[2023-09-16] Saturday Synopsis #61
This week's photo was taken today by a fellow volunteer at the Volunteer Check-in for the CityFolk Festival (thanks Emma!). Volunteering at a music festival is a limited commitment with many benefits: a meal and snacks for every shift worked, free access to the festival, featuring many musical acts, and, perhaps best of all, the chance to interact with numerous wonderful people—area leaders and fellow volunteers we've worked with in the past and new folks we meet and get to know.
3 (+1) Ideas From Me
When I think of resting, I think of napping or of sitting quietly, perhaps listening to an audio book. But there are other ways to rest, as I learned from a short video that a friend pointed out to me. The video is by Brian Johnson and is based on The Power of Rest by Matthew Edlund, M.D. In the video, Johnson distinguishes between passive rest—sleeping and napping—and active rest, which includes things we can do during the day to rejuvenate ourselves. Johnson discusses four domains in which we can actively rest: mental, physical, social and spiritual.
Christine then went on to say that the difference between being sick and being healthy is the amount of energy you have to spend on everyday activities. The spoons represented units of energy. So getting out of bed uses a spoon, taking a shower uses a second, getting dressed uses a third, and eating breakfast uses a fourth. Christine's friend had only 12 spoons. If it took 4 spoons just to get started in the morning, that would not leave many to commute to and from work, to do a job, to prepare and eat meals, to go to the doctor, or to spend time with friends.
Writing fosters a tenderness that is not always present when we talk to each other: we might be willing to commit in writing what we are too shy to say in person. Writing also allows time for reflection and editing, which I believe enhances the expression of our feelings. Writing also makes it possible for the recipient to reread touching words and, in doing so, to draw strength from them again and again.... It doesn't matter that some people write well and others don't—or, at least, think they don't. When you write from the heart, grammar and spelling don't matter. It's the sentiment behind the words that are important.
I got thinking about decision-making after talking to someone I care about who is struggling with a health-related decision. I understand how hard it can be to make a decision, especially one related to our health or the health of a loved one. It's easy to become paralyzed, and thereby make no decision. In fact, not making a decision is making a decision. For example, if the question is "should I take this drug with potential side effects," and I can't decide, I've effectively chosen no. It's also easy to focus on only one or two considerations and to ignore other arguments that are more important. When we create a list of the pros and cons of a given choice, we are more likely to acknowledge all the considerations and not just some of them.
2 (+5) Quotes From Others
As long as we're caught up in always looking for certainty and happiness, rather than honoring the taste and smell and quality of exactly what is happening, as long as we are always running away from discomfort, we're going to be caught in a cycle of unhappiness and disappointment, and we will feel weaker and weaker.
~ Pema Chödrön
My dear,
In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.
In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.
In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.
I realized, through it all, that…
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger—something better, pushing right back.
~ Albert Camus
We really cannot change the external world nor can we change other people. We can change how we perceive the world, how we perceive others, and how we perceive ourselves.
~ Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D.
The way to know any writer, of course, is not to meet him in person but to read what he writes. Only in print is he most clear, most true, most honest. No matter what he might say in polite society, catering to convention, it is in writing that we find the real man.
~ Richard Bach
Winston Churchill's wife, Clementine, was talking to a street sweeper. When she finished her conversation, Churchill asked her, "What did you talk about for so long?" Clementine smiled and replied, "Many years ago, he was madly in love with me." Churchill responded, "So you could have been the wife of a street sweeper today." "Oh no, my love," Clementine said. "If I had married him, he would have been the prime minister today."
~ Author unknown
The most important conversations you will ever have are the ones you have internally. What you say to yourself becomes your truth. Praise yourself often and share your successes with others. Speak about yourself with patience, forgiveness, and love. Humility and pride are not at odds with each other; you can be humble and still be proud of your accomplishments. What you say to yourself inwardly affects the way you experience life outwardly. Be kind with your words to yourself, because they are incredibly powerful.
~ Cyndie Spiegel
"Finding yourself" is not really how it works. You aren't a ten-dollar bill in last winter's coat pocket. You are also not lost. Your true self is right there, buried under cultural conditioning, other people's opinions, and inaccurate conclusions you drew as a kid that became your beliefs about who you are. Finding yourself is actually returning to yourself. An unlearning, an excavation, a remembering who you were before the world got its hands on you.
~ Emily McDowell
1 Question For You
Most of us could probably point to another person who was instrumental in our success. This could be a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a child, a teacher, a coach, a colleague. Often such influencers helped us to believe in ourselves and our potential, to ignore the criticisms of our detractors, and to face and conquer our fears. Their influence might have been fleeting—a single comment or exchange—or enduring—encouragement over many years.
Who has helped you to go further than you might have otherwise gone because of their intervention, example or confidence in you?
