A Spring Poem

Since Spring Break is finally upon us (at least for those of you who live near me), I thought it'd be appropriate to share a springish poem with you. Most of you know this one, and if you do, I hope you enjoy it again. If you've never read this one before, you're in for a treat. :)

 

I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD

 

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed--and gazed--but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

                    -William Wordsworth

 

 

Grumpy Cat Has Nothing on Bad-Tempered Batfish

 

 

The rosy-lipped batfish and her slightly, uhum, friendlier cousin, the red-lipped batfish (come on, we all know what kind of women wear bright red lipstick) are two ladies who don’t let anyone tell them what to do. They break all the rules with an in-your-face attitude that just dares you to say something. For example, let’s look at how they get around. They’re fish, right? And fish swim, don’t they? Not these ladies. They refuse to be controlled by society’s expectations. They don’t swim. They walk! But if anyone tried to criticize them for it, they just might get an earful.

Small fish and other little creatures who live in the ocean have learned to keep their distance from them, especially small shrimp, mollusks, crabs, and even any worms who dare to venture underwater.  They’re lucky to escape with their lives on a good day. (They happen to be the favorite food of our batfish.) They certainly wouldn’t make the mistake of upsetting them.

If you think you’re brave enough to meet such strong-willed women, swim on out around the Galapagos Islands or the Cocos Island off the coast of Costa Rica and say, “hi.” Let us know how you fare.

The Door to Hell: Found in Turkmenistan

 

 

Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

During Dante’s time, the gateway to Hell would be a place to fear and avoid. But today, tourists visit the small village of Darvaz for no other reason that to see the Door to Hell, and of course, take a picture of themselves standing in front of it.

 So, what exactly is this place? Well, as you could probably guess, it isn’t the real door to Hell. It’s actually a deep crater (300+ feet wide by 65+ feet deep) that has been burning since 1971. A group of geologists were drilling at the site when the ground gave way under their heavy machinery. The resulting crater was filled with a natural gas that the geologists feared would escape into the atmosphere. So, what did they do? They set it on fire. They hoped that it would burn up the gas in a few days, but over 40 years later, it’s still burning. And what a sight it is! So, the next time you’re in Turkmenistan, stop by and check it out. Just don’t get too close to the edge. It might not be the real door to Hell, but you still wouldn’t want to fall in.

On the Rez: Aspen's Heart

We’ve all heard the saying “it’s better to give than to receive,” and most people would say that they agree with that. But is it really better to give than to receive? Do you really believe that? Or maybe the better question would be do you act that out?

What if you came from a culture that had a true heart of giving, a people whose giving nature had abounded until it was overcome by a culture of takers? What if you were a Native American? Would you still think it is better to give than to receive?  

 

Many people on some of the poorer reservations have spent their whole lives with so little that they rely on the assistance of others just to make do. Even those who are able to take care of themselves most likely live more by the mantra “waste not, want not” than any other. In such a situation, giving to others can be very rare. That’s what makes the actions of one little girl really stand out.

 

The little girl is Aspen, a second grader at Windswept Academy. She was at school one day when she overheard a teacher talking to a little boy in the first grade. He had very badly chapped lips, and it must have been uncomfortable for him. The teacher told the boy to ask his grandmother to get him some ChapStick to bring to school with him the next day, so he could use it throughout the day as he needed it.  However, even simple needs like that don’t always get met. And, sure enough, the next day, he came to school without it. But Aspen had noticed the need and had guessed that it would go unmet, so she came to the rescue. Walking over to the little boy, she handed him a brand new tube of ChapStick and told him “this is your very own.”  

Yes, it was just a tube of ChapStick, but for someone who has lived a life devoid of such kindness, it was an incredible ray of sunshine. The little boy told her, “You are my first friend.” Aspen did make a friend that day. Now, he follows her around everywhere wanting to be near the one who showed him kindness in the form of a simple gift of ChapStick.

So, even with all of the troubles we may encounter or the financial problems we may face, is it better to give than to receive? I think so. We never know when we might be the first friend someone has ever had.

Thank you Aspen for teaching us that even when we don’t have much ourselves, it’s still important to help others.

Nature's Own Miracle Sound

The most powerful sound in the world is one that increases brain activity, reduces stress and can relax you after a long day at work. What is that miracle sound? To a receptive mind, it is the sound of silence.

As a single girl whose only child is of the feline persuasion, my home environment doesn’t have much naturally occurring noise. However, since I’m a product of the later 20^th century, I have the short attention span that is common to my generation. As a result, my tendency leans towards turning on the television when I get home. Even if it’s only for the purpose of background noise, I feel more comfortable with the extra stimulation it offers. Unless, I go out, that’s usually how most of my days end.

In addition, I awake in the morning to a radio alarm; the car radio comes on when I start the car, and I have Pandora on my computer at work. As you can see, my life is a series of jumps from one system of input to another. This arrangement has served me well for many years with only the occasional deviation until recently.

Lately, I’ve begun to become more and more dissatisfied, and my input has begun to sound more and more like bothersome noise. Perhaps this is due to the rapidly decreasing quality of audio and video input that’s available or to my ever aging interests. Whatever the cause, lately, I have begun to find all of the input more wearying than stimulating.

As a result of this new dissatisfaction, I decided to make some drastic changes in my home. Since I don’t have the self-discipline needed to simply turn off the television, I cancelled my cable and internet connection. (The internet had to go also because I often streamed shows from Netflix.) The outcome wasn’t the boredom I expected; instead, it was a blessed silence. I took the time to just think. I read; I watched the sunset; I listened to the birds; I noticed things that I had been passing over for so many years. Time slowed down, and not in a bad way. I actually began to understand why some older people often enjoy sitting on their front porches in rocking chairs. I could relate more to people’s awe-inspired comments about sunsets and the sounds of crickets, their fishing and hiking hobbies, and the joy they had from just being out in nature. I never realized before exactly how much I was missing. All of the manufactured input I continually bombarded myself with deafened me to the wonders of the more natural, more peaceful, and more interesting input that abounded all around me.

Don’t get me wrong, I still watch the occasional television show or movie that I either buy or get in the mail from Netflix; however, I find that I don’t want to turn the television on most days. This is so different from the times in the past when I didn’t want to turn the television off. Sometimes the DVD will sit there for days before I get up enough interest to watch it. I much prefer the more intricate and longer stories in books that promote deep thought and/or the sights of nature, along with the wonderful sound of simple silence.

 If you think you can, I strongly recommend that you give it a try. Depending on how deeply you are currently entrenched into the abyss of noisy input, the time that it will take you to truly appreciate this valuable gift may vary. Just stick with it. If you can break your addiction, you, too, can truly feel the wonderful eye-opening peace that comes with the sound of silence.

Find Your "Me"

I’m not me. But I am. What I mean is that even when I’m not me, I still am me. Does that clear it up? :) Maybe you can relate. Sometimes, I don’t feel like me at all. Me is still there deep down inside, but it’s covered by layer upon layer of “sort of me.” Just the other day, for example, I found myself in a situation that’s a little different from my norm. The normal “me,” when I’m alone at least, is rather subdued and quiet. The other day, my “me” was positively bubbly. I smiled and laughed and was an absolute joy to be around if I do say so myself. As soon as the people I was talking to left, my smile diminished, and I had to stretch my mouth to work out the soreness left from the unusual overexertion. During those moments, I wasn’t me. But I was.

Now some people would just frown and shake their heads and call me a fake. But was that being fake? It was still me. Just a less-often-seen version of me.

That got me to thinking. Many people try hard to change various aspects of themselves every day and are greatly applauded for it. We are even encouraged to do so every time we turn on the television, radio, Facebook, or even news. You are overweight and unhealthy. Change yourself by trying this diet. You have a problem. Buy our “self-help” book to make yourself better. Etc. But if someone tries to make even the smallest changes to their personality, they are often called “fake.”

What about when we adapt ourselves to different situations in other areas of life? You know what I mean. If you’re a blue-jeans and T-shirt kind of person, and you have to go to a dressy event, you’ll dress appropriately. You know how to adapt to various places that you find yourself in. If you also adapt your personality to fit the situation, is that not the same thing? Can that still be considered your “me,” or are you trying to be someone else? Are you being fake?

Can I only be one “me”? I don’t think so. I think well-rounded individuals know how to handle their different “me’s.” Someone with true wisdom and experience knows when to be “me” and when to not be “me” but still be “me.”

Decide which “me” you want to be today and embrace it. Even if it is a “not me” “me.”

 

Disclaimer: This blog post is not talking about multiple personalities. That’s a whole other discussion. :)

10 Ways to Ensure You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

1.       Make the right kind of resolutions. You have to make sure your goals are valid meetable goals. Try to follow the 5 categories of attainable goals: Your goals should…

a.       Be Specific – Don’t just say “I will be happy,” or “I will be a better person.”  Such broad and generic goals will never be met because you have no definite target at which to aim. Instead think about what kinds of things will truly make you happy. What changes in your life do you need to make to be “happy.” Or in what specific ways could you be a better person? What actions would the person you want to be do? What would they not do? Once you have your specific goals in mind, go on to the next step.

b.      Be Measureable – If one of your goals is that you will stop being so negative, how will you ever know if you’ve met that goal? If you make one negative remark, does that mean you failed? What about if your goal is to lose weight. Have you succeeded if you lose 1 pound in two months? If you really want to take your resolutions seriously, you need to be able to know if you’ve kept them or not. So, you need to write up your goals in such a way that at the end of each day, you can say either “yes, I met that goal today,” or “no, I didn’t. I’ll have to try again tomorrow.”

c.       Be Realistic – Don’t set resolutions that you know you can never keep. For example, don’t resolve to lose 10 pounds every week. I don’t know of any diet that can accomplish that, and if you find one, I can almost guarantee that it will be very bad for you, and it won’t last. Instead, think of the big picture and break it down into manageable chunks.

d.      Be Challenging – On the opposite side of this, don’t make resolutions that require absolutely no effort to accomplish. For example, don’t resolve to wake up 1 minute earlier every day. Yes, it’s good to break goals into manageable chunks, but you’ll never get anywhere if you make the chunks too small.

e.      Have a Completion Date – This one is important. You need a date that you can reach and ask yourself “Did I meet my goal?” Make this date specific. For example, by December 31, 2013, I’ll have… But don’t use the end of the year as your only completion date. As we talked about before, break the year into manageable chunks. You should have a final goal for the end of the year. A smaller goal for each month, a smaller one yet for each week and a little goal for each day. That way, you continue working on your goals day by day. Otherwise, if you’re like me, you may forget about them.

2.       Make a schedule. It’s best to do this in writing. Plan out your day and write in time for your resolution each day. Plan when you will exercise, or look for new recipes, or talk to someone whom you’ve always had difficulty staying positive around. (It’s good to practice.) It’s also good to have a back-up time planned in case something comes up. And if your goal is to stop doing something, think about the time that you usually do it, and schedule in something different at that time every day.

3.       Find a partner. It’s always easier to do something if you have someone else doing it with you. Find someone with the same resolution and work together. If you have a weak moment, call them for encouragement. Help each other to succeed.   

4.       Beat Temptation. Think of the most common excuses you’ve used in the past that have caused you to break your resolution. Find ways to overcome these when they come up again because they will. Also, you need to recognize temptation when you meet it. Many times we feel that craving and just give in to it without thinking. You need to pause, step back for a moment and recognize temptation for what it is. Name it. And then consider the battle you’re in. Only then can you make a conscious decision to lose the battle and give in to temptation or to fight and win.

5.       Study your resolution. Research your specific goal and find out how others have reached it. Just make sure you don’t fall for the instant-result gimmicks that are always out there. If your resolution was so easy to keep, everyone would have already done it by now. Be smart and be prepared to work.

6.       Find motivational pictures that will help you. If your goal is to lose weight, find a picture of someone who is the weight you want to be. It might also help to find a picture of someone who is larger than you are currently. That way, you could see what you could become if you give up. If your goal is to stop smoking, put up pictures of items that you could buy with all of the money you spend on cigarettes. Put these pictures in places where you are most likely to see them when you are tempted to give up.

7.       Don’t forget. One of the biggest reasons that I break my New Year’s resolutions is simply that I forget about them. Life gets in the way, and I put them off for a day, then another, until I don’t even think about them anymore. Put reminders up everywhere, and continually look at them.

8.       Keep them new. Find ways to change up your routine so that you don’t get bored with it. Also, be realistic about how you’re doing as the days progress. If you just can’t seem to make yourself exercise for an hour every day, then change it up to two exercise periods of 30 minutes each or 4 times for 15 minutes each. If you still have a hard time not gossiping about your boss to your colleagues or friends, try to start a PRIVATE journal where you can still say everything you want to say on paper. See if that makes it easier to keep your mouth closed. The important thing is that you don’t give up if something doesn’t work. Stay determined! Keep changing your routine until you find something that works. Also, change the location of your reminders. Change your motivational pictures, etc. Don’t get so used to things that they don’t have any impact anymore.

9.       Make yourself accountable. Now, this only works if your accountable to someone you would actually care to tell that you failed. If your accountability partner is someone that you are very close to, you might not care if they know you broke your resolution. After all, they probably already know that you messed up many times in your life. We all have. Instead, make yourself accountable to someone, or to many someones, to whom you would not want to admit that you failed. (Maybe blog about your progress or share it with your Facebook friends.)

10.   BE SERIOUS! You have to really want it! If you don’t, then nothing you can do will make you keep your resolutions. It all comes down to one thing. Which do you want more, to keep your resolution or to eat that piece of chocolate, or say that mean thing, or plop down on the couch, or smoke that cigarette, etc. You have to be at a point where you really want to change.

If you follow these guidelines, I mean really seriously follow them, then you can conquer temptation and fulfill your resolutions! You can do it! Don’t give up! Good luck. :)