(To see a video of how pictures like this are taken click here.)
It’s been a busy two weeks:
- I finally switched my video editing over to the Mac, which meant learning Final Cut Express,
- I gave a 40-minute presentation on stress management, which meant making my first Power Point slide show, and
- I had to fix a problem with my web site.
All in all a slightly overloaded but rewarding time. I’m now restoring my balance by watching some videos and resting. That’s an important part of a balanced life, but one that our culture often ignores.
Enough for now! Back to my R & R. 😉
Awesome pictures! Balance – boy that’s a topic! You’re so right about often ignoring the resting part. I try to build a bit of that in each day but many times that just doesn’t work. I get busy doing instead of just being. The only advantage I have now is that as I’m getting older, I have less energy altogether and rest seems to just happen more often – but only because I’m so tired!
suzens last blog post..Kentucky Derby – Inspiration from a Long Shot!
Agree with you, we should make balance between work and rest.
I ever heard an older said: “we should make balance between spiritual life and worldly life”. At other hand, I heard that religions is about doctrine. How the balancing will happen if come from doctrine. May be I’m still young to understand.
tiknos last blog post..Reflection From Hunger For Us
LOVE the picture!
Sounds fun your first power point presentation!
How did it go? For who did you give it to?
I am full of curiosity and questions…..tell more.
suzen,
I too find it’s a lot easier to take time out for relaxation now than it was when I was younger. There are definite advantages to getting older. 😉
tikno,
I’m not religious so I don’t have problems with dogma and doctrines. I do try to integrate my spiritual life with my everyday activities…as you might have guessed by the “Happiness as a Spiritual Practice.” 😉
Diane,
I gave the talk/discussion at the local Unitarian Church. It went well. I enjoyed learning Power Point but had trouble coming up with an organized talk. Once I finally figured out my outline and started including pictures it was a lot easier. I enjoy leading discussions more than lecturing, so I started with a discussion about stress and what the audience was doing to manage it, then I gave my little show and ended up with more discussion. I also passed out the Traits of Stress-Hardy, Resilient People and questions to ask in a Stress Log:
• What caused your stress? (Make a guess if you’re unsure.)
• How did you feel, both physically and emotionally?
• How did you act in response?
• What did you do to make yourself feel better?
• Did you spend more energy on the problem than was needed?
• How could you have responded in a more empowering way?
It went well and was enjoyable for all of us, I think. If you’d like I could send you a copy of the Power Point slides.
Thanks for asking!
I know, Jean.
Just a question to start discussion with you or maybe with your reader. Of course if you don’t mind.
If you mean the balancing only refers between work and rest, maybe my question has the wrong starting point.
tiknos last blog post..Reflection From Hunger For Us
Awesome! This picture is truly brilliant! It totally depicts balance!
Evelyn Lims last blog post..Intuitive Messages To Who I Am
• What caused your stress? (Make a guess if you’re unsure.) –I’m sure. Too much STUFF
• How did you feel, both physically and emotionally? –Overwhelmed
• How did you act in response? –Ignored feeling.
• What did you do to make yourself feel better? –brought in more STUFF.
• Did you spend more energy on the problem than was needed? –Well, yes
• How could you have responded in a more empowering way? –We all know the answer to this. Am working on it.
Sure Jean! I’d love a copy!!!!
Thanks!!!
Diane
tikno,
I’m all for starting a discussion. Could you tell us more about how you balance your spiritual and worldly life? Is anyone else trying to balance other things, say personal relationships and work? Or?
Evelyn,
As soon as I saw that picture I knew I had to use it in a post. 😉
Bikehikebabe,
Thanks for the great description. It’s like people who overeat and stress themselves about it. Clearly the only thing that will relieve the pressure is to eat more comforting foods. Buying things can have the same effect. I once came across an article entitled, This is your brain on shopping. Rest assured, you are not alone.
When I get into situations like that I find laughing helps a lot. 😉
Diane,
I’ll send it off. Let me know if you have any problems with it. The slides don’t contain everything I said, but it will give you an idea.
Diane,
I also put them up on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8185675@N07/sets/72157617784910368/
They can be seen as a slide show (upper right-hand corner, about the third line down.)
Frankly, I am right now unable to balance between what I want to do and what I am stuck with. I am trying many things to bring about some semblance of sanity into the situation, but without much success. The last few days particularly have been very stressful and I have decided, after reading this post, that I simply have to say enough is enough to some matters which have been thrust on me, and go away for a few days for some R &R.
I suppose that all of us have such periods of stress and sense of helplessness and they inevitably seem, in retrospect, to have been trivia, once it is all over and done with. I hope that it will happen to me too.
rummusers last blog post..Somethings, Thank God, Never Change.
rummuser,
Good luck! Taking time off to rest and think will often give us the clarity we need to set priorities and some sane boundaries. Please let us know how it turns out. We’re rooting for you!
Very kind gesture to give bikehikebabe a webpage. Congrats on the powerpoint slideshow. You are reaching new milestones every moment. Love the image of piled rocks with the seagull. Wonder if you are familiar with the Canadian Inukchuk?
Liara,
I Googled Inukchuk and saw some pictures on Flickr. I love this one. I would include it here but it doesn’t have a Creative Commons license. Thank you for telling me about it.
Until now I still feel there is no balance between my spiritual and worldly life. First, because I am still inclined to the worldly things. Second, because each religion defend their own doctrine and make me confused about who is correct.
So I tries to learn philosophy, especially the Confucius philosophy for help me realizes the meaning of life.
tiknos last blog post..Reflection From Hunger For Us
tikno,
One of my main concerns in high school was figuring out my philosophy of life. Like you I didn’t look to the various religions for it, I looked to see what philosophers had said. I also read biographies and history to see what worked for other people. Good luck!
Wow! Am I impressed. I thought high school girls were concerned about their hair, clothes, & boys. You had it all together right from the start. I’m really in awe. I believe you because I think you mentioned this before.
bikehikebabe,
Thanks. 😉
Albert Camus wrote:
To think is to be undermined.
In At Home in the Universe I wrote about being undermined when I was in fifth grade. And in Building a Solid Foundation I wrote about how I started building a new foundation in high school.
Jean,
Wow I loved your PPP! You are so very talented!
Thanks for sharing it with me!
Ramana,
Hope the rest and recharging goes well for you!
Hi Jean…
Just something I cam across I like to share with all of you here!
This provides a firm basis for religious harmony.
Thankfulness is a virtue highly praised by all religious people. But gratefulness goes even further. As the mystical essence at the heart of every spiritual tradition, gratefulness unites different religions at their very center. Each tradition flows from its source in the founder’s own experience of communion with ultimate mystery. This experience wells up again and again in the hearts of all followers throughout the generations. It finds expression in the full response to life as gift, which is nothing other than grateful living.
We humans experience spiritual reality under three aspects: as the unfathomable mystery that surrounds and transcends our life, as our own innermost being, and as the life breath and love energy that flows through the universe and holds all things in harmony. Different traditions emphasize different aspects of this continuum. This alone creates a great diversity, within which historical, geographic, and cultural conditions make for amazingly rich variations. The closer we are to the heart of our own tradition, the more freely we will appreciate the forms in which others celebrate the supreme mystery for which every human heart longs
PS inspired by Tikno…writing on being afraid of choosing incorrectly……his unique pathway…….in his search for the spiritual meaning of life.
OOPS….a writing from gratefulness.org
Diane,
Thanks for the kind words and for sharing that piece. Unfortunately it doesn’t always work out that way. Too many people believe in persecuting heretics and unbelievers. “Death to the infidels!”
tikno,
I’ve just been listening to a history of Rome. When Christianity was just getting started the educated people were turning to philosophy, not religion, for guidance.
For me the turning point was realizing I had to figure out what my deepest values were, and I couldn’t rely on any one else to do the work for me. Some people call that finding your personal mission. There are all sorts of ways of going about finding one, but my favorite is Steve Pavlina’s How to Discover Your Life Purpose in About 20 Minutes:
1. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up a word processor where you can type (I prefer the latter because it’s faster).
2. Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?”
3. Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.
4. Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your purpose.
I have to smile every time I think of it. I had my purpose figured out long before I read his piece, but Pavlina gets right to the heart of the matter. 🙂
Jean,
That is so true Of some not all……..I tend to few those some as really not getting the “core point” in the first place!!!!!!!
The enlightment….has not come unto these some. Its because of the persecutions we have all learned about that we are hesitant in many things……humanities nature to be ignorant and blind…..and seek force….and actually get off a path of truth and non violence fused. Its sad the distortions/misinterpretations that have played out by men/women in history and even right now from extremists groups and the havoc they create for their own communities.
I like Steve’s Lesson too!
Gets to a great point for your own uniique needs and wants to a purpose driven life.
What ever works!
Thanks, Jean!
Diane
There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.
— H. H. The Dalai Lama
Diane,
The trouble with religion is often it is the dogmatic ones who wind up in charge.
“Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.” Amen to that!
Diane,
I appreciate your effort for sharing another source for read.
I like to reads it.
Jean,
I try to follow steps 1 – 4 above before I sleep. Not with the way by writing on paper but using contemplation of between thoughts (brain) and feelings (sense). Similar with using approach of “Yin & Yang” to find the equilibrium in it. There was a turbulence in myself. Turbulence of between private interests and family interests (because I have been married), between the worldly desire and the susurration restrictions.
The final outcome is I have responsibility to God and human (family first, and then society) and the responsibility will ends if called by God. Responsibility for “equilibrium”.
If you have time, I have post about equilibrium at:
http://love-ely.blogspot.com/2008/09/unwritten-law.html
http://love-ely.blogspot.com/2008/09/cause-and-effect-musing.html
tiknos last blog post..Reflection From Hunger For Us
tikno,
Thanks for telling me about your post. I enjoyed reading it. I think it was nice of you to give the lady some money, but I also think she should drive more carefully!
a decision from the unwritten law (affection).
tiknos last blog post..Reflection From Hunger For Us