Being In Touch With Nature

When I left work yesterday I had one goal. The goal was to go to Best Buys and buy my granddaughter a copy of “Madagascar III”. There are priorities in life. Chloe loves it and I’ve seen all three of them myself. Earlier in the day I went outside for a walk. I try to walk whenever I can take a break. Depending on the weather I may walk outside. At this moment in time autumn is in all its glory. The colors are magnificent, the mornings are cool, and the days are pleasant. I love it and I find it invigorating. Unlike summer, which sucks the life right out of me, this time of year makes me feel more alive. I look forward to Saturday when I will drive through the Indiana National Forest on my way to see my son at the seminary. His school is connected to a monastery located in a rural area. It’s a beautiful place. For now I must content myself with the beauty of the trees in the green space near my office, the trees along my commute, and the trees in my neighborhood. In a world where too many of us work in offices that are located in buildings where windows cannot be opened, we need to get outdoors whenever we can to feel the wind and the sun upon our faces. When the weather is beautiful like it is now I envy those members of my team that work at home and have some control over their connection to nature. As I sit here typing these thoughts I wish I felt a breeze generated by the wind and not from the small oscillating fan sitting on my desk. It’s hot in the office today and the fan seems to do nothing but circulate warm air. I’m having a hot flash so I hope I finish these thoughts before I go face down on my keyboard. If you are reading these thoughts I guess I made it.

Follow Your Bliss

Last night I had dinner with a friend who is going to help me get my first book published. I have run out of excuses for not doing this and lately I have been receiving a great deal of encouragement. The time has arrived. In many ways the book is already written. I have well over 1000 “daily thoughts” in my archives. Making the decision to publish is the first step in a long journey. The challenge now is to decide how the book will look, what will be in the book, and how will it all be organized. I have a title in mind and there is no doubt the book will be dedicated to my granddaughter. She was my original inspiration. Much of my adult life I have kept private, handwritten journals. It wasn’t until Chloe was born in 2004, when I was 53 years old, that I sent out for public consumption the first of what became my daily thoughts. That first email contains my thoughts on the experience my wife and I had when we kept a three week old Chloe overnight for the first time. The rest, as they say, is history. The friend who is helping me is a co-worker that I met quite serendipitously. I was part of a company focus group and he was one of the facilitators. I was pontificating about something and I could see him nodding in agreement from the corner of my eye. We introduced ourselves after the meeting and immediately hit it off. I believe people come into your life for a reason. I began sharing my daily thoughts with this new friend and he quickly became one of my biggest fans and supporters. I look forward to working with him on my book. I also believe that all of us find ourselves and our gift soon or later. For me , it was later. I am a late bloomer and a slow starter. The best of me is just now starting to emerge. We are all on different schedules. Your day will come also. Follow your bliss!

From Catching Watermelons To Picking Pumpkins

Over the weekend I transitioned from thoughts of catching watermelons to picking out pumpkins with Chloe. This past Saturday was our annual family trip to Huber’s where we rode the farm wagon out to the pumpkin fields and we also contributed lots of money to the Huber Children’s College Fund. It was a good day. My family all met up for breakfast and then we made the trek to Indiana. At first I was disappointed because the weather report forecasted a summer like day instead of a fall day. Fortunately, due to overcast skies, the morning was not hot and wandering around the fields was pleasant. Yesterday my wife and Chloe attended my niece’s baby shower so I had an afternoon of unsupervised freedom. I dropped them off at my niece’s new home and I went to Barnes & Nobles for a pumpkin spice latte and some blissful time looking at CD’s and book’s. When I finally got home I had one of those wonderful Sunday afternoon naps where I slept on my couch as a nice breeze flowed in from an open window. Now I am back in the office to earn my daily bread so I can prepare for next weekend when my wife and I will drive to St. Meinrad’s where my son attends the seminary. Over the weekend we received the news that he will be ordained a priest on May 25th. I definitely need to earn my daily bread before that day arrives.

Boredom

“I’m bored”! How many times have you heard someone say this or how many times have you felt this way? I read an article recently about boredom. It basically said there was no excuse for being bored. It also said that if you feel bored, it’s not the situation, it’s your attitude towards whatever is perceived as boring. When I feel bored I sometimes ask myself why I feel bored. My experience is that I often feel bored when I must do something that is uninteresting or unchallenging to me. I also feel bored when I feel trapped in a situation or a place I don’t want to be. I think part of the problem with boredom is the fact that all of us live in a complex world that often over stimulates our minds. We are so bombarded with words, information, and images that when we have moments of non-stimulation we feel bored. When I lived in a monastery the biggest challenge for me was dealing with boredom. In the monastery there were not many distractions. Outside the monastery is a stone carving that says “God Alone”. We had our monastic schedule that carried us through the day but there was very little in terms of entertainment or diversion away from the purpose of being in a monastery. There was no television or radio, no recreation room, and no going to town for beer and pizza. The challenge of monastic life, and the challenge for all of us when feeling bored, is the challenge of facing yourself. It is often in these moments of boredom that we have to deal with our own nothingness. Let’s be honest. Many of us feel an emptiness within us that we try to fill with activity and all manner of escapism. We don’t want to face our own emptiness or brokenness. We hate to feel bored because we hate to face our own reality. However, we can’t avoid it forever. Sooner or later we must face our boredom and look within. We must deal with our emptiness and restlessness. We must realize that it is an emptiness and restlessness that activities and things can never fill. Monks and others of a spiritual nature find some comfort in the words of St. Augustine, a 5th century bishop and theologian who said “We will have no rest, O Lord, until we rest in you”. Others may find comfort in different spiritual teachings or ways of thinking. Basically, when we deal with our own emptiness and brokenness, we can eventually experience an inner fulfillment that has no room for boredom. We see the fullness of life all around us.

The Art Of Catching Watermelons

Once when I was in high school, after a night of drinking with my friends, I went to my job at a small mom and pop grocery store. As soon as I got to work, slightly hung over, the boss tells me I need to go to the front of the store because a local farmer was delivering a truck load of watermelons. My job was to catch the watermelons when the farmer threw them to me and stack them up in front of the store.  I’m not sure what a typical watermelon weighs but let me tell you this. This job about did me in before the truck was unloaded. Sometimes it can feel like life is throwing you watermelons and they are coming at you very quickly. My first piece of advice is avoid having to catch watermelons when you are hung over. Assuming you are not a physical wreck like I currently am, it’s a lot easier to catch watermelons when you are sober and alert. This story is all a lead in to today’s topic which is balance. The secret to catching watermelons, sober or hung over, is balance. If your feet aren’t balanced and a twenty pound watermelon comes flying your way, you are going to get knocked over and the watermelon won’t end up too well either. When one is balanced you can take on the characteristics of a deeply rooted oak tree. The winds of life can blow and no matter what they bring, you remain standing. Another word often associated with balance is centeredness. Centeredness is basically knowing who you are, knowing what you believe, and practicing your values and beliefs. Centeredness and balance, working in harmony, will get you through just about anything in life, even catching flying watermelons.

People Skills

I have a lot of conversations with co-workers and others about leadership and people skills. Recently I read an article that said the most successful people are those with the best people skills. The article said that people skills ultimately trump every other skill in the long room. Certainly other skills are needed to be successful but I agree with this article. I have survived in my work environment for nearly 27 years because of my people skills. People skills are difficult to develop if you don’t naturally have them. I have always been a people person despite the fact that people tend to wear me out. I am an “NF” temperament on the Myers-Briggs personality type indicator. In the world of work and people “NF” types are described as the oil that keeps all the machinery running smoothly. I like that analogy. While having those skills I also realize that my introverted nature is why I also find people so exhausting. Sometimes there is irony in our individual personality traits. Beyond the psychological aspects, what are people skills and what does it mean to be a people person. I think the foundation of people skills is caring about people. I’m no Mother Teresa but I do care about people. I also have certain values in my life, regardless of where I am, that I try to practice. My values are love, kindness, compassion, tolerance, patience, fairness, and acceptance. I strive to apply these to every human being that I encounter in my life. It may be a tired waitress in a restaurant, an overwhelmed clerk at the grocery store, a stranger on the street, or a co-worker in my office. I like to believe that the person I am at work is the person I am everywhere else in my life. It’s important that the values I listed above be authentic. You can’t fake caring or people skills.

One Time In France

I had frost on my car this morning. Brrr! Driving to work I was reminded of another cold morning. In 2005 I had the opportunity to go to France. I visited a small town called Clairvaux. This city is famous because of a famous 12th century monk and theologian named Bernard of Clairvaux. I was there for a religious conference of monks, nuns, and lay people. Although it was early June the mornings were very cool. As I have mentioned before, monks get up in the middle of the night to prayer what are called Vigils. It was no different on this trip. I was staying in a small village a few miles away that was surrounded by vineyards. Every day that I was in France I drank the fruit of the vine.  However, I digress.  My companions and I got up, drove to Clairvaux, and joined others for Vigils. The chapel was very old and had no heat. I sat there shivering while a monk sang the prayers in French. I love the sound of the French language. After the prayers were over we went to a small room under the chapel. Inside the room was a stone fireplace with a blazing fire. Breakfast was waiting for us. Sitting next to the fire the hot coffee and bread seemed like a great feast. I was totally in the moment. Everything about the experience came together to create a perfect moment. I was warmed by the fire, the coffee and bread satisfied my thirst and hunger, and my mind and heart were blown away because I was doing all of this in France. As I sit here typing these notes I am back in that moment. Let me leave you with a Zen koan. Is all bread in France considered French bread?