Excellence Together Skyrockets Performance

We were standing in the outside lobby waiting for the doors to open for the main evening concert. During this waiting time a small group of eight professional singers were entertaining us. They were amazing! The short soprano’s powerful voice firmly hit and held such a high note (singing ‘freeeee!’) I actually looked up to see if the glass in the chandelier would shatter! No kidding! The presentation included several seasonal songs featuring the different singers one-by-one. The tall lady soprano had a strong lush tone perfect for her part. Next, a short thin man with an amazing high tenor […]

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Americans Are Less Happy; Can Politeness Help?

Did you know the United Nations publishes an annual World Happiness Report for most countries? Technically it’s based on a Life Satisfaction Survey conducted on a random basis of local citizens. They ask questions like, “Are you very satisfied, satisfied or not satisfied with your career performance (or your country’s economy, your government, etc.)”. Hmmm. This survey feels like a special kind of Olympics, competing for the gold or silver medal in emotional health. Until this year, America’s happiness scores have internationally ranked in the top three. Last year it took a nose-dive to rank 14th.  Americans were not very […]

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Overstuffed

Thanksgiving day dinner is coming, and oh what memories! We look forward to Mom’s steaming golden brown turkey, a wallop of stuffing and lumpy mashed potatoes on the plate (I like ‘em lumpy!), and hot buttered corn-on-the-cob. Then comes Aunt Mary’s macaroni and three-cheese casserole. Wow! We won’t forget the cranberry sauce, and Mom’s amazing gravy! After a piece of homemade pie, plus a bite (or two), it’s time for…a nap. While most of us know the physical sleepy effect of too much food, you may not know that “over-stuffing” is a principle in learning, and even in spiritual growth. […]

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Grandparents Speak

President Jimmy Carter designated the first Sunday of September after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day in 1978. Honoring the role of these senior family members on this day, some schools invite grandparents to a special event or involve students in story-telling activities related to their grandparents. The wealth of comments about the extreme value of grandparents is amazing. But, when doing the research for this article, the most remarkable source came from the grandparents themselves! Of course, there is only space to share and quickly comment with you about a few of their potent responses. Some may make you […]

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Interdependence is Better than Independence

“Free,” she sang! The short soprano’s powerful voice firmly hit and held such a high note I actually looked up to see if the glass in the chandelier would shatter! We were standing in the outside lobby at the American Adventure pavilion in Epcot at Disney World Orlando. A group of eight professional singers were entertaining us. They were amazing! The presentation included several patriotic songs featuring the different singers one-by-one. The tall lady soprano had a strong lush tone perfect for her part. Next, a short thin man with an amazing high tenor voice rich with tone delighted the […]

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Forgiveness Restores Who?

An ancient story is told of two friends who were taking a trip through the desert. In the course of many discussions, an unusually sharp disagreement arose over a mutually sensitive issue. In a moment of impulsive rage, the one friend slapped the other in the face. Responding with great restraint and sadness, the man stooped down and wrote in the sand, “Today my good friend slapped me in the face.” and they walked on in strained silence. Much later arriving at a shaded, cool oasis they decided to take a refreshing bath. After a little bit the one slapped […]

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The Secret to a Balanced Life

“This story is tragic!” said the aviator friend who had just completed his updated next level jet pilot training. During their specialized instruction the pilots were studying the importance of constantly giving attention to all the instrumentation, gauges and indicators on the plane’s control panel. They were told the true story of a jet airliner flying at 35,000+ feet at night about 100 miles out from the airport. After receiving instructions from the air traffic controller, they started to slowly make their descent down through a heavy cloud cluster. This particular pilot was quite experienced, having landed jets hundreds of […]

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Don’t Let Life Drain Your Contentment

On the CD, I heard the instructor’s statement. Then I hit the back button to hear it again, and again. “You can eat right, rest well, exercise, build your inner self up to feeling very strong and 15 minutes later feel totally drained.” “Yow!” I thought. “That’s happened to me…and I didn’t understand it.” I, for one, sure need solutions to not feel so weary, depleted and exhausted at times. Anybody with me? I listened to this instructor and other CD’s, added further research and the answer became increasingly clear. The key really was the last word of the instructor’s […]

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Keep The Brain, Body & Spirit Moving

Now with just the two of us, it was time to sell our large family home in the country. We had two acres and plenty of space to be very active with family and friends. But that meant lots of mowing, trimming, weeding, water system maintenance and house upkeep time and expense. The effort and energy no longer made sense. So, we chose a much smaller home in a gated community closer to the grocery, shopping, a clubhouse and many amenities. Downsizing was hard, but what a relief! Our new neighbor was the lead mechanic genius at a local dealership. […]

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Live a Steering Wheel Life Forever

Driving down the road never happens in a straight line; it requires using the steering wheel. It’s amazing how many hundreds and thousands of times we adjust the steering wheel to continue in the direction we want to go. A small adjustment is needed almost every second. That’s very much like living our daily life. So, count how many seconds there are in a 20-minute drive to work. Wow! That’s a lot of adjustments. Why is this like living our daily life? Well, there’s no such thing as a mistake-less, adjustment-free life. Think about it. Our to-do list is really […]

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