Connecting to others

"Only through our connectedness to others can we really know and enhance the self.  And only through working on the self can we begin to enhance our connectedness to others." ~ Harriet Goldhor Learner, Psychologist/Author

Why My Kids (Mostly) Don't Watch TV

There is still much to be learned about children and TV/Videos. The facts seems clear, however, from health and behavior experts that children under the age of 2 should not be sitting in front of the television endlessly watching TV or videos. Older children, though, do gain benefit from TV and videos. Here is a great article about all of this. See it here: Her.meneutics

When you're having a bad day, a bad month, or a shitty year

This is an important lesson to remember when you're having a bad day, a bad month, or a shitty year.  Things will change: you won't feel this way forever.  And anyway, sometimes the hardest lessons to learn are the ones your soul needs most.  I believe you can't feel real joy unless you've felt heartache.  You can't have a sense of victory unless you know what it means to fail.  You can't know what it's like to feel holy until you know what's it like to feel really fucking evil....This was when I learned...that sometimes you need to let go of everything you're clinging to and start over, whether because you've outgrown it or because it's not working anymore, or because it was wrong for you in the first place. ~ From, If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You, by Kelly Cutrone

Refuse to fall down

“Refuse to fall down

If you cannot refuse to fall down,

Refuse to stay down.

If you cannot refuse to stay down,

Lift your heart toward heaven,

And like a hungry beggar,

Ask that it be filled.

You may be pushed down.

You may be kept from rising.

But no one can keep you from lifting your heart

Toward heaven

Only you.

It is in the middle of misery

That so much becomes clear.

The one who says, nothing good

Came of this,

Is not yet listening.”

© Clarissa Pinkola Estes

What Life Can Teach You

Here is a list of things author, humorist, "60 Minutes" commentator Andy Rooney has learned in life: See the list here: Andy Rooney.

Movies and Their Power

When I'm feeling blue.  When the canvas on my little sailboat of life hangs motionless in a hot, windless sea.  When my steps are labored and I drag my feet around like heavy stones.  When hardly anything makes sense anymore and the world appears completely off its axis.  When fun has taken leave of me like some misplaced treasure.  When my soul has no more music in it.  It is then that I go to the movies.  

There in semi-darkness, the anticipation of excitement grows.  Alone or with a companion I soak up the surrounding atmosphere--people chatting, the screen running its ads and movie trivia questions, the soft dim lights signaling something will happen soon, the comfortable seats and convenient cup holders, reminders that small pleasures carry value. 

Has a plain old hotdog and soda ever tasted better than at the movies?  And what is it about movie theater popcorn that never changes and in spite of marketing efforts, is never duplicated? 

Eventually the theater darkens and the screen fills with activity--previews, Coke ads, that little piece about shutting off cell phones, until finally the main attraction is rolling and before I know it I am caught up in the life of a story unfolding on film. 

For a brief while all the burdens of my existence float off to some far away place and are forgotten.  All the poisons inside my spirit--hurts, sadness, loneliness, anger, stress, dread--are released in tears, in laughter, in suspense--and for a beautiful short-lived time I transcend every oppressive worry in the wonder of a movie. 

Later, walking out into the fresh air of the afternoon or evening, I greet my life again waiting for me in the real world. 

On my way home I know the duties of living have returned but I feel I am ready to fulfill them.  My humanity has been affirmed.  I have found my place again within the restless crowd.  Mysterious inner resources discovered in that theater of enchantment have emboldened me now to face tomorrow's deadlines and obligations with a curious new sense of relief, longing, and determination.

ã 2011 Timothy Moody

A Disciple of Death or Life?

"People are born soft and supple; dead they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life. The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail." ~ Lao Tzu, Chinese Taoist Philosopher

I've Learned That I Still Have A Lot to Learn

"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~ Maya Angelou, Author/Poet

Acquire Contradictions

"What was education for, if not to acquire contradictions? At least it looked like that to me. " ~ Lorrie Moore,  from her novel, A Gait at the Stairs