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Posts tagged ‘journal’

Jul 13

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Cherry On Top

“Life does not accommodate you, it shatters you. It is meant to, and it couldn’t do it better. Every seed destroys its container or else there would be no fruition.”
– Florida Scott-Maxwell

Fruition – the satisfaction that comes from completion. The sweet taste of the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae. The new tree was planted about 5 feet from where the 50 year old silver maple was taken down a few months ago. A “baby” sugar maple in its place.

Lots of steps to get to this final touch. A new start from a last step. And 50 years from today, someone will be looking up at the towering sugar maple in appreciation as much as the girls and I celebrate the birth of its beauty and potential today.

May 30

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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

May 28

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Show Up

On Friday, I drove to Appleton, Wisconsin with my sister to watch my nephew’s team play in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship series. I came back on Saturday, but I wanted to show up for one game to support Mark and the team. His Mom, Dad and sister stayed and have been to his games all year long. For years, Mark has shown up for practices and games, not always playing, but showing up and giving his best just the same.

How often do we put our efforts on autopilot, half-hearted, holding back? In relationships, work, faith, play, we can choose to show up, dive in and passionately give all of ourselves, whether we win or lose. And the more we show up, the more we improve and increase our chances of winning.

We all have our reasons of why we merely go through the motions – too busy, stressed out, discouragement from others and ourselves. But the smile on his face when Mark saw his family show up makes a 600 mile car drive in 24 hours all worth it. Show up for your life, no one is going to take your place.

May 20

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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

May 14

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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

May 8

6 Comments

And the Clouds Break

“Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.” – Lord Byron

Every three months for the past two years, we drive to the Mayo Clinic to see if cancer has developed in my Dad’s esophagus. He was diagnosed almost three years ago with stomach cancer and Barrett’s Esophagus. Today, they took a biopsy and now we wait, like we’ve done before. There’s never a conclusion, just a continuation of wait, pray, hope and be grateful for good news every three months. The gift in this reality is that each day becomes a blessing, not to be squandered on the futile.

As we drove home tonight with thoughts racing through my mind, probably the same thoughts others had in the car, I glanced to the left and the sun burst through the dark clouds. And it occurred to me that this is really the essence of life. There are moments of sunshine and moments of clouds, but most days are a mix of both. We can choose to see the sunshine or we can choose to see the clouds. I choose the light.

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” - Rabindranath Tagore

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.” – Rabindranath Tagore

Apr 28

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What If?

When faced with adversity and the inconveniences of life, we can choose between a “What if?” or “Why me?” approach. “What if?” speaks to possibilities and moves us forward. “Why me?” turns us in on ourselves and can paralyze us. While there will be moments in our lives – serious illness, loss of a love one – “Why me?” is a natural and understandable reaction.

In the category of a simple inconveniences, I had a limb from my 50+ year old maple tree fall on the power line at 2:00 am Thursday morning. While outside checking out what happened and talking with my neighbor who heard the crash, my cable box started on fire from the surge of electricity. She ran for the hose, I ran for the fire extinguisher – luckily I got to the fire first (Lesson 1, 2, 3: always use a fire extinguisher on an electrical fire; make sure you actually have a fire extinguisher; stock extra flashlights that you can find and that actually work). I put the fire out before it spread beyond the cable box. The fire department came a few minutes later along with the power company. (Lesson 4: firefighters are good looking, unfortunately I was not at 2:30 am).

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Apr 24

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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

Apr 15

4 Comments

Buds

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anais Nin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of our thoughts, ideas and dreams remain as buds until risk that first step to open them up to the possibilities. We can also cast light on others so their thoughts, ideas and dreams can blossom as well. Imagine the fragrance of life if we nurtured more buds into blossoms.

Apr 10

3 Comments

Simple Math

Life – it’s simple math really. We add or substract. We multiply or divide. What equation will you choose to be today, tomorrow?

A Good Life = + and x.

Do the math. Show your work. Do it right. Repeat.

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