Early in Life

“Babies are such a nice way to start people.”
~ Don Herrold

“Human beings are the only creatures on Earth that allow their children to come back home.”
~ Bill Cosby

“Diaper backward spells repaid. Think about it.”
~ Marshall McLuhan

“If your baby’s “beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses, sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the time,” you’re the grandma.”
~ Theresa Bloomingdale

A little different:
“Man’s main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is.”
~ Erich Fromm

“Birds in the Sand”

Birds are usually found in the sky, which is where they like to be. But sometimes, birds can be seen in the sand, burrowing holes in the sand, moving their small wings here and there, shaking up a small sand storm.

There was a bird named Melody. She was called Melody because she sang a lovely clear ringing melody. Melody was once flying and playing between the trees with her friends Flutter and Highnote. Flutter sang always in a fluttery, wavy voice and Highnote sang with such a high voice that all the animals in the forest would hear her. Melody, Flutter and Highnote were playing tag between the trees. Melody was “it”, and Highnote kept singing in her high voice, “Melody can’t catch me, btzrrrrr, btzrrrr, Mel can’t catch me.” And it was so hot that day, even in the covered forest, under the trees, it was all Melody could do to fly to tag Flutter and Highnote – flying kept Melody cooler because she could spread her wings. But when she was just sitting on a branch in this heat, Melody would get so hot that she would wonder if her head wouldn’t pop from the sheer heat. Luckily flying made her feel better.

Eventually Melody caught Highnote, and then Highnote became “it” and flew after Melody and Flutter, singing in her high voice, “I willllllll get you!” The three birds finally tired from flying so much and playing so much tag, but the problem was that if they stopped playing and went to rest on a branch, then they would all get so hot and then become worried that their heads would pop.

But, alas, there was no choice, eventually but to slow down and rest on the branches. “Brraaiii-brraaii-brraaii, oh, what shall we do about this heat?” flittered Flutter. “Ptsi-ptsi-ptsi,” sang Melody in return, “we have to get out of the heat,” and with that she flew from the branch onto the ground which was muddy and sandy.

Melody chose a sandy spot on the ground and started to beat her wings all around her and move around in circles, making a small sand storm. Highnote and Flutter watched her from above, wondering what she was doing. Finally when the sand cleared, Highnote and Flutter could see that Melody was burrowed deep in the sand, and was calm and no longer fidgety from the heat. “Why did you do all that?” sang Highnote. “Because,” breathed out Melody, with a sigh of relief, “because it’s cool down here.…”

Flutter and Highnote immediately flew down and went through the same ritual as had Melody moments before, throwing up a small sand storm, beating their wings about, circling in the ground, until they too were comfortably seated in the sand. It turns out that sand lower than the earth’s surface stays cool longer, much longer. Melody, Highnote, and Flutter spent the rest of the afternoon singing to each other from their small cool islands in the sand.

So, you see, it is only sometimes, but sometimes we can find birds not in the sky, but in the sand.

Thinking about Two Things at Once

:) From a friend of mine who emailed this:

    And here’s a quick lesson regarding attention. Yesterday I read an article on my laptop as I tied my shoes. Little did I know I’d tied the pull-string to my window blinds into my shoelaces. When I walked away I pulled the blinds up almost yanking them off. So, remember, if you tie your shoes without paying attention, the whole window treatment could come down.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

Today’s question is suggested by Chris Harrison! This is such a fun question, and it fits with this note about interior design. I first started asking this question in college when I spoke with the parents of my friends – well, a version of the question: I used to ask, “Why do you live there?” It’s so interesting to me why people choose to live in certain places.

Also, a great thing about this question is that it’s about, “what do you want?” and “where would you live?” I often think that it’s with friends that you can dream about things, about the future, about the “if”s. Where would you live?

Q: If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
Since it’s a guest question, my answers are in the comments too. :) COOL! I love guest questions. Chris runs a blog on which he talks about work, family, his home. Check it out!


On Fridays, I ask questions (today, it’s rather late in the day!)… would love it if you’re in the mood to answer!

On Friendship

I recently needed help with something just about in the middle of the night, and I called a friend. This made me think of these quotes. It is beautiful.

“I do not wish to treat friendships daintily, but with the roughest courage. When they are real, they are not glass threads or frost-work, but the solidest thing we know.”
“A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud.”
“A Friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of Nature.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The best mirror is an old friend.”
~ George Herbert

“When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.”
~ William Arthur Ward

“Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with.”
~ Mark Twain

“It is more shameful to distrust one’s friends than to be deceived by them.”
~ Duc de la Rochefoucauld

“Never injure a friend, even in jest.”
~ Cicero

” ‘Stay’ is a charming word in a friend’s vocabulary.”
~ Louisa Mary Alcott

“What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies.”
~ Aristotle

“Giant Undercover”

“But, Mama, what if I need to get away from a bad person? How can I hide? I’m so big,” asked the Giant in a hesitant tone. He was very sad. The Giant was scared that he wouldn’t be able to hide if he needed to.

“Well,” answered Mama Giant, “there are three solutions,” and at this the Giant moved his ears closer. “You can pretend to be a tree, you can learn to run really fast, or you can look up.”

“What do you mean?” he asked for he was just a young Giant, and couldn’t follow his mother’s logic so fast.

“We are so large, my son, that we are easily the height of sycamore trees and the width of the centuries-old redwoods. The only thing you need to learn is tree posture. Tree posture is a little wiggly at the top where the thin branches are and strong and sturdy on the bottom, you think you can do that?”

“I can do that Mama.”

“Ok, then the second way to get away from a bad person is to learn to run really fast because each of your steps is twenty times the length of the bad person’s steps… so you can get away fast!”

“Ok, and what else, Mama?” “Well, look up,” and the Giant did. “What do you see?”

“The sky and some branches, and that hill over there.”

“That’s right, little one,” Mama said to the Giant. “That hill is your savior – you can walk to that hill in three steps while it would take regular people sixty steps, and then you can pull yourself up to that ledge in an instant, and roll on that hill and disappear from view!”

“Wow, thank you Mama!” and the Giant hugged his Mama, “I will work on my tree posture, and on running fast, and on lifting myself – yea! I’ll be saved from any bad people!” …and with that he closed his eyes, and took his afternoon quiet-time under the trees.

What questions do you want me to ask?

I was talking to a friend recently, and asking what other questions I should ask on the site, and he said, “Hey, why not ask what questions people want to answer?” I thought, “Hey!” So here we are. :)

Q: What questions would be most fun for Friday questions?! What questions would you have most fun answering?

My answers:
* What’s the coolest experience you’ve ever had?
* What’s the thing you’re most proud of having done in elementary school?
* Describe your best friend from when you were growing up.
* What are some of the most beautiful things or places you’ve ever seen?
* What’s the most unusual feeling you’ve ever had?

Thanks! Really looking forward to reading your thoughts about questions that you want to be asked!

———-
Each Friday, I post a question. I would love it if you feel like answering the question! Thanks. (I’m a big fan of privacy also, so if you don’t want to use your name, just use an initial or just write “anonymous,” and if you don’t want to put your email address for privacy reasons, just put mine – it’s at the link ‘email me’ above.)

Self-Assurance

A good conscience is a continual Christmas.
~ Benjamin Franklin

Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.
~ Golda Meir

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy…. Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture … Do not build obstacles in your imagination … Do not be awestruck by other people and try to copy them. Nobody can be you as efficiently as you can.
~ Norman Vincent Peale

Proverbs:
* Self-confidence is the memory of success.
* Self-assurance is two-thirds of success.

Your chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by your belief in yourself.
~ Robert Collier

Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.
~ Samuel Johnson

Self-trust is the first secret of success.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.
~ Arthur Ashe

I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.
~ Billie Jean King

Self-assurance. Being aligned with yourself. Some people describe this as authenticity. You see this when you see a performer on stage who appears casual, who appears to have a very easy rapport with the audience – whether a pop performer or a folk musician or a comedian. It’s a lightness. And I so believe in life being light and being easy.

“Are Elephants Like Dinosaurs?”

“Mommy, are elephants like dinosaurs?” asked the little boy.
“Well…what do you mean?” questioned his Mommy.

“If the dinosaurs went extinct, then aren’t there some animals that came from what the dinosaurs used to be like?”
“You mean, ‘Are there some animals that are descended from dinosaurs?’ ”
“Yes, I think. What does “descended” mean?”
“It means animals that were born from animals that were born from animals that were originally dinosaurs.”

Theropod “Yes, are elephants descended from dinosaurs, Mommy?”

“Well, people don’t say that elephants are descended from dinosaurs, but there are creatures that you know that people say are descended from dinosaurs. Want a clue?” asked his Mommy.

“Yes, tell me.”

“Well, this is an animal that you might think is fast and can sometimes look like a small dinosaur or like a small dragon. Usually this animal has an interesting skin. The skin could be a puffy material or even more rarely scaly like an alligator. And the animal walks on short legs. This animal also comes in many, many colors.”

He thought for a moment, and said, “Alligators?” Then immediately, “Lizards?!”
“Well, people say that lizards and dinosaurs were not related even though they looked very similar to each other,” said his Mommy.
“Well, but how about an elephant? Elephants are big, they walk with very loud footsteps, and they have that interesting skin you talk about, right? Are elephants like dinosaurs?” he asked again.

“‘They’re not exactly like dinosaurs. How about something smaller?” asked his Mommy.
“But how could something smaller be descendable from dinosaurs?”
“Descended from dinosaurs,” said his Mommy.
“Descended from dinosaurs,” he repeated.
“Well, what dinosaurs do you know?”
“I know the bronotsaurus who is huge and eats only plants, and I know the TRex, who eats animals.”

“What about those theropods that look like the TRex?” asked his Mommy.
“The ones that are big and eat animals?” asked the boy.
“Yes.”
“Ok,” said the boy.
“Imagine those smaller,” said his Mommy.
“Ok,” said the boy.
Theropod

“What do they look like?” asked his Mommy.
“Like small dinosaurs,” said the boy.
“And how would they have moved?”
“Fast, like they didn’t like running, but still like they could run,” said the boy.
“Ok, what else moves fast on the ground?”

Pelican “Well, that’s funny! Dogs can move fast, and birds that aren’t flying can move fast.”
“Ok, so let’s think about birds,” said his Mommy.
“Ok.”
“They’re fast?”
“Yes.”
“They are shaped like small dinosaurs when they stand on the ground?” asked his Mommy.
“Yes.”
“Could birds be descended from dinosaurs?”

“Maybe…” the boy thought for a moment, “but that’s weird.”
“Ok, it’s weird, but could it have happened?” asked his Mommy.
“Yes… a bird is a small dinosaur?”
“I’m not sure that it’s actually a small dinosaur, but it may be descended from a dinosaur!”

“So not elephants… but yes birds?… That’s good: when I see a bird, I can think of a dinosaur,” decided the boy happily.

What makes you feel most alive?

What makes me feel most alive?

On My Own:
* Lounging. When time stands still. When you’re lazily doing nothing and enjoying yourself immensely – usually after work or on a weekend. Just lying on your back on a picnic table in the local park, looking up at the moving clouds. Just being outside in nature without even necessarily moving, lounging as time goes by.
* Pushing myself in sports. Running. Swimming. To total exertion – talk about “alive!”
* Getting past a challenge. Daring myself and then doing it. (Like the ideas in The Game of Work – just setting new metrics to get better at. Or doing something risky – like making an announcement in a crowded train.)

With People:
* Debating and Story-telling. My really good friend says that the two times time when people are most alive are when they are debating something with each other (because then their brains have to be active, have to be engaged in the back-and-forth), and when they’re telling stories (because then their brains are actively reliving those stories).
* SPORTS! Rock climbing. Hoops. Volleyball. Hiking. Rollerblading.
* Outdoorness. Even separately from sports, being outside – hiking, rock climbing, running into the cold east-coast ocean on July 4.
* Finishing a project. For work or with classmates. This is such a good feeling.
* Just lounging with people you really like. Nothing is sometimes a very, very good activity.

I feel like I am a delineating the different activities even a little too much. All I really mean to say is that activities that push me make me feel the most alive! (Many would call that flow.) And activities that quiet me also make me feel most alive. Push me and quiet me. :)


What makes you feel most alive?


On Fridays, I post questions because I love questions. I would love it if you feel like answering the questions! Thanks. (I’m a big fan of privacy also, so if you don’t want to put your name in, just use an initial or just fill in the letter “A” and we’ll know it’s anonymous, and if you don’t want to put your email address for privacy reasons, just put mine – it’s at the link ‘email me’ above.)