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Facing the future

In my study of peace there is a young man that has stood out in his ability to put into words very simply, life lessons that takes many of us years to understand.  His name is Mattie Stepanek.  Now while he is no longer here with us today, his words and spirit is still having an affect on all who read his poetry.  In a new piece of work that I am using to learn peace, Mattie is noted as a peacemaker.
Next week I will be posting about his life.  In the mean time enjoy this poem he wrote that I believe describes how I am trying to live my life.  To see this new site please go to the Learn Peace website.

Facing the Future

Every journey begins
With but a small step.
And every day is a chance
For a new, small step
In the right direction.
Just follow your Heartsong.
by Mattie Stepanek
From the book HOPE THROUGH HEARTSONGS

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Making choices responsibly

Winston Churchill once said;  “The price of greatness is responsibility.”  But have you ever known someone who wants the power and glory and wants to be in charge, but as soon as something goes wrong does not want to take responsibility for anything?  We saw this on a large scale in the past few months with the economic crisis here in the United States.

The same thing happens in our individual homes and families too.  One thing that will always be true is that the choices we make today will affect us not just today but many times for years to come.  That is why I continue to emphasis to our students not to think about not doing something because they might get in trouble – but rather because the choices we make have a long term affect on us and we want to do what is  right because it is right.

The way we deal with choices and responsibility affects our ability to be a leader in our family or in government.  When we blame others, we give up our power to affect change.  Dealing with choice and consequences responsibly impacts our ability to be a leader.

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Passion for your vision

Below is a post I made this morning in a new site I have been working on for the past month or so.  Once a week I am trying to post some thoughts on leadership.

To become a leader we must have a reason to do so.  Now there may be times when a person is thrust into a situation where leadership is necessary, but most of the time leaders come out of a vision or a passion from within themselves.  We have all heard the saying that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  We can add to that by saying that a person without a dream never had a dream come true, or never had a journey they felt compelled to take.
What is your vision, your journey?   It may not be the same as someone else, but when others look in your eyes what do they see?  Do they see the excitement for the new day coming?  Do they see you as a person looking to the future for what could be?  As they see the belief in your eyes, they will follow you.  You are a leader.

Would you like to read more on this subject?  Watch for this new site “Art of Leadership”

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Honesty with ourselves

Have you ever had a friend or someone you knew that very seldom came through on the promises they made.  They say they will call you, or go out with you or take care of your kids and they don’t.  It does not take very long before you begin to lose faith in them.  You recognize that they may not be reliable, accountable or dependable.    You just may not trust them.
The same thing happens to us when we make and break self – promises.  What if I promised myself that I was going to work out in the morning. Or I am going to be sure to eat breakfast every morning.  Or any number of other promises we may make to ourselves.  If we do not keep them, it won’t belong before we won’t trust ourselves.  We may begin questioning if we are responsible.  Our self esteem will suffer.
Make and keep a small commitment to your self and then as you built up your trust in your self the commitments you make can get larger and more difficult.  Being honest with yourself, keeping your word to yourself on small and big things will create in you the person you want to be, Responsible (Reliable, Accountable, Dependable)

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Effective Listening

I wanted to add to a little bit of what I had mentioned in a earlier post.  Mainly I want to revise what may of been misinterpreted as “listen and try to understand everything that is said” to a more conventional statement of “try your best to be mindful of what you hear and what is said, but hey, no one’s perfect”.  It would be a bit much to ask that we all start today by going out and investing 100% of our energy into making each conversation we have with someone meaningful.  The fact is that we are busy people in a busy world, so let me talk about what I think we all can do (today) in this busy world of ours.
If you know anything about me, one thing is I enjoy talking. Continue reading “Effective Listening”

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Vitamin D in kids

Recently the the American Academy of Pediactrics recommended that all children from newborns to teens should get twice as much Vitamin D as had been previously recommended.  Doctors are now saying they should have 400 units each day.
While vitamin D can be found in many different foods, most kids do not get enough.  Interestingly enough though vitamin D is made in your body when sunshine hits the skin.  This is an amazing source and goes back to the idea of No Child Left Inside.
All things with balance of course, but I thought you may enjoy the information in this article I found on sources of vitamin D in our food.  Foods that provide vitamin D