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}~

Well done!

Praise is good, and if you have praised someone today, encouraging them to excel in something they have been trying to do, you are to be praised.

But always make sure your praise is sincere. Make sure you have identified something the person has done well. It might be just one of ten steps in a process, but make sure to identify specifically what they have done well.

False praise for things they have not done well will not help. If they believe it, they will continue doing substandard work instead of trying harder to do better. If they don’t believe it, they will feel uneasy that you are calling attention to something they know was not good enough.

Praise and praise sincerely. You do it for your kids; now do it for others.

Who are Friends?

Who are your friends? In this day and age, people have hundreds of “friends” on MySpace and FaceBook (many of whom we actually have no idea who they are), where we “know” dozens of parents of our kids’ classmates, where we go to conferences and see faces we have met before, where we follow celebrities on blogs and twitter and read their books and feel like we know them.

But who really are your friends?

Your friends are the people you will go out of your way to help. And those who will go out of their way to help you.

Refresh your Friendships...

Friendship is one of those intangibles that cannot be measured and often goes unnoticed. Yet it is one that requires as much nurturing as our own bodies. It is so easy to lose track of friends in our busy world, and the loss of a friend is like a loss of part of ourselves.

If you don’t make time for your friends, how do you expect them to make time for you. How can a friendship remain alive if the very things that created the friendship – the bonding, the interaction, the connectivity – are no longer there.

I was contacted by an old friend a week ago. She invited me to join her forum and in this process I came into contact with loads of old friends that I kinda "misplaced" over the past two years.

Yes, now is the time for each of us to call up an old friend and rekindle lost friendships.

Ideas...

There is a very thin line between life and death. A thin, white line. Or maybe it’s yellow. It runs down the middle of the road. Cross that line and you crash into another car. If the other car crosses the line, it crashes into you.

What’s the only thing keeping both cars from crashing?

Hint – it’s not a line. No line ever stopped a car trying to cross it. No, it’s an idea. The idea that the car should keep on one side of the line. The idea of obeying the rules of the road for everybody’s safety. The idea.

Even for something a simple and basic as steering a vehicle, and idea is a powerful thing. Do you have an idea? Are you willing to ride the idea? If so, you have power.

Wisdom...

Peace is more than the absence of war...
Peace is a world filled with love,
light and joy and it starts with you!

Resolutions?

Have you started your New Years resolutions yet? Yes! And this time I'll keep them! Okay, stay strong and keep on track as the days go by. Never stop using your will-power!

No? Well, it’s never too early and never too late. New Year’s Day is a totally arbitrary day. Feel free to use it if that helps motivate you – a fresh start to a new year. Or the start of summer vacation. Or the return to work or school after summer/winter vacation. Or the day you read an article that really makes you think.

You see, while resolutions for the New Year give us a wonderful sense of positive intent, they are extremely hard to stick with unless we turn them into clear, well-defined goals. Whenever you are moved to action, make the resolution. Make the plan. Take action! Make the changes you need to create the life you want.

New Year's eve

“New Year’s eve is like every other night;
there is no pause in the march of the universe,
no breathless moment of silence among created
things that the passage of another 12 months
may be noted; and yet no man has quite the
same thoughts this evening that come with
the coming of darkness on other nights.”

~{Hamilton Wright Mabie}~

Prayer...

If the only prayer you ever say in
your whole life is “Thank You”,
that would suffice.

Wisdom...

You are the creator of your reality!
You get to choose what you want to experience in life.
Stop blaming others and start choosing more carefully!

Happy Christmas?!

The 25th of December is Christmas. This is the day that millions of people say "Happy Christmas" to each other face to face or on the phone. What do we mean when we use these words? Is it appropriate to fill the already bulging coffers of the mobile phone companies by sending dozens of these text messages without having a clue as to the true meaning of them?

• "Happy Christmas" - simply in order that others should be happy for just one day of the year? No, that is not good enough. Not if you know the Child of Christmas personally. Then you would not want to wish anyone temporary happiness.
• "Happy Christmas" - simply in order to behave correctly by sending all those around you very nice messages? No, that is also not good enough. Friendships that are dependent on such messages are not true friendships.
• "Happy Christmas" - there is just one reason why a Christian can and should say this – because it is the celebration of Jesus' birthday. This is the day when we sing and rejoice about the coming of the true Light that banished all darkness.

On the day of Jesus' birth, the angels' song spoke of God's abundant joy at the birth of his Saviour Child. On this day the balance of power was forever shifted in favour of heaven. So that when I say "Happy Christmas" to someone this year, I mean it sincerely, knowing that it is a special day of victory. It is Jesus' day of victory! When I say "Happy Christmas" I am praying for every listener and reader; I pray that they will celebrate Jesus together with us. And that Christmas will overflow to the 26th of December, 27th of December ... Yes, that a blessed life before God awaits each one within striking distance of these words.