Ripples v7.26: Ripples of ILLUMINATIONS!
Monday, June 27, 2005
a FREE weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project

PREPARE YOUSELF EMOTIONALLY!
Ripples will go on hiatus for several weeks in July….
You will need to dip into our archives for your weekly fix while Paul is on retreat!
http://www.TheRipplesProject.org/Newsletter.php

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PEBBLE =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o

It is up to you to illuminate the world.
–Phillippe Venier, Katie P., Minneapolis MN

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= BOULDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o

I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous.

I can be a tool of torture
or an instrument of inspiration,
I can humiliate or humor,
hurt or heal.

In all situations,
it is my response that decides whether
a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and
a person is humanized or de-humanized.

If we treat people as they are,
we make them worse.
If we treat people as they ought to be,
we help them become what they are capable of becoming.
-J.W. Goethe, submitted by Kristen S., Franklinville NJ

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PONDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o

There are many things beyond our control.

Many.

I bet you can think of several people and/or situations in your life right now where you feel you have no options.

Sometimes we get so frustrated, sad, angry, bewildered, obsessed about those things that we fail to notice the many ways we can impact the people and situations around us. I challenge you this week to examine one of these \"beyond my control\" occurrences and see if you can find some options that you DO have. Even when we feel forced to take a certain action, we often have a choice about how we perceive it. Illumnate those options, and see how it brightens your day!

Peace,
Paul

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Ripples v7.25: Ripples of DOING WHAT YOU LOVE!
Monday, June 20, 2005
a FREE weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project

ADVANCE WARNING!
Ripples will go on hiatus for several weeks in July….
You will need to dip into our archives for your weekly fix while Paul is on retreat!
http://www.TheRipplesProject.org/Newsletter.php

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PEBBLE =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o

There is a time when you have to separate yourself from
what other people expect of you, and do what you love.
Because if you find yourself 50 years old and
you aren\'t doing what you love–then what is the point?
-Jim Carrey, submitted by Vicki G., La Crosse WI

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= BOULDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o

Never continue in a job you don\'t enjoy.
If you\'re happy in what you\'re doing,
you\'ll like yourself,
you\'ll have inner peace.

And if you have that,
along with physical health,
you will have had more success
than you could possibly have imagined.
Johnny Carson, submitted by Linda H., Pewaukee WI

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PONDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o

I made my annual trek to New Hampshire this week to help Plymouth State University\'s new students and their parents prepare for their upcoming adventures. While there, I bipped over to Vermont to visit my friend Maura and say hello to the mountains.

Spending time with new students allowed me the opportunity to challenge them to explore a variety of possibilities before choosing a career they will love (I compare it to eating at a buffet–on the first round try a little of everything and THEN go back to focus on the things you really liked.)

Spending time with Maura, who also makes her living as an educational consultant and leadership trainer, allowed me an opportunity to acknowledge the joy I feel when I\'m on the job. She remains humble about the success in her work while celebrating her discovery of meaningful work that she deeply enjoys–and it rubs off on me. After every visit, I discover new heights of job satisfaction!

I hope that each week you are spending at least a few hours doing what you love. Some of us find it in our work and others seek it in their studies, hobbies, and/or community service. If you have it, ENJOY IT! If you\'re still seeking it, KEEP UP THE QUEST!

Peace,
Paul

p.s. If your last name begins with Q-Z (or anyone else who missed their turn over the last month!): can you take a moment this week to tell me what you like about Ripples and anything we could do to make it better? THANKS!

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Ripples v7.24: Ripples of LITTLE THINGS!
Monday, June 13, 2005
a FREE weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PEBBLE =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o

Sometimes when we are generous in small,
barely detectable ways it can change someone else\'s life forever.
Margaret Cho, submitted by Linda H., Pewaukee WI

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= BOULDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o

It really is the little things that mean the most of all…
The \"let me help you with that\" things that may seem very small,
The \"I\'ll be glad to do it\" things that make your cares much lighter,
The \"laugh with me, it\'s funny\" things that make your outlook brighter…

The \"never mind the trouble\" things, the \"yes, I understand,\"
The interest and encouragement In everything you\'ve planned…
It really is the little things, the friendly word or smile,
That add such happiness to life and make it more worth while.
-Mary Dawson Hughes, submitted by Pat S., Brooklyn WI

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PONDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o

I love milking cows and remembering that there once was a hole, a hole in the ground (and the green grass grows all around all around!).

I spent Friday morning in Waukesha, Wisconsin helping 200 high school juniors (and some remarkable staff!) get fired up for a powerful weekend known as WILS (Wisconsin Leadership Seminar). These special leaders were nominated to represent their high schools at this event and every year it seems the leadership potential of the group swells.

In addition to cheers about milking cows and songs about holes in the ground, we talked about the possibilities of saving a life. I proposed that while it may be fascinating to daydream about a time when we could dramatically save someone\'s life in an emergency situation, it may be more useful to focus on the tiny opportunities we have in every day living: offering our patience to the grocery store bagger who is struggling through his first day on the job, acknowledging a person who passes us on the street with a smile, or an unplanned kindness for a colleague/neighbor/friend who needs a lift. Some of these may seem like small gestures, but it is possible that one of those brief encounters could be a lifesaving reminder to someone that life is worth living! The more of these ripples you create, the better you will get at making them AND you increase the likelihood that one of your ripples reaches someone just in time.

If you can think of a time when a simple \"hello\" or tiny favor helped you make it through a crazy day, then you owe it to the world to pay back the debt with some LITTLE THING this week!

And hey, after some technical problems with our online community, we have switched to a different type of website bulletin board. All of our former usernames/passwords and old postings are in tact, but it should be much easier to use….so c\'mon let\'s jump back into attempting to share with each other: http://theripplesproject.org/smf/index.php?topic=163.0

Peace,
Paul

p.s. If your last name begins with L, M, N, O or P, can you take a moment this week to tell me what you like about Ripples and anything we could do to make it better? THANKS!

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Ripples v7.23: Ripples of COMMUNITY!
Monday, June 6, 2005
a FREE weekly splash from Paul & The Ripples Project

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PEBBLE =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o

Many candles can be kindled from one candle without diminishing it.
-The Midrash, submitted by Cris D., Madison WI

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= BOULDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o

How does one keep from \"growing old\" inside?
Surely the only way to make friends with time is to stay friends with people.
…Taking community seriously not only gives us the companionship we need,
it also relieves us of the notion that we are indispensable.
-Robert McAfee Brown, submitted by Katie M., Cedarville IL

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o= PONDER =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o

Crazy, fun week I had (I saw Yoda and the latest Star Wars movie–can you tell?)! I began with a fun adventure at California Polytechnic State Univ. to wrap up their volunteer training of 550 orientation leaders who pledged to assist new students as they arrive next fall. Then it was off to Michigan for a weekend with several of my grad school buddies (and their spouses and kids!). I ended my week bonding with a new friend who gave me a ride back to Madison when a storm diverted our flight to Milwaukee.

The journey provided powerful lessons about the importance of community. During the first part, I encountered hundreds of remarkable students who donate precious amounts of their time, energy and passion to help strangers with one of the most difficult transitions of their lives. On the second part, I reconnected with dear friends who helped each other through the challenges of graduate studies and have stayed in touch through a decade of developing careers, expanding families, and living busy-crazy lives. My final leg was a fantastic reminder that complete strangers can quickly become neighbors when you seize the right opportunity.

Community sometimes exists as a geographic area occupied by a group of people who develop varying degrees of interaction. More often, however, community evolves from individuals coming together by chance who then choose to carve out interdependent relationships that allow them to serve others while achieving their own goals. I hope you can spend a moment this week to appreciate and acknowledge the communities to which you belong: it could be a campus, a workplace, a neighborhood, or even a collection of old friends who need to be brought together for a reunion.

I feel blessed to include the Ripples community as one of my great sources of energy and mutual benefit….and as always I send you

Peace,
Paul

p.s. If your last name begins with F, G, H, I, J or K, can you take a moment this week to tell me what you like about Ripples and anything we could do to make it better? THANKS!

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