The Simplest Question with the Hardest Answer

Please... tell me who you are and what you want. 

And if you think those are simple questions, 

keep in mind that most people live their entire lives 

without arriving at an answer.
Gary Zukav

Depending on your age, you might feel pretty darn smart today. If you're my age, I realize how little I know. Oh, of course there were years when I knew just about everything but those days are long gone.

Many things have happened since to keep me humble.

Today I pondered on how much more time I could I use. To investigate and learn, to ask questions, and some days to just do nothing (something I'm still working on). I always thought that as I got older, as my children grew up, as I became more accomplished at some things and decided that I didn't need to have a sparkling clean house, that I'd just have more time.

But I've been blessed with an intimate relationship, long-time friends, and good health and still there is much to discover and accomplish. When I wrote Painting on Walls a few years back, I was undecided on what to put on my new walls and they are still void of words.

Instead, I have taken to  immerse myself in my favourite authors (see my upcoming post on John Irving's Avenue of Mysteries), adding quotes to my blog posts and adding words to my other creative projects. I just can't get away from words!

I have learned that it is words that bind me to others. (Click to Tweet)

And when I speak from the heart, when I abandon the fear of potential dismissal/annoyance of someone, I know that I'm reaching closer to the answer that Gary Zukav referred to.

 

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Confidence in Truth

All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; 

then success is sure.  Mark Twain

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Do we have an obligation to be totally honest?

I’m not talking about cruel talk regarding an unflattering outfit choice. I’m speaking of kind words for the  of an individual. I’m speaking of telling a student that do not have the marks to enter the university of their choosing, or the teenage band that practises in the garage next door to you that they just might need to be successful at something else.

When do we tell someone the truth? Perhaps we shouldn’t at 11:30pm to the musical boys next door. Our choice of words might be just a little… strained. 

Do we tell the less than literary in our adult evening class that four strung together sentences do not make for enjoyable reading. The same student who has already written 300 pages of their personal biography and is looking for a publisher? How much truth can a person handle? Are they ready for? Do they actually want?

Do we tell the office newbie that she needs to cover her dishes in the microwave? Do we share with a walking/running partner that if they just…their gait would improve? Do we tell the service rep at our bank that they need to go ask for help after they’ve struggled with a task for ten minutes? Do we interrupt two coworkers as they finish their conversation while you're waiting to be served?

Such a fine line it is, being assertive in honouring yourself and just being old-fashioned rude.

What is your experience in giving and receiving the truth (according to the person speaking)? 
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Iceberg Surprise

What is powerful is when what you say 
is just the tip of the iceberg of what you know. 
Jim Rohn 
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Have you ever been astounded when an old friend tells you one day something from their past that you didn’t know? Or when your company night shift cleaner turns out to be a chemist? Or what about the colleague who retires at 57 because she’s “just been careful all her life”?

Alaska Cruise

Don’t you just love that! It’s surprising to us that this person didn’t feel it was necessary to constantly advertise themselves. Some people can quietly go about their days, in their quiet ways celebrating who they are…quietly. They are not brash, they don’t shine their own spotlight, they are just plain awesome!

These people in my life teach me far more than the continuous swagger of others. They don’t broadcast what they’ve accomplished and they also don’t wallow in their challenges. They know that life without a rudder can take you into dangerous territory. 

To each of the three that I’ve mentioned above, thank you. Thank you for your 1,000 hours of volunteering. Thank you for patiently taking care of our mess each day to give your family a new, safe life. Thank you for showing me about first being happy, making a long-term plan and still travelling the world. You've all shown me a piece of how a person can be in this world.

Watch for the icebergs in your life, and learn from what they keep under the surface. That is the important piece that keeps them afloat.

Watch for the icebergs in your life, and learn from what they keep under the surface. (Click to Tweet)

Getting out of our Rut in the Summertime

We tend to think that we need to do big things to bring about growth 
and yet growth comes from small steps as well as large ones. 
Get into the habit of making small changes, 
they are the foundation 
upon which big, long-lasting shifts can be built – give it a “small” try today! 

Katherine & Elizabeth, HirshWorks, LLC

Summer, ah, how we look forward to summer. A welcome respite from school schedules, hunkering down to work, and building things up over the colder, nesting months. However, we can also view summer as a time to unwind from our habits and release the ones which are no longer valuable to us. We can take the summer hiatus and put into effect the changes that we know we need to make.

See this HirshWorks article for small, important steps we can adopt while we relax in the hammock and sip our lemonade.

Important small steps we can adopt while relaxing in the hammock and sipping lemonade. (Click to Tweet)