Daily Mood Quotes - November 8, 2011

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 188 – November 8, 2011

The thought manifests the word; The word manifests as the deed; The deed develops in the habit; Habit hardens into the character; Character gives birth to the destiny; So, watch your thoughts with care, And let it spring from love; Born out of respect for all beings...

~Maha Ghosananda

Yesterday, I was on a tirade because of the laziness I saw in others. Its effect on me was very negative, because I allowed the negativity that others put out to cause me to act and react just a poorly as those, who were in my opinion, lazy. Shame on me for giving it that kind of energy.

Last night my husband found an article on the internet titled Buddhist Intention: Being Kind in Unkind Times by Mediation Teacher Larry Yang from the HuffPost Religion section (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-yang/intention-being-kind-in-unkind-times_b_1077740.html). My husband asked me to read it and when I was finished, I felt ashamed because I had allowed the difficulties of my life, and those highlighted by the news media, which provides a constant stream of negative information (painful experiences, disasters, poverty – 49.1 million people, just to name a few) from the television and radio, to have an effect on me without realizing it. I also allowed my husband's and my difficulty in finding a job, to color my perception of what I am seeing in the current workforce. Having the holidays right around the corner only added to the stress and further colored my perception of the world.

In the article Mr. Yang quotes Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank; two people who saw the world for what it could be while enduring what it was in their time. Robert F. Kennedy said, “There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why...I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” It seems as if I had gotten caught up in the “whys” and completely forgot about the “why nots?” Mr. Yang's article reminded me of why I started this blog in the first place. I am not by nature an unkind person and yet I got caught up in all the negativity that surrounds us, courtesy of the economy and the 24/7 news cycle and was swept away by it, at least temporarily. Now I must stop to mention, going through menopause really doesn't help. I feel like I'm in hormone hell, but I know this is a hell that will pass. Unlike the one I was headed for, if I would have continued down the path of negativity. Like Yoda (yes I like that little green sage) said to Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back, "But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny," Well it's time to pull out of that negative spin and spin life in a positive direction. 

Rodney Atkins says it best when he sings, “If you’re going through Hell; Keep on going, don't slow down, if you're scared, don't show it; You might get out, Before the devil even knows you're there” but if you engage in the meanness of hell, then you might just get stuck there. My husband says, “The true test of integrity is being kind to people whose opinions, attitudes and actions could make your blood boil, even if your heart is in the right place. Its not as easy as it may sound." Robert Kennedy also said, “Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies." It's a deliberate choice to change an attitude; one only you can make.

Just something to think about. “Kindness in Unkind Times” Thank you Mr. Yang.

How will you be kind today?

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Thank you for reading.

Daily Mood Quotes - November 1, 2011

 

Daily Mood Quotes

Day 181 – November 1, 2011

They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.

~Andy Warhol (1928-1987)

How many of us knew that this quote was actually The Philosophy of Andy Warhol? Several years ago in my undergrad program I took a music and art class, my final class project was the life of Andy Warhol. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he grew up to be a noted American artist (his work is amazing) and a filmmaker. Many credit him with leading the Pop Art movement in the 1960's. In reading his story, he once said, “I'd prefer to remain a mystery. I never give my background and, anyway I make it all up different every time I'm asked.” I guess it's safe to say, Mr. Warhol did it his way.

You know as I sit here typing this morning, I wonder if maybe that's the key, "doing it his way" or maybe just a different way. We all have a chance to change things, for the better, or worse; for richer, or poorer; in sickness, or health (I know these are the marriage vows, but think about them in the context of daily life). Three years ago, my husband was diagnosed with a life-long, crippling autoimmune illness and was facing the rest of his life sitting in a wheelchair. From doctor to doctor, medication to medication and one frustrating day after another we pushed forward and we found a way to overcome the pain. Just this past summer, with doctor's approval he began walking (this was a full two years into the diagnoses). He could barely walk 300 feet before the pain was too much to handle. His words “It's like standing in a blast furnace with your face, feet and hands in molten metal.” Through strength of mind, force of will, and good doctor care, my husband can now walk three miles a day with minimal pain and his quality of life has increased, while his time in the wheelchair has disappeared. It sits in the corner of our bedroom as a constant reminder and motivator.

The point is, sometimes when the odds are stacked against us, we need to change, or invent a new way of looking at our lives, Mr. Warhol did, often.  It seems much of the problem revolved not around the immune system attacking his nerves, but also how much he used his hands and feet. Common sense says to use them less to decrease the pain, but the reality was that the more he walked and used his hands the better he felt, to a point. There simply is no real way to get around the pain, just reduce it. His career was working against him; he had spent the last 25 years sitting at a computer in a occupation that made that behavior a requisite. Not any more... He still cannot sit in any way, at any angle for more than an hour at a time without blazing pain. Counter-intuitive yes, but true none-the-less. Hey, maybe we should place a computer on a wall...just a thought, it makes us laugh every time we say it.

In the movie Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Yoda (played by Frank Oz) said, “No~ No different. Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.” and in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Yoda said to Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), “Much to learn you still have...my old padawan.”...”This is just the beginning!” You see it doesn't matter where you are in your life, Harrison Ford said, “we all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.” What you do with that second chance is a choice. My husband chooses not to quit and I stand along side him and we walk three miles a day, together.

Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

~King Whitney, Jr.

How will you view change today?

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Thank you for reading

Daily Mood Quote - September 20, 2011

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 140 – September 20, 2011

People live longer today than they ever have. They live happier lives, have more knowledge, more information. All this is the result of communications technology. How is any of that bad?

~Tom Clancy

On the surface I can agree with Tom Clancy, there is a great benefit to better communications and more widely available information. The caveat is that the information most people pay attention to is only the surface information and they draw conclusions based on very little and often very sketchy information. One lesson, I have worked very hard to teach my children is; before you accept something as gospel (the truth, or fact based) do your research, find out what kind of information is out there, and what is being said or claimed, as being the “be all and end all” of information. Some of my children have learned this lesson; others, well let's leave that for another blog. Who knows maybe it will be “The funny side of parenting: the reasons we have grey hair.”

Anyway back to communications; with the advancement of technology going nearly as fast as the speed of light, it is very hard to keep up with all the information. Trust me as you age, it is harder to care about how fast technology is going, because it is becoming impossible to keep up with it. You buy a cell phone and by the time you finish reading the manual to use all the bells and whistles it offers, someone has begun a campaign for the next, latest, greatest and newest cell phone. More bells and whistles and a bigger operations manual to read. We need to live longer just to be able to process all the new information that's being thrown at us.

Seriously, being able to share important information has never been easier and global conversations are happening every day, that helps us move forward as a world community. That is good. Unfortunately with the good comes a host of... well not so good. The Internet is now full of scams, identity thefts, electronic espionage of counties and organizations. It's just sad; seems like it's human nature to take a good thing and screw it up. History is full of good discoveries and innovations that have been turned to “the dark side” (Thanks George Lucas, but FYI my husband coined that term way back in the early 60's, long before Star Wars and Chewbacca was even a fuzzy idea).

The point is everything that is new and good, comes with baggage. Lao Tzu noted this 2500 years ago and we haven't really changed a bit. He said, “Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill, keep sharpening a knife and it will blunt.” So too with advanced communications; sometimes its too much and you hit a saturation point, then errors start to happen. Information overload spills into lives and suddenly people are hooked, to their cell phones (aka: digital leash), an internet connection, TV 24/7 news feed, plus other things too unsavory to mention and the important things in life begin to slip. Subtly at first, but that's how the “dark side” works. But, then it's sooooo hard to walk away, for even a little time. “Just turn it off” becomes a terrifying concept. I have recently read that in offices around the nation, up to 30% of an office worker's day is wasted on personal internet use and email. If that's you, please go back to work: I'll wait for you to read this when you have some free time. I love that you read this blog and our reader numbers are growing, but please do so responsibly. I want you to keep your job. Goodness knows they're hard to find these days. 

In the movie The Matrix, with Keanu Reeves (Neo), Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) said, “Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate it seems, is not without it's sense of irony.” Good things usually came with unintended consequences. That's just how it is. Do yourself a favor take a walk _open mined and unplugged, enjoy the scenery and experience for just a few moments life outside the techno-bubble.  I like what Gordon Brown said, “Take, therefore, what modern technology is capable of: the power of our moral sense allied to the power of communications and our ability to organize internationally. That, in my view, gives us the first opportunity as a community to fundamentally change the world.” As long as we are changing it for the better. That's all I've got to say 'bout that (Thanks Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump).

How will you responsibly communicate today?

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Thank you for reading