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in honor of mary oliver

January 24, 2019

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One of my favorite excerpts from her poem "Sometimes." Feel free to share.

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question manifesto

Today I'm questioning the form of the manifesto--something I have always been interested in making / having. A declaration of my dictums; my beliefs distilled into a series of mantras to motivate, inspire, and remind me of what I stand for. A sort of set of rules to return to when I feel lost or stuck or out of alignment with myself. A summation of my values and beliefs, in declarative form. What if we questioned that? What if we made our manifesto, or our personal mantras, out of questions instead? I am fascinated by the power of questions. How asking can be more powerful than stating, not just in communication with others but with ourselves. Dan Pink writes about this in his sharp book, To Sell Is Human . Some studies suggest that mentally asking, "Can I do this?" boosts confidence and performance better than the more traditional, "positive" thought, "I can do this." I find questions an almost endless source of inspiration, because they d...

no more how-to

Enough with how. I want to know why. A couple years ago, I encountered a book called The Answer to How is Yes , by Peter Block. It's on my list of books you should not read if you don't want your life to change. We live in an era of self-help, an age of information, a culture of how-to. While this can be a blessing in some ways, it can also be a crutch. We can become addicted to "improvement," to perfectionism. We can get so caught up in asking how that we forget to ask an even more important question: Why? What matters? What's worth doing? Our obsession with how can lead us to only do what's easy or what's been proven. But what if our intention is to change the way things are? To make a difference? To be a contribution? If that's our goal then we need to ask different questions. We need a different approach, a different mindset. We cannot rely on how. We must dare to ask why instead. To wonder what matters. To trust the inspiration...

practice generosity

Lately I've been feeling more stressed out about money than usual, and probably more than I should be. I've been letting it affect me negatively. Money stress and struggles can be real, and I think can seriously lead to a negative spiral into depression and anxiety. While I am attempting to address my stress about money in practical ways, I am also being reminded how much our mindset matters. Generosity can be an empowering mentality. Whenever I feel stressed or anxious or worried about money, I tend to feel limited, even helpless. I feel my power diminish. My mindset is one of lack, and my whole life and spirit suffer. Whenever I feel secure about money, I feel more relaxed, more powerful, more in control--more generous. My mindset is one of abundance, and I give and receive more gratefully and freely. Abundance is freedom. Generosity is giving freely. Both come from a place of gratitude and trust. I notice that whenever I act from a place of gratitude, abundance,...

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in honor of mary oliver

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