A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.
— Joseph Joubert
Where I grew up, a good old fashioned Catholic wake was the norm. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the tradition, a wake usually consisted of the presence of the casket in a viewing room; a kneeler in front of the casket so prayers could be said, a short conversation of condolence with family members and a Rosary led by a priest. If the person hadn’t died in an awful accident leaving them unfit to be seen, the casket was open.
I’m sure that this tradition probably evolved from the older tradition of Continue reading » Healing Kindness
Feel the wobble? Is something important about to topple?
I think God’s going to come down and pull civilization over for speeding.
— Steven Wright
Sometimes we overdo. Sometimes we have too many plates spinning, too many demands stuffed into too little time and, the next thing we know, we’ve slipped into mindless busyness and something important is on the verge of toppling. Maybe we got into the swing of something, doing and doing until we lapsed into a workaholic-trance. Maybe the abyss of our To-Do-List’s administrivia kept us working, working working. Perhaps deadlines loomed large… Or, perhaps we actually fell under the thrall of an awesome condition known as Flow:
Flow is being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz.
— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
But, regardless of what’s brought us to this brink, we owe it to ourselves to intervene before something important takes a topple! Continue reading » Life Lessons 101: Topple Proofing
To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping.
— Chinese Proverb
Today is the one year anniversary of my “new job.” I’m amazed at how much this experience has changed me.
I have developed and delivered training for about 15 years. Although one can always learn, most projects I’ve been involved with don’t really stretch me. Yes, I have to learn about the topic I’m working on, but because I’m very good at learning new businesses and the software systems that run that specific business, it’s usually a joyful and fun experience. Learning new businesses is something I Continue reading » Persistently Stubborn
Do you remember a time when you felt “bulletproof”?
Superman was impervious, and Wonder Woman had those awesome bracelets, but the average person (or superhero) needs to find a realistic way to avoid those small but potentially deadly projectiles. The first – and best – course of action is obviously to just avoid getting shot at in the first place. Barring that option, however, the next best thing to do is to duck, dodge, or otherwise evade the bullets that life will inevitably throw at you.
— Aaron Potts
Sometimes it’s really difficult to summon up the gumption to forge ahead with goals which, in morning’s light seemed achievable, but which now, after a frustrating day of stumbling effort, suddenly seem impossible to achieve. That’s when I have to dig deep… and, in the words of Corey Adler Leidersdorff, “Go back to the time when everything was possible… remember when you were bulletproof, when the world was full of promise.”
Surprisingly, I do remember feeling bulletproof – surely that sense of invincibility was an illusion. Yet it carried me ’round sharp corners and through tight spaces. Call it chutzpah or call it naiveté – whatever it was, it pulled me through before I had a chance to get discouraged.
Your success and happiness lie in you. Resolve to keep happy and your joy shall form an invincible host against difficulties.
— Helen Keller
Not so this day. This day started in a burst of arrogance and high spirits – Continue reading » Dodging Bullets
Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.
— James Cash Penney (JC PENNEY)
It’s only the middle of January and already it’s been a challenging year. Within my small group of friends and coworkers, there have been three deaths in our families and two major automobile accidents. Today, the Ladies of Literature had their annual meeting to toast the new year and pick our books for 2012. One of our members said that 2012 had to get better from here. Another member predicted that we just might look back on 2011 as a really good year once we saw what Continue reading » Together We Can Do More
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