Faith & Life Inspirational Message

This inspiration is rooted in a rather serendipitous time I recently had with some athletes, coaches and a professional music composer.   While it is not unusual for me to hang out with athletes and coaches, there typically is not a music composer thrown into the mix!   But he added a tremendous leavening effect to the dialogue and spurred me to thinking about things about which I normally would not.          The intent of the meeting was straightforward.   If people who are not in the same fields or who are not alike spend time together, new and different conversations are likely to happen and, possibly, new ideas arise.   I am sure we would have to do it more than one time, but that one time was enough to suggest the possibilities.   And they were exciting.   And even more, it was a great deal of fun.             I was fascinated to listen to the music composer...

One of the things I have learned from my involvement in the world of innovation is to be open and attentive to what might come from unexpected places.   I don’t see myself as highly creative, but I do think I have been innovative.   Certainly, being innovative is one form of creativity.             One thing I have done for much of my life is to read papers, magazines and other resources.   Recently, I heard an innovator say that he spent a half hour each day just reading things that had little or nothing to do with his area of work.   In my case that would mean spending a half hour each day randomly reading things that had nothing to do with spirituality or religion.   I am not sure I spend a half hour doing it, but I do spend some time.             Another thing I have done is to expand the resources that I read.   Thanks to a younger friend...

What a trio of words we have in the title of this inspirational essay.   Work, creativity, and caring are all weighty words alone.   But together they are heavyweights!   These words come packaged in the last paragraph of the book, The Active Life , by my friend, Parker Palmer.   This is a book I have used in class, as well as the Soul Work group I lead on campus.   In essence, it is a book, which tries to teach us who are involved in the active life how to be contemplatives.   To those of us in the active life, it always seems easier to think about becoming a contemplative---that is, living life from the perspective of contemplation---if we could run off and join a monastery.   But obviously, most of us are not going to do that.             So I appreciate Palmer’s effort to show me how, as I live an active life on campus, to live my life contemplatively.   This is where that last paragrap...

I very much enjoy reading things that make me think.  When I hit one of these pieces of literature, I realize how much my own routine imprisons my creativity and imagination.  I certainly do not think routine is bad.  I like my routine.  It makes me feel quite comfortable.  By nature routine is predictable and knowable.  There is usually a sense of security with our routines.  That is fine with me. But I also know there is another facet of life that is just as intriguing.  The other facet of life points to the imaginative---the creative and innovative.  It is the side of life that is not routine.  It may be moments of serendipity.  It involves the unexpected and, even, the unanticipated.  Surprise is the dominant feature of this side of life.  I am drawn to this part of life, but I also confess it makes me somewhat uneasy and a little nervous.  It makes me feel more vulnerable than secure. I have been reading some...