“Gemini, I have a paper due, can you tell me what is the importance of music in child education?” Gemini scours publicly available sources, returns a response on how music aids in the growth of the creative side of the youth. Cut, paste, put into the paper, click submit.
Looking out the window this sunny June day, listening to Clair De Lune and imagining what music would be if it was all a restating of existing pieces? A library of covers of covers, being remade all with the same DNA under their chords. Using AI for thought leadership by no means is a problem, it wouldn’t be called “Copilot” if it was not intended to be at the controls with you. The challenge with the advancement is that in today’s world, there was nothing there first to train it on, besides the voice of others. You can’t train a model on a voice that one has never built.
Thinking of a conversation I had with a friend yesterday over lunch, the myriad of topics covered, thoughts shared and perspectives explored. I chuckle thinking about the transcript from my one-hour lunch. What would have been the takeaways? From the words spoken, would it capture the sentiment as I felt, or as a model would anticipate a human to feel. I left lunch appreciative of the time someone made to spend catching up over a bite, learning more about their passions, drive and journey. The transcript would simply be the myriad of topics, which ultimately misses the entire point, and yet that transcript would be ingested into future outputs.
When we think of what is a voice, how do we define it? A voice is not a style nor a format, it’s everything that goes into the brain power beyond the letters on the screen. For me, it’s the product of years of writing toward one person in thoughts that this might land with someone, somewhere. That mattering enough to keep going. I’ve maintained my own domain since 1998 in times when people move to Medium and other places to monetize, where I am perfectly content with zero views.
How do I leverage AI in my writing? I use the model as a mirror, not a ghost. Leveraging years of writing is the difference between shaping output and outsourcing thought. Two fundamentally different things. What gets lost when we outsource thought is the power of human thought. The irreplaceable way one person sees something.
What is a link or bond between one object, and only one? That is not connection which requires something real on the other end. In the age of AI, it’s easy for authenticity to be performed but it can still be felt. Often I see it when people are attempting to tell a story, and so often it’s the same verbatim content and often riddled with inconsistencies in the flow. Similar to when someone can’t speak to what they have written because it’s clear, they didn’t write it.
The same inconsistencies with the flow are the blockers that hit us, the same for when we can tell connection is not there, the lack of investment in sharing genuine thought becomes simply an opportunity to scroll past.
If I were to ask Gemini to create something similar to Clair De Lune, it would give you the output requested. What AI can’t do – bring back the overwhelming feeling I felt as a teen on my first trip to Europe, aboard a Delta L1011, flying over the Atlantic, unable to sleep; from excitement, my father with the travel club as a chaperone, listening to Clair de Lune as I glanced out the window and closed my shade until the dawn that was eagerly waiting as we touched down in Frankfurt.
Be humble, be grateful, be true to you.
Photo: Delta A330-300, Atlanta to Amsterdam — June 30, 2023.
Approaching Ibiza on Val Gal (aka Valiant Lady), the warmth of the sun and the sea breeze. Spanning the horizon to take in the architecture, geography and where our adventure was about to take us to. The sun’s rays, the calm as fellow passengers disappeared to get ready for their night in Ibiza. An adventure is unforgettable when we can close our eyes and morph back to the moments, immersed in the sensation of the sight, sound, touch and smell.
Nick and I made the journey with this particular port having the greatest hesitations that we would enjoy our time. The thought of loud clubs, drinking, crowds, all things that we knew were not our scene and we’d not want to go back for. Disembarking the Val gal that evening we could feel the calm of Ibiza consume us. The vibrancy at night, the pockets of streets, lookouts of the water, the planes landing overhead and the buzz of people enjoying the most cherished time together building moments over a sangria, tapas, or a late night coffee. That first night we accepted how mistaken our perception of Ibiza was and how we were glad to be present in a jewel in the Mediterranean.
Three consecutive years continuing our Virgin Voyages with the overnight of Ibiza before that sobering feeling of returning back to Barcelona for the ultimate reminder of eagerly awaiting our return. Each trip brought forth new friendship, unforgettable memories and while many were passenger theory moments (Post: The Miles Shared), they carry on in our hearts becoming part of our DNA. Our first arrival into Ibiza was when the ship paused earlier in her arrival for a moment of silence to the late Queen Elizabeth II, how VV paid respect through the lights on the ship. Our second was unforgettable new connections, new shows, and stepping outside of our comfort zones. That year the Instagram post wasn’t about the destinations rather the unforgettable people that crossed our paths that year. Our final journey was most unforgettable, when my sister said yes to a gifted birthday trip to join Nick and I. Having taken her to London and Paris in 2014, showing her the world meant more to me than any trip I had taken for myself. That trip carried a heavy moment, a FaceTime call with a friend and colleague in hospice, 2 hours talking life, taking in the sunset, more to come from that thread when the time is right. Every summer, Ibiza kept calling us back.
Valiant Lady in the harbor, Ibiza — September 2022
Bodega Can Maymo, Ibiza — 2024
The hit song “I took a Pill in Ibiza”, the soundtrack for the journeys when we would open our suite door and take in the waves and sunset vibes. The new version redefining Posner released in March of this year as “I went back to Ibiza”. Twelve years later, Avicii’s gone, ten years sober and walking across the country with a focus back on love songs. The simplicity of the new version, how it evoked feeling deep inside me while being so calm. I shared the updated version with my sister a few weeks back and she was reminded of it when it randomly played while driving, she loved it and then remembered I had sent it over.
In 2025 we returned to the Mediterranean. Ibiza wasn’t on the itinerary — not by my choice. I longed for it. My last journey returning to Spain, I didn’t realize the weight of things back home that I had brought with me. In the moments of calm at sea, or the God Moments of a sunset, the weight settles in when others seek to tear you down. When I reflect on that week, it’s so hard to see beyond how heavy the weight was on me but now in looking back, how much was in my control and ultimately, God’s plan.
Close your eyes, take the leap, fill your body with warmth, surround yourself with people that make you want to be a better person and release those that attempt to tear you down.
Two years I began this post, each time getting lost in the power of the words and beautiful imagery – “Alan Watts & David Lindberg – Why Your Life Is Not A Journey.”
No words yield justice to the perspective garners from the video. The difference, when I take time to listen and open my heart to hear. Far beyond the cliche, “I hope you dance”, “Life is a Journey”, “Success”, “Heaven After Your Dead”.
“If we thought of life by analogy with a journey, with a pilgrimage, which had a serious purpose at that end, and the thing was to get to that thing at that end. Success, or whatever it is, or maybe heaven after you’re dead. But we missed the point the whole way along. It was a musical thing, and you were supposed to sing or to dance while the music was being played. “
A few you YouTube comments that resonated with my essence.
The beautiful words of Sleeping at Last Song.
The existence, the physical universe is basically playful there is no necessity for it whatsoever.
it isn’t going anywhere, that is to say, it doesn’t, have some destination that it ought to arrive at. But it’s best understood by analogy with music. Because music, as an art form is essentially playful. We say you play the piano, you don’t work the piano. Why? Music differs from, say travel. When you travel, you are trying to get somewhere.
In music, though, one doesn’t make the end of the composition the point of the composition. If that was so, the best conductors would be those who played fastest, and there would be composers who wrote only finales. People would go to concert to hear just one crashing cord. Cause that’s the end. Say when dancing, you don’t aim at a particular spot in the room, that’s where you should arrive. The whole point of the dancing is the dance.
Now but we don’t see that as something brought by our education into our everyday conduct. We’ve got a system of schooling that which a completely different. It’s all graded and what we do is put the child in the corridor of this grade system with a kind of “come on, kitty, kitty.” And you go to kindergarten, and that’s a great thing because when you finish that you get into first grade, and then come on first grade, leads to second grade and so on and then you get out of grade school you’ve got high school, And it’s revving up, this thing is coming. Then you’re going to college, by joe, by then you get into graduate school. And when you’re through with graduate school you go out to join the world.
Then you get into some racket, where you’re selling insurance. And they’ve got that quota to make, and you’ve got to make that. And all the time the “thing” is coming, it’s coming, it’s coming, that great “thing,” the success you’re working for. then when you wake up one day when you’re about 40 years old, you say my god I’ve arrived , I’m there. And you don’t feel very different from what you always felt. Look at the people who live to retire, who put those savings away, and when they are 65, they don’t have energy left, they are more or less impotent, and uh, they go and rot in an old people senior citizen community.
Because we simply cheated ourselves the whole way down the line. We thought of life by an analogy with a journey, with a pilgrimage, which had a serious purpose at the end the thing was to get to that end, success, or whatever it is, or maybe heaven after you’re dead.
But, we miss the point the whole way along. It was a musical thing and you were supposed to sing or to dance while the music was being played.
A discussion about the senses earlier this week ran through my mind today. I reflect back on that afternoon; the smell of rain, dark clouds above and the sound of raindrops hitting the street. My friend reached out, quickly grabbing a leaf from each tree we passed. Not saving them, picking out a new one along the path. He described the rationale behind catching a small piece of each tree. What did he feel in each leaf? What made them different from the one prior? Had I felt a lamb’s ear plant?
We see, smell, hear and taste. How often can we say we touched something? I have an extensive cologne collection, appealing to a sense that perhaps, I’ve missed out on entirely experiencing aspects of life.
Touch defined as; come so close to (an object) as to be or come into contact with it.
In seeking clarity, how did feel differ from touch?
Feel defined as: be aware of (a person or object) through touching or being touched.
About the definitions, feel building upon touch, when we go beyond touching something and honestly feel it.
My intention today, Touch.
Can we touch something that is not tangible?
Can we not only come into contact but become one with a purpose, emotion, person?
Surely we cannot forget how someone made us feel? Can we vividly describe how something felt under our fingertips?
In our hands?
Next to our cheek?
Touch, in all simplicity, can enable us as we wander this earth to develop a connection to the world around us. Part of defining The Human Element is not to come into contact, instead to become one with a purpose, emotion or person. I continue to walk the earth today on my relentless journey to define The Human Element.
Returning to Yoga last month has improved my physical but even more, my spiritual health. Each journey was concluding with food for thought leaving my mind racing. Yesterday, Tricia shared the intention, “Clarity.”
Clarity defined as; the quality of being clear, in particular. the quality of coherence and intelligibility. The quality of being easy to see or hear; sharpness of image or sound.
With each movement, I continued to remind and reinforce, Clarity. The class ended, but the journey concluded in a night of restlessness. In the still of the night, I awoke around 1:45 with the word clarity emboldened in my mind. Tossing and turning, telling myself to try to get some sleep. The word continued to be present, closing my eyes, seeing it spelled before me. I saw a child bouncing a blue rubber ball in the distance, with each toss closer to me, the imagery became clear. I began to whisper the word, Clarity, in pursuit of understanding why this one word was reverberating. I could feel myself exploring the deepest parts of my mind. Unable to dismiss the word, a focus, why can I not stop thinking of clarity?
Clarity:
Acknowledging, and ownership for improving additional aspects of my life. A new sunrise, own the journey.
Acceptance, thinking through recent engagement from others, more often, asking favors. A relationship can sunset, it does not mean the end, it was good but not intended to last.
Apology, those in my life that I have lost and those fortunate to still be a light in my life. Extending empathy to those I have hurt, those who are in circumstances of pain beyond their control. People who are unable to step into moments of light, energy; limited by restraint, emotional and physical.
Humility, reflecting on what I consider critical in my Bucket of Importance. Charging through some of the most challenging times with an enormous worry for those impacted by my outcome. A time to sigh.
My takeaway from Tricia; When you have CLARITY of intention, the universe conspires with you to make it happen.
Despite very little sleep, the compelling self-exploration of self-awareness outweighed the much needed; I will walk the earth today on my relentless journey to define The Human Element.
Damn? I have no clue where to start. Where am I? Where have I been? At the moment I’m on a KLM flight from Helsinki to Amsterdam. I can finally manage to say, we have been to HELsinki. Passing through the aisle at the moment, the young female KLM flight attendant. I extended a genuine thank you and shared how her smile is nothing but infectious and she is beautiful. Of course, only made her smile more.
A genuine compliment can go so far, a smile lasts, laughter can make things lighter in almost any situation. Wondering earth, exploring one take off at a time, isn’t it about creating a human connection to the world around us, not foregoing the opportunities to; connect, make an impact, even if small? I believe that it is not we should, rather we must, leverage each and every opportunity to do just that.
Why haven’t I posted in a while, or over a year? I realize that I sacrificed my time to collect my thoughts for other things in life, reflecting back, some trivial in nature, others just a full distraction to what is in my ‘important bucket‘. Tasks for the HOA board, neighbors, and some work activities. I never stopped yearning to express my ramblings, even if zero people ever read these words. Accepting I had no time to read a book, yet a clear opportunity for mindful growth before me in a list of novels; placing so many other things in life before those of importance to me when shouldn’t I do something that expands my mind? Reward my efforts, help me find calm, learn myself better and share along the way?
What has been going on in the past year. Travel has been a blessing, venturing into so many places around the globe. Connecting to people along the journeys, glued to the window like a child for each take off, the twinkle of stars in the darkness of night crossing the ocean, and that single moment where the jet touches down on the runway. Realizing, I’ve arrived. My weekend, a trip for 36 hours to Helsinki, exhausting, but wouldn’t change the trajectory. See as much, learn as much, share when I can. Sharing, I have transitioned my thoughts to what content I post on Instagram (Instagram: the.humanelement) . Compared to the monotony of Facebook. Scrolling through photos on Instagram, seeing the world, emotion, creating, rather yet, evoking feeling from others shared moments. Avoiding the endless selfie people, striking a pose, gym bunnies, torsos, the same pose, oversharing and using the platform to live life through likes. Moving away from Facebook has provided an opportunity to opt out of most of the political swirl, hurtful words, misunderstanding of reality and lack of depth which continues to grow within humanity around us. People accept word as truth, gospel, when all too often, it’s false. Easier to accept versus validate.
Giving thought to moments, all too often people spend seconds trying to create the illusion of a moment in a photo, whereas the photo should be capturing only but a second of the moment. One could say sharing the photos of my travels is an some way a means to make others jealous, conversely, so many appreciate seeing the adventure, understanding the focus on connection in the captions of recent. Asking, answering, why did I capture the photo? What was the second in that moment.
Change… the thought to my ramblings continues to reinforce my focus, The Human Element ( Post: A journey to define The Human Element (THE) ) Why? When I reflect on a journey, the greatest moments in life, good or sad, they all are underpinned by The Human Element. In life, we have a choice of which side of the bed to get up from. We have a choice in our career path, too often people share excuses of why they can’t change their own course. Key word, their course, no one can change it, not a right, rather a series of choices. Choices; my sister shared words of wisdom on a journey home. We are all three choices away from being homeless. Give thought to that? A small choice, a big choice. Should a choice limit consideration to exploring a different path? Should we avoid change in our lives which for so many have been entrenched in repetitive routines, bringing us minimal feeling of contribution and satisfaction, the mere drive for us to get out of bed? Should it make us feel in that small moment, I didn’t make it to the gym and feel guilty, I enjoyed time with friends over laundry – choices.
Change, living, humanity, what is around us? Do we even see what is around us? What we have? What we need versus what we feel we need? Nick looked over at me a few minutes ago with concern during our take off from Helsinki. Why was I staring out the window? Why did I have tears in my eyes? Watching us accelerate along the runway, passing the lights below, the moment of rotation and our journey takes towards the sky. Two things, when we take flight we are closer to those in heaven, second, our life is like a takeoff, the plane needs the runway, has to accelerate, and the pilot has to make a decision to rotate. It requires a commitment. I am so fortunate to have explored the world one take off at a time. Candidly, my childhood was not easy, I made tough trade offs in life, my father played the role of two parents balancing out four children. Why tears? As a child, I never would have imagined I would be looking out the window in darkness, returning home from another trip to Europe this year with Nicholas by my side.
I’ve been fortunate through means I often cannot comprehend. Over the past few months I connected to a person that relocated to the “ATL” from SF. Those coming from west coast or north east, yes… ‘the’ is required. While I have only been in this persons presence once in person, we manage to check-in throughout the week via text. At times, it allows me to check out, re-calibrate and reset. Over the short time, I have felt a genuine connection to someone that faced similar life obstacles and recognizes it’s the choices we make that can allow a different outcome, versus the outcome dictated by the cards that we use as an excuse, “being dealt”. I ask questions on leadership, philosophy on life, balancing, family, coping, celebrating; one takeaway – pick one thing that gives you personal satisfaction and pursue it. Thus, this post at 8am. Cliche, we say don’t judge someone by their shoes unless you have walked in them. For this individual, don’t judge someone by their shoes they wear today for you most likely cannot fathom the sacrifices they have made not only for themselves but others in their ‘important bucket‘. Cinderella went to the ball with a glass slipper, a shoe of envy, the audience around her showed no compassion prior to the ball, nor would they at 12 once she reverted back. She took a chance, she had, was has become, a Cinderella moment. For a few moments her life was surreal. Do people realize when they have one? Does it have to be of great magnitude?
Illustration of an original glass slipper design fit for capturing a prince
No, a simple connection to those around us, that can be a Cinderella moment not for me, rather for others. A true moment is genuine with no expectation of personal gain. You could say the satisfaction one gets is personal gain, perhaps, but as long as we continue to seek out ways to make one person’s day better, one moment better, one second better, the tide will reflect well on us, it always comes back ten fold.
The long haul flight boredom helped me discover the sitcom Jane the Virgin. For those who have not watched the series, the name may perplex you. The show about a mistake impregnating has light humor and enjoyable moments when Jane’s imagination takes over.
A snippet of a short sponsored by Wells Fargo aired on TV which I curiously went online to see the complete version. Wells Fargo? This is an ad campaign with Wells Fargo sewn throughout but, I was wrong.
For those on my Facebook, I have highlighted my heightened focus on my core, body, mind and heart. This has included dramatic changes in diet, exercise, removal of stressors and meditation.
The short captures A Day In The Life of the actor, Justin Baldoni who plays Rafael Solano. I watched the short, clicked replay, again, texted over to Nick. Four minutes and four seconds encapsulated the level of importance of the commitment to myself, actions over words, disconnect to connect, kind to others and we all can learn a little something from the sun.
Watch the short now available on youtube.
(The Narration)
Time, What is it? Who invented it?
There are Somethings in this world that you will never find the answer to, things you have to be okay with not knowing. But it’s those unknowable things that makes life so rich, so fulfilling, so scary. Life can be scary, and dark. but What is darkness except for the absence of light.
Good, the world is filled with it, love, the world is made with it.
Just look at the sun, the sun rises each day with one purpose, to simply give, give, everything beautiful comes from that word if we choose it. What if the sun chose to be too tired to wake up. What if it said, no it’s too much trouble, I think i’ll go back to sleep.
Sometimes I wonder if the sun could talk to us, what would it say. I think it would say, Love me so I can love thee. If I had the chance to talk back to the sun, I would say this, Dear sun, I am sorry for falling short, for not lighting up the world each and everyday like I know I was meant to. But from what know about the sun, it doesn’t need to know I am sorry it just needs to see it. And if the only thing it needs from me is love, then I have to show it not through my words, but through my actions.
So when you think you are too tired to light up the world, when you think darkness has surrounded you, when you are growing so much it hurts, just stop, breath and remember the sun and it’s selflessness, because my dear sweet Maya. Where there is love nothing is too much trouble, and there is always time.
I began this post this morning as the sun began to rise, the light on the mantle fragmented through the blinds. The timing could only have been a calling to what was already on my mind. I retreated to the balcony to enjoy the warmth of the sun after the many cold days of winter. Jasmine was elated to spend the morning being the beagle sun dial.
The sun, what about the sun? In all of its glory brings us life everyday. The day has baffled me, full of reminders of the sun, glancing through IG seeing photos of friends enjoying a breathtaking sunrise, sunset on a bay and the vibrant sun from 30,000 feet up. The warmth of the sun on our skin, the glimmer of sun through the woods, reflection in a stream and sometimes blinding in the morning. Those moments where I am speechless, I call them God Moments.
Memories are full of light, so many with light from the sun above. The cloudiest days have a silver lining from the magnificence of the sun. The sun allows the moon to illuminate the darkest of nights. Tomorrow I will enjoy the sunrise over the lake at Concourse while working out. I will give thought to the glory of the sun, it’s magic, its warmth, how it symbolizes new beginnings when it rises and closing of chapters as it sets each and every day. The days are getting longer, allowing all of us an opportunity to build moments in the beauty of the world around us.
Where there is love nothing is too much trouble, and there is always time.
Have a wonderful week, Be humble, be grateful, be true to you,
Over the weekend Nick and I stumbled upon Sugarboo & Co at Town Brookhaven. I entered the store and froze, gazing at a piece of art while a song (Spotify: Heartbeats; Jose Gonzalez ) hit my heart giving me a sense of calm. A minute… or two passed, unaware of the price I grabbed the art and gave it to the employee to purchase it. This store has incredible things, all unique, many intricate things that you cannot find anywhere else.
This new addition to the house needed to be in the heart of the home. In a location where the simplistic words would remind me often. Typing this on the couch, Jasmine asleep by the fire, classical music playing and the shelves illuminating the fleet.
The you, your and your resonated with me, “CHANGE YOUR WORLD” . Exploring every inch of the store, afraid to miss a thing, I randomly pick out a folded linen to read.
My sister passed along many pearls of wisdom while we traveled on vacation in Europe. On our flight home from Paris we both became a bit emotional thinking of Parker’s passing at the very young age of 15. Her wisdom, we have 86,400 seconds in a day to live, live each and every second for all we have now. I thought about, if our heart beats 60 times per minute, our heart beats 86,400 a day, that’s 86,400 opportunities to be thankful we are alive and make a difference. It’s not about money, possessions, it’s about being kind to one another and believing in the Human Element. Post: A journey to define the Human Element (THE)
The Song playing in the store – Heartbeats, Jose Gonzalez.
Have a wonderful week, Be humble, be grateful, be true to you.
My adventure to Europe with my sister is coming to an end, posting this from Delta 170, CDG-MSP. Heidi with Delta has been top notch, a great trip back to the US. Trump, that’s the Apprentice… am I the Undercover Boss… say what? Over the past week I had three interactions which made me reflect on my journey in life and give thought to pivotal moments that changed me. A quick search through my site, I found a post from July 2, 2011, Helping out a Stranger in the Armed Forces, Reflecting Back on my Day where I first openly shared my goal in life in quote I discovered in 2009.
Each day when I awake I know I have one more day to make a difference in someone’s life.
James Mann
Author
Time to circle back to this trip. My trip began with an overnight stay at the Holiday Inn Express SF Airport North. In the morning I met the breakfast attendant, an elderly woman named Jackie. In lieu of dashing to the airport to wait for my sister’s arrival I wanted to get to know Jackie.
In sitting down, I thanked Jackie by name which she was perplexed, “you are the second person to do that today”. Jackie joined the hotel 12 years ago under a different brand but is a fan of the brand, and an ambassador. Jackie works two mornings shifts a week to allow her lunch money the other days . The more we talked, the more she was intrigued, who was this stranger listening to her. What appreciation I had for Jackie’s walk of life when she posed an interesting question.
“Have you heard of Undercover Boss, are you from that?” I frequently watch the show, more enlightening at it’s series start, I was stumped by the question. “You used my name, asked me about working here, not many people care that much, I am thinking to myself, you must be Undercover Boss”. A chuckle in my response, I confirmed I was not connected to the show, but was also an employee of IHG. I shared how much I appreciated her, a genuine thank you, and she wished me a wonderful day.
Now that we are leaving reality TV behind us, let’s join the clergy? Barbara was the flight leader on our Delta flight to Atlanta from San Francisco. In passing through the galley, Barbara asked if I was a member of the clergy. Clergy? Perplexed, had alcohol, traveling with my sister, unsure why she would think that. We talked for a bit, she explained she thought I was potentially in the church because I expressed a genuine interest in her, appreciated her, used her name and engaged with her directly. In passing, my sister explained that I was in the hospitality industry which for Barbara, that explained it.
Now that we have walked away from Undercover Boss, opted to not pursue the clergy, let’s revisit California. A young french mother of two young kids was boarding the Eurostar to Paris. The steps were high, the bags were big, and her hands were full. I retrieved her bags from the platform and stowed them away. I brought her other items to her seat. as full, another rider of 3 had luggage, two young kids, and in need of settling. I thought nothing the more of it, mid travel she pardoned to interrupt us with a question, “Are you from California?”
This being my third moment of inspiration in just the first 3 days, she explained, “I was in California last year, the people were so nice, you were so helpful, you must be from California. People in Europe don’t do that for others”. My sister and I briefly talked about chivalry and the world we are in. While being originally from California I don’t believe that’s the connection.
It all comes back to – The Human Element. Read: A Journey to define The Human Element (THE) . Jackie, Barbara or the young french mother cost me nothing and made me richer in life.
Each day YOU have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of other, if you miss that moment, it may not come around again. Pay it forward, use peoples name and never assume peoples walks of life, never discount them and appreciate everyone you come in contact with.
Mantra: man-tra (noun) – (Originally in Hinduism and Buddhism) A word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation.
A Vedic hymn
a statement or slogan repeated frequently
I often thought the phrase Happy Monday was an oxymoron. For those in the corporate world, it’s the start of the work week and conclusion of the short two day break. The past thirty days has forever changed my perspective on life which will continue to ignite my pursuit in the better of humanity.
People have asked what changed? Did I attend a course on finding myself or attend a religious institution? Neither, but I experienced firsthand one of the most selfless demonstration of compassion from complete strangers that united from around the globe for Postcards For Parker, Relay for Life Challenge . In just 19 days, Parker Eckburg became a household name for 100’s, receiving 3,000+ Postcards and $14,500 raised in donation to Relay for Life. I never imagined one random thought to make a big difference. I’d like to shed some light on the night that changed my life.
Experiencing a restless night, I glanced through twitter stumbling across a tweet by Life Coach Jordan Bach. The post prompted me to spend hours more awake exploring different aspects of life. The Parker phenomena idea came to fruition the next day. I also have recently expanded outside my comfort zone by partaking in therapy. I view that time solely dedicated to challenging myself and at times facing uncomfortable realizations. From a career aspect I sought out a mentor who asked me the overly complicated simple question, what will be your brand in 5 years. All of these combined illuminated my mind, I felt like a single tree standing strong amidst a starry night.
Last Sunday I felt a deep personal connection to a quote by the Dalai Lama XIV. I felt every word resonate to my guiding principle, to use each day to make a difference in at least one person’s life. I was fortunate to shake the hand of the Dalai Lama while working task force at a hotel in 2004.
The next morning (last Monday), I began a ritual of reading the quote aloud as the start of a new daily morning motivation. I have no plans of memorizing the words, discussing with others, or speaking it aloud with others present. Somedays I speak the words twice to strike my core hard to ensure I remain mindful of my ability to impact the world around me.
“Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others; to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”
~ Dalai Lama XIV
Challenge: When you awake you most likely find yourself thinking of the tasks at hand, schedule before you, dog to feed, kids to tend to. In the next week, find a word, a passage a quote that resonates with you. allow it to be your morning mantra.
(Photo: April 09, 2005, Mauna Kea Summit, Big Island)
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