A Different Climate Change: Friday - Move

It's Friday and you're still here? Thank you!

Kylie and Mattie are the two dogs that wandered up a while back  and eventually convinced my wife and I that we were there theirs. Most of the time, they bring a lot of joy to our home. Occasionally they bring a lot of destruction. They've even trained us to a point where we can choose joy or destruction.

They don't look much like Tasmanian devils...

If we take time to play fetch or take the girls for a walk, we choose joy. If we think we are too busy or too tired, we choose destruction (and sleeplessness).

Find it here

It's true with me too. Over the last few years, I have become an avid bicycle commuter. And life has been better. There is more joy and less self-destructive behavior when I ride often. There's also more stamina, more energy that I can use to stay caught up, to share with others. Movement gives me strength and resilience. Time on the bike gives me time to think and to solve problems rather than stew in them.

Find it here

This paragraph is where I will resist going on about metabolism, endorphins, and free radicals. There is a lot of research out there touting the health benefits of regular exercise. Just know that exercises helps you to be better prepared to face the world's problems.

Find it here

Move more. Turn off the screen for a little while  and get your blood pumping.  Work hard and tire   yourself out. Going to bed tired is so much better than going to bed wired. Let exercise be the first domino to fall in a very healthy chain reaction.

May you be healthy enough and strong enough to help others be strong enough and healthy enough.

[ To be fair, fetch and walks do make days better for humans too.]

Thursday's Topic: Be Quiet

Wednesday's Topic: Share

Tuesday's Topic: Appreciate

Monday's Topic: Smile

Sunday: Intro

A Different Climate Change: Thursday - Be Quiet

If you're just now joining us, this is number 4 in  5-part series. Unlike our normal focus on literal climate change, this series deals with ways to reverse the climate of fear and hopelessness that has been growing in our culture. Today's topic -  three times to be quiet

Be Quiet and Appreciate the World Around You

Mailbox guardian

 

4 o'clocks

Once in a while the yellow pops up.

 

You may see pics on this blog of bugs and flowers and lizards. If I had a longer lens you'd also see a lot more birds. If I had more patience, you'd see pics of the foxes in my neighborhood.) We have sparrows that nest in a cranny in a funny crook of our house. We have starlings nesting in a hole in one of our backyard elm trees. Few things feed my soul more than sitting on either porch with a cup of coffee and marveling at how much nature exists in our little slice of suburbia. No one ever says that Lubbock is a beautiful place, but it's pretty easy to find natural beauty here if you just sit quietly and watch.

Be Quiet and Work on You

The good life!

This one goes by many names: self-reflection, meditation, prayer. A rose by any other name... For me, it's reading, writing, and prayer. It's where I look at what I've been doing, what I need to do, and what I did stupidly and never need to do again. It's also where I refine the MIWB (Man I Want to Be) idea -a future ideal that I can strive for. It keeps me on track.

It helps me to be more empathetic and aware of those around me. Sometimes it helps me to be less of a moron. I have to be deliberate about it - to set aside a time and a place and to set aside other distractions that keep me from focusing. If you have no similar time in your life, try it. You may be surprised at what it does for you.

Hold Your Tongue Until It's Needed

 

This is a tough one, especially if you want to steer away from platitudes. Think before you speak. [SnagIt!] Ask yourself a simple question before you open your mouth: What effect will my words have? Will your words make the situation better, worse, or neutral? Is there a better way to get your message across? Will your words  produce positive change or just make a bad situation more volatile? Sometimes volatility is productive, but there are a lot of voices these days screaming hatred and doom. What are your words contributing to our cultural climate?

May you find some quiet and may we all benefit from that silence.

Tomorrow's Topic: Move

Wednesday's Topic: Share

Tuesday's Topic: Appreciate

Monday's Topic: Smile

Three Days Ago (Sunday): Intro

A Different Climate Change: Wednesday - Share

[Blogger note: please tune in next week if you are looking for bikes and electric cars. Thanks!]

 

This week's series is a little different from our normal Personal Carbon Reduction stuff. In light of living in interesting and often disturbing times, I decided to focus on our society's emotional climate. It's hard to watch the news or listen to co-worker conversations or log into your favorite form of social media without getting depressed. Rather than whimpering in a corner and hoping it'll go away, I thought it'd be more fun to become an everyday warrior and battle it. Today's episode deals with ways to share.

 

This looks interesting

Scenario 1: De-Clutter

Go home and check out all of your stuff. And really look at it. (Many of us no longer see the stuff that surrounds us.) Look with a specific thought - is there something there that you no longer use or appreciate, and do you know someone who would? Could it help someone get to a better place?

Find it here

Scenario 2: Surprise!

What unexpected thing can you do for someone around you? Who around you is down or hurting or struggling? What simple gesture can offer that person hope or relief or thankful surprise? What skill or talent do you have that can bless someone else? What resource do you have access to that they do not?

Here you go, SG!

Scenario 3: Time

I get it - you're busy. We are all busy. We choose busy-ness and then we lament our busy-ness. So, here's a tough question - who around you suffers because of your busy-ness? Whose life could benefit from a small amount of your time?

Here

Scenario 4: Mirrorizing

Let's turn it around a bit. What could someone do for you to help you through dark times? What would strengthen you, lift you up, and help you carry on? Now, who around you could benefit from the same?

Simplistic? Maybe. Ridiculous? Probably. Unrealistic? Definitely.

May you find your own ways to offer hope and resilience to those around you.

Tomorrow's Topic: Be Quiet

Yesterday's Topic: Appreciate

Monday's Topic: Smile

Three Days Ago (Sunday): Intro

A Different Climate Change: Tuesday - Appreciate

Now that's a pothole! (Find it here.)

Years ago I took a motorcycle safety class. One important lesson I learned there is how NOT to hit a pothole. (Potholes are bad enough for car drivers, but they can be downright deadly for motorcyclists.) The trick is simple - don't stare at it. Instead, you should direct your eyes to the path that will help you avoid the pothole. It's true - if you stare at an object on the road, your bike will head straight  for that sucker. It's amazing how valuable that simple lesson has been for me.

[Blogger sidebar - we still need to fix the pothole, but we have to make sure the pothole doesn't take us out first. More about that later this week.]

So, now it's time to answer a question: What are your potholes?

For most of us, the pothole list is easy -  the things that make us angry, scared, nervous, depressed, worried...

Now that you have your list - quit looking at it. Don't ignore it; don't act like it's not there. But don't make it your only focal point.

Instead, take a little time each day to focus on what you appreciate. Whether that means counting your blessings, spending time with good people, meditating, praying, or looking at the way light filters through willow leaves; be sure to temper dark times with uplifting moments. Consider it vitamin B for the brain.

May you keep the shiny side up and thrive to fight another day.

Tomorrow's Topic: Share (and de-clutter)

Yesterday's Topic: Smile

Two Days Ago (Sunday): Intro