Tag: inspiration

The Paradox of Surrender

The plan is simple. Just admit that you’re stuck, out of any of your own options, and that you’re willing to concede the overall guidance of your life to someone else.

But, wait. This is America. Who stands up and professes their own inability to navigate the waters of their own life? Isn’t stuff like this frowned upon in our culture?

Any quest toward personal spiritual growth inevitably encounters the concept of surrender, when you “let go and let God”, when you realign yourself with your Source and actively trust the Divine Guidance to light your way. For some, letting go is a conscious rational choice. For me, I went kicking and screaming. Surrender was the only option when I ran out of options of my own. It’s never a proud moment when life brings you Continue reading “The Paradox of Surrender” →

Standing On The Edge Of Your Greatest Possibilities

A prayer and a parachute hoping to tame the laws of gravity and return him safely to the Earth below.

I watched in awe when Felix Baumgartner gave a wave with his right hand, stood up, and stepped off his capsule 24 miles above New Mexico. I watched the footage of his jump several times, more amazed with every viewing.

During one playback I paused the footage a few seconds before Felix began his jump. The camera angle was directly above Felix, offering an encompassing view of him standing outside the capsule Continue reading “Standing On The Edge Of Your Greatest Possibilities” →

Here’s What To Do When God Tells You That You Suck

I wouldn’t want to have that conversation. A conversation where God calls you into the office and tells you that you suck. That you’re less than perfect. That you are inherently flawed. That you are physically/intellectually/emotionally inferior. That you just aren’t good enough.

The good news is God would never call us aside and tell us any of this.

Yet how often do we have this very conversation with ourselves?

THREE VOICES There are worldly voices surrounding us which quite often influence our own opinion of who it is we think we are. These voices come in several dialects, but usually all they do is work Continue reading “Here’s What To Do When God Tells You That You Suck” →

The Honesty of November

The Honesty of November

What can a month teach you?

There’s a small window of time each year that I quietly look forward to. It’s the time when gone are the spectacular fireworks of the fall foliage, when the last leaves on the oaks and maples have finally found their way to the ground below. The bitter cold of winter’s chill has yet to arrive, but we are reminded that it is on its way.

November.

I’ve always had a special place in my heart for November. It was a great companion for me during the frustrating and challenging Continue reading “The Honesty of November” →

How Much of You Will Be Thrown Into The Great Dumpster in the Sky?

I imagine the story would go something like this:

It’s Judgment Day. You have a final interview with God, at which time you need to turn back in any of your unused potential. Any excess capacity that was never utilized. Any unused gifts that were bestowed upon you but simply never used. And I can see God cringe every time he asks to see what’s been left unused. He knows the answer already. Not just because He’s God, but because He knows that the vast majority simply never  live up to the greatness they were designed to achieve. God simply shakes his head as he throws the unused potential into the big rusty steel dumpster behind him.

Continue reading “How Much of You Will Be Thrown Into The Great Dumpster in the Sky?” →

Why The World Needs You To Be A Three-Year-Old Again

My three-year-old drew this picture for me today at school. She enthusiastically tells me it’s a picture of a “grab hopper”. I have no idea what a grab hopper is.

But it really doesn’t matter.

I love her art. Because it’s art in the truest sense. It’s her innocent untainted expression of what was inside of her, her vision, beautifully showcased on a canvas of 20 pound multipurpose paper with a cheap brown felt-tipped marker.

I’m certain that during the creative process she was never once concerned about what anyone else at her table thought about her drawing. They, too, were far too busy expressing themselves as well, gleefully showing each other their unique masterpieces.

Art. Without the art critics. Just art.

How much of the art that lies within us is never shared with the world simply because we fear it will be harshly measured, judged, evaluated, compared, criticized? How much of what we really are – our voice, our vision, our passion – remains suppressed simply because we’ve empowered the critics and cynics around us? You know, the ones that will lovingly tell you all the reasons why things probably won’t work out anyway?

The best way to silence the critics is to dive in anyway. Then just keep on swimming. At your own pace.

Within each one of us lie unique gifts that only we can offer to the world. A gift that makes the world better. Wouldn’t today be a great day to again start sharing them?

C’mon. How often do you get to act like a three-year-old?

It’s a great day to be you!

If You’re Gonna Hate Me, Please Do So at Noontime

This is my very last blog post.

Ever.

OK, this probably isn’t my last post ever.

But it could be.

Who knows? Some things are well beyond our control.

If this were to be the absolute last thing I was ever to write I’d want it to be memorable. I’d want it to move you. But most importantly, I’d want to make sure you knew exactly how I feel. Black and white, because there wouldn’t be a chance for me to ever Continue reading “If You’re Gonna Hate Me, Please Do So at Noontime” →

Go Feng Shui Yourself

Rearranging the “furniture” in your mind.

I have a love/hate relationship with painting. I love looking at the myriad of individual paint sample cards. I love the feeling each shade evokes. I love the possibilities. I love how the room will look and feel when the project is completed. Unfortunately, the paint doesn’t get on the walls by itself. That would be the hate part.

Standing in Home Depot’s paint department in front of 100’s of little color samples that offers millions of possible color combinations can be a wee bit overwhelming. For me, perhaps the most difficult part about repainting a room is deciding exactly how I want the room to feel. Cozy? Whimsical? Peaceful? Tranquil? Fun? Color can make any four walls feel exactly how you want them to feel.

We all spend a great deal of time coloring the environment we live in. From the colors in the rooms we dwell in, the furniture in those spaces, the music we listen to, the books we read, the car we drive, the clothes we wear, the friends we keep, we surround Continue reading “Go Feng Shui Yourself” →

Life Lessons from Peanut Butter and Jelly

Culinary soul mates?

One of my many duties as a father of three school aged kids is that of the official sandwich maker. Most every morning I can be found standing over slices of bread, mindlessly configuring slices of ham, turkey, or olive loaf with American cheese and yellow mustard. Or if Dad didn’t get to the supermarket to pick up some deli meat, there’s always Plan B, also known as Peanut Butter and Jelly.

I guess I could have kept track of exactly how many sandwiches I’ve made in my role as official sandwich maker, but the morning usually never affords me the time to sit down and update a spreadsheet. But I wish I had a dollar for every sandwich I’ve made over the years.

PROFOUND A recent Plan B morning, it was time to make some PB & J’s. As I was about to unite the individual slices of wheat bread, one coated with a layer of peanut butter and the other coated with a layer of jelly, I stopped for a moment as I surprisingly realized something rather profound:

Peanut Butter doesn’t need Jelly. Continue reading “Life Lessons from Peanut Butter and Jelly” →

The Joy of Just Not Knowing

“Life isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. The way you deal with it makes all the difference.”  – Virginia Satir

Uncertainty. The problem with uncertainty is that it’s, well, so uncertain. We all strive to avoid uncertainty. In a sea of constant change, we all want to know where the life boats are.

It wasn’t too long ago that life was something you could sort of plan. There was an expectation of stability and predictability as you transitioned from one phase of your life into another. The steps were well worn and well defined; graduation led to the job which led to the marriage which led to the house which led to the children which eventually led to the retirement and the pension from the job which you never left. As predictable and as certain a path as a train on a track.

I was raise in this environment. My Dad worked in the same factory his Dad worked in. The two of them gave their entire working lives to one company, 77 years between the both of them. Why? Because they could. The process, the path, just worked.

HOLES IN THE DREAMBOAT I guess the world has changed a little bit. Certainty, the cornerstone of how life used to be, is long gone. The now-vacant lot where Continue reading “The Joy of Just Not Knowing” →