Sometimes it is small and just barely there. Sometimes it grows out of nothing into something. Sometimes it’s in the middle of the path. Sometimes we notice it and sometimes we don’t. Life is always there, it is always happening. It is among the greatest disciplines we can practice, that of expecting to encounter lifeContinue reading “Life is always there”
Tag Archives: presence
This is it
Every day – and I mean every day – I spend some time thinking about and feeling the emotions related to the following: Some event or person in my past that hurt me or that I perceive as having hurt me. Concern/anxiety about the future. Will there be enough? Will I be able to provide? WillContinue reading “This is it”
Must be present to win
The longer I think about it, practice it and teach it, my philosophy of effective leadership gets simpler and simpler. A deep commitment to self-awareness, a wholehearted approach to relationships, a lifelong pursuit of learning; these are all hallmarks of great leaders. And none of that matters if the leader isn’t present in the firstContinue reading “Must be present to win”
Poem for a Sunday Morning
You are you and I am me. To be that – just that – as fully as possible, is what we are here for. Do that, then. As will I. As Kingfishers Catch Fire {Gerard Manley Hopkins} As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame; As tumbled over rim in roundy wells Stones ring; like eachContinue reading “Poem for a Sunday Morning”
Invitation
The way I’d like to go on living in this world wouldn’t hurt anything, I’d just go on walking uphill and downhill, looking around, and so what if half the time I don’t know what for — {Mary Oliver, excerpt from “1945-1985: Poem for the Anniversary” from Dream Work} Maybe today a little more wandering, a little less doing.Continue reading “Invitation”
Poem for a Sunday Morning
TICKET This is the ticket I failed to spend. It is still in my pocket at the fair’s end. It is not only suffering or grief or even boredom of which we are offered more than enough. {from Say Uncle, by Kay Ryan} For as simple as it is, this poem packs a punch. It’s a punchContinue reading “Poem for a Sunday Morning”
The Afterglow
There’s always a day after the big event or celebration. That day usually includes a heavy dose of afterglow; what we did, how we did it, what it meant, what we think. That day can also be thought of as “today,” with a heavy dose of right now; what we will do, how and why.Continue reading “The Afterglow”
Just Because
When the highlight of your family outing is a full-group admiration of the mesmerizing qualities of large floating bubbles; and when that admiration turns into a spontaneous chase to capture, propel and pop those bubbles, all the while encouraging their maker to make another good batch, you remember the genius of children who don’t thinkContinue reading “Just Because”
On Solid Ground
My friend and thought partner, Molly Davis, published a great piece on Monday in which she talks about the earth beneath our feet as the best source material we could ask for to live lives of hopeful expectation. She writes: “That sense of the solid ground upon which to stand is the place from which weContinue reading “On Solid Ground”
Consolation
I keep a book by the bedside called “The Way It Is: New and Collected Poems” by William Stafford. I pick it up when I want to feel more grounded. I pick it up when I need the consolation of plainspoken sensibility. More often than not that consolation comes from a return visit to thisContinue reading “Consolation”
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