Two Roads Diverged

Once again I find myself with one foot planted shakily in two worlds. My final paper for the program is overdue. And an opportunity presented itself at work that I couldn't refuse. So I find myself trying to optimize my life and mostly just feeling like the rope in a tug of war.

If only I had three feet.

CIGO 17 Dodecahedron

In My Life

Rose and I had a productive conversation last night. She came up with some terrific insights into 'traditional' OD approaches in contrast with Appreciative Inquiry. She should write an article!

Rose and I met as freshmen at Case in January 1979. We were reflecting on that period last night. It seems so strange and beautiful that we're still friends, that we're still involved with Case, that Case is the center of the OB universe in some ways, and that we're both now connected to that universe. Who could have imagined it 27 years ago?

Jim Croce Was So Right

I wish I had all day to reflect on yesterday's events, but I do not. For the last two days I have been in Cleveland with my CIGO friends, a smattering of MPOD classmates, and Danielle.

I write a little bit about the day here.

At some point yesterday I used the word "converging" to describe how I feel about all the different threads of my thinking and experiences coming together in the last few weeks. I don't know that I can explain what I mean in a rational, left-brain-thinking style. My interests in OD, Zen Buddhism, consciousness . . . suddenly it all begins to point in the same direction - to align to some unseen polarity. But polarity is not the right word, because that implies an opposite pole.

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do
Once you find them

Damn! I wish I had more time to reflect!

Aspiration and Affirmation

Today I think and say the best about people. I appreciate the good. I vibrate with positive, conscious energy and light. I am grateful.

Not like yesterday.

Help!

I don't know how to get everything done in time for graduation.

Don't Know Much About . . .

Check out this class at Stanford! What I'd give to be a part of this!


When people ask me what I'd do if I won the lottery, I always say that I'd travel from university to university auditing all the best courses from all the best minds in the world. This course is definitely on my short list!

Mr. EB

Kick procrastination's a**: Run a dash | 43 Folders

This has actually worked for me, especially when it comes to 'assigned' reading in textbooks.

Kick procrastination's as**: Run a dash | 43 Folders

I tell myself that all I need to do is read one chapter or for some set amount of time - say 45 minutes or an hour. That lets me off the hook if the text is just terrible - I know it's got to end at some (predefined) point!

Easter Weekend

Ed is taking down the Christmas tree.
The kids are playing computer games.
I'm working on my field project paper.

This could be any weekend in January, but it isn't. It's April 15.

Smile, Though Your Heart is Aching

There was a tree-planting ceremony at the K-1 building for Ian yesterday. The first graders sang a song and recited a poem they had composed in his honor and memory. Each of the kids got a chance to place a shovelful of dirt on the pink flowering crabapple. They did a great job, and most of the tears came from the moms, dads, and teachers in attendance, not the kids.

Ian loved Hershey bars, so his big sister Ally gave a full-sized Hershey bar to each friend who came to help plant the tree. It was a bittersweet farewell.

Kill It With Formality

Today the boss's boss quoted his boss to us. The boss's boss's boss told the boss's boss that in order to communicate correctly and thoroughly, "Kill it with formality."

The boss's boss communicated this to us all with no sense of irony.

At this point, I think killing it with formality is the company mantra. The sad thing is, formality is a broad-spectrum pesticide. Along with uncertainty and indecision, it kills innovation and joy.

Zeitgeist

I'm reading A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink. So far it's a fun read. It reminds me of Blink in some ways - I think it references some of the same research.

All You Need is . . .

I love my life! I love my possibilities! I couldn't have said that 2 years ago.

Commencing Countdown, Engines On

For several weeks I've been debating which activities I would attend during commencement. I've been trying to decide if I should participate in the university convocation, which occurs Sunday morning around 9:00 a.m.

While it's not all that early, the payoff for family and friends probably isn't worth the effort to get there on time and sit for several hours listening to speeches and solemn music. I wanted to go, but I didn't want to put all of my loved ones through all of that.

There's a quieter, more personal commencement held for Weatherhead graduates at 4:00 that afternoon. That's where the graduate (me!) walks across the stage and receives her diploma. Graduates are also welcome to have family walk across the stage with them at this event. I most certainly want "everyone" to be at that one.

As I agonized over missing the morning commencement, it dawned on me that for some reason I must need to be there. There would have been no agony over the decision otherwise. As I considered that, I realized that I wanted and needed to attend that event for closure. I never graduated from Case as an undergraduate, and this must be what's tugging at me. Regrets over my withdrawal from Case as an undergraduate live on in me . . . 26 years later! Life is too long. I know I disappointed my father, especially, when I dropped out way back when. Maybe this is one way of making it up to him.

So whether or not my classmates, my family, or my friends are there at the university-wide commencement Sunday morning, I will be there. I'll be reflecting on the 26 years that have passed since I dropped out, and I'll be thinking about my dad.

Look for both of us there.

Eight Days a Week

I can hardly believe it has been 8 days since I last posted her on my primary blog. I've written a few posts in my IFP Journal, but those are mostly whiny complaints about my field project.

Today Murph turned me on to YackPack . . . I'm excited to try it out! It's asynchronous voice communication - something like an audio version of email. Very cool!