I presented a short talk to about a hundred people on Sunday and I began with a number:
17, 288
That’s the exact number of days I was alive when I opened my eyes on Sunday morning.
And except for one young lad who was celebrating his 17th birthday and had lived a mere 6,205 days, most of the people in the audience had clocked upwards of 11,000…
I’m a firm believer in what Brenda Ueland calls moodling, “long inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering.”
In a weird time-twisting way, I’ve discovered that one secret to getting a lot done is being willing to spend a lot of time alone doing nothing at all!
Gazing out a window with a cup of tea. Soaking in a bath. Sitting still and paying attention to the breath.
And…
Right around now is when parents start pulling out a pretty strong behavior card: Santa’s Naughty and Nice list.
Think about it.
You don’t hear parents out in public with unruly kids in June sternly admonishing them, “Behave! You don’t want to end up on Santa’s Naughty List or he won’t bring you any presents!” But it’s a common occurrence during these last few weeks before Christmas.
And…
My daughter is invited to a Friendsgiving dinner this weekend. It’s a get-together celebrated annually with her friends in Chicago before they all journey to various corners of the United States to spend the actual Thanksgiving holiday with their families.
Now, since I’m a vegetarian, the conventional menu for Thanksgiving doesn’t appeal to my taste buds. But I’m not too fond of the idea of taking…
When we talk about someone who’s “on the fringe,” we’re referring to someone far out there near the very edge, on the periphery. Maybe they’re on the fringe of a personal breakthrough, on the fringe of stardom, on the fringe of madness, or on the fringe of a world-changing idea or scientific discovery.
But being on the fringe can be a very lonely, scary and uncomfortable…
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