participation Archives - Page 2 of 3

October 29, 2022October 21, 2022 by Pete Wiley

Awestruck—How to Keep a Sense of Childlike Wonder

When we are children, so much of what we experience is new and exciting to us. Childlike wonder is a marvelous thing, and no other feeling is quite like it. It is excitement in the very heart of our being. Part of the feeling is due to the newness of childhood experiences—we’ve never previously considered them as a possibility. As we get older and have a range of experiences behind us, our ability to recapture that feeling falls off dramatically. We may still have new experiences, but they have familiar elements—they aren’t completely foreign to us. When we get to this point in our lives, we risk becoming jaded—not even being open to the kind of childlike wonder that we experienced in our youth. Can we keep the ability to find wonder in the world?

September 17, 2022September 16, 2022 by Pete Wiley

Wanderlust–Exploring Your World and Yourself

I love to travel. I’ve done a good bit of it, but I’d like to travel a lot more. What is it about travel that makes people so excited? It can certainly have its share of headaches and hassles. But when people think about or plan their travels, they’re exuberant. They can’t wait to go, hassles and all. The great thing about being on the road (or in the air, or on the water, or on the rails) is the sense of adventure, of exploring something new or unknown. The same feeling can happen when we stretch our boundaries of our experiences, our outlooks, and our thinking. By exposing ourselves to new experiences and new ideas, we can grow in much the same way that we do when we travel. And growth is part of any meaningful life.

in Mindful / Open Mind 0 comments

March 5, 2022February 24, 2022 by Pete Wiley

Hanging in There—Joy and Pain from Long-Term Relationships

New people are easy. You meet them, you chat, you get to know each other—there’s no long-term baggage or expectations. There’s also no lingering bad blood or long-term irritants. It’s a fresh canvas and you’re both painting. But as time goes on, you develop a history. Much of that history is likely very good—you wouldn’t stay connected so long if it wasn’t. You may have periods where you don’t see each other that much, but when you do get back together it seems that no time has passed. You pick up right where you left off. You have a true and solid connection with each other, and it’s part of who you are. But there are also elements of the relationship that aren’t ideal. It may be a personality quirk that irritates you (and irritates you more over time). It may be a certain belief or opinion they have that doesn’t jibe with your worldview, and they have to bring it up. It may be some incident in your past that’s hard for you to let go. The relationship is not all wine and roses, but ultimately, no relationship is.

in Emotions / Open Mind 1 comments

January 8, 2022December 9, 2021 by Pete Wiley

Immersion—Doing What You Love

So many of us engage in activities to get a reaction, or to make money, or to feel loved. But what are the things you do because you love doing them? What do you do just for yourself—because it gives you pleasure or is meaningful?

Our motivations for what we do with our lives are worth exploring. They can provide a filter through which we can evaluate how we spend our time and may lead us toward a more rewarding set of activities. For example, we all have to make a living—that is a key motivator for most people—but would you pursue your career if money were not a factor? If not, how else would you spend your days?

What you do with your time outside your job should be as important and intentional as your work. Are you just filling the hours, or are you getting something back? What activities would you engage in even if you didn’t get any external, positive benefit? What activities do you do just for you?

in Open Mind / Proactive 0 comments

November 10, 2018September 30, 2018 by Pete Wiley

Distractions

What’s the next thing?

How can I entertain myself? Where’s the next mindless stream of drivel I can distract myself with? What do I need to turn off my brain?

In this world of ever-present distractions, it can be challenging to live in the present moment—to exist and to be who we really are (see Exist).

The world seems designed to ensure that we always have sufficient distraction to never have to be alone with ourselves. Why is that? Have modern people become so lazy that they can’t bear the thought of reflection? Have we become so distracted that we’re not able to spend time with our own thoughts?

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