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Showing posts from August, 2014

Do You Distance Yourself From Others?

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“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use it change the world.”                                                                                             - Nelson Mandela It is September and the older I get, the more I appreciate this month. As I am an empty nester, I find that September is a good time to go on vacation. I don’t have to be concerned about anyone’s school schedule, temperatures are still moderate, and I don’t have to brave the crowds. This is a prelude to say that I don’t like crowds. The more I learn, the more I know that there are certain things in all of us that are difficult to change. The more we work on ourselves, the more there is to work on. Isn’t that the way it is? Much of what gets in our way is not really who we are, but how we have defended ourselves to survive when we were younger.  One of these things that I constantly work on is my tendency to distance myself from others. On the surface it doesn’t look like I do. I have friends,

Does Distance Make The Heart Grow Fonder? Part II

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“If you want to conquer the anxieties of life, live in the moment; live in the breath.” -Amit Ray There are many phases in life. There are phases to the seasons and in nature. And, in every aspect of our lives there are phases. Right now we are in the middle to late phase of summer. The Crepe Myrtle are blooming, and if you haven’t seen crepe myrtle, you are missing something. Take a look at them at your local nursery or look them up on the internet. They are absolutely gorgeous. If we saw them bloom every day, we might begin to take them for granted. Having them take full bloom once a year makes them nearer and dearer to our hearts. Writing about this even reminds me of a friend, who uses words differently than I. In missing her, I am bringing her closer to me by using the word “gorgeous” instead of beautiful; a word I would have used to describe the crepe myrtle. She loves to use the word gorgeous, and I am feeling good using it also. This is one way which helps us to b

Does Distance Make The Heart Grow Fonder: Part I

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 “I don’t know who my grandfather was, I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.”                                                                      - Abraham Lincoln Have you ever noticed that we can see things more clearly when we look into the distance than we can when we are right in front of something? It is like, when we are looking right at something up close and personal, the larger details get lost and we can only see very small details. As we look too closely at the blooms of our summer flowers we miss the bee buzzing right next to it, or we miss seeing the cute caterpillar walking beside us.  This is true throughout every aspect of our lives. It is summer and we have already forgotten how we couldn’t wait until the warmer weather came as we had a very cold and long winter. From this distance, we can see more clearly our winter in context of the whole year. And, as we are right in the middle of the heat of summer, we can only see and feel the

A Summer's Walk In The Park

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“ Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something   you design for the present. ”                                                                           - Jim Rohn         I was taking a walk today, on this beautiful, sunny morning, and I noticed something that I know I am guilty of doing also. Everyone I saw was so into their heads or their music or walking their dog, that I don ’ t think I saw one person looking around and aware of their environment. Has this ever happened with you? Have you been preoccupied with your fitness routine, or your music, or your ipod, or your phone, and so on, that you haven ’ t been aware of what is going on around you? This month, as with the summer months, my blog is dedicated to being aware and living in the present. So far, I have talked about someone that I am working with, and so this week, as I was walking I realized how persistent and present this is for us to be not in the present. Being aware and