Beauty of marriage

Some beautiful thoughts on marriage . . . . .

Men and women are made for each other not only physically, but also emotionally, sexually, and psychologically. Marriage depends upon sexual difference. The union and communion that marriage calls for, which are entered into by the vows, necessarily depend on the union of one man and one woman.

Kate Winslet still believes in the “beauty” of marriage.

The 36-year-old actress — who was married to Jim Threapleton from 1998 to 2001 and director Sam Mendes for seven years from May 2003 — admits commitment can be tough but she still wants to be with someone for the rest of her life.

“I still believe in the beauty of committing yourself to another person and, at least, in the idea of marriage as an expression of that commitment,” he said.

“Living with someone will always be a challenge, but you hope to be able to find someone whom you can spend the rest of your days.”

Daniel

Defining beauty

It is difficult to define beauty . . .

When a person declares what is beautiful for him or her, they reveal whom they love and how they love, and what they love to do.

Beauty reveals itself over time in relationship. The people you love are beautiful to you. Their beauty comes from their liveliness and authentic sweetness, their intention to live lives that make some sense the spirited coherence of being who they are.

When we are most alive, we are beautiful. When we are in love, we are reminded that we are beautiful. In addition, sometimes when we know we are beautiful, we find ourselves in love. "In love" usually means the romantic sense of being with one other person who in that moment we feel reflects us perfectly. In love, living in the field of love.

"Love is blind," we say, but perhaps it is more accurate to say love sees with different eyes. Love sees beyond the surface. Love opens the door for beauty. When we see with the eye, we develop the ability to refine, to judge, to discriminate. When we see with the heart, we expand the view of what it is to be human, see the common dream, see the wisdom of friends and neighbors, and see there is no separation between that which is most beautiful and the everyday world. The eye of the heart sees with a wholeness that allows imperfections and idiosyncrasies to coexist with beauty. The eye of the heart knows surface and depth are not opposites.

Beauty is a process, a revelation, not a finished state.

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Take a break from stress and relax

Stress getting the upper hand? Say no, and take control. Here are some every day tips:

©      Water has been used as a stress reliever for centuries. Go for a swim, sit in a sauna or relax in a Jacuzzi. Twice a month, soak your body in a hot bath to which you've added a cup of sea salt and a cup of bicarbonate of soda. It will relax your muscles and make you drowsy, helping you have a good night's rest and ensuring you wake up feeling refreshed and energized.

©      Exercise releases endorphins (feel-good hormones) and also burns off excess energy, which would otherwise make you feel grumpy or irritable:

• If your body is feeling tired and stiff, lie on your back on a firm, flat surface with your feet slightly apart and your hands at your sides. Relax your arms and turn your palms upwards, with your fingers slightly bent. Lie in this position for 10 to 20 minutes while concentrating on your breathing. Before getting up, turn onto your left side and place your left arm underneath your head. Lie like this for at least two minutes before pushing yourself up with your right hand.

• Lie on your stomach with your legs slightly apart. Put your hands on top of each other, with the palms facing down and turn your head to the side so that your cheek is resting on top of your hands. Close your eyes and breathe rhythmically through your nose. This exercise is especially effective for calming you down after you've had a fight with someone.

• Sit with your feet shoulder-width apart. Rest your palms on your thighs. Close your eyes. Spend five minutes passively listening to sounds in the distance, until you feel relaxed. You can do this behind your desk or in a parked car. Try it after struggling through traffic on your way to an important meeting or after a disagreement with a colleague.

©      Lie on your back in bed. Close your eyes and place your hands in a comfortable position behind your head. Press your thumbs into your ears to shut out the external noise. You will hear a sound rushing through your head – that's completely normal. Listen to it for 10 to 15 minutes, then bring your arms down to your sides, relax and go to sleep.

©      It is a proven fact f that vitamin C helps us to relax and lessens our stress levels. You can bolster your levels of vitamin C naturally by eating lots of citrus, strawberries, broccoli, guavas, spanspek, green pepper and tomatoes.

©      Laugh your stress away. When you laugh, feel-good hormones are released that inhibit levels of the harmful stress hormone cortisol, and bolster your immunity.

©      Some types of music, especially baroque music, calm you down by slowing your brain waves. Try listening to music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi (especially The Four Seasons) or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when you're feeling stressed.

Source: Ideas

Tips to strengthen your relationships with people

Here are valuable tips you can take to help you strengthen your relationships with people:

Be sensitive to other people's feelings - empathy is definitely not overrated. Knowing when you're stepping on someone's toes, or when a friend is "not in the mood" will keep you from the dreaded foot-in-mouth disease.

Keep an open mind - no one likes shallow, narrow minded people. Keeping an open mind is a great way to actually turn a potentially troublesome argument into a more productive and even fun debate.

Listen more than talk - it's a sad but true fact that most people have the tendency to run off at the mouth. By listening more than talking, you become both more receptive to other people's opinions and ideas, and give yourself more time to formulate appropriate responses.

Have a sense of humor - if you can make people laugh it goes a long way towards smoothing over relationships with them. If you can even manage the rather rare task of laughing at yourself, it shows a self-deprecating sense of humor that shows people you aren't taking yourself too seriously. You don't need to be a comedian, just know how to laugh and how to make people laugh and have fun.

Treat everyone with respect - most people have this preconceived notion that respect must be earned. 

Respect, rather, should be freely given to others, no matter their point of view and standing, and only retracted when people do something that goes directly and irrevocably against your own personal view of what is right.

You are not the centre of the universe - a self-centred point of view is asking for trouble. The world does not revolve around you, and if you act like it does, then people will most likely leave you to your own little world where you can happily be by yourself.

It's not what you say it's how you say it - learn to say things in a diplomatic fashion. Knowing HOW to present something is important because people will be more apt to listen to you than if you say something in a fashion that they either cannot comprehend or reject outright because your manner of speaking offends them.

Be a fire hydrant, not a flamethrower - in social interactions, it's all too easy to be a gossip or to take sides in an argument and fanning the flames. Just remember that OTHER people want the same things you do, and you can work WITH them to help each other achieve your goals.

Patience is the key - If you think that the above tips will make you deal with people better overnight, you're dead wrong. And even then you'll need to keep learning and adjusting, because every day will bring new people into your life, with new points of view, new ideas, and new attitudes.

Tips to boost your self-image

Never let how others think, talk or what they do, It is only you who can define how you choose to love and accept who you are; ignore what other people think or talk about you. Be true to yourself and trust in your own beauty and uniqueness. Spend less time worrying about how another perceives you.

The expectation created by the Media on the beauty and sexiness of a woman is nothing more than a learned behaviour. Throw out all of those so called beauty magazines. Why continue to fall into the Media’s traps of their view on what beauty is.

 Food is not the enemy. The enemy is you allowing the perceptions of others on what healthy or not healthy food are, to dictate to you – you must decide for yourself what to eat and what not to eat.

A positive self-image is vital to our own reflection, as we will never be able to see ourselves through another person’s eyes, only our own.

 The first thing to do in the morning when you wake up is to have a nice stretch – you will feel immensely good. After a good stretch, say to yourself: “I am UNIQUE, I am SPECIAL, and I am STRONG!

Take a long look at yourself in the mirror, the first thing you will see is the imperfections. Do not worry, just keep looking and after a while those imperfections will slowly become a familiar beauty.

Go through your wardrobe and replace all of those way too tight pants and low rise jeans for a style that your body type looks best in.

Embrace your age. Remember it is aging that allows you to continue to grow and experience life.

Spend less time reading negative articles and more time reading positive information that will make you feel good about you.

Get rid of as much stress as you can. You will be surprised at how much better and how much easier it becomes when you remove one stressful thing a day!

Make time for forty winks during the day.  Resting your mind and body is essential in gaining strength to carry you throughout life’s daily challenges.

Make time for exercising.  Feel that adrenaline rush like it fresh water running down your body, draining all the stress.

Take a long bath; it will make you feel more renewed.

Take up meditation. Meditation is a whole new world and a very effective relaxation strategy. You will be able to cleanse the mind through learning relaxation techniques as well as the stress levels.

Make time for reading. Reading is where the mind can subconsciously be freed from the realities that stress us out.

Take a few minutes to pat yourself on your back for the good things that you accomplished today.

Work on balancing all of your emotions. Try to feel more positive than negative about the small stuff.

Be your best friend. You are responsible for your own happiness.

Smile and be you, a very unique you, a very special you.

If you can feel the sunshine and the rain on your face, the wind blow through your hair, you are alive! So live.

Remember that only through your failures can you find success.

When you compare yourself with another, you are in-fact abusing yourself by destructing your own self-worth and self-esteem!

To envy another is a symptom of low self-esteem and solely disrespects your own uniqueness. Envy no one but yourself.

You are what you think you are. How you are thinking right now will determine the outcome of the rest of your day, so think POSITIVE.

Be that beautiful, vibrant woman – you are special, you are truly WOMAN!