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- Cool Finds from the Web
- Nonviolent Communication
- Feature Photo
- Children and Entrustment
- Loving Our Kids
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PHOTO CAPTION: "Photo Courtesy Photos8.com." A desert camel.
A wanted to share some a few things that I found on the web this weekend. I hope that you enjoy them and that they inspire you. I hope that you all have a great weekend!
Check out this cool Fall
photo. What detail!
A very funny cat
photo.
Adorable photos of a dog
party.
A
bull standing up by its horns.
To check out some other previous cool finds from the web click
here.
"The forest will answer you in the way you call to it." - Finnish Proverb
When we communicate with others in a harsh tone there is a higher probability that we will get a defensive response back. People tend to respond to us in the same fashion that we speak to them. This phenomenon is called mirroring.
For some of us communicating in a critical or harsh tone has become a habit. We may come to realize that we have more conflict in our life as a result. Yet many people do not see this connection and instead continue to blame others for the conflicts that occur in their life.
Someone once said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. The key to change is to realize that what we are doing is not working and to do something different and to practice it. Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."
Practice not making judgments (criticism, diagnosis, and evaluations of others) this week and instead make observations (state the facts without any judgment), express your feelings and needs and make a request. By doing this we will communicate in a way that does not judge and respects others.
For example, instead of saying, "You are lazy and never help out" you can say, "I see that you have not washed the dishes you used for lunch. I feel frustrated because I need help and support. Would you please wash your dishes within the next hour?"
Remember it is not an easy task to not make judgments of others and instead make observations. Krishnamurti says, "the ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of human intelligence."
For more information on nonviolent communication (the process modeled above) click here.
PHOTO CAPTION: "Photo Courtesy PDphoto.org."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Photo Courtesy Flickr." Photo by Floridapfe. A ring tailed lemur tries to grab a dragonfly.
Welcome to Harmony of the Heart! The blog where you can get your dose of inspiration for the week. Feel free to check out the inspirational stories, videos, poems, photos, great links and more! We encourage you also to view our new sidebar on the right for many new inspirational resources (videos, newsreels, etc.).
Every once in a while we post the Feature Photo, a cool or beautiful photo for everyone to view. To view all of the other feature photos we have posted at Harmony of the Heart simply click here.
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PHOTO CAPTION: A friend gives Andrew his first bow and arrow.
"And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, 'Speak to us of Children.'
"And he said: 'Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
"You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
"You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
"You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.'"
by Kahlil Gibran
As a parent it is important to love our kids. This seems obvious but many times it is forgotten in the day to day stuff of life. Some reflection on this may help us to remember why this is so important.
Donald Miller in his book Searching for God Knows What writes about the affects of a child not having love in his life.
"If a kid doesn't feel he is loved, he is going to go looking for it in all kinds of ways. He is going to want to feel powerful and important or tough, and she is going to want to feel beautiful and wanted and needed. Give a kid the feeling of being loved early, and they will be better at negotiating that other stuff when they get older. They won't fall for anything stupid, and they won't feel a kind of desperation all the time in their souls."
As a counselor and life coach I have found that many times the root cause of unhealthy behavior comes from a deep void that was left from the person's childhood. Many times the parents missing the mark on loving the child and letting them know that they matter.
May we do all we can as parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc. to love children and build them up for healthy living.
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