erma Bombeck
I’m not a vegetarian because I love animals. I’m a vegetarian because I hate plants. ~ Brown
Just took a walk down Memory Lane ~ amazing how many potholes I had to avoid!
Golf . . . a good walk spoiled. ~ Mark Twain
It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office. ~ H.L. Mencken
In politics, absurdity is not a handicap. ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
What will they find when they google you? Quantity or Quality? ♥ ♥ ♥
Absolute certainty is a privilege of uneducated minds and fanatics. ~ C.J. Keyser
Common sense is not so common. ~ Voltaire
He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire. ~ Winston Churchill
Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t. ~ Margaret Thatcher
Spirit Lights The Way 