Ripples v8.26: Ripples of ARTFUL LIVING!
6/26/06: a FREE splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PEBBLE =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Live to the point of tears.
-Albert Camus, submitted by Katie P., Minneapolis MN
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= BOULDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Choice by choice,
moment by moment,
I string together the necklace of my day,
stringing together the choices that form
artful living.
-Julia Cameron, submitted by Lin H., Bloomington IL
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PONDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
The last few weeks have been adventure-filled for me; besides addressing the challenges of our website and related technology (it seems we have them largely resolved--thanks for helping me thank both teams last week!), I have spent some time giving presentations in New Hampshire as well as several leadership conferences around Wisconsin. This weekend included a sublime reunion with my buddies from graduate school and their growing families: hours of chit chat and laughter and goofiness that will linger in my soul for a long time.
As I continue to learn and grow from a bounty of people and experiences (including both wildly fun times and gritty hard stuff), it seems easy to forget (and just as easy to recall!) that even the truly difficult challenges are more easily faced when I string together some really good times after I have faced a string of blechy times. Perhaps you could take a quick assessment of your upcoming week to see if there is room for more ARTFUL LIVING, even with all the crazy, unpredictable, frustrating, and delicious ups and downs.
Life isn't always easy, my ripply friend, but I believe it is always worth it!
Ripple On!
Paul
Monday, June 26, 2006
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Ripples v8.25: HOPEFUL Ripples!
Ripples v8.25: HOPEFUL Ripples!
6/19/06: a FREE splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PEBBLE =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts,
liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.
-Andrew Carnegie, submitted by Lora K.
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= BOULDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Hope is a garden of seeds sown with tears,
Planted with love amidst present fears.
Hope is a rainbow of butterfly wings,
Gently it beckons, lightly it sings.
Hope is a present of future each day,
A voice from our heart to show us the way.
Hope is not passive, it is real and alive,
Hope is a strength to guide choices made wise.
Yes, hope is a garden grown from love and from tears,
And hope which is nurtured survives throughout years.
-Mattie T. J. Stepanek, submitted by Mary G., Brookings SD
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PONDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
My HOPE for you this week: that you receive this issue of Ripples!
Many of you have not received Ripples for several weeks, and most of our recent subscribers have not yet received their first issue. I humbly apologize for this and I am hoping those challenges are behind us. The folks that make the software we use to send out Ripples along with the good people that host our website have spent an ENORMOUS amount of time in the past few weeks trying to identify and solve myriad problems. I HOPE we have them largely resolved and that issue makes its way to all 14,000+ members by Monday morning!
Whether you have enjoyed receiving Ripples for a few weeks or many years (or somewhere in between), I would tremendously appreciate your assistance in thanking these two companies who both provide quality services at reasonable rates. Wouldn't it be Ripply to shower a few hundred postcards on both of these companies from members all over the U.S. (you global Ripplers don't need to spend extra postage on this effort!!)? If at all possible, please take a moment from your day to scribble a postcard saying "Thank you for helping us with Ripples & The Ripples Project!" and put your first name and where you live and depending upon which side of the Mississippi you live, send it to:
EAST of Mississippi: Active Campaign, 75 E. Wacker Drive # 820, Chicago, IL 60601 (web: http://ActiveCampaign.com )
WEST of Mississippi: Global Servers, 1253 N. Research Way Suite Q-2500 , Orem, UT 84097 (web: http://GlobalServers.com )
Technical Support staffs put up with lots and lots of nagging and whining and complaining and very rarely hear THANK YOU. Thousands of you will THINK about doing this, and I am counting on many of you to TAKE ACTION!
Thank you so much for taking a minute to follow through, and I hope we can create some unique ripples!
Peace,
Paul
6/19/06: a FREE splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PEBBLE =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts,
liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.
-Andrew Carnegie, submitted by Lora K.
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= BOULDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Hope is a garden of seeds sown with tears,
Planted with love amidst present fears.
Hope is a rainbow of butterfly wings,
Gently it beckons, lightly it sings.
Hope is a present of future each day,
A voice from our heart to show us the way.
Hope is not passive, it is real and alive,
Hope is a strength to guide choices made wise.
Yes, hope is a garden grown from love and from tears,
And hope which is nurtured survives throughout years.
-Mattie T. J. Stepanek, submitted by Mary G., Brookings SD
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PONDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
My HOPE for you this week: that you receive this issue of Ripples!
Many of you have not received Ripples for several weeks, and most of our recent subscribers have not yet received their first issue. I humbly apologize for this and I am hoping those challenges are behind us. The folks that make the software we use to send out Ripples along with the good people that host our website have spent an ENORMOUS amount of time in the past few weeks trying to identify and solve myriad problems. I HOPE we have them largely resolved and that issue makes its way to all 14,000+ members by Monday morning!
Whether you have enjoyed receiving Ripples for a few weeks or many years (or somewhere in between), I would tremendously appreciate your assistance in thanking these two companies who both provide quality services at reasonable rates. Wouldn't it be Ripply to shower a few hundred postcards on both of these companies from members all over the U.S. (you global Ripplers don't need to spend extra postage on this effort!!)? If at all possible, please take a moment from your day to scribble a postcard saying "Thank you for helping us with Ripples & The Ripples Project!" and put your first name and where you live and depending upon which side of the Mississippi you live, send it to:
EAST of Mississippi: Active Campaign, 75 E. Wacker Drive # 820, Chicago, IL 60601 (web: http://ActiveCampaign.com )
WEST of Mississippi: Global Servers, 1253 N. Research Way Suite Q-2500 , Orem, UT 84097 (web: http://GlobalServers.com )
Technical Support staffs put up with lots and lots of nagging and whining and complaining and very rarely hear THANK YOU. Thousands of you will THINK about doing this, and I am counting on many of you to TAKE ACTION!
Thank you so much for taking a minute to follow through, and I hope we can create some unique ripples!
Peace,
Paul
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Ripples v8.24: Ripples of SHORT RACES!
Ripples v8.24: Ripples of SHORT RACES!
6/12/06: a FREE splash from Paul & The Ripples Project (more info below)
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PEBBLE =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races, one after another.
-Walter Elliott, submitted by Noel R., Milwaukee WI
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= BOULDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o
You can become blind
by seeing each day as a similar one.
Each day is a different one,
each day brings a miracle of its own.
It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.
-Paulo Coelho, submitted by Cathie M., Madison WI
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PONDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Are you feeling overwhelmed by some huge project that is going on in work or school or life? Or maybe there is a burden you have been carrying around with you, something that has been worrying or frustrating or sad. I would like to suggest that you shift your perspective: instead of thinking of it as one big ole yucky, blechy thing, it is possible to view it as a set of small challenges. This week you could focus on just one part, and view it as a SHORT RACE that you can finish and finish soon!
As you cross your finish line, I hope that there is a small prize to accept (lunch with a friend, an hour of mindless tv or video game, your favorite dessert, etc.) and a sense of satisfaction in knowing that even if there are many more short races to run, you finished one.
On your mark,
get set,
GO!
-Paul
6/12/06: a FREE splash from Paul & The Ripples Project (more info below)
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PEBBLE =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races, one after another.
-Walter Elliott, submitted by Noel R., Milwaukee WI
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= BOULDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o
You can become blind
by seeing each day as a similar one.
Each day is a different one,
each day brings a miracle of its own.
It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.
-Paulo Coelho, submitted by Cathie M., Madison WI
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PONDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Are you feeling overwhelmed by some huge project that is going on in work or school or life? Or maybe there is a burden you have been carrying around with you, something that has been worrying or frustrating or sad. I would like to suggest that you shift your perspective: instead of thinking of it as one big ole yucky, blechy thing, it is possible to view it as a set of small challenges. This week you could focus on just one part, and view it as a SHORT RACE that you can finish and finish soon!
As you cross your finish line, I hope that there is a small prize to accept (lunch with a friend, an hour of mindless tv or video game, your favorite dessert, etc.) and a sense of satisfaction in knowing that even if there are many more short races to run, you finished one.
On your mark,
get set,
GO!
-Paul
Sunday, June 4, 2006
Ripples v8.23: Ripples of FRIENDPRINTS!
Ripples v8.23: Ripples of FRIENDPRINTS!
6/5/06: a FREE splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PEBBLE =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Life without friendship is like the sky without sun.
-source unknown, submitted by Noel R., Milwaukee WI
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= BOULDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o
It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime,
so let me say before we part:
So much of me is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart,
and now whatever way our stories end,
I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend.
-from the Broadway musical "Wicked", submitted by Samantha T., Green Bay WI
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PONDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
I enjoy being able to tell all of you about my fun adventures in life and I appreciate that I can also share the challenges.
Well, last week was completely blechy. And let me be clear: by blechy I mean painful, scary, exhausting, draining, awful. I will spare you the gory details; instead I want to describe how magnificent it was to have a set of friends who provided such warm support. Several of my friends changed their schedules to spend time with me, and others who lived far away lent support with phone calls and good energy. A few people I connected briefly with didn't even know I was facing a difficult time; the serendipity of our paths crossing was powerful just the same.
With all of that powerful assistance, I had the courage to face these challenges and I am so happy to report that I already feel more like my old self again. I am composing this week's issue on a Sunday afternoon sitting on my deck beneath a sky that most definitely includes a beautiful, bright sun. I am deeply grateful that my friends left many FRIENDPRINTS on my healing heart just when they were needed most.
Please take a quick moment this week to either thank a friend of yours for their FRIENDPRINTS, or take action to leave some on a friend in need. Whichever you do, I'm guessing it will bring you a bit more....
...Peace,
Paul
6/5/06: a FREE splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PEBBLE =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
Life without friendship is like the sky without sun.
-source unknown, submitted by Noel R., Milwaukee WI
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= BOULDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o
It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime,
so let me say before we part:
So much of me is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart,
and now whatever way our stories end,
I know you have rewritten mine by being my friend.
-from the Broadway musical "Wicked", submitted by Samantha T., Green Bay WI
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PONDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
I enjoy being able to tell all of you about my fun adventures in life and I appreciate that I can also share the challenges.
Well, last week was completely blechy. And let me be clear: by blechy I mean painful, scary, exhausting, draining, awful. I will spare you the gory details; instead I want to describe how magnificent it was to have a set of friends who provided such warm support. Several of my friends changed their schedules to spend time with me, and others who lived far away lent support with phone calls and good energy. A few people I connected briefly with didn't even know I was facing a difficult time; the serendipity of our paths crossing was powerful just the same.
With all of that powerful assistance, I had the courage to face these challenges and I am so happy to report that I already feel more like my old self again. I am composing this week's issue on a Sunday afternoon sitting on my deck beneath a sky that most definitely includes a beautiful, bright sun. I am deeply grateful that my friends left many FRIENDPRINTS on my healing heart just when they were needed most.
Please take a quick moment this week to either thank a friend of yours for their FRIENDPRINTS, or take action to leave some on a friend in need. Whichever you do, I'm guessing it will bring you a bit more....
...Peace,
Paul
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