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Month: February 2020

008: Role model

postcard front: dreamy watercolor of three mountains in the alps
Ferdinand Hodler, “Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau above a sea of Mist” (1908)

What you want in a mentor is someone who truly cares for you and who will look after your interests and not just their own. When you do come across the right person to mentor you, start by showing them that the time they spend with you is worthwhile.     

Vivek Wadhwa 

Every minute with you was a gift.

Consider being a generous leader

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Reflection +7

scrabble tiles spelling "learn"
Image by Wokandapix / Pixabay

No plan of operations reaches with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy’s main force.

Helmuth von Moltke

In this case “the enemy” was reality (I hate when romance and reality collide).  I adore the idea of handwritten postcards, it feels so much more personal … but …

  • my handwriting is charmingly (?) idiosyncratic at the best of times.
  • the best of times is not sleep deprived and slightly hung over at 6:00 am in a hotel room just a few hours before a flight.
  • when I looked at the photos of the message side I couldn’t decipher my own handwriting. 😳
  • the postcards won’t reach their potential if they’re not delivered. Delivered to the “wrong” place is cool, but sitting in a pile of undeliverable mail is sadness.
  • in retrospect, it probably didn’t matter much that I mail them from That Particular Place.

Lessons learned from the first 7 cards posted:

  • efficacy > fantasy: it’s time to print the address, and probably also the message
  • there is no rush: no one is expecting them, so it can take as long as it takes
  • focus on outcomes: don’t let the game “from how many different places can I post these?” get in the way

I definitely owe an apology to the postal services of a few major cities (and my undying gratitude if the postcards are delivered). I should send them a postcard … one with a printed address.

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006: Trash to treasure

postcard front: empty plastic jugs squashed and turned on their sides to look like faces
David Kemp, “Released Spirits” (1989)

Wholeness does not mean perfection: it means embracing brokenness as an integral part of life. Knowing this gives me hope that human wholeness … need not be a utopian dream, if we can use devastation as a seedbed for new life.

Parker Palmer, “A Hidden Wholeness”

Learn more about neuroplasticity

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005: What will you do?

postcard front: Illustration of a girl holding a quarter moon
Eric Carle, from “Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me” (1986)

You listened with kindness and without judgement, then asked “what will you do with that knowledge?” 

The world is finding out!

Be moved by the words of (the other) Maggie Smith: poetry | twitter

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