Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more;
love more and all good things will be yours.
~ Swedish Proverb
whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more;
love more and all good things will be yours.
~ Swedish Proverb
Today's quote tells me to move toward the light of good living and away from the darkness of negativity. This proverb doesn't forbid anything: There are no musts here. Just encouragement to be a little more positive, a little less defeatist.
Good stuff for someone like me who enjoys beating myself up about missing (another) walk this week.
Yesterday got away from me, plain and simple. I tried to make up for the lack of a serious walk with some leaf-raking, but we all know that's not a fair comparison.
I need to reorder the words so that "whine less" is the first directive in the quote.
"Eat less" is always good advice, unless you're anorexic. (Have any of you ever, as I have, prayed for anorexia?) "Chew more" tells me to enjoy what I have, and it doesn't matter if it's reading material, yarn or food. The key to happiness is wanting what you already have.
I have plenty of hope (else why would I keep on keepin' on, lo these many years?), so the first part of the quote doesn't really apply to me. I wouldn't say I'm fearless, but I just don't let fear rule my world. I see too many people doing that, and the result is a lot of unhappy, bitter, negative people. I don't want that for myself. How did I let go of fear? I wish I knew the secret; if I did, I'd give it away. Maybe then we'd get a single-payer health care system!
I certainly can, however, use the "talk less, say more" advice. My husband's two biggest complaints about me are that I'm impulsive and that I interrupt him. I just can't wait to add my two cents to our conversations. I've been working on this one, but it's certainly not automatic for me to keep my mouth shut. Perhaps that's why this particular quote from my collection struck me as something I need to think about this week.
It's easy to love when the object of your affection loves you back. Two-year-olds, puppies, good friends and, of course, husbands, are both lovable and worthy of loving. There are some, though, who (whom?) you love out of duty, and it feels awkward and false. I think praying for their happiness and good fortune may be what I need to do to jump the hurdle from obligatory love to something more genuine.
What does this week's quote say to you?
2 comments:
I wish it spoke to me but it doesn't. I am not trying to "eat less and chew more". I am trying to eat the same weight and bulk of food, but to choose different foods. I am not trying to chew more. I am trying to smell, and look, and taste each taste more. Definitely not the 100 chews per bite "thing" going on here. Also I am not doing what a friend recently mentioned which I hear so often as advice to dieters: "put down the fork between each bite". I think what is important is not slowing down and chewing more which tends to frustrate and make everything taste worse (what's worse than a piece of fish chewed 100 times?) What I am trying is to be totally "present" with my food and to not eat unconsciously the way Americans often do in movies or at ball games or in front of TV or any old time for that matter. I think being present means using all the senses and concentrating on the food, not on a book or TV or a movie or a ballgame. I like the "love more" part. I am not a whiner. I have been trying to say "NO" more since I am a chronic "yes" person that goes along with other people's plans ... all the time. I am trying to say "I would like...." So I guess rather than the "talk less", I am trying to "talk more". All in all it did not fit, but food quotes must be few and far between. At least it made me think about it.
Greta
To me, it says we don't have to have the things we want, but to want the things we have. To enjoy life for what it is.
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