Sunday, 25 November 2012
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
better life index
How's life in Canada?
I was surprised at some of these findings, found here
On average, people in Canada spend 2 minutes per day in volunteering activities, lower than the OECD average of 4 minutes per day .
and sometimes it doesn't seem like strangers converse....
Conversely, 66% reported having helped a stranger in the last month, the highest figure in the OECD where the average is 47%.
Create your own and compare!
Some of my highest comparisons were for Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway...nor surprising!
I was surprised at some of these findings, found here
On average, people in Canada spend 2 minutes per day in volunteering activities, lower than the OECD average of 4 minutes per day .
and sometimes it doesn't seem like strangers converse....
Conversely, 66% reported having helped a stranger in the last month, the highest figure in the OECD where the average is 47%.
Create your own and compare!
Some of my highest comparisons were for Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway...nor surprising!
like this boat
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
excerpt from stopping by woods on a snowy evening - r.frost
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
brand new
I just met a new person today. By 'new' I mean born almost 12 hrs ago (as I post this).
It has been at least a couple of years since I met such a new person.
Someone so fragile, so tiny, and so quiet.
And I was there when this new person put clothing and socks on for the first time.
These small events seem very important. And I suppose they are.
They become elements in our development towards being a "human being" in "society".
I'm astounded to think of all of the things I did for the first time in my life. And how many of those things I've repeated. Day after day. Week after week. Month after...you get the picture.
What about things I've only done once and that was it?
Escargot. Yep, only ate that once.
Beef tartar. Same.
Rollerblading.
It has been at least a couple of years since I met such a new person.
Someone so fragile, so tiny, and so quiet.
And I was there when this new person put clothing and socks on for the first time.
These small events seem very important. And I suppose they are.
They become elements in our development towards being a "human being" in "society".
I'm astounded to think of all of the things I did for the first time in my life. And how many of those things I've repeated. Day after day. Week after week. Month after...you get the picture.
What about things I've only done once and that was it?
Escargot. Yep, only ate that once.
Beef tartar. Same.
Rollerblading.
Monday, 5 November 2012
learning without books
The past few weeks have been quite intense.
I've been taking training to be a palliative care/hospice volunteer.
The training is designed to have us confront all sorts of fears around death, loss, grief, sadness and also encourage us to reflect on how we communicate, listen and relate to people.
I've started reading my second Osho novel - "Intimacy - trusting oneself and the other" and tonight it just dawned on me that as useful it is to educate oneself, in some ways it is much more useful to have life experiences. Reading and education build upon experience, as does relating oneself to our surroundings and others and not the other way around. Without experiences such as loss, sadness and grief, I honestly think that having empathy for others and relating to how other people feel is a limited activity. That's not to say that I need to have lost someone to understand loss, but I do think that I need to have truly felt a loss (end of a relationship, moving to a new city, saying goodbye to a friend etc), reflected upon it and have come to peace with that loss before I am really able to relate to others loss. Sometimes that just takes time.
I know in the coming weeks I will learn a lot more about loss once I begin volunteering. This will also mean that I will need to take care of myself and give myself time to be reflective and to bring joy in my life.
The passage below caught my attention. It may not catch yours. And me, even 1 year ago or 6 months ago may have passed over the same text without a second thought. The idea that things come to us at the time that we are ready to receive them or someone comes into our life at just the right moment, is something I truly believe in. I guess it could be a chicken or egg type of thing (did it choose me or did I choose it?!), but sometimes there seems to be such seamless direction that it makes me wonder if there's a path for me, for you...
Osho - thoughts on being with self and others
"We have always lived with others. From the moment the child leaves the mother's womb, he is never alone. When you start moving inward, all those faces fade away, all that crowd disperses...you have known the crowd, relationships, the joys and miseries of relationship... you will be surprised: You were lost in the crowd; now are you are not lost. You were lost in that jungle of a relationship, and now you have come home. You will relate, but you will not depend; you will love, but your love will not be a need.
...gather courage and go into this space. Even if it feels very sad and very lonely, there is nothing to be worried about; we have to pay this price. And once you have reached your source, the whole thing will change completely, and you will come out of as an individual. That is the difference I make between an individual and a person: A person is a false phenomenon, and individual is a reality. Persons, personalities, are masks, shadows; individuality is substance, it is reality. And only individuals can relate, can love - persons can only play games."
I've been taking training to be a palliative care/hospice volunteer.
The training is designed to have us confront all sorts of fears around death, loss, grief, sadness and also encourage us to reflect on how we communicate, listen and relate to people.
I've started reading my second Osho novel - "Intimacy - trusting oneself and the other" and tonight it just dawned on me that as useful it is to educate oneself, in some ways it is much more useful to have life experiences. Reading and education build upon experience, as does relating oneself to our surroundings and others and not the other way around. Without experiences such as loss, sadness and grief, I honestly think that having empathy for others and relating to how other people feel is a limited activity. That's not to say that I need to have lost someone to understand loss, but I do think that I need to have truly felt a loss (end of a relationship, moving to a new city, saying goodbye to a friend etc), reflected upon it and have come to peace with that loss before I am really able to relate to others loss. Sometimes that just takes time.
I know in the coming weeks I will learn a lot more about loss once I begin volunteering. This will also mean that I will need to take care of myself and give myself time to be reflective and to bring joy in my life.
The passage below caught my attention. It may not catch yours. And me, even 1 year ago or 6 months ago may have passed over the same text without a second thought. The idea that things come to us at the time that we are ready to receive them or someone comes into our life at just the right moment, is something I truly believe in. I guess it could be a chicken or egg type of thing (did it choose me or did I choose it?!), but sometimes there seems to be such seamless direction that it makes me wonder if there's a path for me, for you...
Osho - thoughts on being with self and others
"We have always lived with others. From the moment the child leaves the mother's womb, he is never alone. When you start moving inward, all those faces fade away, all that crowd disperses...you have known the crowd, relationships, the joys and miseries of relationship... you will be surprised: You were lost in the crowd; now are you are not lost. You were lost in that jungle of a relationship, and now you have come home. You will relate, but you will not depend; you will love, but your love will not be a need.
...gather courage and go into this space. Even if it feels very sad and very lonely, there is nothing to be worried about; we have to pay this price. And once you have reached your source, the whole thing will change completely, and you will come out of as an individual. That is the difference I make between an individual and a person: A person is a false phenomenon, and individual is a reality. Persons, personalities, are masks, shadows; individuality is substance, it is reality. And only individuals can relate, can love - persons can only play games."
Thursday, 1 November 2012
the cutlery of life
Alice came to a fork in the road.
'Which road do I take?' she asked.
'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire cat.
'I don't know,' Alice answered.
'Then,' said the cat, 'it doesn't matter.'
Lewis Carroll, 1832-1898
'Which road do I take?' she asked.
'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire cat.
'I don't know,' Alice answered.
'Then,' said the cat, 'it doesn't matter.'
Lewis Carroll, 1832-1898
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