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Issue № 106
Wonder
The parable of the tortoise and hare is eternal. The simple story illuminates the pitfalls of laziness and hubris. It also suggests there can be important perspective shifts when we ask, “How fast should I be going?” and, “Am I going in the right direction?” Today we live in a society structured to promote early bloomers.…
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Issue № 105
The flame
Have you read Quiet by Susan Cain? It was a quake-book for me; but I think you have to be an introvert to get that effect from it. If I had to summarize its point, it would be that introversion is about how one recharges and not—as commonly described—about how one shows up around others.…
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Issue № 104
Best intentions
With just a few repetitions, even our best intentions slip from our grasp. There’s an old Steve Martin skit where he begins with, “If I could have one wish this holiday season, it would be that all the children of the world join hands and sing in harmony.” It’s a raucous send-up of saccharine, holiday,…
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Issue № 103
I know what to do
I really do know what it is that I should be doing. I can tell you that it often feels like it will be soul-crushing work. Which really doesn’t make sense when I take the time to think about it. As I turn over each ‘should’ in my mind, they’re all things I want to…
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Issue № 102
Crunch time
We have a vision of The Thing we’re about to do. You know The Thing I mean. It can be in progress now, due tomorrow or just off in the future a bit. It’s the writing, the painting, that podcast episode, the project at work, the family you’re thinking about starting, or the exam at…
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Issue № 101
A quiet place
I get frustrated when it becomes apparent that my hard-won knowledge had a limited lifespan. I’m left trying to pound square pegs into round holes. Take goal-setting for example; in the beginning of my journey I had no knowledge about how to set goals, later I learned how to set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic,…
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Issue № 100
7 books
From the first issue of 7 for Sunday, I’ve always wondered if I’d make it to 100, and I’m glad I stuck with it. Some weeks it was a right struggle to get it done. In a very real sense, knowing there were readers out there gave me a goal to get through some dark…
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Issue № 99
The dark forest
The creative journey, writ small, is sometimes (Ira Glass among others) described in six or so steps. They go as follows: I used to think I wasn’t really a “creative” person; Sure, I would always have agreed that I was creative, in the “good at problem solving” sense… but creative? …you mean like an artist?!…
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Issue № 98
Fertile ground
It really matters that you start. It doesn’t matter where you start; Start where you are (in your years, your journey, your beliefs) and lean into the first thing which sparks a question within you. Benevolence and self-direction […] are usually near the top of the values we all share. Each of us also has…
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Issue № 97
Challenge of perspective
The other day I took out a small, blank slip of paper. Then, thinking “what are the areas of focus in my life?” I tried to come up with the fewest number of areas. I wrote the first one that came to mind, and then I left some space. Then I wrote a second area,…