(Tidbits) From 55 Ways to Get More Energy [Zen Habits]

Work with your body’s clock.
 There is a natural ebb and flow of energy throughout the day. We start off sluggish after waking up, even after a solid 8 hours of sleep. Our energy peaks mid-morning, and it’s natural to want a siesta in the afternoon. We get a second spike of energy in the early evening, followed by our lowest energy point just before bedtime. Once you understand this natural rhythm of energy throughout the day, you can work on the important tasks during your peak hours and avoid early afternoon snoozefests (meetings).

Enjoy a cup of tea.
In a recent study, University College London researchers noted that drinking a cup of tea 4-6 time a day reduces stress hormone levels in your body. The study’s results suggest “drinking black tea may speed up our recovery from the daily stresses in life.”

Socialize.
Turn off the Internet and go socialize with friends. Humans are social animals, and we need regular socializing to keep ourselves in peak health and energy.

Nameless Spirit by Gustavo Adolfo Becquer

Nameless spirit,
indefinable essance,
I live with the formless
life of idea.

I swim in the void,
I quiver in the bonfire of teh sun,
I palpitate among the shadows
and I float with the mists.

I am the gold braid
of the distant star;
I am the lukewarm, serene light
of the high moon.

I am the burning cloud
that undulates in the west:
I am the luminous wake
of the wandering star.

A Pine is Standing Lonely by Heinrich Heine

Translated by Hal Draper

A pine is standing lonely

In the North on a bare plateau.

He sleeps; a bright white blanket

Enshrouds him in ice and snow.

He's dreaming of a palm tree

Far away in the Eastern land

Lonely and silently mourning

On a sunburnt rocky strand.

(I totally feel like this pine tree).

For my friends frustrated with our electronic lives

We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.

Marcel Proust

I wish I could find the words written down somewhere.

Not allowed to love?

I'm so frustrated right now. Chelsi told me about meeting with LB and DeanC today, and how they told her that she "can't be in a relationship with a girl or act on her homosexual feelings" while at Union. They also brought her up to the board. I'm assuming she's not the exception, and that this new "ruling" (for lack of a better term) applies to the rest of us queer students.

I feel like I've been respectful of Union and now they are definitely not respecting me back. I've understood decisions and discussions from the past, such as Chelsi and I not touching on campus while we were dating. However, now dictating who we are allowed to love and who we aren't? I'm having a very hard time understanding this.

Although I was already seriously considering transferring to another school, this cemented the decision. Now just to figure out where and what. As I research my options I also need to work out within myself how I'm feeling about these recent developments. I'm very resentful, hurt and upset--not a healthy place to be. Even if I don't agree with their decisions or actions, I need to (but not necessarily want to) understand why they are doing this and how I can eliminate this bitterness.

On one hand, I completely understand that orientation is a tricky subject at an Adventist institute and that they can't condone alternative orientations right now. I'm not Adventist or Christian, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't respect Adventists or Adventism--especially if I'm choosing to be on their campus. However, I feel they have gone much too far. It doesn't feel like weighing needs and publics anymore, instead it feels like discrimination. I don't believe any of the parties involved are doing this out of maliciousness, and they must have thought they had a great reasoning for what they're doing. But that doesn't make it okay. It does mean, however, that I have a lot of work to do with my own emotions and feelings toward Union as an administrative institution.

I wish I was on boulder (safely) overlooking a waterfall. I would scream like a million needled words and feelings were thrusting holes into my soul. Because they are. And I don't even care if that was a cheesy (unintentional) rhyme.

/end rant.