Luji's Poem: The Sky is Blue

The Sky is Blue

The sky is blue in the day time.

The sun is up in the day time.

The moon is up in the night time.

And when it’s evening it’s kind of bright.

But not as bright as the moon is night.  

Forever. 

And the sunset and sunrise is perfect.

The sun is bright in the day time.

And always.

The sun is the specialist thing in the world.

And forever the sun and the moon will be there.

And that’s all. That’s my poem.

by Luji, Age 5.  July 24, 2012

Coming Around

Some find it funny, some interesting, and some downright confusing that I have been fortunate enough to meet and work with some pretty influential figures around the world in today's business and political environments - and yet I am a huge country music fan.  Yep.  Country music.

I grew up in Utah, and country music was always on in our house.   Johnny Cash. Loretta Lynn. Hank Jr. Tammy Wynette. Those are just a few of the voices from my childhood that echo through my mind on long drives across the desert southwest, or sing me to sleep on flights to Europe and beyond. My husband still revels when those old songs come on the radio and I sing every word.  Even though I haven’t heard them for years! 

Looking back, I realize that taking a break from country music (a long break that started in my teens) was a good thing.  Of course, I never totally said goodbye...Reba and Garth, Tim and Kenny, Martina and Tricia were always there in the background, drawing me in to pause the radio dial for just a few minutes every now and again, even when alternative had my heart and pop and hip hop deserved exploration.  

Now, in my (ahem) very early forties, I have found myself over the last few years coming back around to Country.  And loving it.  Maybe it's because I relate to so many of the songs, maybe it's because I can feel good about my five year old listening (and watching videos - and singing almost every word if it's Taylor Swift, The Band Perry or Kenny Chesney, and lately, Pontoon!).  The songs just make me feel good. They are about things I care about. That matters to me.

For the last few months, one song has spoken to me every time I hear it. And I'm finally getting around to sharing how it makes me feel when I hear it: confident, proud, happy, and in good company.  'Comin Around by Josh Thompson is a typical country song...and the chorus hits home every time. If you know me at all you'll know the significance of these words in my life right now, and in my journey overall.  I hope they inspire you to appreciate your journey as well!   

From ‘Comin Around by Josh Thompson:

I'm comin' around, I'm figurin' out

A lot of things I thought I knew

I never deamed I'd be seein' things

From this point of view 

Still a little ways from slowin' it all the way down

But I'm comin' around

Windy Motivation 2

My inspiring girls/guys totally rock.  

That's what I was thinking at 7 AM as I passed mile two.  The run was great and while pretty damn windy, it was a beautiful morning!  Added bonus: seeing Luji and Jeff at the finish line cheering me on!  It made that last little push a smiling one.

Thanks to you all for sharing your fabulous energy! It carried me through every windy step.

......Oh!  Wait!  Wow!  Can you feel that?  Here it comes....right back at cha.

Windy Motivation

Hello Inspiring Girls!

I'm in need of some quick, deep inspiration this morning so I'm reaching out to my go to girls (and guys) for a little love.  Today is my fourth race of the year - right here in my home town.  The wind is and has been raking since 4 AM and I must leave in 15 minutes to walk a mile to the starting point of the race.

I'm not very motivated.

That's where you...and Aristotle...come in.

I know that putting good energy out there will make me feel better (that's where you come in).  And soaking up a little inspirational philosophy can't hurt (that's where Aristotle comes in).

So, this post is my attempt to actively share good, motivational, can do energy.  Soak it up.  And share it.  Please.

And I'll leave you with a little A-advice to help us both. This one hits home this morning:

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.

                                                                                                          - Aristotle

Aaaah.  I'm feeling better already.  Thank you!

Off we go!

Time TIME time tIME TimE

Keeping ourselves in check when we don't have all the time in the world can be tricky.  My writing is certainly suffering right now because I'm chin deep in amazingly fun new stuff!  Inspiration hits me nearly every hour it seems, but my ability to sit down and capture those thoughts is simply lacking right now.

But it's temporary, so please hang in.  If partial posts with half-developed ideas (or better yet, jotted lists of randomly related ideas) were interesting, IGE would be overwhelmed with wonderfully inspiring posts that lack structure or flow and therefore the impact that they may otherwise impart.

The perfectionist in me just can't let that happen.  In fact, even the "good enough" part of me can't bite the bullet and post mostly undeveloped thoughts.

Hmmm.  Except perhaps this one.  I sincerely hope you will stick around until I can take a nice, hot iron to my time and address those wildly creative but less-than-perfect jots.  I'll do my best to make them worth the wait.

Humility

"Life is a long lesson in humility." 

        - James M. Barrie, Scottish author and dramatist


Mr. Barrie's thoughts are a fitting follow-up to Monday's post on Ego, don't you think?  What, in the last week, was your lesson in humility?  I'll be writing about mine soon...

Ego

We live in a world where professional success is a barometer for the outside world (and often for ourselves) of our personal happiness.

Consider this question:  So, what do you do?  A prolific modern day inquiry, it is one of the first things we ask in new conversation. Most of us work to make our answers as exciting and interesting as possible. We exuberantly toss out our job title or role and our company or industry, followed perhaps by a brief, clarifying tag line. Then…

Pause. Wait. Exhale. Whew! We are interesting.

So, what do I do?  My current answer is completely new for me – and honestly, I can’t help but ask why that is. I’ve been doing these wonderful things for years! Why, then, have they been absent from my response to the old, reliable question of introductory conversation?

I am a mom. A partner. I write and read and learn. We travel; spend time with family; entertain friends; explore our environment and participate in our community.  For the first time in my adult life I am not working. I am opening myself up to the opportunities of this new experience, following the ideas that strike my passions and reaching out to the people who catch my attention. It’s invigorating!

But when faced with that good ol’ question, my ego finds it just a little strange.

After all, I have conditioned myself over the years to give the traditional response to old reliable.  My professional title was a crutch, a cover, a shield. I could talk about my work without talking too intimately about myself. My ego was protected. I was safe.

That is no longer the case. There is no professional title to hide behind. In fact, just the opposite is true: the doors to new opportunity and experience are wide open!  (I’m picturing glass-paned French doors with sheer white curtains blowing in the breeze, by the way…) 

So yes, these wide open doors have left my ego feeling a bit exposed. But I’m deciding, with courageous enthusiasm, that it is a really good thing. 

Seven Inspiring Moments from the Women in the World Summit

Good morning Inspiring Girls!

I just spent an intense five minutes watching seven videos from the recent Women in the World Summit, posted at The Daily Muse.  No matter what you plan to do today, watching them will be worth it.

I was especially touched by the panel's answers to what they would change if they had a magic wand:  education for girls, mentoring for women, and reproductive freedom?   Of course!   So simple. And so complicated.

Listening to these strong, accomplished women reminds me that it is the baby steps that sometimes mean the most.  How many days of small deeds and ceaseless belief in their own personal power did  each of them trudge through to arrive on that stage?  How many lives have they touched along the way that have in turn touched them, and changed their own beliefs about what is possible in the world?  

And how about you?  What will you do today to inspire the change you wish to see...in your country, your workplace, your community?  What about in your own household or among your group of friends?  We each hold the power if we choose to use it; and together we can be an unstoppable force.  So, as Hillary Clinton closed the conference with her inspiring call to movement, I close this post with mine:

Share your strength and you will grow strong. Share your ideas and you will find inspiration. Share your experience and you will grow wise. Share your time and you will grow rich. Share yourself and you will change our world.