Coming back for more

Okay, as I continue my saga on the idea as my Rabbi freind said, "If I don't ask myself every day, 'What am I doing here?' I do not belong." I also have to recapture here the other part of his Shabbat Shalom message that hit home...and continues to haunt me.

"Each day I have to remind myself why I made this choice. Some days, the reminder comes from the midst of dramatic frustration or painful engagement. I remember that I chose this work to make a difference and help bring an end to frustration in the world. Other days, the reminder comes from the most incredible blessings. I have to take a step back and give thanks that I get to do what I do, and that I find myself in the position of experiencing miracles. Some days bring both experiences. At either end of the spectrum or anywhere in between, I have to remember that I have to be intentional in waking up each day and in re-engaging. There is no way to take any of this for granted and still be able to come back for more."

That passage now forever written in my remember book.

Now I just have to continue to work through the dramatic frustration and painful engagement stuff that I am swimming in. What in the world do people who hold no faith do during times like these?

And geesh, this is all a bit new. How long is this gonna last?

Thursday, I will take a huge leap and talk to the sage Rabbi about my thoughts...

Distracted from abundance

I've been away from the blogging world for a bit. Distracted.

Read a phrase from author Tim Sanders today. "A successful life is a journey back to one's abundance." He then asked "Think about it. Where are you now?"

I am not sure I am in abundance, right now. And with that same statement I do not mean to say that what I am doing lacks worth, value, even satisfaction. But abundance. Hmmmmmmm. Boy that's a whopper of a word.

I have some thinking to do this week.

In the midst of all that is so beautiful and wonderful... and believe me I do know I am blessed beyond all measure... my heart has felt scarcity of late.

Perhpas it is the constant motion. Perhaps the ever-present noise. Perhaps the continuous output. All constant. all distracting. Depleting.

I need a soul fill-up. My heart needs to be tickled with unblemished joy.

Back at ya on this topic...

Take It Up a Notch

I have to admit I am not very good with mediocre.

Coasting by - not so much. Good enough - nope. Average - why?

At times in my own life and work, I struggle with getting others to come along with me for the ride to excellence.

This is one of those times.

The current to status quo is strong. The desire for what's safe and the norm, immense. Others' fear of failure, huge.

I am asking folks to step up.

I am pulling for a more compelling, clear and congruent way of work and life. Take it up a notch for yourself, for your family, for your place of employment.

What are you waiting for? What can I do?

Character Moment

I believe that you can tell a lot about a person's character by how they behave in the school kid's drop off lanes. There is a daily moment when ego battles common good.

To provide a safe environment and to ensure orderly drop off, clearly defined parameters are set at the beginning of each academic year to protect kids and parents. A small lot, walkers, riders, the normal morning hussle and bussle. The process... simple, civil.

And yet, each morning a select few whiz into the lot from the wrong direction bypassing the masses who orderly wait their turn in line. They cut the line. They zoom too fast for children's presence. They don't go to the far end of the drop off point so that others can pull up for kid departures as well...

Somehow their morning is more rushed than ours. Somehow their next gig is vital to our mundane. Somehow their child cannot walk the extra 15 feet from a little further up the drive.

Breathe deep o'masses of civil beings. Count to ten rather than screaming a curse. And by all means keep both hands and all fingers wrapped around the wheel.

I use the moment to teach chaos theory and the benefits of orderly behavior to my third grader. Breathe.

Montage

I have been reading a bit about rearing ethical and socially conscious kids this week.

I was quite blessed to have parents who understood the value of giving back and whose actions often spoke as loud or louder than their words. At times I know I challenged them by choosing paths at the extremes - journeys that were as mundane as hanging out with all "sorts" of kids or as extreme as living in places that literally put me in harms way.

I think it might be harder for kids today. Specifically, I think it may be harder for my kids today unless I am purposeful. They are bombarded with data from the news, papers, television shows. We limit the viewing but the layers and layers are there. I know they see more, hear more than I did at their age. At least from what I recall.

There are so many needs in our community and around the world. As the images and stories wash over us, I can see how easy it is to feel numb or paralyzed by it all. Through the montage of all the natural disasters, economic challenges, discrimination, spiritual scarcity, I am but one... what can I do?

I try to be a parent consistent in my own actions to the behaviors I expect of them. But even I wonder if I am doing enough to make the world a better place - each day, every day.

During different seasons of my life I did more, sometimes less. What season am I in now?

I want to think more on this throughout the coming week. What is the theme I am hopeful to pass on to Rachel and Nathan? Not that they will follow my path but rather than they seek out a path of servanthood that meets their dreams and ideals and calling...

The Game is in Play...

I read on a wise man's blog this week something that has had me contemplating my own leadership strategies and energies.

The sage post (in partial form related to chess and life comparisons) was "Playing defensively and simply trying to protect your king is a weak strategy compared to an aggressive strategy where you get the pieces in positions where you can use their mobility as an advantage. Thus it is with life. If you spend all of your time and energy protecting what you have, all you are doing is postponing the time when you will recognize that you never gave yourself a chance to truly succeed."

Fundamental to my own leadership strategies is a natural bent toward engaging staff in recognizing and putting their strengths to work in order to achieve outstanding performance. My greatest satisfaction is rarely about the tangible product as much as it is about the intangible maximizing of human capital. It literally chokes me up.

The point where someone turns a corner they did not even know existed. Or to borrow from this person's analogy, the moment someone stops playing small and risks... only to find personal mobility in terms of vision, achievement, dreams... is my "win" as much as theirs.

I see a lot of shifting lately in some of my staff. Less guarding of the tiny personal/professional square that might have been perceived as their own turf. Much more looking out several moves. An abundance of calculated risks that lead to learnings.

And that makes me feel like the queen of the world (okay, just my little world anyway!) - able to go in several directions, to protect the mission of my organization, to empower our different people to capitalize on their unique moves, to build a learning culture where a team thinks a number of moves ahead and gathers as much information as they possibly can.

Not quite check mate. But the game is in play...

Fasting

I am going to fast this week. And I do not mean a food fast.

I am willingly abstaining from viewpoint offering for the week. An opinion fast so to speak.

I will instead use the time as a period of listening, reflection and prayer. A spiritual and occurpational recuperation time.

Refresh and reinvigorate is the intent. I'll strive to make the necessary readjustments in my inner-life in order to better listen, learn and lead.

Since so few know of my blog, this fast's purpose is purely personal, symbolic only to me in its significance. No political statement. No leadership challenge to others.

Also no weight loss strategy. Although I expect letting the weight of the world off my shoulders may be an anticipated benefit!

Let the therapy begin!