Welcome to Mirth and Motivation!
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Photo Challenge: CHEEKY?
“Everything is funny, as long as it’s happening to somebody else.” Will Rogers
Photo Challenge: CHEEKY?
Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive. Elbert Hubbard
Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please. Mark Twain
Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone. Anthony Burgess
For this week’s photo challenge on CHEEKY – … what do you think? I love the weekly photo challenges because they force us to step out of the familiar, comfort zone we inhabit as amateur photographers and try to look at something new through our lens; a new perspective, a new angle, range, theme and we get so much from it. Cheeky is not a subject I think about when I take pictures. I love nature and street scenes and such, so anything that pushes the envelope for me is a good thing. I didn’t have much on file and was going to try another backdoor approach to the challenge. I decided to take a walk in my neighborhood first and, lo and behold, that cheeky Santa Holiday decoration was sitting in someone’s front yard… talk about serendipity!
“The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.” David Ogilvy
Photo Challenge: CHEEKY?
I never said most of the things I said. Yogi Berra
Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. Jules Renard
If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month. Theodore Roosevelt
Why did I include some of the other shots? Good question… Our family cat is very cheeky and when you want him to do A, he becomes determined to do B. The shots I included were because I had specifically asked him to exit the bag, shopping bag, and get off my new book. The responses are clear. Haha! Come back for more on the other photos.
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Motivation Monday: HUBRIS
“Hubris consists in doing and saying things that cause shame to the victim … simply for the pleasure of it. Retaliation is not hubris, but revenge. … ” Aristotle in Rhetoric
Motivation Monday: HUBRIS
Hubris (/ˈhjuːbrɪs/, also hybris, from ancient Greek ὕβρις) describes a personality quality of extreme or foolish pride or dangerous overconfidence.[1] In its ancient Greek context, it typically describes behavior that defies the norms of behavior or challenges the gods, and which in turn brings about the downfall, or nemesis, of the perpetrator of hubris. Wikipedia
When you think of the word – HUBRIS – what comes to mind? Recently, I revisited the world of Greek Mythology as I shared a few stories with a young student of mine. We read some of the most famous stories that teach the dangerous lessons of the tragic impact of arrogance/excessive pride/hubris; The case of Meidias, Oedipus in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Bellerophon and Pegasus. From there we segued to Paradise Lost and the fall of Lucifer… all in a day’s work. What struck me again and again about the stories is that for every action we take that is based solely on self-service, greed, jealousy, anger and arrogance the outcome is often far worse than we anticipated. When we perform our duties in the world, we must always remain vigilant about our motivation and the true drivers of our actions. Do we act because we want to serve or do we act because we want to be served? There is nothing wrong with having dignity and pride about our duties but, hubris is an extreme and more destructive form of pride. When we choose to not seek counsel in times of chaos or we make rash decisions that impact the lives of others, we are turning the wheel of hubris and like the favorite wheel of karma, our actions bear fruit that come back to us. Be Vigilant. Be Mindful. Come back for my version of Bellerophon’s tragic fall story.
READ: Psychology Today – The Secret of Dealing With Fear and Stress
Two Wolves
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, “My son, the battle is between two “wolves” inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Author Unknown
“When I’m considering an idea, and there is an element of hubris involved, I generally feel comfortable that it’s going to be a good story. Pride goeth before a fall. It’s an element of a lot of big stories.” Erik Larson
Motivation Monday: HUBRIS
Motivation Monday: HUBRIS
DEFINITIONS: Excessive pride or self-confidence Oxford Dictionary/exaggerated pride or self-confidence Merriam-Webster
What contributes to HUBRIS? When we lack humility, our actions can give rise to hubris. When we treat others with disdain or even with a certain air of superiority, we are opening the door to hubris and it is a door fraught with consequences. As the saying goes, those you step on on your way to the top, become the lamppost you beg to lean on on your way down. According to Greek mythology, one of the characteristics that impact those stuck in a hubristic mess is that they have and exhibit Hamartia, which is a tragic flaw in a character that contributed to their tragic downfall. Do we all have the potential for over the top arrogant behavior? Yes. As we enter the holiday season and some find they can get and give bigger toys, it would be wise to stop and think about where and how your actions will be best served. Help a family in need. Honor your responsibilities to loved ones and don’t rub folks noses in your stuff. Enjoy it without throwing it all around.
A Zen Story – Sounds of Silence
Four monks decided to meditate silently without speaking for two weeks. By nightfall on the first day, the candle began to flicker and then went out. The first monk said, “Oh, no! The candle is out.” The second monk said, “Aren’t we not suppose to talk?” The third monk said, “Why must you two break the silence?” The fourth monk laughed and said, “Ha! I’m the only one who didn’t speak.”
The details for Motivation Mondays are below. Join in! The themes for OCT/NOV 2017 are:
11/05 — 05 Guy Fawkes, 7 Election Day, 10 Science Day, 11 Veterans Day
11/12 — 13 World Kindness Day, 14 Diabetes Day, 16 International Day of Tolerance, 17 National Unfriend Day
11/19 — 20 Universal Children’s Day, 21 World TV Day, 23 Thanksgiving Day
11/26 — 27 Cyber Monday, 28 Giving Tuesday
12/01 – World Aids Day, 12/02 Abolition of Slavery,
12/03 – Start of Advent, 12/7 Pearl Harbor Remembrance, 12/8 Immaculate Conception, 12/9 Anti-Corruption Day,
12/10 – Human Rights Day, 12/11 Green Day, 12/12 Start of Hanukkah,
12/17 – 12/18 International Migrant’s Day, 12/20 End of Hanukkah, 12/21 Winter Solstice, 12/23 Super Saturday
12/24 – 12/25 Christmas, 12/26 Start of Kwanzaa, 12/31 New Year’s Eve
Are You Looking for Ways to Stay Creative in 2017?
– Join the Daily Post Post-a-day or Post-a-week Challenge.
— Join the BlogHer Writing Lab
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Photo Challenge: SERENE
“He who would be serene and pure needs but one thing, detachment.” Meister Eckhart
Photo Challenge: SERENE
For the man sound of body and serene of mind there is no such thing as bad weather; every day has its beauty, and storms which whip the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously. George Gissing
There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations. Washington Irving
How still,
How strangely still
The water is today,
It is not good
For water
To be so still that way.
Langston Hughes
Come back later for more of my take on the Themes SERENE
“Remain calm, serene, always in command of yourself. You will then find out how easy it is to get along.” Paramahansa Yogananda
Photo Challenge: SERENE
The more I expect, the more unhappy I am going to be. The more I accept, the more serene I am. Michael J. Fox
Thine eyes are springs in whose serene And silent waters heaven is seen. Their lashes are the herbs that look On their young figures in the brook. William C. Bryant
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