24 Wednesday Jun 2020
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
Self-education is, I firmly believe the only kind of education there is. – Isaac Asimov
I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.
It isn’t what you do, but how you do it.
Enjoy these quotes. They are chock-full of wisdom. I hope each of you has a terrific Wednesday.
Until next time…
Dave
06 Wednesday May 2020
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
Tags
Engaged, Love, passion, Time stands still, Unique, wisdom, Wisdom Wednesday, Yours
Where does your joy come from?
What is the one thing you would do for free and feel completely fulfilled?
Is there one thing you could do that makes the time fly by because you are so engaged with it?
All of us have that one thing we love to do, but never have time for. I realize many in my readership still work, still have responsibilities, and that requires a certain amount of your time. What do you do with the rest of your day?
The “rest of your day” is what remains when you’ve handled the things you “have to do”. Maybe you work. Maybe you have a family to take care of. I just finished a Master Class course by James Patterson. When he began writing his first book, he wrote every day at 5 am before he went to work. By the way, his “work” at the time was copywriting. So writing is James Patterson’s one thing.
If you look at any of the greats, you’ll see they gravitated toward what they loved and made it work. If you find that one thing or a few things you really love doing, no one will have to tell you when to do it. You won’t be able to wait.
If you want to pursue something in your life, pursue that thing you love doing. You’ll naturally put everything you have into it. You won’t need to drag yourself to do it. You’ll outwork everyone else in the field because it is just that much fun—to you!
I wish I could wave a wand and tell you what yours is. I can’t. It took me many years to figure that out for myself. Your area could be drawing, pottery, playing an instrument, or playing video games. It could be reading. It could be collecting stamps, coins, or something else. Heck, it could be blogging.
Take some time to think through this. Maybe on a Saturday or Sunday when you have more time on your hands. Whatever your day is to do this type of thinking/contemplation, take some time to do it.
How did I find my “thing” you ask? Well, I looked at my life and sought out that thing I did when time evaporated. What was I doing? What did I do? When I was young, I played Dungeons and Dragons. I had to create adventures for a group of my friends. This creation called for drawing out maps, creating characters, putting together plots, and doing enough of that to keep four of my friends busy for up to 8 hours every time we got together. Writing. Writing is the time I lose myself. Writing is when I gain the most joy. Writing is my thing.
Am I a great writer? Who knows? Will I be a best-selling author? I don’t care. I love to write and create worlds that I enjoy. This is all for me and no one else. I’m taking Dan Brown’s Master Class (he wrote the Da Vinci Code and many other books). He stated the same thing in one of his classes. “Write what you would want to read. If other people like it—terrific. If not, who cares. It’s your book.” (I’m paraphrasing).
The whole point of finding what you love is for you. It isn’t about making a lot of money or being famous. It is about doing what completes you. What is that thing? You find that and you’re on your way to a very fulfilling life.
Well, that’s all I got for today, folks. I hope you have a terrific day!
Until next time…
Dave
15 Wednesday Apr 2020
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
Wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.
We gather wisdom after many bouts of pain, suffering, and mistakes. We gain wisdom throughout our lives. Because wisdom is such a malleable term, the wisdom we gather is also uniquely ours. Each of us take our lumps and learn from them, in most cases.
One piece of wisdom I’ll offer is this: You can accomplish a great deal over time, by doing a little each day. If you write every day, you’ll write a great deal in a year. If you read every day, even if it is a few pages, you’ll read a great deal by the end of the year. I’m not just spouting a platitude here. If you read my Motivation Monday postings, you see what I commit to doing every day. This works for me. Reading, writing, learning, exercising, meditating, and all the rest. Each one of these things contributes to me. The “me” I want to be.
It took me years to figure this out. I got my first clue from my time in the Army. We exercised every day at 0600, without fail, Monday – Friday. This insured we stayed in great shape. Apply the same simple principle to anything you want to be good at, and you’ll attain the same results, in most cases. If you’re not an expert, you’ll definitely be better at whatever you focus on daily.
I would suggest you pick one thing to start with. Maybe you want to learn a new language, write poetry, or pick up an instrument. Whatever your “thing” is, commit to doing something with that skill or topic every day. You need not do a lot. Maybe you commit 30 minutes. Whatever you can put into it, based on your personal schedule, do it. In no time you’ll gain proficiency. Spend more time, and you’ll be building real skills.
If you’ve struggled with learning new things, or accomplishing a goal, you have set your sights on, try this for yourself. It works really well. It also feels good to check things off your daily to-do list.
Well, this is it, folks. Have a great Wednesday!
Until next time…
Dave
29 Wednesday Jan 2020
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
Tags
Blackbirch, creativity, Developing Wisdom, Great Article, K.M. Allan, Lyle, wisdom, Wisdom Wednesday
I was rummaging around for new ideas for my post for Wisdom Wednesday and came across a work by Lyle (2015) which lists out 5 areas we can improve our wisdom and knowledge. One was in creativity. It reads: Take a pottery, photography, stained glass, sculpture or painting class. (Lyle, 2015). I’ve always wanted to improve my ability to draw new things and figured why not? I found a drawing course online that I’ve got some interest in and will pursue that. This idea fell under Lyle’s (2015) second heading labeled creativity [originality, ingenuity].
How does learning to draw fit in with what I am already pursuing? Well, here it is: Sometimes I have a hard time thinking about a scene in my fiction book and would like to create a drawing of it before I write it out. Make sense? I’ve also enjoyed drawing for several reasons. It is a nice way to use my creativity; it helps with internal visualizations, and it allows me to spend some time on something else during the day. It also presents a challenge. I don’t know how to draw too well now and it’ll be nice flexing the muscles on something I’ve put no time into.
Creativity is a great skill to have, particularly when you are writing fiction, depicting a scene graphically. It’s nice to build something from nothing, literally bringing what is in my mind to the page or canvas. Speaking of creativity, I’m reading a book by a fellow blogger and author, K.M. Allan. I’m about 75% through and it is a wonderful story. Here’s the link: Blackbirch: The Beginning. I highly recommend it.
Well, that’s all I have for today, folks! Have a great Wednesday!
Until next time…
Dave
Reference
Lyle, L. (2015). Developing wisdom & knowledge. Retrieved from https://www.thepositivepsychologypeople.com/developing-wisdom-knowledge/
18 Wednesday Sep 2019
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
Tags
Explore, Food, Indulge, Read, Relax, self-care, Watch Movies/TV, Wisdom Wednesday
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
10 Simple Ways to Take Care of Yourself
This week’s Wisdom Wednesday is about the wisdom in taking care of yourself. I found this article on Pocket. If you haven’t explored Pocket yet, check it out here.
Here’s a quick run-down of the article for those of you who do not have the time to read it. There are 10 things you can do to take care of yourself. Here they are:
You’ll have to read the article to get the details, but I promise, the article is a short, quick read and some of this lady’s suggestions are awesome! We all need to take better care of ourselves, so eat great food, watch movies, explore, relax and most importantly–Dork out!
I hope each of you has a terrific Wednesday.
Until next time..
Dave
Reference
Campbell, S. (2017). 10 simple ways to take care of yourself. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/294760
11 Wednesday Sep 2019
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
Tags
Giving, Help, Humility, Love, Selflessness, Service, Smile, Wisdom Wednesday
Yesterday was one of those days when everything was just right. It was my Mom’s birthday. She opened her gifts and her cards. We took her out to dinner. My brother, sister, and niece called. I think she enjoyed the calls the most.
I spent time helping my wife study for a teaching credential she needs to pass by December. She works really hard and is putting everything she has into it. I love her.
“Before you can improve your life and find a measure of happiness, you must learn to do one thing every day out of pure love. That means, don’t expect anything in return—neither thanks nor happiness. Pick that occasion carefully. Then, whatever that one act of giving of yourself to someone else is, do it with all your heart.” — Harold Klemp — The Language of Soul.
Giving of yourself does not need to be a grand event. It could be as simple as cleaning up some trash in front of your neighbor’s home. It could be smiling at a young child in front of you at the grocery store line. It could be leaving a bigger tip when you eat out. It could be writing a letter to your folks or siblings. Giving of yourself brings a great warmth inside. It is hard to describe.
Serving someone else, without any expectation is a terrific thing. It is the selflessness of the act that is the most important. You just do something with no expectation. This selfless act will shrink your ego. It will humble you. It will calm you. It will improve your self esteem. It will open your heart.
If you’re down in the dumps, feeling lost, or depressed, try serving someone else. Strike up a conversation with a stranger, you may be the only person they talk with today. Smile at people. It may be the only smile they get today. Help someone. It may be the only time in their life that someone took the time to help them today. You may never know what a difference you made in someone’s life, but you will have made a difference.
I think I’ll end here. I hope all of you have a terrific Wednesday. As always…
Until next time…
Dave
16 Wednesday May 2018
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
Tags
“The secret to getting rid of fear is opening the heart.”—Harold Klemp
The Language of Soul
Love and fear cannot exist within the same space. It is really this simple. What is fear? Fear is “an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fear
There are times when fear can be your best ally. When you are in true danger of injury or being hurt, fear can help you become your most creative self. At other times fear can be your worst enemy. The fear of approaching someone about something they did that hurt your feelings or made you feel uncomfortable, the fear of standing up for yourself, the fear of making a public speech or presentation, are all examples of fear at its worst.
There are some of us that believe that our physical bodies are not really us. Soul is us. You are Soul. Soul is infinite. If you can truly believe this truism, fear falls to the wayside. How can anyone be fearful of death if it is no longer an issue? I know for some of you, this is a hard concept to grasp. The ego or “little self” is a hard thing to contend with.
Now does that make fear really go away? No. The concept of Soul is truth, but the human mind, the ego, will get in the way. One must slowly focus their efforts to realize that Soul is who they are and not the ego. Soul, being a spark of God, is nothing more than love personified. Love is everything and all-powerful. Love builds, love binds, love gives life. God loves. That is God’s nature.
If one can rise above the emotional states (like fear, anger, greed, lust, and undo attachment), the only thing remaining is love. There is nothing else. This is why love and fear cannot exist in the same space. Love is above fear and anger. Love is.
I hope you enjoyed today’s Wisdom Wednesday. Have a terrific week.
Until next time…
Dave
