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Vade Mecum
vade mecum —noun something a person carries about for frequent or regular use. a book for ready reference; manual; handbook. Luggage sets come with some large bags and at least one small one to be used as a carry-on. We naturally divide things for a journey. Which items will we need handy? Which are relegated to checked luggage? Understanding our vade mecum can provide insight into what is most important to us. And, what we’re most dependent on. Things we think we can’t live without. Sure, it includes the obvious…wallet, phone, house keys. What else? When you’re packing for a trip, what makes it under the seat in front of you? Is there a…
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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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So Routine
Sometimes ideas that seem good turn out to be…well…less than good. Now before you jump to conclusions, this is a story of my human nature not a tale of tragedy. I had the opportunity to work from home recently. The weather was beautiful. Blue skies, the lingering warmth of summer, and quietly falling leaves. What could be better than sitting in view of my kitchen window to plow through an inbox that had gotten out of hand? No workout that morning because I hadn’t slept well. Since I had no one to impress but the dog, I didn’t shower right away either. After all, my schedule was flexible. By the time I went to gather…
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Deep Roots
“I am Groot.” – Guardians of the Galaxy Walking through our neighborhood this week, my son pointed out a half-moon shape cut out of the edge of the sidewalk. He was curious as to why the sidewalk would be shaped that way. I explained that a large tree had probably grown there, and the force of the roots had buckled the original walk. A new sidewalk had been poured to accommodate the trunk. Like trees, sometimes the most visible parts of us are not our strongest. While leaves play a central role in the growth of a tree, without an established root system, a sapling will fall in a storm. Our…
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What’s In It For Me?
What’s in it for me? or WIIFM is an idea first popularized about a decade ago. From business journals to blogs, marketers were proclaiming the way to win over audiences was by explaining your product, service, or idea in the context of the individual benefit the recipient would experience. Looking at WIIFM from a different perspective, the question can also be a useful tool in personal reflection, self motivation, and drawing meaning from what we do. Instead of asking WIIFM about a future option, we reframe it to evaluate our present circumstances. Asking ourselves why we do what we do can help us connect, or reconnect, with the reasons for our choice. Like a mathematical shortcut,…
