One Foot in Front – The Daily, July 23, 2020

Would you look at it differently if you thought it might be the last one you ever see?

“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” 
― Bill Gates

“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” 
― Jim Rohn

Having a clear picture of what you are trying to accomplish in your mind is the key to reaching a goal, because along the way there will be many distractions, problems, and reasons that you will find for not following through. But as long as the image of what you want remains clear and accessible to you, there will be a path that appears before you to take you there. One step at a time is the best advice to follow, especially when the challenges appear and you feel like you are losing focus.

Getting clear about why you want to do something is important too. If you can get to the point where not getting to where you want to go feels like a pain that would be unbearable, then it will only be a matter of time before you accomplish what you set out to do. Steady, consistent action performed over a period of time is the way to get anywhere, and it isn’t any more difficult than that.

Gaining or Losing? – A few weeks after the quarantines began, people started to joke about the “quarantine-15”, the extra weight they had added since being stuck at home that was now a new source of stress and discomfort. It wasn’t surprising – sales of alcohol were up early on, and people turned to sweets and comfort food to deal with the uncertainty of life in a pandemic. But at the same time, others talk about having lost weight because they aren’t going to restaurants or going to grab a snack late at night from the store.

We all cope in different ways. At the same time, it’s more important than ever before to be as healthy as you can, and for this you can accept a great deal of responsibility. Be real with yourself. If you have gained some weight that you didn’t need to have, then look at the habits that are contributing to that. It’s all about choices and taking control over what you do day after day. Decide what you want and then take action to get there, because being healthy is nothing more than building quality, consistent habits that support you and your body.

Plato Knew Stuff – From Science Daily: “Plato, the Greek philosopher who lived in the 5th century B.C.E., believed that the universe was made of five types of matter: earth, air, fire, water, and cosmos. Each was described with a particular geometry, a platonic shape. For earth, that shape was the cube. Science has steadily moved beyond Plato’s conjectures, looking instead to the atom as the building block of the universe. Yet Plato seems to have been onto something, researchers have found.”

Douglas Jerolmack, a geophysicist in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Earth and Environmental Science and the School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, said,”The interesting thing here is that what we find with rock, or earth, is that there is more than a conceptual lineage back to Plato. It turns out that Plato’s conception about the element earth being made up of cubes is, literally, the statistical average model for real earth. And that is just mind-blowing.”

The knowledge of everything has always been there – just because we haven’t proven things yet doesn’t mean they aren’t correct.

Thought of the Day – Eat well. Be positive. Choose health over gluttony, contentment over greed. The small joys in life have the ability to transport you to a place of joy and bliss, so surround yourself with them. Have a beautiful day.

“I suppose therefore that all things I see are illusions; I believe that nothing has ever existed of everything my lying memory tells me. I think I have no senses. I believe that body, shape, extension, motion, location are functions. What is there then that can be taken as true? Perhaps only this one thing, that nothing at all is certain.” 
― Rene Descartes

The Little Moments – The Daily, July 3, 2020

Always have enough time to stop and enjoy the flowers

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” 
― Confucious

“Never discourage anyone…who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.” 
― Plato

Taking time to cherish the moments that make up the journey to wherever you are trying to go is part of the joy of accomplishment. If nothing but the final result will satisfy you, then you rob yourself of the feeling of contentment that daily progress can supply. Savour the little moments because that takes the pressure off the need to get somewhere at all cost. It also allows you the freedom to alter course if you discover that the final destination isn’t what you want anymore.

If at the end of each day you are able to lay your head on the pillow and feel that progress was made, even if it was all put into planning, then that is something to celebrate. Each day’s accomplishments can’t help but lead somewhere eventually.

More Movement Please – The benefits of exercise continue to be proven in multiple studies. The latest is one out of the University of Virginia Health System that discovered the first experimental evidence showing that exercise can reduce the severity of macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss. It’s estimated that ten million Americans have the condition. They also found that exercise may benefit other common causes of vision loss, such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.

Researcher Bradley Gelfand, PhD, of UVA’s Center for Advanced Vision Science wanted to conduct the study because as a self-proclaimed “couch potato” he hoped to prove that exercise doesn’t have any benefits. “One reason I wanted to do this study was sort of selfish. I was hoping to find some reason not to exercise,” he joked. “It turned out exercise really is good for you.”

No More Please – On this day in 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg came to an end. The American Civil War would officially end two years later. Let’s hope that we will one day come to a stage of existence where fighting for what we want isn’t necessary, because conscious creation is the new way of life. Here’s to a future full of peace and cooperation.

Thought of the Day – The stars are aligned for today to be a creative and enjoyable day. The Sagittarius Moon encourages us to seek new things, learn, and discover, and we can enjoy a sense of mission now. Continue to take action and it will be amazing how much you can accomplish in a short time when everything just seems to magically fall into place. Enjoy the beauty of the day.

“Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.” 
― Mawlana Jalal-al-Din Rumi

I Just Want a Cookie

A two-cookie ice cream sandwich – I can get a lot done if this is the reward!

I have writing to do. The house needs to be cleaned. Then I have to get groceries, run errands, go through some boxes full of things I no longer need, and start to get my tax stuff together.

And all I want to do is sit here and eat a cookie.

What do you do when you don’t want to do anything? I can procrastinate as good as anyone, but I found something that works. I treat myself like the child that I am being by using the oldest trick in the book – bribery.

Continue reading “I Just Want a Cookie”