Friday, January 19, 2007
Neighbors
I don't recall - did I ever tell you this one? It's not something I did but it's a thoughtful thing that an old friend did and it happened in the trailer park when I used to live there in Oak Creek Canyon.
It was done by a nice guy, an older man - had been around, done this and that and of course was very fond of animals. There were several cats that came and went, no one was really sure who they lived with on a regular basis and we weren't even sure if they did but they were nice to have around.
My old friend who I will call J had been working on his trailer and adding to it over time and had noted once that this particularly friendly but feral, as it's called, cat would sometimes be on his roof and he wondered why. Did the cat just like to be up high or was it maybe because the cat enjoyed something else and sure enough J saw him one day.
He was snuggled up to the smokestack for J's stove. He used the stove sometimes when it got chilly and of course regularly in the winter and so J got a clever idea.
He figured out how he could build just a little bit of a housing between 2 eves since the trailer had a special roof that he had put on it and the attached cabin which he had built also had a portion of the roof there and if he was careful he could tack on a few boards here and there without damaging the roof and without causing too much heat to be trapped in that spot in the roof since he slightly vented it but that there was enough room for the cat to crawl inside and be nice and warm especially on snowy winter days and that's exactly what he did.
He also put something up against the side of the trailer cabin so the cat could easily hop up there. Now that's what I call being a good neighbor.
Goodlife.
It was done by a nice guy, an older man - had been around, done this and that and of course was very fond of animals. There were several cats that came and went, no one was really sure who they lived with on a regular basis and we weren't even sure if they did but they were nice to have around.
My old friend who I will call J had been working on his trailer and adding to it over time and had noted once that this particularly friendly but feral, as it's called, cat would sometimes be on his roof and he wondered why. Did the cat just like to be up high or was it maybe because the cat enjoyed something else and sure enough J saw him one day.
He was snuggled up to the smokestack for J's stove. He used the stove sometimes when it got chilly and of course regularly in the winter and so J got a clever idea.
He figured out how he could build just a little bit of a housing between 2 eves since the trailer had a special roof that he had put on it and the attached cabin which he had built also had a portion of the roof there and if he was careful he could tack on a few boards here and there without damaging the roof and without causing too much heat to be trapped in that spot in the roof since he slightly vented it but that there was enough room for the cat to crawl inside and be nice and warm especially on snowy winter days and that's exactly what he did.
He also put something up against the side of the trailer cabin so the cat could easily hop up there. Now that's what I call being a good neighbor.
Goodlife.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Thinking A Different Way, Part 2
Last time I started very briefly about a new way to think. The new way to think is very simple. It involves no thought - meaning anytime you catch yourself worrying you stop because worry does not solve the problem.
Curiosity and analysis might be helpful. Other activities such as asking people for help, that can also be useful but worry very often just turns things over and over and over again and can even disrupt a solution that's already in place.
So the new way to think is to think less. Anytime you catch yourself worrying just stop and say, "Is there some way I can apply my curiosity to this that will make the situation better" and if there isn't - just don't think.
It's a discipline that, because you'll have to catch yourself and stop thinking. How can you do that at times in the simplest possible way. I'm going to give you something you can do that's physical. I've mentioned this before but as I said then and as I often say - I'll build on that in time.
One of the things you can do is to touch your body. Do something physical. Now of course you're always touching your fingers and your hands so your body really won't notice that very much but if you take your right or your left hand and you just bend your fingers like you're making a claw - okay - so that your fingernails - if you move your hand with your palm down towards your upper leg - so that your fingernails are touching your upper leg, say you're around your thigh someplace - then you simply slide your hand with your fingernails touching your leg - you slide it down towards the knee - that's all.
Because this is a gesture you rarely make on your body for any other reason it will tend to bring your bodies attention to that physical moment and that place. In short, it will bring you into the present. When you're in the present it's difficult to worry because you will then become very observant of what's going on around you at that moment and that will automatically trigger your minds curiosity - you see.
So that's what I recommend as a solution and something to try. It might just improve the quality of your life in many situations. I hope it works for you.
Goodlife to you all and goodnight.
Curiosity and analysis might be helpful. Other activities such as asking people for help, that can also be useful but worry very often just turns things over and over and over again and can even disrupt a solution that's already in place.
So the new way to think is to think less. Anytime you catch yourself worrying just stop and say, "Is there some way I can apply my curiosity to this that will make the situation better" and if there isn't - just don't think.
It's a discipline that, because you'll have to catch yourself and stop thinking. How can you do that at times in the simplest possible way. I'm going to give you something you can do that's physical. I've mentioned this before but as I said then and as I often say - I'll build on that in time.
One of the things you can do is to touch your body. Do something physical. Now of course you're always touching your fingers and your hands so your body really won't notice that very much but if you take your right or your left hand and you just bend your fingers like you're making a claw - okay - so that your fingernails - if you move your hand with your palm down towards your upper leg - so that your fingernails are touching your upper leg, say you're around your thigh someplace - then you simply slide your hand with your fingernails touching your leg - you slide it down towards the knee - that's all.
Because this is a gesture you rarely make on your body for any other reason it will tend to bring your bodies attention to that physical moment and that place. In short, it will bring you into the present. When you're in the present it's difficult to worry because you will then become very observant of what's going on around you at that moment and that will automatically trigger your minds curiosity - you see.
So that's what I recommend as a solution and something to try. It might just improve the quality of your life in many situations. I hope it works for you.
Goodlife to you all and goodnight.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Thinking A Different Way, Part 1
Now, there is a new way to think about things. In order to understand how our thoughts work we need only be conscious of whether we are worrying or whether our mind is functioning in the pattern of curiosity.
The number one purpose for our mind to exist is curiosity and almost all else falls under the heading of worry. Curiosity though, is our minds primary function. We are curious how to solve a problem. We see something and we are curious about it. We see someone and we are curious about them but so much of what we do is worry.
I'd like to give you a suggestion for some homework. It's not hard and you don't even have to do it at home if you don't want to. Just take 5 minutes - it's something you can do on the bus if you're not talking to someone or having to react to someone. It's something you could do on a coffee break for instance. It's something you can do when you're out for a walk if you don't need to be too vigilant - and that's just notice what you're thinking.
You don't have to be the guard dog about it - you don't have to watch every thought but there are times when you will suddenly notice what you're thinking. Try to pay attention - am I being curious or am I worrying. Now sometimes one can do both - be curious and worry at the same time so count that as worry but try to be able to differentiate.
Generally speaking, if you're worrying you will have an uncomfortable feeling in your body but if you're curious the feeling will be more anticipation or even excitement - something like that.
That's the basic homework right there. We're not casting any blame here. We're not trying to say - this is right, this is wrong. Mostly this is about observation because there is a new way to think and I'll say more about that next time.
Goodlife.
The number one purpose for our mind to exist is curiosity and almost all else falls under the heading of worry. Curiosity though, is our minds primary function. We are curious how to solve a problem. We see something and we are curious about it. We see someone and we are curious about them but so much of what we do is worry.
I'd like to give you a suggestion for some homework. It's not hard and you don't even have to do it at home if you don't want to. Just take 5 minutes - it's something you can do on the bus if you're not talking to someone or having to react to someone. It's something you could do on a coffee break for instance. It's something you can do when you're out for a walk if you don't need to be too vigilant - and that's just notice what you're thinking.
You don't have to be the guard dog about it - you don't have to watch every thought but there are times when you will suddenly notice what you're thinking. Try to pay attention - am I being curious or am I worrying. Now sometimes one can do both - be curious and worry at the same time so count that as worry but try to be able to differentiate.
Generally speaking, if you're worrying you will have an uncomfortable feeling in your body but if you're curious the feeling will be more anticipation or even excitement - something like that.
That's the basic homework right there. We're not casting any blame here. We're not trying to say - this is right, this is wrong. Mostly this is about observation because there is a new way to think and I'll say more about that next time.
Goodlife.
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