A One-Week Mission To Bring Cheer
--posted by brighteyes on Oct 30, 2009
There's a woman I work with who is very shy. She doesn't usually share much about herself so I don't know her very well. At the beginning of the week, a group of my co-workers and I were gathered around the water fountain. This woman was there too. usually she is fairly quiet, but today she was unloading all her woes.....I listened (without interrupting) while she shared her many concerns and life challenges with the group. Some of the group rolled their eyes or tried to change the subject I suspected because they did not want their precious break time spent on someone else's problems. I could tell she was really stressed and disheartened. Even, her appearance spoke volumes - her posture was poor with slumped shoulders, she has deep furrow lines on her forehead, her eyes had no sparkle and she had dark circles. She seemed to be surrounded by a dark cloud.
She needed to resolve her issues personally, but I decided I could bring her sunshine by becoming her personnal CHEER-LEADER every day this week!
I began my cheer mission that Monday itself. I went out at lunch to buy a card. I found a fantastic card covered in huge sunflowers with a bright yellow envelope. It was blank inside so I wrote some encouraging words and included a fantastic inspirational story and quote that I clipped from a magazine. I taped it to her computer before others were due back from lunch so she would see it as soon as she got back to her desk.
Tuesday, I wrapped a sunflower pin in brightly colored tissue and enclosed a smiley stick-um. I attached a note which instructed her to wear the pin when she needed a lift, some sunshine in her life. I explained in the note that sunflowers are a symbol for cheerfulness and hope. I also added a second note which said that someone was praying for her - sending her rainbows and wishing her well.
Today - I got in early and left some homemade baked goodies for her to munch with her coffee. I also left her a bunch of jokes and laugh notes to cheer her up.
Thursday, tomorrow, I will go in early again before she arrives, and I will leave a small potted flowering plant to enhance her work cubicle space. The flowers are yellow.
As for Friday, I am still thinking about it ...I need something to end the week with a BAM! so it has to be the best one.
I didn't sign my name on any of the gifts nor have I asked her about them BUT I can see that she is smiling more and now has more of a spring to her step so it looks like my little surprises are bringing some much needed sunshine to her cloudy days.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Three steps
A Season to Renew
--posted by sethi on Oct 8, 2009
As the new season of autumn approaches, let us consider not only the outward changes of renewal in nature as we see the color of leaves change, but also look to the renewals in our relationships and honoring the needed changes that need to take place within them.
Listen now, to the words of a revered sage, as he imparts wisdom on refreshing our relationships.
Our thoughts,words, and actions often cause harm to others and to us. Renewing our relationships on a regular basis is an important practice. Without reconciliation, we cannot deepen our understanding and we only cause more suffering .
Every week we have the time to go to the cinema, to go shop, but we rarely find the time to renew the relationships with the people who are close to us. " Begining Anew " is a practice of reconciliation. It involves three steps - sharing, appreciation, expressing regret , and expressing hurt and difficulties .
In the first step, we share appreciation. We acknowlege the positive attributes of the other person. The second step of expressing regret is the oppourtunity to share with the other person, our regrets for the things we have done or said that might have caused him or her pain.
This requires humility and the willingness to let go of our own pain and pride . In the third step of, we express our own hurt with mindful loving speech, without blaming or criticizing. We speak in such a way that the other person can listen and receive our words . If we blame and condemn the other person, his heart will close and he will not be able to hear us. We ask the other person to help us to understand why he has spoken and acted as he has, causing us so much pain. Perhaps, later, he can share his feelings so that we can understand him more deeply. If a strong emotion arises in us while we are expressing our suffering, we should simply stop and come back to our breathing until the emotion subsides. The other person can support us by following his breathing until we are ready to continue . We can enjoy practicing " Begining Anew " with our partner, our family, or our colleagues regularly. By doing this, we will prevent misunderstandings from accumulating. Rather, we will take care of them as they arise, like we take care of our children.
By : Thich Nahat Hanh
--posted by sethi on Oct 8, 2009
As the new season of autumn approaches, let us consider not only the outward changes of renewal in nature as we see the color of leaves change, but also look to the renewals in our relationships and honoring the needed changes that need to take place within them.
Listen now, to the words of a revered sage, as he imparts wisdom on refreshing our relationships.
Our thoughts,words, and actions often cause harm to others and to us. Renewing our relationships on a regular basis is an important practice. Without reconciliation, we cannot deepen our understanding and we only cause more suffering .
Every week we have the time to go to the cinema, to go shop, but we rarely find the time to renew the relationships with the people who are close to us. " Begining Anew " is a practice of reconciliation. It involves three steps - sharing, appreciation, expressing regret , and expressing hurt and difficulties .
In the first step, we share appreciation. We acknowlege the positive attributes of the other person. The second step of expressing regret is the oppourtunity to share with the other person, our regrets for the things we have done or said that might have caused him or her pain.
This requires humility and the willingness to let go of our own pain and pride . In the third step of, we express our own hurt with mindful loving speech, without blaming or criticizing. We speak in such a way that the other person can listen and receive our words . If we blame and condemn the other person, his heart will close and he will not be able to hear us. We ask the other person to help us to understand why he has spoken and acted as he has, causing us so much pain. Perhaps, later, he can share his feelings so that we can understand him more deeply. If a strong emotion arises in us while we are expressing our suffering, we should simply stop and come back to our breathing until the emotion subsides. The other person can support us by following his breathing until we are ready to continue . We can enjoy practicing " Begining Anew " with our partner, our family, or our colleagues regularly. By doing this, we will prevent misunderstandings from accumulating. Rather, we will take care of them as they arise, like we take care of our children.
By : Thich Nahat Hanh
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