A Gold Medal and Martian Landing

In what activity might you qualify for a gold medal? Think about it. While you may have to look beyond sports, it is very likely that you excel in something.  And no, nagging is not the kind of activity we are looking for here.
For some reason, people find it difficult to see the best about themselves, erroneously figuring that to identify the best in us shows  a lack of humility. In actuality, to recognize the honest truth about one's giftedness is genuine humility. You call a spade a spade. 
Scientists celebrate the successful landing of Curiosity on Mars. Could this team be worthy of a gold medal? It would be false to deny the achievement. You certainly don't see scientists saying, "Oh, it was nothing." Let us give the team the honor and recognition they deserve.
We, too, can find a deeper sense of peace if we look for our own achievements worth celebrating. I am going to strive for a gold medal today in the art of listening. I've been practicing. Like a 100 meter dash, I may have a short window today in which to achieve my goal. Fortunately, I will have many opportunities to "compete."

The Great Thing

The world is changed forever because you are in it.
It certainly doesn't feel that way at the moment. Is it laziness or overwork or summer heat that leaves me wishing I could just skip Monday and go straight to Saturday? Self discipline kicks in, and I pour another cup of coffee and get moving.
The calendar is not cooperating again because I see another month is marching past while I strive to accomplish that Great Thing which seems to elude me today.
Perhaps the Great Thing happened yesterday and I missed it. Perhaps it was that charming phone call with a loved one where I listened without judgment. Maybe it was the plants I trimmed in the front yard that made the front of our home more pleasing to our neighbor's eye— as John Keats said, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever."
The world is changed forever because you are in it.

The heat is on!

Throughout the country, people are suffering through record-breaking, exceptional heat. Some days, when I walk from my air-conditioned car toward a store entrance, I feel as if I will melt into a puddle before I reach the door.  The sun is unrelenting and it is multiplied by asphalt.
I pause mid-stride. I just have to slow down. I can't move fast in this heat.
Perhaps slowing down is what we all need. Life speeds along, and we rush on to yet another task-filled day. People end up more stressed and less peaceful with the hectic pattern of modern life.
The heat forces me to take it down a notch. And that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Refreshing

Sometimes, web pages go haywire, slow down, or freeze midscreen. Fortunately, we have a refresh button to help reload the page.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a reload button for your day? It would be especially useful on the day you only made it half way through your important projects. Or on the day that fatigue caused you to stop working halfway through the afternoon to take up a mindless activity. At least you were moving, you reasoned. People could see you were on the job, but could not perceive that you were in need of a reset.
It would be nice if the giant webmaster in the sky would just reload the page for us. Fresh energy is difficult to find. Best wishes as you press on. 

Do Something Great

Yes, today is a day to do something great! What will it be?
As I was leaving church this morning, instead of saying, "Have a nice day!" to an elderly woman walking slowing from the service, I felt inspired  to say, "Do something great!" Isn't that what we are invted to do every day? Inside this otherwise ordinary-looking day is an opportunity to do something great.
I was reminded of Abraham Lincoln, who was once asked what he thought of the sermon. Pensively he responded that the preacher "didn't challenge me to do something great."
So what will it be? A kind word to a discouraged person can be great! Helping someone across the street can be great! Just being healthy is great. Looking forward to family time, vacation, and a weekend can be great. Greatness can come in small packages. 
Look for greatness today.

Graduations and weddings

I am scrambling around for cards, gifts and outfits to wear appropriate to the various occasions. Some events even involve pot luck creations and efforts to out-do the delectable fare arriving from a wide range of relatives and guests. 
'Tis the season to celebrate--and yes, it's about 6 months until Christmas.
When did we start buying gifts and cards for preschool graduations, kindergarten "advancements" and moves from grade school to middle school? A year doesn't go by without somebody graduating from something.  And weddings? I've seen wedding planning efforts last longer than the marriages. 
Still, I am glad to celebrate, especially when people publicly declare their love.
It is marvelous to mark these wonderful transitions of life, even if some of them are not as long-lived or as significant to us as we wish they could be.
Brides and grooms and graduates of June, may you always feel the joy-filled hope that these special occasions engender.  May the gifts you receive at your parties be friendships worth keeping and memories to treasure.

Did you miss me?

Summer is back! Did you miss the warmer days, with colleagues describing vacations soon to be enjoyed? If you, like many busy people, are surprised that it's vacation season again, join me! I don't know where spring went and I'm still thinking about April showers which seemed mostly nonexistent in California.
True, summer doesn't officially start until June 21, the summer solstice. Nonetheless, Memorial Day picnics signaled the start of summer for many. Kids are graduated, and most are looking forward to the transition from school bells to lazy, option-filled days.
If you live higher on the globe, your days are significantly longer. Better start thinking about your 10 p.m. fireworks shows for Independence Day.  You won't want to miss them.
As I marvel at the march of time, I embrace the joy of knowing that if I missed something this summer, soon it will be summer 2013.  No guarantees that we will all be around next summer, but perhaps the freer days of warmer months will descend upon us with delight. Let this summer offer some modicum of peace to each of us.