- After you...
JPO's Questions (but yours first)...
- In light of Emerson's epigram, how stingy should you be with your "gifts"?
- How often do you pay attention to "small" physical experiences like the wind in your hair or the sun on your face (or the ice cream in your oatmeal)?
- Does the idea of constantly (or frequently) thinking about your life in terms of a time budget of unknown quantity appeal to you? 118
- When you look back on your life, what do you imagine you'll wish you'd done less/more of?
- What does it mean to you to (as Edith says) put things into perspective?
- COMMENT?: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order—willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living.”― The Writing Life
- Do you agree that "time and attention are the essential materials of happiness"? 120 Do you think you manage your attention well? If not, how will you improve?
- Does Leo's & Grace's 80s life together sound appealing to you? 125
- Do you regulate your online behavior in the ways suggested on 130-131?
- Can you relate to what Rachel says about her parents? 136
- Can "focused attention" slow down your perception of the pace of time's passing? 139
- What does Leonard Cohen's song lyric mean? 140
- "What is your philosophy for getting over rough spots?"
- How do you answer any/all of the questions on 142-143?
- Do you agree with *Proverbs, Epictetus, and the Buddha? 148
- Do you try to "fill in the blanks" like Bob? 153
- Do you ever reflect on your response to a challenge by questioning yourself in the way suggested on 157-8?
* 
“A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22”
How often do you pay attention to "small" physical experiences like the wind in your hair or the sun on your face (or the ice cream in your oatmeal)?
ReplyDeleteI became fairly mindful a couple years ago, when I decided that if I was going to insist on being aware of every bad, stressful, unfortunate thing going on with or around me, I was also going to be aware of the good ones. I thoroghly enjoy this sort of small physical joys, the tiny reminders that you're alive, if even just to feel a warm mug of something in your hand, snowflakes catching in your hair, or pulling a load of laundry freshly out of the dryer.
How do you personally deal with the negative side effects of social media?
ReplyDeleteOne of the main issues I have with social media is that when I get bored, I find myself trying to switch to another social media or putting my phone down and looking right back at that social media platform I just got off of. To combat this I have recently tried to be much more mindful of my social media usage. When I find myself mindlessly scrolling, I try to get off my phone, turn on do not disturb, and go read a book, or annoy my brother, or try to do at least thing productive to improve my day that I otherwise would not have done because I was mindlessly scrolling on social media. Do not get me wrong, I think sometimes mindless scrolling has its own benefits, but I definitely catch myself doing it too much sometimes.
5, What does it mean to you to (as Edith says) put things into perspective?
ReplyDeletePutting things in perspective for me, means taking a step back and analyzing my situation in comparison to some other situation or idea. For example, when I put my day-to-day issues in perspective with those of third world countries, I find myself to be more grateful and accepting of the hardships that may come my way. I am analyzing my own situation and understanding that it could be a whole lot worse. Another way I do this, is when I am really down on myself, I try to put in perspective all the good things that happened to make my day or week better. Again, I am trying to be more grateful for the good things happening in my life rather than wallowing in the negative.