Month: November 2024

“Our uniqueness, our individuality, and our life experience molds us into fascinating beings. I hope we can embrace that. I pray we may all challenge ourselves to delve into the deepest resources of our hearts to cultivate an atmosphere of understanding, acceptance, tolerance, and compassion. We are all in this life together.”—Linda Thompson

My meditation this week in on the second of Lauryn Axelrod’s Ten Words: An Interspiritual Guide to Becoming Better People in a Better World—acceptance. Acceptance is essential if we are to have unity and peace. The world is a fascinating collection of unique individuals.

“Unique individuals.” That sounds a bit redundant, but too often we only want individuals who are just like us. Is that an oxymoron? It has been decades since my last English course.

We need diversity—and not just Human Resources DEI—to grow and to be successful (individually and as a society).

As I ponder my acceptance of others, I am considering, not only who and what I need to accept, why ‘who’ or ‘what’ is critical to my growth and success. I would add to the Linda Thompson quote that “our collective uniqueness, our collective individuality, and our collective life experiences mold us into fascinating beings.” A celebration of personal individuality demands that we celebrate one another and accept our differences.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!

Attention

Acceptance

Authenticity

Benevolence

Balance

Contemplation

Creativity

Collaboration

Celebration

Care

I had the opportunity to interview interfaith and interspiritual leader and author of TEN WORDS: An Interspiritual Guide to Becoming Better People in a Better World, Lauren Axelrod on The Aging Well Podcast. It was inspiring to see the connections with “well-centered fitness.” There is a circularity as one moves through the ten words from attention to caring and back to attention. Like growth in well-centered fitness, there is an asymptote to which we are led. Putting these concepts together has inspired me (more to come on that).

In the coming weeks and months, consider how these ten words apply to your growth—Spiritually, Physically, Intellectually, Emotionally, and Socially. Note how the first five words (attention, acceptance, authenticity, benevolence, and balance) are associated with our beliefs. The second five words (contemplation, creativity, collaboration, celebration, and care) are associated with behaviors. Contemplation is the fulcrum.

Allow time in your daily meditative practices to consider how these ten words and their connection to well-centered fitness (SPIES) are working or not working to impact your growth and your efforts to…

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”—Helen Keller

I woke up the other day with a palpable sense of optimism. Amid the flood of uncertainty among many in my community of friends and neighbors, I felt a sense of calm and positivity.

(Positivity is not always one of my strong suits.) It trying to understand why I felt this way, I could only attribute it to hope.

The United States has been increasingly divisive. I know many don’t think this will end, but I see opportunity. I see an opportunity for us to challenge this divisiveness and come together to make change.

We are at a crossroads. (Personally, I believe every step of life is at a crossroads—carpe momento.) We have before the path of pessimism and stagnation (the status quo) or the path of optimism and growth.

The blessing of differing views is the options for solutions. There is a lot in the world that is broken. Will we keep complaining or will we get to work? Will we keep applying band-aid solutions or will be treat the underlying problems?

Many fear that institutions will be torn down. Many likely will. This can be scary. It can also be an opportunity—an opportunity to get it right this time when we rebuild. I prefer to see the opportunity.

We can come together as United and other-centered or keep going down a path of division and entitlement. I am optimistic. I am hopeful.

Let’s ask ourselves why we disagree and what the obstacles are to having our needs met. Let us….

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!