Sunday Sayings – Worry

Does worry serve or support us?

Our mind perceives a potential threat and becomes stuck on seeking an answer or solution, a way forward to a safer or more secure state where everything is more predictable, controlled or orderly. This is worry. For some, worry leads to anxiety.

For every behaviour, there is a perceived mental pay-off. What’s the pay-off for the time we devote to this practise of worrying?

Do we feel better for worrying? Or worse? Does it rob us of valuable time and energy?

wEEKLY PROVERB

“Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow”

~Swedish Proverb

Sunnfjord

WEEKLY QUOTE

“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know.

That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else”

~ Sara Blakely (American businesswoman)

Worry takes our attention away from the present, from what is real and we are dwelling in possibilities – either in the past, or the possible future. The more possible outcomes, the more we worry, and the harder it is to let go.  It makes us feel helpless or trapped.

Sara Blakely’s words can apply to many different situations.

Let your uncertainty be your strength.

More on worrying here.

How do you see worry? Does it serve a purpose for you? What have you found effective in counteracting worry?

Everyone’s opinion is important. What is yours?

Join in the discussion by leaving a comment.

I find there to be profound wisdom in proverbs, sayings and quotes and I marvel at the way they are so succinct in communicating messages to the reader.

Mostly anonymous, they come to us from past generations and from across cultures. They speak of the experiences of lives lived and lessons learned.

Quotes, like proverbs, make us think more deeply about something.

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Sunday Sayings – Problem Solving

This is particularly pertinent to Climate Change Problems

We have to change our thinking in order to find the solution.

I hear lots of criticism of student protests for Global Change, mainly folks blaming them for highlighting a problem without suggesting answers, but if we think about Albert Einstein’s quote, is this not so surprising?

Swedish school student and advocate for Global change, Greta Thunberg suggests we must work collaboratively to find new answers to the world’s problems.

“Many don’t listen to the science of climate change because they are only interested in solutions that will enable them to carry on like before. Those solutions don’t exist anymore because [you] did not act in time. “

Greta Thunberg

Similarly, we have to invent new way to create our own happiness – if you listen to the Dalai Lama –

Happiness is not something ready made.

It comes from your own actions

~Dalai Lama

We alone are responsible for our happiness.

Others may influence us, but ultimately it is our choice how we react to any given situation or event.

Several years ago, I created ‘Proverbial Friday’ on my blog.
I became fascinated with traditional proverbs and sayings, their metaphorical layers and the many different interpretations found within just a few, succinct words. I marveled at their ability to transcend race, religion, opinions and age.
Mostly anonymous, proverbs are a portal through time to generations past and echo a diverse range of cultures.
They speak of the experiences of many lessons learned and the wisdom from thousands of lives already lived.
They offer us knowledge; knowledge that is passed to us in much the same way relay runners might pass a baton. Once it’s handed over, it is up to us what we do with it and how we pass it on.

Something to Ponder About this Sunday

Sunday Sayings – The Present Moment

Nothing in life is constant.  Like the force of the ocean, life fluctuates between a wearing away (negative or sad feelings) and a building up (positives).

As corny as it sounds, the way we think does determine our ‘world,’ our ‘present moment.’

“If you are willing to appreciate that this moment is far better than it could have been, you will enjoy it more for what it truly is.”

(source: Marc and Angel)

When our mind is not focused on a task, we tend to live in a world of reflection. We can work through problems, remember experiences and plan for the future. There is nothing wrong with reflection, as long as it doesn’t become set to “critique”mode. That surely results in negativity and for some people: depression. 

It is rare to have absolute happiness or absolute sadness, so our moods oscillate somewhere between the two ends of the spectrum. At any given moment we are comparing how we currently feel to how we felt at another time – comparing one level of our contentment to another.

Negative comparisons can distract you from happiness around you if you notice it.

Since it is our mind that directs and controls the body, it’s the way you think that eventually makes you feel good or bad. The way we think also allows us to dismiss and give up but also to dream, hope and ponder. Increasing our awareness of the present moment can increase our enjoyment and lessen the melancholic reflections of our mind.

Life is not all black and white, but oscillates in between

What do you think? Do you agree?

Everyone’s opinion is important.

Something to ponder about this Sunday.

Sunday Sayings – Courage

Christchurch has had more than its fair share of tragedy in recent years.

I could this week have written about hate crimes. I could this week have written about prejudice or racism, or vile acts of terror,such as we have seen close to home. There has been much of this already in the media, and to write more is to give voice to those who espouse these inhuman views.

Instead, this week, I chose to write about an opposing emotion of courage. It is those that show courage in the face of abhorrent adversity that we should acknowledge louder.

Pic credit: kassiisaac

We must generate courage equal to the size of the difficulties we face.

Dalai Lama

Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”

– Mary Anne Radmacher

Our morbid interest in these dark events is biological in basis. We are programmed to pay attention to that which we perceive is the greatest threat to us.

This quote is worth remembering:

Perhaps strength doesn’t reside in never having been broken, but in the courage required to grow strong in the broken places.

~Unknown

I find there to be profound wisdom in proverbs, sayings and quotes and I marvel at the way they are so succinct in communicating messages to the reader.

Mostly anonymous, they come to us from past generations and from across cultures. They speak of the experiences of lives lived and lessons learned.

Quotes, like proverbs, make us think more deeply about something.

Join in the discussion by leaving a comment.

Everyone’s opinion is important. What is yours?

Sunday Sayings – Wisdom

Weekly Proverb

I find there to be profound wisdom in proverbs, sayings and quotes and I marvel at the way they are so succinct in communicating messages to the reader.

It is good to stand out from the crowd

Be yourself. The world worships the original.

–Ingrid Bergman

Sayings offer us knowledge; knowledge that is passed to us in much the same way relay runners might pass a baton. Once it’s handed over, it is up to us what we do with it and how we pass it on.

Mostly anonymous, they come to us from past generations and from across cultures. They speak of the experiences of lives lived and lessons learned.

Weekly Quotes

“I hate that word: ‘lucky.’ It cheapens a lot of hard work.”

–Peter Dinklage

Quotes, like proverbs, make us think more deeply about something.

Do you feel that luck has a lot to do with success? Are some folks luckier than others? Does that give them an advantage in life?

Or is it merely the rhythms of chance, and life ‘evens out’ in the end?

Isn’t life not always fair and even?

Something to Ponder About

I invite you to join in the discussion by leaving a comment.

Everyone’s opinion is important. What is yours?