A Balanced Approach to Wellness!

Posts tagged ‘thoughts’

Loving oneself—it can be done

Post 76-loving oneself

Loving oneself can occur and does occur when the awareness of its importance is brought to light. In the book, Pond a Connected Existence, the ten most important things that the average human requires are listed in the order of their importance. Self-love is number 8!

Self-love is not simple to achieve, especially for those who grow up in societies that do not value its importance. Nonetheless, people must strive to love themselves so that they can move on and love others.

What is self-love? It is described in the book Oneself-Living (soon to be published):

“Self-love, like [deep love of others], has six requirements: #1 obligation #2 appreciation #3 attraction #4 devotion. #5 flow #6 admiration

1  obligation to assist, support, and be available physically
2  appreciation of assistance, support, and character
3  attraction to inner and outer
4  held in close consideration at all times (devotion)
5  openness to surprise, acknowledgment of mortality, accommodation of cultures, and thoughtfulness
6  admiration for kindnesses, assistance, and acceptances done for others and for self”

The requirements of self-love

  1. obligation to assist, support, and be available physically: assist and support oneself when feeling unable to achieve goals or daily tasks and care for one’s physicality so that the body can be able to provide support for one’s tasks and goals.
  2. appreciation of assistance, support, and character: be able to see one’s assistance and support for oneself and be able to appreciate the variation of character traits (and not focus on negative traits).
  3. attraction to inner and outer: feel a sense of pull towards one’s physical appearance and one’s character traits. Especially for women, this requirement is important when the advertising and entertainment industries push unrealistic beauty indexes.
  4. held in close consideration at all times (devotion): remember to include one’s own needs when living life (not put other people’s needs first). Even a mother has to put her needs above her baby’s needs if she is going to tend to the baby properly. This requirement is not easy because it can be confused with being selfish, which it is not.
  5. openness to surprise, acknowledgment of mortality, accommodation of cultures, and thoughtfulness: all of these requirements are connected because they all require consideration of life’s realities.
  6. admiration for kindnesses, assistance, and acceptances done for others and for self: notice what one does for others (being kind, providing assistance, giving way when others’ needs require it) and applaud oneself for caring for personal needs and dreams.

Self-love is the basis for balanced living. Without it, one is always askew no matter how well one eats or exercises or volunteers.

“When we …are able to heal ourselves then only are we ready to help others.” by Ann Wigmore in the Naturama living textbook.

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Self-love

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Learning to love I

Post 75-learning to love I

A continuation from yesterday’s post…

Not liking ourselves leads to not liking others

The work begins within!

When we are unkind to ourselves, we inhibit our ability to relate to others in a balanced and caring way. Their idiosyncrasies annoy us rather than entertain us. We relate to them in harshness and in impatience. When we are kind to ourselves, we expand our caring for ourselves and for others.

How to be kinder to ourselves

  1. Feel inside your body—think about its wondrous functioning (even if you are sick) and be appreciative towards the internal grandeur of your body.
  2. Think about a person you admire, and imagine that his or her admired qualities are in you too.
  3. Write a short wish for yourself that includes a wish for admiration. For example, write “I desire and wish for myself to admire myself” (You are not being graded on your writing composition.) Keep this written wish in a place that is private and accessible, for instance, on a shelf by your bed.
  4. Look at each finger on each hand and notice its shape and agility (if any of the fingers hurt or are arthritic, stroke the finger and send it compassion).
  5. Listen to music that invigorates you and think of yourself as being a joyous person.
  6. Touch your face and slowly breathe, while your feet are rocking back and forth on the ground. You can do this step while standing or sitting.
  7. Look at a reminder from your childhood (a picture or a knick knack) and then look at your favorite piece of clothing or a memento.

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Focused living

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Not liking someone

Post 74-not liking

People are generally nice to people they know. Not always, but generally so. The more a person circulates in the world, the less he or she can know the people who cross his or her path, and the less these other people can be liked. Politeness and mannered interactions are not being discussed here. The subject is liking or not liking.

People are nice or not nice to others, depending on upbringing and temperament. When a person is unkind to someone they don’t know, the person usually feels little or no remorse because the other person has little significance. When a person is unkind to a friend or family member, the feelings will be different unless the two people are already at odds. Unkind behavior has an effect when either person cares for the other and is hurt by the unexpected negative behavior. Unkind behavior wounds and scars relationships and people.

Being friendly, but feeling disdain inside, reaches the other person in an intangible sort of way. Same with pretending to care or pretending to feel warmth when warmth does not exist inside. Expecting ourselves to be nice to everyone who crosses our paths is difficult, but mostly when we let ourselves feel unkindness inside towards the others and towards our own selves.

The more we feel nice feelings towards ourselves, the more we can like others. The less satisfied we are with ourselves, the more people we dislike. Even when we travel the world and meet many people, we can experience empathy, interest, and pleasure with these encounters if we are empathetic, interested in, and pleased with ourselves.

Not liking ourselves leads to not liking others

The work begins within!

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Self-love

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Another book published!

Cover for Pond a Connected ExistenceMy second book, Pond a Connected Existence, is published on amazon.com! In honor of wisdom presented in the book, here are a few quotes:

From the chapter “Behavior & Release”:

“…Sleep is an integral portion of the composition that is human life. Sleep and life intertwine. Life cannot be sustained without sleep. A healthy life requires healthy sleep. Too little sleep can cause accidents, illness, and shrinkage. Sleep that is sufficient leads to expansion, good health, less whining, productivity, and a more positive outlook. Some people view sleep as a nuisance; some people view it as a disturbance. Sleep can be a dreaded event when people see it as a time for tossing and turning or disturbing dreams or insomniatic existence…. Each person should understand his or her sleep requirements and be mindful to fulfill them.”

From the chapter “Determining Activity Value”:

“…People fill their limited time with unimportant and un-elevating wispy-fluff. They don’t realize the effects of empty and valueless time wasters. They think their choices have value, interesting dimensions, and resulting effects. Most often their choices have deficiency, narrow borders, and insignificant effects.

Wispy-fluff. Vanity of vanities. Empty undertakings.

Truly there are ways to live, ways to choose, ways to show love, ways to show affection, ways to transmit rules and requirements, and ways to interact with the environment. One simply has to decide to live in a sustaining and non-damaging manner. The choice is available to all.”

From the chapter  “Intrigue”:

“…People like and respond to distractions, rumors, and intrigue. They respond to knowing that others have it worse, that others need help, that others are suffering. They are comforted when others suffer as they do or at least have felt the suffering. But should others have it better or easier or with less struggle, the emotions change. Comfort turns to envy; wishes for well-being (for the other) turn into wishes for struggle. The more the inequality, the more discontent and jealousy and desire for others’ failure exist in the air. Permeating the atmosphere at social events, at work, at school. Seeping into conversations and into dreams. Disturbing sleep and disturbing digestion. Causing arguments or disgruntlement or dissatisfaction.….

… Refraining from participation in rumor-spreading and information-passing is sustaining. Not an easy thing to do; therefore, its value is high. To be balanced is to know how much to say, how much to keep back, and how much to say kindly”

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EGC books and articles

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Practical advice

Post 72-practical adviceOne of my blog followers thanked me for the practical advice I provided in yesterday’s post (about when to drink water). Her comment led me to look through my blog and see how much practical advice I provide. Not as much as I had thought! I have mainly provided wisdom about many topics that we all deal with without presenting a how-to. Would y’all like more practical advice? Let me know.

Here is a list of practical advice that has been presented through my blog since I began writing it in September:

1. If you have experienced a minor trauma, do the following steps:

  • Notice the physical state of your body.
  • Breathe normally (breaths don’t have to be deep, but should not be quick).
  • Think about how things turned out more-or-less okay.
  • Do movements, like a little victory dance, which will release the bodily tension.

from “Overcoming small traumas”

2.  To connect to your environment:

  • Consider the available channels for community service in your area and select one that is doable for you. Then examine your time wasters and select one or two that can be replaced by the community service. Then make it happen!

from “Connections are the means–connection to one’s environment, post 3 of 7”

3.  To connect to creatures:

  • Caring for pets, supporting humane zoos, supporting centers for animal care, abstaining from using animals for decorative objects, and supporting animal habitats in the wild are important ways for humans to fulfill their obligations to other creatures.

from “Connections are the means–connection to other creatures, post 5 of 7”

4.  When feeling hesitant to take an action or make a decision notice three things:

  • Does the action or decision make you feel fearful, worried, or unqualified to act/decide?
  • Does the action or decision cause your intuition to signal a strong response–positive or negative?
  • Does the action or decision require you to be more active than you normally would? If so, are you hesitating out of laziness or inertia?
  • Once these questions are addressed, a decision should be easier to make and an action should be easier to take.

from “Hesitation”

5.  To maintain the “glow” during Christmas time:

  • Be sure to schedule time to experience the beauty and rhythm of this very special time.

from “Christmas doings”

6.  To deal with clutter:

  • …Declutter one significant area, then observe this area and be proud and kind to yourself. Declutter a second significant area, then observe this area and be proud and kind to yourself. Continue in this fashion until you have decluttered the areas that deserve to be uplifting.

from “Clutter”

7.  To handle too-controlling people:

  • You can release them from your life if they are not family members.
  • If they are family members who do not really need your company, you can limit your time with them.
  • You can breathe in this rhythm when he or she starts to tantrum: breathe in to a count of 5, breathe out to a count of 4—until the person requires a response. The breathing and counting should help you lessen the tantrum’s effect on your body and will help you tune out the unpleasant words…

from “I want my way”

8.  To add more touch to your life:

  • Touching a loved one is much needed balancing. If a loved one is unavailable, then touching an animal. If an animal is unavailable, then touching a part of nature—a flower, a blade of grass, a stone, etc.

from “Sense of touch”

9.  When feeling stuck:

  • Breathe to this count: breathe in to a count of 6, hold for a count of 4, breathe out to a count of 5. Breathe this way until relaxation starts to set in.
  • …look at [the sky] and appreciates its colors and its movement.
  • …think about little achievements and the larger ones, and then do the relaxation breathing again.

from “Feelings of non-movement”

10.  When feeling frustrated, the best antidote is making something:

  • Making a comforting food that is also nutritious
  • Making another person happy
  • Making a trip to a beautiful landscape
  • Making a phone call to a person who lifts your spirits

from “What does frustration feel like”

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Focused living

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How important is water?

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Water is the most important life-sustaining substance that we put in our bodies. That information is well known. What isn’t clear is whether the timing of drinking water is important. I recently received a forwarded email about this subject, and some of the claims seemed untrue to me so I asked my Source if there is general wisdom about when to drink water (drinking water during sports and physical exertion is not being presented). Here is the information I received:

  • A glass of water soon after waking is important for renewed activity in the body.
  • A glass of water before a meal helps the body digest the food.
  • A glass of water 15-20 minutes before sex helps with the proper functioning of the body.
  • A glass of water before doing homework can be helpful, especially when children have trouble settling down to study.
  • A glass of water during intense thinking (work, studies, creative endeavors, etc.) can help continue the progress.
  • A glass of water when a sudden onset of sadness or grief occurs can help lift the mood.
  • A glass of water when feeling a bit sleepy can help revive the body when sleep is not possible. (Keep in mind that it does not help if the person is very tired.)
  • A glass of water during spiritual activity can increase concentration.

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Food & drink

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What does frustration feel like?

Frustration
in my
Amazing
Life is
Leading
Purpose wrong

Post 70-Frustration

Purpose wrong
Leading
Life is
Amazing
in my
Frustration

Frustration—in my amazing life is leading, purpose wrong.
Purpose wrong leading? Life is amazing in my…frustration.

Frustration, in my amazing life the frustration I feel is leading me towards a purpose that is wrong. This purpose is wrong because the way it is leading is to a life that is not amazing, and in my frustration, I am agitated.

The message

When feeling frustrated, remembering that life is amazing is not enough. The best antidote to frustration is making something:

  • Making a comforting food that is also nutritious
  • Making another person happy
  • Making a trip to a beautiful landscape
  • Making a phone call to a person who lifts your spirits

Making something and not not just fretting is the way to elevating the spirit when the spirit is unclear.

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Well-being

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When we set our alarm clock…

Post 69-People

“Certainty. We all want certainty. And sometimes we get it. When we prepare for things, we often get the desired outcome. When we measure and work in an exacting manner, our cakes taste right, they look beautiful, they make the eaters happy. When we wash our hands, they are clean. When we allow enough time, we (usually) arrive at our destination on time. When we set our alarm clock, we wake up on time—usually. When we build buildings with strong foundations, they keep us secure—except in times of war or destructive natural disasters.

-from the chapter “Certainty Relatively” in The Gift of Intuitive, Dedicated Comfort

When we set our alarm clock, the chance of waking up at the time we chose is somewhat guaranteed. When we plan our day, the chance of getting our chores/job/errands/extras done has increased. When we think about the family members we should reach out to, we sometimes reach out. When we remember that we should call a loved one, we occasionally call. When we consider the importance of connecting with a sibling or other close relative, we know it’s important, but we might or might not make the time for the connection. And so it goes.

Life is busy and if we don’t plan ahead, important things can get forgotten.

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Focused living

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Positive and negative positives-negatives

Post 7-bracelet

22 stones. One for each combination of positive-negative voices in our heads. Sort of like the good angel-bad angel depiction of our consciences. Sort of like how we feel when we are deciding between a sustaining activity that is a time investment and a non-sustaining activity that is a time distraction.

The list below is a partial list of positives-negatives.  Please feel free to add more.

1 good-bad
2 elevate-stay/descend
3 try-hold back
4 consider-discount
5 open-territorial
6 caring-disdain
7 charitable-judgmental
8 respect-disregard
9 prepare-neglect/ignore
10 retain-spread
11 me-others
12 others-me
13 accept-reject
14 act-accept
15 speak up-hold back
16 contribute-withhold
17 develop-abandon
18 patience-impatience
19 defend-withdraw
20 aid-hurt
21 support-sabotage
22 humility-vanity

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Sustaining activities

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Why we like prizes, freebies, and contests

Post 67-contests freebies prizes

Part of the human design is the pull towards the unknown. Working things out, discovering, learning. People are driven to explore and understand. And to master. People also tend to want new challenges after they have internalized previous challenges. Contests, freebies, and prizes are human ways of answering the need for the unknown and for the challenge.

Each person has a reason for entering a contest or vying for a prize or applying for a freebie. How does a freebie fit in? Because the wanting of a reachable-but-not-quite item or experience is a form of a challenge, albeit a minor one. The freebie-wanting is a way of working things out and mastering.

Also, people want entertainment. Another design feature! Contests, freebies, and prizes answer this need. Each in its own way entertains and interests.

The more one participates in contests and events that include prizes, the more one feels purpose, because the winning or placing or almost-winning or almost-placing satisfies a magnetic pull towards out-doing the unknown—changing the rules, creating a surprise ending.

Explore unknown (want ___ after ___ have )! Fill in the blanks and win a prize! Just kidding.

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Sustaining activities, Unknown developments

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Compassion

Blog 66-CompassionSome people say that people are not compassionate by nature. That is not true. People are compassionate; compassion is part of the design. Women and men, in varying degrees depending on their hormonal make-up, are compassionate.

Compassion can be displayed in the ways in which people interact with one another, with animals, with inanimate objects (such as knick knacks and clothing), and with gems. In general, compassion should be shown towards living and breathing creatures; the compassion towards the nonliving items is compassion misplaced.

When a person confuses the recipient of compassion—the nonliving item in place of the living creature—something has occurred in that person’s life that upset the natural order for compassion. People are meant to feel compassion for other people, and not feeling compassion is the incorrect response. No! Compassion is kindness presented internally which stimulates warm and caring feelings for the people, animals, and nature in one’s surroundings.

To truly feel compassion for another person, one simply has to live the design.

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People, Well-being

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Witnessing motivation

Post 65-Witnessing motivation

I attended a gathering of seekers, and was able to witness a motivator. His manner was straight-forward and his presentation was subtle. This man was sure and grounded, and he slowly fulfilled the expectations of the gathered motivation-needers.

These needy and hungry attendees waited for the magic to work. His approach was slow-going, but they waited patiently, patiently. They were familiar with his approach and knew that magic would come. They came prepared knowing his thinking, so he didn’t need to convince because the convincing had already been done.

The people taught me that having a leader makes life easier, even if he has little to say. Once a leader has convinced, he can focus on his interests and on his development. The people want what he wants too because it is easier to want a guided goal.

The leader taught me that building a foundation is the step to creating a following. The fulfillment of individual desires for amazement create the magic that may or may not exist.

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People

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Thoughts about people

Hearts

When we think about others, our thinking is colored by what we think about them. In other words, how we feel about them and how we feel they affect us, affects how we assess them. Also, our thinking about ourselves affects our thinking about others.

If someone has been kind to us, our opinion of this person could be kind in turn, or not, depending on if we think we deserved the kindness. If our opinion is that we didn’t deserve the kindness (because we know that we were neglectful, distracted, or undeserving), then we may consider this person to be foolish or lacking in deservedness as well. Our opinion will be negative rather than positive, when positive would have been the balanced thinking. The more we are balanced in our thinking about ourselves, the more we can evaluate others clearly and with objectivity.

How we see ourselves is how we see others. We must aim to be self-kind and self-forgiving and self-loving.

More to come on this topic…

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Self-love

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When a young person dies

Post 62-death

Yesterday, I learned that the unthinkable happened. A young woman on a hiking/adventure holiday died. She and one of my sons were in high school together, and I know her and her mother. The funeral will take place when her body arrives back home.

I have written about death a few times in my books, and I turn to them and to Spiritual Presence to find understanding and comfort.

From the Gift of Intuitive, Dedicated Comfort:

“Each day brings an opportunity to move up or down, to build or waste, and to affect or be affected.”

The message: this young woman was a person who involved herself in life. Not only in her travels, but in her relationships and in her community.

From Pond a Connected Existence:

“The moments accumulate and produce the picture that is one’s life.”

The message: She spent her moments in uplifting and sustaining activities. The picture that is her life is one filled with vibrant colors and multiple dimensions. (See my earlier post “Finding one’s way” that explains life pictures.)

“An event occurs that requires action. The timing of the event influences possible actions. The action(s) taken are influenced by capabilities, preparation, presence of resources, and decisions. Overall attitude pervades the process. Many parts for an outcome.”

The message: Whatever happened, happened because of her capabilities, preparation, presence of resources, decisions, and attitude. And timing. “Many parts for an outcome.”

From the chapter “Concrete Living” in Oneself-Living:

“Natural death is painful for the survivors, but because it is “natural” is easier to accept. Deaths through accidents, disasters (natural or not), struggles such as wars and territorial conflicts, or other human-handed causes are harder to digest. These deaths cause more lingering effects…

Movement is always linear, from start to finish… The body is born, lives, and dies…

Concrete living: living with gusto and with verve, with awareness of an ending and with awareness of possibility, with thankfulness and with generosity. “

The message: Those left behind, the ones who remember and despair, must be comforted and supported. They must be allowed to mourn and feel overwhelming sadness. The comforters must be patient and open to the mourners’ grief. Slowly, as time passes, the mourners will be pulled back into the world of living, because that is the natural flow of life. Death is the natural ending to life. It can be the end and it can be the catalyst for living with gusto and verve, opportunity and hope, and purpose and determination.

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People, Sustaining activities, Well-being

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Living = valuable

Once upon a time, there was a man who had a rubber band that he used in his everyday life. Sometimes he used it to keep things together, sometimes he used it to separate things, and sometimes he used it when he was bored. He had one rubber band, and he took care of it because it was valuable to him.

One day, he was distracted and the rubber band fell. He searched and searched, but could not find it. His determination to find it lessened, and he gave up. He realized that the value of the rubber band was not only its usefulness, but also his attachment to it. He realized that the rubber band would no longer be in his life and he changed his outlook about it. The rubber band was once his to use, and now he had to move on.

The man found a new rubber band that was the same color, but not the same elasticity. He used it less, and found other implements to help him with separating and joining things. He used several different implements and became attached to none of them.

The daily doings for this man did not change. He simply changed his methods. The rubber band, the second rubber band, and the other implements were simply ways to help him.

The message: When one thing fulfills many needs, its importance is exaggerated. All things are limited in their usefulness and in their ability to satisfy requisites. When things are expected to fulfill more than their normal capabilities, people are expecting too much. Things are simply the tools/entertainment/aids to a life that is assisted. More than things, people require interaction with people, animals, and plants. Things are not equal to living entities, and things should never be valued higher than people or animals or even plants.

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Focused living

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Finding one’s way

Post 60-finding ones way

Above you see the average life path. Below you see what the desired route should be:

Post 60-finding ones way2

Full of trials and successes and attempts and experiences.

And if the life is short, the route can be:

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Short, but meaningful.

And what about a long life that is purposeful, balanced, and connected? This life’s picture would be:

Post 60-finding ones way4

“…Moment after moment after moment. The moments accumulate and produce the picture that is one’s life. Enriching moments are vibrantly colored; valueless moments are dull and unexceptional.

Fullness and not. Life can be full—or not. The picture that is one’s life has dimensions: smooth in places that are enriched, jagged in places that are unbecoming, two-dimensional in places where a choice was not made. The form of the picture can be SO large, one simply has to choose to be giving and engaged and willing to participate in a well-lived life. Life that is experienced through true living lights the way for others.”

…from the chapter “Moment” in Pond a Connected Existence.

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Sustaining activities

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Deadlines

Post 59-focus

When a deadline is looming, people respond in many, many ways. Each person has a way of coping or approaching or ignoring or using the deadline to achieve/fail. Some people aim for success; some people aim for failure. Yes, both are aims and both are normal reactions depending on each person’s attitude, history, and current bodily balance or imbalance.

This post is being presented to those who aim for success. (I bet you thought it would be the other aim.)

Aiming for success is usually a positive aspiration. Success in one’s endeavors is considered to be the goal that should be reached. Success. What is success? The dictionary says that success means the attainment of wealth, honors, position, etc. In society, wealth, the receipt of awards, CEOs, elected leaders, and celebrity are the coveted (eagerly wished for) ideals.

Let’s look at success in life. What are successful life goals?

  • Maintaining good family relationships—not always easy, but worth making a goal.
  • Maintaining community—very important and worth the investment.
  • Maintaining a healthy outlook about oneself—influences all the other goals and is vital for reaching the goals with health and self-esteem unharmed.
  • Maintaining work requirements—delivering (a performance or a report), showing up when expected, influencing others or work conditions,  performing duties properly and with concern (no matter the type of work), providing the needed skills (relearning or staying current as needed), and focusing when focus is required.
  • Maintaining a relationship with the environment and the creatures that inhabit the planet. “Creatures” include animals and people.

Success is large and small. Large and small successes. Public and private successes. Often, the small and private successes are the most important.

Getting back to deadlines—each person determines the approach that works or doesn’t work. Remembering to attend to all of the life goals should help keep focus and lessen wasteful fretting and wasteful actions.

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Focused living

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Feelings of non-movement

Post 58-stuck

Stuck stuck stuck stuck. Feeling stuck. Feeling that movement is hindered. By me? Perhaps. By others? Not sure. Am I at fault or them?

When life-or relationship-or business-or whatever is not moving as quickly as we’d like, we must not despair (and eat too many cookies or use our go-to despair crutch). At these times, we must breathe more deeply, see the sky more frequently, and think about our achievements.

Breathe to this count: breathe in to a count of 6, hold for a count of 4, breathe out to a count of 5. Breathe this way until relaxation starts to set in.

About the sky—really look at it and appreciates its colors and its movement.

And our achievements—think about little achievements and the larger ones, and then do the relaxation breathing again.

Life won’t go the way we want it most of the time, and we have to realize that fact and keep going.

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Focused living

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Sense of touch

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  • Prickly
  • Intensity
  • Weight
  • Solidity
  • Temperature
  • Emotion
  • Wholesomeness (as related to food that is not processed)
  • Weightlessness
  • Vibrations
  • Movement

In my book, Pond a Connected Existence, there is a list of the top ten things that the average human requires. The tenth requirement is stimulation of the senses. Textures provide information about safety and enjoyment. About creativity and destruction. About power and sustenance. About self-awareness and well-being. Safety. Enjoyment. Creativity. Destruction. Power. Sustenance. Self-awareness. Well-being. S . E. C. D. P. S. S. W. Soul ever circling during purposeful sincere spiritual wonder.

Touch is very much a part of living. Touching a loved one is much needed balancing. If a loved one is unavailable, then touching an animal. If an animal is unavailable, then touching a part of nature—a flower, a blade of grass, a stone, etc. Coming into contact with something real, something containing the radiance of spiritual presence.

Touch can bring great joy when it is given kindly. Kindness is necessary for touch to be received wantingly. This requirement applies to women and men, differently but with the same importance.

Touch. With warmth, generosity, feeling, purpose, and kindness. Soulfully.

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Focused living

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Striving revisted, twice

Again, I am compelled to repost the Striving post. The reason will become apparent at the end.

Post 26 archer

  • Striving to improve
  • Striving to move
  • Striving to win
  • Striving to begin

So many things to strive for. People tend to strive for things that are either just out of their reach or for things that come too easily.

When a goal is reached with little effort, it may have been a goal that should have been expanded. Striving is important. It keeps people interested, working, and committed. Striving usually involves physical, emotional and intellectual efforts, and sometimes spiritual effort as well. Too easy can dull the capacity to reason and opine.

Striving for just beyond is generally the better effort. Working towards, moving, struggling. These actions build character and personality. And sometimes strength and resilience.

When a goal is reached, it should be recognized and appreciated. It should not be ignored nor made light of. On the other hand, it should not become one’s existence.

——————————————

This season is the time for making resolutions and promises to oneself and to others. Striving to improve is a valuable goal; however, improving superficial things such as one’s figure is not a valuable goal.  Learning to eat in order to properly nourish one’s body is a valuable goal. Striving to move can be valuable to almost all in modern society. People are meant to move. It is one of the body’s most important needs (after water, sleep, food, and protection from the elements). Striving to win refers to being in a mind frame of success. Success in being a kind person, success in relationships, success with one’s creative endeavors, success at controlling the pull of distracting time wasters. Striving to begin is the big one. Easy to make resolutions, hard to really begin. The first step is actually not hard when the goals are worthwhile.

Striving to be a better person is worth the effort. Making the resolutions and keeping them is purposeful living.

Wishing you success in your efforts to strive!

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Striving

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