I love the things that make seemingly “separate” people stop in their tracks and come together: a good musician in the underground subway system, the spotting of an elusive wild creature in nature, puppies. A sunset is one of those things; It never seems to get old and it works every time. I love Amanda’s description of how it plays out. I just wish I had been there with the sisters!
- Jaime
Read MoreI remember the day Amanda told us this story after our family had just finished dinner. She described everything in such depth and she was infuriated as she walked us through the details. And since she doesn't get upset like that very often, it was clear that she had stumbled upon a subject that she would be passionate about for years, and maybe even a lifetime.
- Danielle (the oldest sister!)
Read MoreMy boyfriend Chad and I spent last weekend at my sister’s apartment in downtown Brooklyn. The living room was super cozy and the bedroom walls held unique artwork from foreign places. The views were incredibly beautiful on the balcony of the 22nd floor. Despite all of that though, the most striking thing was the consciousness this elevation provided.
Chad and I could see the Statue of Liberty, the staggering buildings, the Manhattan Bridge, the Empire State Building... all those quintessential structures. How brilliant is mankind...
Read MoreIt seems to me that “they” don’t make romantic comedies anymore. Is this true?
Do we not want such things? I see much evidence to be positive day to day but if we have turned our backs on romantic comedies such that movie makers can’t make some money, well, egads!
One of my favorite scenes in a movie is the start of "Love, Actually"… but even better is real world Grand Central when I see couples coming together with a glow of just loving being with one another… although it may be reasonable to consider that a poignant Hugh Grant voice over (as in "Love, Actually”) might enhance the real life experience. I see couples. My heart glows. It isn’t just romantic couples! It might be old friends meeting up with joy in their eyes. Nothing better out there.
I think that I think all this thinking because maybe in those moments “self” vanishes.
Maybe in those moments we just “lose our selfs”. I love when I lose my “self” and get totally lost in the fun and playing with others all through the day that is possible :)
I once heard that a working definition for “being in love” (romantic or far far far wider!) was “being without ego”… Ego being that THING that reinforces “self” and “separates”… Thanks Amanda for this great story about Chad!
pip
Read MoreFROM PIP;
Wow! Check this out from Amanda.
When I heard this story my jaw dropped. I so want to meet Mrs. Carpenter.
I think of that Hugh Grant voice-over opening I love so much from “Love, Actually”.
“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think of the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport… and I will think of Mrs. Carpenter in Florida…(pip insert but in Hugh Grant’s voice of course) Seems to me that love is everywhere. If you look for it I have a sneaky feeling that you’ll find love actually is all around.”
From Love Actually
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUoxXpqof8A
Read MoreYesterday was the third day I spent pre-interning in an elementary school about thirty minutes from the University of Florida. I think I’m about as emotionally invested in these kindergartners as someone who’d worked with them for years. In fact, I’m almost 100% sure they are some of the sweetest little souls I’ve ever met.
They call me ma’am and give me countless compliments. They love to hold my hand and hug my knees... even while I’m walking. They care… asking questions at lunch like, “Ms. Amanda, will you have enough time after this to go home and cook up your own lunch before your school?”
Read MoreI’ve been home for three weeks on winter break from the University of Florida. It’s been a bit chillier than I expected. Brutally cold actually. Yet even though the skin on my face now feels like sandpaper and my chapped lips hurt and the top of my hands are cracking, even bleeding, I love going to Rockwood every chance I get. Rockwood is a state park near my house. The forty-minute loop I walk with my dog Sam is revitalizing. The view of the sunset melting into the hudson river is gratifying. The calm deer in the tall grass, now snow, provides me peace of mind, and the way Sam’s ears flap as she trots ahead brings joy to my saddest thoughts.
Read MoreI had two thoughts as I read the piece below… First to reference our friend Irwin Kula at the Crosby Retreat: “Who do you want to wander with as you go through life?” which reminds me, itself, of Maya Angalou’s quote: “They won’t remember what you said or what you did but how they felt when they were in your presence.” How can I bring magic to the people I love? And second… I so so admire Amanda’s awareness of what was going on with her in the story below… in my daily morning time I always write down the word “awareness” as a starting point in any progression I aim to generate.
…Pip
Read MoreAs human beings, I believe we have many nested identities. There are roles we play in our local community, our country, and on a much larger scale, the world. Globalization is just one form of community. I don’t think there is necessarily a threshold to cross in order to achieve the title of being a true global citizen. We can’t exactly measure how much or how long it takes to become globalized. Instead, we can use diversity as a strength consistently moving us forward. For me, this means hanging paintings from Central America in my room, laying my coffee cup down on a coaster made in Australia, spending time with my friends of all different backgrounds and cultures and listening to their unique philosophies and beliefs, wearing jewelry made in Costa Rica... It is by partaking in circumstances like these, or being active in these ways that allow us to take responsibility in the world. What’s beautiful is we live in a world of many choices, and we have control over how we make them. We can create our own definition of what it means to be a global citizen, and this is by deciding what role we play, where we play it, with who we do it, and how.
Read MoreToday during our zoom call, Irwin Kula, president of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, had us dive into what it means to truly listen, and why often times we have trouble doing so. Many times when someone is talking to us, we want to speak before they have finished getting their words out. It requires some form of discipline to refrain from interrupting as our thoughts and notions are constantly flowing and these idea waves drown us from truly understanding what the person is saying to us. Indeed listening requires a tremendous amount of self-awareness and emotion control, even if we do not naturally see/notice that.
Read MoreLet me start by saying I wish I had a recording of the entire day at Plus Wonder Conversation because the conversations were so incredibly inspirational and the positive energy and spirit of connection was so remarkable that I want to experience it more than once. The overall theme was about learning to build and inspire partnerships in one’s life, both professionally and personally. Plus Wonder functions to find the pattern and threads of wisdom of compatibility and harmonious relationships. Its name rooted from the words plus one. In the short introduction session, a video was presented introducing many different compatible partnerships like the famous Ben & Jerry, Bert & John Jacobs, Chris Redlitz & Beverly Parenti, Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter, & more. One little quote that stood out to me during this introduction: People are people because of people.
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