I’ve been on a “news fast “for almost four weeks now. Yesterday was the midterm elections and the itch to check in was inflammatory.
However, I have voted.
I’ve done my part.
That’s all one can do.
Worrying and hoping do no good.
Midterm Meditation
Author: chungwipff
Lily
Can this chameleon use anything else? Constructive criticism welcome! She is a character in my next children’s book and she might seem “bland” but she’s supposed to be.
Good Company
I’m in a room of about 100 teachers from all over Arizona. I feel blessed to be here. We’re all pursuing National Board Certification. Sure, we get a (small) financial award, but the biggest reason that we’ve shown up is that each of us will deepen our teaching practice and bring more to each of our 30 – 180 students each day.
The great majority of teachers are exceptional people.
And then there are these bigots (who ought to lose their jobs):
13% of their student body is Latin-American. Idaho needs to do better for the children.
Today’s Challenge
Can you stop thinking?
Try it.
Say, I will stop thinking now. Then, wait. Wait. Wait.
How long before a thought comes?
Try it again.
This is practice and you’ll get better.
We grow up believing that people who think are smarter.
Of course, one needs to think in order to achieve or produce.
But most of the time, we have 12,000-60,000 thoughts a day and research has shown that over 90% of those thoughts are repeated thoughts from the day before. Completely unnecessary.
This is the gateway to personal power and inner peace.
Truth of the Day
One of my sixth graders told me, “I feel like the older I get, the faster time goes.”
All: I didn’t catch the beautiful essence of this woman. Anyone with tips – I welcome constructive criticism. 🙂
Moms and Roses
My mother is in Korea right now and I miss her.
Motivation
“I am sitting at the open window (at four a.m.) and breathing the lovely air of a spring morning… Life is still good, [and] it is worth living on a May morning… I assert that life is beautiful in spite of everything! This “everything” includes the following items: 1. Illness; I am getting much too stout, and my nerves are all to pieces. 2. The Conservatoire oppresses me to extinction; I am more and more convinced that I am absolutely unfitted to teach the theory of music. 3. My pecuniary situation is very bad. 4. I am very doubtful if Undine will be performed. I have heard that they are likely to throw me over.”
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
“You absolutely have to believe in yourself. Man, you’ll get rejected hundreds of times. You have to believe in yourself if you’re going to succeed.”
Jon Bon Jovi
Confidence – noun, a feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities.
Tchaikovsky was plagued by depression and also a hypochondriac. Somehow, he persevered and produced prolifically. Bon Jovi and Tchaikovsky both possessed the drive to create music. This high level of motivation enabled them to overcome obstacles such as rejection and mental illness.
*photos from Unsplash.com
Bless This Union
This is the very best article I have ever read on marriage. It’s by Byron Katie.
If you are ready, reading this will feel like sitting in the light of truth.
It will feel like bathing in authenticity.
If you’re ready, reading this article can change all of your relationships – for the better.
My favorite line:
There’s no way to truly join your partner except by getting free of your belief that you need something from him that he’s not giving.
I was raised on conditions. I had to prove my worth in order to be loved. And I grew up and did the same to those I loved. I think this is the root of many dysfunctional relationships.
Audacity
My daughter told me a fellow classmate asked her what her last name was.
Ava: “My last name is Wipff”
Girl: “W-i–f-f?”
Ava: “No, W-i-p-f-f. P, as in pterodactyl or pseudonym.”
No News is Good News
I’ve avoided watching/listening to news for two weeks now. I didn’t realize how frequently I was checking it and how awful it made me feel.
Since I’ve stopped checking in with CNN, NPR, Fox News, etc., I have:
- read a book (my cousin’s (!) – Beloved Sa Mi)
- made major headway with my second children’s book
- voted early in the general election for Mesa, AZ
- completed the pre-candidacy phase of the National Board Certification for Teaching program
Most importantly, I’ve felt clearer and more centered.
If the news is getting you down, why not cut it out of your life?
Kismet 