Creating Works > Life Musings > Page 19

Do you want extraordinary?

January 11, 2016 by

A recent post on Improvised Life highlighted the work of Kate Conklin, a performance coacaeralists-Cirque-du-Soleilh. She asks the question: What are the qualities that make a performance extraordinary? What are the things that happen that make both the performer and the audience feel like they’re flying? …like these aeralists from Cirque-du-Soleil.

Well the answer, she found out was not just in the desire  but in the work that follows. Deep down, what  do we care enough about, desire enough to, as Kate says, “Respond to that desire and do the work to support that response.”

It led me to wonder, how many of us really want extraordinary? extraordinary lives, work, relationships….

Hard and persistent work in service of what we want is not what most of us want to hear. We want easy answers, magic pills, miracles.   It’s OK but chances are it won’t be enough for the Universe to deliver the result we want….and without a shift, we’ll settle for mediocrity, for less.

So, I sit pondering, “What do I want?” Want enough to do whatever it takes?

And if nothing comes, I wonder, what is that all about?

Filed Under: Heart's wisdom, Intention, Steps, We are creators Tagged With: , , ,

How’s it going?

January 2, 2016 by

Recently Sally Schneider posted at Improvised Life  about not knowing. She asks the question,  “Can you hang with not knowing.”

I understand not knowing. Not knowing the MRI results, the outcome of an operation, whether an organization will turn around in time, whether our favorite oak tree will succumb to the Bacterial Leaf Drop…  the list goes on.

I wrote this poem a year ago. It is as true today as it was then. However, there is a difference.  I’m listening a little harder, trusting a little more,  and importantly, more at  peace with just “the next step.”

How’s It Going?-road-ahead-unclear-green-freeway-sign-representing-uncertainty-in-financial-business

“I don’t know”
Not a satisfying response
Most prefer a polite lie,
Definitely more certainty.

But the small voice
of wisdom won’t
be ordered about,
has its own timing.

So when the veils
haven’t yet parted,
how do you
walk through life?

The sun rises and sets
Baby birds hatch
Trees lose their leaves.
Life in its rhythm.IMG_0551

Surely you too are part
of life’s flow, as important
as the field mouse,
the fallen bird.

What’s left but
noticing what calls you.
Trusting you’re guided
Always the next step.

besliter

Filed Under: Heart's wisdom, Life, We are creators Tagged With: , , ,

Joy – musings

December 4, 2014 by

JOY

Bubbles up
Unbidden,
Riding in the car,
Sun, blue skies.

When least expected,
hanging out,
watching people…
It comes

somewhere
deep inside my chest.
I turn to look,
to hold on.

It evaporates…

So, why do I want
such a shy
fickle friend?

Because when joy
Fills me,
~everything else~
Sparkles!

This year I found a window decoration that says “Joy.”   I had rejected the plastic renderings that said peace. Peace describes the absence of something…no conflict, no war…but for most folks,  it’s a wish, stopping short of painting a picture of what could be.

I rejected the Angels outlined in white lights. Angels watching over us, hovering nearby to aid when needed. No, while I suspect Angels are hovering nearby, they aren’t reduced to two dimensions in my front window this year.

I couldn’t find a candle I liked. I love the idea of light shining in the darkness with hope. But alas, the ones I found were puny.

No, it was the red and green lights saying “Joy” that captured my heart. That elusive feeling that brings me into the now. The feeling that, when present, shows everything as beautiful. The feeling that if I try to grab on, to understand, it goes away.

So, JOY shines in my window, reminding me each evening to pay attention and notice what arises unbidden, to not grab, to stop controlling and just be.

I wish you all a bubbling moment of JOY!

Filed Under: Heart's wisdom, Life Tagged With: ,

Shiva whispered in my ear

August 26, 2014 by

When Shiva, our sweet cat died, this poem came to me:

Love fiercely,
Let your heart breakDSC02937
It’s then that Life
knows its worth.*

I think Shiva whispered these words in my ear. She was letting me know how letting myself feel such love, even for a moment, is what life is all about. And yes, that means feeling the grief and pain when something or someone you love leaves you.

Photo 1Love fiercely! Again and again. Life demands it, and you’ll have no regrets.

* Shiva via besliter 8/11/14

 

Filed Under: Heart's wisdom, Life Tagged With: , ,

Can a chandelier do that?

June 6, 2014 by

We recently had the inside of our house painted.  In the process we decided to take down the chandelier in the kitchen. It was left over from before our kitchen remodel that added an center island/eating counter. The chandelier really had no function any more. It hung where once there was a table. Now it was in the pathway of those who walked through, occasionally bonking folks on the head if they came too close.
We replace it with a recessed light. It looks great. We both love it.

For the next several days my husband kept saying how much he had disliked that old chandelier; DRAIN_2_by_musky306_463480_disappearing_waterhow much he was glad to have it gone. After several days it hit me, on some level the chandelier had drained his energy every time he looked at it. He tolerated it but it bothered him. And what’s more, he had no longer noticed that it bothered him. Toleration numbs you out. The contrast when he talk about the new light was stark. He was vibrant.

I asked him where else he might be tolerating something? Areas where he’s pushed aside his desire for something because it was impractical or the wrong time.  Areas where he’s “making do.”  Often tolerations aren’t big things, e.g., a lighting fixture, but they are slow leaks in terms of our vitality.

What are you tolerating?
Either we love something or not; either we care about something or not. If you don’t love or care about it, why do you have it? Why spend your precious time on it?  What are you tolerating? It’s may be time to let go.

tol er ate (Merriam-Webster)
: to allow (something that is bad, unpleasant, etc.) to exist, happen, or be done
: to experience (something harmful or unpleasant) without being harmed
: to put up with

Filed Under: Choice, We are creators Tagged With: , , ,

Choosing life

May 1, 2014 by

We are creators, too often lulled into amnesia by the stress of life. 

We don’t see the choices we make that wear us out, that move us away from what we care about. Instead, 2014-03-21-4we tell ourselves we “have to (fill in the blank).”  We let circumstances, and the demands of others, control our lives.

Choosing life is about stepping up and making clear choices to do, or not to do, something. It’s being true to ourselves; to take the risk of saying “No.”  And, if we say “Yes,” it’s staying clear why we chose to do it and doing our best. 

NOTE: If you’re letting something drain your energy, my guess is you lied to yourself about choosing to do it. Try again 🙂

1) Make a list:   Where do I need to say “No” ? What do I need to let go?  (a hated project, old clothes, obligatory relationships, volunteer activities, jobs….)

2) Do it!

Creating Works: have a good life.

 

Filed Under: We are creators

Luck or ?

March 17, 2014 by

Saturday afternoon I was driving with my husband, just knocking around, seeing what we could see. We decided to take back roads and drive north as much as possible. A GPS is a great tool for this sort of meandering road trip. We Lucky Dicewere enjoying the 60 degree day and the sun which had been absent far too many days this winter. So we drove, feeling the sun’s warmth, looking at houses, trees, small towns. I was happy and thought to myself, “How lucky I am!”

As soon as the thought registered I noticed a certain unease. “I’m lucky now but this could go away. Lucky could become unlucky.” It was subtle but luck suggested that what I do doesn’t matter. That a roll of the dice determines outcomes. It was “just luck.” Really?

I decided to shift to “I’m grateful: grateful for my husband, the warm sun, the car with a sun roof, the ability to take off and drive for the sheer fun of it.”  This felt totally different. Appreciating what I had in the moment made it richer. I felt richer. I was richer.

How we think matters. To think of ourselves as “just lucky,” is to discount the power Soaring-Eagle-1-300x182of our own imaginings, our thoughts, intellect and choices. These are the tools we’re born with to co-create our lives on earth. How we think about something actually changes our experience of it. Words matter. Would you rather be lucky or grateful?

We are co-creators, learning to live more skillfully.

Filed Under: Choice, Perception, We are creators Tagged With: ,

The .04 difference

February 15, 2014 by

In .04 seconds, what can happen?

A  smile;
A knife cut;
A bee sting;
A “thank you” said;
You’re on or off  the podium.

Last night in the Women’s Olympic Skeletal event, Katie Uhlaender, United States, lost the Bronze medal to Elena Nikitina, Russia, by 0.04 seconds; that’s 4/100 of a second.

Elena Nikitina, Bronze

In what seemed like an eye blink, Katie, a great athlete, was off the podium.

World class athletes are used to winning or losing by seconds. Competing at that level, they know everything counts. They train and give their all knowing some small movement, a sudden wind, a distraction, rough spot, or something else they can’t control could make the .04 difference. Yesterday it did and Elena, another great athlete, won.

It made me wonder, where in my life could there be a “.04 difference”?  And more importantly, how would I go forward when it happened? Uhlaender vowed to rebound.

Katie UhlaenderKatie Uhlaender

Here’s to great athletes everywhere! Who keep doing what they love. Sochi Olympics, February, 2014

 

 

Filed Under: Choice, Fear or Courage Tagged With: , ,

Talent to be managed?

February 4, 2014 by

In a recent Forbes article, HR Managers were advised to focus on “talent management.”  Sounds reasonable given the information age, internet and the competitive need for creativity, but I find myself asking,  “Who wants to be treated as talent to be managed?”

It reminds me of  factory workers in the early 1900’s who were seen as extensions of the machine to be optimized. CoolClips_busi1720 Although the world has changed, articles like Forbe’s suggest we are still seeing employees as “cogs in the organizational machinery,” talented cogs to be sure, but cogs. And therein lies a problem.

As long as HR Managers (and senior Leaders) see people as company assets to be optimized, we’ll continue to create environments that kill the human spirit. Employees will remain disposable parts, abstract concepts to be planned for, controlled and manipulated. CEOs and organizational hierarchy will continue to see themselves separate from the “masses.”

But different models are emerging, each the result of the beliefs, personal passion. and unique circumstances of their creators. In each example people are, well people, not assets. index

Here are some of my favorite out-of-the-box examples: Ricardo Semler’s Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World’s Most Unusual Workplace, Tony Hsieh’s story of Zappo’s Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty’s Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior, and  Jack Stack’s The Great Game of Business, Expanded and Updated: The Only Sensible Way to Run a Company.


Filed Under: Life, We are creators Tagged With: , , , , ,

Am I my books?

January 15, 2014 by

It started when my husband needed to replace an electrical outlet behind one of my two crammed bookcases. I emptied all the books into the middle of my office floor so the bookcase would be light enough to move away from the wall. IMG_0668

When it was time to move the books back, I decided I should go through them and pare down.  As for criteria, I would consider: Do I refer to them? Will I re-read them?  Sounded simple enough.

But when I turned to the pile I froze. Some of these books influenced me greatly.  I was sentimental about them. “Molecules of Emotions” by Candice Pert, “The Mind of the Strategist” by Kenichi Ohmae,  Marvin Weisbord’s “Organizational Diagnosis,” “Everyday Miracles” by David Spangler,  “Focusing” by Eugene Gendlin, M.Scott Myers’ “Every Employee a Manager,  “How to make Meetings Work” by Doyle and Straus. There were Enneagram books, coaching books, self-help books, Spiritual books.

My fondness for these physical books made me wonder what magical powers I’d attributed to their printed pages. In a sense, these books defined me. Sitting on shelves, they were visible signposts of my journey through life.  I appreciated their gifts. They seemed like faithful friends.

But going through them, I realized that over the years I’ve incorporated their ideas into my own understanding and way of working. I didn’t need them any more as testimony to my own learning, nor as talismans against my own deficiencies.DSC02945 I began to appreciate what I now knew; the knowledge I carried within me. It was not only OK to let the books go, it was time. So I sorted and got sacks ready to take to Half Priced Books.

May someone else find them as helpful as I did.

Filed Under: Choice, Life Tagged With: , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »