Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

I grew up on the West Coast of the US. The possibility of snow for Christmas was so remote that my mom would point to fog in the early morning as evidence that the holidays were just around the corner.

My wife and I now live in the Midwest. There’s a lot of snow when the yuletide season comes around. And I couldn’t be  happier with four distinct seasons. But I don’t find that same response from many who have grown up in the Midwest. I find it amusing that they don’t share my appreciation for the wonderful cycles of change God has built into nature for our good.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Solomon acknowledged the cycles of life. He observed a time to sow and a to reap, to weep and to laugh, to mourn and to dance, to gain and to lose, to keep silent and to speak, to love and to hate.

Just as God determines the weather, He also controls the cycles in our lives: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Do we   resist those seasons and complain about the “snowy” conditions on the horizon? Or do we trust God and thank Him for whatever He has planned for us?

Whatever our situation is today, we can be thankful for God’s seasons. —dennis fisher

Just as the winter turns to spring, our lives have changing seasons too; so when a gloomy forecast comes, remember — God has plans for you. —sper

Rather than praying for a change in circumstances, pray for change of heart.

I am having a meal with my nutritionist and another person who has been in treatment with me (we are really good friends, we see the same nutritionist–great support for each other!). My nutritionist wants me to set goals for our meal for me:

1. Sit with the anxiety after eating. For some reason, I am overly anxious after eating, especially if others are still eating and there is still food on the table.

2. With #1….eating slowly. Or, at least a normal pace.

3. Really taste the food. Appreciate it. Don’t just gobble it down to get it off of the plate. For some reason, I am overly concerned with other people (or even myself) with people seeing what I eat. For example, I had a peppermint chocolate with me in class and unwrapped it inside of my hooded sweatshirt pocket and popped it in my mouth when everyone was talking….and, even on my own, like I may cover my chips or something with a napkin until I am ready to eat them or when I “think” I’ve had enough.

4. Try something new. Or, eat the same thing, but order it because I want to and not because I “have” to.

My Thanksgiving was interesting….I’ve been getting over bronchitis and pneumonia and I will honestly admit here that I used that as an excuse to not eat as much as I wanted to or probably should have. Food is so celebrated in my family (immediate and extended), that it is always a struggle to eat holiday type meals with them. In one second, they are talking about healthy options and low-fat whatever in foods and the next about all the desserts they are going to eat or want to make. And, they all want me to eat more and more. I think that my parents noticed that my body may have changed (aka lost weight). I made an effort to wear clothing that made me look larger. There are only so many comments that I can handle at one time. My parents kept trying to give me snacks and food and looking at everything I eat. I am trying so hard to really eat healthy and not rely on a handful of specific foods to be “healthy” with.

But, who knows. We didn’t really talk. My mom and I went shopping today and I fell asleep in the car (I never DO that) from not feeling well at all. And, they asked me if my medication from my various germs was causing appetite issues—which it really is. I’ve had no appetite since I started taking it and it makes my mouth taste horrid…so food tastes bad.  But only a week or so longer.

On a positive note, my mom made a dessert just for me (a sugar cookie bottom with different fruits on the top) and it was fantastic. I think she was happy that I liked it. I was happy that I liked. I was honestly thankful that I liked it, tasted a food and really enjoyed what I was eating. I was afraid I would keep eating it and not be able to stop, but I let myself have another piece today and nothing bad happened. I just enjoyed it again–haha who would have thought????

So, to wrap up this Thanksgiving weekend….things I am thankful for (in no particular order….):

1. Medical and dental insurance (especially since I am pretty sure  I have a cavity!). And, my healing foot.

2. Yoga (haha would not forget that one). I have not been able to do yoga but a handful of times due to my foot issue….it still is present in my day-to-day life. I love yoga. When I am able to go back, I will embrace it. Until then, I remember what it does for me and how much it has made a difference in my life–from appreciating my body to the people I have met.

3. Friendships. I have never been one to be surrounded by friends….but, those that I have surrounded myself by now are amazing. Not all of them know all about me, but all of them care about me. And, I care about them. We can laugh, we can cry….we can just be ourselves, our amazing selves. I’m grateful for both my new/growing friendship and my old friends that never stop developing.

4. My ability to play flute. I don’t play very often. I played daily for over a decade, but graduate school has reduced that significantly. I play with a chamber group now and just feel so relaxed whenever I play–no matter what.

5. My hearing and vision. I have hearing aids and glasses. At first, I was like, “wow, how tragic am I.” But, that lasted all of 5 minutes when I was like, “you are crazy!” I work with children with significant disabilities—-things that I cannot fix not matter how much research I do, just give improvements, never fix. I am thankful for my hearing aids and glasses. I love them so much. I love sounds. I love sights. I know that neither will ever be perfect and they will probably continue to worsen as I get older, but I know that they can be “fixed” and I know how wonderful they are. I heard really heard leaves the other day. Beautiful.

6. My family. We may drive each other nuts, but I love them. I know they would do anything for, as I would for them. I wish I could talk to them more. I wish they knew how stressed I was about everything going on, but I know they love me unconditionally not matter what has gone on. And, for that I am grateful, thankful, fortunate, and humbled. Along with that…..My little brother. He is a lot younger than I am, but he has started opening up to me and really having conversations. I am glad that we are finally getting a real brother sister relationship (I took care of him a lot when he was growing up) and that we can just hang out and enjoy each others’ company.

7. My therapist and nutritionist (and my psychiatrist who let me come to the idea of medication on my own–didn’t push it). They have been there through the “thick and thin”–reminding me that it is okay to fall, and helping me get back up….reminding me that it is okay to do new thing and enjoy life, and celebrating those things with me. I have also met several amazing people through treatment, I would not be the same without them.

8. My intelligence. I am fueled through learning. I love learning. I am thankful that I can learn, problem solve, research, and explain things. So many people take that ability for granted. I love that I can read a book and enjoy it without struggling to read it. I love that I can do math and problem solve. I even love that I struggle in a certain horrid statistics class, because it reminds me of how hard my brain works and how wonderful it is.

9. My pay check. There are billions of financial aid issues going on and I literally have no idea what is going to happen next semester, but I am still grateful for my continued stipend and the people who have helped me to figure out my situation–even if it is just listening to me vent and just providing support.

10. My degrees and knowing what I want to do with my life. I think it is so hard to decide that, but I am very grateful that I know my passion. And, that I have degrees that I can use to have jobs. I am proud to say that I am getting my PhD. I used to be embarrassed by this–like it would make someone feel less or inferior. I’m 25 years old and getting my PhD, I’m making a difference in students’ lives and really enjoying what I do. There, said it!

11. My creativity. I love expressing myself through art and photography. I have been trying to set aside 30 minutes a day for it. Hasn’t worked yet, but not giving up on it!

12. Emotions. I think my therapist would fall over if she read this one. I have a hard time accepting and acknowledging my emotions. In doing both of these, I very much appreciate them.

13. My apartment. It is just “me.” It has everything in it that makes me feel comfortable and things that make me unique from my travels around the world and just from here. Books…pictures, words, huge metal lizard from Africa (seriously), bowls from the Middle East, elephant and scarf from India, pretty cups from Europe….my apartment is me. I feel like myself in it.

14. Words. I think that this is the first time I’ve really used group for myself–not just supporting others but letting myself be supported. And, I’ve learned that my words are not meaningless. I have something to say.  I am a valid person–whether that is in academic or personal settings.

15. Writing, I think that if I did not have this blog, I would have a very hard time communicating. At the same time, I have “met” others who have reminded me that I am not alone and have provided support.

16. My faith. I wish that I was closer to God. I really want to go back to church more regularly. I stopped going because of the emotions that it brought up, but I need to feel that love again. And, to be reminded that I am loved. I have plans for Sunday. Emotions and feelings are good

While everyone is camping out in front of large malls and mega stores, I would encourage us to remember the poor and widows.  Its tempting this time of year to begin to focus all of our attention on what we get, gifts for family and friends, but forget the real reason why we celebrate Christmas. I remember as a kid growing up there seemed to be more of a sentiment of Christ in Christmas.  In my neighborhood, I remember seeing more nativity scenes and listening to Christmas carols and hymns focusing on Christ.  Remember the greatest gift of all, the one that was given from God to mankind wrapped in the form of a small babe, who far from pitching his tent in front of Best Buy, rested in a feeding troff for animals according to the scriptures. Was Jesus poor?  Not in the slightest bit!  He lived life full, abundant and with more than enough to give away to those in need, ultimately he gave all he had…his very life to rescue sinners from the pit of hell and eternal separation from God.  He gave the ultimate example of the Fathers love.  He gave.  And he didn’t give left overs and he wasn’t cheap!  He gave the best, the purest and the finest of himself.  I would encourage you, if you are reading this, to find some way to give to a family who is in need, a single mother who doesn’t have enough at the end of the month this year or to support a LOCAL charity.  Don’t give into the temptation to get wrapped up in “door buster sales” and the nativity scene of corporate consumerism.  Get wrapped up in creating value and depth in your relationships with others this year.

Are these guys crazy? Well, to me these guys are some of the craziest world changers I’ve known so far. I’ve heard stories of people making a difference but to shoot it on video and post it up…. this just went another level!

Good job guys! You guys are the heroes of CHANGE!!!

Today was an amazing day.  I learned so much.  I met two fabulous women and learned more about myself in return, and I learned more about CY and saw more progression in his psyche, which amazes me.  I love to witness growth in us all.

Regarding women; it is rare that I find any I can relate to but I think I have this week.  I first met a woman who is a Women’s Entrepreneur Coach.  She got a master’s in Psychology and became a licensed clinician.  As her practice progressed she realized she looked forward to clients cancelling.  Thus she knew that psychotherapy was not her purpose in life.   She got a coach to help her find her niche and she became a coach to help Women Entrepreneur’s.

The second woman I met was also absolutely fabulous.  She was selling Xango which is a concentrated drink of Mangosteen – a fruit native to Thailand.  She had a wonderful personal story of her mother dying of 4 different types of cancer.  After many years of conventional, doctor-prescribed medicine and procedures, her condition was not improving.  Her sister introduced Mangosteen, which she then consumed a high level of over a lengthy period of time and was able to fully recover from her cancer.  This woman was so passionate in her story and how the product personally affected her and her family that I suggested she write her story down.  She was so inspiring.  And then all of a sudden she asked me, “so what do you do, are you a Life Coach?”  I laughed in amazement and said, “Why yes I am.”  How amazing is that.

****************

I drove to CY house afterward my networking event and we walked to a nearby place for dinner.  He ate his second dinner and I ate my first.  I discussed with him my evening at the event I attended and he discussed his interactions at a three day conference in.  He brought back a book signed by the author who is a life coach.  He told her all about me and she told him she would love to help me find clients, my niche, etc.  It was great that he thought of me and presented such an opportunity.  I certainly intend to contact her and follow through with some action.

After dinner, we went directly to his house.  It was the first time I visited his house.  He has a cute house, very small, but so neatly put together and organized.  I excused myself to the restroom to do just that and turn on the audio.  He had to do the same once I was out.  While he was in the bathroom, I started to take off my clothes and once he was out, I was completely undressed.  He quickly got to the same point and we kissed on the bed.  I noticed he finally got the idea to put saliva on his hand to moisten the head of his cock.  That means he is learning how to take care of a lady through my instruction.  I loved it.  He inserted the head of his cock into my pussy and it slid right in to an orgasm for me.  It was amazing how I came instantly just with the insertion of his hard cock.  It just shows how you feel about someone impacts how you respond physically.  There is such a direct correlation between your emotion and physical body.  I am still overwhelmed to think about what happened and then to work to comprehend it all.

The more I interact with people the more wisdom I achieve, especially if I write about it afterwards, as I am now.  Writing makes me aware of my conscious and subconscious thoughts.  Writing brings all my thoughts to the surface so that I can assess them to see what makes sense and what doesn’t.  When it is in your head, there is too much to fully understand.  Writing draws it out and puts things in perspective. I see there is immediate learning part and then a growing cumulative part.  I see it in myself and through others.  It is amazing to watch and witness the process.

The next piece in the 25 Weeks to Building a Successful Organization series is “Re-inventing organizational values, beliefs, and goals.” I use the word re-inventing because you may already have some sort of formal vision and/or mission statement. The questions is: Are these current statements or tenants really serving their purpose? If not, then the aim now is for you to hopefully find inventive ways to engage your employees in deep dialogue, connecting individual values, and developing a joint sense of purpose.

Before beginning, I would like to share one of my favorite quotes surrounding purpose.

When the organization has a clear sense of its purpose, direction, and desired future state and when this image is widely shared, individuals are able to find their roles both in the organization and in the larger society of which they are a part. This empowers individuals and confers status upon them because they can see themselves as a part of a worthwhile enterprise. They gain a sense of importance, as they are transformed from robots blindly following instructions to human beings engaged in a creative purposeful venture. (Bennis & Nanus, 2005, pp. 53-84)

How does one truly create a clear sense of purpose and direction in our organization? When Bennis and Nanus stated, “. . . transformed from robots. . . to human beings engaged in a creative purposeful venture,” what thoughts came to mind? I immediately considered creating commitment rather than compliance. With that said, purpose is so much more than just simple statements—e.g., vision and mission. In fact, I believe that the process of bringing everyone together to explore purpose is much more valuable than the actual statements that may appear.

Although much of the past and present literature stress the importance of organizational purpose, few provide specific activities for finding that purpose. In my book, Strong Schools, Strong Leaders, I spend some time talking about the fostering of a combined purpose. The focal point of one particular chapter centers on forming a shared purpose by tapping into the individual values and beliefs of each and every employee. This is followed by another chapter that outlines a practical, hands-on workshop to do just that.

Both chapters refer to my framework titled, Co-Creating Purpose: A Step-by-Step Process. Generally speaking, the model contains three steps that support the emergence of collective purpose. The first step in the model encourages employees to explore their personal purposes. Finding each employee’s individual purpose is a stepping-stone toward a collective organizational purpose. The second recognizes common themes, goals, and values among the employees. Third, the leader has to encapsulate those relationships into a single overarching purpose. All of this rests on the idea: “to co-create means to form together.”

I believe that inspiring others to explore their own purposes and translating them into overarching ideals is one of the most important and daunting tasks as a leader.

Try this.

In the previous post, Rethinking your own leadership, I offered two great books.

• The Change Handbook by Holman by Devane and Cady (2007). Sixty-one different change methods are offered and written by the originators and leading practitioners in the field.
• The Practical Decision Maker by Harvey et. al. (2001). This resource includes fifty-four different structuring devices for problem solving with your people.

I urge you to use both resources (as well as others) to find a way to engage your employees in recognizing their own personal values, beliefs, and goals. Try to understand where they are “coming from,” where they are presently, and where they want to go. By allocating time to listen and to value each employee’s dreams and aspirations, you can tap into some powerful passions in both their personal and professional lives. Remember to not forget about you own personal aspirations and dreams.

A few helpful processes included in the above-mentioned books may include Playback Theater, Appreciative Inquiry, Visual Explorer, SOAR, Study Circles, and so on. I urge you to check them out.

A lack of individual purpose is a call for concern, and timely action can create new opportunities to recover lost meaning. As soon as you begin to express interest in the ways your employees view their own purpose, a perceptible shift emerges. Suddenly, you will see your employees feeling more valued and respected.

Try this.

Now that you and your employees are more familiar with your own personal ideals then it’s time to unite them by finding the organizational core values. As you know, this requires strategic initiatives to take dialogue to a higher plane for the individual and joint goals of stakeholders rather than shelving output in the hope of revisiting it sometime later.

Here is a section of the Co-Creating Purpose: A Step-by-Step Process model that might help you in the above activities.

Each circle represents your employee’s life purposes; however, each individual purpose is separate from the other. On the surface, there may be no common features. Remember, nothing is wrong with diversity. Activities connecting individual vision-oriented purposes should lead to a set of core values, which the organization adopts. Finally, the shared purpose links each individual purpose through those core values of the organization.

Just an idea

Right now I am working with my employees on re-inventing our own organizational purpose. Here is a little background. A couple of years ago I brought together nearly 1,500 stakeholders and employed a version of the Appreciative Inquiry method. In the end we were able to create multiple values statements and each employee committed to a fresh, new vision. Thus far, these “statements” and vision have both served as guideposts in our planning, as well as day-to-day operations. With the passing of time, along with the hiring of new employees, I felt it was necessary to revisit our purpose.

To do this I am adapting the Visual Explorer approach and attempting to use symbolism (e.g., pictures and thoughts) to represent emergent themes between each employee’s individual purpose. Like the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Think about the possibilities: Finding meaning through vivid, emotion-provoking pictures. Not only can these pictures represent the values, beliefs, and goals of the organization; but each employee can also translate their own aspirations and dreams with each picture. If you would like to hear more on the progress of this challenge, please contact me.

Final Thoughts

Even though this post corresponds to “Weeks 5-6″ in the 25 Weeks to Building a Successful Organization series, you and I both know that discovering purpose takes so much more time. Don’t we all wish this feat only took two weeks. Maybe over the next couple of weeks you can begin the planning stages for this feat; and, hopefully, by “Weeks 11-14: Developing clear targets aligned with organizational and individual values, beliefs,” you and your employees will have had an opportunity to begin the dialogue.

Don’t rush it though. As I mentioned earlier (and I cannot stress this enough), the process of bringing employees together to explore purpose is much more valuable than the eloquence of a vision and mission statement on a piece of paper.

Activities in a nutshell

1. Find and facilitate processes that lead to in-depth dialogue so that your employees can begin to recognize their own ideals.
2. Find and facilitate processes that compel your employees to recognize themes that emerge from everyone’s personal ideals—resulting in a shared purpose.

Questions for you.

Please take the time to add any additional thoughts, ideas, or processes in the comment box. How have you created a strong sense of purpose in your organization? Is it rooted in personal experiences, stories, and dreams?

Upcoming

The next stage in the 25 Weeks to Building a Successful Organization will be “Cultivating effective teams.” The ideas outlined in this upcoming post stem from my research, Professional learning communities and the effectiveness of the teams within those communities. Without a thorough understanding of effective team characteristics and development processes, many teams will continue to operate in a less productive, conventional manner. You can become the vehicle in building staff capacity to lead and operate within highly effective teams.

Cheers!

Perry Wiseman, author, Strong Schools, Strong Leaders: What matter most in times of change

Tim Tebow

Mental toughness is also the perfectly disciplined will. The strength of your group is in your will—in the will of the leader.

The difference between a successful man and others is not in the lack of strength, nor in the lack of knowledge, but rather, in the lack of will.

The real difference between men is the energy. It is in the strong will, the settled purpose, the invincible determination. But remember that the will is the character in action.

If we would create something, we must be something. This is character. Character is higher than intellect. Character is the direct result of mental attitude.

A man cannot dream himself into character; he must hammer and forge one for himself. He cannot copy someone else’s qualities; he must develop his own character qualities to fit his own personality.

-Vince Lombardi Jr.

From “What It Takes To Be #1″

You must realize that your fulfillment in life is dependent on your becoming and doing what you were born to be and do. Anything less makes life your enemy and death your friend. It is essential, vital, crucial, and necessary that you understand this fundamental principle of purpose and pursue it with all your heart. For without purpose, life has no heart. Remember, those who don’t know where they are going will probably end up someplace else.

Dr. Myles Munroe

(from The Pursuit of Purpose)

Tom Pennington / Getty Images

I have a problem with Black Friday!  Please don’t misunderstand me… I don’t have a problem with YOU if you shop on Black Friday… but I do have a problem with the whole concept.  I understand that there are great sales… and one year I actually even got up at o dark thirty to be at a store by 5am with my son. (As it turned out… to be in line in time to actually buy anything we needed to be there at least two hours before we were… which was already an hour before the 5am store opening.)  But the more I contemplate the lure of the ads for Friday’s deals the more put off I am.

Why are we as shopper’s pitted against each other this way?  Why is there this artificial scarcity scenario set up by the retailers?  And more importantly why on earth do we as consumers fall for it?  We live in a country that is abundant.  Even in Detroit, where many people are out of work or fearing the future because of the automotive industry’s woes… when you look at the global picture we are much better off than most of the world!  So how is it that we are presented with this notion that we need to hurry and get the items we need or they’ll be gone?   And why are these sales held at ridiculous hours, demanding extreme measures from consumers to obtain the best deal?

The whole system just seems backwards to me…  are these retailers doing me a favor?   After all I am the customer, with out me there is no business, right?  What ever happened to “the customer is always right” or “the customer is king”?   Then there is the matter of the materialistic nature of this tradition… don’t get me started on that!  I mean… is a 32″ flat screen television going to solve my problems?  Is it something I really need? Will it bring me some kind of intrinsic fulfillment?  No, no and a resounding no!  I may get such a television in the future, but to get up in the middle of the night and go wait in line to “beat” others out of  getting one of the the “few” tv’s seems silly, selfish and misdirected.   And if I get the television… that’s what it is a television… not some product that will bring me happiness!  Happiness is something that comes from inside.   Does  anyone else see my point… or is it just me?

The whole thing seems kind of wacky to me!  Why is there this manufactured shortage and this false sense of urgency?  That alone is such a negative mindset!  One that is foreign to the way I choose to experience the world!  In my world I already have everything that I need…. and as I have real needs that arise the needs are met, sometimes in the most interesting and synchronistic ways… which is half the fun of the adventure of life!

This is also not to say that abundance is bad or that “things” are bad.  But I do want to point out that in our society it is not uncommon at all for people to look outside of themselves for answers that can only be found internally.  There is a whole industry  built on convincing  us that product X will deliver what we “need”.  That if we want to have the perfect life and be happy, beautiful and smart  we can just have some plastic surgery… or shop on Rodeo Drive… or use a special credit card…    To be popular and have fun, we can drink Pepsi or Budweiser, etc.   It’s a powerful industry because many people actually believe these things on some level.  It’s such silliness!

In reality to feel good about oneself  one can do internal “work” to learn to be grounded and genuine.  One can figure out what matters to them and build their lives on that solid reality, designing a life that works, instead of trying to buy one!   I will be posting more in the future about living a simple and authentic life.  If you also  are tired of this “rat race” and no longer “falling for” the false messages that the media sends us regarding an easy path to fulfillment stay tuned!

Canon and other camera manufacturers have promoted their cameras with the goal of general use as a target of the kit. The purpose of the kit is a zoom lens Canon 18-55mm capacity. This means that you can take pictures with 18 millimeters wide angle and telephoto shooting up to 55 millimeters.

If your camera, a compact point and shoot, it is roughly comparable to a camera with 3x optical zoom.

The purpose of the kit is that the Canon has image stabilization. This is a great Many features have installed cameras Canon SLR cameras have image stabilization in the camera.

The purpose of the kit will give you decent picture.

The problems associated with the purchase of kits of glass, these are:
The lens is made of plastic (and glass, of course). Therefore, the possibility has been the breaking point higher than that of a lens made of metal.
You must purchase additional targets for the pictures you imagine, when you use the new> DSLR camera.

After all, this is one reason why you buy a DSLR, right? "They want to be able to change the target to be right for you, put up pictures. Understandable.

But why not consider getting a best target to begin. One thing that many of your basic needs covered.

Some things to look for the new foot object lens:
Excellent image quality – it is always the first consideration when purchasinga camera or accessories.
Glass of excellent – the glass lenses are special, and it is important that the glass as best we can
IS – image stabilization is very important, especially if the hand with the camera.
Excellent build quality – with good glass, in search of a lens of metal to give long life.
HSM – not always known, HSM, but for a drink with an engine developed very quickly.
Focalto reveal the most of your needs – based on the successful completion of 18 millimeters wide angle, but remember, you're going for 200-270mm at the end of time, so that you need, when you zoom.

There's never a mistake to buy a Canon lens for Canon DSLR, but still considered a Sigma or Tamron lens. These companies produce excellent lenses that can save you money compared to Canon lenses.

Friends Link : Best HDTV canon dslr1

So what is a true holiday? As a child times such as Thanksgiving and Christmas felt like they meant something – not times that I felt like I had to merely endure for a few days out of the year and then move one with life as normal.

I used to view the holidays as a time of rest and reflection. This time of year used to be one that was greatly anticipated because it meant time for family and friends. I used to enjoy family time, but now it seems that its turned into another chore to mark off the list before moving on to bigger and better things.

When did everything get so stinking complicated?

When did family gatherings turned into nothing more than a stress factory?

When did coming home become the most dreaded aspect of my college career?

But, most important of all – where is God in this mess? Where is God at 4am when soccer moms are scalping each other for a flat screen televisions or on Thanksgiving Day when people are gorging themselves on turkey and deviled eggs while a man on the street corner in Manhattan is trying to stay warm? I almost feel that as I write this I am having an epiphany…

Maybe the Holidays are no fun because they are not achieving their intended purposes. Maybe Thanksgiving is about more than football and piles of carbs. Maybe Christmas is about more than presents, Santa clause  and claymation. Life gets boring when we work ourselves into routines – hence the reason we’re always interested in stories about other people or the reason why book series such as Twilight and Harry Potter are best sellers around the globe. We are all looking to live life to the fullest – regardless of what we think constitutes living life to the fullest.

Black Friday and the day after Christmas are such paramount shopping days because people are let down by the fact that the holidays are not as they remembered and are willing to buy anything or do anything in an attempt to resurrect their childhood passion.

When did everything turn into a time of self-gratification? When did I get sucked into this trap?

Is there any hope for the Holiday season for one who has already been sucked into society’s view of what the Holiday’s should be?

I’m proposing a not so new method for the holiday season – let’s take the focus off of ourselves. Instead of killing each other over Nintendo’s and DVD players let’s invest our time in our communities – helping those who cannot help themselves and who CAN’T REPAY US. Let’s put the time and effort we would use to strategically find the best parking space at the mall and use that energy to plan ways to help our neighbors and those we don’t even know during the Christmas season – the hardest time of the year for most people.

So which direction will choose for the rest of your holiday season? Will this be a time of self-gratification or will you look beyond yourself to the needs of the hurting and helpless around you.

By the grace of God may we truly remember what it means to be blessed this Holiday season and may it produce a fruit in our lives that prompts us to serve those around us  rather than ourselves.

I Kings 19:11-13 (NLT)

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Everyone has an opinion. Even those people who choose not to openly share their thoughts and convictions concerning life have them. It is not uncommon for others to freely share their experience and knowledge to aid a friend, acquaintance, and sometimes even an absolute stranger in making it through a challenging circumstance. God’s most solid Christians have moments of uncertainty when the outside counsel of others seem appropriate only to create thunderous roars of endless banter. The storm that is created in one’s mind dulls all reasonable thinking as anxiety and fear rise up from the enemy. The endless chatter rattles the mind until a proverbial earthquake effect is created shattering all that was once firmly grounded as truth. The burning fire of man’s inspection and dissection of life created by the tinder of a sin-based assessment threatens to overtake the controlled-burning of the Holy Spirit. The question even becomes unclear in the dust and rubble of doubt. Hiding away in hopes of disappearing, you hear it. It’s different from the other voices. It is quiet and still. The gentleness breaks your heart in a new way as the comforting peace of God sweeps over you! It’s Him, It’s the Lord! He hasn’t forgotten you! He has just been waiting on His Turn to be heard! Are you listening?

Elijah was on a “mountaintop” of ministry when he suddenly found himself hiding from his enemies in a cave. How did that happen? His head reeling with the warnings of the people, his faith was now completely buried in the rubble of the words of others. All well meaning, yet not necessarily accurate in assessment! It was true that there were threats against his life. Elijah and the prophets were making headway for God. But in these warnings, fear and doubt was harbored and now this mighty man of God was cowering in a cave high on a mountain. In his solitude, God came forward to be heard. He asked His Child, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” See God didn’t tell him to go there, to hide and to relent. God did not tell him to be scared and retreat. The Lord never once introduced the notion of death to Elijah. But the enemy did through the words of others. My friend, the enemy of your soul is using the same tactics today that he did that day in the life of Elijah. God’s promise for you is alive and well. The Truth that your God spoke directly into your heart is not subject to the opinion of others. His purpose is clear in your mind because it is in the care of the Holy Spirit until the time of readiness. Others will not understand no matter how inclined they may be to think so. Your greatest purpose is revealed in one-on-one communication with God. Don’t let the words of others steal your victory today! God is whispering to you! Forget the noise! He is peaceful and sweet in His Great Love for you and will not add to the pressure but dismiss it completely!

Ezekiel 3:22-23 (NLT)

Then the Lord took hold of me and said, “Get up and go out into the valley, and I will speak to you there.” So I got up and went, and there I saw the glory of the Lord, just as I had seen in my first vision by the Kebar River. And I fell face down on the ground.

Is God calling you to the valley today? If it has become impossible to think in the midst of clamoring opinions, rattling insights, and pounding pressure, it is definitely time to turn off the noise and listen for your Father! The Lord will speak directly to you concerning any and every situation if you will just separate yourself from the noise. His Voice is quiet and peaceful and His Words are truth! They will make your path straight and open His Kingdom to you right now, right here. When you do this, you will see the Glory of God! Your answer will be clear and certain! Peace will be yours! Purpose fulfilled and Promises revealed! Listen, Jesus is calling you to the valley. He wants to speak to you today!

There is a new phenomenon in our world called H1N1.  The news stories are all around the vaccine: availability of the vaccine,  getting vaccinated, vaccination clinics, who has priority in being vaccinated, reactions to the vaccine, H1N1 assessment clinics, how many people have been hospitalized, how many have died, the cost of delivery, the pandemic nature of this flu.

There is an untold and evolving story around H1N1.  It is the story of innovation, breaking down silos, working across departments, flattening of decision making structures, team engagement, people rolling up their sleeves and doing what needs to be done regardless of job description and everyone pulling together to face down the issues created by what is being called a pandemic – at least here in Canada.

Being around a lot of health care folx because of my work and being in frequent conversations about engagement, we began to muse about the level of engagement of health care folx, in particular, in the pandemic planning and the delivery of the vaccine.  We came back to a familiar question: What is it about a crisis that brings out a sense of community, the power and clarity of a common goal, necessary resource allocation and alleviates common arguments, bickering or turf protection around role and resources?

How can we create these conditions in times when there is no crisis is often asked?  We are operating from the premise that it is possible to create the same conditions without a crisis.   During this particular conversation I began to entertain the question, what if it isn’t possible to fully recreate the conditions of crisis?  For instance, the province of Nova Scotia has made available millions of dollars for the roll out of the H1N1 vaccine.  Without the compelling argument of needing to control a pandemic outbreak of illness, as a for instance, what else other than crisis would so easily and readily garner financial and human resources.  One of the reasons there is normally turf protection is because when we don’t have crisis the experience is that we have more limited resources and people have to advocate for their share of budget.

My question changed.  Given that responding to the H1N1 crisis has temporarily transformed the relational field of how people are working together, what would it take to maintain some of the shift that has occurred and embed it in the organizational culture instead of allowing things to drift back – or spring back – to the way things have always been done – which is likely what will happen when the H1N1 pressure is off?  How do we capitalize on the shifted shape of the relational field to allow operation along this chaordic edge or chaordic path all or most of the time?

There is an interesting opportunity here.  As the pressure of crisis eases, will the lessons learned include new new ways of working together and the minimalization of structures and processes to support that?

I don’t and can’t consider myself an atheist. Part of that comes from my deep disgusm with the rabid and dogmatic campaign against religion that the likes of Dawkins and N are conducting. But that’s just part of it. There are other, more subtle and complicated, or maybe even more important, issues at hand. For, you see, my current position is such that a casual observer would never see the difference between my point of view and atheism.

For lack of a better word, let’s call it ananthropomorfism.

This means i strongly refuse any depiction of god that inputs to it human characteristics. For example, every time god loves or talks or commands or thinks or exibits any kind of emotion or judges or shows moral biases of any sort, every time this happens a doubt strikes me: if you could create the universe, wouldn’t you be beyond such idiosyncrasies?

This basically means that i would take the word /god/ to be something very close to the universe or, in overly precise terms, the set of everything that is not me.

Thus, my view is not hard to reconcile with a materialistic one, that says that there is only matter, only the world and nothing beyond it. I just happen to think that the universe could have amongst its many properties, one that happened to fit the role of god. Not will or conscience or any of those human centered concepts, mind you, but just god-ness.

You might say that god to me is an interesting hypothesis. Not an useful one, certainly, for it is almost the archetype of untestability. But interesting because it opens many dimensions of meaning.

Thus, from the untestable <existence of god> we could proceed to ask what is the difference between faith in gods and faith in equations — a very testable concept, for ethnographers.

And going down that particular road (amongst many others equaly useful) we will find that the only particularly useful distinction between, say, 10 commandments and 4 laws of thermodynamics, is that the “scientific” ones are less moral.

And i do think so-called faith-in-science is de-moralizing in some ways, and i do think that’s the way to go, but this faith-in-science/atheism thing is not the final word in abandoning moral biases, amongst other reasons because it pretty much reproduces a christian moral code.

And so unqualified atheism is not sufficient to me.

what i believe we need instead is the realization that the old frontiers between religion and other spheres of life, like politics, like science, like law and so forth, those barriers do not exist anymore.

And with that realization we must come back to putting in the front stage issues like purpose, self-fulfillment, belief — issues that lost their appropriate place when religion was taken out from life. Not that we must go back to religion — that would simply not work. But we need to bring back the notion of holy that religion once provided, bring it back into day-to-day life.

How? I do not have answers. But it is something we must ponder.

And as we are pondering, the hipothesys of the existence of god is an interesting one, albeit not useful.

You gotta love all the new applications that are available through our ever-improving technology. The ability to carry around a pocket-sized piece of equipment (like i-phone or blackberry) that gives you immediate access to your calendar, contact list, email and more is really amazing. But I have one question for all you die-hard electronics users: Is your electronic calendar running your life?

Already some of you are screaming: but of course! Isn’t that the point? Well, not exactly. You see, inputting every single activity, birthday, appointment, and task into your calendar/planner may make you feel “organized” but does it help you get more done?

Honestly, that’s what I used to do. I used to put every single family members’ activities/commitments on my personal calendar, along with my own obligations/tasks/reminders. And although I could quickly see how “busy” I was in all the varying roles I have, I sure didn’t feel accomplished. In fact, I heard a great saying, “Activity can be an anesthesia for achievement.” Ouch! Hearing that one hurt. In fact, the speaker went on to say that “Activity is an input, but achievement is an output.”

What’s this all mean? It means that inputting every activity in the world on your personal “to-do” list whether that is in an electronic format or on paper doesn’t mean you are really focused on achieving the most important and fulfilling things in life. In fact, I have found the less I do, the more I achieve. And I don’t even need a fancy electronic app to help me with that!

Cauac, in common Mayan usage, means storm. Its energy brings the qualities of purification, transformation, reunion, initiation, and preparation for ascension. Its symbol is lightning.

Tone 1 holds the purpose and intent for unity, unconditional love, self, and Source.

Blue is the color of the West. Its element is water. Its medicine is for completing things.

So, the message for today is:

Today is a great day for marshalling your energy around your purpose and transforming your space to produce. Today is the first day of a new Mayan week, a new 13-tone creation cycle. As such, each day for thirteen days will be guided by Cauac. As you head into the coming days, allow yourself to feel reunion with self and Source and attune to what aspect of your self or your life needs purification or transformation to take you to your next level of being, creating, and loving.

Without awareness of a higher entity present in our lives, life does not make sense nor the hardships and challenges made meaningful.

Without an awakening to the power of a higher force paving and creating energy in our path, we walk without a compass.

We engage without knowing why, how or how come?

We loose without understanding the reward.  We fear without facing growth.  We give up without uncovering faith and possibility.

Without God we give other human beings power over our identity.

We give “things’ unbounded influence over our sense of self.

We underestimate our gifts, insight, unique ability.

We fail to recognize our purpose, our foundation, our perfect essence.

How empty and ordinary life can become, withou a glistening path of hope, illumination, vision, belief and love lifting the human spirit into a higher sphere.

Why is God important?

Last night, I
looked up to the sky and said,
“oh my, it’s full of stars.
and between the stars there are lines.
And where the lines meet
- too many in the same place at the same time…
that, THAT is where the world ends.”
We are nothing
but a confluence of lines,
racing a sunset line
towards an ending
inexplicable, inevitable
- intangible.
Realize this,
realize…
that for all our faults,
all our mistakes
we are free…
and realize just how beautiful that is.