27Feb 2018 by CJ

The moon is a constant companion we often take for granted

Life & Living
“I never really thought about how when I look at the moon, it’s the same moon as Shakespeare and Marie Antoinette and George Washington and Cleopatra looked at.” - Susan Beth Pfeffer, Life As We Knew It There are some nights, when I’m walking towards a large expanse of windows at the back of my house, that I’m mesmerized by the cool, crisp, unobstructed light of the moon. It bathes my entire yard with an intense glow one might assume is coming from an exterior house light. I find myself just standing there like a young boy – utterly amazed by the astronomical body high above my head. But beyond any famed or revered individuals from our history, it’s somewhat comforting to know that my grandfather, and his father before him,…
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24Feb 2018 by CJ

My lifeline – those who make the journey rewarding

Generosity & Kindness
You are my lifeline, you are my rescue Strength in my weakness, light in my darkness You are my safety, lifter of my head The air that I need when, I can't seem to breath in You are my lifeline When I first heard the refrain to You Are My Lifeline, I found myself playing it over and over again – each time feeling more inspired, more hopeful and more grateful. One thing that’s come with age is the ability to be more introspective. The reckless abandon which once drove my decisions, has been replaced with continual thought and reflection. It’s been that reflection which has provided me the most clarity about what’s truly important on the journey we’re all privileged to take for an unspecified duration. What I’ve come…
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15Feb 2018 by CJ

A contribution is about more than just being a doer

Life & Living, Love & Relationships
“Great ambition and conquest without contribution is without significance. What will your contribution be? How will history remember you?”  - William Hundert It’s been almost four years since my wife and I moved to Colorado from New Jersey. While we both were fortunate to secure jobs early on, I’m not sure they were truly “careers” for either one of us. Eventually, we found ourselves asking the question, what is my contribution? Three years into her career, my wife was blessed to find a new position with ideal circumstances to suit her. But as my organization continued to evolve, I found myself growing frustrated over the reality that I had become a “doer” not a “contributor”. David Lagercrantz once wrote, “You either have a useful contribution to make or you don’t,…
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06Feb 2018 by CJ

To have made some difference – a true sense of happiness

Life & Living
“I cannot believe the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter, to count to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.” – Leo Rosten To have made some difference. Powerful words when you realize that we truly do live in a world which believes our sole purpose is only to be blissfully happy. Sadly, we’ve convinced ourselves that happiness comes in the perpetual chase of bigger and better “things”. Little do we know, to have made some difference in the lives of those around us, brings about the purest sense of happiness there is. The other day, I was speaking to a…
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30Jan 2018 by CJ

Being scared really means you’re doing something brave

Life & Living, Youth
“It’s OKAY to be scared. Being scared means you’re about to do something really, really brave.” ― Mandy Hale Many of us support the notion that “being scared” is only experienced by children who believe there are monsters hiding under the bed. While I agree that the fear of monsters, and other frightening creatures conjured up by our overactive imagination, disappears as we get older, that doesn’t mean we no longer know what it’s like to be scared. You may not know what it’s called, but all of us have a comfort zone. Author and thought leader Roy T. Bennett says, “The comfort zone is a psychological state in which one feels familiar, safe, at ease and secure.” Breaking away from what’s familiar and safe can often be emotionally crippling to adults.…
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