eRipples: Your Free Weekly Splash of Inspiration
from Paul & The Ripples Project
eRipples v3.31: Ripples of IMPROVEMENT
PEBBLE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
What you want to be eventually, you must be every day.
With practice, the quality of your deeds gets down to your soul.
-Frank Crane, submitted by Dave Wollschlager
BOULDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Plan for gradual improvement, not spectacular leaps.
Practically everything worthwhile in life is achieved in small steps.
Education is accumulated gradually, babies grow up a day at a time,
beautiful gardens are designed and grown slowly; talents are honed,
relationships are forged, deep affection is created, all very gradually.
Each of our lives is a series of gradual campaigns in all areas - job,
family, friends - to make a better life, and few campaigns move quickly.
Nature provides many guidelines here. A slow and steady stream of water
will, in time, erode the hardest rock; a small, insignificant sprout will, in
time, slowly and imperceptibly turn into a mighty oak; almost unnoticed, a
child will, in time, grow up to be an independent adult. Recognize the
gradualness of life and the power of 'in time'.
-David Campbell, submitted by Betsy Stone
PONDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As my summer begins to wind down towards another set of fall
conferences, academic year kickoffs and related events, I am inviting
myself to practice "baby steps" of improvement. They are not daunting,
they are not scary. They also do not seem as significant in the short term
and my impatience sometimes rears its nasty head. In the long run,
though, 100 days of baby steps gets me further along my path than a few
days of big leaps!
There is something you are wanting to improve in your life....take a baby
step today and enjoy the increment!
Peace,
Paul
Monday, July 30, 2001
Monday, July 23, 2001
eRipples v3.30: Ripples of AMAZING TODAY!
eRipples: Your Free Weekly Splash of Inspiration
from Paul & The Ripples Project
eRipples v3.30: Ripples of AMAZING TODAY!
PEBBLE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Each today, well-lived, makes yesterday a dream of happiness and each
tomorrow a vision of hope. Look, therefore, to this one day, for it and it
alone is life.
-Sanskrit poem, submitted by Jeanne L. Engle
BOULDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the day ends.
I have responsibilities to fulfill today.
I am important.
My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.
Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or
I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.
Today I can grumble about my health or
I can rejoice that I am alive.
Today I can mourn my lack of friends or
I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.
Today I can whine because I have to go to work or
I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.
Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or
I can feel honored because Life has provided shelter
for my mind, body and soul.
Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped.
And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.
What today will be like is up to me.
I get to choose what kind of day I will have!
-source unknown, submitted by Linda Nesheim
PONDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This week I ventured to the amazing Opryland Hotel in Nashville,
Tennessee to visit with the American School Food Service Association
(Lunch Ladies!) before rushing back to Wisconsin to speak at the
commencement ceremonies of CUNA's three year credit union
management training program. Some crazy travel challenges I faced in
the span of just a few days (lost luggage, blown tire, etc.) began to
overwhelm me until I read the above quotes and was reminded that no
matter what happens to me today, I get to DECIDE how I am going to feel.
It made the rest of the week a little nicer by reminding me to ENJOY
TODAY! I hope you can do the same this week.
Peace,
Paul
from Paul & The Ripples Project
eRipples v3.30: Ripples of AMAZING TODAY!
PEBBLE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Each today, well-lived, makes yesterday a dream of happiness and each
tomorrow a vision of hope. Look, therefore, to this one day, for it and it
alone is life.
-Sanskrit poem, submitted by Jeanne L. Engle
BOULDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the day ends.
I have responsibilities to fulfill today.
I am important.
My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.
Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or
I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.
Today I can grumble about my health or
I can rejoice that I am alive.
Today I can mourn my lack of friends or
I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.
Today I can whine because I have to go to work or
I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.
Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or
I can feel honored because Life has provided shelter
for my mind, body and soul.
Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped.
And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.
What today will be like is up to me.
I get to choose what kind of day I will have!
-source unknown, submitted by Linda Nesheim
PONDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This week I ventured to the amazing Opryland Hotel in Nashville,
Tennessee to visit with the American School Food Service Association
(Lunch Ladies!) before rushing back to Wisconsin to speak at the
commencement ceremonies of CUNA's three year credit union
management training program. Some crazy travel challenges I faced in
the span of just a few days (lost luggage, blown tire, etc.) began to
overwhelm me until I read the above quotes and was reminded that no
matter what happens to me today, I get to DECIDE how I am going to feel.
It made the rest of the week a little nicer by reminding me to ENJOY
TODAY! I hope you can do the same this week.
Peace,
Paul
Monday, July 16, 2001
eRipples v3.29: Ripples of EXPERIMENTATION!
eRipples: Your Free Weekly Splash of Inspiration
from Paul & The Ripples Project
eRipples v3.29: Ripples of EXPERIMENTATION!
PEBBLE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that amateurs built the ark.
Professionals built the Titanic.
-source unknown, submitted by Lissa Melton
BOULDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
And I learned what is obvious to a child.
That life is simply a collection of little lives,
each lived one day at a time.
That each day should be spent
finding beauty in flowers and poetry
and talking to animals.
That a day spent with dreaming
and sunsets and refreshing breezes
cannot be bettered.
-Nicholas Sparks, submitted by Elizabeth Russell
PONDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This week found me in Michigan for an early beginning to the fall series of
new student orientations. The first year students at Kettering University
were exploring the many ways to get involved on campus during the day I
visited, and we spent some time encouraging them to experiment with
lots of different activities before settling on a few to concentrate more
heavily on.
On my way back to the airport in Detroit, I stopped by for dinner with some
friends and found that they were doing some experimenting of their own.
In the process of baking apple, blueberry, and pumpkin pies for dessert,
they discovered they had enough extra dough for a fourth pie.....so they
decided to experiment with the left over ingredients....and created a truly
unique blueberry/apple pie. We were all curious to try it, but each of us
had our eye on the other pies because we KNEW how delicious they were
going to be.
It turns out that many of us actually enjoyed the experimental pie the most!
Perhaps it was the unique taste, or maybe it was because we didn't know
what to expect, but I have decided to spend this week experimenting
more. I dare you to join me, and tell me what worked and what didn't!
Peace,
Paul
from Paul & The Ripples Project
eRipples v3.29: Ripples of EXPERIMENTATION!
PEBBLE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that amateurs built the ark.
Professionals built the Titanic.
-source unknown, submitted by Lissa Melton
BOULDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
And I learned what is obvious to a child.
That life is simply a collection of little lives,
each lived one day at a time.
That each day should be spent
finding beauty in flowers and poetry
and talking to animals.
That a day spent with dreaming
and sunsets and refreshing breezes
cannot be bettered.
-Nicholas Sparks, submitted by Elizabeth Russell
PONDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
This week found me in Michigan for an early beginning to the fall series of
new student orientations. The first year students at Kettering University
were exploring the many ways to get involved on campus during the day I
visited, and we spent some time encouraging them to experiment with
lots of different activities before settling on a few to concentrate more
heavily on.
On my way back to the airport in Detroit, I stopped by for dinner with some
friends and found that they were doing some experimenting of their own.
In the process of baking apple, blueberry, and pumpkin pies for dessert,
they discovered they had enough extra dough for a fourth pie.....so they
decided to experiment with the left over ingredients....and created a truly
unique blueberry/apple pie. We were all curious to try it, but each of us
had our eye on the other pies because we KNEW how delicious they were
going to be.
It turns out that many of us actually enjoyed the experimental pie the most!
Perhaps it was the unique taste, or maybe it was because we didn't know
what to expect, but I have decided to spend this week experimenting
more. I dare you to join me, and tell me what worked and what didn't!
Peace,
Paul
Monday, July 9, 2001
eRipples v3.28: Ripples of FREEDOM!
eRipples: Your Free Weekly Splash of Inspiration
from Paul & The Ripples Project
eRipples v3.28: Ripples of FREEDOM!
PEBBLE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Freedom is knowing who you really are.
-Linda Thomson, submitted by Judy Ashby
BOULDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
We can have
excuses,
or
we can have
health,
love,
longevity,
understanding,
adventure,
money,
happiness.
We design our lives
through the power
of our choices.
- Richard Bach, submitted by Tara Francis
PONDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I celebrated Independence Day with a few days of rest and relaxation. I
spent time thinking about the choices I make which bring me more
freedom, and some of my choices which create less freedom. It seems
there are times when I choose to let little frustrations really bother me
(when IS that dog going to stop barking, when IS that person going to get
out of my way) and I can let a moment or even an entire afternoon slip
away without remembering that I could free myself from a bad mood just
by choosing a different mindset or simply focusing on something else.
If you are feeling trapped right now, perhaps you can spend this week
expanding your freedom by expanding your choices about how you think
or feel about something!
Oh, and enjoy today! Even though some of the hottest days of summer
have yet to arrive, the daylight hours are already shrinking a few minutes
each day so be sure you see a few awesome sunsets while they are
happening after 8pm instead of at 6pm!
Peace,
Paul
from Paul & The Ripples Project
eRipples v3.28: Ripples of FREEDOM!
PEBBLE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Freedom is knowing who you really are.
-Linda Thomson, submitted by Judy Ashby
BOULDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
We can have
excuses,
or
we can have
health,
love,
longevity,
understanding,
adventure,
money,
happiness.
We design our lives
through the power
of our choices.
- Richard Bach, submitted by Tara Francis
PONDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I celebrated Independence Day with a few days of rest and relaxation. I
spent time thinking about the choices I make which bring me more
freedom, and some of my choices which create less freedom. It seems
there are times when I choose to let little frustrations really bother me
(when IS that dog going to stop barking, when IS that person going to get
out of my way) and I can let a moment or even an entire afternoon slip
away without remembering that I could free myself from a bad mood just
by choosing a different mindset or simply focusing on something else.
If you are feeling trapped right now, perhaps you can spend this week
expanding your freedom by expanding your choices about how you think
or feel about something!
Oh, and enjoy today! Even though some of the hottest days of summer
have yet to arrive, the daylight hours are already shrinking a few minutes
each day so be sure you see a few awesome sunsets while they are
happening after 8pm instead of at 6pm!
Peace,
Paul
Monday, July 2, 2001
eRipples v3.27: Ripples of SHAKING IT OFF!
eRipples: Your Free Weekly Splash of Inspiration
from Paul & The Ripples Project
eRipples v3.27: Ripples of SHAKING IT OFF!
July 2, 2001
PEBBLE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
- Plato, submitted by Anna Lennon <annalennon@hotmail.com>
BOULDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried
piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.
Finally the farmer decided the animal was old and the well needed to be
covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. So he
invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a
shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then,
to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the
farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw.
With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something
amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's
neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it
off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey
stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out
of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a
stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping,
never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!
-original source unknown, submitted by Nicolle Dearborn
PONDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I finished off June with a glorious excursion to the Pacific Ocean to
participate in the 25th annual Seaside Wellness Conference which
gathers wellness professionals from around Oregon (and around the
northwest) for four days of education and inspiration. One of the
workshops I presented was on dealing with difficult people and we had a
blast generating a long list of personality types that make our lives more
challenging.
One useful insight came as we explained that sometimes we make
situations worse by taking the personality traits of a co-worker (or family
member) personally. Sometimes those people are the way they are
because of something that happened a long time ago and it isn't useful
(or accurate) for us to think that we caused them to be that way. It doesn't
mean we always have to put up with negative behaviors, but it can help us
maintain our sanity by not taking it personally. Shake it off and take a step
up this week!
Peace,
Paul
from Paul & The Ripples Project
eRipples v3.27: Ripples of SHAKING IT OFF!
July 2, 2001
PEBBLE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
- Plato, submitted by Anna Lennon <annalennon@hotmail.com>
BOULDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried
piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.
Finally the farmer decided the animal was old and the well needed to be
covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. So he
invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a
shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then,
to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the
farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw.
With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something
amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's
neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it
off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey
stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out
of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a
stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping,
never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!
-original source unknown, submitted by Nicolle Dearborn
PONDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I finished off June with a glorious excursion to the Pacific Ocean to
participate in the 25th annual Seaside Wellness Conference which
gathers wellness professionals from around Oregon (and around the
northwest) for four days of education and inspiration. One of the
workshops I presented was on dealing with difficult people and we had a
blast generating a long list of personality types that make our lives more
challenging.
One useful insight came as we explained that sometimes we make
situations worse by taking the personality traits of a co-worker (or family
member) personally. Sometimes those people are the way they are
because of something that happened a long time ago and it isn't useful
(or accurate) for us to think that we caused them to be that way. It doesn't
mean we always have to put up with negative behaviors, but it can help us
maintain our sanity by not taking it personally. Shake it off and take a step
up this week!
Peace,
Paul
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)