Positive Four Letter Words

It's fun to think of the many positive four letter words that encourage, inspire and motivate us:

• love
• home
• hope
• will
• give
• help
• live
• care
• free
• play
• most
• dear
• idea
• your
• plus
• wows
• best
• soul
• hold
• joys
• epic
• good
• well
• pray
• keep
• baby
• give
• zest
• join
• pure
• glad
• kudo
• true
• hero
• best
• luck
• mate
• fine
• tact
• wish
• pact
• yeah
• wish
• edgy
• kind
• life
• gems
• have
• know
• look
• edge

What four letter words encourage, inspire or motivate you?

Ripple Effects

One of my precious friends has opted to leave a toxic, but lucrative environment for a less financially rewarding, yet soul rewarding culture.  She's an amazing individual who will thrive in any organization.

Though she didn't intend to change her former company culture with her announcement, it appears that she has started the much needed corporate discussion. Her departure has prompted others to question what positive changes they must enact to retain talent of my friend's caliber.  The ripple effect of her announcement has prompted others to question if they are settling for the way things are rather than the way they should be.  Bluntly, one of her ripple colleagues questioned if she and her colleagues had been part of the culture for so long that they had become "abused wives". 

When we do what we know is right we never know how many others we may positively impact.

Many Unexpected Connections

Last week my undergraduate alumni office reached out with the opportunity for a face-to-face visit as they traveled to Houston.  Though our schedules are not compatible, it was great fun to find many unexpected immediate connections:

• She discovered through my blog that we are both new runners
• Her great aunt and my parents were long-time friends (her great aunt is now deceased)
• The incoming Dean of the Business school is someone my company supported at one of his previous institutions

And when I shared the story with Mama this weekend, additional connections emerged:

• Her great aunt's mother was my next door neighbor through grade school
• Her great aunt's husband was my first dentist
• Her great aunt's son is in the orthopedic practice with my Dad's surgeon

It's always fun to find the many ways that everything's connected.

Rubber Band Balls

We now have a rubber band ball that is larger than a softball.  Edgar started it, and I've kept it going.  It's wonderful to have an automatic destination for the many rubber bands that arrive around the mail packets that our friendly mail carrier delivers.  And there's a quick place to turn when a rubber band is needed.

We usher at church every 9 weeks and encounter rubber-banded stacks of service bulletins each time we are on call.  Nine weeks ago, I started a rubber band ball with the discarded rubber bands that had accumulated in the drawer of the entry table.  Yesterday, when we were on duty again, I was pleased to find that my golf ball sized rubber band ball had not been discarded.  However its size had not increased, and from the dozen or so strays to be added, it was apparent that many rubber bands had been discarded. 

It will be fun to see if this simple little green experiment is any bouncier eight weeks from now.

Toilet Paper Controversy

We dispense the toilet paper in our home so that it comes over the roll.  Out of curiosity I googled and got 22.1 million responses to the right way to put toilet tissue in the dispenser.  And surprisingly, as I typed "right way to", toilet paper was the third option in the list. Never knew what a controversial issue this is!  Various studies through the years have shown that 60-70% of respondents prefer the over method.  It was interesting that some celebrities who prefer each method have been known to change the installation in a friend's home when they found it installed in a way that they perceived was incorrect.

Though I prefer the over method, this was another reminder that there is often more than one right way to accomplish a task. 

Jigsaw Puzzle

Life is overly full, incredibly interesting and quite rewarding.  And I was beginning to feel overwhelmed earlier this week. My to do list's 155 items were quickly supplemented with write-ins.  Not surprisingly, my stress level decreased once I captured and categorized the many things I need to do.  Before investing the time to plan, I felt like a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle that had just been dumped on the table.  Now I've found the picture on the box, turned over all the pieces and started to assemble the border.  Progress comes in many forms.  My jigsaw puzzle of responsibilities is taking shape beautifully.

Real?

I'm reminded of the wonderful childhood classic, The Velveteen Rabbit, as I wonder when one becomes a real runner.  Experts tell us that good habits are established and bad habits are broken in three weeks.  Today was my 21st consecutive day of running.  Achieving that milestone prompted a trip to a running store to be fitted for running shoes to replace my cross trainers.  When I posed the question about real runners, my dear multi-marathon finisher friend told me tonight that I am a real runner.

Three weeks, new shoes and a marathoner's endorsement have given me the confidence to consider myself a real runner.

 In other areas, the love of a child, the support of a friend or the belief in ourselves also make us real.