Monday, February 21, 2011

The battle between the two wolves in our minds

Many of you have seen this very short story before, but I just came across it again this past weekend and thought that it's worth mentioning again. It has a way of popping up at the right times in my life, and I certainly benefit greatly every time I see it:
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes
on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between 2 wolves.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance,
self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride,
superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility,
kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and
faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his
grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Sunday, February 20, 2011

The art of making a little Sunday every day

While researching the Czech word "usebrání" for a translation project, I came across a delightful article in Czech called "The Art of Making Sundays". The article mentions an old grandmother from Moravia who used to say that "Everybody should make a little bit of Sunday everyday." I was captivated by the introduction, so I started to read on...

She didn't mean Sunday as a metaphor for being lazy, for doing nothing; she meant Sunday as a special day for cleansing the soul from routine, thoughtless moments that can settle on the soul until they suffocate it. Sunday from the perspective of that grandmother from Moravia was a sort of wise spa that is applied to the soul and washes it.

And it's good to find a little bit of such a Sunday in every day. A little bit of time when the soul rests ABOVE its regular worries, when it tries to look at things it did not notice before. Looking back can also be looking ahead, as a lookback frequently brings wisdom, ideas, protection (like a driver looking into the rearview mirror so that he can drive forward more safely...). Sometimes a little bit of Sunday can be enough.

But this little bit of Sunday won't happen by itself. We have to make an active effort. And it may turn out that if we do make this effort to make a little Sunday every day, we'll be able to see that this isn't a world doesn't give enough, it may turn out that we'll see that we're also living in a world of overlooked gifts...

Anyhow, how about trying living one week with a little bit of Sunday every day? Sounds good to me...

And for the sake of completion, it turns out that the Czech word from the first sentence means something like "contemplation, inner contemplation reflection, self-reflection, recollection...". Quite fitting :-)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The three keys to health

I was just going over the many notes I've made over the past several years on human happiness, and I found Dan Millman's "Three Keys to Health" as some of the most important stuff I have ever come across. The notes are from one of Dan's seminars I attended in Prague a couple of years ago, which was definitely a good investment. I mention them here because there is a direct link to happiness - it's much easier to be happy, when we are healthy!

So here we go with Dan's three keys to health:

1) regular moderate exercise: stretch, move, breathe - your body is designed to move and needs it! People today move much less than people in the past, when physical work was much more the norm.
2) well-balanced diet: is different for everyone, we all need to find what is right for us - trust the body!
3) enough rest: getting enough sleep (ideally while its dark outside), relaxation, fun...

I'll close today's brief post with another thing Dan likes to say: "it's simple, but are you doing it"?

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Homeopathy A&E - hilarious spoof

Must admit I've never heard of them, but this is a funny spoof. Apparently it comes from the fourth episode of a series three of 'That Mitchell and Webb Look.'



For the record, I am for homeopathy, but only as practised by medical doctors in addition to their "standard" practice. In fact, I would only go an "alternative" practitioner if he/she has a completed medical (or similar) background. But that's just cautious and conservative me...