Thinking Out Loud

Thinking Out Loud: Looking Forward to the Next Chapter

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Boris Pasternack’s  work, Dr. Zhivago.

“Farewell, my great one, my own, farewell, my pride, farewell, my swift, deep, dear river, how I loved your daylong splashing, how I loved to plunge into your cold waves.”

Note: Life for us is a long series of letting go. We let go of childhood to enter adolescence. We let go of adolescence to enter adulthood. During our adult journey we may let go of good health. We may lose a partner to death. Each time we let go we experience the pain of separation. We’re never really healed from the separations, each separation leaves a scar. Some of my scars are more visible than others, but I carry them as you  do yours. With each separation there is a time of mourning. If we’re healthy, we begin to look forward to the next chapter with hope-filled expectations. Then we get on with life and leave what was lost behind.     

Thinking Out Loud: Good Things Are Coming Your Way

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Boris Pasternack’s  work, Dr. Zhivago.

“And remember: you must never, under any circumstances, despair. To hope and to act, these are our duties in misfortune.”

Note: We all face misfortune at times. It comes with living. How we respond to it sets a stamp on our character. Viktor Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning said we always have the freedom to choose the attitude we take toward our circumstances. Boris Pasternack encourages us to never despair or allowing ourselves to fall into the black pit. Instead, hope is the antidote to despair. Yes, tomorrow will better than today. Believe good things are coming your way. If you’re awake, you’ll catch them.     

Thinking Out Loud: Do You Dance in the Sunshine?

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Boris Pasternack’s  work, Dr. Zhivago.

“Reshaping life! People who can say that have never understood a thing about life—they have never felt its breath, its heartbeat—however much they have seen or done. They look on it as a lump of raw material that needs to be processed by them, to be ennobled by their touch. But life is never a material, a substance to be molded. If you want to know, life is the principle of self-renewal, it is constantly renewing and remaking and changing and transfiguring itself, it is infinitely beyond your or my obtuse theories about it.”

Note: I witness it every day. I see people, age doesn’t matter, who go through the motions of existing. Each day has a repetitiveness about it for them. I also see people, age doesn’t matter, who engage with life. They wrestle with doubts, daemons, and dark struggles. They dance in the sunshine, sing in the rain, and choose to grow and evolve embracing each step as a new adventure. Which are you?   

Thinking Out Loud: You Are a Masterpiece in the Making

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Boris Pasternack’s  work, Dr. Zhivago.

“I don’t think I could love you so much if you had nothing to complain of and nothing to regret. I don’t like people who have never fallen or stumbled. Their virtue is lifeless and of little value. Life hasn’t revealed its beauty to them.”

Note: Have you read the Velveteen Rabbit? It’s a children’s book with a beautiful message. We are the sum of our experiences. I like being around real people. People who have struggled yet refused to quit. People who haven’t had it easy and had the grit to get up each day and keep grinding. They know that life isn’t easy. They know if they endure they’ll make it to another sunrise. They know that other people are depending on them. There are a piece of marble that life sculptured into a masterpiece. That’s you! You are a masterpiece in the making.

Thinking Out Loud: Why Not You?

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

“There is no use trying,” said Alice; “one can’t believe impossible things.”

“I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen.

“When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

Note: Why not me? Have you ever asked yourself that question? If you haven’t I’ll ask it for you. ‘WHY NOT YOU! The outcome is certain if you don’t try. If you try maybe it will work out and you’ll surprise everyone. There are examples in every part of history, in every country, among all kinds of people. These are the folks who asked, “Why not me?” Then they acted on it, they persevered through disappointments. They kept working when those around them told to relax. They pushed on when friends left them. Why Not You!!

Thinking Out Loud: What Do You Want Your Words to Do?

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

“Really, now you ask me,” said Alice, very much confused, “I don’t think——”

“Then you shouldn’t talk,” said the Hatter.

Note: The world would be much better if we all chose not to talk without thinking. Often, words act as catalyst for us. We hear words spoken and we react blurting out something without thinking. Unlike a package I ordered from Amazon that I can return, I can’t take back the words I utter once spoken. Angry words, harmful words, words that shame and ridicule, hurt the recipient of the words and detract from the humanity of the one who spoke the words. What do you want your words to do? To build or tear down? To heal or to harm? To lift up and inspire or to repress?

Thinking Out Loud: Daring to Ask Dangerous Questions

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.

“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”

Alice didn’t think that proved it at all; however, she went on. “And how do you know that you’re mad?”[77]

“To begin with,” said the Cat, “a dog’s not mad. You grant that?”

“I suppose so,” said Alice.

“Well, then,” the Cat went on, “you see a dog growls when it’s angry, and wags its tail when it’s pleased. Now I growl when I’m pleased, and wag my tail when I’m angry. Therefore I’m mad.”

“I call it purring, not growling,” said Alice.”

Note: How many arguments are started because we’re sure we’re right? My experience is that a lot of arguments are started because two people refuse to admit that there may be more than one perspective. And, both persons may not have a complete grasp of what is right. When we set aside our perspective and listen to the other we create a fertile field for dialogue to occur. Dialogue is hard work. When we engage in dialogue we dare to ask previously unexplored questions because they were “too dangerous” to ask. Here’s a dangerous question: “Can we talk about ______ without either one of us getting upset?” The follow up question: “How do we do that?” Dare to have the courage to dialogue.

Thinking Out Loud: Are You Ready for a Great Adventure?

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

“It was much pleasanter at home,” thought poor Alice, “when one wasn’t always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn’t gone down that rabbit-hole—and yet—and yet—it’s rather curious, you know, this sort of life!”

Note: What we know feels safer than what we don’t know. That is difference between the risk takers and those fearful of taking a risk. A risk taker knows the familiar is safer but has confidence that he/she can cope with the unknown. They plunge ahead cutting the ties to their safe environment. They dare to take a chance. Win or lose they are ready to give it their all. They live without regrets and never wonder “what if.” Do you dare to cut loose from what feels safe to pursue a great adventure?

Thinking Out Loud ~ The Mad Hatter Offers a Lesson About Time

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

Alice sighed wearily. “I think you might do something better with the time,” she said, “than wasting it asking riddles with no answers.”

“If you knew Time as well as I do,” said the Hatter, “you wouldn’t talk about wasting it. It’s him.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” said Alice.

“Of course you don’t!” the Hatter said, tossing his head contemptuously. “I daresay you never spoke to Time!”

Note: I once stopped for dinner at a highway restaurant. My waitress didn’t stop moving for a moment. She was going back and forth, this way and that way in perpetual motion. From what I could see nothing much was getting done. I could barely catch her attention. She filled her time with busyness. The time we have is a treasure. A moment of time lost, is a moment lost forever. When we understand the preciousness of each moment, we gain a new perspective of what is important and what is not so important. Maybe the Hatter is right, we need to get know Time.

Thinking Out Loud ~ When You’re Stuck, Begin at the Beginning

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Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Lewis Carroll’s work, Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is available for free download from Project Gutenberg here.

The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. “Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?” he asked.

“Begin at the beginning,” the King said gravely, “and go on till you come to the end; then stop.”

Note: Transitioning to a new job, new location, or dramatic changes in life circumstances are all fraught with stress, anxiety, and often a paralysis. I have a friend whose spouse died. I understood how she felt since I had the same experience. My friend was trapped by an emotional paralysis. Her grief was so great, she had difficulty in doing even the smallest of tasks,. Fortunately, she sought help and was able to ‘Begin at the beginning and continue. . . .” That’s what we all have to do in the transition moments, begin at the beginning and go on until we come to the end.

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