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Why you should walk barefoot more often

>> 30 May 2008


Feet should be free and unfettered for at least 10 hours a day - Tourles


When was the last time you walked barefoot? Probably this morning from your bedroom to the bathroom.

When was the last time you walked barefoot in the sand? Probably on your last summer vacation at the beach.

When was the last time you walked barefoot on grass? You might have a garde, but do you walk barefoot on your lawn?

When was the last time you walked barefoot on stones, in mud, in the woods, on the street? Some of us have probably never done this.

Well we should!

I surfed through a few sites and just kicked off my shoes, went into the garden with my kids and walked on the grass :-) Lovely.










Have a look at these:

Society for barefoot living


Barefoot hikers


Parents for barefoot children


Natural and healthy barefoot activities - The German version of this site lists barefoot paths and trails in Europe


Reflexology Paths of Europe


You walk wrong - NYmag


Get your socks off - Guardian


Running Barefoot

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10 favorite time wasters

>> 28 May 2008

If life is a waste of time and time is a waste of life, lets all get wasted and have the time of our lives.


10 favorite time wasters

I think we all agree that sometimes we spend a lot of time just wasting time, doing nothing, achieving nothing.  

The theme of favorite time wasters in itself is already contradictory because to me 'wasting time' has a negative connotation and 'favorite' a positive one. But anyway, here we go.

  1. Watching television: THE time waster. But if you enjoy it, is it a waste? Probably, because you could have spent this time DOING something more productive, creative, beneficial... instead of sitting lethargically on the couch. However, I sometimes learn things from television. Yes, that happens. Yesterday I learned about the existence of artificial glaciers in the Himalayas.

  2. Surfing the internet: Whenever I want to write a post, I sit down at my computer and read my emails first, then respond to the comments on my blog and visit a few blogs regularly. I have the bad habit of being deviated from my initial goal (writing a post) and the internet just swallows me up. I get side tracked by blogs, news articles, book recommendations etc. But then again, sometimes I find a topic that I have something interesting to say about and it triggers a post. So there...

  3. Books: This is my favorite time waster. I can spend hours in a library. I can spend hours on amazon. I can spend hours surfing book sites and blogs about book recommendations. Is reading fiction a waste of time? Is reading non-fiction not? I don't care. As long as I have books to read I am a happy person.

  4. Sleeping: It isn't until you have kids that you realise what lack of sleep is and come to appreciate mornings when they don't wake up at 6 am. Although I would agree that sleeping until noon is a waste of the day, I am a fervent adherent to afternoon naps. Just 20 minutes give you a boost of energy. So when the kids nap, I do too.

  5. Grey's Anatomy: I used to like Friends until my life did not look like theirs anymore. Then I somehow got hooked on Grey's Anatomy. Trust me, my life is nothing like theirs either, but I like the way each episode tackles a topic and tries to learn a lesson for life. A good excuse to waste a wee bit of time.

  6. Painting: Trust me, I am no Van Gogh. I just like to paint. And whenever my son draws something, shows it to me and asks 'what is this mommy?' and I don't see what it could be (he is 2!), I tell him it's art. Because if someone likes it, it's art, and I like what he draws. Painting is soul soothing. I like to have it on my fingers, put it on canvas and see what happens. And time just flies.

  7. Cleaning up: With two toddlers, I feel that I am constantly cleaning up after them. From half eaten sandwich crumbs, over sticky milk stains to all-over-the-house toys. When I am done I feel good, the house is clean and clutter free for an evening. Until they get up in the morning and within seconds the place looks like a tornado just passed through.

  8. Watching my kids: I could spend hours watching them play, sleep, run around. But you can only do that when they are not aware that you are watching them. As soon as they notice, the magic is gone and the claim your presence and participation.

  9. Traveling: By that I mean getting from one place to another. Wasting time at airports waiting for or inbetween flights. Getting to work in the morning by car. There is not much you can do in your car besides driving and listening to the radio. Maybe I should combine this one with my point 3 and get into audio books from Audible.com for example.

  10. Worrying: I dwell on the tiny problems. I sweat the small stuff. In a way I am a perfectionist although you'll never have me admit it. I like things to be orderly (goes with point 7), well organised, run smoothly. I like to be prepared. Don't get me wrong, I do like surprises... - nice ones like flowers (because I am organised and have a vase to put them in). I fret about what to wear in the morning. I worry about forgetting to put an item on the groceries list (and then I completely forget the bloody list!). It clutters my brain and often keeps me from living in the NOW. What would Eckhart Tolle have to say about that, huh?
What are your favorite time wasters?

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From a certain point of view our real enemy, the true troublemaker, is inside - Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama

>> 26 May 2008


The enemy inside


Inside

things I don't want to see

things I dont' want to show


Inside

a mirror showing the real me

a mirror not making me glow


Inside

the enemy speaks to me

the enemy hinders me to grow


Inside

a battle between the enemy and me

a battle I'm not always willing to owe


Inside

the worst and the best of me

the worst I would like to stow


Inside

the real me should be set free

the real me should be able to flow


Inside

it seems logical to always be me

it seems not always easy though
(c) Mindful Mimi -May 2008

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How much of human life is lost in waiting - Ralph Waldo Emerson

>> 23 May 2008


WAITING


Waiting for your life to begin

Waiting for your team to win


Waiting for the bus to arrive

Waiting for your kid to strive


Waiting for the rain to pass

Waiting for the bell after class


Waiting for the job of your dream

Waiting for things to become what they seem


Waiting for inspiration to come

Waiting to become rich and then some


Waiting for a person to change

Waiting for motion to become a range


Waiting for a bad mood to disappear

Waiting for your head to clear


Waiting for your boss to see your worth

Waiting for heaven on earth


Waiting for what is your due

Waiting for a cue


Waiting for someone to understand

Waiting for your enemies to be banned


Waiting for the world to get better

Waiting for that liberating letter


Waiting for something that will never come

Waiting for things to become undone


Waiting for wisdom to teach you

that waiting is just loosing time to get through


(c) Mindful Mimi -May 2008
Thanks to Weekend Wordsmith for triggering this post about Waiting.

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Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts

>> 6 May 2008



You don't choose your family, you are born into one.


No matter how hard they try and even by doing the best they can, your parents are very likely to f**k you up (see also the book 'They f*** you up' by Oliver James). Some of us realise this sooner, some later. And it isn't until we realise this, that we are able to distance ourselves from them as adults, to become our own standalone selves.


When we become a parent ourselves, we become a little bit wiser. We also start to understand a few things about our own parents. Because: being a parent is not easy. It is hard because the moment the offspring is born and you start to love them to pieces, you also have to start letting them go.


And I guess parents can never entirely let their children go. My dad is the best example of that. Even though I am married with two kids, he still likes to 'meddle' with our lives. Not in a bad way - he always means well - but it feels a bit invasive at times :-) He is very much a DIY kind of guy. He can make something out of nothing, repair everything and if you ask him for a certain tool or item you can be sure he has it in his workshop (he keeps and stores EVERYTHING). That's why we like him.


What we like less is when he comes to our house unannounced to take away our garden furniture in order to sand and paint it.


What we do not appreciate is when he goes into the garden and puts all the pieces of the to be mounted swing-set on top of each other in a corner so that the grass does not go yellow underneath. For the record: these items had all been spread out neatly by number and in the order they were supposed to be mounted and we had to spread them out all over again...


What we find annoying is when we notice after he left that he has moved things in the garage - just because he thinks it is better to put them there instead of here.

What bothers us is the fact that he just does these things without asking our permission. We would probably have said yes to the sanding and painting of the garden furniture. But him taking it, just ruined the whole idea.

What irritates us is that by doing things a certain way, HIS way, he indirectly tells us that OUR way is wrong.



I do not come from a family that talks much - I mean, we talk, but not about the really important things like problems, feelings etc. So telling my dad that these gestures were not appreciated and why, was a major step for me. I first called my mom to let off some steam. Then I let a few days pass. Finally, I confronted my dad.


What can I say...? It's like he shuts down to this kind of conversations. Yes, he heard me. Yes, he will ask in the future. But did he understand why? No. And will he stop doing the things he does? Probably not.

I know he is probably not going to change - not until he understands our point of view. And he is just a stubborn kind of guy that won't admit he can be wrong. It runs in the family :-)

But I am glad and a bit proud that at least I am now able to talk to him about these things.

Thanks to Sunday Scribblings for triggering this post about Family.

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