thinking

Thinking Out Loud ~ Enjoy the Benefits of Walking

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Try Walking It Will Change Your Life

Thoreau writes in “Walking,” ““I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least—and it is commonly more than that—sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.” P. 735

Walking is available online and gutenberg.org under the Harvard Classics.

NOTE: Thoreau wrote Walking long before we all started thinking about exercise and its relationship to our health. He realized that physical and mental health benefits we get from exercise were immense; especially when one chooses to exercise in nature. Whether it is walking in a nature park close by my house, somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, or along the seashore in the off season, I find myself buoyed by the experience of being outside and becoming one with my surroundings. Try it and you will discover that it will make all the difference in your life.

Thinking Out Loud ~ Learning to Walk for the First Time

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Join the Adventure

Today I began reflecting on “Walking,” by Henry David Thoreau. Walking is available online and gutenberg.org under the Harvard Classics.

Thoreau writes, “It is true, we are but faint-hearted crusaders, even the walkers, nowadays, who undertake no persevering, never-ending enterprises.  Our expeditions are but tours, and come round again at evening to the old hearth-side from which we set out.  Half the walk is but retracing our steps.  We should go forth on the shortest walk, perchance, in the spirit of undying adventure, never to return.  …  If you are ready to leave father and mother, and brother and sister, and wife and child and friends, and never see them again—if you have paid your debts, and made your will, and settled all your affairs, and are a free man, then you are ready for a walk.” Pg. 233

NOTE: We’ve forgotten the adventure of walking. We plug EarPods into our ears. We talk on our smart phones. We scroll through social media accounts and miss the adventure. Think of what you are missing on your walk adventure. You’re missing meeting other walkers. Maybe you’ve missed out on making a good friend. You’ve missed out on a beautiful sunrise or sunset, or the darkening swirl of storm clouds gathering. Is it time to make walking an adventure again?

Feel Good Tip ~ The 8 Things The Happiest People Do Every Day

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The Happiest People Do the Following. How many do you do?

  1. They devote a great amount of time to their family and friends, nurturing and enjoying those relationships.
  2. They are comfortable expressing gratitude for all they have.
  3. They are often the first to offer helping hands to coworkers and passersby.
  4. They practice optimism when imagining their futures.
  5. They savor life’s pleasures and try to live in the present moment.
  6. They make physical exercise a weekly and even daily habit.
  7. They are deeply committed to lifelong goals and ambitions (e.g., fighting fraud, building cabinets, or teaching their children their deeply held values).
  8. Last but not least, the happiest people do have their share of stresses, crises, and even tragedies. They may become just as distressed and emotional in such circumstances as you or I, but their secret weapon is the poise and strength they show in coping in the face of challenge.

Source

Note; A wise person told me, “Ray we always find time to do what we want to do.” If I want to be happier, I’ll find time to make the items on this list part of my life. Is it time for a personal assessment on how you choose to spend you time?

Thinking Out Loud ~ We All Deserve Respect and Dignity

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In her book, We Should All be Feminists, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie writes, “Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture.” P. 40

NOTE: Perhaps it is because I was raised by my mom and her sisters while my dad was away at war. Or, because I was the only male in a household of six females (my wife and 5 daughters) that I am not uncomfortable around strong, independent women. They shaped the culture in which I grew up and lived. They did not let the culture shape them.

Thinking out Loud ~ Men Should Not Fear a Strong, Independent Woman

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In her book, We Should All be Feminists, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie writes, “We say to girls: you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful but not too successful otherwise you will threaten the man.” P. 26

NOTE: I have five daughters. When my wife and I were raising the girls we hoped they would fall in love forever. We also knew that sometimes that relationships don’t always work out. So, we also raised them to be strong, independent women who could take care of themselves. All five have turned out to be strong and independent, yet highly capable of having loving relationships.

Thinking Out Loud ~ Are You Invisible?

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In her book, We Should All be Feminists, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie writes about her experience in a Nigerian restaurant where the waiter will speak to the man and ignore her. She writes, “I know that they don’t intend harm, but it is one thing to know something intellectually and quite another to feel it emotionally. Each time they ignore me, I feel invisible. … I want to tell them I am just as human as the man, just as worthy of acknowledgement.” P.20

 

NOTE: You may be thinking, ‘Yes, that happened in Nigeria, it doesn’t happen in the U.S. or other western countries.’ I speak from personal experience in academia. As the only assistant professor in my department I could speak, but I wasn’t heard. I quickly learned I hadn’t yet been accepted. I was invisible. Later, in my career, when I was a full professor, I spoke in defense of a woman seeking to be promoted to full professor. The other full professors voted unanimously to deny her promotion. They were angry with me for being the lone holdout. I quickly became invisible to them. Perhaps you’ve had similar experiences of feeling invisible. I’d like to hear from you.

Thinking Out Loud ~ Is it Really Normal?

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I am reading “We Should All be Feminists” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Ms. Adichie is a well-known Nigeran author who Time Magazine named as one of the one hundred most influential people in the world in 2015. Her book, “We Should All be Feminists” was taken from a Ted Talk and initiated a global conversation about feminism. Hope you enjoy the snippets I share with you from her book and my reflections on them.

In her book, We Should All be Feminists, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie writes, “If we do something over and over it becomes normal period if we see the same thing over and over, it becomes normal.” Pg. 12

NOTE: I’d like to add, “If we hear something over and over, we begin to believe it’s true. When I was a young kid, one of my chores was to mow the lawn. There was one way to mow the lawn, my dad’s way. I found myself, years later, mowing the lawn in the same way until I decided it was okay to mow it a different way. When I did, I wasn’t struck by lightning. I didn’t have a coronary. And the sun continued to rise and set right on schedule. Unless we question why we’re doing something over and over we may miss out on a better way to do it.

Thinking Out Loud ~ Be Yourself

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You are a Living Miracle

In his work, Self Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, “These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God to-day. There is no time to them. There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence. Before a leaf-bud has burst, its whole life acts; in the full-blown flower there is no more; in the leafless root there is no less. Its nature is satisfied, and it satisfies nature, in all moments alike.” P. 132

NOTE: Be yourself. You can be no other if you are living authentically. Live in the present and allow yourself to grow into something more miraculous each day. You are a beautiful living miracle.

Thinking Out Loud ~ Are You Following the Herd?

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In his work, Self Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, “Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.” Pps. 122-123

NOTE: The great herd tries its best to conform and make sure what it says conforms to what the herd wants it to say. Researchers point out that the greatest ideas and innovations come from the edges. They come from people who do not conform to the herd but intuitively listen to a different voice. If you’re feeling an internal conflict, it may be time to think about leaving the herd mentality and walking to edge.

Thinking Out Loud – Are You and Independent Thinker?

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Think Your Own Thoughts

In his work, Self Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson writes, “What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” P. 118

NOTE: Maintaining one’s independence of thought is important in a world that screams at us telling us what is right or wrong. Some stop thinking and allow others to think for them. They then become the parrots of these people muttering things they themselves do not understand. An independent thinkers weighs what he hears and makes a judgement on the worthiness of what he heard. Question everything.

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