Tag: priorities

New Exhibits

I’ve been enjoying some good summer reading while my husband is engrossed in the passion of, and his personal passion for the Tour de France. And from my readings and perusings, I have some new exhibits to add to this Thought Museum which I fondly call “Ash” – Adulting – Second Half. Here is some food for thought to chew on today:

+ What strikes the oyster, does not damage the pearl. – Rumi

I take this to mean that your body can be destroyed by outside forces, and even your mind can be destroyed by outside forces if you let it, but your spirit is timeless and it is always in a state of peaceful observance and it is protected always. Your spirit is your pearl.

+ Don’t yuck on another person’s yums.

We are all allowed to decide what we think is yucky and what we think is yummy. The world is a wonderful, interesting, diverse, “feast for the eyes”, because we all have different yuckies and yummies.

+ The need to convince others represents the need to convince yourself. – Alan Cohen

This is so vitally true, isn’t it? The things that I am absolutely sure about, I would never even think to ask anyone’s opinion about.

+ Life will not postpone our death, so let us not postpone our life.

No explanation needed. Viva!

+ If someone could see your actions and not hear your words, what would they say your priorities are?

This is such an excellent question because it separates you from yourself a little bit, and also from your expectations of yourself, and from your own self-image and your own private “shoulds.” My kids have heard the mantra from me a million times in their growing up years: “Actions speak louder than words. People show you who they are.” Be honest with yourself with this question. It may surprise you that your actions don’t really match what you think are actually your own priorities. The way that this question is worded may help you to get back on track to what you really want your true priorities to be in your life.

+ Yesterday, I received this blog in my email and it was EXACTLY what I needed to “hear.” (I believe that this is how the Universe works. Let Life love you.) Jill Donovan is a jewelry designer and an excellent writer. She is a devout Christian, so it does have a lot of “God” reference, but I still believe that anyone, no matter what their beliefs are, can get something from this post:

https://jilldonovan.com/blogs/practically-speaking/all-cats-are-grey-in-the-dark

Thank you for perusing the museum with me today. If you have any suggestions for good exhibits, please add them in the Comments.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Monday – Funday

A wise person once said to me, “You don’t go to the gym, see a totally fit, “stacked” person and say to yourself, Hmmm, I wonder why they are here? They are already totally fit.”

When you see the totally fit person at the gym, you inherently realize that they are there at the gym to maintain their body’s strength and flexibility. They got fit at the gym, and they stay fit by regularly going there to work out. Their body’s strength and flexibility and health are a priority to them, and this is shown by their actions.

My hairstylist is 60 and I have been going to get my hair done by her for almost a decade. Since I’ve known her she has always been thin and svelte. Even during the pandemic, she kept her weight steady. My hairstylist also has to stay on a gluten-free diet for her digestive health, and she told me once that it really bothers her that people assume that she is thin only because she is on the gluten-free diet. She works hard at maintaining her weight, and her health, and it “irks” her that people think that she just lucked into her long-lasting body type.

Whatever you admire about a person – their relationships, their career, their style, their health, their knowledge, etc., most likely did not come easy. Even if the natural, raw talents and abilities were there, it is difficult to grow, and to maintain these gifts. It’s an uncomfortable truth, but the facts are, people live their priorities. It’s insulting to someone to treat their best attributes, assets, and gifts as only lucky breaks, which just happened to easily and randomly fall upon them, out of the clouds, and then magically stay there, without any effort on the lucky person’s part. When you see the admirable “finished product” of success, health, happiness, you don’t see all of the “behind the scenes” of blood, sweat, and tears, research, desire, tough decisions, and prioritizing that it took to get there, and then also, to keep it.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.