Productivity and Creativity at 30,000 Feet

What does flying in an airplane make possible? I’m about to land in Austin. The flight from Dallas to Austin is just under an hour. In the twenty minutes that we could have our computers out, I wrote this blogpost.

The flight from Nashville to Dallas was about two hours. Just enough time to get some significant work done.

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How Do You Know When You’re Grown Up?

As the mother of five daughters, I have had no greater joy than watching my girls grow up into remarkable women. Sure I miss watching them take their first wobbly steps, struggling to master the pedals on a bicycle, and assembling shadow boxes for a 5th grade history project. But watching them grow up and leaving those childhoods behind has been my greatest joy.

Three weeks ago today, Madeline’s (23 year, old daughter #4) boyfriend Shawn was hit by a car while riding his bicycle. It was a hit-and-run accident and he has no memory of it until he woke up in the ambulance. His hip was badly fractured. He had minor spine fractures, numerous cuts and scrapes and a terrible road rash on his hip and leg that was about two feet long.  After being hospitalized following major surgery he came to our home to recover.

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5 Steps for Harnessing the Power of Music

I was at a seminar this past weekend where music was used to enhance the different exercises we participated in.

Upbeat, dance music was played while we all entered the room. This got us excited about being there and put us in a real state of expectation about what we were going to learn.

Beautiful, epic, instrumental soundtracks were used as we reflected and wrote thoughts pertaining to our life and our future. Uplifting and positive songs put us in a state of gratitude and plenitude.

I’ve always known it and so have you. Music is power. It influences us all the time. Religious music lifts our hearts to worship. “Emo” music leaves us feeling melancholy and often depressed. Workout music makes us MOVE. Lullabies lull us to sleep.

Music is power.

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How Many Books Are You Reading?

Last night, as Mike and I were going to bed, I read to him from a book I had just started. It was a book on marriage. It was debunking traditional advice given to people who desire to have a better marriage. Then this morning I read to him something I had read about Nihilism. It interested me because it applied to a problem a friend of ours was struggling with.

He said to me, “I thought you were reading the book about marriage.”

“I am,” I responded, “but I’m also reading about Nihilism.”

Then he thought for a minute. “And weren’t you just talking to me about something you read from A Wrinkle in Time?”

“Yep. I’m reading that too.”

I counted them up and admitted that I was actually reading six books at the moment.

He laughed, because he had five books of his own going at that time.

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Do the Climb?—You’ve got to be kidding!

Sometimes we face enormous challenges. The climb is steep. The obstacles immense. We think we can’t continue. But that’s just when it begins to get interesting.

For example, last Sunday, I talked about Doing the WaIk. And that’s just what Mike and I have done almost every day since we’ve been in Colorado. But … I think we may have gotten a little over-confident.

We’ve loved hiking while here in the Rockies. So Tuesday we decided to do a climb. Not a climb as in rock-climbing, but a climb as in climbing up and over miles of rocks.

We had heard of two beautiful lakes on top of our mountain. The hike was only supposed to take an hour and half one way. We were up for it.

We started out on our beautiful forest trail.

We crossed over one bridge. (This is usually where our daily hikes have stopped—about 30 minutes up.) The little foot bridge would take us to places we’d never been before.

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Do The Walk

(All photos for this post were taken on my iPhone.)

Let’s admit it. When it comes to doing things that you know are good for you, you can act like a little child. There are those times when you just don’t want to. Inwardly you feel like a rebellious little brat who just refuses. “You can’t make me.” “You’re not the boss of me.”

Or you’re like a whiney, pouty little kid. “I don’t feel like it.” “I can’t.” “Just leave me alone.”

Or there are those times when you are too cool and too smart to do it. “That’s okay. You go ahead.” “I’m fine.” “I’ve already tried that.”

There’s a little kid inside of each of us. Keeping us from getting what we truly want.

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Wishing You a HAPPY New Year … And Me Too

I know I’m four days late, but I’m saying it anyway. “Happy New Year.” And I mean it. HAPPY New Year. Not happy like “I’m-happy-because-I’m-getting-everything-I-want” happy.” But “happy-because-I’m-at-peace” happy. This is what I wish for you.

I was thinking that happiness is really a state of being at peace, a state of contentment. When we “lose our peace” we can’t be happy. But “keeping our peace” equals true happiness and can be had anywhere, in any situation.

It happens in the heart.

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No Time for Drama

One thing I’m loving about being with my family this week is the lack of DRAMA.

There has been no walking on egg shells. No whispers behind someone’s back. We’re just there, looking at our feet and being present, loving and appreciating each other. Laughing, crying, hugging (my personal favorite), cooking, eating, cleaning, debating, sparring, eating, expressing, listening, reminiscing, more eating (what is it with the eating?) and most of all seeking to understand. I love it.

It hasn’t always been this way, and thankfully over the years, and through lots of pain, we’ve chipped away at the superfluous and been left with the gems of each other.

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Habits: Like well worn paths…

It’s times like this when I wish I had more habits under my belt. I feel overwhelmed and out of sorts. Not sure which way to turn or what to do first. Habits make it possible to just act without much thinking. Habits are like well worn paths to get you where you need to go when you can’t see the forest for the trees.

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When I’m Really Annoyed

 

It seems that lately I’ve had several conversations with people who are very upset about something. They feel angry, annoyed, hurt, mistreated, misunderstood, etc.

These people find that something or someone has not been fair. Something happened that wasn’t supposed to happen. Something didn’t go the way it was supposed to, or the way they wanted it. Someone let them down. Someone hurt their feelings. Someone got in their way. Somebody was really annoying them.

So they complain. They play the victim. They fuss. They whine. They blame. I find these kind of people very annoying. (Oops. Did I just say that?)

Before I get too self-righteous pointing “them” out, I have to admit that I’m one of “them.” In fact, just the other night I got really upset because I lost a blog post I was writing.

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