Mr Gross was my high school German teacher. He was big on learning language through song and would regularly point out a German word or phrase that might be more appropriate than American English. I wasn't a good student of the language, but he made an impact on me. I still remember and use some of his offerings. Today I saw one of my favorites used in the New York Times - the first time I've seen it used in America.
Read MoreRead More(PIP LEAD: Damar Hamlin asked “Did we win?” when he awoke. Many – including myself – cried even hearing him utter anything but could he have said anything more powerful? )
Who is the WE?
I love that question and can’t help but reflect.
Here are three WE's.
A year ago today I was averaging 1-3 hours of sleep a night. Every day was just about surviving. I had accidentally weaned baby E as I was intentionally weaning big E because tandem nursing amongst all the other things going on at the time had taken its toll on me. I was emotionally devastated & physically exhausted & so mentally blurred I never knew if I was doing the “right thing”. And it was so hard to see how it was ever going to get any better. I was probably in the midst of some postpartum hormonal distress & anxiety & depression & didn’t think of it that way. I was just hard on myself (and everyone). I never found consistent therapeutic support, which was probably necessary in hindsight. But I am grateful for friends & family & lactation consultants & coaches & yoga teachers and babysitters who little by little, piece by piece helped me take baby steps to get where I am today.
Read MoreI woke up this morning with a fever and a sore throat and the first thing I thought was not that I have Covid - I don’t- nor even how bad I felt. It was that I would not be able to be at our gathering today. I have literally been counting the days to physically see people I feel so much respect for and feel so connected to.
At some point today, Pip was going to have me riff on a Yiddish word he heard for the first time a week or so ago.
The word is “mish-puh-chah”…..(emphasis on that guttural “ch”!)
What was unsurprisingly synchronistic - given it was Pip- is that I have been wrestling for a good few months with how to define this group of people who come together under the Coburn sacred canopy.
And mishpucha is the perfect description!!!
Read MoreIt was with surprise that I learned we would release a podcast on Thanksgiving Day on gratitude. As I listened for the first time, it brought me a sense of lightness hearing Brynne convey, “gratitude moves stagnant energy when we’re feeling stuck in life. The simple act of practicing gratitude disrupts negative thoughts and changes our mindset to see the world in a positive way”. It was the same reminder when my daughters Alyssa and Brooke were leading a blessing of grace at our Thanksgiving table that provided me with a greater sense of awareness, appreciation, and joy.
Read MoreThinking about my walking companion Sally...
Sally happens to be a turkey vulture and perhaps a bit of explanation is in order. Our place borders a large heavily wooded area that’s home to enough wildlife to attract birds of prey. Crows are most common, but there are hawks, vultures, and the occasional eagle. I love watching hawks and vultures work the sky, but didn’t expect to get to know one.
Read MoreThere’s a mesa behind our house where I go to run, think, recharge and listen. Recently, I looked down at my watch to find my pace a full minute faster than usual. “Wow, I’m getting so much faster and I don’t even feel like I’m trying that hard!” I thought. I ran with that feeling for about a half mile, then I noticed. Tall grass on either side of me sat doubled over by the force of the wind: my tailwind. I scolded myself for not paying attention to the surroundings and felt inwardly embarrassed by how obtuse I'd been while reveling in my own accomplishment.
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Here is the third round of anti pet peeves! The list below happens to include all 3 of my sisters' contributions, as well as a fun one from Pip's daughter, Bailey, which she shared while helping me dogsit this week :) Wishing you all a wonderful holiday ahead!
- Amanda
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Here is round #2 of gratitude anti pet peeves! I love gathering all these responses and photos. I was only anticipating doing two anti pet peeve blogs this November, but I received so many that it looks like there will be one more final round coming after this one. Have a great day everyone!
- Amanda
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I am grateful for old friends who just pick up the phone and call with no expectation of anyone picking up or not. It's great to do the same, too. And, the best part is when you both have a moment to talk for even a few moments. It always makes me feel rejuvenated and loved.
- Regina Anderson
I was recently at a gathering with neighbors, and they had a fire pit. I was grateful for the power of that shared fire to center our gaze. None of us were focusing on each other’s faces, or screens or anything visual, really, other than the flames and embers. Everything came through hearing each other’s voices and then thinking through it together. It felt slower than most other communications, somehow, even though we were all talking at a normal rate. And I felt we focused more deeply on the topic by allowing our eyes to remain fixed on the fire.
- Tim Vogt
Read MoreAfter recently reading two pieces on deep listening written by someone in the community, I noticed a key theme in both: "Listening for what is being communicated but isn't being said." Then I thought more about what it looks like when I've felt someone do this well in my own life.
It took me back to a moment this summer, when I sat across the dinner table from a person I had only recently met. As we sipped our drinks waiting for the food to arrive, I started casually talking about work from the last week and some projects I’d been focusing on. But it took me by surprise when he looked me in the eyes, changed the topic and said, “So I just wanted to check in with you. When we had been messaging last week, I sensed something was bothering you, but I knew you weren’t ready to talk about it. I wanted to see if you were still in that headspace or if whatever it was wasn’t bleeding into this week. Did you want to talk about it?”
Read MoreA little while ago, Larry Bissonette came to Cincinnati for a visit. Larry was the subject of a film “Wretches and Jabberers,” following some of his global travels. He is both autistic and uses typing as a way of expressing his thoughts. In the first few scenes of the movie, he flaps his hands and paces around rooms and repeats phrases that seemed typically “autistic” to me. But soon though, he began typing, sharing profound, insightful and relevant thoughts.
Read MoreHow often does this happen to me?
I'm in the middle of a sentence, or I'm part of the way through sharing an idea and a colleague interjects, barely letting me finish,
“That was absolutely amazing! Yes! Exactly that!”
Read MoreOne of my favorite places in the world is Big Sur California. I’ve lived in Los Angeles for 35 years now – and my wife and I have made it a habit to get up to Big Sur at least once a year.
Now, of course, because of the pandemic, we hadn’t returned since 2019. Has it really been three years? Yup. It has.
So – we recently made a trip to Big Sur, and I took the opportunity to bring along a copy of one of my favorite books…
Read MoreHe was hurt when I found him. A man from the store was bent down, seeing if there were some way to help the little bird. The man told me I looked like an animal lover, and asked me if I knew anything about birds. I didn't. But that didn't stop me from taking him home with me in a small cardboard box to see if there was something I could do.
Read MoreDuring my sophomore year of college, I took a creative writing course that helped me grow on various levels. Throughout my schooling, I had always felt confident in the subject area of writing, but the professor I had shattered that confidence the first month of the semester... in a great and perhaps necessary way.
Read MoreI love this thought provoking piece from Corey. My last blog also fell under the topic of receiving feedback and I enjoyed the process of reflecting on what I learned from one specific professor I had and what I did with her critiques. But I think Corey brings to light yet another compelling outlook to consider when receiving an evaluation from someone, no matter how big or small. I've slowly learned that constructive criticism doesn't have to be personal 1, because someone is simply believing in me to grow and be better. But 2, because the feedback helps in thriving as "part of the whole." Specifically, after reading Corey's writing I consider more deeply how my own growth can benefit the cohesiveness of the entire unit or mission I play a role in, as each part needs to be doing their best to flourish as one unit. Thank you Corey. Your sharing of your experiences and lessons from different points in your life help to broaden perspective in my own and to try to keep in mind the bigger picture as I walk through it.
- Amanda
Read MoreDuring my sophomore year of college, I took a creative writing course that helped me grow on various levels. Throughout my schooling, I had always felt confident in the subject area of writing, but the professor I had shattered that confidence the first month of the semester... in a great and perhaps necessary way.
Read MoreIt's easy to feel obsessed with convenience and quickness. Doing things faster. More efficient. There's a desire for the quick high of the left lane. We grow the “most food for the most people”. And I know I can buy anything from anywhere and have it tomorrow. But what if going slow was sexy?
Read MoreI’ve been off of work, and with my kids this whole summer. It’s been a blur filled with equal parts daddy school, activities and chilling out. Last week, while breaking down our days before getting to sleep, my wife asked me a really good question that I haven’t been asked in a long time. “You’ve been with the kids for 2 months now… what have you learned so far?”
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