Back From The Edge

This video got me thinking. . .

If small changes yield large changes in organizations, maybe it is true in my life. Maybe I am looking for big differences in my life to come from significant changes. The changes could be moving to a different part of the country or world, changing jobs, getting married/divorced/single again/living together, making a lot of money, immersing my life in art. Maybe the reality is the largest changes come from small acts such as keeping a gratitude journal, 10 minutes of meditation each day, walking a few times a week, sitting outside for a few minutes a day. Maybe my life is like a ship with a rudder. Small changes to the rudder brings about substantial changes in course.

It’s something to think about at least.

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” Robert Collier via @mencobabelajar

My Dad died in March. I had written this the year before he died. I’m so glad I shared it with him. . .

Without further ado:

“I was raised by a clown. A real honest to goodness clown. My Dad is currently the Headmaster of the Ohio College of Clowning Arts. Why is this important?

I have learned some important lessons from him:

Always look for a used tuxedo shop, great deals can be had there.
~The overlooked and cast-off can be a treasure-trove of possibilities.
It takes a minimum of an hour and a half to put on your full outfit and make-up.
~It takes a lot of hard work to be creative.
Who says the ‘D’ in Rufus D. Dufus can’t stand for Clyde?
~You can make your own rules.
When you are with your audience you are always the clown.
~You represent your company, even when you think you are alone.
Good clown shoes cost a lot of money.
~Quality isn’t free, nor should it be.
Some kids and adults hate clowns.
~You can’t please everyone and you shouldn’t even try.
Always wear cool underwear – you never know when you’ll need to drop trow.
~When they catch you with your pants down you can still give them a good show.
Some people ridicule you as a clown.
~It doesn’t matter what THEY think. It matters what you think as well as the one who hired you.
Lastly, sometimes it take a person hiding behind a mask to reveal what is true, honest, and just darn funny.

I have not stayed current with my clown training. I no longer can safely eat fire. I can juggle (but am very rusty), and I haven’t put on a clown outfit in years. Still the simple lessons taught to me by my Dad and the hundreds of clowns that have worked with him have taught me some very profound lessons.”

“Everything we do is in service of our needs.
When this one concept is applied to our view of others,
we’ll see that we have no real enemies,
that what others do to us is the best possible thing
they know to do to get their needs met.”

Marshall Rosenberg from Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

The quote below is so right on. Don’t get caught up with the word ‘nirvana’. Think of it as [insert ultimate goal here]. It can work with just about any faith including with Hindus, Christians, atheists, agnostics, Wiccans, Muslims, Jews, and Mormons.

From the Dalai Lama:

“Nirvana may be the final object of attainment, but at the moment it is difficult to reach. Thus the practical and realistic aim is compassion, a warm heart, serving other people, helping others, respecting others, being less selfish. By practicing these, you can gain benefit and happiness that remain longer. If you investigate the purpose of life and, with the motivation that results from this inquiry, develop a good heart – compassion and love. Using your whole life this way, each day will become useful and meaningful.”

What do you think? How do you express compassion? How has it been expressed to you?

Image from Artbywicks.com

“Attention is precious & it’s like money. Would you throw $5 on the ground? Be aware of who & where your attention is given.”

@Bregaddie

“The ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence.”

Robert J. Shiller via @InspiredRobin

Marshall Rosenberg from Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

I am constantly evaluating people, situations, and strangers. I think I am being objective, but I am mostly making a judgment and not an observation. Why is it important? I believe that I can only enter into true communication when I know how to observe without evaluating. It is hard to do.

Try this exercise sometime. Spend 5 minutes observing what is going on around you. The only thing not allowed is any evaluation. You could say, for example, ‘that woman is wearing a purple dress’ (observation) but not ‘that is a pretty dress’ (evaluation). ‘He is mean’ (evaluation) would not be allowed, but  ‘he yelled at me the last two times I spoke to him’ (observation) would be. More subtly ‘this is a great day’ (evaluation) would not be allowed, but ‘I am enjoying today’ (observation) is allowed. Try to be in the moment and simply observe.

Try it and let me know how it went.

“OBSERVE!! There are few things as
important, as religious, as that.”

Frederick Buechner

It will be Summer — eventually.
Ladies — with parasols –
Sauntering Gentlemen — with Canes –
And little Girls — with Dolls –

Will tint the pallid landscape –
As ’twere a bright Bouquet –
Thro’ drifted deep, in Parian –
The Village lies — today –

The Lilacs — bending many a year –
Will sway with purple load –
The Bees — will not despise the tune –
Their Forefathers — have hummed –

The Wild Rose — redden in the Bog –
The Aster — on the Hill
Her everlasting fashion — set –
And Covenant Gentians — frill –

Till Summer folds her miracle –
As Women — do — their Gown –
Of Priests — adjust the Symbols –
When Sacrament — is done –

Emily Dickinson

(Editor’s Note:  This poem is shown here as it was written — Emily Dickinson loved her hyphens.)

Get out there and seize the day!  Wear that sundress you think you look fat in — screw what everybody thinks, you love it; knead a patch of cool grass with your toes while you eat your supper, find a shady tree in a quiet place and meditate, show your kids how you used to decorate yourself with lightning bug butts — whatever it is, do it.  Don’t neglect the scrapbook in your head!

“When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears”

Anthony Robbins

I am in the middle of reading what has turned out to be a phenomenal book. It is entitled Wrestling with Our Inner Angels: Faith, Mental Illness, and the Journey to Wholeness. It is about a psychologist who is a nun exploring the place of faith and spirituality in the treatment of individuals with mental health issues. It also turns out to be about how her blazing this trail brings her healing as well.

It is a short read (only about 140 pages) but I am finding it full of insight and beauty.

I’d love for you to read it and let me know what you think.

My whole life, to one degree or another, has been about accumulation. I have an insatiable desire for more stuff. A better computer, more books, more music, different clothes. . . well you get the idea. As I try to step back from the edge, I have come to recognize that this desire for more stuff gets in the way of my peace. There are a couple of reasons. First, my physical surroundings impact my mental and spiritual self. If I live amidst clutter, I will experience clutter in my heart and mind. The second is related to the first, when my stuff is out of order, I spend an increasing amount of time trying to organize my clutter. I move it around. I try to find the right place for it. I end up wasting time. Third, my desire for stuff robs me of my now. I am always thinking of what could or should be. It puts me someplace other than here and now.

To step back from the edge, I use the sustainability motto of reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Reduce: I am trying to consistently look to get rid of stuff. Since I can’t organize clutter I have to get rid of it. Sometimes it’s easy, a usb cord that doesn’t work any more or a broken DVD (it’s amazing what I keep around). Sometimes it’s harder like a wooden car that I painted with my kids at a story time a while back. It was in my trunk forever, but I decided to get rid of it. I try to find ten things to chuck each day. Envelopes, corroded paper clips, old files will do.

Reuse: Before I buy something new I try to see if what I have something that will do the job even if it’s old or a little worse for ware. I don’t really need a new mic stand, I don’t use the third one very often and when I do the tape holds it together just fine. What I have work fine. If it doesn’t-  reduce.

Recycle: maybe something I could get rid of would bless someone else. So why not give it to them. Notice I did not say sell, I said give. A few years back I wife and I decided it was time to get new dishes. The old ones were chipped, scratched, mismatched. We decided to Freecyle them. Freecyle is a network of groups that makes it possible for you to give away your stuff to those who could use it. When we bought the new dishes we Freecycled the old ones and to my surprise we received a number of requests. We offered them to a mom who needed them because their dishes were ruined when their cabinets collapsed. That was a great feeling. Besides, now the dishes won’t sit in a landfill somewhere.

I don’t try to organize my clutter, let it bring me down, or take me out of the here and now.

How do you reduce, reuse, and recycle?

Kudos to Fly Lady who inspired me to think this way. Take a look at her book Sink Reflections