University of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement Address - Admiral Willia...

HOW TO PRESERVE A HUSBAND

How To Preserve A Husband

Be careful in your selection.  Do not choose too young.  When selected, give your entire thoughts to preparation for domestic use.  Some wives insist upon keeping them in a pickle, others are constantly getting them into hot water.  This may make them sour, hard, and sometimes bitter;  even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good, by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses.  Wrap them in a mantle of charity.  Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream.  Thus prepared, they will keep for years.

An Earnest and Thoughtful Discussion by Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert on joy, Pope Francis, and being a fool for Christ

September 15, 2015
Back in April, Comedian extraordinaire Stephen Colbert sat down for an interview with the Salt + Light Media, which has finally seen the light of day. Colbert sheds his famous persona for an earnest, thoughtful discussion, and the results are compelling and heart-warming. Below the video, I've hastily transcribed some highlights.

On faith and reason:
"Carl Sagan said that 'Buddhists believe that their God is so great that he need not actually exist'....I really like that, because it reminds me of St. Anselm of Canterbury's ontological argument for the existence of God. You know, "the fool says in his heart that there is no God, but by God he means that being then which no greater being can be conceived," and he goes into this lovely 13 step proof that God must exist because we conceive of the word. It's logically perfect. It's completely unsatisfying. Faith ultimately can't be argued. Faith has to be felt. Hopefully you can still feel your faith fully and let your mind have a logical life of its own. They do not defy each other, but compliment each other. Because logic itself, I don't think--for me, Aquinas might say differently--logic itself will not lead me to God. But my love of the world and my gratitude toward it will. Hopefully I can use my mind to make my jokes and not deny my love for God at the same time."

Being Able to Relate is Good!

Not Your Daughter’s Jeans
I was browsing through Nordstrom the other day (my favorite department store!), and I stopped by a jeans rack. Buying a pair of jeans can be a little like trying on swimsuits and evening dresses. Not always the most fun thing If your body isn’t perfectly proportioned. (and mine is not!). There are just some areas that don’t always fill out and fit in the seams the way I’d like them too. So when I find a pair of jeans that hold it all in well, I grab them! (And, I may grab them in several colors.)

I was super excited because as I pulled these jeans up and over my legs and hips–and in a size, to be honest, that I’m hoping to fit into!,–and I was p-l-e-a-s-e-d. They slipped on easily, which is always a good sign, and fit like a glove–and the bonus is they had enough give in them to be super comfy, too! (Comfort is my new standard in clothing and shoes these days.)

As I began selecting several styles and colors of the same brand, I commented to the clerk how well they fit. She looked over the tops of her glasses, nodded and smiled with a bit of a smirk. I asked what the “NYD” stood for…

She smiled again and said, it’s short for “Not Your Daughter’s Jeans, dear. Many women don’t want to buy them when they hear that.”

A loud belly laugh escaped me, “Ohhhhhh. That explains it! No wonder they fit so well!”

Brilliantly made to fit a premenopausal body. That’s me.

A couple of years ago, I was buying True Religions—same size as my daughter. Well, the hips are a little thicker now, and there’s just a little more cush in my tush these days for no other reason than padding is probably considered a good thing–but not so much for my wardrobe. To be honest, I welcome a little bit higher waistband these days.

Instead of resisting with negative thoughts that are truly redundant about my changing body, I am grateful I’ve found jeans that fit well and help me tuck it all in! (And, the bonus is I feel sexy in them too.)

(For the guys who are reading this–maybe you can relate to your belt size growing an inch or two–you know how you always wore a size 34 and suddenly you are now buying a 36?)

The point of me sharing this with you is that even though my personal goal is always to look and feel the best I can for the age I am, I don’t sweat the kind of change that is imminent, and you shouldn’t waste precious energy doing that either.

Everything changes—including bodies, and when we are in THE CHANGE, it’s a time of aging gratefully and that is aging gracefully.

To be honest, the other option just doesn’t look as good on us. I’d rather be the woman walking down the street who gracefully owns my mantle of age and true essence of beauty than the woman wearing the mini skirt who clearly resists what cannot be fought.

Save the swimming upstream for the salmon to do. That’s what I tell myself.

There are a few simple daily practices that I follow that help me feel great and graceful as I go through change.

Here are my top thirteen “No Sweat” self-care tips for aging gratefully: ( &gracefully!)

After a good night’s sleep, I wake up and drink hot lemon water and get off to a peaceful start. I meditate and journal my gratitude and feelings.
Get off the scale and focus on being healthy rather than thin. I look in the mirror and thank those parts of my body that remain beautiful even though they are changing shape.
Keep moving… If I find myself sitting to work, I get up and stretch or walk around my kitchen and talk. Don’t just sit there!
Exercise daily—especially in the morning. 
This helps boost the metabolism and sustain energy all day long.
Eat well. Good wholesome food. Raw food. Food that heals. (And, when I reach into the fridge, the cool box is good for hot flashes too! I’ve been known to hang out there for awhile.)
Laugh a lot and cry generously too. Laughter is the best medicine, and “every tear is worth a thousand words.”
Speak positively. Saying positive things feels good and leaves a powerful ripple effect on others, too.
Be playful and smile as much as possible.
Be grateful for the simple ordinary things… like clean air and flushing toilets, running water, and soft linens and scents of gardenia and rose.
Engage. Most of all, remember how blessed it is to get another day to LIVE—to be here now. So be present for every moment of it!
Bring in fresh flowers- and spend time gardening and in nature.
Play music and dance in the bathroom naked–as if no one is watching. (And, hopefully no one is!)
Don’t sweat the small stuff, don’t sweat the change either. Remember those minor annoyances are not important and simply won’t matter next week, and they steal the joy right out of the present moment.
Keep in mind as you care for yourself gently in this time of your body transition, that they may not be your daughter’s jeans, but they fit you beautifully. And, you are a woman whose time and wisdom has earned you every curve. Wear it well. Don’t sweat the change; OWN what fits you perfectly, right where you are at this stage of life as you are taking care of yourself and living your most vibrant life now.

By Kristine Carlson|September 17th, 2015|Living The Big Stuff

Grief

The "Weeping Angel,"

 a monument to Henry Clay Lathrop, brother of Jane Lathrop Stanford

Psychologist and theologian Gerald May said:

"Grief is neither a disorder nor a healing process;

it is a sign of health itself, a whole and natural

gesture of love.

Remember This Date

...the swift flight of a single sparrow...

The following is the opening scene of the last of 10 episodes of The Tudors.  King Henry VIII voice is heard: "When we compare the present life of men on Earth with their time of which we have no knowledge; it seems to me like the swift flight of a single sparrow through a banqueting hall on a winters day.  After a few moments of comfort, he vanishes from sight into the wintry world from which he came.  Even so, man appears on Earth for a little while but of what went before this life or what will follow, we know nothing.

The following is a quote from a Latin work by Bede called "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum" (Ecclesiastical History of the English People.  Book II.  Chapter 13) finished in 731 AD.  Something Henry would probable have read.

Here is the full quote translated from the Latin:  "When we compare the present life of man on earth to that time of which we have no knowledge, it seems to me like the swift flight of a single sparrow through the banqueting hall where you are sitting at dinner on a winter's day with your thanes and counsellors.  In the midst there is a comforting fire to warm the hall;  outside, the storms of winter rain or snow are raging.  This sparrow flies swiftly in through one door of the hall, and out through another.  While he is inside, he is safe from the winter storms:  but after a few moments of comfort, he vanishes from sight into the wintry world from which he came.  Even so, man appears on earth for a little while:  but of what went before this life or of what follows, we know nothing."