Well, I have pretty much grown used to making an effort in order to please other people. I always tried to be a chameleon. Someone who could adopt to every situation. Behaving exactly the way I figured other people expected me to behave. Just to please them and to not stand out from all others. Until not too long ago, I always figured that standing out from the rest of the world was something bad. As if it were no good to be different from the pack. So I never truly spoke my mind, because I thought people wouldn’t like me for that. I never really dressed the way I liked to, because I believed others would think badly of it. Basically, I was pretending to be someone that I was not, all the time. Okay, that might be exaggerated, because there places and times where I actually was authentic. They were thrifty though. Only when I felt really comfortable around someone, the chameleon in me disappeared and I dropped my mask. Just to show my true face to the world.

In order to be this chameleon lays both a danger and a security. The security is that I never really had to look in the mirror and face myself. After all, I did what other people expected me to. I always adopted my behavior to other peoples liking. To their pleasing. All this time I really thought this was a good way to go through life. Cause I would be liked, loved and accepted by the people around me. Their love, respect and friendship would fulfill me, right? A pretty fair state of mind I always figured, but how wrong was I. All this time I had only be fooling myself. Deceiving my own feeling by a trick played solely from the mind. By always changing myself for others, I never gave my true self a chance to develop, to flower or to flourish. The opposite would be true. I suppressed it, hide it away from those who mean a lot to me. Until someone pointed me out, in a not so subtle manner that this really made ugly, uninteresting and really hard to love. All she saw was behavior that wasn’t mine. She saw me acting in a way that she felt didn’t belong to me. This turned out to have the opposite effect from what I strived for. I didn’t pull her closer to me, no I pushed her away from me.

Basically, she told me that my focus on pleasuring her made her feel like rejecting me. Meaning that this behavior was ruining the best relationship I have with anyone. When someone tells you that. When you realize the true meaning of those words. Well, that hurts terribly. More than any physical pain in the world. Not only did she reject my behavior, she pointed out the love that I lack for myself. Auch! Okay, she did not reject me, because she felt this wasn’t the real me. She felt I was someone who just tried to hard to please her. To pull her closer and who suffocated her by doing so. Really, this was a rather painful experience for my soul and mind. As I thought I was doing pretty well with working on myself. Apparently, I tried to hard and therefore doing not so great. Now I am lucky enough she is not willing to let me go, to give up on what we have. So she reaches out for me, talks to me, explains her feelings, her observations and tries to help me. Of course she can’t solve the true cause of this, but she can provide me grip. Something to work with. Something to make me help exploring my true self.

In all she says lies a clear message. Some sound advice for me to at least consider. Stop running, stand still, look in the mirror. In order to try to look at myself from a distance. Just to see what I am currently doing and tell myself how this makes me feel. Right now, that is the challenge I am facing. To stand still, let go of all my previous resolved changes and to just stand still. To let all there is be and just name what I am feeling in the first place. All to ultimately help me find myself. My true genuine little and loving self.

Is it our duty to help or intervene when we feel as though someone may be a danger to themselves or others?  Shall we assist or offer help and take it upon ourselves to take action?  Our unspoken duty to man; shall we assist that old lady crossing the street or help her put groceries into the trunk of her car.  Not so much a danger to herself or others however may this be a duty for us to aid her.  Someone has fallen right before us, do we help them up?  A person has a flat tire on the side of the road do we stop or do we drive past them.  A car accident has occurred and both parties are too limp and unconscious to call for help, this may be our duty to intervene.

There are many scenarios in which I may question is it our duty to step in, the right thing to do, or maybe just helping out society and being a part of it.  A man in a wheelchair or someone who is handicapped is approaching a door; do we open it for them?  A person has dropped money or a personal belonging, do we make them aware of it.  Is this our moral duty?  On another note, something more simply – do we hold the door for the person behind us, do we open the door for a mother pushing her baby carriage, do men need to open doors for women?  Think about it…

Now, this is a thought.  A man is sitting drunk in his car while the vehicle is still in drive in front of a busy restaurant.  Is he drunk, unconscious or sleeping?  Is it up to a bystander to find out and see what is really going on?  Is it our duty to step in or will it be best to call authorities.  Shall we intervene because perhaps it may be too late?  Is this worth it?  How will this person react, will they be grateful or angry and unappreciative.  We may just never know.  This boggles my mind.

So indeed a man was laid out on his steering wheel at 3am in his car, immobile in a parking zone and facing a restaurant full of people.  Someone taps on his window to see what was really going on, he gets startled and rams his car straight into the building.  Luckily, the bystander wasn’t injured and luckily he didn’t run his car through the glass of the window.  Should the authorities have been called first before taken upon action, or was this the right thing to do?  It all depends on the person and what they feel may be their unspoken duty.   Maybe it was up to the restaurant owner to have taken upon action – he should be liable, or the bartenders who continuously served him drinks even after he was drunk, and the bouncers – maybe they should have prevented him to even get into his car.  What if this man would have attempted to have driven off before he passed out, he could have killed a pedestrian or caused a serious accident.  He was of danger to himself and others.  The authorities were eventually called and this man was so intoxicated his body was so hobble that police officers had to literally drag him out the car.  He failed all the “DWI” tests.  Clearly this could have been a much worse situation.

What would you have done?  This brings about the idea of perception.  Another person’s perception may not be what we perceive and vice versa.  What we may feel as helping, assisting, our duty to man or society as an action to take upon; the recipient may not.  The drunk man may not want help, the disabled person may not want a door opened for them or the old lady may want to cross the street alone.  It’s a tricky concept.  Shall we ask the person for approval or do we make our own judgment.  Does the recipient want to feel their own independence and want to reject assistance or are they dependent on bystanders and society to step up to the plate.  Where do we draw the line?  Misleading boundaries, which ones are bold and shall we not cross?  Will you place yourselves in their shoes and decide what would be best?  Whether or not we take action may depend on our experiences, customs, morals, values and perception.  Contemplate this for a moment; this may be something that you yourself may come across in your daily life, will you take on your duty to man? – xo Evelyn Ortiz has spoken *

Eggs and greens on flat bread with grapes on the side.

This is great not only because it’s delicious (what can I say, I’m a simpleton) but because it’s one of those excellent “this could be any meal of the day” factor. I love dinners that are really breakfasts and breakfasts that are really dinners  … just kidding. That only goes one way. But still.

I think every training plan must hit this wall. Actually I hope they do, because that let’s me feel better about myself. Yes. I am selfish. I know. But in all seriousness. I’m just going to grit my teeth and preserve. Again and again. And if I gain a bit, tomorrow I’ll work harder to lose. If my legs are tired I’ll focus on more efficient fuel. And eventually it will all get better. Amen.

Anything new on your menu?

Sometimes you just need someone to listen.
Sometimes you just need someone to take you seriously.

I shouldn’t be so quick
to run from my problems.

(They always find me.)

It takes more character
to stay and fight for your peace.

Next time, I should remember that.

“This feels like an odd question because we know there are many families who work hard to help their child(ren) learn to maintain appropriate eye contact when communicating. Our child has decent eye contact while requesting things, but when we speak to him, not only is his eye contact very poor, but he won’t stand still! He’s constantly rocking back and forth from one foot to the other (sort of like walking in place) or walking away. Sometimes he will maintain some eye contact while moving around, but we would prefer to have him stand still and look around the room than to have proper eye contact and have him wiggling.

Is it appropriate for us to expect a six-year-old to stand still while we give him directions? If so, how can we target that behavior? Should it be targeted separate from maintaining eye contact and listening to directions? Eventually we would like him to be doing all three at once.”

Thanks for writing Shannon and Gary! This is a great question  and it is not unrealistic to expect your child to stand still. However, it may be impossible for his body to be still. One of the things we have learned as behaviorists is that the foods we eat may affect our bodies and behaviors. So, the first thing you need to do is get a good nutritionist to take a look at your child’s dietary habits. We know that artificial food coloring causes big wiggle problems. This includes dyes of blues, reds, oranges, and yellows. It is fairly easy to cut out the artificial colors when you cut out artificial foods. So the next step is to move to a whole foods diet. While the store Whole Foods is helpful for this, you will find it more affordable to shop locally. Aim for foods that are grown or killed (fruits, vegetables, meats and fish).

Once you rid your child’s body of harmful ingredients that may be causing all of the movement, then the next step is to teach him step by step how to stand and attend. You do this by working on his focus and attention using principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). We usually start by having your child focus on something for a very short period. We use a simple laser pointer and shine it on the wall. When your child stands still for 5 seconds (you may need to start even shorter–at 3 seconds), then reinforce his behavior by providing him access to a preferred item or activity.

When your child can successfully focus for 5 seconds, then increase the goal time to 10 seconds and so on.  When your child can stand still and focus for one minute, then you add distractors like noise, music, and people. When your child can focus for a minute with distractors, then you start adding information for your child to remember while remaining focused.

There is a great game on the Wii for this under the balance games. It is called the Lotus Flame. It requires the child to sit but that may also be effective at teaching your child to focus. Good luck! Please let us know how it goes.

If you have a question about behavior, please email me at askmissy at appliedbehavioralstrategies dot-com.

While I finish glancing, through the Houston Chronicle.

And, look for ads, in the Houston Chronicle.

I feel like I’m not moving forward.

I feel like nothing makes sense.

I feel like I’m not growing.

I feel like I’m not trying hard enough.

I feel like everything has come to a stand still.

**Hope I snap out of it soon because there’s an amazing day to be enjoyed.

Opportunities to get a hold of.

Dreams to be realized.

A life to be lived.

Goals to be achieved and so much more.

The Bible makes it quite clear that our tongues, or our speech, gets us into more trouble than pretty much everything else. It says in James 3:8 “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” This tells us that we are not capable of controlling this sin . . . on our own!

This verse does not give us license to run off to gossip, tell lies, speak hurtful words, use angry messages, and so forth. It means that we must turn it over to the Lord to help us control it. We need to stop and pray that He will direct what to say and what not to say.

This area of sin lies right up there with pride. We all struggle and fall from it, every single one of us (some more than others, of course). The problem is that our pride kicks in and tries to justify why it was okay to condemn that person for the mistake they made or why it was okay to tell that friend about your brethren’s personal business.

How many times have you told someone something, saying, “I am only telling you so you can pray.” I know I have been guilty of it at times. Before you start judging me, however, think real hard. I am sure you can join me in confessing that sin.

The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. – Proverbs 18:8

We don’t usually mean harm when we do things of that nature, but it can cause harm. Someone may have told you something in secret because it is personal and dear to them. It may be something to be dealt with in quiet to avoid misunderstandings and chaos. Who knows? It doesn’t matter. If we tell, we have sinned!

And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. – Jeremiah 9:5

Another area that we often allow our tongues to sin is through lies. Oh, we all pretty much know not to tell large, obvious lies. If I were to tell you that I won a million dollars yesterday, that is an obvious lie that did not come true. It is the “white” lies that plague our lives.

Just to clear up any misconceptions, bending the truth, sugar-coating the truth, and exaggerating the truth are all a type of lying. Again, I must confess I am just as guilty as everyone else at these things. These lies are a part of our Adamic nature, and they flow naturally without thinking twice.

A blessing is having a spirit that walks with the Lord. It is getting to a point that when I do these things, a pinprick strikes my heart. It bothers me to even tell the tiniest lie. I will give you an example of recently (though not in great detail, sorry).

I was chatting with a good friend of mine, and in our discussion, I decided to give him the impression that everything was okay. I didn’t want to confess that I was struggling a little bit emotionally. I didn’t outright lie, but I beat around the bush and gave him a false impression. That night, the pinprick nicked my heart, and I knew I had to make it right. A couple of days later, I set it straight (I didn’t see him until then). The sweet friend he was tried to make me feel better by saying it was no big deal, and I didn’t really lie, per say. However, no matter how you look at it, I did.

It is important to trust the Lord with everything in our life . . . our tongues included. He will teach us to speak right and to encourage others. He will teach us to be silent when needed and teach us to speak when needed. He will help us to discern what comes from the flesh and what comes from Him. In order to do this, we must do one thing that I STRUGGLE with – stand still and let Him speak! We need to listen. As impulsive beings, this will take some true effort.

How about you? Are you ready to turn your tongue over to the Lord?

]]> http://nothappeninonmywatch.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/he-shall-fight-for-you/ Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:32:44 +0000 Not Happenin On My Watch | Blog http://nothappeninonmywatch.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/he-shall-fight-for-you/ “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.  The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace (Exodus 14:13-14).”

The Word of the Lord is sent, among other things, to encourage us.  It’s encouraging to know that God will fight our battles.  We simply must stand still and watch how miraculously He moves on behalf.  While we’re standing, it wouldn’t hurt to bless Him.  We were created, after all, to praise & worship Him … and to make it glorious!

Thank you, Lord, for battles already won, for victory in the midst of trials and  for your mercy and grace.  I like where it says, “ye shall see them again no more for ever.”  I have a few problems that I’d like to ‘see again no more forever.’  But I thank God that we don’t need to raise our voices, except in praise, that we don’t need to get out of character and don’t need to display an unpleasant attitude–but that we can allow Him to keep us in perfect peace as we keep our minds stayed on Him and trust Him (Isaiah 26:3).  I believe God!  The devil is a liar (lie), and one evangelist said,  ’and so is his mother-in-law!’

And so as we go through our tests and trials, know that we’re not alone in going through (we all have trials) and that God is right there with us.  I Peter 4:12 tells us, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:”  Instead, we are told to rejoice.  And we can easily do this if we understand that God is going to bring us out victoriously.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness (Isaiah 41:10).  Thank you, Lord, for the encouragement found in your Word.  Thanks for visiting.

Take care & be blessed…   Please also visit… www.xtreme-fire.com

How hard is it to stand still and not predict the future?

I was absolutely rubbish at doing it. I still need to be mindful and think about it but it comes a tiny bit more naturally. I always wanted to predict with absolute certainty the future of my current circumstances. I always wanted to know what I’d signed up to. Logically I knew I couldn’t do it, and it was nuts to think I could. And yet, this is how I acted.

It was hard to let go and accept I don’t know what comes next. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable to have faith in an unknown outcome.

The thing is it’s not healthy or really possible to live a whole life projected into the ‘future’ but we humans try to do it. Whether it’s going out on a third date with a guy and imagining the marriage proposal, the house and kids, already having ‘lived’ the holiday you’re taking next week, or the outcome of that job interview. And in all those cases what’s in front of you, ‘the just is’, is relegated to second best.

So that guy across the table? What if you just saw what is? Maybe he isn’t for you, or maybe you don’t know yet. And that holiday? What if you just enjoy the moment now, the packing, the anticipation, the excitement. The outcome of that job interview? Maybe if you’d spent more time not imagining the outcome but preparing for the interview, the just is bit, the outcome would be different.

The problem is if we accept we can’t predict the future with absolute certainty and we all know logically we can’t, there is only what we know now, right at this moment. That’s the hard bit and the absolutely beyond beautiful bit.

If we stand still and see what is, all we can know of the future is something will change because all decisions we make lead to change (little and large). Yet because we haven’t predicted the outcome we don’t know what to expect. That’s the hard bit.

The beautiful bit is if the future isn’t predicted with absolute certainty we aren’t shocked when it all turns out differently. We are more open to possibilities. And life is like that, it doesn’t actually pay any attention to our absolute predictions. Life seems to just give us all what we need no matter how hard we fight the outcome. And maybe that’s the real point, standing still is letting life flow, to go where you’re meant to in all those shades of grey, instead of fighting so hard in purest black and white to project the outcome of any situation.

Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin  

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns — 6/23/11:

I had a vision of a work of the enemy that comes like a whirlwind or tornado. There are darts and arrows in the force of the whirlwind that are designed to pierce those who are caught in its storm. The purpose of this attack is to bring fear, confusion, and a sense of helplessness. You can recognize this work by the chaos that tries to engulf your mind and emotions. Refuse to succumb to this force of darkness, and stand firm in your faith that I am with you to bring you through to complete victory. Stand still and see the deliverance that I will bring forth, says the Lord.

Exodus 14:13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today.”

One may have entered one’s prayer closet at 3:30 AM.  One may have praised the Lord with song, confessed one’s sins, thanked the Lord and prayed for a passage of scripture for today.  One may have been led to 2 Chronicles 23 – Joash, king of Judah.  Thank You Jesus!

One may have read the Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin for today.  One may have been encouraged.  Thank You Jesus!

One may have logged onto the website to pray for outstanding prayer requests.  Lord, thank You for answering each prayer request according to Your perfect will, in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

So what does this mean to you?

Well, my kids know today is the first day of summer and both are expecting something to “poof” at 1:16pm when summer becomes official. I tried telling then that the word “solstice” comes from Latin and essentially means “Sun-standing”, and that today meant more thousands of years ago then it does today, but they still have questions.

So what information about the first day of summer can you tell your 4 and 6 year olds… Well, try this;

Today is the day – and 1:16pm is the time – when the Earth’s axial tilt is leaning the most towards the sun, resulting in the longest time from sunset to sunrise, or the longest day of the year (and shortest night).

In a little more detail – today, the North Pole tilts directly at the Sun (be prepared to answer questions about poor Santa) and the Sun is at it furthest point from the equator.

What you might not want to tell them;

“Midsummer was thought to be a time of magic, when evil spirits were said to appear. To thwart them, Pagans often wore protective garlands of herbs and flowers. One of the most powerful of them was a plant called ‘chase-devil’, which is known today as St. John’s Wort and still used by modern herbalists as a mood stabilizer.”

Thank you to http://www.chiff.com/a/summer-solstice.htm

You can also explain to them that many, many years ago ancient peoples used to celebrate the magical sun as a recognition of sign of the fertility, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around this day.

So go find a Pagen or Native Canadian / American and ask them how they celebrate this wonderful day and if you’re lucky, you might just get invited to join.

Are you in a season of waiting? Or as I know it now to be a season of preparation and transformation. Ever asked yourself or more to the point asked God what is this waiting all about? Can We Talk?! 

When God has us in a season of waiting don’t let Satan fool you. Something is happening. God is faithful to complete the work He began in us. Besides the work God is doing to work out the situation for our good, God is also busy at work…working in and on us. Remember the story of Joseph. 

Often, manifestation of the promise is secondary to the work God needs to do in us. Secondary to our spiritual maturity and growth. If God gave us gifts and blessings that we were not spiritually ready to receive we would most likely squander them. Take heart, there is good news in the waiting.

Some promises that we are waiting on the Lord to fulfill will not manifest until we prepare and transform. If we are fighting the preparation and the transformation process, we are prolonging our waiting season and delaying our blessings. As we wait, God will change us and our perspective about the situation. He may even shift our priorities and our needs. Have you ever waited on hold on a telephone call for so long that you forgot who you called? God can also do that in your season of waiting. He can, if we surrender our will to His make the experience of waiting so peaceful that we forget about the waiting and the waiting becomes secondary to the time we spend with Him growing and changing. We might even find that what we so desperately WANTED God to do we no longer NEED God to do. Can I get an ”Amen” for unanswered prayers?

Don’t be discouraged, but you have to hear this…sometimes we may have to wait on the Lord’ s promises to manifest for a long long time. I have been in a season of preparation for 5 years now. I have to admit that the first couple of years were tense and anxious times. I did not want to wait. I wanted God to fulfill the promise He spoke to me. I focused on the waiting which made the waiting miserable. God is productive in our waiting process and we should be productive as well. This revelation makes new seasons of waiting more bearable and more constructive.

Now I wait in still attentiveness for the Lord’s will for my life.  I know that He knows what is best for me and He has my best interest in His heart. Yours too is in His heart beloved! As I wait God is developing my patience, humility, and my character. He is deepening my dependence on Him. I really don’t think about the waiting like I used to unless someone talks about their own waiting, which is what inspired this blog. Otherwise, I am content in my season, knowing full well that God can and will come through. When He is ready and when I am ready. In the meantime, I am busy doing what He called me to do and preparing to receive the promise.

So we wait in still attentiveness for the Lord to fulfill His promise to us and in us. Be. Still. Know.

Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin  

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns — 5/6/11:

I saw in the spirit a whirlwind blowing through bringing a sense of chaos and confusion with it. And, I heard the Lord say: This wind is a test of your endurance. If you give in to the force of the wind, chaos and confusion will dominate. But, if you will stand still and refuse to react to this ill wind, you will find that it will strengthen your inner man. Don’t lose your focus; be strong and resolute, says the Lord.

Exodus 14:13a And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today.”

One may have entered one’s prayer closet at 3:30 AM.  One may have praised the Lord, confessed one’s sins, thanked the Lord and prayed for a passage of scripture for today’s blog.  One may have been led to 2 Chronicles 30 – Hezekiah reinstates the Passover.  Thank You Jesus!

One may have read the Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin for today.  One may have been encouraged.  Thank You Jesus!

One may have logged onto the website to pray for outstanding prayer requests.  Lord, thank You for answering each prayer request according to Your perfect will, in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Here’s a little background info: We play thrashcore/hardcore punk. Had our first gig on January 2011. Much shit went on with the original line up. Stand Still disbanded not long after their last show, opening for Iron Lung. However, this was not the end of Stand Still. In late April 2011, Stand Still would reunite, minus the previous vocalist and head for a new direction.

Here’s a link to their myspace
http://www.myspace.com/standfcukingstill

In the mean time, if you guys have anything to sell/barter me or have any questions, drop me an email at andrew.sng.here@gmail.com

Peace.

The only difference one man gets out of this world is that they long for companions who appreciates them, tell them in approving nod that they were doing good and great, striding through life like a honcho but one must never fail to appreciate that there are families and friends, even strangers from faraway places who follow our trails, no complaints, no talks, just following us by. They too needs our constant guidance and reflection. We make life worth living if we learn to appreciate those faceless, voiceless strangers who get inspired by our life. The way living should be full of unexpected turns, reaching out on trees or catching up on falling stars. It is through it that we understood that the life we live are inspirations for others to keep living too. One must also understand that countless others whose shadows were left unrecognized are just wandering off. Could you tell yours to stand still?

When you learn to appreciate yourself and what you had lived for, then your shadow shall embrace you. Silently, it will reach out to you in such enormous passion that your radiance shall be felt way ahead of you. When you learn to appreciate the strangers in your life, then you will learn to value that your life is just a pebble in the shore, living, squeezing space and getting drifted farther on to sea – never alone, but with countless millions whom we never knew in a lifetime. It is living for others that makes the difference and through it, by appreciating them that our shadows may stand still – nearby.

Suzy Summer 2010

I have the feeling that this is the start of a long journey. Long but not necessarily arduous, simply beautiful. For I am hoping to be able to enjoy the scenery along the way this time.

This all began a week or so ago while walking our 7 year old yellow lab, Suzy.  I’ve been walking her for almost two years now, since we brought her home with us from the rescue place where we picked her up in Rhode Island.

And I must say I have been hyper-aware of her own tendency to stop and smell everything known to man (and some things not).  So mostly our walks consist of me trying to walk fast and “hard” and Suzy wanting to meander along.  She stops to smell EVERY thing… dried up leaves, empty yogurt cartons, cracks in the sidewalk and God (Goddess) knows what else.

Usually when she stops to smell something, I tug on her leash impatiently, or I wait while she sniffs around, tapping my foot, checking my watch, wondering how long it will be before she MOVES again.

One day last week, however, I found it within me to pay attention to her while she was doing her sniffing thing, and I thought,  “Hmmm… She evidently finds that dirty scummy snowbank fascinating, so she is stopping to explore it and she doesn’t care one whit what I think about it.”

Which led me to think that maybe while SHE was standing still, sniffing, maybe I could also stand still, and not just in my body but my mind and spirit as well. So I tried doing that a few times and you know what?  It was a MUCH better walk!

I stopped one time while she was doing her sniffing thing, stood very still, and looked up into the sky, surprised to see there a perfect formation of 9 geese, happily honking their way westward.

And after a week of that, I thought, WOW, wouldn’t it be cool if I could do this in my daily life also?  What if I stopped to stand still several times throughout my day instead of moving, moving, MOVING from one thing to the next?

Thus, this blog was born!  I decided that if I knew I was going to post here every day about one or more of my daily Stand Stills, then I might actually do more than THINK about it!

So here I go…. and the Standing Still Experiment is born!