Quote for ToDay

If you do not express your own original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself.
–Rollo May

Are you living in the now?

For a long time, it had seemed to me that life was about to begin — real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.
— Alfred D. Souza

When a man sits…

When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute – and it’s longer than any hour. That’s relativity. ~Albert Einstein

 

rel·a·tiv·i·ty

noun \ˌre-lə-ˈti-və-tē\

physics : a theory developed by Albert Einstein which says that the way that anything except light moves through time and space depends on the position and movement of someone who is watching

Cultural relativism is a concept that refers to the fact that what is regarded as true, valued, or expected in one social system may not be so in another. It is important for several reasons, the most important being that if we are more aware of cultural relativism, we tend to be less blind and arrogant in relation to other societies and less rigid in evaluating the idea of changing our own.

I seem to be much like my mother and my sister: we have always enjoyed (like so many others) trying to figure out PEOPLE… where they just came from, where they are going in such a hurry. Why it’s taking them so long to get there? What makes them crazy? What makes them laugh? What moves them, what their past is? What their future will be? Are they married, separated, do they have kids? What do they do? Do they do it well? What were they thinking when they got up this morning ? When they put that outfit on did they REALLY think they looked good?  Did they even care?  WHY would they dress like that? And so on..Judgmental? Curious? Bored? It’s all relative, right?

I also like to imagine people past and present. What really goes on behind the scenes? What isn’t revealed but clearly is happening? I have no idea if what I imagine is true, I just know it’s fun imagining.  I say ” this is the story I tell myself”. 

I wonder if Einstein was having all those psychological exchanges with his wives to all hours of the morning? It would make sense if you looked at his hair; he clearly wasn’t getting a lot of sleep. (is that where “bad hair day was coined?) I think not.  But, I find the older I get, the less i really care how my hair may look on any given day.  Some-days, I happen to glance in the rear view mirror while driving, and (a) am either shocked or (b) think to myself, “well, that’s not too bad today.  But, back to relativity….There’s the scientific Theory of Relativity (E=mc2) of course, then there’s the philosophical/ontological Theory of Relativity. Where everything is relative. Einstein liked being married; he did it twice.  (me too- although i didn’t like marriage #1 and I stayed way too long in marriage #2)   Now in my mental meanderings, I think Einstein was equally fascinated with human relationships and all things relationship as much as his scientific fascination.

So, most of Einstein’s thinking got mined from relationships – those long nights of screaming of what’s relevant/relative/. Newton couldn’t have discovered relativity; he was never married. You can’t get E=mc2 just by being a good uncle.

Einstein knew the power of the “Appropriate Relationship.”

The ontological Theory of Relativity was the understanding of how we are relative to one another. Sun too close you burn up, too far away you freeze to death. All development/progress depends on having “Appropriate Relationships”. This same theory applies to human closeness and relativity as well, in my way of thinking.  Think about it.

And appropriate relationship does not mean culturally appropriate or socially dictated appropriate relationships. It means there’s a certain rightness – a physics to what works.

Just like “close talkers” always have bad breath. They don’t get the appropriate space between two individuals. So understanding your own relativeness, your own relevance, your very specific contribution, was Einstein’s desire for Humanity. Rather than being comparative and complaining about what you are not, you discover how you are relative to the world.

 

 

 

Today 4/2913 On…

Today 4/2913
One cannot have wisdom without living life.
–Dorothy McCall

Living life means responding, wholly, to our joys and our pitfalls. It means not avoiding the experiences or activities that we fear we can’t handle. Only through our survival of them do we come to know who we really are; we come to understand the strength available to us at every moment. And that is wisdom.

When we approach life tentatively, we reap only a portion of its gifts. It’s like watching a movie in black and white that’s supposed to be in Technicolor. Our lives are in color, but we must have courage to let the colors emerge, to feel them, absorb them, be changed by them. Within our depths, we find our true selves. The complexities of life teach us wisdom. And becoming wise eases the many pitfalls in our path.

Living life is much more than just being alive. I can choose to jump in with both feet. Wisdom awaits me in the depths.

The difference …

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra. ~Jimmy Johnson

Some days are so much easier to have that “extra”.  I seem to be stuck in the ordinary category for now, and so am trying to accept that I am supposed to just “be in that in-between” time.  Let Go.

Books can be da…

Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled “This could change your life.” ~Helen Exley

I read this and reflect on how true this is.  Particularly in the “self help”, “motivation,”and “life improvement”categories.  i fully read with the utmost interest, and aha moments with the fullest intent of embarking on change, or implementing this fabulous new idea.  Only to find, I sit the book down when done, and only on rare occasion do i follow through on my self promise. 

This is  a shame, for there are some fabulous ways to make subtle changes.  I have had the most long term and lasting changes with the Big Book of AA.  However, i have ventured into things newer than just recovery, that offer a multitude of ideas that are great.  Am i just undisciplined, or is this something that you do as well?  comments welcome! 

ToDay…

English: The lonely Poppy Near the entrance to Home Farm adjacent to Broad Balk Lane. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ToDay

–Betty MacDonald. ” when I am lonely, I think of Angels”

We need comfort when we feel lonely. Loneliness is often coupled with fear. We wonder, Can I handle what faces me today? Often we think we can’t. But we don’t ever have to face any situation alone, or handle any painful relationship in isolation. The “angels” who guide and protect us are as close as our thoughts.

Twelve Step programs give us the freedom to define our Higher Power in any way that suits us. Believing our Higher Power is an angel satisfies our need to have someone watching over us, protecting us wherever we are, loving us despite our failings.

We are nurtured or harmed by the thoughts we carry in our minds. Imagining an angel or a ring of angels to walk us through each day relieves our loneliness and dissipates our fears.

I have a friend in my Higher Power. We’ll be together throughout this day.

how this applies to me today, I have been feeling lonely, isolated, unglued.  This reminded me I am not any of these things unless I choose to.  I may be feeling this way, but I choose to not let it define me.  Perhaps I am simply in a state of ” in between”.  This place is always uncomfortable for me.  It is out of my comfort zone.  But, as I read this, I am enlightened once again my the power of my choice.

Dream Quote…

Dream Quote

Dreaming permits each and everyone of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives- William Dement

In life we all …

In life we all have an unspeakable secret, an irreversible regret, an unreachable dream and an unforgettable love. ~Diego Marchi
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