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#138: Picture Books

I sweep the dust away from the drain and continue to sift through his things. So many things. Pieces of track and mini cars and houses to the Lionel train collection. A “for sale by owner” sign with his number still written across the front. A toilet paper roll hung from the ceiling, probably to blow his nose from saw dust or leaf clippings or the smell of house paint. So many extension cords I wonder how far he ever intended to go.

Staring into this shed, I see my childhood in a million pieces.

Christina PosaJuly 19, 2019Comment

#137: One Person

I remind myself that if this post can create a change for just one person, then it’s a good post and a good day.

One person, not hundreds or thousands or millions.

Sasha DichterJuly 17, 2019Comment

#136: Stillness

Stillness is something I’ve always aimed for, but a practice I find immensely difficult. It’s the same flaw that so often gets me into trouble with the bees.

Brinton JohnsJuly 11, 2019Comment

#135: Humans Are More Interesting Than The Grand Canyon

I think we seem to take ourselves – us 7 billion humans now, and the ones in our lineage -- and what we have accomplished so far -- for granted.

I don’t think we think highly of ourselves… as we had a human community scale “we esteem” issue. We would never have required Nike to tell us “Just Do It” if we lived in the space of knowing we can do it.

But maybe worse…

…I think we just take ourselves for granted not recognizing what an amazing species we are.

Pip CoburnJuly 5, 2019Comment

#134: The Summit Isn't the Point

Over the last few months, I’ve had the most interesting experience. It started when I had a colleague that I hadn’t talked to in a couple of years reach out and reconnect.

He had been a senior guy at a big technology firm, and he’d created a series of masterful marketing initiatives that propelled him from manager to VP within the course of 18 months. But he was unhappy. He ignored that empty feeling he had and began to simply work harder and longer to try and duplicate the innovation that had powered his meteoric rise. Within six months, he became convinced that it was internal politics that was stopping him, and he started picking fights with his leadership team. Ultimately, he began taking calls from recruiters, and ultimately took a slightly lower level job at a competitor.

Robert RoseJuly 1, 2019Comment

#133: Why The Woods

I never know what I come for, I just know I must come.

The forest is a painting of patchy yellows and browns, peeking with red, and yet quickly fading with the time of seasons. The messy array of oak, maple and tulip tree leaves on my path is a most beautiful canvas that I brush intuitively with my feet. I often find ourselves in conversation here - the limbs, the bark, the fleeing birds, the silence, and me.

Jaime PosaJune 26, 2019Comment

#132: Anti-Pet Peeves - NY Style

Opening my shades first thing in the morning to the sun beaming through my New York windows.

When you smile at a stranger in NYC and they automatically smile back.. always find it funny how contagious happiness actually is.

Christina PosaJune 18, 2019Comment

#131: When Easy Tries You

I had a great anti-pet peeve happen today! It was Monday (never a good start in my opinion) and it promised to be a long day with an aggressively overpacked schedule. It was sure to end in missed meetings or a missed flight or at the very least — total, frazzled exhaustion. As I looked at my calendar before bed last night, I chastised myself a bit — “What happened to saying 'no' Lisa?! It’s not possible to do all that in a day!”

Lisa BairdJune 7, 2019Comment

#130: Avoiding Spurious Correlations

It’s a saying most people have probably heard - “correlation does not equal causation.” Just because two things are associated with one another does not imply that one necessarily causes the other. For example, it is well known that how healthy a country is and its GDP are highly correlated - it’s much harder to prove if one necessarily drives the other.

Lauren CulbertsonMay 31, 2019Comment

#129: Anti Pet Peeving: Pleasant Surprises (Part 2)

So there were so many anti-pet peeves that I received from contributors in the community that I put them together into a second list! It is here below. For anybody else that I missed that would also like to share an anti-pet peeve, feel free to send it along to me (amandaposaj@gmail.com). I love putting these awesome lists together! 🙂

CommunityMay 29, 2019Comment

#128: Pleasant Surprises (Part 1)

Besides the holiday season, I personally think the next most joyful time of the year is the end of spring going into summer! It's like things start to heat up (obviously) but also coooool down at the same time. 😎 So to celebrate, similar to what was done for the holidays and new year, the Community for Change is sharing another list of anti pet peeves. This list was created, once again, with many different community members' contributions! Actually, there were so many contributors that I had to break it up into two separate lists, so Part 2 will go out very soon after this one! Hope you enjoy :)

CommunityMay 24, 2019Comment

#127: The Spiritual Art of Reflection

A dear friend of mine named Bill recently wrote to me,"It's funny how grief, in its own way, is a particular and paradoxical blessing--we grieve because we love, and the love is how we are at one with another person (including, as we know, our dog friends), and the depth and the strength of the love is something that time and change can't take from us, and so the grief is a sign of the ongoingness of the love, and since the love is what binds us to our Others, then we can be assured that in loving, those Others live with us always, however far away they seem sometimes.”

Amanda PosaMay 14, 2019Comment

#126: The Night in Atlanta (Part 3/3)

I didn’t realize how much I loved my dad until a night in 1999 – eight years after he passed away – in an Atlanta hotel room.

Pip CoburnMay 7, 2019Comment

#125: For Those Who Have Grieved

I lost my grandma 6 years ago. My father 3 years ago today. My dog, who was truly my baby, and my best friend, this past week. And every time I’ve experienced the same sensation of actual, physical pain, as if something within me has been ripped away, an open wound that begs for healing.

Christina PosaApril 30, 2019Comment

#124: Delivering the Expected Unknown

What is an expected surprise for you?

When I was in college, and I was trying to “figure out my path” (as the kids might say) I had this conversation with my grandfather. I was in a bad mood, and feeling bad about myself and he asked me if I had given anybody an expected surprise. He actually challenged me and said “what’s the last expected surprise you gave?”

Robert RoseApril 26, 2019Comment

#123: The Letters

A couple years ago when going through old letters from our attic, I found a letter my dad had written to his mom in the early 1980s. He shared with her his deep deep sense of complete failure, financially and in his career. He pondered what he felt like was his inability to keep a job.

Pip CoburnApril 22, 2019Comment

#122: Gratitude When It's Hard

I was feeling frustrated and upset with someone the other day. Actually, after I did “my practice” I realized I was upset with the situation, not the person.

It’s a person I deeply care about and love and respect, so I wanted to make sure I could come to a place of compassionate communication with him before I reacted on my feelings. I’ve been trying to make this more and more of a habit...because looking back as a kid, and a very sensitive one, I realize I would hide, bury and suppress a lot of my feelings until they would swell up and then I’d burst -usually into tears.

Danielle PosaApril 10, 2019Comment

#121: My Dad Walked Slowly (1/3)

It seemed like he loved commuting.

He could read books both ways. He read crazy fast like our son, Eamon, does today. It seemed to be his time to do something he loved. When he got off the train, he always slowly walked to the car - so unlike the other Long Islanders, as I realized today, who would zip by him.

He didn’t rush much.

He didn’t hurry much.

Pip CoburnApril 2, 2019Comment

#120: Being There

You may have heard that the other week in California, a virtual doctor (think iPad live streaming a doctor one of those Double Robotics bodies) was the one to deliver the news to a patient and her daughter that there was nothing they could do to further her treatment and she would most likely not live until the end of the week (he was correct).

Understandably, the family was quite upset about this.

Lauren CulbertsonMarch 29, 2019Comment

#119: Life Inside The Box

Aren’t we always looking for new ideas? Do you believe you should think outside the box more often?

I’ve always had this weird aversion to that idea – outside the box. It seems like just useless advice. So, I looked up the origin of it.

Robert RoseMarch 25, 2019Comment