Once Upon a Time …
Our lives are “hero’s journeys.”
SAFE IS RISKY
In Tom Peters’s book The Pursuit of WOW (Every Person’s Guide to Topsy-Turvy Times), he asserts via Bob Pressman, Co-CEO of Barneys, that 'safe is risky.' In other words… same old same old doesn’t excite anyone. Those people and companies that look the same and act the same as everyone else are not safe these days. Kodak. Blockbuster Video. (WHO!?)…Lol. By always playing it safe, we can remain invisible. By keeping our heads down, our eyes diverted, we don’t have to face risk. And we will be “safe.” There is no safe place. Covid taught us that. So… the better course is...
The Coat of Me
What color is my coat? Green? No. I do not like green.But is it magic? Yes.Wool? No.Waterproof? Yes, when it needs to be.Hurt-proof? Yes, when it can be.(For without water or hurt, we do not grow.)Warm? In winter or when I want it to be.Buttons? Yes. Big FUN buttons.What does it remind me of? My mom.How does it make me feel? Authentic.The best thing about it? It is my only coat! I don’t need twelve. It has an endlessness to it. A timelessness. I wore it young and I wear it old. It is young Kathryn. Old Kathryn. All Kathryns:...
Personal Board of Directors
Do you have a "Personal Board of Directors"? I have seen the idea in the Wall Street Journal and am considering the power of same. It's also another interpretation of the phrase: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, [including yourself].” ~ Jim Rohn (motivational speaker) I chose to borrow the slight addition [including yourself] to the Jim Rohn quote (hat tip to https://personalexcellence.co/blog/average-of-5-people/) because I agree. WE are alas, one of those peeps we cannot evade, avoid, or distance from as much as we'd like to sometimes. I'm pondering a board of...
Tent Weeds
Monday, September 28, 2020 The rabbit-full coyote lazes in the bushes under a brown Cleveland sky where the clouds wear polka dot ties and green belts under a rainbow man that has soot on his sleeve coming from crumbling chimneys where the old mill used to make tires that rarely roll on these less-traveled-by roads. A used-to-be-cute little girl in a ragged red dress and pasty-pink pinafore sucks at selling bedraggled bouquets to penniless people for a dime. They save their pennies to buy a bouquet for loved ones who have lost their lives to the tiny spiky Covid marauder...
Where Are You From?
I am from the stars. Dust. Silver-striped meteorites blown to bits by a goddess’s rage at being shunned by her lover. He left in the middle of the night the day before yesterday in cosmic time, which could have been before the earth existed. Or it could have been a second ago. I am from the beach. Sand. Washed ashore with kelp around my waist, starfish nibbling at my toes. My scalp teems with tiny organisms that lived there until now. They try to scamper back to the salty sea, yet their microcosmic feet tangle in my hair. I am from the mountains. Rock. From high...
Changing Names
I listened to a Duolingo French Podcast today, and it talks about a young man who discovers that his grandfather changed his surname from a Jewish name to a French name during the war. The young man tried to change his name to his grandfather’s name but was told he could not because of the French laws at the time. * Spoiler Alert*: Eventually, he was able to change his name. Times and laws change. Photo by Djalma Paiva Armelin on Pexels.com Our names are particularly important to us – both our first and last names. I changed my first name from...
Checking Boxes
I took Seth Godin's altMBA class. It had been on my list since 2017! Yay. I finally took it. Check. Photo by Ivan Bertolazzi on Pexels.com I wanted a one-and-done. I wanted the magic ticket from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The golden ring on the Merry Go Round. You’d think I was old enough to know that checking a box and doing the work are two different things. I checked the box. The checked box stares at me. I stare back. We know one of us will lose.“I have to go on to the next box,” I say.The...