Everyday

Everyday someone somewhere, perhaps even someone you know personally, is doing something extraordinary because it's the right thing to do. Because maybe no-one else will do it. Perhaps because they can't help but do it. But I'm telling you it's happening because I see it everyday. People without the slightest expectation of reward or recognition are helping people.

It's up to us to make a difference. We can do it. It takes so little to do something that can be so profound to ...someone else. You might not even realize it. Maybe it's just that moment in the checkout line when you catch someone's eye and give a smile. Our maybe you give someone your last dollar at the soda machine because they don't have change. Or someone drops their car keys and you pick them up, who knows, but that may be the only kind interaction they have all day.

The beautiful thing is that one act may trigger a whole chain of kindness. And that chain might, in a short amount of time, reach around your workplace, or your neighborhood, or your town, or who knows . . . even the world.

Miracles

Maybe we should stop hoping for miracles and just be one for somebody else

Butterfly Wings

Listen, my friend. You really should give yourself more credit. You are capable of more than you realize.

Each and every one of us contains the gift of creation. By that I mean we can affect the world around us by creating and sustaining an environment within ourselves that cultivates kindness and love and caring.

It's pretty simple. You can't hope to change the world if you don't start with yourself. Stop being so hard on yourself. You have to forgive yourself the things you... beat yourself up about. Be kind to yourself. Love yourself. Care about yourself. It's not about being perfect, it's about being perfectly human. That's all that's really asked of us in this world.

You have to give yourself the benefit of the doubt about the impact you can have. Trust me. You'd be amazed if you only knew. Those butterfly wings on the other side of the earth are actually you!

Positive motion begets positive motion. Showing kindness breeds kindness. Cultivating love grows love. Caring about each other creates a world we can all live in.

Balance and Equilibrium

Balance and equilibrium are wonderful things.

In the late summer of 1998 we purchased acreage in Vermont with the intention of building a small cabin there. It was a beautiful site near the Battenkill River Valley at the foot of the Green Mountains where we could see the Taconics on the other side.

Later that fall we took a trip up to start planning the site and discovered that loggers had cut trees on an adjacent lot to ours and dragged them across our property leaving large... furrows and damage. Heavy logging trucks that hauled the logs away had pushed the road apart and left tire tracks so deep that subsequent rains created ruts that measured up to our knees. The road was completely impassable.

We decided to sue loggers for damages, but let’s face - it nobody wins a lawsuit in the end. To be honest it would’ve take tens of thousands of dollars to repair the road, which the loggers themselves could scarcely afford. In the end we settled for a small dollar amount, which we decided to use on the cabin . . . if we ever built it.

In late spring we ventured back up to the site certain we wouldn’t be able to reach it and dreading the subsequent disappointment we’d feel. To our surprise the road had already started to heal itself. The melting winter snow and spring rains had loosened the soil and began leveling out the damage. The natural evolutionary process of the earth had solved our problem.

There is a natural equilibrium to life that we often don't see because it happens over the long haul. Sometimes circumstances beyond our control make us vulnerable to the erosion of our spirit. But we are slowly and purposely healed by the daily occurrences of life, the support of our family and friends, and by a guiding hand that we cannot see. So have faith - over time everything will even out.

Where Does the Time Go?

"There is more to life than increasing its speed." ~ Mohandas Gandhi

I wonder where the year went. I wonder why time goes by so fast. I just can't seem to slow it down. Sometimes I blame technology. Sometimes I blame my job. Most times I don't think about it because I'm so darn busy.

And therein lies the real reason - busyness. We call ourselves human beings but let's face it, there's very little "being" going on today and a whole lot of "doing". Most people hate to "kill time". They feel like every minute has to be filled or they're wasting it. But what's wrong with that? What's wrong with a long pregnant pause or stopping to watch the trail of a jet in the sky or watching kids play or taking the time to just chat with someone in the grocery? When was the last time you saw a butterfly and took time to really look at it - how its tiny antenna curled over its tiny little bug face? It's not like saving time is a real thing you know.

You can't put it in the "time bank" and get it back when you need it. That's just a lie we tell ourselves so we don't realize we haven't any control over how quickly it passes. What if what we think of as saving time is actually wasting it, and what we think of as wasting time is actually saving it?

With that in mind I'm thinking of putting this on my tombstone ~ "Her lies Kris. She wasted time." ~ It has a nice ring to it.

The Part We Play

We only get a certain amount of time to be on this planet and it's an extremely short period of time to boot. It's so short we consider it precious. To be alive is a rare gift that we must honor, value, and cherish. It must not be squandered. We must find out our purpose in life, accomplish it, and leave the world better for it.

This innate sense of self sets us apart from the rest of creation. Our need to feel meaningful, that our lives have intrinsic value beyond simple existence, that we are individually unique and special. This is what drives us throughout our lives.

Perhaps a better question is why human beings have such big egos to start with, but putting that aside I'm willing to explore that maybe it's true. Maybe we are put here for a specific purpose.

What if our gift, our talent, our purpose which was uniquely given to us was part of a larger bigger more magnificent organism? What if we carried only a piece of the puzzle? What if we belonged to something more wondrous than any of us could possibly do on our own?

What if we could see our connectedness? What if we could understand the amazingly complex integration of our actions? How much more positive a force for good we could be! Instead of fighting each other for space, time, and recognition we could work together supporting our differences knowing we all have a part to play.

Hmmm, me thinks it's not such a bad idea.

Give Until the Love Runs Out

This I know and have no doubt. That we were meant to love and care for one another. Oh, it's not always easy. It can be quite hard at times. But when love takes effort the reward is so much sweeter.
So pass on the grace you have been given. Pay it forward, pay it backwards, pay it sideways, I don't care. Just give until the love runs out, give until the love runs out, give until the love runs out.

Natural Law of Voids

Isn't it funny how you can wake up in the middle of the night and if you don't fall back to sleep quickly enough suddenly you've got so much on your mind you wonder where it was all hiding in your head? It's almost like there's a natural law of voids.

Story

As a story lover I'm always keenly aware that each and every one of us are actively writing our own stories. Sometimes stories write themselves. Sometimes we have to work at writing them. And sometimes we have to go back and edit those stories for the endings we really want.

The stories Storytellers tell audiences are actually microcosms of the stories we live. This is why storytelling is so effective. It speaks to us on some level or another. Storyteller's understand the power story has and how they can touch, affect, and sometimes alter people's lives.

Truth is at the heart of every story. Sometimes it's about the heroine and sometimes it's about the villain. But it's always about finding what is at the heart of the main character. What they are made of? How do they handle the circumstances thrown at them? In our life stories the plot twists can be our inconsistent actions and reactions. Unexplainable to us and people who know us. But at the conclusion of the story it all becomes clear because we can't be false about who we truly are when it's all said and done.

Perhaps the simplest story is; a man was born, he lived, he loved, he died. But there is so much more to the story. At a time when there seems to be so little intrinsic value in anything there is so much value in Story. Stories can distract us from the pain and suffering of life, but they can also inform us about our resilience and heroism. They teach us we are more than the momentary trials and tribulations we face. We are meant to soar . . . to soar, to fly, and to overcome. Even in death we tell ourselves stories of eternity. We will - we must - live on. We are too wonderfully and mysteriously made to do otherwise.

So go boldly and write your story. Put meat on those bones. Imagine the possibilities. Face the dragons. Kiss the frog. Save the Princess. Enjoy the journey. Make it your own. In the end those who knew you best and loved you well will have your story in their hearts and there you will live forever.

Making Sense

I hope in the end this'll all make sense. I've tried to always be true to myself. I've been willing to change my mind when given the facts. I've tried to be open to new ideas, philosophies, and concepts. People have always come first for me. It's always been about people. So I've just followed my nose with that as my guide. Still, life hasn't always felt consistent. I haven't always been where I thought I should be even though I honestly couldn't tell you where that would be. Funny that. So let's just say my life has pretty much unfolded the way it probably should have regardless of my best laid plans. And maybe that's how it is for everyone. I don't know. But I'm not done yet. I have a few more chapters to write. And I'm going to keep trying to be open, because you never know the affect you can have on a single individual on any given day. And that, in the end, may be what makes all the difference.

Kindness

I really believe that kindness can heal the world. I don't think you have to be perfect to be kind, you just have to be willing. You just have to step out and take the risk of doing something selfless. Willing to get nothing in return except knowing you did the right thing. Just act out of a good heart and with genuine care. Because it doesn't have to be a big thing. It can be as simple as a smile or as warm and obvious as a hug. It's what makes us human. It's what feeds our souls.