The Catalyst
In chemistry, when you add a catalyst to other substances, things change. Reactions are accelerated, modified, expanded, altered in some way by the simple addition of the catalyst. People can be catalytic too – add Ruth Ann, get a chemical reaction. Sometimes the results are beneficial to humankind. Sometimes things blow up.
Wait For It
Day 86 Since I’ve stopped numbing myself with busy, I’m getting clarity in many areas of my life. For over two decades, my first thought when I wake up in the morning has been ”Where am I?” I became numb to the jarring changes that come from frequent, unplanned, spontaneous, flexible travel between cities and countries. So now [...]
Full StoryHow To Measure “An Eternity”
Day 84 I’ve mentioned that I have several people in my circle using the Caring Bridge. One of them just told us: it’s time for the transition to hospice care. The news is sad because everyone wanted, hoped for, more time. But the news is happy because the family and the extended circle of love enjoyed years together after the initial [...]
Full StoryI Pick This Brain
Day 75 During my sabbatical I am looking for sources of delight, and I can always count on Maria Popova to provide a plethora. I can’t remember how or where I first heard of her. Maybe it was Twitter , maybe it was through her creation called TEDify in which she does a mashup of TED Talks. [...]
Full StoryIt’s Simple
Day 69 You might not know it by looking at my life, but I really love minimalism. If you do too, you’ll appreciate the “Becoming Minimalist“ blog. (Credit where it’s due: I read about it on the Zen Habits blog.) Next week I’ll share a new e-book with you compiled by Jean Russell. It’s on Thrivability, [...]
Full StoryOn the Ball, On My Feet
Day 59 Three of us meet often in the little office where one of us works. He sits behind his desk. The other person sits in the one visitor’s chair. They always offer to bring in a chair for me, but most of the time I prefer to stand. I work better on my feet. I have [...]
Full StoryHugs and Flowers
Day 56 If you enjoyed “patting yourself on the back” and “giving yourself a kiss” yesterday, here’s another do-it-yourself gesture via my sister Carol. “Put your right hand on your left shoulder. Put your left hand on your right shoulder. Now give yourself a big hug!” She actually said “give yourself a big hug from [...]
Full StoryYou Never Step Into The Same Conference Twice
Day 37 If I hadn’t already signed up, I might have decided to skip the TED Conference. This might shock those who know I love the annual gathering, that it is the one thing that is on my calendar in indelible ink, that I am paid up until 2017. I’ve been attending in my role [...]
Full StoryFive Minutes A Day, Max.
Day 27 Yesterday I shared the story of someone whose ten-year goal unfolded before my eyes. This morning, I saw another ten-year success story, and I took it as a sign to share the source: Delancey Place. “Eclectic little excerpts,” usually from non-fiction, are delivered to my mailbox every day. Although I whacked most of [...]
Full StoryWant Someone To Pay For Your Sabbatical?
Day 25 I’m a member of the Women Donors Network . Today, one of the members posted that Compass Point link on our confidential listserv that I shared with you earlier here . It’s the study showing nonprofit executives who take sabbaticals are better at their jobs when they return to work. But she added something else, [...]
Full StoryWhy Your Company Should Pay You To Go Away
Day 21 ”Sabbatical is the new black,” I said earlier this year, and I’ve been told that a sabbatical is also the new “status symbol.” More importantly, sabbaticals are a new way to reinvigorate employees, and their workplaces are the eventual beneficiaries. Compass Point provides some proof in a new study of nonprofit leaders who [...]
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