My nine-year-old daughter was walking home from school the other day when she heard a classmate who was walking ahead of her yell excitedly across the street to another kid, “We got a video from Bob Ferguson!” Bob Ferguson, the governor of the state of Washington, had responded to an invitation from the class with … More Encouragement Matters
From across the office, I saw my manager get up to leave. I sped up to try to catch him. I could tell that the changes he had made to his diet and his exercise program at the start of the year were working because he had already made it to the parking lot. When … More Before you judge
I got up from my desk and walked to the office kitchen. I wasn’t really hungry, but I was trying to take my mind off the waiting. I can be as impatient as they come. Unexpected down time tends to eat me up. It doesn’t help when someone has been inconsiderate of my time and … More Talking the same language?
One of my favorite quotes about listening is: “If you want to be truly understood, you need to say everything three times, in three different ways. Once for each ear… and once for the heart.” Paula Underwood Spencer I was reminded of that quote because this Friday we will be releasing our 60th Sharing the … More Deep Listening
A number of years ago, my wife gave me a wave goodbye and left for work. I couldn’t help but feel the cold chill. Her goodbye felt as cold as a frigid nor’easter. I looked out the window to see her car lights pull away in the morning light and I half expected to see … More ‘Here I come to save the day’
“Overwhelmingly, we are attracted to people who listen to us well. When things go wrong in any relationship, the first factor to consider is: Are we still listening?” -Glaser & Glaser, p. 17 Listening skills…they’re the bedrock of healthy relationships and if I had to isolate one topic addressed most frequently in my consulting practice … More Quiet, Please!
Living in a very small, semi-rural town is important to me and I can’t imagine ever embracing big city life. I grew up one town over, although that town has changed dramatically since 1960 when my parents bought my childhood home. I believe the planners call it urban sprawl. Fortunately my current small town has … More The Essence of Community
I attended a concert the other night, which is a sentence I didn’t think I’d be able to truthfully write at this point in my life. Not because of my age: I’m still reasonably young (for a Supreme Court Justice, which, in full disclosure, I am not nor am likely to be) and in fact, … More Keeping Time
On a Ten Percent Happier podcast I listened to recently, Dan Harris asked his guest, Prof. Lindsey Cameron, what her spiritual practice was. She said that she practiced meditation and a form of African spirituality. She was specific about the sequence – she meditates first and then prays. She recapped: “I hear first, and then … More The Creative Rhythm
I’d like you to imagine for a moment some of the aspects of my daily life. I’m retired, yet I still get up at 5:00 AM everyday. It doesn’t really matter what time I go to bed. My eyes open at 5 AM, plus I usually have to pee. It’s not unheard of for me … More If It’s 4:00 PM It Must Be Dinnertime Somewhere
The Heart of the Matter 