Category Archives: Life lessons

(#430) Reality? Question the Buddha


Everyone talking or interrupting and not much listening. People speaking what they want to hear. Ignoring all else. Continuing my theme from last week’s post… We find inspiration in surprising places if we choose to stop, listen, and reflect.  This … Continue reading

Posted in amplifying, Appreciation, authenticity, collaboration, Communication, Community, community development, consideration, conversation, curiosity, Integrity, Life lessons | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

(#429) Everything Is Up for Revision


Considered evaluation can alter, broaden, and strengthen our belief system. My wife and I recently heard several teens deliver a Sunday message at their church. Their individual messages struck common chords about compassion, acceptance, and communal growth. One of the … Continue reading

Posted in Appreciation, assumptions, authenticity, awareness, focus, generativity, Gratitude, growth, Integrity, Life lessons, resilience | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

(#427) Someone Must be the Grown-Up in the Room


The leader helps us see what is possible, especially when we do not have that vision in our experience. Transformation does not just appear. It requires vision, thought, communication, respect, difficult questioning, and better listening. Transformational leaders help orchestrate that … Continue reading

Posted in action, amplifying, assumptions, awareness, Being REMARKABLE, change management, Civility, coaching, collaboration, Communication, Community, community development, consideration, conversation, Critical Thinking, Integrity, leadership, legacy, Life lessons, resilience, transformational leadership, vulnerability, wellbeing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#426) It’s Easy to be Left Behind


“Aging in place” may describe what the residents were doing but not who they wanted to be. In the mid-1990s,  the Walt Disney Company brought the principles of new urbanism to life when it broke ground on Celebration, Florida. Located … Continue reading

Posted in aging, authenticity, awareness, change, change management, Community, community development, dignity, Life lessons, resilience, social capital | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#424) Connections


“Marriage has no guarantees. If that’s what you’re looking for, go live with a car battery.” – Erma Bombeck – Random thoughts about the power of connections. On those times when we take chances, when we risk stepping outside of … Continue reading

Posted in amplifying, Appreciation, assumptions, authenticity, awareness, Community, Connection-Disconnection, family, fortitude, Friendship, growth, happiness, health, humor, Integrity, Life lessons, listening, love, Reflective practice, Relationship | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#423) Poverty


When communities build walls to separate their people (due to a poverty of understanding or compassion), the lack can seem insurmountable.  “The world tends to define poverty and riches simply in terms of economics. But poverty has many faces—weakness, dependence, … Continue reading

Posted in accountability, action, assumptions, authenticity, awareness, Being REMARKABLE, change, change management, Choice, Civility, collaboration, Critical Thinking, Life lessons, respect, responsibility, risk-taking | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#422) Ask. Listen. Act.


Noise abounds as people tell us what we should and should not. Perhaps we do the same to others. I stood in the back of an auditorium in New Mexico.  In ten minutes, I would be introduced to an audience … Continue reading

Posted in assumptions, awareness, Civility, collaboration, Communication, conversation, faculty development, Life lessons, professional development | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#419) What If It Were All Gone?


We allow ourselves to get overwhelmed by the “stuff” of life. We end up taking a lot for granted. We may even have GDD.   Gratitude Deficit Disorder. This past week I’ve been devouring gratitude. Actually, devouring three works by … Continue reading

Posted in Appreciation, awareness, Choice, Gratitude, growth, Life lessons, love, resilience | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#415) Does the Disturbance Disturb You?


We limit our own growth and spiritual development. “I’ll be really happy if Negative Neil doesn’t come to the party.”  I go to the party. Sure enough, Negative Neil attends. I grouse, complain, and shuffle off to a corner to … Continue reading

Posted in accountability, Anxiety, Appropriate Behavior, assumptions, awareness, blame, change, emotional intelligence, Excuses, Life lessons, meditation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#412) Choices: Where Do You Choose To Be?


Once we choose who we want to be, people grow “to the way in which they have been exercised.” – William James – One of my yoga practices this past week, inspired this blog.  As the instructor coached us into … Continue reading

Posted in assumptions, awareness, Choice, collaboration, collegiality, decision making, empathy, Excuses, Gratitude, Haters, Life lessons, Mindfulness, resilience | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments