Awe & Wonder!

I've recently been thinking about awe and wonder in our lives. I know that one of the reasons for this is because I have my first grandchild in my life, and it is so fun to just watch them as they take in everything around them! But I also think it may be related to the holiday season we are currently in.

Over the weekend we took time to put up our decorations, which include a bunch of outside lights on our house. Because of how we like to decorate, this is a pretty tedious and involved process. We also added a few new, small lighted trees to our outside lights this year, so we had to figure out where to put them. I got everything else done and was placing those trees as the last step. It took several tries to figure out exactly where we wanted them, and I must confess, by the time I was all the way done, I was more interested in just being done than I was appreciating the beauty of the lights! I didn't really have any sense of awe and wonder, but was consumed by my simple desire to just be finished.

After some rest and reflection though, I think I want to be more like my grandchild and welcome more awe and wonder in my life. I want to be more intentional about driving around town and appreciating the beauty of the lights, the joy of the music, the simplicity of seeing the world like it's new again.

Here's why - if I'm trying to be mindful of moments of awe and wonder, I think it will help me slow down and appreciate some of the simple beauty of the world around me. And when I do, I also think it will have a positive impact on my overall attitude and even my ability to appreciate others. I think it will give me a small boost to my soul, so that I'm not so focused on just getting the tasks done, but can open my eyes and heart up just a little more to the wonder of the world around me!

How could you invite a little more awe and wonder in your life this week? What impact might that make on your life and outlook?

Here's to embracing a some awe and wonder this week!

Be Well, Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center. We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you! Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.

More We, Less They

I was recently listening to a wisdom teacher on a podcast who used a phrase I found very interesting which also connects back to my recent messages on Powerful Agreements and Gardens of Kindness & Compassion.  They said, "It's important that we take time to reflect on some key questions in our lives. Two powerful ones are 'Who are we?' and 'Who are they?' I find that much of our maturing work in life is learning how to move whoever is in the 'They' category into the 'We' category." 

That has really got me thinking deeply about a number of things.

Who are We?

Most of the time when I answer this question for myself, I tend to start with the groups who are similar to me in some way (race, religion, culture, family, etc.), and who I feel the most comfortable with in my life (my family, my political party, my religion, my cultural heritage, etc.).  Truthfully, having these types of identifying markers isn't all bad.  They help me better understand myself and my world.

Who are They?

When I shift my attention to this group, it often starts with everyone who isn't in the "We" group.  Basically, everyone else that I don't naturally identify with in my life. Again, having characteristics that acknowledge distinctives and differences between groups isn't all bad because they can also help me better understand myself and my world.

Our Tendency

I believe part of what this wisdom teacher was trying to illustrate is that our tendency is for the "We" group to get smaller and smaller, while "They" gets larger.  It's just so easy for us to become so focused on the differences between us, that those distinctives no longer become helpful to understanding ourselves and our world better.  When I am paying more attention to the distinctives that separate us and my "We" group gets too small, it can actually become like an echo-chamber that just resonates and reverberates back our same messages and understandings over and over again.  

Our Work

Instead, what this teacher was calling for was learning how to expand our "We" to make it larger, thereby decreasing the size of who "They" are. If I can continue to open myself up to learning more about "Them," I begin to discover that while differences still exist, there is actually more that unites us than separates us. Expanding who "We" are doesn't eliminate our distinctives, but instead celebrates the beauty of the diversity of who "We" are in the world.  It's like going from watching TV in black and white to color (old school reference there!).

When was the last time you asked, "Who are We?" and "Who are They?" Which direction do you think your circles are expanding and decreasing?  Is there a situation in your life right now (work, family, leadership, etc.) in which you are paying more attention to the differences between "Us" and "Them?"  What would it take in that situation for you to mature in your understandings in a way that allows an expansion of who "We" are?  

Here's to growing this week so we have more "We" and less "They" in our lives!

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.

Practicing Gratitude

Since I live in the US, this week brings the holiday of Thanksgiving.  While I know this holiday can bring lots of mixed emotions with it, I also know that anytime we practice gratitude it can have an immediate impact on our overall well being.  

So what does it really mean to practice gratitude?

I'm so glad you asked!

Practicing gratitude is simply being intentional about anything we have in our lives that we can be grateful for, and then finding a way to express that gratitude outwardly.  For example, I am so thankful for my new granddaughter and the beauty and simplicity of her smile, and here I am telling all of you about that gratitude!  

When it comes to outwardly expressing our gratitude, it could be in the form of a conversation with someone, or an email, or maybe we can write it in a journal, or just say it out loud while we are on a walk (don't worry, these days people will think you are on the phone with earbuds!).  The medium isn't as critical as just finding a way to be mindful of our gratitude and then expressing it in some outward form.  

If you were to be mindful of your gratitudes this week, and then you were going to outwardly express them, what would you come up with and how would you express it?  

Now that you have the idea, why not go ahead and practice gratitude this week?!?  I promise it will have a positive impact on your well being, no matter how challenging this week may be for you!

Be Well,

Stephen

Center was created to support individuals and teams so they can live from their Purposeful Center.  We specialize in professional coaching and leadership development and we’d love to support you!  Click on our Services page to book a free consultation.