Evocateur – Page 13 – a blog by John P. Schuster

Food present, food past.

March 14, 2011 John Schuster Self development

Do you have a favorite food from your childhood? What memories are connected to it? One of mine is a Hostess Twinkie® in my grade school lunch, which meant mom was giving me a rare treat (a good thing, since it has negative food value). Another is homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for Friday night dinners. This meal is charged with happy thoughts of the family being together. And it is loaded with[…]

Witnessing as a coach, parent, or spouse

March 7, 2011 John Schuster Coaching and mentoring

Part of long-term love is being present to others’ lives. We participate directly in our partners’ and grandkids’ and clients’ lives to some degree, but more than anything, our most important role may be to act as a witness to them. We observe from close up with high intention and care. When we witness, we consciously reflect back the energy that they send forth in the many moments life entails: moments of effort, insight, triumph[…]

Discover Your Weaknesses

February 28, 2011 John Schuster Self development

We all have the message that we’d better utilize our gifts and strengths well, and build our work and lives around those original parts of us that constitute our gifts. Thank you Gallup and Marcus B. There is an annoying paradox here though, one that the sunny-sider strength-finders are missing: There is beauty and growth, lots of it, in your weaknesses.

The Biggest Gainer

February 21, 2011 John Schuster Self development

There is a popular show about the biggest weight loser—a psycho-drama of will and exercise, in which the viewer participates in the participants’ struggles and efforts. It concerns repairing our lives through a new attitude toward, not just food and our bodies, but our lives and our purpose and our worth. If I created a reality show it would be “The Biggest Gainer.” It would follow the real-life dilemmas of people, not fighting their weight,[…]

Either it is a both/and moment,
or it is not?

February 14, 2011 John Schuster Self development

Sometimes language fails us. And sometimes it points precisely and beautifully to the very paradox that we must ride out in order to enlarge our view of the world. Is this a both/and moment for you, or not? ‘Cause it either is or isn’t, isn’t it? Image above Some rights reserved by chelmsfordblue

I am in charge—NOT!

February 7, 2011 John Schuster Leadership, Self development

At times, we need to be in charge and be decisive. At other times, and just as often, we need to ride it out and surrender. Life is a series of lessons on discerning which strategy to employ at any particular time, for any particular dilemma. Our culture favors being in charge, of course. And this works for about half the time, and especially in the ascendant part of adulthood. Then, there is the other[…]

Question for the day

January 31, 2011 John Schuster Self development

Question for the day: have you said too many yeses or too many nos in your life? Have you bought-in too much to our commercial culture, or have you gone too far the other way? And it may depend on what issue, of course. Carl Jung said it this way: Man can suffer only a certain amount of culture without injury. By “too much culture” he doesn’t mean too much Beethoven or Picasso. Jung is[…]

“How have I contributed?” vs blame and denial

January 24, 2011 John Schuster Self development

When the gunman in Arizona took lives and attacked Gabby Giffords, it was inevitable that the political arguments would ensue. Imagine if a union member had shot an elected Tea Party official; the right would likely have blamed the left. We all know what the argument is now, with use of cross hairs and the atmosphere of contempt being questioned, and individual blamelessness being declared. No matter the issue these days, when a wrong happens,[…]