The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green. -- Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish Writer

Sometimes I think we feel we need to be doing something really huge to justify taking up space, but this quote puts it into perspective for me. I just love this one.

It's enough just to be. And we water the ground around us. Maybe we even make a wilderness bloom. And it is not that we do it consciously, we just do it because we are.

Even the simple things of life that we take doing for granted, such as washing dishes, are seen to be important if they are not done.

It's enough just to be who we are. Going through our day with as much enjoyment and as much courage as we can muster, hitting some hard or low spots, or even high spots, but carrying on carrying on is really doing a good work.

And yes, sometimes it is work...

Without a word our lives can be a counterbalance to the difficult places or people in life, and that's saying a lot.

Karin

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Jesus in John 7: 38

Originally posted 2007-03-17 07:48:31.

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This is an inspirational video, for sure!

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture and, if it were possible, speak a few reasonable words. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher (1749-1832)

I think I live by this philosophy. I bring into my life the elements I need for happiness, things of beauty.

Even fragrance exists outside the bare utility of life. It adds to life; it does not subtract. Recently someone remarked that because her month had been hectic, stressful and hard, she chose to wear scents that she felt would anchor her when dealing with the issues -- scents that felt either grounding or comforting. I thought that was very astute. I also choose my scents by how I feel on a particular day. Her remarks made me think again of the mood altering effects of perfumes. We can change the way we feel by the elements we bring into our days.

And when I am happy, it brings happiness not only into my experience, but lightens those who know me.

Contrast this to the following:

One of the indictments of civilizations is that happiness and intelligence are so rarely found in the same person. -William Feather, author, editor and publisher (1889-1981)

What is happiness, anyway? I believe it exists entwined in the rest of life, including intelligence, which presumably would lead us to the things that bring us happiness, such as Goethe suggested.

Perhaps happiness is also entwined with a degree of solution-thinking. If we believe that a solution exists or could be brought to bear upon the difficulties we face or see, then we are less apt to sink into despair. I don't have to be the one to find a particular solution. It may be enough for me to acknowledge that a solution can be found. I like to think this makes it easier for the one who is searching for a solution to find it.

I don't think happiness is ignoring the world. Rather it is refocusing on what is beautiful in the world.

What brings you happiness? Do you make a conscious effort to include more in your life?

Karin

Originally posted 2007-03-12 07:23:39.

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Written in 2007:
One of my girls got in the car crying yesterday. Mean girls. Mean girls. Don't know if she contributed some or not, but she is sweetly sensitive which sometimes makes you a target.

She went off to school this morning hoping there wouldn't be a repeat.

I told her about college girl's forays into mean girl territory when she was in high school and junior high. I told her some of what I had faced. I told her about books that have been written about this phenomena.

And college girl came home last night for spring break so she talked to her too.

And I asked her if there was anything she wanted me to do. Did she want me to talk to the teacher, etc?

Meantime we had one of her friends over for play and dinner, which helped a lot. I encouraged her not to say too much as it sometimes comes back to haunt you. But this other friend said that mean girl had been really nice until she got with a couple of other girls.

Well, you know how you don't think of things to say in the moment, but maybe years later.

I got to laughing with college girl and her, and I said, laughing, you should have asked her if she had a kleenex.

Why? said younger girl.

I said, because then you could say because she was being a snot!

My bad.

So far as I know, this is original to me. When telling a friend and her 20ish daughter, her daughter thought it was funny and clever.

I also told my girl not to really say this, but if she thought it in her mind, it might help her laugh about it some.

She mentioned that to me in the car this morning.

Two movies my girls love are Mean Girls and 13 Going On 30 . We talked about them too.

They know the concept of mean girls, but it's different bearing the brunt of it.

Have you had successes with overcoming mean girl syndrome?

Written in 2012:
The ultimate mean girls-grown-up show on TV now is GCB, based on the book Good Christian Bitches, which we are thoroughly enjoying. It is both funny and touching -- and over the top and a spoof in many ways. Amanda was the ultimate mean girl in high school, but she has now changed and is back in Dallas, but the three women who still are in Dallas don't realize it. Each actor and actress are skilled comedic players, with perfect timing.

Carleen is played by Kristin Chenowith. Amanda's mother, Gigi, is played by Annie Potts. (This is especially funny to me, because that is what my grandkids call me -- name chosen by my son and daughter-in-law.) I love Cricket and Blake. What I've found is that all the characters have love for each other -- you have to wait until the last 5 minutes of every show, because there is usually a surprise. And there's always some singing, usually in the church choir.

Here's Annie Potts on the View:

Karin

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Originally posted 2007-03-09 12:19:49.

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I need a certain amount of quiet time to function well. If I don't get it, life becomes too hectic, when it is busy already, or I find myself wakeful in the night, the only quiet time. Music can count as quiet time too. I'm finding as I have more of it in my day, it flows better.

I need to be replenished before I have anything to pour out.

I worried a bit with my littles being off this week for Spring Break -- and the irony of it not coinciding with College Girl's Spring Break which was a coupla' weeks ago.

But we have survived, and more than survived. We've had a nice mix of fun and play with work, which is about all you could ask for.

There is work that is work and there is play that is play; there is play that is work and work that is play. And in only one of these lie happiness. Gelett Burgess

I know it's possible, and sometimes I have done it, to have quiet time in the midst of everything going on around, a little pocket. Multi-tasking par excellence. But on a forever basis, this isn't really the best thing. It feels too rushed.

At times it seems like the moments I've set aside for myself are filled with interruptions. I remember reading about a minister who began his day by praying for his interruptions because, of course, he couldn't know what the demands on his time would be for a particular day with his congregation. This is true for ourselves in our own work too, but we don't always realize it. Sometimes I remind myself to do this, but generally it is after a particularly hectic day or hectic few days. Then I regain a balance again. Other times, it's a matter of teaching my children not to interrupt every 10 seconds, which they are pretty good about now, thankfully.

I laugh and say, if you want your kids to talk to you, just pretend you are on the phone! They come every time, from wherever they are with something very crucial to say.

Cherish your quiet time and make it happen. What do you do to replenish? (I don't think gym time counts as quiet time, but it does replenish. You can prove me wrong, however.)

Karin

March 28, 2007
Your Most Vital Commitment
Finding Time For You
Within each of us there is a well of energy that must be regularly replenished. When we act as if this well is bottomless, scheduling a long list of activities that fit like puzzle pieces into every minute of every day, it becomes depleted and we feel exhausted, disconnected, and weak. Refilling this well is a matter of finding time to focus on, nurture, and care for ourselves, or "you time." Most of us are, at different times throughout the day, a spouse, a friend, a relative, an employee, a parent, or a volunteer, which means that down time, however relaxing in nature, is not necessarily "you time." Though some people will inevitably look upon "you time" as being selfish, it is actually the polar opposite of selfishness. We can only excel where our outer world affairs are concerned when our own spiritual, physical, and intellectual needs are fulfilled.

Recognizing the importance of "you time" is far easier than finding a place for it in an active, multifaceted lifestyle, however.... You may discover that you are energized by creative pursuits, guided meditation, relaxing activities during which your mind can wander, or modes of expression such as writing.

Even if you have achieved a functioning work-life balance, you may still be neglecting the most important part of that equation: you. "You time" prepares you for the next round of daily life, whether you are poised to immerse yourself in a professional project or chores around the home. ...it ensures that you are never left without the energy to give of yourself. Daily OM

Originally posted 2007-03-30 07:16:54.

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If you haven't seen The King's Speech, do yourself a favor and rent or buy it. It is inspiring, funny, touching, true...

They don't come any better than this. Real life is sometimes stranger than fiction.

Imagine a scenario in which the new king of England (and etc.) abdicates to marry a twice divorced American woman, leaving the throne to his more than capable brother, more capable than he, but who stammers...badly...at a time when radio has just come on the scene and one must be able to speak if one is to lead.

And then remember that it actually happened.

Bertie (later known as King George VI) had a strong sense of responsibility, even to the responsibilities of being the head of the church in England.

Collin Firth is outstanding; Geoffrey Rush is superb; Helena Bonham Carter is the epitome of a loving wife...Michael Gambon was terrific as King George V; Eve Best channels Wallis Simpson...Timothy Spall plays Churchill to perfection...

It might be interesting to know that Lionel Logue, the speech therapist who helped King George VI was a Christian Scientist (this is not Scientology) at this time and believed in the possibility of healing. This was not brought out in the film. He had some immediate successes in curing speech problems, including those who had been shell shocked in WWI.

If you'd like to watch a video that tells more of Logue's connection with Christian Science, which is not covered in the film, you can see it here.

The film changes some of the details from RL, but not the essence of the story. Lionel Logue was contacted in 1926, and King George VI gave a speech without stammering in 1927. The speech this film is based upon is the first wartime speech the king was required to give in 1939. Lionel Logue was at every speech that the king gave for 20 years. It is true that they became friends. It is true that Elizabeth turned Bertie (King George VI) down twice, before she accepted his marriage proposal, because she didn't want to live the life of a royal. Their marriage seemed close and loving.

I have seen the film twice. First with my older daughter, then I took both of my younger daughters (age 13 and 15 at the time) to see it. It makes history come alive.

I kept thinking the age my parents were at each point of the story as it unfolded.

Some of the continuing story, after the film:

During the Blitz, Elizabeth refused to leave London or send their children to Canada, even when she was advised by the Cabinet to do so. She said,

The children won't go without me. I won't leave the King. And the King will never leave.

It was said of her that she was like

a wave breaking on a rock, because although she is sweet and pretty and charming, she also has a basic streak of toughness and tenacity. ... when a wave breaks on a rock, it showers and sparkles with a brilliant play of foam and droplets in the sun, yet beneath is really hard, tough rock, fused, in her case, from strong principles, physical courage and a sense of duty. Sir Hugh Casson

~~
She knows instinctively what to do on those occasions. She doesn't rise to being heckled at all; she just pretends it must be an oversight on the part of the people doing it. The way she reacted not only showed her presence of mind, but was so charming and so disarming, even to the most rabid element, that she brought peace to troubled waters." Peter Ustinov

Have you seen it?
As I watched it, I thought that God used a man who couldn't speak to overthrow a man who spoke so well that he enticed a large part of the world to evil. It was a wonder.

She evidently gave her permission to film the story in the 80's, but only after her death.

edited to include: Lionel Logue took patients for free (he called them pupils, not patients) who were unable to pay him, because he had clients (pupils) who were in a position to pay him a lot. His house was not as humble as it appears in the film. It had 25 rooms and was evidently larger than the first house that Bertie and Elizabeth lived in when they were first married. Additionally, he was a very handsome man as evidenced by photos. More than this, to me, his talents were used on a broader field than they would have been if only used by himself individually. He was the right man, in the right place, at the right time doing the right work.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2011-02-19 23:36:11.

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I only recently heard of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic 97 year old woman who rescued 2500 children in the Warsaw Ghetto from the gas chambers in 1942-3.

After getting the children out, she arranged 'adoptions' by non-Jewish families (I admire them too for the risks they took) to protect them, documenting their names in a jar which she buried, so that one day she could tell the children their real names.

She was captured and tortured, eventually escaping, but she did not betray what she had accomplished.

She was up for a Nobel Prize in 2007 which she did not win, but she won a far more nobler prize.

You can read more about her at this website.

Karin

Originally posted 2007-10-29 08:35:43.

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The things of this world
Always, there is far more beauty in this world than we are aware of.

But enter the prodigious talents of someone like Jarbus Agnelli who transcribed the notes represented by birds on a wire. He reminds us of possibilities yet unseen and still unheard. Figuratively, he listened to the music of the spheres.

It reminds me of Hamlet:

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Shakespeare

How do we open the doors of our inner vision to see more of the good that is around us!

Perhaps the willingness
... to be different, to walk a different path
... to be open to possibilities
... to look at things differently
... to take a second -- or even a third -- look
... to listen for new ideas
... to look up
... to take whatever time is necessary -- or to realize that time cannot restrict us
... to develop the skills that are uniquely our own
... to admit the possibility that there might be something more
... to seek for it
... to share it
... to be thankful for it.

What do you think it might be like if we could translate things and events into music?

What if we could hear music in the way that Mozart or Beethoven did? What if we could hear what they never transcribed?

What if we could translate words into a ballet?

Somehow the whole is greater than the parts.

And remember, the melody always includes you.

Do you suppose that is some indication of divine supply?
Everywhere around us -- and where we are -- is filled with more than we can imagine. Count on it!

...today is big with blessings. Mary Baker Eddy

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2009-11-05 19:41:01.

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This is one of my all-time favorite written pieces. Someone has put it on youtube.

Enjoy! (And please leave me a comment.)

Bless everyone you meet and everyone and every thing you come in contact with.

Karin

Originally posted 2010-08-16 14:34:35.

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I like to watch the Oscars as much for the glam as for the host and the presenters, not to mention the winners. I never wanted to miss any of Billy Crystal's openings.

Ellen DeGeneres is hosting the Oscars this year. It sounds like she is working incredibly hard, double shifting her talk show, and getting ready, writing and re-writing, while keeping a good spirit about it. It's something she's hoped to do since she hosted the 2001 Emmys.

I'm trying to enjoy every step of it: the anticipation, the day of, the night of...It will be interesting to see if this is something that I'll do again. But right now I'm just looking forward to this one.

That's the secret to happiness, according to one book I read: to enjoy all that goes into the final moment of accomplishment. If you are a writer, the book said, but you only enjoy it when your book is published, you will not be happy the rest of the time. But if you enjoy all that goes into writing the book, then you will be happy. I'm not sure I totally agree, because if you hope to be published and that doesn't happen, then what.

Others say her warm approach, her positive attitude, her wit, humor and unpredictability and that she makes you feel good are parts of her appeal.

She hopes for some last minute surprises on Oscar night, like when Jack Palance did one-armed push-ups or when there was the streaker.

Chris Rock evidently told her last week that the job is 'scary as hell.' I betcha. About 40 million watch it in the US, not to mention other countries. As she says, not too many people could do it.

She hopes to spread a happy vibe. I don't know about you, but I can always use more happiness.
Karin

Originally posted 2007-02-21 09:53:51.

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