Good word Words

I like the feel of the sun on my back in early spring. The wind may be blowing, the temperature near freezing, but the bright sun wraps me in her warmth. It gives me hope that spring is coming and winter in ebbing. In the same way, we can be the sunshine to those passing through our lives. Everyone experiences a winter. When someone brings the sunshine to them with a smile, kind act, or hope-filled encouragement, the person experiencing the winter knows the sun will again shine on them. They know that soon they will be feeling good. Bring the sunshine to all who come your way today. You’ll make our world brighter and happier.

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Peace is what we feel and experience when our context and environment doesn’t disturb us. When we have this kind of peace, we do not block or ignore what is happening around us, we observe it and decide how we should respond. We become actors on our environment and not reactors. We are able to balance a sense of detachment with a sense of involvement. My wife had this beautiful gift. She could sense when I was caught up in my context. She would calmly listen to me and gently lower my temperature until I was peaceful. Here’s hoping you find your peaceful space. You’ll feel better, live longer, and people will want to be around you.

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The more we practice the better we perform. It can be shooting a basketball, baking cookies, or preparing for an interview. Practice is essential to improved performance. I was fortunate to learn this lesson early on in my academic career I was presenting a research paper at a prestigious conference. I hadn’t given much thought to practicing what I would say, after all, I did the research. The day before my scheduled presentation I went to a session where four speakers made presentations then took questions. An audience member from a prestigious university stood, and said, “You wasted an hour and half of our time. You didn’t prepare your presentations. You winged it.” Wow. I learned an important lesson and headed to my hotel room and practiced, practiced, practiced my presentation. That lesson followed me throughout my career and it paid off time and again. 

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Think of being optimistic as your morning cup of coffee. It’s the stuff that gets you out of bed, into the shower, dressed and heading out the door. When we are optimistic, we can get past most tough moments. We know the moment is tough, but we believe that it’s going to get better and tomorrow will be better than today. Life’s too short to hang out with people who despair, view the world as a bad place, or couldn’t see a rainbow if it bit them in the butt. C’mon, put a smile on, good things are coming your way. You know it.

I like to visit the Rocky Mountain National Park. When I visit I find my way to Bear Lake. Bear Lake is at 9449 (2880 m)  feet of elevation. The lake’s surface is calm without so much as a ripple. One feels one could walk across the lake without getting wet. I like to sit on a bench and gaze at the calm surface. The lake reflects the images of the surrounding mountains. Sitting there gives me a sense of peace and calm. My thinking slows down, my heart rate drops. We all need a Bear Lake in our lives. We need to find that special spot that helps us to regain a sense of calm. I hope you have one where you can sit and close your eyes and go to your personal version of Bear Lake.

Need a job? Be a builder. We are in dire need of builders. The kinds of people who build relationships. The kind of people who build strong families. The kinds of people who build bridges between groups with different worldviews. The kinds of people who build other people up. Become a builder and you’ll always be in demand.

I like this definition of alive. I’ve met lots of folks who are alive but they are barely living. Somewhere on their journey they forgot how to be joyful, to see beauty in nature, to move their feet to the beat of music. When we’re alive we’re engaged in life. We take our overflowing cup of energy to all our actions and interactions. Life for alive people is a continuous song and dance. They love deeply, they sorrow deeply. They sing with loud voices. They treat each day as an opportunity to discover the day’s hidden surprises. Yes, it’s good to be alive. It’s good to hear music. It’s good to belt out a song. It’s good to give a resounding YES to life. C’mon, let me hear your YES!