Snow Globes
IN SHORT: Sometimes the only way to manage chaos and find clarity is to stop trying to manage the chaos and let clarity find you.
[932 words, approx 5-8 minutes to read]
Some of the following tale is true, some is fiction, but could be true.
None is intended to deceive, all is food for thought.
Most of us have seen a snow-globe at some point. Some of you might even have one or two at home. There are even a few people who collect them – perhaps you know one of them..? Read More »
Join the Dots
IN SHORT: Life is a game of join-the-dots. Although you can’t change the facts of your past, you CAN change what you do with it, how you let it make you feel, and where you go forwards from it – you get to choose which dots you use!
“From now on, I’ll connect the dots my own way.”
[Bill Waterson, US author of the ‘Calvin & Hobbes’ comic strip]
(792 words, approx 5-8 mins to read)
(This month’s ‘slice’ sort of follows on from last month’s ‘Making Meaning’ article, and here we’re focusing more on what we do with strings of experiences rather than just individual ones.)
Do you remember doing join-the-dots pictures when you were young (or maybe even when you were older too)..?
Making Meaning
IN SHORT: We are the authors and editors of our own ‘life dictionary’ and, just as language evolves and the meanings and usage of words changes over time, there’s no reason at all that the meanings and usage of our daily experiences can’t be changed for the better over time too.
“Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is,
but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked.”
[Viktor Frankl, 20th-centrury neurologist, holocaust survivor, author & therapist]“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way
we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”
[Hermann Hesse, 19/20th-century novelist & Nobel prize-winner]
(1288 words, approx 7-10 mins to read)
“They’d left the place in a total mess. Read More »
Do It Yourself…!
IN SHORT: If at first you don’t succeed, and the second and third attempts fare no better either, GET HELP! Help either in learning how to do it well, or help in actually doing it, or both. Either way, seeking assistance is a sign of bravery, commitment and strength.
(1100 words – approx. 6-10 minutes to read)
It’s a strange phrase when you think about it – “Do it yourself” – an expression of empowerment and self-sufficiency that, with a twist in vocal tone, could easily become a terse and dismissive retort…
Let’s Play a Game
IN SHORT: People say life’s all about give and take. It’s not – givers and takers are game-players. Life is all about SHARING…
“Games are a compromise between intimacy and keeping intimacy away.”
[Eric Berne, 20th-century Canadian psychiatrist & author, creator of Transactional Analysis]
(1315 words – approx 7-12 minutes to read. It’s a long one this time!)
Last time we talked about the perils of running on empty and how important it is to take responsibility for refuelling before we hit the ‘red zone’ on our personal fuel gauge.
I promised this time we’d talk about the games people play – that’s not just other people though, it includes you – in order to try to get other people to meet their needs instead of taking responsibility for themselves and sorting out how to meet their own. Read More »
Tea Bags and Toilet Paper..!
IN SHORT: No matter what our life is like, we all need to watch for signs we’re running low on fuel, and take steps to recharge. But first of all we need to know what we’re watching for…!
“Real difficulties can be overcome,
it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.”
[Theodore N. Vail, 19th/20th century US Telephone Industrialist]
(1181 words, approx. 6-10 mins to read)
Have you ever, like my unfortunate self a few days ago, experienced the frustration of going to make a much-needed cuppa and found the cupboard totally bereft of tea bags..?
Or maybe you’ve faced the predicament of running out of toilet paper at a crucial moment (!) and found that there were no more rolls in the house bathroom..? Read More »