ESSAYS ON FINDING MORE MEANING IN LIFE & WORK
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You don't know me, but...
The way we change ourselves - and one another - might be a dance between our own solitary internal work, and the decision to fearlessly show others who we are and what we see.
The Work Before The Work
What echoes inside of you, though, have yet to be answered? What stillness and listening is still to be done? Where must you go alone before you can take us with you?
Counting Pills
May we have more grace on ourselves when passing through seasons. A friend of mine once told me while I was recovering from heartbreak: Take it slow - slower than you think.
I've never sold anything on Craigslist before
It's not about discovering who we are, it's about recovering who we've always been. This is tough stuff because it's not easy to believe we have what we need. Why do we have such an aversion to believing some of the most beautiful truths can be so simple?
The Universe is Not Against Us
Of course there’s value in hard work, but hard work isn’t synonymous with internal distress. I worry about the fragility of our identities if we don’t stop believing we’re running from some predator and start trusting that we’re doing a little better than we think we are.
Improvising Peace
Though we may encounter seemingly unending seasons of strife, we also have the ability to hone a default perspective of whimsey and wonder each morning. Growth means finding more alignment in the truth that two conflicting things can exist at once.
Another Thankfulness
I wonder if there's a deeper kind of thankfulness - one that doesn't require comparison, but wells from deep inside on its own. Like a song we hear always. So this Thanksgiving, I'm certainly thankful for a roof over my head, fantastic relationships, an amazing job and Taco Bell - but I'm also thankful for the daily opportunity to dive deeper.
Stories ≠ Engagement
You’ve got to get deep about the motives you have for doing the work you do. You’ve got to get clear about why it makes you come alive. You’ve got to speak a language you’d want to hear and you’ve got to create content, products, services and stories that would hold your interest first.
Spending the Night
When we choose to punctuate our lives with new moments time slows down. There's certainly something to be said for feeling at home, but for now I'm enjoying the generosity of my friends and quiet mornings in new places. I wonder where I'll sleep tonight.
Self-Portrait
Our real calling then is not to mark the passage of time with a wish we’ll morph into who we’re supposed to be, but to rest in the quiet knowing of who we already are. Who we’ve always been
The Boys of Boerne
Maybe that’s what cautious parents do when they love their kids - they introduce them to people who can tell the stories they can't themselves. It wasn’t going to be Craig who would tell his boys about the world and how to cautiously let it in, but it could be me.
The Near and Quiet Future
One thing I've learned about living through pain is that sometimes you can give yourself the gift of seeing just two or three seconds beyond where you are now.
Fire Truck
What important work it is to help others see things they've never seen before. What a beautiful opportunity it is to guide people to new ways of understanding.
Nobody is Talking About You
Do you ever have trouble sleeping on Sunday nights? Your heart is pounding and you’re worried about all the things you have to do. Have you ever imagined there is a private meeting in a secret conference room where your colleagues talk about whether or not you’re fulfilling your potential?
I Hate Asking for Help
When we invite others in, we remind one another that we can't do life alone. We cut the crap and realize that we're more alike than we think we are. We can always learn something from moments of forced humility.
Our Duty to Participate
Participating is difficult and inconvenient. Despite our knowledge that the formula works, we're still hesitant. We retreat into ourselves, we decide to be comfortable. If we're to become who we want to become, we must begin acting that way and the mindset will follow. The confidence will follow.
Montage Moments
I think it’s small moments of discipline that get us through challenges. In movies, these moments are collected in montages because they can sometimes be boring or kind of regular unless there’s a sweet song playing. It takes consistent hard work to be an extraordinary person. It means you have to trust the process and show up each day.
We are all Don Draper
We learned to accept Don, so that means we can accept us. Despite all of the terrible things Don did, we wanted him to find peace - so that means we can find peace.