a blog by John P. Schuster
When we look at the night sky we feel small in the Grand Scheme. When we help someone with a problem, provide a useful insight, or give a hug of understanding that relieves some pain, we feel worthwhile and know we are here for a reason. What a dichotomy we hold, so tiny and insignificant and so significant! Golda Meir, former Israeli prime minister, apparently carried two stones with her. One said, “For me the[…]
Read moreWe are all taught to use, and teach others, to set SMART goals. This busy time of year, we are “making a list, checking it twice.” So much to do, so little mistletoe. But maybe you need some dumb goals to balance out and enrich your holidays. This SMART acronym, one of the more universally known in the world of organizations – but as a reminder – stands for: Specific Measureable Achieveable/Attainable Realistic Timebound Managers[…]
Read moreOh the age thing! I had a bit of a shock last year. A woman we work with said she went to the doctor, got measured for height, and had shrunk an inch. So I measured myself that night. No mistake about it, down an inch from my six-foot-tall days. Now when did that happen? What a rude sign of mortality and aging! Isn’t getting shorter for people in their late 80s, not me, a[…]
Read moreBy now, at certain latitudes in the northern hemisphere, we have gone through our closets for the Autumn ritual of switching out our wardrobes. Depending on how far south you live, this may or may not be true. (Texas,Florida,Arizona: just imagine how others do this so I can carry through with the metaphor, ok?) My southern hemisphere friends are pulling out the spring look. On the literal side of things, I have to get rid[…]
Read moreWe live in a world of acquisition. We measure ourselves by our numbers, like they say in the ING television commercial showing people walking around with their net worth under their arms—clever ad, and surely sad. What if they instead walked around with their happiness, spiritual or emotional bank account numbers, the lasting wealth of life, under their arms? With acquisition being our culture’s mega-measure, is it any wonder that letting go is difficult for[…]
Read moreOur congressmen and women today are locked in idealogical warfare that resembles trench warfare in WWI: endless attacks and no movement. One of the transcendentalists who “hung out” with Emerson and Thoreau (I can picture that with these people) was the chaplain of the US Congress. His words need to be heeded for today: To live content with small means; to see elegance rather than luxury and refinement rather than fashion. To be worthy, not[…]
Read moreThere is an apocryphal Gospel of St. Thomas. If you don’t know “apocryphal,” it is the word for unofficial ancient scripts, the ones that did not get included in the Bible when the church defined it. So, of course, many of us want to consider these unofficial writings to see what got mistakenly left out. This phrase from St. Thomas is one that rattles my cage: If you bring forth what is within you, what[…]
Read moreThis is heavy tornado time in the land known as tornado alley. Such sadness south of us at Joplin. Amazingly enough, some people will be strengthened by the tornadoes. The will find a way through even mega-trauma, to tap inner resources they have never had to muster before and literally end up giving thanks for the calamity that hit them because it made them somehow bigger or better. They will enlarge themselves through the challenge.[…]
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