Thursday 27 April 2017

Live in Balance: A to Z Challenge - W is for...

Weapons and Words

hand holding sword blade, fake blood on palm
When you think about the saying 'the pen is mightier than the sword', you understand what it means. Words can hurt, and the wrong words spoken at the wrong time can cause a lot of damage to relationships. But you can also hurt yourself, even if you don't mean to.

Words in journals

Keeping a journal is a good thing. It is a place to explore your own private thoughts and dreams. But it can also be a place where you can put yourself down with negative thoughts and scathing words.

Be kind to yourself

We do have negative thoughts and feelings sometimes, but you have to be aware of these and the impact they could have if you continuously indulge in them.
Positive words and good thoughts will limit the impact. Make sure that when you feel down or depressed, that you watch the words you write in your journal. If there are many entries of that kind, it might be time to seek help to address these.
Journal writing can be therapeutic, but it cannot solve problems on behalf of a therapist or psychiatrist.

Put down the sword

fine line markers on black fabric, yellow, purple, pink, green
Make sure your entry today is focused on the positive things in your life. Consider a Gratitude or Happiness entry. If you cannot, perhaps it is time to seek the help of a professional.
Just remember that words can have a lot of power, and we need to make sure our inner dialogue is also helping us grow at all times.

Wednesday 26 April 2017

Live in Balance: A to Z Challenge - V is for...

Value of invaluables
picture of a tape measure
You know as well as I that some things have no monetary value, purely because you cannot buy them. Things like friendship, love, empathy and a good steak. Okay, food is something you can buy, but the experience of enjoying a good meal is beyond the price you pay for it.
Value beyond money
We live in an increasingly materialistic world where people are more likely to judge your value based on what you own. House, car, jewellery, technology, to name but the items at the start of a long list.
But some things we own are of value to us, and not because of what they may be worth in an insurance claim. We own items that are special because they represent a tangible memory of a special person or event in our lives.
Of course, the item could be valuable like a wedding ring, but for most of us, it is the memories attached to the item that makes it irreplaceable.
Explore the value in your drawers or cupboards
image journal with pen, #atozchallenge text on side of the journal
Use your journal today to take a step or two back down memory lane. Name the item, and explore the memory attached to it. You can also stick a picture or drawing of it in your journal instead.
Why is this particular item the one that triggers your memory? What do you feel about the event or person at the time of the memory? How do you feel about them now?

Purely relying on our emotions for happiness results in a fleeting experience, but if we incorporate them into our journey, they become part of it. Build on the memories, good and bad, and take the best forward with you on your journey of happiness. 

Tuesday 25 April 2017

Live in Balance: A to Z Challenge - U is for...

A to Z Challenge Badge 2017

Unique, are you?

Have you noticed how hard people are trying to either fit in or disappear into the wallpaper? Where are the things that make people stand out from the crowds? We're not talking genetics or things that you had no say in. Nor are celebrities good examples. There are exceptions, but they are few.
No, we are talking about us, normal people—who went to school, then to study something or the other, then working, getting married, raising a family...and then the cycle starts all over again.
And it's not about saving the world either. It is about being you, the person that experiences life, not only living it.

Make your experiences unique

Since I mentioned school (I include all levels of education here), let's start there. Have you studied anything new since writing that last exam paper? Not because your boss told you to, but because you wanted to. Not because there was something to achieve, like a certificate or promotion, but because you were interested in the subject. No? Why not? Aren't you curious about the world around us? It's history or scientific advancements. It's beauty expressed in all kinds of art and music. The people and our interaction with our environment. The list is endless.
Another thing is our relationships. When was the last time you truly connected with your spouse/partner? And not only physically, but emotionally and intellectually too. How about discussing that play you saw together, or maybe want to see together? Maybe it will help to get a babysitter for a few hours so that you can spend some time together to find that connection again.
Instead of the mindless hours spent in front of the TV, take control of your life and experience it.

Experience the uniqueness of you

We all feel at some point that life is passing us by. One day you twenty-five, at the cusp of your life, and the next moment you are sixty-five, and wondering what the hell happened?
Epictetus quote
Don't wait, or delay. There will never be a good time or the right opportunity, you have to make it happen.
If you're not sure what it is you need to experience, use your journal to let your thoughts guide you. Learn something new, and think about the experience, the knowledge and the change in you. Do something new and explore the experience.
Don't delay. Start your unique journey of experiencing life and happiness by taking control of your choices today.

Monday 24 April 2017

Live in Balance: A to Z Challenge - T is for...

Time, the cross of the modern era
Apple, iWatch 2, image, digital watch-face
My digital watch
Have you noticed how obsessed we are with time? We wear watches, put clock apps on our mobile phones, have clocks in our cars, clocks on our walls and desks. Heck, here where I am sitting at my desk, at home, I can see at least 3 clocks: my watch, my fish tank and my computer screen. If I open the cover on my phone, there would be another.
It is as if we cannot live without those numbers that tell us...what? Time?
What is time?
According to Wikipedia[1], “Time is the indefinite continued progress of existence and events that occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future.”
Uh, okay?
While that sounds instinctively correct, it doesn't tell us much about what time actually is, does it?
image, fishtank, clock, time, calendar, temperature
My fish tank
Reading a bit more we see that the number (we note as the date or the time on a clock) is calculated as an event or occurrence measured from a reference.
If you know something about mathematics and science, you will know that there is such a thing as an international time standard from which all clocks derive their reference, or 'starting point' if you like. If there wasn't, there would be chaos in the world and we would have constant disputes as to when we should meet, or when something happened in history. But we don't because people started measuring time, a long time ago.
Evidence suggests that people started 'measuring' time about 6000 years ago by observing the lunar cycles.
Why did people need to know the time?
If your history is up to speed, you will remember that people were mostly farmers, or more correctly, depended on the seasons for their survival. They needed to have some kind of indication of when it would be a good time to plant food, when to expect rain, and when to look forward to the harvest.
They also used the lunar cycles for their religious ceremonies. So, we needed to know the time to survive and to give thanks to the gods for the bounty they provided.
Since then the human race's survival has taken a different turn - the concrete jungle and its rat race. So it is still a survival thing, although it is not our lives that depend on it so much anymore.
How do we measure time?
Historical records are filled with the devices that people used to measure time. Sundials, water clocks (which were surprisingly accurate), the hourglass, and mechanical clocks of various designs.
Today we measure time using an atomic clock. It is the reference standard mentioned earlier. A caesium source is used as the time reference. It is radiated with microwaves to observe the vibrations of electrons inside the Cs atom. The reference unit of measuring time is the second.
The Global Positioning System of satellites are used to synchronise clocks worldwide.
Time on a personal scale
While it is fascinating to know that we can measure time with mind-boggling accuracy, and that our ancestors didn't do that badly with their own time measuring devices, time means more than the hours, minutes, and seconds displayed on our watches.
If you watch the grains of sand flowing through an hourglass, you get the feeling that you can 'see' time flowing away. The older we get, the more we hear people say that time is going faster. Time is not going faster, it is our greater awareness of the time we have left in this life that makes us more aware of the flow of time.
We cannot change time's passage, nor can we recover or save time. We can only use time: for things that make us happy, for things that we need to survive, for things that we don't need to do.
Journal
Explore your use of time in your journal today. Are you spending your time doing things that make you happy? Useful? Productive? If not, what can you change to make that happen?

You can read many more interesting things about time in the links below.

Sunday 23 April 2017

Live in Balance: On finishing what I started

Last night I scrolled through my unpublished writing projects. And there are many of them. I got disheartened when I saw how many of them are still unfinished first drafts. Some may never be finished. I only let a story go if I don't like it anymore.
I have, however, several first drafts that are finished. They need editing, for sure, but the story is done. So why did I feel so negative when I saw the list of files of projects not yet done? Time seems to be the answer. I explore a little of the history of time in tomorrow's post, in the A to Z Challenge.
Time, yes, the one limited resource over which we have no control. But we can control how we spend it, yes? When I read about an English Premier League soccer player who died last week at the age of 44, I felt sad even though I have never met the man. He was so incredibly young. I am in no position to judge how he lived his life, but it again made me think about the way I am spending my limited resource. Am I using all of it without regret and waste?
We will explore the Value of life (and time) in this last week of the A to Z Challenge. And I have to say that through my research into exploring Happiness through Journal Writing, maybe it is time for a change in direction in my own journey to happiness.
I hope you have enjoyed exploring journal writing on this journey of Happiness with me this month.
Next month I will be back to my usual posting schedule (once or twice a week) and I look forward to your company then.
Until next time!

Linzé

The A-to-Z Challenge letters for the coming week are as follows:
Monday: Letter T…for Time
Tuesday: Letter U…for Unique
Wednesday: Letter V…for Value
Thursday: Letter W…for Weapon
Friday: Letter X…for Cross Out
Saturday: Letter Y…for You (art prompt)
Sunday: Letter Z...for Zero

If you missed any of the previous letters, here is a quick recap (just click the letter!)
A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I        K    L    M
N   O    P    Q    R    S

Theme reveal: My A-to-Z blog challenge 2024

  It's been a while since I have taken part in the blog challenge. The problem is always coming up with new ideas so it isn't boring...