Walking Down Another Street

I first read this poem in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. When I Googled it, I found fourteen pages of links. It's clearly a favorite with many, including myself.

Autobiography in Five Chapters

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost . . . I am hopeless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I'm in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in . . . it's a habit
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I walk around it

I walk down another street.

Good ki!

Judy Ringer

A View From the Other Side

Here is a piece that I couldn't resist sharing from our fellow aikidoka blogger, Mark Walsh, over in the United Kingdom. It is called 7 Reasons Why I Like the Recession. This is not meant to diminish acknowledgement of the pain that recession brings. But, as always, conflict bring opportunity and Mark does a great job of opening our eyes to that viewpoint. Thank you Mark for these great points!

• The recession separates the wheat from chaff in business. Out of date training competitors with large overheads aren't doing so well
• The recession encourages creativity and the return of lost skills...like making and fixing stuff. People are opening up to new ideas out of necessity
• People are now questioning "old business" and the notion of chasing short-term profits
• People are demanding increased transparency in business
• Customers are demanding training that works.
• Some great people are being made unemployed and starting all sorts of conscious business multiple bottom-line projects on their own.
• It's a challenge to rampant IkeaChangingRoomstastic consumerism and fixing the internal with the external. Values are being questioned.

Judy Warner

Positively Philadelphia

I haven't been to Paris, but I did spend part of last week in Philadelphia attending the First World Congress of Positive Psychology, where I enjoyed four days of learning, dining al fresco, and taking in as much as I could of what this great city has to offer (which is a lot!). And yes, I climbed all those stairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art - the ones Rocky climbs, waving his arms in exultation after he's finally in shape enough to take them all at a run (I did it the first time; there aren't that many).

I imagine every tourist wants to reenact that scene. I sure did. But what I didn't know from watching the movie is that there's an incredible view from atop those stairs - a long boulevard of beautiful trees, international flags, parks, fountains and people culminating in a national monument (City Hall) and a breathtakingly beautiful skyline. I felt like I was on top of the world.

The trip was already worthwhile, and then there was the Congress itself, which offered background, statistics, and solid research proving things we already know are true: that happy people are healthier, live longer, and have closer, more lasting relationships.

My personal favorite was David Cooperrider, the founder of Appreciative Inquiry, who gave a most hopeful presentation on AI, organizational development, and "Business as an Agent of World Benefit." I also appreciated hearing Mihaly Csikszentmihaly (author of Flow) talk about the evolution of human thought. His premise is that our decision to choose happiness, individually and as a species, will make a huge difference in the future we are creating each day, each moment.

As Judy W. offered from Paris, "... it is always our choice to deal with unexpected circumstances pleasantly or spend our time complaining about what might have been." Not only is this true, but Judy's choice in Paris (besides making her happier) makes the whole planet a better place to live, and helps move us toward a happier future. And now we have research to prove it!

Good ki,

Judy R.

Lessons from Paris

Sitting here on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean this morning. ..a peaceful Sunday morning in Paris. My travel schedule for May/June has severely curtailed my blogging. Much thanks to Ellen and Judy for filling in.

I am always fascinated when I travel with the opportunities to step back and reassess my own behaviors. This trip to Paris is no exception.

Yesterday my husband and I stopped for lunch at an outdoor restaurant set in a huge park called Tuileries near the Louvre. No sooner had we been seated at a table under a huge free-standing canvas awning that provided shade when clouds started to roll in. The wait staff immediately began picking up outlying tables, not protected by canvas umbrellas and awnings and sandwiching them in among other tables wherever they could fit. As rain started falling, diners picked up their wine and baguettes and cheerfully headed for any vacant covered seats. There was a good deal of laughing and gesturing among the multi-lingual crowd in the ensuring chaos. Eventually, everyone settled down again to enjoy their meals.

What struck me was the cheerfulness of the entire process. Everyone made a choice to make the best of a very wet situation and still enjoy their afternoon. I have often been in situations where weather has intervened and the tenor of a group has shifted to complaining. This scenario of turning lemons into lemonade seems to be a theme of this trip. The previous day at the world renowned Paris Air Show, I watched at thousands of Parisians cheerfully plopped themselves down on asphalt walk and road ways to watch the sky when grandstand seats were all taken.

I am sure that there are many instances in this crowded city where conflict is not greeted as an opportunity to relax and flow with circumstances. But, I wonder if Paris is not offering me a gift of a lesson well known but perhaps not always practiced that I can take home with me and apply in my own life – it is always our choice to deal with unexpected circumstances pleasantly or spend our time complaining about what might have been.

Au revoir - time to go out for a latte and accept my next teaching from this trip!

Judy Warner -

Follow Judy on her twitter account, aikijudy, for reminders to stretch and center!

Live and Laugh At It All

One of my Aunt Mimi's favorite songs was "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries."

Life is just a bowl of cherries,
Don't take it serious, life's too mysterious.
You work, you slave you worry so,
But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go,
So, keep repeating, "It's the berries."
The strongest oak must fall.
The sweet things in life to you were just loaned,
So how can you lose what you never owned.
Life is just a bowl of cherries,
So live and laugh at it all.


If you don't have your own recording, you can listen and download my rendition here.

I hope that brightened your day. And, you can do it yourself. I've been practicing the spirit of this song lately, noticing my moods, and experimenting with choosing happiness, choosing the reality I want to live in, or as I say in my writing, "inventing your life" one moment at a time. Some days it comes easy, some days I have to practice more. Try some of these today, even if you're already happy!

• Look up at the sky.
• Listen to your favorite song.
• Sing your favorite song.
• Take a walk.
• Go to the ocean, lake or your favorite place for regaining perspective.
• Take yourself out for a cup of tea.
• Talk with a happy friend.
• Notice one thing you're grateful for today.

Next weekend, I'll be attending the first Institute for Positive Psychology Congress in Philadelphia, PA. I'm sure I'll come back with more ideas about inventing life, one ki moment at a time. Stay tuned!

For now, you can find 21 stories and songs about presence, gratitude, perspective, and choosing the "Good Reality" on my new CD, Simple Gifts: Making the Most of Life's Ki Moments. You can purchase it or just listen to two tracks for free at www.JudyRinger.com.

Good ki!
Judy Ringer