Five of ten

Posted on 7:55 PM by jr cline | 1 comments


The fifth question in the  10 Things You Should Know About Yourself (aka: “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!”) series is

What do I believe beyond the shadow of a doubt?


This is very hard for me.
I’m not sure there is anything I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt.  
Everything is a perception in my mind.   
I know my mind does not perceive things without interpretation.

   
There are things I have faith in and things I think will continue to be as my mind perceives them.


I choose to believe in God.  It makes me happy.
I choose to believe my children and extended family will continue to love me. 


Regardless of what I choose, I know nothing is for sure.  
I’ve been wrong many, many, many times before.



What do you believe beyond a shadow of a doubt?

Fourth of ten

Posted on 4:26 AM by jr cline | 0 comments


The fourth question in the  10 Things You Should Know About Yourself (aka: “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!”) series is 

Who makes my life more difficult than it needs to be?

Interesting question that has required me to do a lot of thinking. In the last couple of years, I've been busily getting people who make my life unpleasant and difficult out of my life.   After thinking over this question, it appears that I have done a pretty good job in that area.   I've been able to pick out one person and a separate behavior that make my life more difficult than it needs to be.   

The person is myself of course. 


If there is anyone who can complicate my life, it is me!  I can fret, worry, be melancholy, harbor resentment...pick out some feelings and thoughts that you think fit here.  You know the ones.  We all know.
Apart from thoughts and feelings, there all all the little things I do out of habit that really serve no purpose and sometimes are unhelpful.   And I still do them?  duhh    So much for fancying myself an intelligent person.


The second part of my answer has to do with a behavior.  Gossiping drives me up the wall.  I can't tolerate rumors and if I am told one, I quickly begin to track down the truth all the while dropping the name of the person who told me the rumor to begin with.  I'm rarely subjected to rumors anymore.  People don't like it when the rumor they are spreading is laid side by side with the actually story.   
A few years ago there were a lot of rumors going around about me.  I got totally fed up when I received a letter from a retired coworker who lived out of town.  The gist of the letter was a plea for me not to kill myself.  Now, killing myself was the farthest thing from my mind yet the rumor mill had created a suicidal portrait of me that was spreading.  :-(   
hmmmm  
What to do about it?
I decided to keep my personal life to myself at work.  Work is for work and personal is personal.  
That seems to be working very well.  



Who makes your life more difficult than it needs to be?







Third of ten

Posted on 4:30 AM by jr cline | 0 comments


The third question in the  10 Things You Should Know About Yourself (aka: “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!”) series is 

Who enriches my life experience?

 

I think everyone I encounter enriches my life experience. 
Each has something to teach if I’m paying attention. 


If a more specific answer is desired it would be:

Starr  
James
Christy
Jeremy
Jesse
Belle


 Who enriches your life experience?

What bothers me the most?

Posted on 7:46 PM by jr cline | 0 comments


The second question in 10 Things You Should Know About Yourself (aka: “So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish!”).

What bothers me the most (about myself, others, or the world)?
 
 
There are so many ideas that passed through my mind today:
the messages of fear being spewed out by the media each day
 war
famine
natural disasters
pollution
prejudice
man’s inhumanity to man
and a world of others 

  
But  what bothers me the most about myself, others, and the world is the way we treat each other.
The mindset of winner and loser. 
The attitude of get more for myself. 
The judgmental  attitude.
Frame it in any way you like.


I don’t think we were meant to live like this.  
I think we are meant to love and care for each other.  


Like a simple Zen master said, ‘all that is necessary is that you love completely’. 


So, what bothers you the most (about yourself, others, or the world)?



10 things I should know #1

Posted on 3:45 PM by jr cline | 1 comments




I spent most of today thinking about, 
What matters most to me?


One answer came to the surface over and over.


What matters most to me is my children.


Somewhere along the way I realized they were most important in my life.  
I can't really place when or where it was.  
It is as if it has always been so.


I think I solidified this into words after reading Stephen Covey's book, "First Things First" years ago.


Tomorrow's question is,  What bothers me the most (about myself, others, or the world)?



What matters most to you?


5 Things

Posted on 5:27 AM by jr cline | 0 comments

Jump as high as you can.


This morning, I found this idea in an RSS feed.
What five objects are closest to you right now?
Take a mindful moment to appreciate each one for the purpose it serves.
~ The Mindfulist.com  

So here are the five things closest to me right now.

Table and chairs ~ I looked for a long time for a small, glass topped, wicker table with two chairs to put in the sunroom. They had to be reasonably priced of course.  A few years ago, I came across this set at almost a give away price.   I've really enjoyed having this little setup in the sunroom. 

Coffee cup and coffee
Almost every morning of my adult life, one of my great pleasures in life has been a cup of coffee to begin my day.

Laptop
A laptop computer provides so many benifits to me. I can edit and view my photos.  It provides ways to back them up, protecting my work. Online it gives me the opportunity to share my photos with the world.  It has helped me makes new friends and learn about new ideas from people located all over this planet.

Two napkins
I've always been a fan of napkins.  They are cheaper than paper towels and have a myriad of uses.

A book on zen
 Lately, I've been reading "The Zen Book" by Daniel Levin.  Each day I read one small section and during the day I meditate on the thoughts I find there.  Here is today's snippet.

Fear debilitates.
"When we're scared, we stand like a deer caught in the headlights:  not able to move away from the very thing that frightens us.  To escape fear, all we have to do is keep moving."

What five objects are closest to your right now? 

What do you appreciate about them?

Existence Day

Posted on 4:55 AM by jr cline | 0 comments


Today is Existence Day, the  international holiday for celebrating existence.

Answers.com defines existence as
  1. The fact or state of existing; being.
  2. The fact or state of continued being; life: our brief existence on Earth.
  3. a. All that exists: sang the beauty of all existence.
    b. A thing that exists; an entity.
Dedicate your day today to celebrating the fact of your existence and your continuing life. 
Celebrate all that exists and each thing that exists.  Revel in the shear joy of being alive. 


If you're short on ideas on how to celebrate your existence here is some food for thought.

To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly. ~ Henri Bergson

May my soul bloom in love for all existence. ~ Rudolf Steiner

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. ~ Oprah Winfrey

 
From wonder into wonder existence opens. ~ Lao Tzu


To much thinking too early in the morning

Posted on 4:41 AM by jr cline | 0 comments

It is unfortunate that many people box in their hearts out of fear of being hurt or out of selfishness, loving only me, me, me.



The 'me, me, me' box is the smallest box and in my mind the saddest box.

Wouldn't it be nice to expand your heart, to be more open to love and to be loved.  Sure, it is risky.  Sure, I might get hurt.  I'd rather be hurt loving than to hurt myself by living in a tiny safe box, a box I had to protect from invasive ideas and feelings. 

Maybe that is how people become rigid in their views and opinions.   They are so busy protecting their tiny box they reject all that is different.

Seems the more I think, the less I know.

Like the title says, too much thinking too early in the morning.

Now back to the regularly scheduled programing.

Snapshot of life

Posted on 4:51 AM by jr cline | 0 comments


With all that is going on, I thought I'd play I Ching.

Hsu / Waiting (Nourishment)

--- ---
------- above K'an The Abysmal, Water
--- ---
-------
------- below Ch'ien The Creative, Heaven
-------

The Judgement

Waiting. If you are sincere,
You have light and success.
Perseverance brings good fortune.
It furthers one to cross the great water.

The Image

Clouds rise up to heaven:
The image of Waiting.
Thus the superior man eats and drinks,
Is joyous and of good cheer.

A grand adventure

Posted on 4:16 AM by jr cline | 0 comments

A week ago my parrot and I lived alone in this house.  This week, we share this space with a family of three.  Particular reasons for the change in living situations don’t matter.   Suffice it to say it is what the four of us thought this was best.  

My life has been a mixture of many people, places, and adventures.  This new journey begins with these first steps.    Where will it lead?  What tales will there be to tell?   I'm sure it will be grand.

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