Kitchen Stewardship

You don't have to share this blog author's faith to find a lot of good basic information on this blog called Kitchen Stewardship.http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/

Thursday Thoughts

It's Thursday and I'm convinced that thinking is overrated.  My feelings are interfering with thought transmissions.  Maybe something will break loose on Free Friday and the mental static will simmer down enough so that I can generate some coherent or relatively coherent thoughts.

Topical Tuesday

Image Source Page: http://eightfits.blogspot.com/2010/08/bread-and-circuses-ancient-rome.html

Topical Tuesday focus on the topics that are catching people's attention.  To simply use the news as a basis of deciding what's important seems wrong.  The news seems to have sold its soul to the gods of entertainment.  I'm always more interested in what isn't reported or what isn't said, than I am in what I hear.

News shows often do a great job of grabbing my attention but I seriously doubt they are doing an adequate job in reporting what is really happening.

I've stopped listening to the reports on the state of the economy.   When news media quotes the unemployment rate they are using the number of people receiving unemployment assistance from the state governments.  This figure does not count any of the people who have not found work and have run out of benefits.  It doesn't count the homeless, temporary workers whose employment has ended, the underemployed, or people who haven't applied or didn't qualify.  To use this as "The" statistic to reflect unemployment seems ridiculous.  Neither myself or my husband are counted and neither are most of the people I know who are struggling to find work.

Recently, the news spent a lot of air time focusing on Charlie Sheen.  Meanwhile, we are fighting a war on several fronts.  Gas prices are soaring.   People everywhere are struggling to find work and hold on to their houses.  The media pull Charlie out on stage and avoid talking about the news that really impacts most of our lives.  Why?  I worry that we are allowing ourselves be lulled into a false sense of security.  We see the rich and famous make horrible decisions and we feel superior.  All the while, we complacently ride in a "hand basket to hell."

I suspect the old Roman "bread and circuses (from Latin: panem et circenses)" game.  Rome realized that placating the populace by giving them free wheat for bread and free entertainment made them easier to rule.  The Ancient Roman satirist, Juvenal wrote:

"… Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses" (Juvenal, Satire 10.77–81)

The proliferation of reality shows currently on TV give testament that this strategy is still very much alive and well.  Some of them are so like the violent gladiator games, it isn't funny.  They aren't always crashing chariots and bludgeoning others physically but there is a whole lot of emotional damage done right before our eyes.  Sadly, I have often watched the antics and felt deliciously superior.  Meanwhile, these emotionally handicapped-buffoons laugh all the way to the bank.  Our interest in them has made them rich.  What has it done for us?

Before accepting what I hear on the news as fact, I try and ask a few questions.

Why is this making the news or a form of entertainment?
What aren't they telling?
What do I really need to know so that I can make good informed decisions about my life?
How does this news or entertainment serve me best?

Today, I'm going to work at not accepting what I see and what I'm told at face value.  The future may well depend on a few people who ask the right questions at the right time.

Miscellaneous Monday

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Miscellaneous finds me with a bad case of the "mopes."  I feel like I stand on the edge of a new life, a new way of being but can't quite make the plunge.  This new life isn't all that different from the present one in circumstance.  It's radically different in the state of mind that I bring to it.  I want to be filled with hope, positive energy, drive, love and charisma.  Instead,  I'm stuck in "Mopeville."  At least, I've got a lot of company.  This town is a city full of fellow "mopettes."

Today, I'm going to share part of a post from the blog, Dumb Little Man.  This article was written by Nate Klemp, a psychology professor at Pepperdine (which is in beautiful Malibu, CA.).  The title of the article is "4 Ways to Shift from Work to Effortless Creation."  While I suspect he makes it easier than it really is, I'm going to apply these principles to dealing with my Monday.  Instead of fighting the mopes, I'm just going to go with them and see where they might take me.  I'll let you know how it goes.

• "Do Nothing
  This may also sound crazy. But, some of the latest discoveries in the field of neuroscience show that when we experience states like boredom, the brain shifts to a “default state.” In this state, our perception changes. Time slows down, we daydream more, and, most important, we open ourselves to new and more creative ways of thinking. This doesn’t mean that you should sit on your couch all day. But you might plan short periods for walking alone, sitting outside, or meditating to give yourself space for creative ideas to emerge.
• Slow Down
  Pace has a huge impact on the chances of creative moments arising. Our tendency is to go fast. We drive fast, rush through meals, and prize the idea of efficiency in the workplace. But the faster you go, the more you enter into the mental state of “hard work.” All this rush drowns out creative new solutions and ideas playing in the sub-conscious background. So one of the best ways to tap into “effortless creation” is simply to slow down. Eat more slowly, write more slowly, and email more slowly. The more you slow down the flow of life, the more you open yourself to unexpected new ideas and insights.
• Record Your Genius
  When your next great idea comes, go all out. Remember that you are experiencing a special state of consciousness. So allow yourself to follow the flow of inspiration. Write down everything that comes to mind. Be sure to capture the contents of your mind in this altered state of effortless creation. In a day, or even an hour, it may be gone.Dumb Little Man"

The except above is taken from Dumb Little Man".  Nate Klemp "4 Ways to Shift From Work to Effortless Creation. June 26, 2011

Soothing Sunday

In a hectic world, it's nice to reserve at least one day a week for things that soothe the soul.When I was young, Saturday was the busy, "get-everything-done" day.  While Sunday was the day to relax.  We took lots of family drives on those childhood Sundays and explored lots of the backroads around home. 

Soothing Sundays are about regrouping and spending time with family and loved ones.  That's exactly what we did today.   We took a leisurely Sunday drive and enjoyed the scenery and each other's company.    We drove up the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge and crossed the river at Cascade Locks.  There we patiently stood in line for a huge, small ice cream cone with "frosty swirl" flavoring at the Eastwind Drive-In.  It was worth the wait.

http://www.cascadelocks.net/index.html

Shimmering Saturday

When I left for my Just 10 walk this morning, I puzzled over how to explain "Shimmering Saturday." "What a stupid thing to call it", I said to myself. 
"You've carried alliteration too far this time, Carol."
"Chill." said a much wiser self.

"Remember what shimmering means?"  She asks.  The smarter self is full of questions.  Look up the word and you'll find your direction." 
So I did.  Dictionary.com says this:
–verb (used without object)

1.

to shine with or reflect a subdued, tremulous light; gleam faintly.

2.

to appear to quiver or vibrate in faint light or while reflecting heat waves.

 

The wiser self says, "Shimmering Saturdays are a chance to peak behind the shimmering curtain that separates the ordinary from the extraordinary."

 

I remember how young children live in a world full of impossible possibilities.  Santa Claus, fairy tales and imaginary friends are all quite real.  Then, we grow up.  In order to function within our culture, we have to let go of these beliefs.  Magic flees our world.  We get caught up in the day-to-day struggle.  We live for the weekend or vacation.  We feel like we're missing something as the years fly by.  We look to fill our emptiness with people or things, often too excess.  Our emptiness remains.  In our struggle to fill it, we fail to accept it.  This emptiness is the place where magic plays.

 

On my walk, I struggle to reconcile this emptiness with contentment.  I left the house desperate to fill the hole inside myself.  I wanted to cast off my life and slip into a new one.  I am wishing my life away while all around me beauty and joy await discovery. 

 

The sun feels good on my face.    Alongside the trail an explosion of pink delicate flowers bloom.  The scent of wild roses teases the air. 

"It's OK to feel empty," my wise self says. 

"Everyone does from time to time.  It's part of being human.  Come,look behind the curtain."

 

A shimmering curtain opens in my head.  I slowly walk up to it and peak behind it.  I like what I see.

Free Friday

One of the blogs I follow is called Kind over Matter.  Here's a link to take you there.  Kind over Matter.

The author offers a page of Freebies that are all about sharing the love.

I'm not exactly sure what Free Fridays will be. Friday is one of my favorite days of the week. It usually signals the end of a work week and carries me to the threshold of freedom.