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The Sky in the Morning
It’s been said that we see what we look for. And, it’s true. For example, when you decide you want a new Jeep, it seems that only Wranglers and Rubicons fill the roads… Another way to think of this adage is that we see what we attend to. Considering the degree to which our thoughts inform our perceptions, becoming intentionally attentive is powerful. And yet, to be deeply attentive is not easy in a world of distraction. Giving our attention to one thing necessarily limits our ability to attend fully to another. Like the fallacy of multi-tasking, we simply cannot focus totally on two things at once. Even the way we talk about it, paying attention, reinforces the idea that being attentive comes…
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Just Like Ogres
“For your information, there’s a lot more to ogres than people think… Onions have layers. Ogres have layers… You get it? We both have layers.” –Shrek (Shrek) They say we shouldn’t make something of nothing. Attributing significance to something that doesn’t warrant it…the proverbial mountain of the mole hill. I was recently reminded of the less-often-referenced flipside of the coin…making nothing of something. Like a tourist deliberately composing a picture to distort relative size, we like to pretend we can hold the Eiffel Tower in the palm of our hand. If something of nothing is living in exaggeration, then the converse is living in denial. From either seat, we’re not seeing our lives accurately. Not…
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Look, There I Am Again
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” –C.S. Lewis I recently got to spend quality time with an old friend. Close when we were in college, we have been out of touch in the interval since. As we shared memories, she recounted something that had happened between us years ago. I was surprised at the similarity in my emotional reaction to events that occurred then as compared to those in my life today. My unthinking responses were consistent. I recognized the familiar internal narrative. Was it possible that remnants of the beliefs that drove my bus in my twenties linger still? Yup.…
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A Year in a Word
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Whether you were Snapchatting at midnight from Times Square or at home stacking zzz’s, 2016 came to a close this weekend. Without question, this past year was one for the books–heartbreaking, unpredictable, and miraculous at turns. Trying to describe the year in just a few words is difficult. Fortunately or wistfully, the calendar has turned for all of us. Instead of looking backwards, we turn our attention to the future. While there is no way to fully anticipate what this next year will bring to our doorsteps, we can make a decision right now about how we will respond each day that it arrives. As always, we can choose…
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Contribution vs. Investment
There is an oft told fable about a chicken and a pig discussing a meal of ham and eggs. Full of ideas about the future, the chicken suggests they should open a restaurant together. The pig considers the idea with less enthusiasm and points out to the hen that, while she would be involved in the effort to purvey ham and eggs, the pig would be committed. This story is generally used to illustrate the differing levels of commitment people can have to a situation often with the intent of securing deeper commitment from the audience to a particular cause. However, in the context of a discussion about peace of mind, it becomes a cautionary tale. Involved vs.…
