Common Outlook
WHAT YOU SEE DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU STAND
January 2014 - Issue # 14-01

Founder's Message

 

Welcome to 2014.  As the child of immigrant parents, the celebrations and rituals of others always held fascination for me - a fascination that was further influenced by all that I saw during my back-packing years and then, by marrying into the East Asian culture. Although that back-pack morphed into a briefcase, the fascination holds, for it seems that no matter when and where I travel, I enjoy observing and/or partaking in the varying celebrations and rituals that abound.

Many of the rituals preceding or following a celebration concern themselves with purification of the body, mind, or spirit. And so it is that in North America we join the gym after our end-of-year celebrations - be they Christmas-focused or otherwise.

Laugh though you may, January is often a sobering time of year; a time for taking stock, for clearing out bad habits and excesses; a time of resolve and new starts. In light of that, this month's article talks about a resolution that will bring something I think we all seek. 

 

TIP  

 

If you want a great work-out, go play in the snow with child-like abandon.

 

What's New 

 

Watch for February and March's articles when we honour the late Nelson Mandela with a two-part series; learning from his wisdom and taking inspiration from his example.  For a tribute from our Founder, read "Farewell, Madiba".  

 

Quote

 

"A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval."
~ Mark Twain 

 

Article

 

Resolutions vs. Acceptance
(and real change)  
 

Sigh. It's JGJ (Join-the-Gym-January)... that time of year when the self-help finger-waggers advise us to look into the corners of what we do and who we are in order to become "better versions" of ourselves.

So; you can focus on your shortcomings... (Oh, what fun) then start the weary trek up the JGJ mountain. Or you could spend the time accepting yourself as you are and in the background, let Change start working for you... not just for January, but (Gulp!) for the whole year.

 
Read More 

Founder:

Peter Hiddema


 

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