Dear 2021,

So many might be cross with 2021 and by taking on such a negative view on that Corona year miss out on all the blessings they had that year.

It is true many of us would have wished it would have gone differently, but no matter what came over this world, a naughty virus, limiting us in many ways, it also created many opportunities.

Let it be known, in a few years time everything of 2019, 2020 and 2021 might be forgotten as in a sealed book somewhere up high in the bookcase or in a bookshelf in a dark corner.

The good things of it we carry with us with pleasure and hope soon to be relieved from that virus, but in the meantime, we shall not let us bring down.

 

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Preceding

Let’s count…

Musings of a Bookworm

Before I start I have to thank Deepthy from Random Specific Thoughts for coming up with this idea and then letting me borrow it for a post. You should definitely check out her post here.

So here goes…

Photo by Sindre Stru00f8m on Pexels.com

Dear 2021,

The things we experience in life change us, they shape our understanding and the way we view the world. And so, for me 2021, a year that can only be described as a rollercoaster of a year, wasn’t all bad.

Of course at times I wished things were different, and, to be perfectly honest, I still do. However that isn’t your fault 2021, it’s not the actual events that cause these feelings, it’s my perception and the experience I have of them. This may seem like an odd thing to say, especially taking in to consideration the pandemic and all its effects, but…

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Seeing the glass half-empty or half-full

In these darker days, normally many people look at this world and their days in a groovy mood.

A non-Orthodox Jewish Young(-ish) Professional JYP, (aka “Judgy Young Pessimist”) who does like latkes (fried potato pancakes), and seems to enjoy parties featuring lots of people, food, dancing, and drinking which comes on his way with the Chanukah Parties.

But when he looks at the glasses, we have the impression he looks them from the wrong site of the picture. He writes:

It should come as no surprise that I, JYP, (aka “Judgy Young Pessimist”) see the glass as half-empty. {I Can’t Think of a Witty Title for This Post}

And that is what lots of people have done this last year. In this Corona-period they have taken on the coat of negativity.

Does it really matter if the glass is half-full or half-empty? Photo by Manki Kim on Unsplash

In the past year, several young people have taken on the mantle of the dark side of life. Many have lost positive thoughts towards the future. They see it all in such a gloomy light, while at the end of that dark tunnel there is a beautiful light in sight.

In these darker days let us decorate our homes with fine ornaments, colourful and luminous things, so that the darkness is somewhat hidden by our smiling light.

We may not forget that it really matters how we look at the glass in front of us.

In case we do not take it up to drink from the glass, someone else will do it. He or she might drink the contents and then we’ll see the glass completely empty.

He might think the glass will be left untouched, but in that instance, we shall have to doubt the nicety of the gathering, or perhaps the misjudgement of the host who hoped for more attendees than actually came. JYP would then see the beverage eventually attracting bugs and becoming gross. (What a waste.)

Were the invited people not in time because they were not sure to come by train or plane, or did they take so much time discussing what to wear, that they forgot the appointed time?

In any case, the glass still standing there might still be half full or half empty. When you look at it take it to be half full, and enjoy the rest of the evening sipping what is still leftover.

Don’t let Covid messages and lockdowns spoil your days, but make the most of these times of isolation and enjoy every moment you can.

Happy end of year celebrations!

Optimism or pessimism: Which is better for you?

If it would be up to us to say, we would assure you that optimism is the best way to live longer. We advise you to do away as much as you can from negative influences.

In these dark Corona days and time of Climate Change, we are pulled back and forth by the many changing reports and many feel very insecure. Today, for the umpteenth time in a row, the government is coming up with new tightening corona measures that will again restrict us in so many areas. (Positive thinkers will rather look at the new or renewed measures with an attitude of “ah, we can still do this!

Negatively you could say “what the heel, again a lockdown”. Positively you could say

“Is it only the fourth wave of the pandemic, or is it already the fourth lockdown?”

For many it almost has become part of their everyday life.

Somehow it is everyday life. This pandemic reminds us of what we like to ignore: life is unpredictable. Now it’s just being taken to the extreme. {Another Lockdown}

Thanksgiving Day and weekend is already behind us, but soon we shall get some other days of family gathering and happiness. For some Christian it is now Advent (peculiar to the Western churches) and a time to prepare for Christmas. In the old days that period was a time of fasting and meditation. For Catholics with November 30 (St. Andrew’s Day) it is the beginning of the liturgical year. So, when you think of starting a new year, hopefully, you would not do that with a grim, dark mind, but would look forwards with a lot of good ideas, positivism and hope. In many Eastern churches, the Nativity Fast is a similar period of penance and preparation that occurs during the 40 days before Christmas. Normally having a ‘Fast’ a person would take such action to clear the mind and to do away with all bad things. As such in that period a person should also do away with negative thoughts and come to see the good things in life, appreciating again all the tiny bits.

Those who believe in Jesus Christ have the advantage, that there is hope for them for better times. Therefore, there should be no reason for a Christian to run around with the chin hanging on the ground. Our faith provides the foundation of courage to assist us when we have to endure that difficult ‘walk of life‘. Even when the days are becoming shorter and darker, this does not have to make our mind darker and has to stop us from dreaming or going further with our bold adventure and directs our steps to greatness. The light in the darkness Christians may see, they can show also to others, to bring them some positive news in these darker days.

The coming of Christ in his Nativity was overlaid with a second theme, also stemming from Gallican churches, namely, his Second Coming at the end of time. Some people are convinced we have already entered that time of the end. For others, this interweaving of the themes of two advents of Christ gives the season a peculiar tension both of penitence and of joy in expectation of the Lord who is “at hand.”

In life it often goes the wrong way with people when they have too many expectations. We typically do demand too much from ourselves. At the same time, we create borders for ourselves thinking that we shall not be able to do this or that. By setting such limitations in front of us we collide with a bare wall. We should know our feelings have all to do with our attitude to ourselves and to others. But it also has to do with what we want from ourselves and how we want to project ourselves to others.

Some of us are afraid to have some dark thoughts or see such pessimistic ideas as a threat or danger to our well-being.

Studies suggest that around 80 percent of people have an optimism bias, or tendency to overestimate the likelihood of positive events. But does that mean they live happier lives?
Marnie Chesterton – accompanied by Hannah, a CrowdScience listener and self-proclaimed pessimist – investigates how we form our views on what the future holds, and whether it’s better to always look on the bright side of life.

‘If we think things are gonna be good for us in the future, we tend to put in the effort’

Can CrowdScience answer your question?

Let us not forget even when we are becoming restricted, we can use this time of more isolation, to think more about ourselves, what we have done and what way we shall continue to go. Now it is time to think of ways to go forward, even when we have to face certain times to draw back, and considering that tis moment may be totally different from the moment and time of someone else we know. Not comparing ourselves with others all the time shall make life much easier.

In this darkness, dare to step forward at your own speed and with your own capabilities!

Photo by Kampus Production on Pexels.com

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Preceding

In October-November People often too busy with death and the dead

Misleading world, stress, technique, superficiality, past, future and positivism

What kind of attitude do you have?

don’t look at me in that tone of voice!

Some Hope for 2021

Expectations

Your only limitations are those you set upon yourself

Getting up to bring changes into your life

On Positivism

Benefits of Positive Thinking

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Additional reading

1. Unlikely silence
2. CoViD-19 Curation
3. No time yet to relax the CoViD-19 restriction measures
4. Another Lockdown
5. The importance of utopia and how to get there
6. Utopian dreams
7. Thoughts for the day (Our World) = Thoughts for the day (Some view on the World)
8. Thanksgiving wisdom: Why gratitude is good for your health
9. Good time to sort out your friends and contacts
10. Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement (Our World) = Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement (Some view on the World)
11. Offering words of hope (Our world) = Offering words of hope (Some View on the World)
12. God, let me be a light in these dark times

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Related

1. Punch Through: Harsh Life and the Problem of Positive Thinking
2. When You Make A Mistake
3. Seeds, Roots and Shoots
4. Changing World
5. Confidence in the Lord
6. 🤗 A Better Life ~ Sing a Happy Song
7. 👊 Today’s Power Thought ~ Yes, Good Things Are Headed Your Way
8. 👊 Today’s Power Thought ~ You Have Undiscovered Potential
9. Review of “The Future We Choose: The Stubborn Optimist’s Guide to the Climate Crisis”
10. Throwing of the Gauntlet: Quotes for Philosophical Dads
11. The Walk down Memory Lane
12. One Lesson From a 100 Day Tweet Challenge
13. Dancing Lights 

Happiness cannot be travelled to

Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed.
Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.
~ Denis Waitley

No Nuance November, Day 13

 

ladylapoet

There are people that won’t support you, no matter how talented or amazing you are.

There are those that will support you to see what they can gain from it.

There are those that will support you simply because they rock with you.

No need to beg for support. Just keep being your amazing self and your tribe will find you…

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Joy is the gift of love

Dutch translation / Nederlandse vertaling: Vreugde is het geschenk van de liefde

ARHtistic License

Joy is the gift of love. Grief is the price of love. Anger protects that which is loved. And when we think we have reached our limit, wonder is the act that returns us to love.

~Valarie Kaur, in See No Stranger

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Go With It! (Original song by Deborah A. Bowman)

How many times in our life we have a feeling that makes us afraid to react on it?
More often, we should let our heart speak and have a control button on our mind so that we can find the best way to react rightly and not to be lost in time.

BowmanAuthor and Writer/Editor

Lost in time

Encased in rhyme

Breathless sigh

Don’t wonder why

Dip and sway away

Go with it!

Lovely face

Crowded space

It draws your eyes

Beauty emphasized

Feel the beat and heat

Go With It!

Soul enraptured

Moment captured

Eros tosses a dart

Straight to your hearts

Sing together

Go with it!

Let the love flow through rhyme and time

The music will soothe as you lose yourself in each other

Just two hearts

Beating as one

Never to part

Laughing in the sun

The song of joy and kicks

Just Go With It!

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Airbnb pledges to provide free housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees

Short-term accommodation company Airbnb has promised to give some 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan somewhere to stay.

Airbnb bosses said the project will start today and the firm will cover the costs of their stays.

Co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, Brian Chesky, wrote in a Twitter thread:

‘Starting today, Airbnb will begin housing 20,000 Afghan refugees globally for free.

‘While we will be paying for these stays, we could not do this without the generosity of our hosts.

‘If you’re willing to host a refugee family, reach out and I’ll connect you with the right people here to make it happen!

‘The displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the US and elsewhere is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time. We feel a responsibility to step up.

‘I hope this inspires other business leaders to do the same. There’s no time to waste.’

It comes after the company has already provided temporary housing to more than 25,000 refugees over the past four years, and has opened doors in moments of crisis such as natural disasters and through the pandemic.

Airbnb also launched the $25 million Refugee Fund earlier this year, to expand its support of refugees and asylum seekers worldwide.

Mr Chesky added:

‘As tens of thousands of Afghan refugees resettle around the world, where they stay will be the first chapter in their new lives.

‘For these 20,000 refugees, my hope is that the Airbnb community will provide them with not only a safe place to rest and start over, but also a warm welcome home.’

A statement from Airbnb said:

‘In this past week, it has become abundantly clear that the displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees here in the United States and elsewhere is a significant humanitarian crisis – and in the face of this need, our community is ready to once again step up.

‘Airbnb recognises the situation on the ground is fast evolving. Airbnb.org will closely collaborate with resettlement agencies and partners to go where the need goes, and evolve this initiative and our support as necessary.

‘In addition, given the tremendous need, Airbnb urges fellow members of the global business community to join efforts to provide immediate support to Afghan refugees.’

 

Relationship Minute: Love Your Partner Better

 

Ellsworth AFB Life Skills

I wish we spent more time together.
I wish we were more emotionally connected.

Do any of these resonate with you? Do you have the desire to love and be loved more deeply?

You and your partner can learn how to love each other better. Think about what you need to feel more loved, and ask your partner to consider it as well. Sit down and have an open conversation. How can you meet your partner’s needs? How can they meet yours?

Related Blog Posts:

• Not Having Fun in Your Relationship? Here’s How to Fix It
• The Easiest Way to Improve Your Relationship
• Passion and Romance in Marriage: How It Goes Sour

The Relationship Minute is from The Gottman Institute. Visit their website.

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Point Taken?

 

World looks dark?
Lots of confusion? Conflict & division?
Isn’t it time for a little light?
To balance things out?
What if each of us has the power within…?
to shine bright?
Can you shine a little of your light today?

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