#375: SPOTLIGHT: Benji Dawes

Question for Benji:

Randy Pausch once wrote that “walls are put in front of us to see how badly we really want something.”  Is there a project in life or work that came with (or comes with) many obstacles (i.e. “walls”) that revealed that your initial intention and excitement was not as strong as you thought it was ?

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#374: SPOTLIGHT: Jörgen van der Sloot

Question for Jörgen:

There is an idea that we can learn from every single person on the planet.  But there are also deeply ingrained habits we have been trained in that “teachers” have a formal designation which might limit our scope for learning.  With that thought, does someone come to mind in the past five weeks that you wouldn’t consider a “formal” teacher at all but who you learned something special from… (perhaps even someone you aren’t even fond of) ?

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#373: SPOTLIGHT: Benji Dawes in response to Richard Sugarman

I chose a different path for us this week.

I am sharing Benji's penetrating, compassionate, hope-filled response to Rich's spotlight piece from last week.

So many were deeply affected by Rich’s words.

Rich wrote a thank you to all of us.  It is also below. He never imagined receiving back so many notes of love and care.


Here is the link to Rich's piece in case you missed it. You will also find there 13 CFC responses from fall 2023 to the weekly questions Pip and I present to dear people we all wander with: Jennifer, Amber, Holly, Rudy, Irwin, Neeru, Jack, Lauren, Ryan, Jaime, Christina, Rich U., and Eric. 

LINK: Rich's Spotlight on Website

- AP 

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#371: Quote Share from the Community

We are now four months into doing CFC "Spotlight" pieces, so I thought it would be nice to spotlight a handful of short quotes from the last few months! I have LOVED reading these writings. And now rather than having a library of pieces on the CFC website, we have a library of people. Here's the link for all so far - Library.  And the outdoor photos have all been awesome too. I've attached one semi-candid (is that a thing?) photo below of Amber and I from a much warmer time. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season! 

- Amanda

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#370: SPOTLIGHT: Eric Hopkins

Question for Eric: 

Does one person first come to mind:  In your very very first “adult” job -- when you were perhaps first out of college or over the age of 21 let’s say – is there someone that pops to mind who brings a smile to your face not because of anything in your specific relationship but just because of who they were or how they moved through the world?

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#369: SPOTLIGHT: Richard Uniacke

Question for Richard: 

Can you recall a moment in the past month in your work that something in it was going so so amazingly well in a deep, rich, wonderful way that you wished you could immediately and adequately and fully explain and share it with your mom or dad (be they living or having already passed) such that they might know your joy?

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#366: SPOTLIGHT: Ryan Oakes

Question for Ryan: 

There is an idea that we can learn from every single person on the planet.  But there are also deeply ingrained habits we have been trained in that “teachers” have a formal designation which might limit our scope for learning.  With that thought, does someone come to mind in the past five weeks that you wouldn’t consider a “formal” teacher at all but who you learned something special from… (perhaps even someone you aren’t even fond of) ?

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Ryan OakesSpotlightComment
#363: SPOTLIGHT: Neeru Garg

Question for Neeru: 

The Serenity Prayer offers:      “Grant me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference…”.   With this thought, does something come to mind that you couldn’t change but had (or are having) trouble accepting ?

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#362: SPOTLIGHT: Irwin Kula

Question for Irwin: 

There is an idea that we can learn from every single person on the planet.  But there are also deeply ingrained habits we have been trained in that “teachers” have a formal designation which might limit our scope for learning.  With that thought, does someone come to mind in the past five weeks that you wouldn’t consider a “formal” teacher at all but who you learned something special from… (perhaps even someone you aren’t even fond of) ? 

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#360: SPOTLIGHT: Holly Grant

Question for Holly: 

Can you recall a moment in the past month in your work that something in it was going so so amazingly well in a deep, rich, wonderful way that you wished you could immediately and adequately and fully explain and share it with your mom or dad (be they living or having already passed) such that they might know your joy? 

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