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Friday, August 30, 2013

Out of the Comfort Zone


Warning! Avoid this:

Jillian says that Yoga Meltdown combines Yoga "with my dynamic training techniques." Translate that into  "my exquisitely designed torture methods." I know. I have experienced her sadism. Because I am a masochist, I have been suffering under her iron discipline for quite some time now. I was getting fairly good at withstanding her cruelty (translate: barely escaping with my life) until I realized I was doing the Warrior II pose wrong.
I can't get my bent leg at a 90 degree angle unless I take my arms down and use my grounded hands for support, an awful and painful gyration. But as Julian says, "it's not about perfect, it's about practice."
She goes on to say: If we take a risk to overcome our fears we grow in ways we have never imagined. Get out of that comfort zone and try something different.
Don’t be afraid to fail.

Don’t be afraid to struggle.



Learn there is no such thing as perfect.
Improvement is about practice.



The more we practice, the more comfortable we become. When we keep practicing we come better and better at doing what was once new.


We change from being fearful to being courageous.



Thursday, August 29, 2013

A Wonderful Day

There's the old joke about the physician's little girl being asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. She replied, "A patient."


As with many jokes the truth runs deeper than the laugh. Sadly the drive to do the job well, the emphasis on achievement, and the crush of financial obligations may make us forget that spending all our time climbing that success ladder may lead to some hard falls.


Selfishness may cause a few of us to ignore our loved ones. Francis Adams, grandson of President John Adams, succeeded as an attorney, a member of the House of Representatives, and as the U.S. Ambassador to Britain. One day he wrote in his diary, "Went fishing with my son today---a day wasted!"
That same day his son wrote in his diary, "Went fishing with my father today---the most wonderful day of my life."





Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Clocking Time

During our visit to Lyon, France we toured Cathedrale Saint-Jean Baptiste. Begun in the twelfth century and completed in 1497, the cathedral has an astronomical clock from the 14th century.
"What's an astronomical clock?" I asked myself. When I got home I looked it up: The astronomical clock reveals the position of the moon, sun, and planets as well as giving the time of day....But after reading, researching, and reading some more, I can't tell you how it works.
I don't know how a digital clock works.
I don't understand Einstein's time-space continuum.
But I do know this:

Spend time following your own bliss; don't waste it by living the plan someone else has for you.



Once you've wasted your time, you'll never get it back.


Instead of counting every hour in the day, make every hour of the day count.


Taking time for rest, relaxation, fun, and friendship keeps your clock ticking.

Love is spelled T-I-M-E.








Tuesday, August 27, 2013

The Pamphlet

The pamphlet that fluttered off my bookshelf was this one:
"The prayer" writes Princess Ileana of Romania "has opened unbelievable vistas within my heart and soul."
The simple prayer---Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner---is best said alone and in silence. Thinking the prayer as we breathe in and out calms both mind and body. This prayer repeated quietly, unhurriedly, thougthfully allows us to concentrate on Jesus, forgetting all else, both joys and sorrows.

The daily habit of praying "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner" transforms personal effort to lead a Holy life into a mystical passivity that allows the peace of God to enter our soul. This transformation is comparable to the difference between rowing a boat and sailing one. The oar is active effort to lead a Christian life

while the unfurled sail catches the divine wind.





Monday, August 26, 2013

Serendipity

Vicki and I were visiting our daughter, Wende, and her family in Lyon, France. While crossing the Rhone River on a pedestrian bridge our eyes were drawn upward to the Fourviere Basilica, a modern day acropolis that dominates the city.



After checking our maps and exploring narrow streets we finally found stairs so steep and numerous that Wende warned me to stop if I became winded. Not wanting to acknowledge my limitations I replied, "I'm not stopping until I get to the top or until my heart fails which would give me a wonderful opportunity to test French socialized medicine."


After 253 steps (I counted) we traversed a busy street to find a shrouded path winding toward the Basilica. Within a few steps, a jungle of vegetation smothered the dusty, loud city that now seemed miles away. Giant trees which I couldn't identify cooled our upward journey, while luscious plants and flowers of all shapes and colors made aromatic the vibrant surroundings. Park benches along the way provided a blissful rest or an opportunity for contemplation or perhaps a place to sit and read a book.


The peaceful climb ended with a spiraling staircase that took us around the Fourviere Basilica onto a courtyard that overlooked the vast city. As we leaned on a chest high wall that separated the courtyard from a precipitous fall, Wende contrasted the scurrying and hurrying below with our meditative amble along the winding path. "All the people in those streets and buildings below have souls as do we all," she said, "but all of us tend to neglect our souls without taking time for a contemplative stroll through the garden of our minds, without time for contemplative prayer."


Returning home I was looking for a book on the French Resistance during WW II having discovered on the trip that Lyon had been the hub of the resistance movement. As I pulled a Time-Life book from a shelf a small pamphlet fluttered to the ground. The subject matter? Contemplative prayer. In my mind serendipitous events are God events. So I took up the pamphlet and read.




Friday, August 23, 2013

Fired By Football

Some of the recent NCAA investigations into alleged malfeasance by college football players reminded me of an article written by Gary Smith in the April 8, 2002, Sports Illustrated —“Lying in Wait”—about Notre Dame’s five-day football coach George O’Leary’s fall from grace. Most of the words written here are Smith's although I altered some phrases, deleted some things, and occasionally added a few comments.

His story begins with matches. George, a Catholic alter boy, told his mother he hadn’t been playing with them. Emboldened by getting away with the “little” lie, he reached for the matchbox above the sink a second time. Mrs. O’Leary, genetically endowed as all  mothers with the sixth sense for trouble in the kitchen,  startled George with a surprise attack through the dining room door. Mrs. O’Leary sent George to his room to await Father’s return from work. His dad followed the token warning to George about the danger of matches with the assurance that all boys like to play with fire and that Mom would calm down in a day or two.

Can a small incident lead to big trouble? What if your big brothers were
Straight-A students and all-stars on the school teams? What if your younger sister was the sweetest, most affectionate girl in the classroom. What if you were “thick and blunt,” an average student who couldn’t sing or dance or entertain like the rest of the family? What if you couldn’t run as fast or jump as high as your brothers? What if you dropped out of college and were struggling until your father found a place for you on the University of New Hampshire football team? What if you quit the team after 10 days? What if you had to struggle academically  to eke out a B.S. in physical education? What if your father secured your first job as a teacher and assistant football coach at your old high school? What if everyone thought of you as “Dad’s project?” What if you suddenly caught fire?

George, set ablaze at a Woody Hayes football clinic, began living the philosophy of the Ohio State coach: “Your players have to do it right, every time!. Be tough! Be strong! Fight! Hit! Never quit! Never give up! Win! Win! Win!”  George breathed fire.
George took over as a head high school coach. His teams went to 16-1-1 in two seasons. He moved from Dad’s area of influence to Liverpool High in upstate New York, inheriting a 1-9 squad that he turned into 10-0 winners in three years.


Syracuse football coach, Frank Maloney, offered a job. George had made the big leap, jumping over graduate assistant and Division III coach, to land on the pinnacle as a major-college assistant.
The great leap wasn’t enough. Although everyone else saw him as a fire-breathing dragon, George continued to think of himself as a boy sent to his room without matches.


On the Syracuse University personal information form George added extras so that he would feel more secure:
       1. High school—basketball, all league 2. New Hampshire—football, 3 letters 
George rationalized that these additions gave him more authority, more aura, more power to transform boys into football winners. No one who hired him ever asked to see his resume. His ability to win was enough.



George moved to defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech. In 1987, a member of Tech’s sports information department interviewed George to prepare a biographical sketch for the fall football program. Following the interview, the boy who played with matches had a master’s degree.

George continued to work, to breathe fire, to win. After 16-hour work days, seven days a week, ten cups of coffee and 10 fingernails a day, an ACC title, five straight bowl berths, two ACC coach of the year awards, and national coach of the year in 2000, Notre Dame called.


The Catholic alter boy who played with matches was coach of Notre Dame, Our Lady’s university, home of the Golden Dome. Within five days the world that
George set on fire would be burned to the ground.

A reporter from the Manchester Union Leader in tracking down a story on men who’d been honored by playing football with Notre Dame’s new coach discovered that George had never played football at the University of New Hampshire. Notre Dame’s Vice President of Public Affairs, about to release a statement admitting George’s weakness as a young coach, a statement that would have allowed George to remain as coach of Notre Dame, asked one more question. Yes, George had lied about a master’s degree. A firestorm erupted. False academic credentials were intolerable at Notre Dame.

We’ll skip the shame that George suffered, the depression that ensued, the embarrassment of his wife, children, siblings, friends, fellow coaches, and his 80-year old mother. We’ll move directly to the questions:
  • Does willingness to lie on a resume merely indicate how much you want the job?
  • Do the ends justify the means?
  • Is it worth the pain to wage a life against a lie?
  • Does the rumor that everybody else does it, justify doing something that is wrong?
  • When you are a fire-breathing dragon, why play with matches?
Some of us, some of the time are tempted to expand our resume, to add a little embellishment to our lives, to stretch the truth. But people don't care about our resumes. They want to know if we can win with people, if we can defeat our temptations, if we can pick ourselves up when we fall and pursue victory with zealous determination. 

In the words of Lou Holtz people ask three questions when they meet us. They may not be aware that they ask these questions, but deep down in the convolutions of the cerebrum three questions peculate about us:
  1. Can I trust you?
  2. Do you care for me?
  3. Are you committed to excellence?
Those answers can't be found on a resume.


Postscript: George O’Leary is currently the head football coach at the University of Central Florida located in Orlando, a fiery one, and quite successful too.







Thursday, August 22, 2013

Choose Happiness


With each new day, our happiness depends more on our attitude than our circumstances. If an abundant life depends on our choices—and it does—why not choose those activities that bring happiness?

Just for today I choose to be happy











Just for today I choose to adjust myself to what comes my way









Just for today I choose to take care of my body by exercising and eating properly












Just for today I choose to listen


Just for today I choose to do something good for someone







Just for today I choose to praise the good around me








Just for today I choose to eliminate hurry and indecision from my life







Just for today I choose to have a quiet half hour all by myself to think 









Just for today I choose to love and believe that those I love, love me










Just for today I choose to make the choices that will bring a ful­filled life each day