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Thinking about my walking companion Sally...
Sally happens to be a turkey vulture and perhaps a bit of explanation is in order. Our place borders a large heavily wooded area that’s home to enough wildlife to attract birds of prey. Crows are most common, but there are hawks, vultures, and the occasional eagle. I love watching hawks and vultures work the sky, but didn’t expect to get to know one.
Read MoreThere’s a mesa behind our house where I go to run, think, recharge and listen. Recently, I looked down at my watch to find my pace a full minute faster than usual. “Wow, I’m getting so much faster and I don’t even feel like I’m trying that hard!” I thought. I ran with that feeling for about a half mile, then I noticed. Tall grass on either side of me sat doubled over by the force of the wind: my tailwind. I scolded myself for not paying attention to the surroundings and felt inwardly embarrassed by how obtuse I'd been while reveling in my own accomplishment.
Read MoreHere is the third round of anti pet peeves! The list below happens to include all 3 of my sisters' contributions, as well as a fun one from Pip's daughter, Bailey, which she shared while helping me dogsit this week :) Wishing you all a wonderful holiday ahead!
- Amanda
Read MoreHere is round #2 of gratitude anti pet peeves! I love gathering all these responses and photos. I was only anticipating doing two anti pet peeve blogs this November, but I received so many that it looks like there will be one more final round coming after this one. Have a great day everyone!
- Amanda
Read MoreI am grateful for old friends who just pick up the phone and call with no expectation of anyone picking up or not. It's great to do the same, too. And, the best part is when you both have a moment to talk for even a few moments. It always makes me feel rejuvenated and loved.
- Regina Anderson
I was recently at a gathering with neighbors, and they had a fire pit. I was grateful for the power of that shared fire to center our gaze. None of us were focusing on each other’s faces, or screens or anything visual, really, other than the flames and embers. Everything came through hearing each other’s voices and then thinking through it together. It felt slower than most other communications, somehow, even though we were all talking at a normal rate. And I felt we focused more deeply on the topic by allowing our eyes to remain fixed on the fire.
- Tim Vogt
Read MoreAfter recently reading two pieces on deep listening written by someone in the community, I noticed a key theme in both: "Listening for what is being communicated but isn't being said." Then I thought more about what it looks like when I've felt someone do this well in my own life.
It took me back to a moment this summer, when I sat across the dinner table from a person I had only recently met. As we sipped our drinks waiting for the food to arrive, I started casually talking about work from the last week and some projects I’d been focusing on. But it took me by surprise when he looked me in the eyes, changed the topic and said, “So I just wanted to check in with you. When we had been messaging last week, I sensed something was bothering you, but I knew you weren’t ready to talk about it. I wanted to see if you were still in that headspace or if whatever it was wasn’t bleeding into this week. Did you want to talk about it?”
Read MoreA little while ago, Larry Bissonette came to Cincinnati for a visit. Larry was the subject of a film “Wretches and Jabberers,” following some of his global travels. He is both autistic and uses typing as a way of expressing his thoughts. In the first few scenes of the movie, he flaps his hands and paces around rooms and repeats phrases that seemed typically “autistic” to me. But soon though, he began typing, sharing profound, insightful and relevant thoughts.
Read MoreHow often does this happen to me?
I'm in the middle of a sentence, or I'm part of the way through sharing an idea and a colleague interjects, barely letting me finish,
“That was absolutely amazing! Yes! Exactly that!”
Read MoreOne of my favorite places in the world is Big Sur California. I’ve lived in Los Angeles for 35 years now – and my wife and I have made it a habit to get up to Big Sur at least once a year.
Now, of course, because of the pandemic, we hadn’t returned since 2019. Has it really been three years? Yup. It has.
So – we recently made a trip to Big Sur, and I took the opportunity to bring along a copy of one of my favorite books…
Read MoreHe was hurt when I found him. A man from the store was bent down, seeing if there were some way to help the little bird. The man told me I looked like an animal lover, and asked me if I knew anything about birds. I didn't. But that didn't stop me from taking him home with me in a small cardboard box to see if there was something I could do.
Read MoreDuring my sophomore year of college, I took a creative writing course that helped me grow on various levels. Throughout my schooling, I had always felt confident in the subject area of writing, but the professor I had shattered that confidence the first month of the semester... in a great and perhaps necessary way.
Read MoreI love this thought provoking piece from Corey. My last blog also fell under the topic of receiving feedback and I enjoyed the process of reflecting on what I learned from one specific professor I had and what I did with her critiques. But I think Corey brings to light yet another compelling outlook to consider when receiving an evaluation from someone, no matter how big or small. I've slowly learned that constructive criticism doesn't have to be personal 1, because someone is simply believing in me to grow and be better. But 2, because the feedback helps in thriving as "part of the whole." Specifically, after reading Corey's writing I consider more deeply how my own growth can benefit the cohesiveness of the entire unit or mission I play a role in, as each part needs to be doing their best to flourish as one unit. Thank you Corey. Your sharing of your experiences and lessons from different points in your life help to broaden perspective in my own and to try to keep in mind the bigger picture as I walk through it.
- Amanda
Read MoreDuring my sophomore year of college, I took a creative writing course that helped me grow on various levels. Throughout my schooling, I had always felt confident in the subject area of writing, but the professor I had shattered that confidence the first month of the semester... in a great and perhaps necessary way.
Read MoreIt's easy to feel obsessed with convenience and quickness. Doing things faster. More efficient. There's a desire for the quick high of the left lane. We grow the “most food for the most people”. And I know I can buy anything from anywhere and have it tomorrow. But what if going slow was sexy?
Read MoreI’ve been off of work, and with my kids this whole summer. It’s been a blur filled with equal parts daddy school, activities and chilling out. Last week, while breaking down our days before getting to sleep, my wife asked me a really good question that I haven’t been asked in a long time. “You’ve been with the kids for 2 months now… what have you learned so far?”
Read MoreI've written many blogs and journal entries about my dad. A lot of these have been a form of grieving, or perhaps an effort to keep his energy alive, or simply to serve as memoirs of who he was.
It struck me one night that losing my dad has given me reasons to write about him - reasons I don’t have for my mom, because she is still here. And in that same thought I felt compelled by different reasons to write about my mom - a person who has very much influenced my life and the person I’ve become. To take time to reflect, to express gratitude, and to serve as an acknowledgement of who she is while I have the opportunity to do so.
Read MoreMy 2-year-old dog, Birdie, needs to walk at least five miles a day to be calm, relaxed and happy.
My wife and I have concluded that the best way to make this work is with lots of walking first thing in the morning. I’ve been taking her 3 miles right when I wake up, and my wife takes her another mile or so when she walks our youngest daughter to school.
I’ve chosen to walk the same route nearly every day. This makes the timing predictable, and it also helps for training purposes (especially if I let her off leash).
Read MoreMy boyfriend Oscar and I joined a soccer team a year ago with a group of about 25 other guys, and now we play pick-up every Sunday morning. Over time, I became close with a few players on the team. I was grateful for these new friendships. Not only did we share many talks and laughs throughout the games, but sharing conversation over cold beers at the local brewery in town post-game became part of our Sunday routine.
Read MoreI was recently let go from my job. It brought up a lot of things for me. The usual, concerns about finances and healthcare, and also a few things out of the ordinary. I wouldn’t have thought losing a job would mean losing part of my identity, but it certainly feels that way.
Read MoreDry Humor:
“…deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant to be blunt, ironic, laconic, or apparently unintentional…”… WIkipedia
In a moment I will focus on dry humor specifically. But this note is really about hurting humor.
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