Her words repeatedly chug through my soul like a freight train steadily plugging up a mountain pass. “How dare I…” A beautiful story of vision and effort seemed to take on a poetic pattern of repetition continually etching her words of counsel deep into my thinking. “How dare I be anything…” It wasn’t luck that brought her to this point, she emphasized to the graduates, but the vision of her mother whose shoulders she rode upon. “How dare I be…
The best education helps us learn a principle then learn how to apply it in our life. Sometimes it may be a formal and structured approach. Other times it could be informal and spontaneous. It was a little bit of both Tuesday morning hanging out at Stevens-Henager College in Logan at the monthly Cache Chamber of Commerce Bizlink Logan networking group. BizLink is an opportunity for local businesses and entrepreneurs to connect and grow their business. It’s also an opportunity to learn…
“The Columbia River Gorge is one of a kind, all right, with the mighty river flowing between towering cliffs, and plunging waterfalls replenishing the flow. But never mind the natural uniqueness, they’ve even made it official: the Columbia River Gorge is the only designated National Scenic Area in the United States.” — JR Allred Words such as these, rich and full of picturesque details, first introduced me to JR Allred, a man who would later become a neighbor, close friend and…
This is the week my brother Shane went missing in 2016. We suspect today is the day when he finished his mortal journey and was killed by suicide. It was also his birthday in early April. He would have been 41. That’s Shane in the brown coat with our mother’s arm around him in one of the few pictures we were all together as a family. Today has been a beautiful time to remember. Especially to remember the Gift that no goodbye…
Last night’s gift was spending a little time in a neighbor’s backyard and garden in Hyde Park. It was a gift of friendship, a gift of brotherhood, a gift of love. It was a gift of being connected and sharing a moment. It was a gift of normal conversation that became much more than normal. It was a gift of the soft and gentle sunset dropping over the horizon while enjoying the sweet aroma of flowering fruit trees. Aly Affleck shared…
Welcome to your unplanned out, not according to schedule, oops there goes another mishap, beautifully crazy, full of sadness and joy and who knows what I’m feeling at the moment, perfectly imperfect life! No destination. Just a journey. No agenda. Just an experience. The race is won each time we get back up when we fall down, screw up, or simply run out of gas. We walk. We run. We swim. We rise. We live. We love. That’s life. Life…
Tucked away on the 3rd level “down under” of Pike Place Market on Seattle’s waterfront, J.B. Johnson stands quietly reading a book behind a counter stuffed high with stacks and stacks of even more books. With his interest drawn deep into his book, J.B. silently split his attention between the pages in his hand and the handful of customers browsing the overflowing aisles of BLMF, a “Second Hand Bookstore and Literary Saloon.” Large stacks of books lined the inside of the shop’s…
BUILDING WORDS By Les Patterson Our words can build Lift up, create Inspire others And motivate. Words can also Tear down, destroy Discourage one Who could enjoy. A better life If we give heed For they don’t ask For what they need. The choice is ours That which we give Choose to destroy Or help one live. April 15, 2017 Feature Photo by Sorasak on Unsplash Thoughts of inspiration come in many forms, and may be expressed in many ways. The collection of…
Think about two or three conversations you had over the last week. Were they enjoyable? Or as painful as a visit to the dentist? What about those conversations kept your interest? What entertained you, engaged you, made you smile, or made you laugh? What caused you to listen intently? Now ask yourself the opposite questions. What about those conversations put you to sleep? What was boring, disengaging, uninteresting? What caused you to tune out? 13 STEPS TO MORE MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS…
Martin Luther King Jr. labored his whole life to change the way we look at each other. In honor today of the 50th Anniversary of his tragic assassination, I share my dream for this beautiful country, beautiful world, and the beautiful people of the human family. I still have a dream that one day this nation, and all nations, will rise up and live out the true meaning of the creed spoken long ago, and memorialized today: “We hold these…