Rouse yourself

"Research shows that feelings of loneliness can affect the body's immune system.

Taking a minute to rouse yourself from your computer to call a friend or meet for coffee can make a difference in your mood and energy level." (http://living.health.com/2009/03/17/3-easy-energy-boosters/)

Sprinklings of wisdom, part III

Dream more while you are awake.

Don't overdo. Keep your limits.

Sleep for 7 hours. (Or more!)

Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise. - Proverbs 10:19

The more talk, the less truth; the wise measure their words. - Proverbs 10-19 The Message

Sprinkings of wisdom, part II

Call your family (especially your mom!) often.

Don't compare your life to others': You have no idea what their journey is all about.

Learn from the mistakes of others. You don't live long enough to make them all yourself.

Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

Try to make at least three people smile each day.

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

-Philippians 4:8 The Message paraphrase

Sprinklings of wisdom

I’m like a kid when there’s something new in my world: I want to wear it, use it, or talk about it as soon as possible. I just scanned our musty wedding pictures and want to post a few. So, here we go, along with a few “sprinklings of wisdom” to legitimize the pics' presence on this blog.

To go along with a wedding pic, hmmm, how about…

No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

Or maybe it’d be better to choose...

You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. Forget issues of the past.
Don't have negative thoughts over things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

Better yet...
.

Smile and laugh more.
Forgive everyone for everything.
Each day give something good to others.

The Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Acts 20:35b

Comfort, that stealthy thing

Recently, friend Kurt shared a quote that both convicts and inspires me. It came to mind again when I was reading about Jesus’ encounters with the religious folk of his day. His words to them were bold and offensive, and his claim to be God – the I AM – outrageous! I call myself a Christ-follower: it follows that I am to act and be like him. I’ve got to say, outrageous makes me uncomfortable. Avoiding discomfort and pursuing comfort in my life is too high a “good” (I confess), all the while not being so good for me.

“…Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host and then a master?

Ay, and it becomes a tamer, and with hook and scourge makes puppets of your larger desires…

Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul, and then walks grinning in the funeral…” – Kahlil Gibran

Love is...

Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we have learned here. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and the acceptance of love back into our hearts." – Marianne Williamson

To the loving eye, everything is real. This art of love is neither sentimental nor naïve. Such love is the greatest criterion of truth, celebration, and reality… Love is the light in which we see light. Love is the light in which we see each thing in its true origin, nature, and destiny. If we could look at the world in a loving way, then the world would rise up before us full of invitation, possibility, and depth. - John O'Donohue, Anam Cara

picture taken by Seth 2008, Inca trail

Calming music

Research shows that listening to 30 minutes of classical music may produce calming effects equivalent to taking 10 mg of Valium.

http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/features/blissing-out-10-relaxation-techniques-reduce-stress-spot?page=3

"I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music." - J.S. Bach

Pleasant confusion

"I barely have a sense of what I mean when I say love, let alone what it means to you. That's as it should be; God save us if we ever believe we have figured love out. James Thurber defined love as "that pleasant confusion we know exists." It's the best definition I have heard, but you have to appreciate the difference between confusion and mystery. Confusion is what happens when you try to figure out a mystery. Mystery itself can be very sweet, just as it is."

- Gerald May...What I Think I Know about Love

waterfall in El Salvador; picture taken by Rebekah 2000
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"Therefore understanding that rests in what it does not understand is the finest." -Chuang Tzu