ELAN Blog ~ Week 32, Day 161

I hope you have enjoyed these ELAN Blog series so far. I certainly enjoy writing them and facilitating the courses upon which they are based. This is the eighth series and it is where the previous seven come together. During the next four weeks of this series we will be reminded of the importance of taking care of that which we have been gifted with or have gained through best practices of living a life well-lived. Looking ahead to the final two ELAN Blog series makes me anxious to “Watch Your Language” and “Be a Life-Long Learner,” in the final two series, but first we will focus on being a good steward. What does that mean?

God charged Adam to be a good steward over all the land, including the birds and animals, when he placed him on his beautifully created world. All the resources of the world were there for his use and enjoyment, perhaps with the exception of that famous tree. God only asked one thing ~ that Adam take care of the garden…”The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 2:15

When the ELAN courses first began forming there were some choices made regarding the Ten ELAN Principles that would be the foundation of the completed course. The order of them are by design, to a degree. We have been working through a life course, examining practices and possibilities along the way*. Knowing that we will never really arrive, we are confident that each step takes us closer to living the 3-D life of Discovery, Development and Delivery. We have become more aware of blessings that enter our world and we have come to a newer understanding of the power of our observation and thoughts regarding those blessings. At this point it would be foolish to cast aside all that has landed at our feet, as if they mattered not. No matter the type, amount or variety of gifts, we have been charged with taking care. Taking care to notice; taking care to thank; taking care to name and taking care to take care of those gifts.

Today, think about all the gifts you have been charged to care for. Take care.

“He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever man called each living creature, that was its name.” Genesis 2:19b

“Take care of the minutes, for the hours will take care of themselves.” Lord Chesterfield, 1694-1773

*The basis of the ELAN courses are contained within these ELAN Blog series, beginning with Week One, Day One. Click here to read them…

ELAN Blog ~ Week 15, Day 72

This week we are thinking about what it means to set our sights on a goal. Each ELAN course that comes to reality strikes me as surprisingly important as it fits in the realm of the entire ELAN curriculum. This one is no different. The foundation of ELAN, Elevating Life Attitudes Now, is what I call 3-D Living: Discovering your passion, Developing the tools to turn that Passive Passion into Action in order to Deliver it to your world, large or small. This course is that theme in a nutshell. The previous two weeks have focused on the first third of a 3-D life – discovery. This week is about developing the tools. How do we do that? Practice.

Ugh! Remember hating that word when your mom reminded you to practice your instrument or your elementary teacher said, “Time to practice penmanship!”? Ugh. But when you are passionate about something practice becomes play. The trick is to recognize the value of play and not feel guilty for doing something that is so much fun. We practice and we play to serve our world, large or small. Practice for you, Play for the world.

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good,” Malcolm Gladwell says in Outliers, the featured book for this week. “It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” You can read more about this book in Friday’s ELAN blog which will contain a brief book review.

I mention often in this blog space the amazing serendipity that occurs while I am working on two sections of the curriculum at once. This week I finished reading The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp while working on ELAN Course Eight, “Be a Good Steward.” The book is filled with examples of how discipline, ritual and yes, practice, will carry you along on a path to creativity. Keep in mind, just as Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way is a worthwhile read for all who wish to add or enhance the creative spoke on their wheel of life, Tharp recognizes the importance of creativity in any life. Let’s face it, no matter our profession we can all benefit from the discipline and routine of regular practice at that which we feel naturally drawn to.

TODAY think about what you love to play at. What is the one thing you would do if no thing, no person, no circumstance could hold you back? This doesn’t mean you should quit your job to join the circus of your dreams. It does mean there is some one thing that could add beauty, joy and depth to your life. After two weeks of zooming, you should have a clue what that is. How could you practice that?

“Yet, oh Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter, we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8

“The most characteristic mark of a great mind is to choose some one important object, and pursue it for life.” Anna Letitia Barbauld, 1743-1825

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ELAN Blog ~ Week 14, Day 69

Have you been zooming in this week, thinking about that one thing you would love to do, that perfect match of your skills and the needs of your world? We have mentioned the book, A Walk on the Beach, by Joan Anderson. The value of this memoir of the year that Anderson retreated to a sea-side cottage lies in her own discoveries and reflections, but also in the wisdom she hears from a woman she met by happenstance, Joan Erikson. More on Erikson and the mentoring friendship that developed between the two of them in the book review tomorrow. Here are some words from the elder Joan to the younger: “It’s time to look more mature and show that you have a high regard for what you do.”

I love that. Don’t we admire those we perceive as being confident in their ability? Unless such people are blithering fools, we watch those who hold their heads high, have firm handshakes, look us in the eye and can confidently and unwaveringly speak to one or many on a subject they are passionate about. We may think to ourselves, “They really know their stuff.” The fact is, so do you really know your stuff. The fact that your stuff is different than their stuff does not make it less valuable, just different. Next week we will learn about geniuses and what it takes to become one, as we learn to set our sights on our goal. It will fall conveniently on the heels of this week’s lesson – Zooming In to choose the one thing we would like to apply our individual skill set to in order to serve our world, whether local or global. When I speak to groups about 3-D Living, I ask them to visit Fantasy Island and dream about the one thing they would do if no thing, no person, no circumstance could hold them back. Who do you know, or know of, who is doing that one thing already? Could they be a real or virtual mentor to you? Zoom In. 

TODAY think about the one thing that you feel led to do, whether in your career field or as an avocation. What are you just itching to try or improve upon? Think about the one thing you are best at, then give yourself credit for doing it well. Imagine holding your head high and walking tall, offering a firm handshake while holding the gaze of the people you meet. It is not hubris, merely the recognition that you are in tune with your skills and abilities. Finally, when someone asks your advice, freely and happily share what you know. 

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.” Hebrews 10:35

“Will I ever learn to take my own life more seriously?” Joan Anderson, A Walk on the Beach

 

Welcome to new followers of ELAN Blog. Thank you for your shares, comments, subscriptions and click throughs to the organizations that we support: http://paulandbecca.wordpress.com, www.soddo.org, http://crossculturalconnections.org

ELAN Lent Series, Day Forty: Move Forth and Carry On

It is finally here – Day 40 of the ELAN Blog Lent series. I must say I will be somewhat sad to see it go. As mentioned previously, this effort was in response to a practice begun a few years ago to Take something up, instead of Give something up during the Lent season and it has been an exercise of personal discipline. Since it has stretched on for more than six weeks, it is now a habit for me to do this one small task first thing (after coffee and journaling). What will fill this time from here on out? That is the beauty of challenging yourself with a new discipline – with dedicated and intentional focus, that thing becomes a habit until it flavors your day automatically. I am now at the bottom of the learning curve, having slid down the second half. That means I am actively looking for a new one to begin to climb. Rather than a concern or a worry, the thought of a new something to learn or improve on is exciting. There are unlimited possibilities.

We finish this long Lent- short series on being a life-long learner with encouragement that whatever field or skill you choose to challenge yourself with will flow easily if you focus intentionally on that one skill for just a few minutes a day – especially when that one thing fits well with your personal and unique talent. This is where any excuses must be thrown out the window. Too old? Nonsense! “Your brain is much better than you think,” says Michael J.Gelb, in How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. He encourages us that our brains actually improve with age – if used properly. He tells us our “neural endowment”  is so great that even losing 1,000 brain cells a day every day would only amount to less than one percent of the total over the course of our lives. No matter your age or your lowly opinion of your own mental ability, there is great room for improvement. Try that new truth on for size. How does it feel to imagine that you are capable of learning new things? If that new thing floats your personal boat, all the better. You can find moments of flow, lost in an activity that jives with your mojo so well that you lose track of time. In the flow, you lose concern about what others think or how long it might take you to get where you are going. The doing is the destination. When you are in the flow of learning a new task, especially when you are at the crest of the learning curve, the time to arrive is now and the place to be is here. Back to the sledding analogy – the goal is the ride, not the abrupt stop at level ground.

Gelb tells us that although we may not become equal to the number one genius of all time, we could adopt some of his practices to enrich our lives. He asks readers to use his book as a guidebook, “An invitation to breathe the vivid air, to feel the fire in your heart’s centre, and the full flowering of your spirit.”

Today (and tomorrow), think about what new thing you could learn that would fit well with your authentic self. Feel free to return to these blogs at any time to refresh your thoughts about what that means. My hope is that you will be encouraged to observe your world on a daily basis and think about how you can become more effective in that world. May you continue on a personal development journey in pursuit of living a 3-D life – by Discovering, Developing and Delivering your Passive Passion turned to Action to your world, large and small.

“With Leonardo as your inspiration, you will make your life a work of art.” Michael J. Gelb, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning…” Proverbs 1:5a

ELAN Lent Series: Fourth Sunday

Sundays are meant to be set aside for a day of rest and during this ELAN Blog short series, we take a break from the self-prescribed topics to briefly recap the past week and look ahead for the coming week. Are you practicing your observation muscle? Do you find  objects or moments of beauty catching your attention? Are you recognizing episodes of personal behavior that are out of sync with the person you know yourself to be? Observation – of you, your world and how you relate to that world – is key to living a 3-D Life – Discovering your passion, Developing the tools to turn that Passive Passion into Action to Deliver it to your world, large or small. This morning I heard a chirp of a single songbird in the midst of the thousands of seagulls that delight in waking me up at first light. Yesterday I noticed bright blooms standing at attention as I drove past the houses in my neighborhood. Spring is here. The natural world is awake with new life. This time of year there is an abundance of beauty for us to enjoy – we only need look for it and focus our attention on goodness and love and hope.

Today, continue observing your world. Recognize gifts and abundance – name them, claim them and give thanks for them. Pay attention to what images form your own dream of your own world. Are they flickering, digital images blasting forth from a box in your living room or are they smooth and flowing scenes of nature? Think of the origin of those images and thoughts. Pause to imagine how a small change of  scenery (where you focus your attention) could change your outlook. Tomorrow we will continue thoughts on what it means to “Make Things Happen” and then we will move on to “Observe Our World” in more detail. Until then, may this day be filled with rest, comfort and peace.

“Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he had put the man he had formed. And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground – trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.” Genesis 2: 8,9a

ELAN Lent Series, Day Fifteen: Cast a Wide Net; Set Your Sights

We’ve been talking about fine-tuning our focus: zooming out to take in all there is to see and then zooming in on one spot of beauty – the spot that hosts our passion and purpose. Today we will observe how we set our sights on a goal. Do you see the steps involved? How much more effective is it to set you sights on a focal point that has been chosen by careful and self-reflective thought? While it is interesting to shoot from the hip, doing so all the time creates a life of chaos and wild ups and downs. No matter how professional the equipment may be, or how fine the lens is, if you raise up the camera and shoot without adjusting your focus or choosing your subject, you will take a lot of blurry and senseless pictures.

We have learned the importance of casting a wide net – getting ourselves out in the world to take in varied experiences. Opportunities lie within those experiences. Imagine sitting in a solitary room with no external influences or stimulation. You could be the smartest person in the world or the most gifted artist or musician but the world would never know your gifts. Nor would you, for that matter. We understand the value of expanding our world view through such experiences but also through meditation and journaling, spending time with ourselves and our thoughts. Variety helps us choose our own and very personal dream.  A mentor can help us learn from one who is more experienced in our chosen field.

Today we set our sights, the third part of ELAN Course Four. The foundation of ELAN, Elevating Life Attitudes Now, is 3-D Living: Discovering your passion, Developing the tools to turn that Passive Passion into Action to Deliver it to your world, large or small. This course is that theme in a nutshell. Steps one and two helped us with the first third of a 3-D life – discovery. Today is about developing the tools. How do we do that? Practice.

Ugh! Remember hating that word when your mom reminded you to practice your instrument or your elementary teacher said, “Time to practice penmanship!”? Ugh. But when you are passionate about something practice becomes play. The trick is to recognize the value of play and not feel guilty for doing something that is so much fun. We practice and we play to serve our world, large or small. Practice for you, Play for the world!

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good,” Malcolm Gladwell says in Outliers. “It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”

Today, think about what you love to play at. What is the one thing you would do if no thing, no person or no circumstance could hold you back? This doesn’t mean you have to quit your job to join the circus of your dreams. It does mean there is something, some one thing, that could add beauty, joy and depth to your life. That one thing, practiced and played at could also serve to create in you a better person to represent to the world, whether local or global. Set your sights and think about how you can log some hours in preparation for tomorrow: Focus and Shoot!

“Don’t waste time calculating your chances of success and failure. Just fix your aim and begin.” Guan Yin Tzu

“Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.” Proverbs 4:25

Scrabble

As often happens, I had in mind one blog topic but was inspired by a more recent event to write this one. Perhaps next week I will get to a blog on Instant Messaging which was inspired by a visit to the state capitol (and capital) on Wednesday. By the way, next Monday’s post will be my last regular blog for several weeks. I will be doing a short daily post during the Lenten season, based on the 10 four-week courses of the ELAN curriculum. If you would like to receive these snippets of my reflections on what living a 3-D life means to me, you must click on the “Sign Me Up” button to the right of this blog entry (under my photo). I will not be sending out email reminders of these posts. By clicking on that button you will activate an automatic notice that will show up in your inbox when new posts are entered.

One note on the words capitol and capital – I must admit I had to look this one up as the two terms can be confusing. Capitol is the actual building that houses the legislative assembly as well as the seat of the U.S. Congress. Capital is the most important city or region as well as monetary wealth (and is often used in reference to human capital). One little letter makes a big difference.

Which leads beautifully into the topic of this blog – letters and our use of them. I had the most happy occasion to play Scrabble with friends on Saturday (thanks, you two). I don’t think I have laughed that hard in a long time – to the point I was about to lose control, crying and gasping for breath. What fun that is to be able to let loose with good friends. The fact that by the end of the long game we were forced to be very creative with our remaining letters added to the hilarity of the situation. It was fascinating to watch the board develop as words creeped and crawled across the playing field, sometimes snaking at odd angles and other times marching straight ahead.

That very first word set the tone and direction of the play. From that first word our possibilities were limited. The challenge increased as each subsequent word was played. How careless we are in real life, filled with real conversation. How easily we drop words along the path behind us, thinking they have little meaning or consequence.

The truth is, our words have power to create and they have power to block opportunities.

Sarcasm is a bad habit I often succumb to. It is the sharper edge of wit, muttered under breath as a means to display humor or irony. The fact that my voice lowers and gets soft when these barbs erupt should be a clue that they are not of the highest order. Wouldn’t it be better to loudly proclaim the uplifting side of wit – wisdom? That is much harder to do and I wonder – why? Perhaps it is just a habit we fall into. Perhaps it is the ego constantly begging and pleading for attention – look at me…I have something to say…these words will build me up by knocking someone else down. If it is a merely a habit, then can we not exchange it for a better one? A habit of always giving another something good to take away from their contact with us? Why is that so hard to do?

And what about the words we choose in our ongoing internal monologue? As we improve our thoughts within us and about ourselves we increase our ability to use our spoken words for good. The person who insults, even in humor or sarcasm, is choosing their words from a rotting field within. Even those words seem awfully strong as I write them and I am full of awe – at the power words can have. Our internal language drives our external expression, leaving an impression every where we go. A simple shift in the words we think and use can have dramatic effects in our own lives and then in the lives of those we touch day to day.

This week think about the words that follow behind you – do they lay broken and useless? Do they become like sharp shards, able to harm someone or even yourself? Or do you gently lay words of beauty and encouragement along the path? Imagine if the pot above had been placed with care rather than smashed to pieces? That pot would have the power to create beauty as a vessel for flowers, filling the world around it with a sweet fragrance. This week look for beauty in your life. A blooming flower, a chirping bird or the sweet words of a friend. Fill your own field within with words of love and encouragement. Then watch what happens in your life and the lives of those you love.

“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground.” Isaiah 45:9

“Flowers are for our souls to enjoy.” Sioux saying

“A word is dead When it is said, Some say. I say it just Begins to live That day.” Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886

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