In Praise of Farmers

In Praise of Farmers

Up at dawn, 

to bed at dusk,

Tending every seed
and husk,

In sun, and rain,
and wind, and snow,

It matters not,
for they must go,

Through bugs and beasts
and floods and drought,

They cannot stop,
they must not doubt.

For the rich, the poor
on them depend,

The war on hunger
they must defend.
And to our tables 

comes their bounty,
To every town and 

state and county,

But those of us who
share their gifts,

Think little of their
daily risks,

The toil and hardship
they must face,

To bring the feast that
earns our Grace.

So, with each bite you next should savor,

Do not forget the farmer’s labor,

That brought these gifts from farms to stands,

And praise the farmer’s loving hands.

DM

8/2011

Dorothy and Susan:   This week let's all acknowledge the great abundance that surrounds us...visit your local Farmers' Market, pick-your-own berries, buy or pick a bunch of flowers and bring them to your neighbor and do what you can to otherwise support your local farmers, to share the harvest and to savor the banquet of life.

(the photos above were snapped at the Boise, ID Farmers' Market - one of the nation's best!  Thank you for the opportunity Chris and Kristi)

When You Wish Upon a Star...

When You Wish Upon a Star,  

Your Dreams Come True!

-Leigh Harline and Ned Washington  

for Walt Disney 

 

I remember singing "When You Wish Upon a Star" and feeling so happy imagining my beautiful life. It was fun and made my heart feel full and completely joyful. As the years passed, and I grew up, I forgot about the song and the feeling I used to get when I heard it. However, recently I’ve heard it at concerts and on the radio in ads for Disneyland and it occurred to me that I’ve been missing something precious. I enjoy those warm, wonderful feelings and want to be able to enjoy them often. As with so many wishes, when I think about what I want I want in my life, I discover that it’s already a part of my life ... I simply didn’t recognize it as my dream. 

 

For example, I’ve been going to the Utah Symphony Pops concerts at Deer Valley Ski Resort for many years. The outdoor venue is one of those idyllic locations where you bring your picnic and lawn chairs to have a scrumptious picnic before and during a concert. It’s always been an event I have looked forward to and enjoyed participating in with family and friends. The mountain behind the stage is covered in scrub oak and small shrubs and trees, and it is topped with a single tall pine tree ... it seems to be a sentinel for the mountain. Until the summer of 2010 that tree symbolized aloneness to me. I always wished that I could look at the beautiful mountain and that tree and feel warm and positive. My wish has come true. Now that tree is a positive symbol and represents strength, passion, belief in myself, self direction, control, joy, and a calm feeling about growth and change. What a glorious and wonderful change of perspective and a powerful realization!!

It’s clear to me that the change in perspective is not because of anything that has happened to me, it is because I’ve chosen to make the extra effort to eliminate as much negativity as possible and find the positive side of conversations, and events in my life. That’s the 51% Project working!

Wishing you a productive and happy week ... 

Susan

SUSAN: I’ve spent a couple of years distancing myself from some situations and people whom I allowed to impact me negatively. But, as it always does, life has changed and I need to realign myself with them again. There’s a difference this time, however. I’m not going back with the same expectations, habits and feelings. I’m different because I’ve made the effort to change my patterns.

DOROTHY:  This has been a challenging week and I've had to continually remind myself to practice what I preach!  Stop worrying, stop projecting, be kind to yourself, stop the negative chatter..phew!  Gratefully, these lingering days of summer have been beautiful and I've been able to hike and spend some time in the setting Susan described above.  Being in Nature is such a soothing balm for me. After a walk and back at my desk, things are always clearer and less worrisome. And, the evening sky has been crystal clear - perfect for star gazing and WISHING and realizing how insignificant my to-do list is in the big picture of life. There have been LOTS of big breathes this week but today I'm feeling calm and happy and gloriously, gratefully aware of my place in the world.

Mind Over Chatter

All that we are is the result of what we have thought.

The mind is everything. What we think we become.”

                     The Buddha

I talk to myself.  A lot.  I know that certain categories of “head-talk” can raise legitimate concerns about mental illness, but I’m thinking mine is pretty much a run-of-the-mill, “normal thing."  Right??? (RIGHT???)

My mind chatters in several different ways; it carries on conversations I plan to have – or wish I had had, reminds me of things I need to do, and spends time telling me how good or BAD something, someone – usually myself – is. For example: The other day a friend asked if I’d gotten her phone message. “Yes,” I said, “didn’t you get mine?”  She hadn’t, because as it turned out, the reply I thought I sent had never left my head – (again).  I do this often; have running conversations with family and friends, (foes, politicians, authors, store managers, people in the supermarket line, etc.) and of course, myself.  Just your usual, run-of-the-mill, silent mind talk. 

It can be useful. Like when I play out a potentially prickly conversation in my head, it gives me an opportunity to sort out my thoughts.  I can take an honest look at my agenda, discard any judgments I may hold, put my ego on the sideline and then approach the actual dialogue without predetermined outcomes and an open mind. In this case talking to myself is helpful.

Talking to myself is also useful when I have a lot on my to-do list, or need to remember to take something out for dinner or pick up the dry cleaning.  Mentally reciting lists, calendars, and schedules helps me to keep on track during busy or stressful times.  The mental chatter reinforces my memory, keeps the notion (idea, thought, concept) active until it is accomplished - a good thing, right?

It can be.  But my mind’s capacity to reinforce my memory – to burn thoughts and ideas into its consciousness - is not discriminating. It holds all things I feed it, including the not so nice conversations I have with it.  Like the judgments, criticisms, and labels I bestow upon myself regularly and the reminders of my past mistakes and poor choices. 

More sages than I can list have reminded us that we are what we think. When we choose positive self-talk we become positive people. The same goes for negative self-talk.  My mind goes into accomplishment mode, no matter what’s on the list. When I go to the store and say to myself: broccoli, broccoli, broccoli; I get broccoli.  When I drop the milk carton on the floor and say to myself: stupid, stupid, stupid; I get stupid. 

Luckily, though a very powerful thing, the mind is also very compliant and can be easily tricked!  As Fatima Doman of the Franklin Covey Leadership Organization points out in her enlightening 7 Points to a Positive Outlook presentation, we CAN change our minds!  “ It takes about a second for a negative thought to trigger the release of stress hormones, so make a habit of disputing negative thoughts immediately.”  We can shut down the negative chatter without too much effort.  Here are a few of her useful suggestions:

Dispute negative self-talk – ask yourself for evidence that this thought is accurate.   Does spilling the milk really make me stupid?

Dispute all or nothing thinking – have you exaggerated the issue? Do I really always spill the milk?  Will I really never stop spilling the milk?

Use an affirming touchstone/mantra (rubber band?) – when negative chatter boils up in your mind – put your mind somewhere else, and let the negative thought go.

Practice affirming self-talk – when STUPID is the label you or someone else puts on you, immediately counter with: “NO!  I am NOT stupid; I am bright, creative, resourceful and……………….”

Work to immerse yourself in positivity – surround yourself with positive people, watch uplifting movies, listen to cheerful music, walk in the forest – (studies show that time spent in nature releases endorphins, sharpens our mental attitude, and decreases stress).  Choosing to live in a positive way will quiet your inner critic, too!

Remember, “Every time you judge yourself, you break your own heart.” (Swami Kripalu). So, above all, treat yourself with the same kindness you show to others! 

Peace,

Dorothy

Dorothy: Travel, good company, outstanding cuisine and extraordinary sights (have you been to the farmers market lately?) and sounds (AMAZING free concerts here in Mountain Town!) have kept my inner critic at bay this week, but a very full TO-DO list hides in the shadows, so I must, MUST remember to put Fatima's helpful ideas to practice.  I am calm, I am efficient, I am productive, I am, I Am, I AM!

Susan:  It’s been a tremendously chaotic week for me with lots of work to accomplish, appointments to keep, a small renovation project at home, an office move, people in and out of the house, and the telephones (land and cell lines) ringing continually.  As the hours evaporated I found myself running these words through my head repeatedly...”I’m so busy, I’ll never get it all done in time”!  My stress levels went through the roof ... what a surprise!  Because of wonderful teachers like Dorothy and Fatima I was able to bridge the negative self talk with some positivity and complete everything on my to-do list.  I feel accomplished.   Whew!  I’m ready for a weekend and maybe a leisurely cup of tea.


Thanks as always for your continued support and inspiration! Have a wonderful week!

What's Your Mission?

As we celebrate the first sixth months of publishing our The 51% Project blog, we want to take this time to thank all our loyal followers. Your comments, thoughts, suggestions have been, and continue to be, great motivators and much appreciated inspiration. Please continue to provide us your input, as although our posts come from personal experience and perspective, your participation helps us discover and explore new ideas, and new ways of thinking and being in the world. Helping us to broaden our view of life is a very special gift, and we are so grateful!

We are often asked, “What is The 51% Project? What is your mission?” So, we thought we’d go back and reprint our first entry as a review to our long-time followers and as an explanation of our purpose our new followers might have missed.

Again, thank you for your continued support and encouragement. The 51% Project has brought many changes to our own lives, and we hope that you, too, have found it useful!

Dorothy and Susan

Reprint of January 8, 2011 blog post:

If you change the way you look at things,
the things you look at will change.
-Wayne Dyer

Many of you have asked, “Why 51%? I put forth 100% or 110% or 120% of effort all the time?” Our response is, “To whom?” Your work, your play, your friends, family?” These are all good recipients of that 120%, but what about to you? Do you put 100% of effort toward caring for yourself, toward making adjustments in the way you personally live, to the nurturing of your wounds, to the outcomes you want to experience in your daily existence? We’ve asked ourselves the same question and the answer is – no. Like many, our own “stuff” is often at the bottom of our to-do list and by the time we get to US, we’re just too darn tired to do the work. And, like many, though we know this is counter-productive – we’ve heard it, read it for years from a myriad of our favorite authors and teachers: Love thyself, To thine own self be true, You cannot care for others if you don’t care for yourself - we forget.

The 51% Project aims to help us, and maybe you, remember. So, we’re going PUBLIC (gulp) with our “stuff”, enlisting the theory that putting forth the extra 1% will create the Tipping Point, the push over the edge that will turn our intention into the positive actions and outcomes we seek.

If you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, this idea won’t be new to you. Gladwell, a prominent social scientist, contends that it’s the moment where the extra 1% of something – effort, action, thinking, FLU - becomes an epidemic, causing a state of critical mass that moves a “thing” from status quos to rapid forward movement. A contagion becomes an “outbreak”, an idea becomes a movement, and power is put in the hands of the many – not the few. Think about a corporation – when the principals acquire 51% of the shares, they own the power to control the outcomes, the profits, and the values this company represents. We contend that the same is true in making changes – personal and global. If we do something 51% of the time, that something takes on the power to affect the way we are, the way we live and the way we engage with others.

We have both chosen personal issues we want to change. (We’ll get to some of those global issues later!) We have committed to exercising the 51% theory in bringing forth those changes and will share our journey here on these pages. Along the way we will share the bits of inspiration that we find helpful - quotes that move us, videos and music that become our touchstones, as well as the setbacks we experience. Many of these will not be new to you, but it is our hope that somehow seeing how they work for us, will make them clearer – maybe even bringing on a few ah-ha moments for some of you. We encourage your comments, suggestions and the sharing of some of your experiences too.

In our discussions with others about this project we have discovered some reoccurring themes – places where we all seem to get stuck, ego-isms that undermine success like: blurring boundaries, negative thinking, confusing right action with power, losing sight of the goal, and more. We will try to bring some new ways of thinking about these deterrents by sharing our own truths about them and also the wisdom of those authors and teachers we spoke of earlier.

Please join us in our personal experiment to put forth just 1% more effort to reach the tipping point that assures us, and you, the good, happy life we, and you, deserve.