My stop then go kid & what I learned from buying a spatula

January 20th, 2011

I have two kids.  One is an extremer Stop Life Lens™ and 1 is an extremer Go Life Lens™.

My youngest stops, then pauses, pauses some more and then goes.  Surprises?  Nix ’em.  He doesn’t like them.  He’s a pro at weighing the pros and cons, reflecting and thinking about things.

He’s a “muser”.

While it can be tough to get him to try something new, once he’s in he’s IN.  No waffling.  No debating.  Count him in.

He’s currently into cooking.  Recently we went shopping for some cooking supplies for him.  He spent 15 minutes debating the merits of one spatula over another.

  • how long would it last?
  • how good would it be at picking stuff up?
  • specifically would the shape of the pick up edge part make any difference (who knew there were so many parts to a spatula)?
  • what did the cut out design (on the picker-upper part) on one have over another? (did you know there are different cut out designs?  I didn’t.)
  • what was the right price to spend?
  • how did it feel in his hand?

It was a fascinating tour through the mind of a Stop Life Lensâ„¢ and the gifts they bring …. contemplation, reflection and musing.

By the way, he got a spatula that he absolutely loves.  That’s it above.  Turns out (no pun intended) it’s now my favourite too.

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Destination Aeron for the WhiteHot Truth

January 18th, 2011

12. I hold out. I waited seven weeks for my Aeron chair because I wanted grey instead of black. I sat on the floor in my living room for three months because I wanted a couch that was three inches lower than the in-store model. I went four months without any creative-type support because I hadn’t found a winner yet.

The above is from Danielle LaPorte’s Whitehot Truth blog, a post called 20 personal money perspectives & practices that took me most of my adult life to clarify.

What caught me was the eye on the horizon, ain’t going to get distracted, ain’t going to cave, laser focus.  Danielle, who I know in person, is like that.  She knows where she’s going and you just know she’s going to arrive.

That kind of commitment gathers others near.  I had no clue what an Aeron chair was before I read her post but you can bet I clicked on the link.  I wouldn’t have if Danielle hadn’t been so clear in her intention.

Destination.  That’s the gift of a Destination Life Lensâ„¢.

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We’re on a journey

January 13th, 2011

My good friend Dyana Valentine took this photo of her friend's necklace while on holiday in Big Sur.

No matter if a Journey Life Lensâ„¢ is a strong preference of yours or if you avoid it all costs (preferring a Destination Life Lensâ„¢) we’ve all got to deal.

Deal with the open road and the horizon that beckons. Find our own path that works.  For us.

Some look forward.  To the destination.

Some look around.  At the journey.

Some of us get ‘there’ faster than others, that’s the whole point no?  Gotta check it off my list and then onto another horizon.

Others meander, tracing an organic, iterative path.  You gotta stop and smell the flowers folks!

Whatever journey this new year brings, whether it’s measured, secure and contained or wild with risk and opportunities, I wish you your own form of reward.


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There’s no safe place on the body to stab someone

January 11th, 2011

Whoa!  Huh?  Say what?

There’s no safe place on the body to stab someone was the response from Michael, a 16 year old who’d just received first aid training for stab wounds.  In Liverpool, England gang members are being taught first aid as part of rehabilitation course for kids involved in knife and gun crime.

Perspective.  It’s such a slippery thing.  We think we’ve got it and then bang, someone hits you upside the head … or stabs you in the back.

It took the first aid course for Michael to truly, really, deeply consider that it makes you think because you realize you can kill someone really easily with a knife.

Michael says the course changed me life.

What a wonderful thing.  A new perspective = a new life.

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