Worlde No. 2

My first Wordle...

Happy New Year 2009

This is the first year in a very long time (if ever) that I have welcomed the new year alone (well, except for the cats). I'm not complaining. My husband is as near as the phone or text - he just had to work tonight so we didn't get to celebrate together - but virtually (so to speak).

I suppose, given my solitude, it seems appropriate to take the opportunity to reflect - especially as I celebrated my 40th birthday this year.

I've had the opportunity to grow in many ways - new challenges at work keep me engaged and my intellect sharp. But I've also struggled with some setbacks related to my health, and I hope that the new year will bring new ways in which to manage those issues so I can feel healthier.

In the wake of an exciting election year, I've found my interest in politics (which I generally avoided) engaged - especially as it relates to leadership - which has always been a passion and interest of mine and the word that has been spoken most often this last year - hope - has been rekindled. I've always considered myself an realistic optimist, but found that particular savings account being drawn against once too often - hope was something I needed to fund again and I think it has been, even given the tough roads ahead for all us - locally, nationally and globally.

I've been finding the strength to make difficult decisions about standing my ground about issues that need to be fought for - ones that I've always believed in but struggled to find a way to support - that inaction sends a louder message than action, especially when the action should be to counteract negativity in any form.

I've begun to wonder if I can continue to live with the ambiguity I have cultivated in my choice of professions, and if it isn't time to seek something with more structure (and less stress). But as I shared just recently, it has always been the ambiguity that keeps me young and young and heart - with all it's unknowns and opportunity for curious exploration - the journey - not the destination.

I don't have any new year resolutions to make because the path I need to follow will emerge with each step I take towards it - again the journey, not the destination.

I feel blessed to be where I am today, who I am today and with whom I am today.

On turning 40...

Today is my 40th birthday. I find it hard to reconcile the fact that I am at this place in my life. I don't feel 40 and certainly don't think I look it (whatever looking 40 might actually be). I am such a very different person that I planned to be 20 years ago. Those seemingly unexpected change of life events, both the good and the not so very good, have shaped my journey to today. While there are moments in my life that I am not proud of, for the most part I am surprised and delighted by the person I have become. I have accomplished more than I thought possible 20 years ago, in 20 years. It seems the last 5 have brought the most surprises - acquiring and learning new skills which have become small passions; stretching myself as a professional, becoming both student and teacher; finding a degree of peace within myself which has allowed me to develop connections to others that I would not have once found possible. I have few, really if any, regrets. The path I've walked along hasn't always been straight or without it's foggy moments. But I stand here, not quite at midlife, looking back and finding that I am content with where I am and who I came to be. I stand here, not quite at midlife, looking forward and finding that I am still excited about where I am going and who I might become.

Source unknown...
Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400.
It carries over no balance from day to day.
Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do?
Draw out every cent, of course?
Each of us has such a bank.
It's name is TIME.Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good purpose.
It carries over no balance.
It allows no over draft.
Each day it opens a new account for you.
Each night it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no drawing against "tomorrow.
You must live in the present on today's deposits.
Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!
The clock is running!!
Make the most of today.
To realise the value of one year, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realise the value of one month, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
To realise the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realise the value of one hour, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realise the value of one minute, ask a person who just missed a train.
To realise the value of one second, ask someone who just avoided an accident.
To realise the value of one millisecond, ask the person who won a silver medal at the olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have!
And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with.
And remember time waits for no one.
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.

On teaching...

...leadership. "Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it." I've always wanted to teach leadership in a formal classroom setting and I've been given the opportunity to do so this year. However, what I'm teaching, and how I'm teaching it isn't exactly in line with my preferred style. Weaving readings from the humanities, film and reflections on both current and historical leaders around the theory of transformational leadership is quite challenging. I've also been asked to serve as on the steering committee for both a local leadership program and our new campus program. The challenge with the new campus program is that it is centered around a leadership theory (Senge) I'm quite unfamiliar with, and not sure that I even agree with. Still, I wanted opportunities to share my expertise and stretch myself - and here I am. I got what I wished for!

frustrating...

...so our CC created a blog so that employees could post their recommending reading for the summer. I go to the blog and can see what everyone is recommending, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how to add my own recommendation - and the help menus are pointless. I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to talk to the creator to see how one posts. Bummer.

First things first

I already have a blog - it's on livejournal. And I have not one, but two myspace pages that also have blogs options. But for some insane reason (and probably because I self identify as a girl geek) I decided I need yet another place to post my ramblings. I haven't yet decided what will end up here. It's a work in progress.