Blood, Sweat, and Tears

This week I am very grateful for the gift of a new friendship.

Yes, we have been neighbors for nearly a year and have willingly spent a few minutes in over-the-fence-hey-how-are-you-conversations during the past 12 months. But this time, a spur-of-the-moment decision led us to spend a couple of hours talking.   

NOTE: This was not a result of any Mediterranean Egg Salad distribution.  But since I’ve opened this topic, I think I will change that plan by replacing the egg salad for Smores.  As I was thinking about it, I wondered how many people would appreciate some homemade item dropped off at their door from someone they really don’t know. And since it’s summer, leaving a dish made with mayonnaise outside in the heat also seemed like potential trouble. In my head, I was hearing, "Danger, Will Robinson." Smores will probably be a safer and more acceptable plan. 

Anyway, back to my new friend and the real reason for writing.

I See Them Everywhere

Recently a friend bought a new car.  Suddenly, I am noticing that “his” car (Make, model, and color) is everywhere!  This always seems to happen, and I have always wondered why this is true.  

I decided to check it out.  Scientifically, this is called the “Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon”. Wikipedia states that:

“Frequency illusion, also known as the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon, is a cognitive bias in which, after noticing something for the first time, there is a tendency to notice it more often, leading someone to believe that it has a high frequency (a form of selection bias).”

Look East

"Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim
One more light the bowl shall brim,
Shining beyond the frosty weather,
Bright as sun and moon together.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the star, is on the way."      

Lyrics Credit:  Stanza 4 from People Look East written by Eleanor Farjeon 

       

Perhaps this article would have been best served a few weeks ago, but I didn’t know that “East” would be my ‘Word of the Year’. 

Let's begin.

Recently created family art-work, a Spanish painter named Antoni Tapies born in 1923, and a hymn written in 1871, were all factors that inspired today’s musings.  Intertwining these seemingly unconnected elements will be my goal this morning.

Getting Better Mileage

I have a gauge in my car that instantly provides the calculation for my current miles per gallon statistic.  I’ve noticed that when I keep my eye on this gauge, I end up with better mileage for my trip.  The reverse seems also to be true.  It feels like I’m able to change the mileage just by looking at it.

What is going on here?  Could it be possible that the pressure exerted to the foot depressing the gas pedal is subject to whether or not I am looking at the gauge?  Or perhaps the anticipation of looking at the gauge determines the pressure I apply to the pedal

I SEE You

There is a way to:

• Have better relationships with your sales contacts.
• Have better relationships with your team.
• Have better relationships with your employees.
• Have better relationships with your family and friends.
• Have better relationships with random strangers.

Another Lesson from Madam Secretary

Two complimentary lessons - in one morning!

You already know I read a number of blogs.  I'm fussy because my inbox is already filled with over 100 emails every day.  But there are a number of them that I look forward to.  They remind me, they teach and they inspire on a pretty regular basis.

At 6:00 AM today:
Skipping the Nuance from A Learning a Day
  

Writing can be many things. It can be a medium with which we drive change. It can feed our soul. With every piece of content we share, we decide whether we want to raise the standard of discussion or lower it. And, we do all of this by putting a piece of ourselves out there.

It was the 'feed our soul' comment that made me sit up, take another sip of coffee and pause to consider why I've written these little blurbs - and why I've been neglectful for so long.  I didn't come to a solution.  But the fact that I recognized that I missed writing because I miss feeding my soul made me a little sad.