Yin and Yang Worlds

In the yin and yang worlds of work and life you'll often find opposite methods of doing a similar thing.

Usually one is quicker and more efficient.

For instance, take the speedy commuter train verses the dawdling bus.

If the commuter train is spawned from the world of "work" then the bus is surely from the world of "life" and the top deck of a bus, therefore, is a slice of heaven.

The mental map you draw of the landmarks on your journey will soon join up with mental maps of previous journeys - then the once dark and daunting city will become familiar and bright.

From the top deck you can gawk at people milling in the streets below, hide behind shades in the summer sun or doze freely, knowing that a little bell will precede every stop and wake you if your slumber threatens to sink too deep.


"Imagination is more important than knowledge; knowledge is limited, while imagination encircles the universe."
~~ Einstein


My friend Dianne loves her garden and made this "tree face" person to welcome visitors to her house. - October 2011

Make a Pot of Tea

When life gets too much don't fall for the doctor's potions and pills that conspire with your body to get you straight back to work.

Have the confidence to listen to yourself when you can feel that something is wrong.

It's not you that's wrong!!

You're having an entirely reasonable reaction to the chaos of the modern world.

There's nothing wrong with having enough of chaos every now and then.

Put a "Do Not Disturb" sign up outside your front door.

Ignore the phone when it rings.

Turn your mobile to silent and fling it into the bottom of an old drawer.

Forget about the newspaper.

Unplug the TV.

Unplug the computer.

Leave all the chores for tomorrow.

AND MAKE A POT OF TEA!


"Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty and dies with chaos"
~~ Will Durant


Back in April 2008 when I was addicted to Scrapblog several friends and myself formed a Tea Pot Club and we each made a scrapblog of our teapot. This is my grandmothers teapot.

Patience - It Ain't Easy!

There are moments when other people just set you off, and you lose your patience.

It is the downfall of many of us — co-workers, children, spouses, other drivers, irritating people on the train — they can grate, they can anger.

And it can ruin your day. You clench your jaw, you replay imaginary arguments in your head, or worse, you snap. And then you feel like crap.

How can we find the patience?

I will admit that I’m no saint. Just like everyone else, I get annoyed, and I will say things in a less-than-kind tone........I’m learning!

Here’s what helps me:

First, I learn to be aware of the emotions that rush up from nowhere.

I learn to accept those emotions as perfectly fine.
And I watch them, but don’t act.

I will talk to those emotions, like they’re a little child:
it’s OK to be mad, but breathe.

I remind my childlike emotions:
other people are different, and that’s good.

When people live and work together, there will be friction, and that is a part of the mix of humanity.

I remind myself:
life is too short to waste my days in irritation and anger. Don’t let other people’s problems become my own.

I then give thanks.

Gratitude solves all problems.

I am grateful for having this friend, or stranger, in my life, and I’m grateful for the chance to even be here, and for the incredible life I have.

Patience isn’t an easy thing, but the alternative is much worse.

Love will triumph if we let it.

"Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears."
~~ Barbara Johnson


Ellie, one of my cats, is teaching me patience and I love her dearly for it. Photo taken March 2008.

The Greatest Speech Ever Made

Charlie Chaplin's final speech in "The Great Dictator".

What makes this even more amazing is the fact that this is Charlie Chaplin, a comedian. He wrote this movie. And within the comedy there is this message, a man's powerful message. He drops the comedy for a few minutes to spill this.

The passion he has is just amazing.

2:05 "Machine men, with machine minds, and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are MEN." I love how he says that.

"Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness"......


"Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening."
~~ Dorothy Sarnoff

Creator or Consumer

We live in interesting times.....we’re blessed that way.

The world is changing rapidly.

The way we work is changing, the way we live has already changed.

Entire industries are crumbling, and more are growing on their ruins.

People are empowered to express themselves, to create, to become a part of a global conversation and transformation, in a way that has never existed before.

What will we do with that?

What will our place be in this new, interesting world?

Will we have a voice? Will we be a creator, or just a consumer?

I suggest we do something.

DO SOMETHING INTERESTING!

Here are a few thoughts to get the ball rolling.

• Help others achieve their dreams.
• Read and read and then write.
• Love and love and then help others to love.
• Start a new company doing only one thing, but doing it very well.
• Inspire others by being inspiring.
• Be the voice of those without one.
• Be profound.
• Say something that no one else dares to say.
• Put your heart into something.
• Explore the world and blog about it.
• Write poetry and put it on the web.
• Teach young children to do amazing things.
• Take old stuff and make new stuff from it.
• Be open-minded.
• Be brave.
• Be honest.
• Be hilarious.
• Put a smile on someone’s face......every day!
• Dare to be wrong.
• Start NOW
• TRY!


"The beauty of empowering others is that your own power is not diminished in the process."
~~ Barbara Colorose


I took this photo of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the Pylon Lookout looking north. Amazing 360 degree view of Sydney from the Lookout - May 2011