Letting Go

Letting go is part of happiness. You may know the Serenity Prayer: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." I thought this graphic was a good expression of one element of that prayer: don't let yourself be a prisoner to things you cannot change.

One of those things you cannot change is... the past.

Procaffinating

It's not procrastinating if you're drinking coffee; it's "procaffinating."

Shakespeare at OU

I really like this graphic promoting the First Folio's visit to OU: Shakespeare's First Folio is coming to OU!

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. 

— William Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well

Bookworm Problems

Bookworm Problems: Buying the sequels even though you've yet to read the first book.

Just Do It Now

When you realize that "I will do it later" equals "I will never do it," you just do it now.

Turning a Bad Day Around

How to Turn a Bad Day Around by Amy Gallo

Here are some bullet points from the article; click the link to read the whole thing!

• Pinpoint the problem
• Take a moment to be grateful
• Take action
• Change your routine
• Reset realistic expectations
• Learn from your bad days to prevent future ones

Do:
Think of three things that you’re grateful for
Consider what you’ve already accomplished even if it’s minor
Reflect on what triggers your bad days and which tactics help to turn them around
Don’t:
Believe that you are a victim of your circumstances—you choose whether to be negative or positive
Hunker down at your desk—change scenery and take a few deep breaths
Set unrealistic expectations for your day

Case study #1: Focus on opportunities not problems

Case study #2: Remember it’s just one day

Only one book away...

A friend shared this at Google+:

You're only one book away from a good mood.

The paradox of presence

The paradox of presence in the modern age: what are we paying attention to...?

Im in ur Narnia

Here's a literary LOLCat ... people who loved the Narnia books will appreciate this one!

Stress v. Passion

Working hard for something we don't care about is called STRESS. Working hard for something we love is called PASSION.

MLK: Darkness and Light

I thought this was a beautiful graphic that someone made in response to the Paris attacks in 2015, using the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Saving Time

Adapted from this quote by Michael Ende in his brilliant novel Momo:

“People never seemed to notice that, by saving time, they were losing something else. No one cared to admit that life was becoming ever poorer, bleaker and more monotonous. The ones who felt this most keenly were the children, because no one had time for them any more. But time is life itself, and life resides in the human heart. And the more people saved, the less they had.”

Reading on Christmas Eve

What a lovely tradition!

In Iceland, books are exchanged on Christmas Eve, and you spend the rest of the night READING. People generally take their books to bed along with some chocolate. How cozy and wonderful does that sound? Iceland publishes MORE BOOKS per capita than any other country, and new books are typically published only during the Christmas season. The frenzy is called Jolabokaflod, which means Christmas Book Flood.

Reading for Escape

Reading can be a great form of escape: Today I will live in the moment unless it is unpleasant in which case I will read a book.

English makes us procrastinate...

I thought this was a great meme for the procrastination files:

Don Quixote Reading

I got the idea for this from Bibliophilia at Twitter.  The painting is by Adolf Schrodter Schwedt, "Don Quixote Seated in an Armchair."

Hasta la muerte todo es vida.

Until death it is all life. 

— Cervantes 

Sponge Bob: Procrastination

An animated gif for the Procrastination Humor files. :-)

Procrastination: Older and Wiser

Because we all procrastinate, that means we all need some procrastination humor! :-)

Procrastinator? No, I just wait until the last second to do my work because I will be older, therefore wiser.

H.E.A.R.T. Videos Widget

I've made a randomizing widget for my H.E.A.R.T. Playlist at YouTube:

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I made these widgets with Randy Hoyt's wonderful RotateContent.com.

The widget is designed to be 400 pixels wide:

<script type="text/javascript"> var display = "random" </script><script type="text/javascript" src="https://widgets.lauragibbs.net/videos/heart.js"></script>

There is also an iframe version that you can use in Canvas or similar environment that does not allow direct use of javascripts; you can adjust the height variable as needed:

<iframe src="https://widgets.lauragibbs.net/canvas/videosheart.html" width="450" height="400"></iframe>

Readers Around the World

The United States does not come out so well on this measure, the numbers for India are very high! I found this map via Amazing Maps at Twitter. Click on the image for a larger view:

Hours reading per week per person

1. India — 10 hours, 42 minutes
2. Thailand — 9:24
3. China — 8:00
4. Philippines — 7:36
5. Egypt — 7:30
6. Czech Republic — 7:24
7. Russia — 7:06
8. Sweden — 6:54
8. France — 6:54
10. Hungary — 6:48
10. Saudi Arabia — 6:48
12. Hong Kong — 6:42
13. Poland — 6:30
14. Venezuela — 6:24
15. South Africa — 6:18
15. Australia — 6:18
17. Indonesia — 6:00
18. Argentina — 5:54
18. Turkey — 5:54
20. Spain — 5:48
20. Canada — 5:48
22. Germany — 5:42
22. USA — 5:42
24. Italy — 5:36
25. Mexico — 5:30
26. U.K. — 5:18
27. Brazil — 5:12
28. Taiwan — 5:00
29. Japan — 4:06
30. Korea — 3:06