I don’t know about you Coach. But I hope that either all of us or none of us are judged by the actions of our weakest moments, but rather by the strength we show when and if we’re ever given a second chance.
little tummy roll that has helpfully crept over the bottom of the iPad, so that it might help you type?
November 26, 2016 by 23 Comments
Anne Lamott, from a Facebook post on November 25, 2012:
Quickly, and probably with lots of typos: I am beginning to think that this body of mine is the one I will have the entire time I am on this side of eternity.
I didn’t agree to this. I have tried for approximately fifty years to get it to be an ever so slightly different body: maybe the tiniest bit more like Cindy Crawford’s, and–if this is not too much to ask–Michelle Obama’s arms. I mean, is this so much to ask? But I had to ask myself, while eating my second piece of key lime pie in Miami last Sunday, and then again, while sampling my second piece of Crete brûlée in Akron, if this is going to happen.
For the record, I do not usually eat like I do in hotels while I am on book tour. But I have a terrble sweet tooth and I am just not going to be spending much more of this and precious life at the gym, than I already do, which is at best, three times a week, in a terrible shirking bad attitude bitter frame of mind. I go for three one-hour hikes a week. I’m not a Lunges kind of girl.
And even if I were, I’m shrinking. I’m not quite Dr. Ruth yet, but I used to be 5’7, and now am–well, not.
But the psalmist says I am wonderfully and fearfully made. Now, upon hearing that, two days after Thanksgiving, don’t you automatically think that “fearfully” refers to your thighs, your upper arms, the little tummy roll that has helpfully crept over the bottom of the iPad, so that it might help you type? [Read more…]
I was wondering why so many people had turned out, when suddenly: an electrifying moment.
September 27, 2015 by 33 Comments
“On a weekday evening in early September, more than 400 people, from their late teens to their early 80s, crowded into a standing-room-only event on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The topic was not politics, film, fashion, celebrity or any other subject that could be expected to draw such a crowd. The topic was forgiveness. Sitting in the audience, I was wondering why so many people had turned out, when suddenly: an electrifying moment.
About halfway through the discussion, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, a speaker and the author of “Jewish Literacy,” asked this question: “In how many of your families, at the level of first cousin or closer, are there people not on speaking terms?”
Two-thirds of the people in the room raised their hands. I, along with everyone else, gasped.
“I know,” he said. “It’s a staggering figure…
~ Bruce Feiler, How to Ask for Forgiveness, in Four Steps
Notes: Quote – Thank you Susan. Photo – Stefano Corso.
And your answer is?
January 5, 2015 by 36 Comments
Lesley Stahl: I know a psychiatrist who says the most important question she asks somebody is, “When you were growing up, who loved you?” Do you have an answer?
Matthew Burke: That’s very difficult to answer– who loved me– because there’s different types of love.
Lesley Stahl: Uncondition. I mean–
Matthew Burke: Yeah, unconditional–
Lesley Stahl: That’s what I mean.
Matthew Burke: I’ve never– I’ve never experienced that.
Lesley Stahl: So you– you have no answer for that question.
Matthew Burke: I have no answer. To this day I have no answer to that.
~ Lesley Stahl, Alive and Kickin’, 60 Minutes
If you missed last night’s episode of 60 Minutes, you can find it here at CBS: Alive and Kickin’. There are many great human interest stories in this segment but I was particularly moved by Matthew Burke’s story (which comes on at 11 min 45 sec of this video). He was abandoned two and half weeks after birth in a hallway. Mother and Father unknown.
Let me get back to you on this
November 30, 2014 by 31 Comments
Who knows, maybe those two rogue leaders, Gandhi and Jesus, were right – a loving response changes the people who would beat the shit out of you, including yourself, of course. Their way, of the heart, makes everything bigger. Decency and goodness are subversively folded into the craziness, like caramel ribbons into ice cream. Otherwise, it’s about me, and my bile ducts, and how unique I am and how I’ve suffered. And that is what hell is like. So whom was I going to echo, Gandhi and Jesus, or Tammy and me?
Look, can you give me a minute to decide?
Do you want to be happy, or do you want to be right? Hmm. Let me get back to you on this.
~ Anne Lamott. “Pirates.” Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace
I just finished Lamott’s new book and loved it. It’s my first foray into her work. Be forewarned, this book has more than its fair share of suffering and grief, but the sun’s rays do peak in. I’m drawn to her rants and her candor on her neuroses (but could have done without the political barbs). I marvel at the authenticity of her self-reflection and the beauty and clarity of her observations of life. The book roars out of the gate for the first half and tends to run out of steam. For Lamott lovers, you should note that this book is a compilation of new and selected (aka previously published) essays.
Find the book on Amazon here: Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace
Photo Credit: TimeOut
So, is it “A” or is it “B”?
August 29, 2013 by 52 Comments
WOULD CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE DESCRIBED THIS WAY?
OR THIS WAY? (See below)
What’s with the birds?
May 17, 2012 by 35 Comments
4:15 am. I’m running. Thoughts clanking and clanking and clanking around.
Mother Goose and 5 goslings on highway. Car approaching. I slow to see if they get out of the way. I stop. Car slows. Car stops.
Mother opens her full wing span and stands hissing in the middle of the highway – – guarding her babies against a 4000 pound mass of steel. Babies waddle off the road with Mother following closely behind. Car passes by.
I start running again. Another car approaching one mile out. I see the geese back on the highway.
Live & Learn 