Ripples v9.31: Great Passions!
7/30/07: a free weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
____________________PEBBLE ____________________
Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.
-Denis Diderot, submitted by Eliza C, Crivitz WI
____________________BOULDER ____________________
If there is no passion in your life,
then have you really lived?
Find your passion,
whatever it may be.
Become it, and let it become you
and you will find great things happen
FOR you, TO you, and BECAUSE of you.
-T. Alan Armstrong, submitted by Emily S., Eau Claire WI (via Facebook!)
____________________PONDER ____________________
This week I enjoyed a quick trip to Des Moines to spend a day with some corporate trainers from around the state of Iowa. We spent some time exploring how to pursue our passions so I thought it would be a great week to encourage us ALL to spend some time and energy pursuing our passions.
Whether it is in your job, with your family/friends, on a service project, or around a hobby/leisure activity that you enjoy, I hope you can spend a few more minutes this week enjoying your GREAT PASSIONS! I am indescribably lucky that one of my greatest passions is this "electronic postcard" that you are now reading, and I thank you for taking 60 seconds each Monday to pause and ponder. I hope you know that my passion is fed every time you pass Ripples on to a friend/colleague, submit a quote, and especially when you act on an idea that came to you after reading an issue.
Enjoy Ripples, enjoy your great passions, and please make sure you ENJOY TODAY!
Peace,
Paul
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Ripples v9.30: Your Tribe!
Ripples v9.30: Your Tribe!
7/23/07: a free weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
____________________PEBBLE ____________________
Family are friends that life gives us;
friends are family that the heart chooses.
-adapted from Diane Comtesse, submitted by Loreen D, Longview WA
____________________BOULDER ____________________
Call it a clan,
call it a network,
call it a tribe,
call it a family.
Whatever you call it,
whoever you are,
you need one.
-Jane Howard submitted by Loreen D, Longview WA
____________________PONDER ____________________
The more time I spend on this planet, the more I understand and appreciate that families come in all shapes and sizes. As we grow into adulthood, our definition of family can shift from the people we grew up with into the people who help us grow.
I consider myself very blessed to have family members that are friends, and friends who I consider family. I recently enjoyed a week with my best friend who now lives in Ohio, and I frequently get to bond with close friends who live down the hall, down the street, and across town. As I mentioned last week, this issue of Ripples will [hopefully!] reach you just as I wrap up a great weekend with one of my TRIBES that formed in graduate school and gradually evolved into four families of friends that are definitely family.
So, who is your TRIBE? It may be blood relations, it could be the people in your current household, or perhaps it is a close-knit circle of friends who take turns helping each other and receiving help. I dare you to take a moment right now to forward this issue of Ripples to your TRIBE and include a note about how much and why you value having them in your life!
Peace,
Paul
7/23/07: a free weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
____________________PEBBLE ____________________
Family are friends that life gives us;
friends are family that the heart chooses.
-adapted from Diane Comtesse, submitted by Loreen D, Longview WA
____________________BOULDER ____________________
Call it a clan,
call it a network,
call it a tribe,
call it a family.
Whatever you call it,
whoever you are,
you need one.
-Jane Howard submitted by Loreen D, Longview WA
____________________PONDER ____________________
The more time I spend on this planet, the more I understand and appreciate that families come in all shapes and sizes. As we grow into adulthood, our definition of family can shift from the people we grew up with into the people who help us grow.
I consider myself very blessed to have family members that are friends, and friends who I consider family. I recently enjoyed a week with my best friend who now lives in Ohio, and I frequently get to bond with close friends who live down the hall, down the street, and across town. As I mentioned last week, this issue of Ripples will [hopefully!] reach you just as I wrap up a great weekend with one of my TRIBES that formed in graduate school and gradually evolved into four families of friends that are definitely family.
So, who is your TRIBE? It may be blood relations, it could be the people in your current household, or perhaps it is a close-knit circle of friends who take turns helping each other and receiving help. I dare you to take a moment right now to forward this issue of Ripples to your TRIBE and include a note about how much and why you value having them in your life!
Peace,
Paul
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Ripples v9.29: Beautiful Self!
Ripples v9.29: Beautiful Self!
7/16/07: a free weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
____________________PEBBLES ____________________
You are beautiful if you have the ability to believe in yourself.
-source unknown, submitted by Danielle A., Oshkosh WI
Let the beauty that you love be what you do.
-Rumi, submitted by Jessica K from Portland, OR
____________________BOULDER ____________________
Be gentle to yourself,
learn to love yourself,
to forgive yourself,
for only as we have
the right attitudes
toward ourselves
can we have
the right attitude
toward others.
-Wilfred Peterson, submitted by Cathy S., West Bend WI.
____________________PONDER ____________________
Most of us find it easy to visit a museum or a park and delight in the magnificent views and yet we struggle to find beauty when we look in the mirror. If only we could see ourselves the way our grandparents or close friends see us! Perhaps tomorrow while wrapping up your bathroom ritual, you can take 15 seconds to look in the mirror and notice the remarkable artwork and natural splendor that is your BEAUTIFUL SELF!
Peace,
Paul
p.s. Speaking of close friends, I will be spending next weekend visiting with my grad school buddies so I plan to have next week's issue queued up to go out automatically just in case I have travel challenges! I apologize for any potential problems as the auto-schedule feature has not worked flawlessly in the past!
7/16/07: a free weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
____________________PEBBLES ____________________
You are beautiful if you have the ability to believe in yourself.
-source unknown, submitted by Danielle A., Oshkosh WI
Let the beauty that you love be what you do.
-Rumi, submitted by Jessica K from Portland, OR
____________________BOULDER ____________________
Be gentle to yourself,
learn to love yourself,
to forgive yourself,
for only as we have
the right attitudes
toward ourselves
can we have
the right attitude
toward others.
-Wilfred Peterson, submitted by Cathy S., West Bend WI.
____________________PONDER ____________________
Most of us find it easy to visit a museum or a park and delight in the magnificent views and yet we struggle to find beauty when we look in the mirror. If only we could see ourselves the way our grandparents or close friends see us! Perhaps tomorrow while wrapping up your bathroom ritual, you can take 15 seconds to look in the mirror and notice the remarkable artwork and natural splendor that is your BEAUTIFUL SELF!
Peace,
Paul
p.s. Speaking of close friends, I will be spending next weekend visiting with my grad school buddies so I plan to have next week's issue queued up to go out automatically just in case I have travel challenges! I apologize for any potential problems as the auto-schedule feature has not worked flawlessly in the past!
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Ripples v9.28: Opportunity!
Ripples v9.28: Opportunity!
7/9/07: a free weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
____________________PEBBLE ____________________
We become happier, much happier, when we realize
life is an opportunity rather than an obligation.
-Mary Augustine, submitted by Cathy S., West Bend WI & by Brett B., Madison WI
____________________BOULDER ____________________
The block of granite
which was an obstacle
in the path of the weak,
becomes a stepping stone
in the path of the strong.
-source unknown, submitted by Shelley B., Des Moines, IA
____________________PONDER ____________________
Based on the number of "auto-reply" messages I received last week, I need to welcome many of you back from vacation, so WELCOME BACK! I hope you are refreshed and ready to dive back into work/school/life with renewed energy AND I hope you are ready to embrace life and all the STEPPING STONES that exist for you. Since we are now into the second half of the year, I suggest you find time this week to take stock of 2007. Perhaps you could generate a list of possibilities that might exist within a obstacle/challenge you are currently facing, and start climbing up those stones!
Speaking of opportunities, I need a few volunteers to test drive a re-designed website. If you are interested and have 10 minutes to spare, reply with TEST DRIVE in the subject line.
Peace,
Paul
7/9/07: a free weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
____________________PEBBLE ____________________
We become happier, much happier, when we realize
life is an opportunity rather than an obligation.
-Mary Augustine, submitted by Cathy S., West Bend WI & by Brett B., Madison WI
____________________BOULDER ____________________
The block of granite
which was an obstacle
in the path of the weak,
becomes a stepping stone
in the path of the strong.
-source unknown, submitted by Shelley B., Des Moines, IA
____________________PONDER ____________________
Based on the number of "auto-reply" messages I received last week, I need to welcome many of you back from vacation, so WELCOME BACK! I hope you are refreshed and ready to dive back into work/school/life with renewed energy AND I hope you are ready to embrace life and all the STEPPING STONES that exist for you. Since we are now into the second half of the year, I suggest you find time this week to take stock of 2007. Perhaps you could generate a list of possibilities that might exist within a obstacle/challenge you are currently facing, and start climbing up those stones!
Speaking of opportunities, I need a few volunteers to test drive a re-designed website. If you are interested and have 10 minutes to spare, reply with TEST DRIVE in the subject line.
Peace,
Paul
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Ripples v9.27: Free (not Free!)
Ripples v9.27: Free (not Free!)
7/2/07: a free weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
____________________PEBBLE ____________________
To be truly free, you must first be disciplined.
-source unknown, submitted by Jules G., Eau Claire WI
____________________BOULDER ____________________
Freedom is not merely
the opportunity to do as one pleases;
neither is it merely
the opportunity to choose between set alternatives.
Freedom is, first of all,
the chance to formulate the available choices,
to argue over them--and then,
the opportunity to choose.
-C. Wright Mills
____________________PONDER ____________________
As those of us here in the U.S prepare to celebrate our Independence Day, I want to remind us all that the word FREE has two different connotations. We sometimes use FREE to mean "no cost" and other times it refers to the concept described above: the opportunity to create and make choices. I am sure I am not the only one who worries that we tend to take our FREEdoms for granted, and we sometimes slip into thinking that they should not cost anything (cost = money, time, effort, etc.). Free isn't Free!
In between the picnics and the sparklers and the fireworks, I dare you to spend a few minutes asking your companions what being FREE means to them. What choices are they most glad they have, and what responsibility do we have for paying to be FREE. Some might think of paying in terms of taxes to a government who protects and provides, others might view community service as a way to give back (and perhaps helping others become FREE).
Enjoy the many choices you have!
Peace,
Paul
7/2/07: a free weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project
____________________PEBBLE ____________________
To be truly free, you must first be disciplined.
-source unknown, submitted by Jules G., Eau Claire WI
____________________BOULDER ____________________
Freedom is not merely
the opportunity to do as one pleases;
neither is it merely
the opportunity to choose between set alternatives.
Freedom is, first of all,
the chance to formulate the available choices,
to argue over them--and then,
the opportunity to choose.
-C. Wright Mills
____________________PONDER ____________________
As those of us here in the U.S prepare to celebrate our Independence Day, I want to remind us all that the word FREE has two different connotations. We sometimes use FREE to mean "no cost" and other times it refers to the concept described above: the opportunity to create and make choices. I am sure I am not the only one who worries that we tend to take our FREEdoms for granted, and we sometimes slip into thinking that they should not cost anything (cost = money, time, effort, etc.). Free isn't Free!
In between the picnics and the sparklers and the fireworks, I dare you to spend a few minutes asking your companions what being FREE means to them. What choices are they most glad they have, and what responsibility do we have for paying to be FREE. Some might think of paying in terms of taxes to a government who protects and provides, others might view community service as a way to give back (and perhaps helping others become FREE).
Enjoy the many choices you have!
Peace,
Paul
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)