I live in a place where natural wildfires are an essential part of the cycle of life. Over time, mature pines grow tall and dense, not allowing enough light in for the smaller trees below. As they age, they also become dry and brittle. When lightning strikes, these older trees become powerful fuel to ignite
Gentle Rain
A few days ago, I woke up feeling heavy, weighted and a bit stuck, like the layers of worry, anxiety, concern and fear had hardened into dried mud within me. So, I lay in bed for 10 minutes and visualized warm rain pouring over me. I closed my eyes and remembered some times both as
Determination
About 20 years ago, I began doing endurance races – long hikes, bike rides, marathons, triathlons, etc. I’m no great athlete, and I completely buy into the concept that the tortoise wins the race. But something propelled me to race anyway. Perhaps it was hoping to keep in shape with three little boys running around
Gentle Mountain
I find myself looking at this picture on my wall a lot lately. I took it years ago on a beautiful sunny day (even though my photographic skills don’t show that). I looked up and thought about all the people climbing the Grand Teton that day that probably didn’t see or feel the glorious sunny
Trust & Presence
One year ago, I began writing these blogs. I can’t even really say why. Something just compelled me. Some weeks were easy. Some weeks, not so much. But I kept showing up to this computer and trusting that thoughts and insights of some benefit to someone may come out. The global challenges of the last
Courage
Courage. It’s not the absence of fear. It’s the ability to find our inner strength to continue to go forward despite our fear. Courage is derived from the word “heart” (in Latin cor). It’s original meaning was “to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.” What if we took the idea of courage one
Skilled Mariners
Franklin Roosevelt once said: “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” And boy are we learning to ride the waves. On sunny days when all goes as planned, it’s pretty easy to take the time to breathe in, remember the values we want to live by, set our intentions and be grateful for the
Acorns and Oak Trees
James Hillman, an Jungian psychologist and renowned author, first introduced me to the concept of the acorn in his book, “The Soul’s Code.” Think about it for a minute. Every acorn has the energetic potential within it to become an amazing, unique oak tree. If you haven’t seen the Angel Oak tree outside Charleston, SC,
Welcome to the Show
One morning, almost 11 years ago, my now ex-husband Chris woke up not feeling so good … a flu bug? we thought … worst case scenario Lyme Disease. We were getting ready for the big family adventure – a year in Jackson Hole with our five children (including four snowboard-loving sons). Life was about as
Leaning In To Leadership
I first got interested in the power of Leadership training 34 years ago when I went to a “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” workshop at Procter & Gamble (where I worked). Stephen Covey’s principles just made easy sense, and I could remember them 🙂 The first principle in Seven Habits is “Be proactive; not
Seeing into Brave Spaces
This week I’ve had the honor of working with leaders in Puerto Rico, defining and deepening into their purpose, and opening up vulnerability. We are beginning to see how their vulnerability can help them further strengthen their teams and organization. It is truly astounding what happens when people allow themselves to be more fully seen
Good to Great
A few days ago one of my leadership students sent me a picture of her getting her nails painted by her 11-year-old daughter with the text saying, “thank you for reminding us that leadership is about paying attention to the moments and how we want to show up.” It was a sweet picture and reflection.