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Posts from the ‘Relationships’ Category

Be Prepared

“Don’t waste life in doubts and fears; spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour’s duties will be the best preparation for the hours and ages that will follow it.” –  Ralph Waldo Emerson

About six weeks ago I wrote about the tree limb falling in the middle of the night, leaving my backyard a “blank canvas” when my 60 year old tree had to be cut down. Well, the mourning from the tree funeral is over and this week I am preparing to paint the “blank canvas.”

So the first “paint brushes” swept the canvas tonight. My nephew Mark and brother John figured out how the rear drive rototiller worked (without losing a limb). The hardware store staff where I rented it didn’t quite know how to operate it since it was a new model (made in Italy, of course, great art). My niece Jenna helped yesterday with the weeds and moving mulch and my other niece Emily cut the grass.

Next steps of preparation to fruition – topsoil gets delivered tomorrow afternoon, sod on Friday and new tree hunting on Saturday. So, a new beginning blooming from preparation, planning, hard work and a wonderful family willing to be paint brushes with me.

“Character is what emerges from all the little things you were too busy to do yesterday, but did anyway,” - Mignon McLaughlin

“Character is what emerges from all the little things you were too busy to do yesterday, but did anyway,” – Mignon McLaughlin

Learn and Forget

“You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy. So let them go, let go of them. I tie no weights to my ankles.” ― C. JoyBell C.

Much of our learning happens through difficulty. Learn the lesson and forget the pain. Invest your time and attention in what you can impact and let the noise of what you can’t impact fade to the background. We carry the past, the future and others’ baggage. Carry yourself lightly through the present moment.

Notice

“I see you.” I say that when I’m running with Lily and Molly when they look up to make sure that I am paying attention to them. A simple acknowledgement to let them know that I notice them. We all long to be “seen” and acknowledged, to not be invisible.

We get trapped in our own world and feelings, missing opportunities to encourage others. And when we get outside of ourselves and offer the gift of acknowledgement, our perspective on our world changes.

Take notice each day. A simple and profound gift to others and yourself.

What are you going to do different?

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.” – Cecil Beaton.

We try to own so many things that aren’t ours to own – other people’s problems, thoughts, ideas, attitudes. The only thing we truly own is our attitude, actions, reactions, outlook, thoughts – our life and what we do with it.

What will you do differently today, tomorrow, this week to make your life better? – run your first mile, read a new book, pray your first prayer, call an old friend. We spend too much time trying to own what’s out of our control, ignoring what’s ours right in front of us.

It takes one step to move us out of complacency, to move us forward. Do something, anything, different.

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein

Give

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” – Albert Pike

Our lives will be measured by what we’ve given. As we our surrounded by entitlement, fairness and me first, think about what we can give – time, attention, compassion, love. So as Summer officially kicks off with Memorial Weekend, think of and honor those who have given so much for others, giving without counting.

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” – Buddha

Laugh, A Lot

“At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.” – Jean Huiston

At Ease

“Ours is a time of anxiety because we have willed it to be so. Our anxiety is not imposed on us by force from outside. We impose it on our world and upon one another from within ourselves.” – Thomas Merton

We’re “connected” at all times – texting, email, cell phone … Technology is a major part of what I do in my career everyday, but it’s not a replacement for relationships and reflection. Take time each day to unplug by yourself and to reconnect with others one on one – face to face, not only Facebook to Facebook.

And don’t just buy the hammock and adirondack chairs for decoration. Put them to good use for regular restoration. At ease … that’s an order.

"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why." - Eddie Cantor

“Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.” – Eddie Cantor

Wellspring

“Happiness is not in our circumstance but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.” – John B. Sheerin

“Friendship, love, health, energy, enthusiasm, and joy are the things that make life worth living and exploring.” - Denise Austin

“Friendship, love, health, energy, enthusiasm, and joy are the things that make life worth living and exploring.” – Denise Austin

“The secret is this. You make your own happiness.” - Harold Klemp

“The secret is this. You make your own happiness.” – Harold Klemp

Be a wellspring of encouragement, enthusiasm and excitement. Our days can feel like a desert, leaving us thirsty and dry. We can be an oasis. Our happiness and contentment is mulitpied by giving ourselves to others in simple yet meaningful ways. The world is starving for recognition, acknowledgement and “likes.” Say a kind word (or many), smile (alot) and shine (everyday).

Praise

“Praise is like sunlight to the human spirit: we cannot flower and grow without it.” –  Jess Lair

Be grateful for the many gifts that we don’t see because we are too busy chasing the next “thing.” See the wonderment in each day and express appreciation to those right in front of you. It’s so simple and often too rare. Start today and repeat again and again and see what it does to your world.

“Wonder is involuntary praise.” - Edward Young

“Wonder is involuntary praise.” – Edward Young

Let Your Puppy Out

“The ability to retain a child’s view of the world with at the same time a mature understanding of what it means to retain it, is extremely rare – and a person who has these qualities is likely to be able to contribute something really important to our thinking.” – Mortimer Jerome Adler

It’s inside all of us – that enthusiasm of childhood (puppyhood for some of our friends). Rediscover the simple joy and awe of youth and carry it with you no matter what your age. Let your “puppy attitude” out to play in the world. Be a gift.

“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.” - Tom Stoppard

“If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older.” - Tom Stoppard

"All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, this is when I became myself." - Rita Dove

"All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, this is when I became myself." - Rita Dove

“To a young heart everything is fun.” - Charles Dickens

“To a young heart everything is fun.” - Charles Dickens