Hello!
We're all still
here on this amazing planet of ours, and we want to
take advantage
of this new Tuesday in our lives to thank you for
being here with us and for
making all the contributions that you make to the
world!
Play is part of being human, yet it remains an elusive
part of many people's lives. Studies have proven
play is a major factor in the appropriate development
of social, emotional, mental, and physical growth for
children. But what happens when we stop playing
as adults? Are we stunting our own growth?
Why do humans play? Is it a requirement of
survival like breathing, eating, and sleeping?
Play introduces the concept of "balance" in
a busy life; it encourages people to seek
solitude in nature and allocate time for daily
laughs. Humor is needed to reaffirm our humanity
and sanity. Laughter releases tension and
stress, and builds rapport among those it
touches. It is through our play that we are
reintroduced to both once again.
In this time spent developing, challenging, and
nurturing the authentic self, the promise of
play--happiness--will be found.
Play encourages interaction, risk-taking, and the use
of imagination. Abstract thinking and creativity
are explored, and social, language, and mental skills
are mastered, as self-worth is strengthened. The
value of dedication and practice is also
learned. As such competencies are developed,
these skills cross over to other aspects of life.
Based
on these inherent benefits of play, recess should be
reinstated for those over the age of ten. Until that
day--why not decide to make play a frequent event in your
life and add an hour or two of active play and creative
expression to each week? It may seem like child's
play at first, but once the magic starts, there will be no
question that this is what your spirit needs.
Genuine play occurs when you lose sight of yourself and
your life for the moment. You are totally immersed
in whatever physical or creative activity with no
awareness of the passing of time. You are truly
awake and alive. For some people, play may be more
physical. For others, it is a creative outlet for
expression. However, both types of play can satisfy
our basic need for curiosity, exploration, and fun.
In the choice for a long and healthy life, playing is not
just an option, but also a natural element of each
day. Moving the body is as crucial as eating and
sleeping. It is a proven fact that increased
physical activity--a hike, jog, or a round of
tennis--results in increased "smarts."
Physical activity is an essential part of long-term
health. As play is added to your days, you will
begin to see that the amount of time spent playing is in
direct correlation with the amount of energy you
have. Your newfound interest will also keep mood
swings in check, help manage stress, and build a stronger
immune system.
Play is so good for our bodies. No matter your size,
shape, weight, or height, adding play to your life will
improve your self-image. When we become too busy to
play, we fall prey to diet fads or bad habits like
smoking. Playing hard and eating well will do
wonders not only for your temperament, but for your body,
too. . . .
The biggest tragedy facing us today is. . . the missing
awareness of the mind-body connection. This is why
play, through both active and creative expression, is so
important. Play is meant to draw us closer to our
own reflection, to see what is really inside our
complicated yet beautiful selves. The desire to
move, the desire to create, is and should be a required
element of every person's day. It is the truth
behind what makes us who we are.
Be yourself. Be your complete and authentic
self--not what you think others want you to be or what
society pressures us to be. Express yourself with
your body and your mind by being you, the person who you
are supposed to be. Use your time, energy, and money
not on dieting, but on passionate living achieved by
body-moving activities and mind-engaging interests.
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Go
placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember
what peace there may be in silence. As far
as possible without surrender be on good terms
with all persons. Speak your truth quietly
and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull
and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they
are vexations to the spirit. If you
compare yourself with others, you may become
vain and bitter; for always there will be
greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career,
however humble; it is a real possession in the
changing fortunes of time. Exercise
caution in your business affairs; for the world
is full of trickery. But let this not
blind you to what virtue there is; many persons
strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is
full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign
affection. Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and
disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully
surrendering the things of youth. Nurture
strength of spirit to shield you in sudden
misfortune. But do not distress yourself
with dark imaginings. Many fears are born
of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a
wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than
the trees and the stars; you have a right to be
here. And whether or not it is clear to
you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it
should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you
conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and
aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep
peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world. Be
cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Living
Life Fully, the e-zine
exists to try to provide for visitors of the world wide web a
place
of growth, peace, inspiration, and encouragement. Our
articles
are presented as thoughts of the authors--by no means do
we
mean to present them as ways that anyone has to live
life. Take
from them what you will, and disagree with
whatever you disagree
with--just know that they'll be here for you
each week.
The
finest test of character is seen in the amount and the power of
gratitude we have.
Milo
H. Gates
Now
This present
moment--what an incredible gift it is! It has been rightly
said that this moment truly is all that we have, for the only time
that we truly act in our lives is in the right now--though we may
spend now planning to act in the future, the actions themselves
come only when what-will-be turns into what-is, and we're in a new
present moment. And once we've acted, that moment becomes
the past.
It took me many years to learn that we live exclusively in the
present. I had grown up with my mind often in the
future--especially on things that I hoped would happen--or in the
past, being upset with something that had happened. Neither
of these strategies did me any good, and I believe that both of
them contributed a great deal to the debilitating depression that
I used to go through. While I did a fairly decent job of
getting out into the world and seeing and experiencing things, my
mind very often kept me from enjoying the present moment because
it would focus on what was missing from it. I could be on a
mountain trail in a beautiful national park, yet my mind would be
focused on the fact that I was there alone, and how
"terrible" that was. I could be with someone I
really liked having and enjoyable conversation, yet my mind would
be focused on what was going to happen tomorrow, and how difficult
it was going to be.
The
only time that any of us have to grow or change or feel or learn
anything
is in the present moment. But we're continually
missing
our present moments,
almost willfully, by not paying
attention.
Jon
Kabat-Zinn
In other words,
I wasn't paying all that much attention to the here
and now--my mind was on the future or the past, and
it wasn't allowing me to fully experience all that
was going on. I can't even begin to estimate
just how many present moments I've squandered, just
how many times I've missed the chance to get to know
someone better--or even just to get to know
someone--because my mind has been elsewhere.
I'll never know just how many beautiful or hilarious
or precious or rewarding moments I've missed because
I have been fully present in the present.
I certainly don't say these things because I'm mad
at myself or highly critical of myself--I'm just
stating facts. But I do remind myself of all
that I've missed because I don't want to miss any
more present moments than I really have to, and by
keeping myself reminded of the way that I've missed
many of them, I can remind myself in each moment,
"I don't want to miss what's going on now,
because this moment is the most important moment of
my life."
And each passing moment truly is the most important
moment of our lives, because each is the only time
when we can actually do something, when we can
actually take actions that will change and improve
our lives. Yes, we can plan to do something
today at 3 p.m., but when the time gets here, that's
when we have to act or lose the chance to do
so. Planning is great, and planning is
necessary, but it's the execution of the plan that
makes the plan worthwhile.
What we are talking about is learning to
live in the present moment, in the now.
When you
aren't distracted by your own negative thinking, when you
don't
allow
yourself to get lost in moments that are gone
or yet to come,
you are left with
this moment. This
moment--now--truly is the only moment you have. It
is beautiful
and special. Life is simply a series
of such moments to be experienced
one right
after another.
If you attend to the moment you are in
and stay
connected to your
soul and remain happy,
you will find
that your heart is filled with positive feelings.
Sydney Banks
I also want to
notice more all of the opportunities that I have
with each moment. I want to be aware of the
beautiful things that fill my life as I pass through
present moment after present moment. If I'm
focused on anger for what someone did this morning,
though, or fear of what's going to happen two hours
from now, then I can be sure that I'm missing a
great deal of what now has to offer.
Sometimes, this takes a conscious effort on my
part--I stop what I'm doing and I look around,
seeing what's there that I'm not noticing.
Very often this is a rather humbling exercise--it's
amazing how many things I miss from day to day.
It's a shame that people don't teach us more about
being present in the moment. We do tend to
slip into denial about our particular
responsibilities in the present if we don't remind
ourselves constantly about what life means, and what
it means to recognize the needs of the present
moment instead of being bogged down by our own needs
and wants. How many times have I not
recognized it when someone needed a person to talk
to, but I was too involved with my frustration about
the past? How many times have I walked right
by something that needed to be done because I was
worried about what was going to happen tomorrow?
Enjoying the moment is easy if we're meeting a
newborn for the first time, watching a puppy play,
or eating our favorite dessert. But it's not
as easy to do if we're not doing or seeing something
out of the ordinary--we tend to take for granted the
same kid that we see every day, the same foods that
we eat often, the same scenery that we pass each
morning and afternoon.
Not
living in the present is a form of denial. It's
easier to
live in the past or future because then you
don't have
to be responsible for the present.
Jane
Hendrix
It's easy
enough to say "Open your eyes," "Be
present," "Live in the now."
But it's much more difficult to do. In many
ways, most of the entire Buddhist philosophy towards
life is a focus on being present in each moment that
we live in, and being responsive to the needs and
the gifts of the moment. When we do learn to
live our lives this way, many of our cares and
worries tend to fade away, for we start to see just
how we fit into each present moment. And when
we start to see how we fit in, we see our relevance
and our importance to other people, to situations,
and to life itself.
The present moment may be full of anticipation or
fear, but we can change that when we realize that
the future present moments will take care of
themselves. Right now, our only responsibility
is to live the moment that we're in right now, and
to get all that we can out of that moment, and to
give all that we can into it.
If
I had a formula for bypassing
trouble, I would not pass it round.
Trouble creates a capacity to handle
it. I don't embrace trouble; that's
as bad as treating it as an enemy.
But I do say meet it as a friend, for
you'll see a lot of it and had better
be on speaking terms with it.
Oliver
Wendell Holmes
The
Arrow and the Song
I
shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly as it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.
I
breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?
Long,
long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.
Patience is the foundation of discovering
simplicity. Patience is a gesture
of profound kindness. . . . Patience teaches us to seek an inner
refuge
of simplicity, balance, and sensitivity even in the most turbulent
moments.
It is about learning to be a good friend to ourselves. . . .
Patience is one
of life's great arts, a lesson we learn not just once, but over
and over.
Yes, life
can be mysterious and confusing--but there's much of life that's
actually rather dependable and reliable. Some principles apply
to life in so many different contexts that they can truly be called
universal--and learning what they are and how to approach them and use
them can teach us some of the most important lessons that we've ever
learned.
My doctorate is in Teaching and Learning. I use it a lot when I
teach at school, but I also do my best to apply what I've learned to
the life I'm living, and to observe how others live their lives.
What makes them happy or unhappy, stressed or peaceful, selfish or
generous, compassionate or arrogant? In this book, I've done my
best to pass on to you what I've learned from people in my life,
writers whose works I've read, and stories that I've heard.
Perhaps these principles can be a positive part of your life, too! Universal Principles of Living Life Fully. Awareness of
these principles can explain a lot and take much of the frustration
out of the lives we lead.
Explore all of our
quotations pages--these links will take you to the first page of each
topic, and those pages will contain links to any additional pages on
the same topic.
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