Public speaking often stirs up a great deal of anxiety. A friend of mine, who frequently trains others in public speaking, had a way of calming nervous speakers before they took the stage. She would reassure them by saying, “Don’t worry, it’s in your bones.” What she meant was that they were sharing something deeply familiar to them, something instinctively known. Sometimes, we need others to remind us of what is already instinctive and so…
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Leave a CommentI have a hibiscus bush that has made it through several seasons of living inside and outside. I loved it for its color and was happy to make the effort to keep this plant alive. This most recent transition from inside living to the outdoor deck seems particularly rough. It currently looks much like a Hawaiian Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree. I was surveying the hibiscus this past June and wondering out loud with my daughter…
1 CommentYou know the story. The vain Emperor is tricked into thinking he has been given the most exquisite clothing when, in reality, he is parading through town naked. It took a child in the crowd stating the obvious for everyone to come out of the fog of fear and recognize that the Emperor had no clothes. Reflecting on this story, I couldn’t help but draw a parallel to my experience of giving an announcement in…
Leave a CommentAs we sat at the breakfast table on the last day of our eight-day silent retreat, the silence was now broken, and we had the opportunity to connect with each other before leaving. One of my fellow retreatants asked those of us sitting at the table, What’s the theory behind silence? She was self-admittingly brand new to this idea, and it was such a heartfelt and honest question. One person explained that silence allowed one to hear…
1 CommentEvery Saturday, we were out in the yard. My father would make his work list on a yellow legal pad, listing the chores and the work party leaders—the elder siblings included myself and my next-in-line brother Tom. Yard work entailed sweeping porches, picking up trash along our road, mowing lawns, pulling the grass out of the sidewalk cracks, and edging. But the one job that we all dreaded was weeding our rose beds, and weeding…
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