Yet again David Kanigan (Lead.Learn.Live) inspires..I reblogged this with an awareness of chills traveling my spine and an unprompted “yes” that escaped from my mouth in the early hours of the morning. Enjoy
It doesn’t interest me if there is one God
or many gods.
I want to know if you belong or feel
abandoned.
If you know despair or can see it in others.
I want to know
if you are prepared to live in the world
with its harsh need
to change you. If you can look back
with firm eyes
saying this is where I stand. I want to know
if you know
how to melt into that fierce heat of living
falling toward
the center of your longing. I want to know
if you are willing
to live, day by day, with the consequence of love
and the bitter
unwanted passion of your sure defeat.
I have heard, in that fierce embrace, even
the gods speak of God.
After a few days away, it’s a little challenging to get back behind the wheel. So, I offer you this – a moment of delight from Lead.Learn.Live (davidkanigan.com). Enjoy!
You who tries tirelessly
to do everything you can to show that you are deserving of love,
worthy to be here in this world,
but always worrying that it is not enough.
You that feels it is what you are able to do that shows your value instead of who you are. This letter is for you.
Because here is the thing –
the day you were born the world sang;
for never before was there anyone like you, magnificent you,
just for being.
So now as you try to fill your days doing things that make you feel valuable the truth is:
your true value is in being the one and only you.
No matter your successes,
your failures,
the way you choose to live your life. You are Enough.
Late (LATE) start. Galileo’s Sun is up. I look up and bask in its warmth. I start my run into a cold headwind. Fingertips tingling. My eyes, fill with water. Like mist on cold air over warm waters. This will clear.
Run by the corner of Noroton and Post Roads. Church Corner. Ascension Episcopal. Noroton Presbyterian. Christ Scientist. Churchgoers are filing in. Man cradling baby in a papoose. Families striding briskly, holding hands with their children. Lady holding kerchief in place from wind gusts. Elderly couple shifts right to let me pass. Community. Peace be with you too.
I usually run too early to see churchgoers. Not today. Guilt washes over me. Eric joined his friends in attending a eulogy yesterday. “Weird,” he described it. “Awkward not having been to church in years.” He lights my fuse using less than 10 words. Jung scolds: “Everything…
Recently, I attended a presentation and the person commented, “The only now we have is this one right here.” I began to use this with students. In the busyness of life, what do I want to remember? If I am present, right here, now, I can see the extraordinary aspects of the world I live in the now. I bring my mind into the room and it joins the shell, my body. William Stafford shared this Zen-like view of the world in this poem.
Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?
Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?
This woman’s talent is astonishing, her passion truly breath-taking. But what moves me the most is her palpable love for the marriage of music and spontaneity. Happy Saturday Morning all..
I hate the word “epic”, but I cannot find a better term to describe Lindsey Stirling and her music. Lindsey is a YouTube sensation who successfully combines the classic violin with modern dance. Yes, she dances while she plays, and she’s unforgettable.
Lindsey has become a huge success over the past few years. She has played on YouTube, America’s Got Talent, at video game convention E3, at arts festivals, and has visited global locations like London, Italy, and Kenya. She made a great video on her Kenya experience. Did I mention that Lindsey composes, choreographs, and directs all of her own music and videos?
AND if you consider yourself an avid gammer you will most likely enjoy her. Gammers are some of Lindsey’s most avid fans. Check out her personal take on video franchise themes The Legend of Zelda and Skyrim.
Once again from davidkanigan.com at Lead.Learn.Live. Happy Valentine’s Day to my husband – who can still make me feel like we have one of the greater love stories never sold.
Ok, if we all can’t go, Andy and I are off for a week to warmer climes. I’ll write from there I’m sure. In the interim, wishing you all a week of happiness, giggles and as few frustrations as possible. More from this Bahamas mama, once I get there.
Russ Towne (russtowne.com) who pens the glorious “A Grateful Man” was prompted by a friend to respond to a question that grabbed my attention. “What do you know for sure?” His responses were pure Russ, written with candor and beauty, simplicity and reflection. And I began asking myself the same question – and would submit that it’s a reasonable query to pose to ourselves from time to time. I will admit that my answers didn’t arrive with the same eloquence or confidence; nor do I know if this represents an all-inclusive list. Nonetheless here goes..
– I know for sure that I still love loving my husband. I also know for sure that he drives me crazy sometimes, while I on the other hand, I never affect him in that way. I know for sure that he is the anchor to my kite and were it not for him I’d probably be getting stuck in the trees like a wayward balloon.
– I know for sure that my adoration of my children knows no bounds and I know for sure that they know it and probably don’t fully get it. I know for sure that parents screw up all the time, and children grow up in spite of us and not because of us. To reflect tremendous self-congratulatory aggrandizement for their successes as fantastic people is folly and a little narcissistic. This is their time. And I am grateful to be along for the ride. Let’s remember that I’m the sap who cries when we say good-bye to each other despite living ten minutes apart.
– I know for sure that at different times in my life I have let disappointment and anger have more power over me than I realized at the time. And the only person who suffered from its toxicity was me.
– I know for sure that my life continues to be enhanced by the people who enter my world – and also those who exit. Some people need to stay for a little while, and that’s ok. Some people will be here forever and that’s a gift. Last I looked, one can’t suffer from having too much love in their life – for however long.
– I know for sure that I’m at a point in my life where I’m wondering what my next contribution will be. I need to listen harder to my heart, for it’s definitely speaking. We don’t spend enough time paying attention to its messages.
– I know for sure that if there hadn’t been a black-out at the Super Bowl last night I wouldn’t have fallen asleep and missed the best part of the game.
– I know for sure that the silence that announces the arrival of snow always makes my eyes fill. It is one of the most peaceful calming sounds in the world.
– I know for sure that I want another puppy (honey are you reading this?).
– I know each day offers me the chance to say ‘Thank You’ – for the ridiculous number of gifts that are in my life. And I also know I don’t say ‘thank you’ enough.
– I know for sure that for all the articles about leadership, for all the seminars I’ve led on management, motivation, employee engagement, etc – none of it means a damn thing if a person loses his/her character. Save the HBR studies for another day – as you shimmy up the food chain, hold tight to your sense of integrity and honor. You will be remembered for little else.
– I know for sure that I can out-happy dance anyone I know. Not because I’m such a good dancer, but because I have lost enough, found enough and love enough to know how to celebrate all of it.
And finally, I know for sure that there is nothing I can be sure of – except this moment in time. And this moment in time – in the quiet soft rhythmic beating of its longing – is perfect.
“Have I lived enough?
Have I loved enough?
Have I considered Right Action enough, have I
come to any conclusion?
Have I experienced happiness with sufficient gratitude?
Have I endured loneliness with grace?
I say this, or perhaps I’m just thinking it.
Actually, I probably think too much.
Then I step out into the garden,
where the gardener, who is said to be a simple man,
is tending his children, the roses.”
Today the Prince returns – victorious from his infamous weeklong battle against the baseball diamond. But for a mild muscle pull here and an inexplicable ache there, he emerges unscathed with the loving attention of the locker room trainers still warming his skin. His feats will soon become the stuff of legend – his remarkable batting and fielding stats, his control of the lands around second base. There is no need for a moat when the Prince is there to protect the kingdom of baseball.
With a visit to see his parents before camp started, it’s been ten days since I’ve seen the Prince – and it’s time for him to come home. I need no proof that I enjoy my own company, no test to see whether or not I can manage. Been there, done that – and it was fine thank you very much. But in order for this house to feel at peace, it needs the Prince. This is where he belongs – whether he’s zoning out playing some game on his iPad or napping on the couch. He needs to be here so I can make him laugh so hard he snorts. So he can dance with me in the kitchen. So he can reach the top of the garage door, because it’s stuck. Because I miss hearing, “Hi doll girl” in the way that only the Prince can say it. I will not go so far to say that I miss hearing his a cappella “King Of The Road” (but thinking about it makes me smile).
And I want him to go back next year if that’s what he wants to do. This annual flight of fantasy gives him feelings of delighted anticipation, and the reality has yet to be less than all he imagined. So go ahead Andy, sign up for 2014 – you are well on your way to being a legend in your own time.
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Waiting for the Karma Truck 