.
In this time when there seems to be so much news about, well, quite frankly, horrible events that are happening in the world today ~ it is easy to get the idea that “the world is going to hell in a hand basket”. That the only things that are happening are those things that make life harder, that are negative, violent, hateful.
When we allow ourselves to go along with that assumption, we may even find ourselves to become more negative. And pretty soon it becomes harder and harder to see the good things in life… Or to disregard to a certain extend the nice, beautiful, good things we may encounter.
Truth be told, when we compare that one nice, bright sunny day in the middle of weeks of dreary Winter weather with news we may see on TV about for instance flooding that is causing hardship on so many people; or a war ~ it seems clear that this sunny day just doesn’t measure up. On the other hand, it is the recognition of these ~ sometimes very small ~ bits and pieces of ‘good news’ that can keep us from spiraling down into despair.
So from that perspective it is important to keep an eye out for ‘good news’.
And suddenly there seems to be a lot more ‘good news’ showing up in the newscasts. Just this last week I saw a news item on a person who has been feeding and helping the poorest people in the area where he lives for the past 40 years; and he is still going strong! And it is driven by his desire to do so, donations, and volunteer labor. It makes me wonder how many lives he has changed over the last 40 years; how many live he has saved…
Another story is about a volunteer organization that raised money to buy their own ambulance because it makes it possible for them to fulfill the last wishes of terminally ill patients…
Or this documentary about this person who used his own money to set up a system of education and apprenticeships for those kids that are ‘least likely to succeed’ ~ and makes it a resounding success. His system works, the companies handing out the apprenticeships are eager for more ~ and most importantly for those that now have been given a chance of a life time where there was none before…
There seems to be a lot of good news being reported on ~ more and more, as it turns out.
And even when we are not directly involved with any of these ~ or other ~ stories, it can help us too as it changes our perspective from a negative into a positive.
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Friday, January 31, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Phones
.
Spending a day and a half on the worlds biggest outdoor fair in Quartzsite, Arizona, is always a lot of fun. There is plenty to see, browsing the different venues.
Not having visited for a couple of years makes it easy to see the differences since the last visit. There are always a lot of rocks, gems, and minerals; just as there are all kinds of RV (Recreational Vehicle) related tools, gadgets, etc. as well as lots of RV sales lots.
This year the remainder of the fair seemed to be more reminiscent of a giant swap meet than what I remember from previous visits. The type of vendors that are really interesting to me were nowhere to be found.
It is interesting how fast a fair like the one in Quartzsite can change. The heart of the show is still the Pow Wow that started 45 years ago, yet even the Pow Wow is changing.
But the most obvious ~ and to me most certainly the most annoying ~ change, is the use of cell phones.
The first time I visited Quartzsite, use of cell phones was almost impossible as there was no way the only one tower, situated just outside of town could handle the demand of the enormous amount of people that descend on Quartzsite during the Winter months. With that problem solved, phone conversations are not only possible, but also frequent.
The good thing about that is that you can actually find one another when you want to get together for lunch or something like that.
The other side of it is that vendors seem to be talking on the phone continuously, making their customers wait when they have questions ~ or even want to pay for the treasures they have managed to find.
It is a ‘sign of the times’.
It is also incredibly rude.
It makes me wonder whether they are actually there to sell their wares, or if they are there to tell their friends and family that they are a vendor in Quartzsite.
When they then finally turn at least part of their attention to a customer, they seem disappointed they have to do so.
In the ensuing conversation it seemed that the reason for the phone call is their lack of customers.
It is a typical ‘chicken-or-egg’ kind of dilemma. Are there no customers among the thousands of people wandering over the fair’s venues? Or are the vendors pushing their customers away because their phone conversations are apparently more important than their customers?
One thing is certain; our phones most definitely have changed our ~ in person ~ interaction with others…
.
.
Spending a day and a half on the worlds biggest outdoor fair in Quartzsite, Arizona, is always a lot of fun. There is plenty to see, browsing the different venues.
Not having visited for a couple of years makes it easy to see the differences since the last visit. There are always a lot of rocks, gems, and minerals; just as there are all kinds of RV (Recreational Vehicle) related tools, gadgets, etc. as well as lots of RV sales lots.
This year the remainder of the fair seemed to be more reminiscent of a giant swap meet than what I remember from previous visits. The type of vendors that are really interesting to me were nowhere to be found.
It is interesting how fast a fair like the one in Quartzsite can change. The heart of the show is still the Pow Wow that started 45 years ago, yet even the Pow Wow is changing.
But the most obvious ~ and to me most certainly the most annoying ~ change, is the use of cell phones.
The first time I visited Quartzsite, use of cell phones was almost impossible as there was no way the only one tower, situated just outside of town could handle the demand of the enormous amount of people that descend on Quartzsite during the Winter months. With that problem solved, phone conversations are not only possible, but also frequent.
The good thing about that is that you can actually find one another when you want to get together for lunch or something like that.
The other side of it is that vendors seem to be talking on the phone continuously, making their customers wait when they have questions ~ or even want to pay for the treasures they have managed to find.
It is a ‘sign of the times’.
It is also incredibly rude.
It makes me wonder whether they are actually there to sell their wares, or if they are there to tell their friends and family that they are a vendor in Quartzsite.
When they then finally turn at least part of their attention to a customer, they seem disappointed they have to do so.
In the ensuing conversation it seemed that the reason for the phone call is their lack of customers.
It is a typical ‘chicken-or-egg’ kind of dilemma. Are there no customers among the thousands of people wandering over the fair’s venues? Or are the vendors pushing their customers away because their phone conversations are apparently more important than their customers?
One thing is certain; our phones most definitely have changed our ~ in person ~ interaction with others…
.
.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Old friends
.
The term ‘old friends’ can have several meanings.
The most obvious one ~ which hardly ever is the one that is meant when we are talking about old friends ~ is the literal meaning: that our friends indeed are ‘old’; of advanced age; ‘seasoned citizens’.
More often what is meant is that we have known our friends for a long time ~ like that we have known our friends since childhood.
If we are lucky we have stayed in touch with the friends that we grew up with; friends from the different phases of our lives… As it turns out, we often don’t have to be in touch with our friends on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis ~ with friends that we have known for a long time it can be enough to catch up every once in a while. In our often so busy lives that may mean only once or twice a year. And with really good friends, whenever we get back in touch ~ we seem to just continue where we left off the last time we had a chance to meet…
Yet ‘old friends’ can be much older than that.
When we are going about our lives, we may meet people for the first time, and still have the distinct feeling that we know them. That we have met them before.
It seems that we have a bond, a friendship, with this newly met person that cannot be easily explained as it feels like it stretches beyond time to a place that perhaps once was ~ a long, long time ago.
To me it is those type of meetings ~ even though they are few and far between ~ that make me feel that reincarnation is reality. The explanation for meeting old friends like this then all of a sudden is simple: it is a bond that was created in another time, another place when we met; spend time, built a friendship so strong that it never diminished over time. And when we met again in this moment; here, now ~ today ~ there is that spark of recognition. That flash of energy that brings back the memory of a friendship much older than we are; perhaps even older than time itself…
Meeting old friends like that is a precious experience. It is recapturing something that once was, and that may or may not be again. Because what we do after the initial recognition, meeting our old friend is up to us.
We may in this life experience never be very close with our ‘old friends’, and yet share something very, very special…
.
.
The term ‘old friends’ can have several meanings.
The most obvious one ~ which hardly ever is the one that is meant when we are talking about old friends ~ is the literal meaning: that our friends indeed are ‘old’; of advanced age; ‘seasoned citizens’.
More often what is meant is that we have known our friends for a long time ~ like that we have known our friends since childhood.
If we are lucky we have stayed in touch with the friends that we grew up with; friends from the different phases of our lives… As it turns out, we often don’t have to be in touch with our friends on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis ~ with friends that we have known for a long time it can be enough to catch up every once in a while. In our often so busy lives that may mean only once or twice a year. And with really good friends, whenever we get back in touch ~ we seem to just continue where we left off the last time we had a chance to meet…
Yet ‘old friends’ can be much older than that.
When we are going about our lives, we may meet people for the first time, and still have the distinct feeling that we know them. That we have met them before.
It seems that we have a bond, a friendship, with this newly met person that cannot be easily explained as it feels like it stretches beyond time to a place that perhaps once was ~ a long, long time ago.
To me it is those type of meetings ~ even though they are few and far between ~ that make me feel that reincarnation is reality. The explanation for meeting old friends like this then all of a sudden is simple: it is a bond that was created in another time, another place when we met; spend time, built a friendship so strong that it never diminished over time. And when we met again in this moment; here, now ~ today ~ there is that spark of recognition. That flash of energy that brings back the memory of a friendship much older than we are; perhaps even older than time itself…
Meeting old friends like that is a precious experience. It is recapturing something that once was, and that may or may not be again. Because what we do after the initial recognition, meeting our old friend is up to us.
We may in this life experience never be very close with our ‘old friends’, and yet share something very, very special…
.
.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Watching the world go by
.
At times it is time to just sit down and watch the world go by.
Just make a cup of tea or coffee, sit down and look out over life as it happens in front of you.
Sometimes, also depending on the location, it amounts to ‘people watching’. Seeing what people are doing, how and where they are moving. How they are dressed; what they are carrying with them… Is it a design purse, or a shopping bag? Are they alone, or with others? And either way, it is always interesting ~ at least to me ~ how they are interacting with other people. Is there a difference on how they approach apparent family or friends, compared to how they interact with people they may not know?
Just watching people may not tell you everything about their lives ~ yet it does give a fairly good impression about what kind of person they are…
Other times it is transportation that peaks my interest.
What cars are moving by, are there any idiosyncrasies in the license plates; like custom plates, or even ‘funny’ number/letter combinations? And have those cars traveled far? Where may they be coming from? And what type of person would get into a certain car ~ or get out of it, as the case may be?
When in nature, watching the world go by may involve birds, or critters. Sometimes just the way the wind is moving the leaves; kicks up some dust, or perhaps taking some time to listen to the way the wind may whisper in your ear.
Wherever we are, whatever is happening in our life ~ just sitting down, extracting ourselves from the hustle and bustle of our lives, and putting our focus outward at something we don’t have anything to do with; don’t have any need to interact with can provide a certain relaxation.
It is like we are watching a play in the theatre. Here we are sitting back comfortably, while in front of us the ‘play of life’ commences.
And doing this works almost every time…
Yet every once in a while we may find ourselves in a situation where things are so quiet, where everybody seems so introverted, that it seems that the world itself is taking a step back. It is like the world is frozen in that point of time that is ‘now’.
And when we are sitting back to watch the world go by, it may turn out to be one of those rare instances when there is nothing happening; nothing to see…
.
.
At times it is time to just sit down and watch the world go by.
Just make a cup of tea or coffee, sit down and look out over life as it happens in front of you.
Sometimes, also depending on the location, it amounts to ‘people watching’. Seeing what people are doing, how and where they are moving. How they are dressed; what they are carrying with them… Is it a design purse, or a shopping bag? Are they alone, or with others? And either way, it is always interesting ~ at least to me ~ how they are interacting with other people. Is there a difference on how they approach apparent family or friends, compared to how they interact with people they may not know?
Just watching people may not tell you everything about their lives ~ yet it does give a fairly good impression about what kind of person they are…
Other times it is transportation that peaks my interest.
What cars are moving by, are there any idiosyncrasies in the license plates; like custom plates, or even ‘funny’ number/letter combinations? And have those cars traveled far? Where may they be coming from? And what type of person would get into a certain car ~ or get out of it, as the case may be?
When in nature, watching the world go by may involve birds, or critters. Sometimes just the way the wind is moving the leaves; kicks up some dust, or perhaps taking some time to listen to the way the wind may whisper in your ear.
Wherever we are, whatever is happening in our life ~ just sitting down, extracting ourselves from the hustle and bustle of our lives, and putting our focus outward at something we don’t have anything to do with; don’t have any need to interact with can provide a certain relaxation.
It is like we are watching a play in the theatre. Here we are sitting back comfortably, while in front of us the ‘play of life’ commences.
And doing this works almost every time…
Yet every once in a while we may find ourselves in a situation where things are so quiet, where everybody seems so introverted, that it seems that the world itself is taking a step back. It is like the world is frozen in that point of time that is ‘now’.
And when we are sitting back to watch the world go by, it may turn out to be one of those rare instances when there is nothing happening; nothing to see…
.
.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Dumpster diving
.
At first glance there was a rounded, somewhat stretched, pair of jeans in the dumpster. Moments later I realized they were not just jeans; I just saw the behind of someone dressed in jeans sticking out of the dumpster. Obviously the person wearing them had jumped into the dumpster in order to give its contents a close look…
A couple of minutes later, I see the man stand up, jump out, and walk away.
What is garbage to one person, is a treasure to another.
From one perspective it definitely seems sad that there are people who are checking other people’s garbage, hoping to find enough ‘treasures’ that they can get by for yet another day.
And looking at the kind of ‘treasures’ some people collect and sometimes start carrying with them, it makes me wonder exactly what value they see in their collection.
But then a person doesn’t have to be dumpster diving to start collecting the specific brand of treasures they value most ~ even though to someone else it just looks like ‘stuff’ and have no value at all. The next step following this line of thought is that the things that are ‘just stuff with no value’ to one person are treasures worth collecting to the next.
To make it even more interesting, this seems to be true for attitudes and even emotions as well.
Where one person can be so full of her/himself that they come across as totally self involved, or even arrogant ~ something they may even be hoping to transform. Someone else might well be helped with that attitude; putting a little bit more value upon themselves. Perhaps even putting themselves before everybody else every once in a while.
And while anger is not an emotion that has a lot to offer to most of us ~ although it does have a valid function as a signal that something is not quite right in what is going on ~ for some people it can be incredibly helpful to, for once in their lives, actually get that signal that anger provides to them clearly enough for them to act upon it…
Looking at it in this manner, it could be useful to go ‘dumpster diving’. To see what other people are throwing out; what stuff other people are done with. And to ponder whether there is value in it for us.
Of course it would be a very good idea to ~ at the same time ~ look at the stuff we are done with, and to throw it out…
.
.
At first glance there was a rounded, somewhat stretched, pair of jeans in the dumpster. Moments later I realized they were not just jeans; I just saw the behind of someone dressed in jeans sticking out of the dumpster. Obviously the person wearing them had jumped into the dumpster in order to give its contents a close look…
A couple of minutes later, I see the man stand up, jump out, and walk away.
What is garbage to one person, is a treasure to another.
From one perspective it definitely seems sad that there are people who are checking other people’s garbage, hoping to find enough ‘treasures’ that they can get by for yet another day.
And looking at the kind of ‘treasures’ some people collect and sometimes start carrying with them, it makes me wonder exactly what value they see in their collection.
But then a person doesn’t have to be dumpster diving to start collecting the specific brand of treasures they value most ~ even though to someone else it just looks like ‘stuff’ and have no value at all. The next step following this line of thought is that the things that are ‘just stuff with no value’ to one person are treasures worth collecting to the next.
To make it even more interesting, this seems to be true for attitudes and even emotions as well.
Where one person can be so full of her/himself that they come across as totally self involved, or even arrogant ~ something they may even be hoping to transform. Someone else might well be helped with that attitude; putting a little bit more value upon themselves. Perhaps even putting themselves before everybody else every once in a while.
And while anger is not an emotion that has a lot to offer to most of us ~ although it does have a valid function as a signal that something is not quite right in what is going on ~ for some people it can be incredibly helpful to, for once in their lives, actually get that signal that anger provides to them clearly enough for them to act upon it…
Looking at it in this manner, it could be useful to go ‘dumpster diving’. To see what other people are throwing out; what stuff other people are done with. And to ponder whether there is value in it for us.
Of course it would be a very good idea to ~ at the same time ~ look at the stuff we are done with, and to throw it out…
.
.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
The essence of things
.
Whenever we look at someone or something, we tend to only see that which is on the surface. The things we are familiar with. When we look at a person ~ what we see is their personality and how they present themselves to the world.
The same goes for animals; we see the animal as it presents itself and we understand its qualities as we see them. A cat can be a wonderful pet, soft and furry, with a personality that we may or may not like. It is a hunter that ~ even when well fed ~ will catch birds and mice, which it may even present to us as ‘presents’ of sorts; again something that we may or may not appreciate…
This way we can look at anything around us and see its ‘function’ as we understand it.
Beyond that there is the essence of the energy of anything that surrounds us ~ alive or material (like the furniture that we furnish our homes with) ~ that may be quite a bit different from our understanding of the outer appearance.
This way, the essence of a person will show their inner qualities and potentials. For instance, where on the surface we may see a person that is business-like, and even may have a lack of emotion; a lack of feeling. Looking at the essence of that person there may be a much ‘softer’ side… A quality that is more creative, more loving than we would have ever thought…
The same is true for animals ~ from the pets that accompany us, to the animals we see in nature.
This way, looking at the essence of our pet cat, we may see that at its core, its most wonderful quality is that of being a guardian. In other words, our pet cat ~ at its essence ~ is a guardian with a desire protect us from that which is not helping us.
This way the essence quality of a dog has to do with loyalty. A woodpecker has the essence energy of a messenger, a spider has the essence energy of productivity, and so on.
Even inanimate objects will have an essence energy beyond that which is immediately obvious. This essence energy may have to do with the materials it is made of, its functionality ~ yet can also have to do with a sense of beauty; even with memories we have attached to it, for instance when that object has been given to us by a family member or friend.
All in all anything, including ourselves, has an essence energy that we may or may not readily show the world around us. An essence energy that carries with it qualities that are often hidden, even to ourselves!
To me it is intriguing to have a look at the essence of ourselves; to see the often hidden qualities we have…
.
.
Whenever we look at someone or something, we tend to only see that which is on the surface. The things we are familiar with. When we look at a person ~ what we see is their personality and how they present themselves to the world.
The same goes for animals; we see the animal as it presents itself and we understand its qualities as we see them. A cat can be a wonderful pet, soft and furry, with a personality that we may or may not like. It is a hunter that ~ even when well fed ~ will catch birds and mice, which it may even present to us as ‘presents’ of sorts; again something that we may or may not appreciate…
This way we can look at anything around us and see its ‘function’ as we understand it.
Beyond that there is the essence of the energy of anything that surrounds us ~ alive or material (like the furniture that we furnish our homes with) ~ that may be quite a bit different from our understanding of the outer appearance.
This way, the essence of a person will show their inner qualities and potentials. For instance, where on the surface we may see a person that is business-like, and even may have a lack of emotion; a lack of feeling. Looking at the essence of that person there may be a much ‘softer’ side… A quality that is more creative, more loving than we would have ever thought…
The same is true for animals ~ from the pets that accompany us, to the animals we see in nature.
This way, looking at the essence of our pet cat, we may see that at its core, its most wonderful quality is that of being a guardian. In other words, our pet cat ~ at its essence ~ is a guardian with a desire protect us from that which is not helping us.
This way the essence quality of a dog has to do with loyalty. A woodpecker has the essence energy of a messenger, a spider has the essence energy of productivity, and so on.
Even inanimate objects will have an essence energy beyond that which is immediately obvious. This essence energy may have to do with the materials it is made of, its functionality ~ yet can also have to do with a sense of beauty; even with memories we have attached to it, for instance when that object has been given to us by a family member or friend.
All in all anything, including ourselves, has an essence energy that we may or may not readily show the world around us. An essence energy that carries with it qualities that are often hidden, even to ourselves!
To me it is intriguing to have a look at the essence of ourselves; to see the often hidden qualities we have…
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.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Sayings
.
My native language, Dutch, is known to have many ‘sayings’. Phrases and statements that get a point across in a descriptive manner. Most of these ‘sayings’ can give a lot of insight into the culture in which they are used. For instance, where the Dutch culture has been steeped in commerce for centuries, it is understood that when one is not making progress (in a venture), one is moving backward (in business). Therefore ‘standing still is moving backward’.
Another one that is both a practical observation as well as in a sense a Calvinist perspective, says that ‘tall trees catch lots of wind’. The observation says that tall trees are a good windbreaker; the Calvinist perspective says that when you aim to venture out above others, you are likely to get a lot of backtalk or criticism. A typical occurrence in a Country and culture ‘where every molehill is flattened’…
As I have grown up with these kind of ‘sayings’, they are just part of the language; often more specific in describing a situation than one might think. Many of these ‘sayings’ have come into being over time and stem from observations of things that might happen in everyday life. And rather than explaining the entire situation; the ‘saying’ says it all.
For me, the ‘sayings’ I have grown up with hardly ever conjure up funny images in my minds eye.
That is different with English sayings.
Of course the English language also has those ‘sayings’ that stem from observation: ‘I wouldn’t touch that with a ten foot pole’. It describes a situation one wouldn’t even almost want to get close to… Or ‘one can lead a horse to water, but one cannot make him drink’. You cannot make someone else do something they really don’t want to do, even if it is in their best interest to do it.
Now, that one starts to bring a series of images to mind that make me smile as well. I can just see how someone is trying to make the horse drink…
But no ‘saying’ brings more curious imagery to mind than when someone ‘is sticking their foot in their mouth’. Oh my…
Lets just say that hardly anyone is as agile as the saying suggests; and if they were, they would need to have an awfully big mouth. Which of course they would have ~ figuratively. And yet, there I am ~ stuck with this image of someone with their foot half in their mouth, hopping around on one leg; and in all reality going nowhere.
It makes me wonder what situation was looked at, observed, to come up with a ‘saying’ like that…
.
.
My native language, Dutch, is known to have many ‘sayings’. Phrases and statements that get a point across in a descriptive manner. Most of these ‘sayings’ can give a lot of insight into the culture in which they are used. For instance, where the Dutch culture has been steeped in commerce for centuries, it is understood that when one is not making progress (in a venture), one is moving backward (in business). Therefore ‘standing still is moving backward’.
Another one that is both a practical observation as well as in a sense a Calvinist perspective, says that ‘tall trees catch lots of wind’. The observation says that tall trees are a good windbreaker; the Calvinist perspective says that when you aim to venture out above others, you are likely to get a lot of backtalk or criticism. A typical occurrence in a Country and culture ‘where every molehill is flattened’…
As I have grown up with these kind of ‘sayings’, they are just part of the language; often more specific in describing a situation than one might think. Many of these ‘sayings’ have come into being over time and stem from observations of things that might happen in everyday life. And rather than explaining the entire situation; the ‘saying’ says it all.
For me, the ‘sayings’ I have grown up with hardly ever conjure up funny images in my minds eye.
That is different with English sayings.
Of course the English language also has those ‘sayings’ that stem from observation: ‘I wouldn’t touch that with a ten foot pole’. It describes a situation one wouldn’t even almost want to get close to… Or ‘one can lead a horse to water, but one cannot make him drink’. You cannot make someone else do something they really don’t want to do, even if it is in their best interest to do it.
Now, that one starts to bring a series of images to mind that make me smile as well. I can just see how someone is trying to make the horse drink…
But no ‘saying’ brings more curious imagery to mind than when someone ‘is sticking their foot in their mouth’. Oh my…
Lets just say that hardly anyone is as agile as the saying suggests; and if they were, they would need to have an awfully big mouth. Which of course they would have ~ figuratively. And yet, there I am ~ stuck with this image of someone with their foot half in their mouth, hopping around on one leg; and in all reality going nowhere.
It makes me wonder what situation was looked at, observed, to come up with a ‘saying’ like that…
.
.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Joy
.
There are many things that can give us a sense of joy ~ and many of them appear to be small or casual things... Like a dinner with friends or family. Observing young children at play.
And then there are the things that ‘strike a cord in us’ Things that are personal to us in the sense that they mean something more to us than they might to anyone else. It can be an object of exceptional beauty, a bunch of flowers, music, a good book, a movie ~ or something we see in nature; be it the urban jungle or ‘proper’ nature.
When we really give it some thought, there are many things that can bring a sense of joy into our lives.
Looking from this perspective, the fact that there are so many things that can be joyful to us brings up the question why we don’t experience this sense of joy on a more continuous basis... Why do we have ‘joyful moments’, even an evening that fills us with joy, or a joy-filled day the memory of which will be with us for ever ~ rather than living a joyful life?
Now, I don’t mean to say that those moments, evenings and days of joy aren’t something to be treasured and kept close to our hearts. Yet it seems that if there are so many little, casual things that can give us joy we should be able to experience it way more often than just on those special occasions...
It makes me think that while there are many things that can induce in us this sense of joy ~ we need to open ourselves to receiving it as well.
It is not enough to just know that there are things that bring joy into our lives; just like life itself it is one of those things that requires a certain level of participation on our part. We need to be willing to truly see the things of beauty and joy that are coming our way ~ perhaps even be on the lookout for them!
This involves a state of mind that is nowadays often described as ‘mindfulness’ ~ the calm awareness that allows us to live in the moment.
When we stop spending time and energy thinking about things that already have happened, or can happen in the future we suddenly may find that we are not quite as busy as we thought we were ~ leaving us time to be open to the good things our lives have to offer. Like joy.
In a sense one could say that while there are many things capable of bringing joy into our lives, we can choose to experience those joyful moments!
And who wouldn’t want to do that?
.
.
There are many things that can give us a sense of joy ~ and many of them appear to be small or casual things... Like a dinner with friends or family. Observing young children at play.
And then there are the things that ‘strike a cord in us’ Things that are personal to us in the sense that they mean something more to us than they might to anyone else. It can be an object of exceptional beauty, a bunch of flowers, music, a good book, a movie ~ or something we see in nature; be it the urban jungle or ‘proper’ nature.
When we really give it some thought, there are many things that can bring a sense of joy into our lives.
Looking from this perspective, the fact that there are so many things that can be joyful to us brings up the question why we don’t experience this sense of joy on a more continuous basis... Why do we have ‘joyful moments’, even an evening that fills us with joy, or a joy-filled day the memory of which will be with us for ever ~ rather than living a joyful life?
Now, I don’t mean to say that those moments, evenings and days of joy aren’t something to be treasured and kept close to our hearts. Yet it seems that if there are so many little, casual things that can give us joy we should be able to experience it way more often than just on those special occasions...
It makes me think that while there are many things that can induce in us this sense of joy ~ we need to open ourselves to receiving it as well.
It is not enough to just know that there are things that bring joy into our lives; just like life itself it is one of those things that requires a certain level of participation on our part. We need to be willing to truly see the things of beauty and joy that are coming our way ~ perhaps even be on the lookout for them!
This involves a state of mind that is nowadays often described as ‘mindfulness’ ~ the calm awareness that allows us to live in the moment.
When we stop spending time and energy thinking about things that already have happened, or can happen in the future we suddenly may find that we are not quite as busy as we thought we were ~ leaving us time to be open to the good things our lives have to offer. Like joy.
In a sense one could say that while there are many things capable of bringing joy into our lives, we can choose to experience those joyful moments!
And who wouldn’t want to do that?
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Friday, January 3, 2014
Mementos
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Whenever we have a good experience on an outing or a vacation for example, we tend to want a memento of the occasion. Whether that is a souvenir of some sort ~ a stone or seashell we have picked up, or something we have bought to bring back home with us ~ or pictures; something that has become so much easier to do with the immensely improved camera’s in smartphones and all of the filters that can go with it.
Either way we end up with something we take home with us; a memento.
Once back in our familiar surroundings these mementos can bring back the memories of that point in time when we collected them, and with them all the feelings, the experiences can be recollected.
And that is a good thing! It is fun, and there is a definite advantage to being able to bring back the nice things, the wonderful experiences we have had. Focusing on things that work for us, automatically creates an expansive movement that opens the door to more good experiences to come into our lives.
The danger is that as we collect these mementos and place them in our homes and on our computers ~ they will start taking up space. Not much, as they are often small things; but space nevertheless. And the more we surround ourselves with icons of past events, of places we have been and things we have done and seen, the greater the pull back into the past to long ago and far away when we had this wonderful experience…
And that is a ‘bad’ thing! When we are focusing on our past experiences ~ in a sense reliving our past experiences over and again ~ we may not allow ourselves new wonderful experiences that can be happening right now! We could even get into a space where we feel the friends were more loving back then, the sun was brighter, the food was tastier; all in all life was better in those instances from when we brought back our mementos…
The point of balance ~ as so often ~ lies somewhere in the middle.
It is wonderful that we can build upon the great, fun experiences we have had; yet it is important that we won’t dwell on the past to such extend that it prevents us from living our lives right now.
From that perspective of balance it is also a good idea to revisit all of the collected mementos every once in a while in order to see which ones we really want to keep and which ones ~ while they are still fond memories ~ we may want to discard of to create space for mementos of new wonderful experiences…
.
.
Whenever we have a good experience on an outing or a vacation for example, we tend to want a memento of the occasion. Whether that is a souvenir of some sort ~ a stone or seashell we have picked up, or something we have bought to bring back home with us ~ or pictures; something that has become so much easier to do with the immensely improved camera’s in smartphones and all of the filters that can go with it.
Either way we end up with something we take home with us; a memento.
Once back in our familiar surroundings these mementos can bring back the memories of that point in time when we collected them, and with them all the feelings, the experiences can be recollected.
And that is a good thing! It is fun, and there is a definite advantage to being able to bring back the nice things, the wonderful experiences we have had. Focusing on things that work for us, automatically creates an expansive movement that opens the door to more good experiences to come into our lives.
The danger is that as we collect these mementos and place them in our homes and on our computers ~ they will start taking up space. Not much, as they are often small things; but space nevertheless. And the more we surround ourselves with icons of past events, of places we have been and things we have done and seen, the greater the pull back into the past to long ago and far away when we had this wonderful experience…
And that is a ‘bad’ thing! When we are focusing on our past experiences ~ in a sense reliving our past experiences over and again ~ we may not allow ourselves new wonderful experiences that can be happening right now! We could even get into a space where we feel the friends were more loving back then, the sun was brighter, the food was tastier; all in all life was better in those instances from when we brought back our mementos…
The point of balance ~ as so often ~ lies somewhere in the middle.
It is wonderful that we can build upon the great, fun experiences we have had; yet it is important that we won’t dwell on the past to such extend that it prevents us from living our lives right now.
From that perspective of balance it is also a good idea to revisit all of the collected mementos every once in a while in order to see which ones we really want to keep and which ones ~ while they are still fond memories ~ we may want to discard of to create space for mementos of new wonderful experiences…
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