ice&lemon » Food For Thought

The Potential of Forty-Five Euros

Steve Wooding — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:44:30 +0000

This morning I’m sitting in Starbucks finishing off a few articles that I’ve so far not managed to finish. However, I remembered that I had no cash in my wallet when I left home this morning…One of the errands I needed to tick off today was posting a mobile phone back to Orange (long story…) and as I got my wallet out to use a debit card to pay for the postage, I noticed in the corner of my wallet a few folded Euro notes, probably from our last overseas holiday or one of my business trips to Ireland. They’d been there unnoticed and unused for over a year!

That currency is pretty much useless in most UK stores, bar a few who’ll accept larger purchases in € from tourists etc.

£, however, ARE useful in the UK. But I had €…

Once I’d posted the phone, I went to the currency counter just a few feet away in the same post office and unfolded the notes. There were more than I thought – €45 in total… checking the exchange rate and commission, I realised I potentially had around £35 sitting there in my wallet.

I say potentially as that’s all those € were – POTENTIAL.

I needed to take action to turn them, to convert that potential, into something useful.

So at the currency counter I did exactly that, and a few moment later I had £35 in crisp notes in my wallet instead. I walked a block or two and promptly spent a few £ on the large Chai Tea Latte than I’m now sipping as I type…

Since I’m the thoughtful type I wondered what other stuff I’ve been carrying around with me, within me, unnoticed, untapped, perhaps for years, that it might only take a few simple decisions and focused action to turn into something useful..?

What about you..?

Inspiration comes at odd times…!

Steve Wooding — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:55:39 +0000

I was out running on Saturday, feeling quite smug with myself at about the 6 mile point of a 9 mile route, when I spotted an old man up ahead. I’m assuming he was old – he appeared to be in his late 70s at a guess – and very frail as he was walking with one of those zimmer frames with wheels on, taking only a couple of steps at a time before pausing for a few seconds to catch his breath and then taking a couple of steps more. And I have to admit I felt slightly sorry for him.

However, as I drew closer, I spotted hanging from the frame was what looked like a fairly new plastic bag from one of the shops I’d passed earlier, about a 1/2-mile back, with a few items in. Making a few inferences from what I saw wasn’t too hard – I’m guessing of course but I reckon you’d come to a similar conclusion: this elderly, frail chap was making at least a mile round-trip to the local shops, despite it taking him several seconds for every couple of paces – much more than an hour at my rough calculations to get there and back.

As I passed him, my pity turned into a deep respect and I felt humbled and inspired. His trip to the shops was probably more physically demanding for him and took more will-power and determination than my 9-mile run. Puts things into perspective eh..?

I’m running the Liverpool 1/2-marathon this coming Sunday and every time I think I’m feeling the strain, or feeling a little too proud of myself, I’ll be thinking of that man’s shopping trip and just getting on with it!

Memories start in the womb

Steve Wooding — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:00:14 +0000

Research published last year and summarised in this article in the latest issue of Scientific American Mind shows that developing babies begin forming memories before they’re born, including voices, music and even threatning vs. safe noises. This supports what many therapists and other personal development specialists have suspected for years – that [...]

read the rest... →

Refusing a Gift

Steve Wooding — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:27:26 +0000

I came across this fantastic quote today, courtesy of Clive Gott, from a conversation between Buddha and one of his followers:

“If I offer a gift and you refuse that gift, to whom then does the gift belong?”

The follower answered “It belongs still to you.”

“So,” said the Buddha “if I offer an insult and you refuse to accept it, to whom then does that insult belong?”

The Final Act

Steve Wooding — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:59:34 +0000

(831 words, approx 5-8 mins to read)

(This article appeared in issue 13 of ‘Liverpool Lifestyle’ magazine from Aintree Publishing – the version here is a slightly different draft to the magazine article, which can be viewed at http://bit.ly/yRjnu)

I’d like to talk about New Year’s Resolutions.

Yes, I know we’re not even into autumn properly yet and Christmas is still months away, but bear with me and I’ll explain myself in what follows.

You see, I think we have it all wrong when it comes to New Year’s resolutions.

If this year was a play or movie, at this point in time, heading towards the last quarter of the year, we’d be just at the beginning the ‘Final Act’ – the little quiet before the most exciting bit.

Even if you aren’t a student of the dramatic arts, you may well still be aware that for most stories there are there three main ‘acts’ or sections.

The first act introduces us to the characters in their everyday situations and then leads us through how they connect with one another in some way around the story’s main theme. The second act then involves how the characters are called, pulled or even forced from their usual, normal lives into a new situation – a situation that makes them question their behaviours, beliefs and values or even their identity, and they have to grow or change in some way to succeed and move on, or sometimes just to survive.

In many of our favourite tales there’s also an ‘inversion’ or crisis – a point at which deep doubts creep in, emotions are high and it looks as though all may be lost. Often the heroes of the story realise that they need even more determination to get through to the end than they first thought.

And then, just before the third and final act, there’s a slight lull or dip as the protagonists gather themselves and plan for a decisive push to the climactic moments and the denouement (a flashy word for the ‘happily ever after’ bit) to follow.

That’s where we’re at now in our annual calendar – the little quiet before the final push.

You see, in those great movies it’s NOW, in that little quiet, the strategy is put together and commitments are made to create the success that the major characters desire.

(If there’s a sequel to follow, it’s also in this final act that the seeds for that begin to be sown and hints made as to what might be in the next instalment too.)

It’s rare, if ever, that true plans are made at the very beginning of the story and, if they were, they’ve more often than not been abandoned by the second act because they weren’t relevant or meaningful in their new situation. More to the point, if you think about your most cherished movies or plays, the plans that finally succeed are often quite the opposite of what the main character would’ve come up with at the beginning, without the experience of the story.

When it comes to New Year’s resolutions – the beginning of the movie of your life for the year – how often have you abandoned plans made in January by the ‘end of the first act’ or before..? Be honest now…!

I think it’s because they’re made in a rush at the wrong time, after the madness and excitement of the holiday season, or they come from the way we’ve been thinking in previous years. Too often we tend to assume that life carries on from year to year in roughly the same way, so we don’t give enough thought to our resolutions and plans for the coming year – we don’t really stop and think about whether they’re what’s truly best for what we really want, or whether we’re just doing them because we think ought to, or because they’re fashionable and other people are doing it.

Instead, I reckon the best time for planning those resolutions for next year is right NOW.

We’ve had the first and second acts to reflect on already and there’s often that little lull in our lives post-summer (unless you’re a teacher, in which case, a few weeks back might’ve been more suitable- sorry!) We now know what’s worked so far and what hasn’t and are probably better placed than at any other time of year to decide what’s best to do for the year’s final act and make plans for our sequel – 2010!

There’s also another great reason to sort out your plans and begin to take action on them now: when it comes to the end of the year, you’ll already have done something and built some momentum up so that, even if you coast through the holidays, it’ll be so much easier to get going again in the New Year.

So, how will your story of 2009 end? “Happily ever after”..? “To Be Continued”..? or perhaps some other way that, as you think about it now, would set the scene for a sequel like no other?

Remember, it’s your story, so it is entirely up to you.

Just do yourself a favour and make that choice now, in the little quite before the final rush.

Relaxation Affects Your Genes..!

Steve Wooding — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:53:14 +0000

Just found this article about a research study from Harvard that shows how relaxation techniques such as meditation can affect your body at a genetic level, enhancing your ability to stay well, fight disease, handle stress and even in some cases fight cancer and improve fertility.

Thinking vs. Doing

Steve Wooding — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:21:59 +0000

Just a quick post – I came across this old Italian proverb a few days ago – something to ponder about the need to follow your thinking with doing:

“A hundred wagon-loads of thoughts will not pay a single ounce of debt.”

“It’s the Climb”

Steve Wooding — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:29:20 +0000

I ran the Edinburgh marathon today – toughest thing I think I’ve ever done so far actually. I didn’t beat my target time of 4 hours and, as I was driving back to Liverpool with aching legs and a sense of disappointment, a song on the radio caught my ear – “The Climb”. Yes, it’s teen-pop, sung by Miley Cyrus, but the words to the chorus struck a neat little chord:

Ain’t about how fast I get there,
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side,
It’s the climb.