Comfort...

We are often challenged to leap out of our comfort zone and try something new, to be bold and daring and reach for our dreams.

But there is also a role for comfort, a role that becomes clear on cold winter days such as we have here in the Ukay. In fact, the more we leap out of our comfort zone to try new, daring things, the more we might need those little comforts like hot soup or a soothing shower to keep us grounded.

Comfort is a wonderful thing, as long as it doesn’t make you feel too…comfortable.

Extinguisher

Sociability tip: always carry a fire extinguisher in your back-pack.

OK, perhaps you don’t need an actual, physical fire extinguisher, but wherever there are people, fires will crop up. I’m talking about misunderstandings between two people who’s mouths and ears somehow missed the connection. Ruffled feathers of people who are a little more sensitive than they need be. Offhand remarks form people who speak first and think later. Let’s face it, we all create fires and we all burn sometimes.

But do we all have a backup plan that we can call on when needed. Perhaps it is the ability to immediately slip into a sympathetic tone to avoid a small fire getting bigger. Perhaps it is an emergency escape plan so that we don’t make others’ fires bigger by putting in our own two cents. Perhaps it is a little alarm bell that screams out in our heads: “Just let it go. Just let it go. Just let it go.”

What’s your fire extinguisher?

Wisdom on Love

Love grows when you pass it on.
So, if you need more love then its time
to pass more love on to others.

As you receive goodness from others,
pass it on.

Snow

It’s cold, wet and white up here in the Ukay.

Did you know that the Inuit have dozens of words for snow? That’s because there are so many types of snow…

Wet, sticky snow that sticks. Fluffy snow that floats light as…as…as…well, as snow. Snow like tiny Styrofoam balls. Snow that was fluffy, but with a touch of melting is getting a little sticky. Light snow that gets packed under more and more light snow. Snow that turns crisp from a hint of freezing rain. You get the idea.

It’s easy to generalize about snow; you won’t hurt its feelings. But people are infinitely more varied, and people do have feelings. Accept me as I am, without generalizing about why “kind” of person I might be. I’ll do the same for you.

Wisdom...

“Life is not the way it’s supposed to be.
It’s the way it is. The way you cope
with it is what makes the difference.”
~{Virginia Satir, social worker}~