"Free hands were made to free tied hands.
Tied hands were made to put free hands to good use."
The opportunity to serve others is as much a gift for the one doing the serving as it is for the one receiving the service. The song says "for it is in giving that we receive." I have found this to be true in my own life and in the lives of others I know. Such a simple formula for finding happiness and satisfaction.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Loneliness/Connection
I just read a wonderful line from a David Whyte poem:
All those years
forgetting
how easily
you can belong
to everything
simply by listening.
I wonder if we are losing the art of listening. We long so much for connection with other human beings and mistakenly believe that if others are listening to us, that it will help us feel connected with them. Many human beings go out of their way for attention from others, some in very destructive ways. Some of us simply become disconnected with others because we are burried in our own lives and have forgotten to look outward. We are too busy "speaking" to "listen" to all that is around us.
In reality it is through listening that we gain a feeling of connection with others--and not just listening to words. We can "listen" to others with all of our senses, and with our hearts. As we grow in genuine, loving curiousity toward others and toward the world around us, it will deepen our sense of connection. It is not being alone that makes us lonely, it is lack of connection with the people and the world around us--with it's beauty, mystery, and it's constant changing. We can achieve a sense of connection any time we want to by simply stopping and listening.
All those years
forgetting
how easily
you can belong
to everything
simply by listening.
I wonder if we are losing the art of listening. We long so much for connection with other human beings and mistakenly believe that if others are listening to us, that it will help us feel connected with them. Many human beings go out of their way for attention from others, some in very destructive ways. Some of us simply become disconnected with others because we are burried in our own lives and have forgotten to look outward. We are too busy "speaking" to "listen" to all that is around us.
In reality it is through listening that we gain a feeling of connection with others--and not just listening to words. We can "listen" to others with all of our senses, and with our hearts. As we grow in genuine, loving curiousity toward others and toward the world around us, it will deepen our sense of connection. It is not being alone that makes us lonely, it is lack of connection with the people and the world around us--with it's beauty, mystery, and it's constant changing. We can achieve a sense of connection any time we want to by simply stopping and listening.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Allentown
On Friday in the 8th-grade career classes at my school, we listened to the song "Allentown" by Billy Joel. (Fabulous song, by the way. Listen to it, or at least look up the lyrics.) We got into a discussion about whether or not the American Dream actually exists. Some people thought yes, some no, some said sometimes.
I think that it does, but that it's a lot harder than most people think. I also don't think it's all that simple. Like, a person kind of has to know how to make the American Dream happen--the rules of the "game" so to speak. People who have it easy tend to think it is easier than it really is for others. It's hard to see life through the eyes of another person. I think we tend to judge people who are poor or homeless as being lazy or as having something wrong with them. It makes it possible for us to hide from the fact that we are all just a few steps away from homelessness and poverty, too.
I think that it does, but that it's a lot harder than most people think. I also don't think it's all that simple. Like, a person kind of has to know how to make the American Dream happen--the rules of the "game" so to speak. People who have it easy tend to think it is easier than it really is for others. It's hard to see life through the eyes of another person. I think we tend to judge people who are poor or homeless as being lazy or as having something wrong with them. It makes it possible for us to hide from the fact that we are all just a few steps away from homelessness and poverty, too.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Deathcrawl
This week in my middle school guidance classes I have been showing a clip from the movie Facing the Giants. In the clip, the coach calls the players out on having bad attitudes and already writing off their next game as a loss. He asks one player in particular to do the "deathcrawl" by himself--an exercise in which the players walk on their hands and feet carrying another player on their backs--basically bearing the weight of themselves and the other player almost entirely on their arms. He tells the player, Brock, that he wants him to give him his very best. When Brock agrees, the coach then tells him he wants him to do it blindfolded.
The other players have all just finished doing the same exercise and had gone 20 yards. Brock starts out with the coach's encouragement. When he begins to get tired, the coach urges him on. At first the other players are laughing at their teammate having to do the deathcrawl again, but as Brock keeps going on and on, not being able to see how far he has gone, the other players begin to stand up and watch him, wondering how far he is actually going to go.
Brock begins to lose strength. The coach gets down with him and yells things like, "Keep going! Five more steps! Don't you quit on me!" On and on it goes. Finally, Brock collapses, almost in tears, dripping sweat, and saying, "It has to be the fifty! I got nothin' left!" The coach removes the blindfold from Brock and says, "Look up Brock. You're in the in-zone." He had done the deathcrawl for 100 yards, thinking he was only going to be able to go 50 at the most!
After the clip I asked the classes, "Would he have been able to go that far if he had not been blindfolded? The answer was a chorus of "no" from the students. They understood, intuitively, that if we believe we are only capable of going to the 50-yard line, we will only make it to the 50-yard line. Whatever we believe our limits to be, that is what our limits will be.
What is one of your limiting beliefs? Do you believe that you are not smart enough? Not good-looking enough? Too busy? Too damaged? Whatever you believe will turn out to be true--we subconsciously find ways to make ourselves right. Sometimes, it is more important to us to be right than it is to be happy. Identifying and shifting our limiting beliefs can be one of the most empowering things we can ever learn to do in our lives.
Why stop at the fifty when we could go to the hundred?
The other players have all just finished doing the same exercise and had gone 20 yards. Brock starts out with the coach's encouragement. When he begins to get tired, the coach urges him on. At first the other players are laughing at their teammate having to do the deathcrawl again, but as Brock keeps going on and on, not being able to see how far he has gone, the other players begin to stand up and watch him, wondering how far he is actually going to go.
Brock begins to lose strength. The coach gets down with him and yells things like, "Keep going! Five more steps! Don't you quit on me!" On and on it goes. Finally, Brock collapses, almost in tears, dripping sweat, and saying, "It has to be the fifty! I got nothin' left!" The coach removes the blindfold from Brock and says, "Look up Brock. You're in the in-zone." He had done the deathcrawl for 100 yards, thinking he was only going to be able to go 50 at the most!
After the clip I asked the classes, "Would he have been able to go that far if he had not been blindfolded? The answer was a chorus of "no" from the students. They understood, intuitively, that if we believe we are only capable of going to the 50-yard line, we will only make it to the 50-yard line. Whatever we believe our limits to be, that is what our limits will be.
What is one of your limiting beliefs? Do you believe that you are not smart enough? Not good-looking enough? Too busy? Too damaged? Whatever you believe will turn out to be true--we subconsciously find ways to make ourselves right. Sometimes, it is more important to us to be right than it is to be happy. Identifying and shifting our limiting beliefs can be one of the most empowering things we can ever learn to do in our lives.
Why stop at the fifty when we could go to the hundred?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Self-Discovery Coaching
I have developed an exciting new system of coaching to help people get to know themselves and to move forward in their lives. The system is designed to help people learn to look inside themselves and become familiar with their own likes and dislikes, to uncover what drives them, to help them find their passion and to accept themselves for who they are--to recognize how to embrace their own uniqueness to live their lives according to their passion.
Please check out the new website for more information!
http://www.self-discoverycoaching.com/
If you wonder what you really want to be doing with your life, feel a general lack of motivation or passion, or want to have more fullfillment in your life, Self-Discovery Coaching may be just the thing for you.
Please check out the new website for more information!
http://www.self-discoverycoaching.com/
If you wonder what you really want to be doing with your life, feel a general lack of motivation or passion, or want to have more fullfillment in your life, Self-Discovery Coaching may be just the thing for you.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
My Quote
When I was in 6th grade, our teacher told us two write something about hands. This is the quote I came up with:
What do you think??????????
"Free hands are made to free tied hands.
Tied hands are made to put free hands to good use."
What do you think??????????
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Corey's Story
OK, everyone. Cory put this story on as a comment and I just had to stick it on as a post. Really cool!
"A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for forty days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wisest man lived. Rather then finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world. The wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait two hours before it was his turn to be given the man's attention.The wise man listened attentively to the boy's explanation of why he had come, but told him he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that boy look around the palace and return within two hours."Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something," said the wise man, handing to boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. "As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill." The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was. "Well," asked the wise man, "did you see the persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library? "The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man and entrusted him. "Then go back and observe the marvels of my world" said the wise man. "you cannot trust a man if you dont know his house." Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, and the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen. "But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?" asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone. "Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you," said the wisest of wise men. "The secret to happiness is to see the marvels of the world, but never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon."
Soooooooo . . .
What do you think it means?
"A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for forty days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wisest man lived. Rather then finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world. The wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait two hours before it was his turn to be given the man's attention.The wise man listened attentively to the boy's explanation of why he had come, but told him he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that boy look around the palace and return within two hours."Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something," said the wise man, handing to boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. "As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill." The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was. "Well," asked the wise man, "did you see the persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library? "The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man and entrusted him. "Then go back and observe the marvels of my world" said the wise man. "you cannot trust a man if you dont know his house." Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, and the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen. "But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?" asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone. "Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you," said the wisest of wise men. "The secret to happiness is to see the marvels of the world, but never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon."
Soooooooo . . .
What do you think it means?
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