June 20, 2020: SUMMER solstice

“Summer Solstice” is an astronomical event, marking the 1^st day of summer in Northern Hemisphere – a splendid time which fills our hearts with blissful joy.

● A previous post on the same theme: SUMMER Solstice – 2019

Alice’s Book Club – SPRING session of 2020

Before the end of the current spring, today (Friday - June 19, 2020) I was truly happy to be able to meet (on line) with some of my friends for our seasonal book club session, this time discussing compassion.

As we all are aware of the multitude of adjustments we have to make to our daily lives during the existing COVID-19 pandemic and keeping up to date with the ongoing developments surrounding this matter, we had our meeting via modern technology in order to prevent the spread.

Given that we all are encouraged to carry on with the practice of social distancing, as life goes on, we are adopting a responsible manner in order to continue to enjoy our cultural activities.

Also, instead of our usual novel, this time a university study on compassion conjugated with an additional essay were selected.

The conversations of our evening together emerged beautifully, as compassion is a topical virtue in such a high demand during these trying days.
It was truly delightful to notice how well my guests embraced the subject, all evolving into a meaningful conversation, with breadth & depth.  
Without any doubt, the chosen subject is vast and we could've speak about it extensively, but for the purpose of our gathering we covered aspects that apply directly to the period we all are going through - a worldwide pandemic combined with complex social issues.
Questions such as: ”What can we do (individually & as a group)? ”, ”How could we continue to remain compassionate in a world where kindness is perceived as a faulty weakness? ”, ”What’s next for humanity? ”, ”Are we really as evolved as we think we are?”, ”Is peers’ pressure preventing us from becoming more or less compassionate?”, ”Do you really need to be rich to be compassionate?”, and so on….

In brief, here I will share few additional points on what we could do individually as well as collectively in order to become a bit more compassionate:

-  in your circle of friends, do your best to be a good friend or to become a better one │ - listen attentively, smile and be polite

- be less judgmental, less prejudiced, less biased │  - volunteer in your community

- commit to conscious and random small acts of kindness every week  │  - make sure the people you interact with feel valued, respected and heard
- reach beyond your current boundaries and be nicer with your family members, with your friends, with your neighbours, with your contacts, with your colleagues, with your associates, with your fellows, with your network  

- acknowledge someone you usually ignore by breaking the cold habit with the simple question: “What do you think?”

Yes, there is a lot each of us could do every single day, but before we reach out it is important to be reminded that in order for compassion to be complete it has to start with self-compassion, so dear friends, each time you can, please be kind with yourself!

Also, for your convenience, on the same theme, here is a brief article I wrote, called”Beauty of COMPASSION”.

On the other hand, as we all know, soon (on this part of the world), people will celebrate Father’s Day, occasion which allowed us to express ahead of time the appreciation for each of our fathers, as well as honoring their contribution in raising children.

In closing of these comments, by this note, I’m sending once again my most sincere appreciation to all my friends who were able to join me this evening, wishing them each a wonderful time together with their loved ones!

Alice

Judgement divides. Compassion unites.

Few suggestions from elders to overcome stress

Dear ones, if you are willing to take some time to observe our current society, you would be astonished noticing that constantly people are in a big hurry, always rushing, like continually something urgent is happening. On the same note, many times we all heard loud and clear from different reputable sources that such behaviour is generating an enormous amount of stress and anxiety, and that is why we each need to learn effective ways to manage such situations.

For your convenience, below I’m sharing few words of wisdom issued long time ago by a number of wise thinkers, and I believe that most of them are truer than ever. Enjoy!

- "Let us stand up and give thanks, for even if we did not learn much today, at least we learned a little, and even if we did not learn a little, at least we did not get sick, and if we got sick, at least we did not die; so thank you!"

- "Don't cry because the bright days are gone; smile because they existed!"

- "Don't dwell in the past, don't dream about the future, focus your mind on the present."

- "Remember that you are always responsible for what is happening to you and how you transform yourself."

- "Others teach us who we are. Their attitudes toward us are the mirrors in which we learn to see ourselves, regardless of the fact that at times some mirrors could be distorted, but even so they still could ring a bell and that is what we need to pay attention to. In all, many of us probably are quite unaware of the immense power of the social environment."

- "He who knows others is somehow intelligent; he who knows himself is truly wise. He who can defeat others is strong; he who has defeated his weaknesses always is really strong. He who is content with what he has is very rich. He who is energetic has a purpose in life. He who does not stray from his nature lives long."