Flo

Wednesday night I had the privilege of hearing Jane Goodall speak at Colorado State University.  As the CSU Wind Ensemble played “Out of Africa”, I felt an intense rush of emotion when Jane walked to the podium and put her materials in place, prior to her presentation.  She received a standing ovation for walking onto the stage, another as she was introduced and a final one as she completed her talk, “A Reason for Hope” (also the title of one of her books).

Jane Goodall traveled to Africa at a time when it was not expected that a woman could or would be so adventurous.  For more than 30 years she studied the chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, in Tanzania and established the Jane Goodall Institute.  The Institute  was “Founded by renowned primatologist Jane Goodall, JGI is a global nonprofit that empowers people to make a difference for all living things. We are creating healthy ecosystems, promoting sustainable livelihoods and nurturing new generations of committed, active citizens around the world.”

Jane currently travels 300 days out of the year, speaking to audiences about healthy ecosystems, promoting the “Roots and Shoots” program for youth and advocating for creating sustainable living opportunities for the citizens of Africa.

From where I’m standing, I see the sapphire colored heads of three blackbirds (I always thought their heads were black).  A chubby squirrel hangs upside down on the bird feeder and I can see his tail and periodically, he hangs his head down while chewing a sunflower seed.  Two bright yellow goldfinches perch and eat thistle seed (according to my bird book they are a male and female, likely a breeding pair). 

All these things make me happy.  Today I was gifted with a free day - cancellations which allow me to be standing at my laptop during daylight hours and observe the creatures that hang around my house, enticed by the food we set out.

I watch them, take a deep breath and say “ahh…”.  

Michael has written several times of of his fondness for Yosemite National Park. This morning I was reading the most recent Patagonia catalog (2007 Spring Yosemite). The entire catalog features pictures of Yosemite. I can’t really tell you what they are selling and I love the catalog for this reason. The photography and writing are always phenomenal. The catalog’s special feature is photographs of climbers in Yosemite and the park is featured on the Patagonia website.

The website features a slide show of Yosemite photography from Glen Denny from the 1960s. I was in Yosemite only 45 days ago and stood in the spot the first photo was taken. Of course, not being a climber, the pictures that follow are out of bounds for me. I marvel at the drive of climbers, the commitment to “go higher”. It’s difficult for me to imagine spending that much time on one thing - days to climb one peak. The weeks and months and years it can take to prepare.

Take a few minutes to check out the photographs; some are breathtaking.

“This is My Best” - it’s the title of a book I periodically read, an anthology of writer’s self-proclaimed “best”.  No one else chose the writer’s best writing.  They chose for themselves.  Some writers chose a specific chapter from a book, others chose essays.

David Sedaris, who I previously wrote about, included an essay from his book “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim”.  He prefaces his presentation by stating he would “feel much more comfortable contributing to an anthology titled “This one’s not so bad” or “Here is my least worst”.”

Even people who have received acclaim for their work have self doubt and struggle when asked to state their “best” aloud or in writing, for all the world to see.  Today I’ll find one thing that is my best. What is yours?

Yesterday, I was gifted with an opportunity to come home for lunch.  Some people don’t find that very exciting (well, the contents of my frig was not so great), but I thought I’d catch up on a few work related tasks, grab lunch and head back to work.

The Basset babies greeted me with their over-zealous affections.  Homer barking - he wanted a walk.  Ever walked a Basset?  Three Bassets?  As they have aged, it has “improved” (i.e. slowed down) but walking Basset Hounds is all about their noses.  We don’t really walk.  We wander. 

Typically, my mind wanders with the Bassets.  I think about clients, paperwork, schedules, returning phone calls and every now and then, I notice a Basset somewhere he/she is not supposed to be, tighten the leash, say their name and start day dreaming again.  This day I decided to be present, to try and attempt meditative walking (yes, with the Bassets).  The funny thing is, I was truly able to stay present.  I noticed what they were sniffing and noticed the repetitiousness of the route.  I saw a small flowering tree near the trunk of a towering evergreen. The Bassets meanered and paid not attention to the bees on the blossoms of the little tree.  They are always happy to be out and so was I.

The snow storm didn’t show up last Friday.  United and Frontier airlines cancelled approximately 40 flights out of DIA in anticipation of the storm.  Needless to say, I got up at 5:00 a.m. and drove to Denver to the conference I was bemoaning.  Am I ever glad I was there.

Bryan Post was the keynote and provided great insights into the behavior of children and adults. He has a compassionate response to people that is palpable.  That, plus his waist-length dreadlocks made him highly intriguing, very inviting, and utterly captivating.   If you ever have the opportunity to hear him speak, don’t miss out on it. 

I’m glad the storm headed in another direction.  5:00 a.m. or not, I was exactly where I was supposed to be all day.

Like Chris, I am in Colorado awaiting a spring snow storm (the same spring snow storm).  My alarm is set to get up at 5:00 a.m., just in case the roads are clear enough for me to drive to Denver for a workshop.  In all honesty, I would relish a day at home that isn’t a weekend day.

As a self-employed person, you would think I could make this choice any day of the week, anytime I want.  It doesn’t feel that way to me and so I don’t do it unless I’m going to a workshop (work) or am taking a “real” vacation (you know, the seven days out of town type of vacation).  I am highly-reliable-overly-responsible-otherwise-dependable to show up at work each day.  I just don’t think about taking a day off.

Today, while at the CSU bookstore, I saw a journal titled “What I want” - it is a journal designed to help people buy you gifts.  I liked the title because it made me think “what do you want?” 

I do want the day off tomorrow although truthfully, I will work in my home office if I’m here.  Something about paying for a workshop doesn’t really give me permission not to attend - I need the excuse of bad weather to validate and justify my choices.

I’d like to hear other excuses - it will diminish my guilt!

My issue with losing time continues.  Is it possibly because I am experiencing flow?  Somehow, I don’t think that is what is happening!

Michael writes about positive psychology and the study of happiness.  Today is the first time I have heard the name Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and his theory about flow.  I like this idea of intrinsic motivation and focused attention.  I can also state, with 100% clarity, this is not where my time is going.

Please let me know if you find it out there. Somewhere. (One step better. When you find it, please send it back.)

I was going to write “In  Michael’s blog yesterday” and I realized my concept of yesterday and the date of the blog I’m referring to are slightly off!  (Where have the other three days of this week gone?)  What I mean to say is ”in Michael’s blog on Sunday“, he wrote about making connections with people and the effects of our behaviors on others (slight interpretation on my part).

Yesterday I received a compliment.  Sounds trite, doesn’t it?  The thing is, it came at just the right instant.  I was a little low, having a self confidence issue related to an interaction earlier in the day.  The whole image (in my brain, of course) was of me being wrong, awkward and disorganized (none of which I was, but there goes my brain, again).  Then I received this lovely emailed note full of compliments (related to something else) and I was immediately lifted out of my funk, knowing if I cannot feel I’m succeeding at one thing, I know I’m OK in another.

It wasn’t particularly a “subtle connection”, yet how could the sender know how uplifted I would feel?

I just finished reading The Tender Bar, a memoir by Pulitzer Prize winning author, J.R. Moehringer.  Because he is a writer for the Los Angeles Times, I went to the LA Times website to check out his writing.  Upon reading, I was immediately distracted by the content of the story. 

In his March 25, 2007 story entitled “Dear Me”, Moehringer tells about two people who created and developed FutureMe.org.  Matt Sly and Jay Patrikios decided to develop software and a website that enables us to email ourselves in the future.  What a concept!  What imagination, talent and creativity of these two people.

Some of you might ask “why in the world would I want to email my future self?” After reading the story, you might change your mind.

If you were to write an email to your future self, what would you say?