Capacity

I came into 2008 with a knowledge that this was going to be a big year for change. What I did not anticipate was all of the change happening in one fell swoop....and so here I am, pondering today on capacity and our unique power for it.

What is it that draws out our capacity, brings it to the forefront, tests it, stretches it? Do we reserve it for times like these, when all hell breaks loose and your life looks like a bunch of puzzle pieces all mixed up, just waiting to be built, the puzzle solved?

The puzzle that is my life is a jumble right now, and while that puzzle when built is going to be beautiful and whole, the whole process of putting this thing together is intimidating and exhausting, challenging and even exciting. Where do we begin? When I think about puzzles, we always seem to start at the edges, finding the corners and the smooth sided pieces and we build on those. Good strategy, isn't it? Because if you can imagine trying to start in the middle...well, you can't. The middle is a mystery. You can't really know what the middle is, unless of course you're lucky.

Ok, enough with the metaphors...yup, I'm a metaphor girl, if you hadn't already noticed by my past musings. :) I think what we need to do when we think about chaos in our lives, or big changes or all of the challenges in between, we need to start on the fringes of our day to day lives, grabbing onto the things that are a constant, and piece by piece, moment by moment, just keep going, building on what needs to get done, thought through, accomplished until it is done. And I think that if we do this, then our capacity is endless really, immeasurably, because we can take each moment on for what it is - a moment. And who can't handle a moment of change or challenge? Oh yea, we can do this. I can do this.

So yea, this is my musing for today, as I take a deep breath and take on this moment, along with you.

My big AHA for today's writing is this...Capacity is always easier when we have the support and belief from others that we can do it. So today, in this moment, be there for someone else, let someone else be there for you and you know what? You can do it! I believe in you!!

Time

My apologies for the lateness of this post.

Time is a funny thing. It goes so quickly and unlike alot of things we feel we might have control of in our life, I find time is something we have little or no control over at all.

We can try to control our day, control our schedules, but what we fail to make room for in that schedule is...well, life really. Life is happening and sometimes, it takes our time, steals it in a way that leaves us robbed of any control.

Do you ever feel like life is living you, instead of you living your life? Are we meant to control our life? How do you learn from your living when you react to your day verses responding to it?

These are the questions I ask myself these days as my life more now than ever, is most definitely living me. With little time to put towards building my blog and reaching out to you, work as always, keeps my head spinning and my feet running.

My blog today is just a simple poke at you to perhaps have you stop and think through where your time is going, how it's being spent, what you are learning from it and how tomorrow will then look because of this simple awareness. Ah, the proverbial questions, hey?

If only I'd written a time management book. I'd make a fortune because let's face it - we're all trying to figure out where our time goes!!

Have the answer? Let me know? By sharing your comments here, we all get to learn from them! Thanks in advance. Have a really awesome day. Make it count!

The Act of a Salty Heart

Do you ever find you wish you could do more but just don't have the time? I've been thinking this through today and it's challenging me.

I don't know about you, but I never seem to feel truly satisfied with what I am putting out. And lately, even more than ever, I have a desire to do more, be more, offer more, to those who are alone, helpless, lonely, and the list goes on.

And then today, I read a fabulous chapter in this amazing new release by the name of 'Looking for God; An Unexpected Journey Through Tattoos, Tofu and Pronouns'...I had to read the book just for the title - Come on!!

Nancy Ortberg  writes about salt. Yup, I said salt. This is not a mis-spelling. In this chapter, she tells a story about going to a restaurant and ordering food that inevitably has no taste really, and so you add salt. And here comes the flavor. What makes the meal after all is the salt and you are happy. You can enjoy every mouthful now. The thing is though, when it's all over, and you had this great evening with friends and you've enjoyed your meal, you are not likely to remember your salt shaking moment. You don't see the salt for what it was. After all it's just salt...

Here is the AHA. Sometimes, we are called to just be the salt. And that resonated with me. That I do not need to make every moment be this big defining moment in my life and that it's up to me really, at the end of it all, what I choose to make of my life, but it all counts. And some days, let's face it. Our moments are just salt. Good old salt. You can count on it. It's consistent. It's salt.

Today, as you think through your day and what you gave to it, what you brought to the table on THIS day, tell me, was it a defining day for you? A new friend, a great customer encounter, or maybe you helped the homeless at some point in your day? Are those big things, defining things for you? Or is it salt? Just a part of what we are each doing to build into each other, built up one another, build bridges between one another...

More to muse on. Have a super salty day. Shake it up on someone, ok? Add some flavor to their life. They might not remember you or what you did, but you will have made the day more flavorful and rich for them because...yup, because you're the salt!!!

What form does inspiration take for you?

Some of us are inspired by the acts of others. Some are inspired by words. Some are even inspired by what the day shows itself to be, in the colors of the sunrise or the number of stars in the sky.

Inspirations comes in all kinds of forms. When you are inspired, how do you respond? Are you challenged to respond at all? And if so, in what way? An even greater question is this...

WHAT does it take to inspire you today?

I would challenge you and those in your world to spend just a moment in your day and look for that inspiration that will guide you to action, guide you to cause, guide you to think about the mystery of what gets you motivated, what gets you juiced to make the day count for you. And then share that inspiration with others. As I always say to those in my world, 'Do not underestimate the power of who you are to someone else'. Your words and actions leave an imprint and that, to me, is inspiring in and of itself. BE INSPIRED!!

Can we really make the world a better place?

In a world that seems to be progressively getting darker and darker, one can wonder if we can really make a difference.

I came across a fantastic website this evening at www.hopeREVO.com  I was absolutely blown away by the hope this website stirred up in me when I read what this site was created for. The simple act of sharing kindness through encouraging notes hidden throughout communities and city scapes. Can you imagine what your day could turn out like if you came upon a little note out of no where that reminded you of how special you are? Or that you are loved? Or that you should practice kindness today? You know that feeling you get when someone lets you into the line at the supermarket, or allows you in when your driving and you put your signal on and they actually let you in? Amazing feeling. You get a moment where you are reminded that the world is still innately a good and decent place, that people can be kind and well meaning and generous with their spirit.

What saddens me is that we are so shocked when people behave in an unselfish way. As if there must be something that they want, or some scheme involved in order for them to reach out and simply be nice? That's so sad! Whatever happened to common decency, to opening the door for a stranger, saying hello to the person standing in line with you at the movies, having a kind word for the clerk behind the counter...the simple act of reaching out as one human being to another has become a foreign concept and it's sad.

I've got to say though, if we start to make a change and it starts with each of us, we can change this ideal. I came across a woman the other evening who was lost and was meeting friends for dinner. She was stressed and worried and she felt unsafe in the neighborhood she was in, so I got into her car with her and drove with her to her destination before walking back to my vehicle. She was blown away and I felt awesome because of how she felt. I gave her hope in the human race! It is a big deal, don't fool yourself. People like the creators of hopeREVO.com give us hope in the human race!

So here's the challenge I'm putting out there this fine evening.

What are you doing to give us hope in the human race? Share your stories with me. The journey can be good and fun and encouraging and amazing! I can't wait to hear from you.