A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/19/23



# 30


It’s not just the words you use by themselves. The timing of those words is just as important. Choose the right moment. Your words are more likely to be received the way you intend them.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/18/23



# 29


It is better to have good ideas given to you than it is to have no good ideas at all.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/17/23



# 28


Life is a painting. Consider artfully the brushstrokes we will apply today. Our life is the final work when all layers of color and brushstrokes have been applied.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/16/23



# 27


It is important to be fully present in every task, whether it is as simple as eating a cracker or as complex as painting a house. Being present allows us to perform at our best and enhance our chi.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/15/23



# 26


“Consecrate the ordinary.”
—Martin Buber



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/14/23



# 25


Pause before making choices. This allows you to make more authentic and loving decisions. Making small adjustments after pausing will put more meaning into the choice. Of course, when I say you, I actually mean me.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/13/23



# 24


I begin my day with meditation. Sometimes that includes journaling — simply because I love writing so much. Beginning the day with a ritual, whatever that may be, is beneficial.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/12/23



# 23


We are all brothers and sisters in this human family. The most important thing we can do, not only for others but also for ourselves, is to understand that and to treat everyone accordingly. Treat everyone with the respect that brothers and sisters deserve.



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Journal Entry - Friday, November 10, 2023



def


I dreamed last night that I was learning a new computer language. Somehow I got my hands on the solution to the final exam. I remember looking over the answer and noticing with surprise that I was supposed to use a function. (A function allows you to define a set of steps to be performed, and once stored, reuse them whenever needed.)

I’m not sure where I’m going with this, or why the dream seemed like such a revelation. I’ve spent more than 30 years of my waking hours working with this, and similar concepts. I think my subconscious was trying to tell me something…

My best guess is that I need to do a better job of saving memories for later recall, the equivalent of saving a function for reuse. Recently my daughter and I were reminiscing about her graduation and she reminded me about a day trip that we made together with her sisters. I did not recall the event. I have a feeling that’s because I did not do a good enough job “storing” the memory so it could be “retrieved.” later. It is painful to admit this, but the reason could be that I am a bit too self-absorbed to do a proper job of saving memories of events where I haven’t been the primary instigator or beneficiary. I’m going to work on this.

In the Python language, “def” is the keyword used to “define” a function, Typically a function will “return” a value of some sort, but the use of a return value is optional. When I encode memories I need to be sure and include a return value…



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Journal Entry - Thursday, November 9, 2023



Powder


Skiing down a slope in two feet of fresh powder snow… Unless you live on the mountain, it rarely happens, but when it does, you must relax and start by giving thanks for being there, in that moment. When you are ready, you let your mind go and you give your body permission to feel the mountain. On a good day, when you reach the bottom of the slope you look up and you see the evidence of what the mountain has given you. Those are not your tracks, they are the tell-tale of what the mountain has graciously allowed you to experience this day.

If you give the Grammarly AI assistant the chance to rewrite the paragraph above, this is the result:

Skiing down a slope covered in two feet of fresh powder snow is a rare and exhilarating experience. In that moment, take a deep breath and give thanks for being there. Then, let your mind go and allow your body to feel the mountain. When you reach the bottom of the slope on a good day, look up and appreciate the evidence of what the mountain has given you. The tracks in the snow are not yours; they are the tell-tale sign of what the mountain has graciously allowed you to experience.

I like mine better, including the run-on sentence.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/11/23



# 22


“Our lives are a work of art that only we can create.”
—Anonymous



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/10/23



# 21


My cat is the picture of contentment, gratefulness, and play… as I should be.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/09/23



# 20


Listen. Pay attention. But do not rush to enter into the thoughts of another.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/08/23



# 19


“You will find an outlet for your creative genius and accomplish a great deal.”

—Fortune Cookie

This is more aspirational than it is predictive…



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/07/23



# 18


If I had the power to change people’s minds — better yet, change everyone’s mind — I would convince people to love each other.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/06/23



# 17


When viewing a hill from a distance, it always looks more daunting that it truly is.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/05/23



# 16


Find a way to put your mind in a good place at the start of each day.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/04/23



# 15


Patience is the key to all good relationships.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/03/23



# 14


“There is some of the same fitness in a man’s building his own house that there is in a bird’s building its own nest.” —Thoreau, Walden

“Mr Peggot said birds were like anybody, they like living their own way.”
—Barbara Kingsolver, Demon Copperhead



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/02/23



# 13


Everyone needs to believe in something. I believe I’ll read a book.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 10/01/23



# 12


Always pause and consider the consequences before taking action. This is the best way to ensure clarity, commitment, and consistency.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 09/30/23



# 11


I write every day. Often I don’t have much to say, that’s okay.

The point is I am relaxing and stepping outside of myself for a brief period of time. I am practicing mindfulness.

There are five pillars of good health, mindfulness is one of those pillars…



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Journal Entry - Monday, October 6, 2023



iPhone


My iPhone screens are a masterclass in organization. Why? Because I want to spend absolutely as little tines as possible looking at them. According to Bill Maher, phones make you “shady, needy, mean, selfish and passive-aggressive.” Even if he’s wrong, there’s no need to push my luck…



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 09/29/23



# 10


It is hard for me to understand how so many of the people that represent us can be so shallow and self-serving. My only answer to that is we all must learn to recognize our shallowness and avoid the urge to be self-serving.



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A Year of Living Thoughtfully 09/28/23



# 9


What matters is that you think to the best of your ability — even if there are others much better at it than you are.



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