Reflections

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  1. Anna

    A tremendous African anticyclone is bringing very high temperatures, here in Europe. I’m curious to see a change in the sky over the weekend, scientists announce the arrival of a storm, perhaps the end of summer. I’m also curious to see the satisfaction of exhausted people.

    7 months ago
  2. Robin Ann

    I have been very curious about the weather this week-end. It is my High school friends get together in a lake in CT.
    We have plans to go to the local fair on Saturday night. I can’t wait!!

    7 months ago
  3. Don Jones

    In this part of the world Spring is arriving. It is wonderful to see the transformation unfold.

    7 months ago
  4. Maeve

    I am curious about seeing more of the coast of Maine, and some of the local lakes this week!
    So much to see, so little time! Teaching commitments start next week.
    Today I plan to drive to Newfound Lake in New Hampshire. Supposed to be the clearest lake in NH!

    7 months ago
    1. Michele

      I absolutely LOVE watching on HGTV Maine Cabin Masters – Maine is so beautiful – I want to visit there one day. Enjoy your trip:)

      7 months ago
    2. Pilgrim

      This sounds wonderful, Maeve! Enjoy!

      7 months ago
  5. Kevin

    Tonight I will attend my first online meeting for people living with Spondyloarthritis. While I have facilitated many kinds of groups during my working career, I’ve never attended a support group like this for myself. I’m excited to find out what it’s like and if I will want to continue.

    7 months ago
    1. Joseph McCann

      I hope that the group is helpful for you Kevin.

      7 months ago
      1. Kevin

        Hello Joseph! I did find the group very helpful and plan to attend next month.

        7 months ago
  6. Diane

    As always, a thought -provoking question. One that originally had me stumped, truthfully.

    So I guess I was curious in some form, because I decided to look up some synonyms and definitions. In addition to the obvious ones (inquisitiveness, interest, eagerness, investigation) there is a definition of “curiosity” that really spoke to me: “A strange or unusual object or fact.”

    And here is where I found my answer to this question! I have been drawn to the strange and unusual during this, the second half of my life, as Richard Rohr (one of my spiritual gurus) describes it. I see it as an embrace of the mystery and magic that exists…but we must have open minds and hearts to see and appreciate it.

    Grateful for the invitation this question provided! I will continue on this journey of being receptive to the seemingly “strange and unusual” that visit me this day!
    ~Om Shanti friends.

    7 months ago
  7. Barb C

    With so many tabs open in my browser, this question is an invitation to step out of my morning routine and go read something. Except I don’t think that impulse arises from true curiosity. It arises from the way our brains have been conditioned (and so quickly!) to click to the next thing, and the next, and the next. With this question, I’ll try today to read only things that arouse genuine curiosity, not just “because they’re presented to me” pieces.
    In another vein and arising from inside myself, not from a browser, I have a book on the bioregion I live in and the cultures of people whose history stretches back thousands of years in this place. I want to learn more about these things and I’ll be taking this book with me when I go to the Olympic Peninsula this weekend to participate in the multi-day Sea to Sound event on the Olympic Discovery Trail (for people who may walk, bike, use a wheelchair or other assistive device–designed to be accessible to anyone to participate in any portion of it). This will recharge my personal batteries.

    7 months ago
  8. Charlie T

    I’m not feeling very curious right now.
    Mostly just trying to be here, in this
    moment. Following my curiosity feels like
    a luxury, as I try to stay afloat.

    7 months ago
    1. Joseph McCann

      I would take a peek, Charlie T..

      7 months ago
  9. Liza

    My art.

    7 months ago
  10. Carol

    Good Morning, To be truly curious is very important. It leads to evolutionary growth. So, I guess when answering today’s question, it depends on how you define the word curious. My curiosity has led me to a need for more self awareness. I regularly ask my self if my life a revolving door? Do I keep coming around the mountain and ending up in the same place? The four questions featured in the article below (when taken seriously) constitute a commitment to choose to evolve instead of revolve. I try to live these questions…to be open, curious and willing to own my answers. The self awareness they offer (though many times challenging) is priceless.

    This exercise was shared in Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation on May 22 2021.
    “The Dance of Freedom: …the therapeutic model Dr. Edith Eger developed over her four decades of practice is based on freedom. She calls it “Choice Therapy, as freedom is about CHOICE—about choosing compassion, humor, optimism, intuition, curiosity, and self-expression.” [1] In this practice, drawn from her Jewish faith and tradition, she encourages us to find freedom through conscious choice.
    She explains: In the Haggadah, the Jewish text that tells the story of liberation from slavery in Egypt and teaches the prayers and rituals for seder, the special Passover feast, there are four questions that the youngest member of the family traditionally gets to ask—the questions it was my privilege to ask at my childhood seders, that I asked the last night I spent with my parents in our home. In my therapeutic practice I have my own version of the four questions . . . [so patients] could liberate themselves from their victimhood.

    1. What do you want? This is a deceptively simple question. It can be much more difficult than we realize to give ourselves permission to know and listen to ourselves, to align ourselves with our desires. How often when we answer this question do we say what we want for someone else? . . .  
     
    2. Who wants it? This is our charge and our struggle: to understand our own expectations for ourselves versus trying to live up to others’ expectations of us. . . . It’s our responsibility to act in service of our authentic selves. Sometimes this means giving up the need to please others, giving up our need for others’ approval.
     
    3. What are you going to do about it? I believe in the power of positive thinking—but change and freedom also require positive action. Anything we practice, we become better at. If we practice anger, we’ll have more anger. If we practice fear, we’ll have more fear. In many cases, we actually work very hard to ensure that we go nowhere. Change is about noticing what’s no longer working and stepping out of the familiar, imprisoning patterns.
     
    4. When? In Gone with the Wind, my mother’s favorite book, Scarlett O’Hara, when confronted with a difficulty, says, “I’ll think about it tomorrow. . . . After all, tomorrow is another day.” If we are to evolve instead of revolve, it’s time to take action now. . . .
    I’ve never met a person who would consciously choose to live in captivity. Yet I’ve witnessed again and again how willingly we hand over our spiritual and mental freedom, choosing to give another person or entity the responsibility of guiding our lives, of choosing for us. [2]
     
    [1] Edith Eva Eger, The Choice: Embrace the Possible (Scribner: 2017), 173.
    [2] Eger, 242–243, 246.

    7 months ago
    1. Charlie T

      Thank you for this, Carol.
      Obviously I needed this. Especially
      evolve not revolve.

      7 months ago
  11. Carla

    I wouldn’t exactly call it curiosity it’s more of a referral to a different endodontist for advice on an infected root canal. It’s another opportunity to practice “one foot forward” about this fiasco. I guess “one foot forward” leads to following curiousity.

    7 months ago
  12. Nannette

    Well my day may miss some curiosity as we are getting ready to go to Ct. in a few days. My husband is from Ct. and we are getting together with his family this weekend…his 5 siblings and families…what fun! But first is a lot of work getting the motor home packed…But Thank the good Lord..I am still able to do all of that.. So onward!! While going in and out from the house to the motor home…I will notice the beautiful hills, and flowers and the quiet chatter of the birds this time of year. Everyone have a good day!

    7 months ago
    1. Michele

      Safe travels on your journey! Have a good time!

      7 months ago
    2. Joseph McCann

      Thank you Nannette.

      7 months ago
    3. Robin Ann

      Enjoy! What part of CT?

      7 months ago
  13. Pilgrim

    I have a lot of pain going on in my back and arms in particular, but also pretty much throughout my body. I am less curious about the cause, as I perhaps raised the pain in a vigorous walk on the concrete pier yesterday. My curiosity is looking for the best way/s to lower the pain and consider what I shall do today … some type of easy organizing, perhaps with no heavy lifting. And adding heating pads and just taking it easy, along with meds as needed.

    7 months ago
    1. Diane

      Dear Pilgrim: . I’m so sorry you are experiencing such pain. I admire so much your intention to honor what your body is speaking to you. I am sending you healing thoughts and prayers my friend. 🙏

      7 months ago
      1. Pilgrim

        Thank you for your kindness, my Friend!

        7 months ago
    2. Josie

      I, too, am dealing with persistent back pain this morning, Pilgrim. For a while, my curiosity has been occupied with the cause. Now I surrender to it and move on with my day, doing much of what you are to manage it. In our solidarity, may we find some relief by day’s end.🙏

      7 months ago
  14. Yram

    I have been alerted to a couple of potential health issues and want to research some ways to reverse there intensity.

    7 months ago
  15. Antoinette

    To let go of course! My day didn’t go as planted and the old me may have gotten irritated or upset by the other people make their choices. Now I’m curious to see how much more of this false self who always thinks or wants something I can let go of! Me who thinks she is superior are inferior to others would be a great place to see and let go of !

    7 months ago
    1. Carol

      Antoinette, The egoic mind! always a challenge…hang in there!

      7 months ago
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