Living In The Moment

From time to time I find myself in the position of office therapist, shhhhhhh, I secretly love being placed in that role. I have a deep deep passion for helping others, this gives me an opportunity to share tools I have gathered along my self seeking journey, and lastly I love to listen. A past boss once told me ‘God gave me one mouth and two ears, I use them in the portions for which I have them, my ears twice as much as my mouth’. Not only did that conversation stick with me and I find myself using similar statements many years later, I also live by it. You see for me, the lifelong student, the gatherer of knowledge, I love to hear about people’s lives, their journeys, their hopes, their dreams, their struggles, their triumphs, their losses, their loves. I love to gather knowledge and use that knowledge to help them use their voice, follow their dreams, overcome their struggles, and live the life they deserve to live. Today I had a candid conversation with a friend in which they were seeking advice on how to overcome a frustration. The conversation went something like this: Do people who ‘play it by ear’ bother you? Situations in which people used the ‘play it by ear’ card use to bug me A LOT but I more understanding to it now. What changed to make you more understanding towards it? It seems to me people who use these statements are trying to maintain maximum flexibility in case something else comes up that’s more exciting. Living in the moment and also realizing that everyone lives their life differently is what has allowed me the understanding I needed to see situations like this more clearly. I needed to appreciate that just because I tend to not ‘play it by ear’ does not mean that is right or wrong, everyone is different and the choices they make in their life are different. That is a good way of looking at it, but the other is also true Could you possibly try looking at it from the perspective of flexibility, maybe focusing on opportunity as opposed to waiting for something better? I believe you may very well be correct, in some cases people are possibly leaving themselves wide open for something better. Yet there are plenty of other valid reasons for the state of ‘playing it by ear’; people have a hard time committing, people have different personalities, ect. Very true, thanks you. I will fill you in on a little secret. The more you let yourself live in the moment, only concern yourself with what you can control, and realize people are people; we all have amazing assets we bring to the table and also characteristics that are not so desirable. Once you can begin to implement this secret, life begins to be a bit more bearable and people are easier to understand and appreciatation for our differences is shared. Love, JB

The Intersection

Last week I attended a leadership conference; more specifically a women’s success forum. The day started with a keynote from Jane Pauley and continued on an exceptional track thereafter. I had many aha moments, many flashes of wonderful leaders & some poor leaders, thoughts of many people whom are in leadership positions that should not be….not to mention any names, government officials. It was a day of unmatched knowledge, blessings, comradely, and an all around eye opening experience. Here are a few key notes of insight I was able to take away. 1) Leadership is the act of using your gifts in a purposeful and powerful way 2) Inspiration is everywhere you just have to be looking for it 3) Be willing to say yes to something that is new, challenging, and/or a long shot 4) You find the path to reinvention at the intersection of where your gifts and passion meet 5) Don’t leave a career position until you have to opportunity to lead 6) Don’t trade wholeness for approval 7) The word listen has the same letters as the word silent 8) A grateful heart knows many joys As I sat and reflected, I came to realize, for the 76th time, I do not have the personality cut out for the corporate world. I have the drive, the dedication, and the love for what I do. But I do not have the tolerance for lacking integrity, failing truths, and trampling others as the corporate ladder is climbed. I have a passion for people, for kindness, for grace, for peacefulness. My aha moment was that of where my life will lead over the next few years. I will not share at this time what that journey will look like because let’s be honest when we try to plan things out God has a funny way of helping us to not follow that plan exactly. But I welcome you to stop in on this blog and go on this journey with me, through the highs and lows as I find that intersection where my gifts and passion meet. ‘When you discover your passions you light up your heart. When you live it you light up the entire world.’ JB

Day at the Denver Zoo

The weekend was more than busy, appointments, a move, cleaning of the old apartment, and somewhere in between a trip to the zoo. My little really wanted to go to the zoo, and I simply can’t say no to my little. Also, like anywhere at the current moment as the seasons are changing, it is a tossup as to whether Denver is going to have nice weekend of weather or a snowy weekend. That said I found a way to fit a trip to the zoo into a weekend that also involved a move across town. Unlike our nation’s capital, the Denver Zoo is not free and being like to engage in low cost or no cost activities I had never even thought about the zoo. As it turns out, it is really not that pricey for a day of fun, sun, smelly animals, cute babies, great walking, and did I mention smelly animals. Here is the day through the eye of a lens.

Signing Off -

I am Thankfull

I think if we all dig down deep into our souls, hearts, and minds we would discover we are pretty darn blessed. There is not a day that goes by that I do not wake up and thank God for the many blessings in my life, my job being one of the top. I am thankful for my co-workers; they are amazing coaches, amazing leaders, funny, personable, and kind. They help me to grow, learn, and encourage me to be the best professional I can be.

I am thankful I do not deep sea fish, clean windows on high-rise buildings or clean porta potties. Let’s be honest I am thankful my job does not require me to clean anything especially bodily fluids. Rather we have craft hours at our office.

I am thankful that co-workers become friends, and quickly become best friends.

I am thankful that I get to meet people from all over the globe, learn about different cultures, experience different personalities, and one day travel to far off places.

I am thankful I can pay for the roof over my head, the shoes on my feet, the food in my belly, and the clothes on my body. I am thankful for the team building experience I am able to participate in from Dragon Boat races, to ball games, to happy hours, to DaVita sponsored events.

I am thankful for the people, the job, and the company that I have the opportunity to devote 8-12 hours of my day to.

Opening Game

It is not a secret that I am not a huge fan of professional sports. Even though college football is the oxygen to my fall months, I still do not really like professional football. That being said when you are a big sister for Big Brothers Big Sisters and number 18 himself (Payton Manning for those of you not from the Denver area) provides you with NFL open game tickets you smile, take the tickets, and do a happy dance inside because there are people who would sell their soul to the devil for these tickets. Let me take a quick min to brag on my little, she is smart as a tack, beautiful inside and out, and has a great personality. You see in order for us to get these high demand tickets my little had to write an essay about bullying at school and how to decrease the frequency of such cowardly behavior. Her essay WON!!

The morning of September 5, 2013 I put on my one and only Broncos shirt, luckily the mayor requested everyone paint Denver ‘orange’ on this specific day so I got to wear jeans and a t-shirt to the office. I left work a tad early, dealt with the horrific traffic in order to pick up my little. We rode the light rail, the first time ever for me, back into town. You see I do not like traffic and I figured for my own sanity and for the livelihood of all those on the road it would be best if I simply parked at a light rail station and rode the train which as it turned out dropped off us nearly at the front door of Mile High Stadium. As we departed the train, it looked like rain and with my luck regarding rain and football I anticipated a huge downpour delaying the game for hours. You may think I am being dramatic, however, the last time I was at a football game in which it rained it was the OSU/TU game in 2011 and there was a 3 hour rain delay. This caused the game to kickoff after midnight; I quickly began praying to the rain god’s that we would not be encountering a storm of such epic proportions this time around. Luckily kickoff occurred 45 mins following the original slated time.

It rained, it lightening, it rained some more, we got wet, it got humid, it got smelly, but the Broncos won in a sweet sweet victory over the Raven’s.

This was a sweet redemption for the Broncos and the town of Denver being the Raven’s knocked them out of Super Bowl contention last year.

My little and I had a great time along with every other fan!

Deluge

I was awoken this morning at 5:30 to a weather phone alter, apparently it rained a little while I was sleeping….and when I say a little I mean 3-7” depending on where ones lives. Schools were closed, universities were closed, roads were closed, and I felt my brain needed to be closed for the day as well. However, I didn’t get any notification that my brain could have the day off so I pull myself out of bed on this rainy socked in day and venture into the office. While driving in I realized a few things: 1) If there is any sort of moisture coming from the sky people all of sudden go into ‘I forgot how to drive’ mode. Although caution should be used while driving we need not forget how to operate an automobile, and if you are one that neglects to remember the rules of the roads when wet than it may be best to call in sick and let the rest of us drive in peace. 2) If it is pouring and the best way to get from point A to point B is via the germ tube (aka the free shuttle) check the seat before sitting down. There is chance it might be soaking wet and you will stand up with a discolored backside. 3) It is never fun for a fire to start in the office building during a day with record rain fall. There are many things I can think I would rather do than huddle under an umbrella in the pouring rain. Luckily the fire was put out and we were all able to stand under blow driers before returning back to work. 4) I am more than thankful for my job that allows me to stay inside all day if I want. I think everyone around me is also very happy for this life choice, for you see if I get wet in anything other than workout clothes I turn green and mean. 5) I thought I moved from Oregon to Oklahoma to Colorado. I thought I lived in a state that had over 300 days of sunshine a year. I thought I lived in the mile high city, far far away from humidity. I thought this morning I woke up back in Oregon. Signing off from the Barrington Ark

Beautiful People Do Not Just Happen

For those of you who were blessed to experience August 28, 1963 in our nation’s history, I am sure you are sitting here today wondering how that could have possibly been 50 years ago. ‘I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sister and brothers. I have a dream today.’ Martin Luther King Jr. was a beautiful soul. A man of such character, passion, and enthusiasm to change the dichotomy with which our nation resided. It is sad to me that after 50 we still face division in parts of our country. I challenge all of us to think deeply about the words that were spoken 50 years ago today and focus closely on words which this nation itself was founded on ‘that all men are created equal’. I will close with a quote I saw today, which seemed quite fitting…… ‘The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen’. Martin Luther King was in fact a magnificently beautiful person.