Compassion

Compassion
Compassion is the ability to see the deep connectedness between ourselves and others. Moreover, true compassion recognizes that all the boundaries we perceive between ourselves and others are an illusion. When we first begin to practice compassion, this very deep level of understanding may elude us, but we can have faith that if we start where we are, we will eventually feel our way toward it. We move closer to it every time we see past our own self-concern to accommodate concern for others. And, as with any skill, our compassion grows most in the presence of difficulty.

We practice small acts of compassion every day, when our loved ones are short-tempered or another driver cuts us off in traffic. We extend our forgiveness by trying to understand their point of view; we know how it is to feel stressed out or irritable. The practice of compassion becomes more difficult when we find ourselves unable to understand the actions of the person who offends us. These are the situations that ask us to look more deeply into ourselves, into parts of our psyches that we may want to deny, parts that we have repressed because society has labeled them bad or wrong. For example, acts of violence are often well beyond anything we ourselves have perpetuated, so when we are on the receiving end of such acts, we are often at a loss. This is where the real potential for growth begins, because we are called to shine a light inside ourselves and take responsibility for what we have disowned. It is at this juncture that we have the opportunity to transform from with! in.

This can seem like a very tall order, but when life presents us with circumstances that require our compassion, no matter how difficult, we can trust that we are ready. We can call upon all the light we have cultivated so far, allowing it to lead the way into the darkest parts of our own hearts, connecting us to the hearts of others in the understanding that is true compassion.
http://bit.ly/9iHPpt
Live The Life You've Dreamed,
Derrick
___________________________________________________________
Affiliate Disclosure: We are grateful to be of service and bring you content, like this blog, free of charge. In order to do this, please note that whenever you click the links in our emails and purchase items, in most (not all) cases we will receive a referral commission. Your support in purchasing through these links enables us to empower more people worldwide to live lives of their own design. Thank you! :)

The Goodness of Life

The Goodness of Life



by Ralph Marston


Though there is much


to be concerned about,


there is far, far more


for which to be thankful.






Though life's goodness can


at times be overshadowed,


it is never outweighed.






For every single act


that is senselessly destructive,


there are thousands more small, quiet acts


of love, kindness and compassion.






For every person who seeks to hurt,


there are many, many more who


devote their lives to helping and to healing.






There is a goodness to life


that cannot be denied.






In the most magnificent vistas


and in the smallest details,


look closely,


for that goodness always


comes shining through.






There is no limit


to the goodness of life.


It grows more abundant


with each new encounter.


The more you experience and


appreciate the goodness of life


the more there is to be lived.






Even when the cold winds blow


and the world seems to be covered in foggy shadows,


the goodness of life lives on.


Open your eyes,


open your heart,


and you will see that


goodness everywhere.






Though the goodness of life


seems at times to suffer setbacks,


it always endures.






For in the darkest moments


it becomes vividly clear


that life is a priceless treasure.






And so the goodness of life


is made even stronger


by the very things


that would oppose it.






Time and time again


when you feared it was gone forever


you found that


the goodness of life


was really only


a moment away.






Around the next corner


Inside every moment


The goodness of life


Is there to surprise and delight you






Take a moment to let the goodness of life


touch your spirit and calm your thoughts.


Then, share your good fortune with another.


For the goodness of life grows


more and more magnificent


each time it is given away.






Though the problems constantly


scream for attention


and the conflicts appear


to rage ever stronger,


the goodness of life grows stronger still,


quietly, peacefully,


with more purpose and meaning


than ever before.






Copyright © 2004 Ralph S. Marston, Jr.
The picture and music version of this presentation is at
http://thegoodnessoflife.com


For information on the music used in this presentation, please go to
http://peacebeyondwords.com


For information on the photos used in the online presentation, please go tohttp://thegoodnessoflife.com/photos.html


To read The Daily Motivator, please go to
http://greatday.com




Live The Life You've Dreamed,
Derrick
___________________________________________________________
Affiliate Disclosure: We are grateful to be of service and bring you content, like this blog, free of charge. In order to do this, please note that whenever you click the links in our emails and purchase items, in most (not all) cases we will receive a referral commission. Your support in purchasing through these links enables us to empower more people worldwide to live lives of their own design. Thank you! :)

An Oyster's Tale

There once was an oyster whose story I tell,
who found that some sand had got into his shell.
It was only a grain, but it gave him great pain.
For oysters have feelings although they're so plain.
Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate
that had brought him to such a deplorable state?
Did he curse at the government, cry for election,
and claim that the sea should have given him protection?
'No,' he said to himself as he lay on a shell,
since I cannot remove it, I shall try to improve it.
Now the years have rolled around, as years always do,
and he came to his ultimate destiny; stew,
and the small grain of sand that had bothered him so
was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow.
Now the tale has a moral, for isn't it grand
what an oyster can do with a morsal of sand?
What couldn't we do if we'd only begin
with some of the things that get under our skin.


Live The Life You've Dreamed,
Derrick
___________________________________________________________
Affiliate Disclosure: We are grateful to be of service and bring you content, like this blog, free of charge. In order to do this, please note that whenever you click the links in our emails and purchase items, in most (not all) cases we will receive a referral commission. Your support in purchasing through these links enables us to empower more people worldwide to live lives of their own design. Thank you! :)

OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall
to see the farmer and his wife open a package.
"What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered.
He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.
Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed this warning :
"There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."
The mouse turned to the pig and told him,
"There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."
The mouse turned to the cow and said,
"There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!"


The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."


So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap

. .. . Alone. . .


That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- the sound SNAP!!!!!
The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.
In the darkness, she did not see it.
It was a venomous snake whose tail was caught in the trap. The snake bit the farmer's wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital.
When she returned home she still had a fever.
Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup. So the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient: Chicken


But his wife's sickness continued. Friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the Pig.

But, alas, the farmer's wife did not get well... She died.
So many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the Cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them for the funeral luncheon.
And the mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and you think it doesn't concern you,


remember ---


When one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life.
We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.


YOU MAY WANT TO SEND THIS
TO EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER
HELPED YOU OUT...
AND LET THEM KNOW
HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE.


- REMEMBER -


EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD
IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY.
OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.


One of the best things to hold onto In this world is a FRIEND.

Moving through Darkness

Moving through Darkness
The Places We Go
Often it takes something major to wake us up, to shake us loose from our ego’s grip as it struggles to maintain an illusion of control.

In life, most of us want things to go to the places we have envisioned ourselves going. We have plans and visions, some of them divinely inspired, that we want to see through to completion. We want to be happy, successful, and healthy, all of which are perfectly natural and perfectly human. So when life takes us to places we didn’t consciously want to go, we often feel as if something has gone wrong, or we must have made a mistake somewhere along the line, or any number of other disheartening possibilities. This is just life’s way of taking us to a place we need to go for reasons that go deeper than our own ability to reason. These hard knocks and trials are designed to shed light on our unconscious workings and deepen our experience of reality.


Often it takes something major to wake us up, to shake us loose from our ego’s grip as it struggles to maintain an illusion of control. It is loss of control more than anything else that humbles us and enables us to see the big picture. It reminds us that the key to the universe lies in what we do not know, and what we do know is a small fraction of the great mystery in which we live. This awareness softens and lightens us, as we release our resistance to what is. Another gift gleaned from going to these seemingly undesirable places is that, in our response to difficulty, we can see all the patterns and unresolved emotional baggage that stand in the way of our unconditional joyfulness. Joy exists within us independently of whether things go our way or not. And when we don’t feel it, we can trust that we will find it if we are willing to surrender to the situation, moving through it as we move through our difficult feelings.


We can take our inspiration from any fairy tale that finds its central character lost in a dark wood, frightened and alone. We know that the journey through the wood provides its own kind of beauty and richness. On the other side, we will emerge transformed, lighter and brighter, braver and more confident for having moved through that darkness.

http://www.dailyom.com/articles/2010/24355.html

Live The Life You've Dreamed,
Derrick
___________________________________________________________
Affiliate Disclosure: We are grateful to be of service and bring you content, like this blog, free of charge. In order to do this, please note that whenever you click the links in our emails and purchase items, in most (not all) cases we will receive a referral commission. Your support in purchasing through these links enables us to empower more people worldwide to live lives of their own design. Thank you! :)

7 Leadership Lessons from a Board President

7 Leadership Lessons from a Board President

http://www.balancedlifecenter.com/309-7-leadership-lessons-from-a-board-president/
Posted by: Nneka


One of the great advantages of giving service is gaining a wealth of experience. I served on the Board of a 400 member organization for 3 years. The last year, I served as the Board President. What I learned as a leader of that organization was priceless. It would take years of seminars and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of coaching to equal the leadership experience and knowledge acquired.


Manage Up, Mentor Down


As Board President, I, along with the rest of the Board, was the boss of the CEO of the organization. We were accountable to the members of the organization and had sole purview to hire and fire the CEO. In this position, one can be tempted to rule with an iron fist. However, that method doesn’t benefit anyone.




I found it beneficial to adopt the mantra, “manage up, mentor down.” When you are someone’s manager, team leader or boss, your job is to enable that person to be successful. When your employees are successful, they make you shine. As a manager, it is your responsibility to provide the tools, resources, and direction needed by your employees.


It is also your responsibility to manage your customer expectations. You customer may be actual customers, shareholders, members of an organization, or your boss. After conferring with your employees to determine what they need to be successful, it is your job to relay this information to your customers.


Let’s say you are a project manager for an IT project. You’ve met with your clients and received a project charter. Rather than lord over your team members to ensure that every “i” is dotted and every “t” crossed, you can let them know that precision is extremely important to this client and ask them what they need to achieve the highest level of precision. At the same time, you can set the expectation with the client that the level of precision expected will require more time, money, or staff. You might also work with the client to relax their standards to a level with which both parties are comfortable.


Most managers work the other way around. They cow tow to clients and promise the moon. Then they turn around like a drill sergeant with their team. In my experience, I’ve found that you burn relationships, deliver unsuccessful projects, and generate unwarranted stress when you do this.


Take the time to cultivate relationships with your employees and your stakeholders. Be a bridge between both parties, rather than a referee.


Share Ownership

When you’re the leader of a 400 member organization, everyone seems to look to you to fix everything. It was tempting to be the savior, but much more enriching to engage the members of the organization.


When employees, customers, and other stakeholders engage in solutions, ownership shifts from the few to all. When everyone owns the organization, everyone feels responsible. Ownership is not just about paying for a service. Oftentimes, members and shareholders say that they own an organization because they monetarily donated, or paid for a share. Ownership is about doing the work to make the organization succeed. In order to foster ownership of your organization, encourage and empower your stakeholders to:




◦Participate in events sponsored by the organization;
◦Engage in the planning process of the organization;
◦Take the initiative to solve their problems;
◦Provide a solid financial base.


Everyone wants an opportunity to share their expertise. A good leader encourages and empowers everyone to use all of their skills.






Pay Attention To What Is Shown AND What Is Said


After moving to a new location, some of our long-standing members started to complain about accessibility to the building. On the surface, this was a valid problem. You needed a key, then a pass code to get into the building. Before, anyone could breeze in and out. There was a sense of familiarity and ownership.




Naturally, we sought to remedy the problem by giving access to those members and providing a doorbell so that it would be easy for members to come in and out of the building. And naturally, this did not really solve the problem.


You see, the members were complaining about the loss of that sense of familiarity and ownership which showed up as not getting into the building. Once access was provided, the complaints moved to another manifestation of that loss.




Only 7% of verbal communication comes from our words. The rest of it comes from voice inflection and body language. When listening to your staff and stakeholders, it is important to listen behind the words so that you can understand what they truly intend to communicate. You don’t need to guess what they are trying to say. You can ask questions, as you notice their body language and vocal tone, to clarify what they are saying. At the end of the conversation, it’s helpful to provide a summary statement and wait for the reaction. If someone says, yes, you got it right, but they look resigned, continue to ask until there is a sense of simpatico.


Live in Limbo


As a leader, it’s not your responsibility to fix everything. In fact, the less you are personally responsible for fixing, the better off your organization. It would mean that your organization is rich with resources and its own leadership pool.


Limbo is a tough spot to live in. If you are a natural leader, you want to get the job done and conquer. It may be difficult to witness your organization struggle. As a leader you will need to correctly identify problems, correctly assess the skills and passions of your people, and effectively match the problem with the people. They will have fun and relish the opportunity to fix the problems for you and to the benefit of the entire organization.


While you are waiting to match the problem with the people, you will need to sit with the situation without fixing it.


Be An Example


Whatever you expect from your team, you must be willing to exemplify. You want a team that’s punctual, you have to show up before everyone. You say a lot by your actions. Your actions build the construct for your team. You can list the rules of engagement on a poster on a wall. You can put them in policy manuals and have reams of orientation material. In the end, your team will mirror their behavior after yours.


Teach, Don’t Talk


You know the saying, “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” It’s the same with leadership.


When you tell your team what to do without giving them reason or context, they can follow the instructions and complete the task. However, when they need to do the same thing again, you will need to tell them again. On the other hand, if your provide for them the context for the directions, the next time the situation arises they can execute without your presence.


Another reason to teach your team and provide context, is that they may come up with solutions that you could not have conceived on your own. It may take a little more work on your part and a more time initially, but it will pay high dividends for you and expedite execution in the future. Best of all, you’ve empowered your team to execute without your direct influence.


Praise Publicly, Punish Privately


When you chastise your staff publicly, you are alienating yourself from them and making your job as a leader infinitely difficult. It’s bad enough if you chastise the group as a whole. If you single one person out, you are embarrassing that person and you cause irreparable harm to that relationship and your team.


Take team meetings, and other public events as opportunities to praise you team for their performance and highlight individuals who excelled. Take personal evaluations or one and one meetings to discuss weaknesses or short comings.


You shine as a leader when you empower and enable every individual on your team to shine.


In Spirit,
Nneka

 
Live The Life You've Dreamed,

Derrick Carpenter
Dreams By Design Team






http://GetYourFreeRKCDToday.com  
Robert "Rich Dad/Poor Dad" Kiyosaki's CD "The Perfect Business"
details a plan to help average people achieve financial wealth in
3 to 5 years-Get your copy while supplies last.


I'm all a twitter http://twitter.com/HomeBizTaxCoach


P.S. You won't believe this website I found:
http://www.DesktopLightning.com/homebiztaxman
_______________________________________________________
Affiliate Disclosure: We are grateful to be of service and bring you
content, like this email, free of charge. In order to do this, please
note that whenever you click the links in our emails and purchase items,
in most (not all) cases we will receive a referral commission.
Your support in purchasing through these links enables us to empower
more people worldwide to live lives of their own design. Thank you! :)_________________________________________________________