Love on Long Island, NY

Greetings from Ithaca! For the past two weeks, i was blessed to be part of a group of volunteers who gave their time and talents to help in shelters on Long Island. While the hours were long and the frustrations sometimes evident, the overall sense of the adventure was one of love and respect for community. We met so many people affected by Hurricane Sandy who wanted to help their neighbors and were truly appreciative  of the efforts of others...it was very humbling and inspiring. It saddens me to think it takes a disaster of this magnitude to bring people back together, but it is a joyous thing to see people indeed coming together to help one another. I hope that in the days and weeks ahead through the recovery process folks continue to show kindness and gentleness to each other. We can make the world a brighter place, one smile or cup of coffee at a time. I will not forget the people i met, and wish them peace and comfort through the tough days ahead. I look forward to reuniting under more favorable conditions and celebrating their new outlook. I urge each of you to do what you can with what you have where you are. If you are able to give of your time, money or supplies, there are people near you who could benefit. Don't wait for a disaster to show you care.

Carrots as Metaphor?

Carrots are good for us. They contain things to keep us healthy and strong. Sometimes they are perceived as a reward for effort. I like carrots. Yet, i must confess, there have been times i have refused carrots because the raw ones do require a lot of effort to consume. Sometimes it seems like they take forever to chew, and i actually get tired before i finish the process! In this introduction, I'm talking about actual carrots, but i challenge you to ask yourself, as i asked myself this morning, have you ever avoided a metaphorical "carrot" (decision, project, relationship, etc.) because it seemed like it might require "too much work?" (guilty as charged over here). Have you ever considered what outcomes might be missed by not being willing to put in that effort? With a couple months left this year, take some time to consider and pursue some carrots. You'll be glad you did, and you might even be surprised by how good they make you feel. Have a bright week!

I'm Still Writing...

...I just haven't been building in enough time to post! Please, do stay tuned for updates this week and next...great things are happening in my professional and personal growth that might just inspire you to press on with your journey of ever-increasing excellence. Until then, stay reasonably healthy in mind, body and soul, and if you're so inclined, choose one of your special gifts or talents to share. The world needs your bright moments each and every day.

100 Day Challenges

There was a fair amount of buzz yesterday about using the last 100 days of this calendar year. Perhaps we need a little re-start, or a reason to try something new, or motivation to finish something we started. I liked the idea of challenging myself to (re)commit to doing something I enjoy but have not been honoring: writing.  I decided that every single day for the rest of the year,  i will write something. It may not be a lot and it may not be anything i want to share (though i hope it will be) but i will write first and judge later. I look forward to sharing the better stuff with you, and hope that some will share their challenges and success stories with me. For those particularly interested in sharing, if I gather enough, i would like to compile them into another project. Let's write! (or anything else that you want to do) Use the time you have. Do something that makes you happy. 99 days left to this calendar year...

Joy in little things

Is your heart light? What ideas or experiences help you return to that feeling? Thursday morning i was pleasantly surprised by little things that helped me think of great things. I walked with a friend i see about once a week on a common commuting schedule to a local coffee shop. I was able to admire the pastry case selections without choosing (needing or wanting) a single one. Victory! Then as we walked to the bus stop on the corner, I found eleven cents. A shiny penny heads-up and a dime to go with it in the give-away jar! Fantastic! When i arrived at work, a coworker announced she had made a blueberry-blackberry buttermilk cake to share. Yum!

Friendship, Self-Control, Helping Others, and Sheer Gratitude all combined for a BRIGHT day.

All in a Day!

Today I took a "vacation" day to do some things at home. It was so nice to sleep till sunrise, lounge with my cat, and finish reading a book! I made and sampled a pan of brownies, surfed a store's website for deals on "essentials" (and chose not to buy yet), and processed a couple loads of laundry. My big event of the day, however, was attending a volunteer instructors' planning meeting over dinner. Someone else paid for dinner, and we worked as a team to establish a training schedule for local and regional basic disaster preparedness classes. I am very excited to be on the schedule as a co-teacher for this round of sessions this fall. I will also be attending a two-day class next week! I explained to the team member driving home that I feel renewed purpose and excitement, like i have a new way to use my formal education as a "teacher" -- it's been a while since i worked with really young students and while i love them dearly, i find greater confidence and comfort in "community education" than i did in the public schools. I enjoy a quieter day job in an academic library these days, and then gain additional experience and excitement through volunteerism. I feel so blessed to be able to help and to belong to a diverse, gifted group of caring individuals.

Updates: Perfect Timing

Sometimes, no matter what's happening in life, be it perceived as good, bad, or something in between, circumstances align and enable us to see how perfectly the pieces fit together. Most of us have ups and downs, difficulties, and hopefully someone and something helping us re-balance.

It's already been more than a couple of weeks since we started talking about the Spreading Joy Challenge. If you haven't already discovered it for yourself, it's impossible to share true joy without renewing your own in the process! I think that's the special quality about actions rooted in love: like an infinite multiplier, those thoughts and actions, "vibes" or ripples expand, flow, and return. It just feels GOOD.

What I'm recognizing tonight, in having tried to help others, I am also helping myself. I am breaking away from old thought patterns about what other people might think. I'm less fearful of emotion and connecting with others. I've always wanted to be  a "giver" and am learning that to truly be a better one, I also need to better develop the "receiver" aspect...You know, as in one hand to give, the other to receive? yeah, that.

This afternoon i learned of the passing of a retired coworker. While sad, I was also relieved for her, and glad that I was among those who got to visit her in her final days. This evening, I received my copy of Marie Wikle's book, Spreading Joy Daily. I started flipping through it, and found a piece about sharing joy through sorrow. Of course, it spoke to my heart tonight, and I am determined to do that at work tomorrow with my team. Those times often bring people closer together.

Marie sent me special messages on Twitter and while I haven't met her in person yet, her good will reached me like having an old friend in the room offering hugs. In this moment of knowing others care, I felt valued, refreshed, and uplifted. That in turn gives me the strength and desire to go out and make a spot a little brighter.

I hope that each of you in your ups and downs finds whatever it is that speaks to your heart in that moment of need, that you are able to embrace it, and to use it for good.