The Origin Poem This second origins exercise (as mentioned in my previous post on Cultural Bio) — a fill-in-the-blanks worksheet — took far longer to complete and required that I decide which memories really define me. ‘twas a mostly positive and joyful exercise. I’ve uploaded instructions here if you’d like to try it (Word file) … Read more
Who Are You, Really? First things first, so you stop wondering. Yes, the handsome lad on the left is me, age 7. My mom had to deal with eight kids, and I was NOT an easy child to raise. I’m pretty sure the only reason she did not act on her threat (“I swear I’m … Read more
IT’S NOT JUST YOU – IT’S ALL OF US! This blog is being published on Day 404 of the Pandemic. Yes, a year and six weeks since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global celebration of all things Virus, introducing us to a whole new vocabulary like, WFH, virtual socials (what used to be … Read more
ACT HAPPY WEEK, DAY 1: WHERE ARE YOU NOW? I’m always excited about the third week of March. Act Happy Week has been a thing since 2004, embracing International Day of Happiness on March 20. We SOOO need Act Happy Week this year, so I hope you’ll join me. Every day this week I will offer you a new tool … Read more
This post continues the sharing of lessons learned from a dumpster fire of a year… that despite obstacles and tragedy, still offered learning and opportunity. On Your Inner Life You can live well AND slower. Many of you reconnected with Patience, Silence, Stillness, and Sleep. “I can slow down and still get everything done. I don’t … Read more
Lessons Learned from a Pandemic Year As we wrapped 2020 I asked members of my tribe to reflect–in a positive way–on what you learned from the “dumpster fire” that was 2020. I continue to ask that question in every meeting and talk I attend. And what rich sharing it has been! While media headlines have … Read more
ARE YOU AN OPTIMIST OR A PESSIMIST? It is said that an eastern monarch once charged his wisemen to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and all situations. They presented him with the words: “and this, too, shall pass away. “How … Read more
Muck [muhk], noun, moist farmyard dung, decaying vegetable matter, etc.; manure; a highly organic, dark or black soil; mire; mud. From 1200–50; Middle English muc, muk <<Old Norse myki cow dung Say WHAT?? When we moved to a new home in 2016, we inherited a large, reed-infested marshy pond that had been neglected for 30 years. We mostly avoided … Read more
Stress is Mostly Self-Created Happiness Principle** #7 says, Choose to Respond: What happens is going to happen, regardless. Accept constant, discontinuous change as reality and instead of reacting, respond with curiosity. Wow, when I created these principles, I had no idea how useful they’d be 17 years later during a pandemic! Let’s take a moment to … Read more
The experience of COVID19 Lockdown is as varied as the people who’ve had to live through it – which means there are several billion stories. Yet we are forming a global memory of a universal challenge. One dimension of that shared experience is, in my observation, a deeper appreciation for the broad range of human … Read more