Living Life Fully ........... Episode 5....... WIN OR LOSE

"Whether you're winning or losing,it's important to always be yourself.  You can't change
because of the circumstances around you".



If I can be myself, it won't matter to me a bit whether I'm winning or losing or doing well or poorly.  If I'm myself I'll accept all the situations and circumstances of my life with equanimity, realizing that as long as I'm doing my best and following my heart, even supposed losing situations are full of valuable lessons for me.
We put a lot of emphasis on winning.  And when we don't win, we often see it as a reflection of there being something wrong with us.  And win or lose, we often don't act ourselves when we see the results.  As winners, we're not always gracious, focusing more on our victory than on things like gratitude for being able to win or for the competition our opponents have provided.  As losers, we often feel anger towards ourselves, or we act as "poor losers," making excuses for our loss or blaming the opponents for competing unfairly.
"You can't change because of the circumstances around you."  If you do, you're allowing outside circumstances to control who you are and how you act, and that never can be healthy.  You were created as a wonderful human being, but the moment that you start acting in inauthentic ways, you're lessening yourself and your gifts in life.  You are who you are--be proud enough of that to honor it by remaining who you are, through thick and thin, through all things that you may go through.  And when you honor yourself that way, you're honoring your creator, too, with the knowledge that you're perfectly satisfied with yourself the way you were created.  And which of us shouldn't be proud of that?



To be nobody-but-yourself--in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else--means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. 

Living Life Fully ..... Episode 4

                                                            Today's quotation:

Dreams are renewable.  No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.
Dale Turner


Meditation:
It's kind of funny how we tend to believe in the idea that once we reach a certain age, things should be "set."  We should be in the same home that we plan on dying in, we should be in the job that we're going to retire from, and for the sake of "stability," we should be happy with these things and not rock the boat any more.  But is this dynamic really caused by a desire for stability, or by a fear of the unknown if we dare to do something different and possibly "lose" our home and the stability we so cherish?
If there really are "untapped possibilities within us," shouldn't we want to bring them out?  Wouldn't our lives be much richer and fuller if we were living up to our potential instead of continuing to live a life that we set up years ago when we were younger and not really thinking about our potential and our dreams?  Most of us put our dreams on hold because we end up caring for a family and providing for its stability, which is a very worthy and noble goal in itself.  But what happens when all the children have moved out and the only ones left at home to care for are ourselves?
This type of venture isn't for everyone, of course, but if you're in a position in which you have the chance to reach out and try to make your dreams come alive, then why not take the chance?
How will we ever know what we can do with our dreams--what kind of people we can become as we work at making them realities and giving birth to new beauty?  Life often gives us chances to take risks and make our dreams come alive, but if we've learned to avoid risks, there's much beauty that never will make its way into the world.  And that's a shame.


For further thought:

Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential.  Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do. 

20 Awkward Photos to Commemorate the 3rd Anniversary of the Royal Wedding

Cultural dances, giraffe feedings, and a prince that eats paper?

It's been a wild three years since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tied the knot on April 29, 2011.

The duo have accomplished a lot since saying "I do," including bringing us chubby cheeks Prince George, embarking on three royal tours, renovating their posh pad at Kensington Palace, and successfully winning the hearts of royal watchers everywhere with their lovey-dovey moments and down-to-earth attitudes.

But perhaps what makes Kate and Will most endearing is the many awkward encounters they've had during their numerous public appearances. It's safe to say that Kate didn't sign up to pet a porcupine or do every activity under the sun in heels – but nonetheless, she did it with a smile. Since we could only imagine what the pair was thinking during some of their more embarrassing royal moments, we attempted to put words into their mouths.

Happy anniversary to our favorite royals.

 

 

Lukas Podolski & Mesut Ozil spotted in Arsenal training wearing mystery adidas boots

 

It's not every day that you see a pair of mystery boots out in the open on the feet of professional footballers. It's even rarer to see two pairs of mystery boots on the feet of two professional footballers, captured on camera, during training.

Over the last couple week-and-a-half, we've seen just that with Arsenal's Mesut Özil and Lukas Podolski doing just that. The pair of Germany internationals are sporting a pair of adidas prototypes in what may well be the first peak at the sportswear giant's next generation of football boots.


In the middle of last week, Mesut Özil was spotted in training wearing a mystery blackout boot that is interesting to say the least. The Arsenal midfielder has been an adidas wearer for the better part of the last year, making the switch from Nike and the Mercurial Vapor to the Predator Lethal Zones last July.



The new footwear that he has on may well be the next generation of that, sporting a shiny synthetic upper and a pattern of curious white dots. While there are no indications about what they are, those with attention to detail may notice the placement of the dots and note the similarities to the placement of the current lethal zones, albeit in a tighter pattern.


If that wasn't curious enough, this week we saw Ozil's teammate on two fronts, Lukas Podolski, wearing an entirely different pair of boots. Podolski, like Ozil, wears adidas boots but unlike the midfielder, the striker is a fan of the f50 series. Poldi currently wears the Earth Pack F50s but that is most definitely not what was on show in Arsenal training on Sunday, ahead of Arsenal's eventual 3-0 win against Newcastle United.



Podolski's footwear of choice is undeniably different to what his compatriot was wearing in the previous photo set. The synthetic upper of the boots features an interesting diagonal pattern but is completely smooth, barring a 3D-printed texture invisible to the camera, like on the current generation. While it's impossible to make a concrete judgement based on the photos, it is pretty easy to see the adidas Sprintframe outsole, similar tongue shape to the current f50, and a similar stud layout.

Is this the iWatch we’ve been waiting for?

 

During the company’s earning calls for each of the past few quarters, Apple CEO Tim Cook has promised that the company is getting ready to launch devices in 2014 that will see Apple enter “exciting new product categories.” With one-third of the year now behind us, Apple has thus far relaunched an old iPad model, relaunched an old iPhone model and updated its MacBook Air lineup with slightly better processors and a slightly lower prices.

In other words, we have seen nothing exciting and nothing new.

Industry watchers almost unanimously expect Apple’s first new device of the year that actually does break into an “exciting new product category” to be the much rumored iWatch. Apple has hinted numerous times that it is getting ready to enter the wearables market, and rumors suggest it will do so with a pair of smartwatches powered by iOS.

We have seen a number of graphic designers envision an Apple smartwatch, and many of the designs have been quite impressive. They have also been fairly complex, however, and many of them don’t look like watches at all.

But perhaps Apple’s iWatch would be best-positioned to succeed if the company keeps things simple.

German Apple fan blog Apple Page teamed up with graphic designer Eric Huisman to create a mock-up of an iWatch that keeps its design simple and elegant, letting the software do most of the talking.

Is this the iWatch we have been waiting for?

Let us know what you think of Huisman’s design in the quick one-question poll below, and check out a few more images of the design beneath the poll.

Kenyan president signs polygamy law

 

When the bill was passed last month, female members of parliament stormed out of the session in fury after a heated debate

Nairobi (AFP) - A law allowing men in Kenya to marry as many women as they want was signed into law Tuesday by President Uhuru Kenyatta, despite criticism from women's groups.

A statement from the presidency confirmed that the bill, which it said "consolidates various laws relating to marriage", had been signed into law.

The bill, which amended existing legislation, was passed by parliament last month to formalise traditional practice regarding marrying more than one person.

"Marriage is the voluntary union of a man and a woman, whether in a monogamous or polygamous union," the presidential statement added.

The initial bill had given a wife the right to veto the husband's choice, but male members of parliament overcame party divisions to push through a text that dropped this clause.

When the bill was passed last month, female members of parliament stormed out of the session in fury after a heated debate.

The National Council of Churches in Kenya (NCCK), which groups more than 40 churches and Christian organisations from across the east African nation, has also spoken out against the bill.

The national Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Kenya) has also said it would mount a legal challenge against the law.

"We know that men are afraid of women's tongues more than anything else," female legislator Soipan Tuya told fellow MPs when the bill was passed.

"But at the end of the day, if you are the man of the house, and you choose to bring on another party -- and they may be two or three -- I think it behoves you to be man enough to agree that your wife and family should know," she added.

As in many parts of Africa, polygamy is common among traditional communities in Kenya, as well as in the country's Muslim community, which accounts for up to a fifth of the population.

Many have said the legislation merely acknowledges something that is already widespread.

"When you marry an African woman, she must know the second one is on the way, and a third wife... this is Africa," MP Junet Mohammed told the house during debate on the bill.

Women are not allowed to marry more than one man.

German Catholic Priest, Stefan Hartmann, Asks Pope Francis To Waive His Vow Of Celibacy

German priest Stefan Hartmann has sent a personal petition to Pope Francis asking him to waive his vow of celibacy, which he posted on his Facebook page.
 
As Francis continues his leadership of the Catholic Church, many have wondered whether there will be a change in the requirement of priestly celibacy, a practice which has gone on for hundreds of years.

Hartmann secretly fathered a daughter in 1989, eight years after he took his vow of celibacy, reports The Local.de. He revealed her existence on a televised talk show in January of this year, causing his superiors to ask him to step down from his position. However, he seeks a path which will allow him to remain a priest while raising his daughter in a family.

In the letter, Hartmann asked to be released from the traditional oath "in acknowledgement of my weaknesses and failures, with all due humility and after long consideration of my conscience and personal situation."

In another post about priestly celibacy, Hartmann argues that allowing Catholic priests to remain ordained outside of celibacy vows would "bring solutions and relief in many cases."

"There is a human right to partnership, marriage and parenthood, even if you can forego it willingly for religious reasons,” he said.

Hartmann also believes that abolishing the requirement for priestly celibacy could encourage more young Catholics to enter the priesthood, at a time when numbers are flagging.

Francis reportedly addressed the issue last week during a conversation with a bishop from Brazil, Austrian-born Erwin Krautler. Krautler's diocese faces a shortage of priests, with just 27 meeting the needs of 700,000 Catholics. According to Krautler, "The pope explained that he could not take everything in hand personally from Rome. We local bishops, who are best acquainted with the needs of our faithful, should be ‘corajudos,’ that is ‘courageous’ in Spanish, and make concrete suggestions."

Francis' secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, also seemed open to the idea of discussing a change in the policy towards married priests when he explained last fall that celibacy "is not a church dogma and it can be discussed because it is a church tradition.”

Eastern Catholic churches in the Middle East and Europe ordain married men, a practice which has gone on for hundreds of years. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI allowed married Anglican converts to become Catholic priests.

German media outlets reported that the response to Hartmann's letter has been largely postive. The Vatican has yet to respond.