Monthly Archives: October 2017
Don’t Feed the Wild Fears
Look, we’ve both read a lot of books, right? Self-help, motivation, and so forth. In fact, if you’re like me, you’ve even made it a permanent sub-set of your lifestyle. So we read books. We attend seminars. We expose ourselves to all kinds of positive, uplifting input. And the advice we find there often comes down to some version of “Just Do It.” Well, that does sound logical. Simple, even. But isn’t it a shame how poorly that advice works out in real life?
How often, when you’re facing a big, difficult, daunting task, are you able to “just do it” and be confident going in that you’ve got it covered? If it’s less than 50%, then maybe we need to consider some kind of change in strategies.
Addicted to Technology
Today’s guest article, written by long-time friend Peter Vajda, takes a close, careful look at the hair trigger we’ve all developed – a hair trigger that responds instantly, unquestioningly to all forms of electronic communication. You know what I’m talking about. You’re sitting with friends enjoying a leisurely dinner and your phone rings (chimes, plays, sings, announces, barks, or whatever your ringtone is), and you go, “Oh, excuse me. I have to take this … hello?”
Same with email coming in, facebook notifications and all the rest. It’s become an instant, kneejerk reaction.
Persistence vs. an Ugly Voice from the Past
Persistence is a crucial trait.
And it’s this quality that keeps you going through everything. But sometimes flashbacks can get in the way of persistence.
Flashbacks? Yeah, you know – ideas, voices or mental pictures from out of your past. Stuff that rises up out of the back of your mind to haunt you – undermine your determination. And that’s exactly what happened to me a few years back.
A Long, Barren Winter’s End
We enter, each year, a season of autumn when the beauty and lush growth of summer begin shutting down, preparing us for the austerity and cold of wintertime.
Just as the leaves of summer fall to earth and the trees appear to die, so it also happens with the human spiritual climate. We see much of the plenty around us wither and fall away, and we, as a race, prepare ourselves for yet another centuries-long winter of the soul. It is a season when many things drop away and leave our landscape barren. But out of this falling away, many new things will eventually be born.
When Life Has Scarred You
Whatever You’ve Got, Be Glad of it
The old proverb goes, “Into every life a little rain must fall.” And I always thought – a little?!! You ain’t been payin’ attention here. Most of us can manage to get through the bad times, but we don’t have to like it, right? And we ain’t forgetting the struggle – that memory stays with us. And stays.
On the other hand, some few people always seem to come out the other side of turmoil with their peace, their equanimity, still intact. How do they do that?
How to Manage Your Moods Starting Now
Driving Your Own Emotions
Sure, we all have emotions. Some are happy type feelings and others are sad. We all know about that (only too well in most cases). But what about all those emotions. We enjoy the good ones and don’t enjoy the crappy ones, but what’re you gonna do? Sometimes you just can’t help feeling how you feel, right? Well, here’s a heads-up.
On the Preacher Bench
I had decided to walk to the gym that day, and by the time I got there of course it was raining. Hard. I keep a beat-up old fold-away umbrella in my gym bag, but I never use it because, well, real men just don’t use umbrellas. But what the hell, it was a cold, cutting November rain and I was drowning here.
Anyway, when I got there my pant legs and sleeves were soaked through, and the back of my jacket and shirt felt clingy and cold. Don’t you hate that feeling? I mean, why don’t they make umbrellas longer in back or something?
