Apr 6
Dinner with friends
Washing their feet to model service and love
The Garden
Betrayed by a kiss
Denied three times by His best friend
Alienation, rejection, desertion
Beaten
Mocked
Spat on
The Cross
Excrutiating, indescribable, painful, slow death
In our struggles, crosses, pain, we are never alone. Never.
Apr 4
We often let our first impression block us from going deeper. We can miss out on wonderful people and places if we rely on only one encounter. Our experiences and memories shape our world and can also limit our perspective if we are not open to second and even third impressions to give us a more accurate view.
First impressions of others or that others have of you can be based on merely one signal that is sent while we are preoccupied, tired or upset about something completely unrelated to the situation. Don’t miss out on new discoveries of people and place – give a second or third look to find the treasure.
“See the land, her Easter keeping, Rises as her Maker rose. Seeds, so long in darkness sleeping, Burst at last from winter snows. Earth with heaven above rejoices…” – Charles Kingsley
“The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” —Harriet Ann Jacobs
Mar 29
The fact that I am writing a blog regularly is amazing. I am a pretty private person, your classic introvert. In my career, I have learned to speak up more to have a voice, but deep down I am an introvert to the core.
I also don’t write much about my family to respect their right to privacy. So I am going to break my rule a bit. I adore my parents. They are my best friends and do so many “little” things that are so BIG to me. They take care of the dogs when I travel, check on them when I have a long day or even when I don’t.
Mar 27
There’s comfort in routine. While it can add stability and ground us, routine can also stall and numb our senses. Be spontaneous regularly – I can’t say when or where because that wouldn’t be spontaneous now would it. Try something new – in small, medium and large ways.
A simple shift now and then to keep your days fresh and you feeling refreshed. Be curious, dance without music (alone might be a good idea), try a different restaurant, skip through the office, play hopscotch in the parking lot, take a last minute trip (Vegas a few weeks ago with my parents and brother), start a new hobby (friends started winemaking) or fly a kite (saw that on our run today). Lily highly recommends putting your head out the window to feel the exhilaration of the wind in your face. And while you can be spontaneous by yourself, it’s fun to bring someone along for the ride, break out of the routine and to see the world in a new light.
Lily enjoying a little breeze in her face outside the car window.
Mar 25
“All greatness of character is dependent on individuality. The man who has no other existence than that which he partakes in common with all around him, will never have any other than an existence of mediocrity.” – James F. Cooper
With multiple and competing priorities of daily life, it’s easy to fall into “good enough” syndrome to just get by. We are surrounded by it – at work, our options of programs on 300 cable channels, in the service we receive at the mall. And the “good enough” crowd has a membership recruitment campaign going to get you to join. Don’t. Fight it with all of your strength. We own our feelings, beliefs and attitudes and get to choose our way.
Be the opposite of the status quo. Stop striving for “fairness” or trying to figure out why people accept less than their potential. You don’t own that – they do. Ignite your best, do it with fury and draw the most out of every single day. Be proactive, positive and passionate about what you do, who you spend time with and how you live your life. I can get excited about that. As for the “good enough” crowd, they have plenty on their team.
Mar 23
Mar 12
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
“I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so studily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to it’s lowest terms…”
“The indescribable innocence and beneficence of nature – of sun and wind and rain, of summer and winter – such health, such cheer, they afford forever!”
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Mar 5
“Softly the evening came.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Coming off of a very intense three weeks, someone asked me “what keeps you up at night?” Years ago, my mind would have lept immediately to work – the drama, the politics, the what happens if someone does this or says that. This time it didn’t.
What keeps me up at night? My parents health, my nieces’ and nephew’s future, friends struggling with challenges. Am I enjoying each day surrounded by people who make my life more complete? These are the thoughts and questions that keep me up at night. And once a in a while, work jumps in there.
Perhaps the more important question is, “What keeps you moving through your day?” I don’t need anymore sleepless nights – I’ve already contributed many through the years. I need days where I am very awake to what is right in front of me with gratitude. And as the evening comes softly to rest easy, content with my contribution to the day.
Feb 24
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” – Dr. Seuss
Play, fun and frolic until you’re worn out. A toy, a new hobby, a different path. We take so much so seriously. So much is serious. Remember to find the joy in simple every day moments that are in full view to the keen eye.
"Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do." - Mark Twain
“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” - Frederick Keonig
