beta-endorphin

Creative Writing Gone Wrong 2010年 07月 24日

Here’s a prime example of “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.” It is offered by an English professor from the University of Colorado as an actual class assignment:

A Creative Writing professor told his class one day: “Today we will experiment with a new form called the tandem story. The process is simple. Each person will pair off with the person sitting next to his or her desk.



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Please don't put holes in other people 2009年 09月 28日

When I confronted my daughter after she hurt another child with a mean comment, she cried and immediately wanted to apologize. That was a good thing, but I wanted her to know an apology can't always make things better.

I told her the parable of Will, a 9-year-old whose father abandoned his mom two years earlier. Will was angry, and he often lashed out at others with hurtful words. He once told his mom, "I see why Dad left you!"

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24の瞳 2009年 05月 03日

1928年から1946年までの香川県小豆島を舞台に、赴任したばかりの若い女性教師と、その年に小学校に入学した12人の児童のふれあいを軸に、日本の昭和戦前期の歴史の動向とを含めた作品である。

1954年に映画化。
これもミズーリ大学の日本文化の講義でとりあげられている作品だが、家人は延々とつまらない映画を見せられたと文句をいっていたが、なかなかの名作である。

作品評は苦手なので以下抜粋。

教師は、沢山の子の成長に立ち会える、貧乏だったり、裕福だったり、それぞれの夢を追ったり、家庭の事情で夢を諦めなくてはならなかったり、人生途中で死んでしまったり。小さな子ども達の成長や悩みに介在すると言う意味では、ある意味親と子の関係、しかし、やはり先生と教え子という他人の関係ゆえ、先生ができる事、してあげられることも限られている。そして戦争と言う状況下では、沢山の教え子の死に向き合わねばならない。二十四の澄んだ瞳の輝きを濁らせたくないという思いと、一方でどうにもならない他人の人生。この映画はどうにもならない他人の人生に、関われること、成長に立ち会えることの素晴らしさを教えてくれます。是非いろいろな人に見ていただきたい映画です。

反戦映画という評が多いが、それがこの映画の本質ではないという気がする。

Need-expansion dynamic 2009年 04月 21日

The more I focus on my needs, the more things in life get loaded into that category. The more I live with the meeting of my need as my central focus of concern, the more things in my life get defined as needs.
If you listen to the way we tend to toss around the word “need” you will soon realize how many things we have defined as needs are, in fact, not essential for life.

You probably don’t really “need” a good meal.
You probably don’t really “need” a raise.
You probably don’t really “need” that new house
You probably don’t really “need” the affection of that person.
You probably don’t really “need” that position you have aspired to.
You probably don’t really “need” the recognition of your peers.

Yet the more you focus on your own neediness, the more you desires will be christened as need.

Paul Tripp from " A Quest For More"

Watch this 2009年 04月 18日

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=related

もうすぐイースターですが、ウサギの話です。 2009年 04月 10日

All I Need to Know About Life I Learned From the Easter Bunny
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Walk softly and carry a big chocolate bunny.
Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.
Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.
There's no such thing as too much candy.
All work and no play can make you a basket case.
A cute little tail always attracts a lot of attention.
Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.
Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
Some body parts should be floppy.
Keep your paws off other people's jellybeans.
Good things come in small sugar-coated packages.
The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.
An Easter bonnet can tame even the wildest hare.
To show your true colors you have to come out of your shell.
The best things in life are sweet and gooey and come in assorted colors.
Get rid of all your black jellybeans.

My dear friends 2009年 04月 06日

If someone wrote the history of your life, what would be the one thing they would say you lived for? Success, power, family, comfort, pleasure, possessions, acceptance, or appearance?

Desire for a good thing becomes a bad thing when that desire becomes a ruling thing.

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

男性が長生きできない理由 2009年 03月 28日

http://www.slideworld.org/slideshow.aspx/Why-do-women-live-longer-then-men-Humor-ppt-3512

Quote of The Week 2009年 03月 27日

Reject the self-pity, envy, and discouragement that are so tempting at this time. Look to heaven and be thankful.
- Paul Tripp 「Lost In the Middle」

西洋のポジティブ思考はこういうところにも読み取れます。東洋にはあまりみられないパワフルな西洋の知恵の一つでしょう。

Quote of The Week 2009年 03月 22日

I suppose real old age begins when one looks backward rather than forward.
- May Sarton