Ripples #660: Dr. King
For our tribe of 29,772 busy people who share encouragement and gratitude.
01/16/2012

PEBBLE:
I have decided to stick with love.
Hate is too great a burden to bear.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

BOULDER:
When we take a look at modern man,
we are forced to face the fact
that modern man suffers
from a poverty of the spirit
that stands in glaring contrast
to his scientific and technological abundance.
We've learned to fly the air like birds,
we've learned to swim the seas like fish
and yet we haven't learned
to walk the earth as brothers and sisters.
-Martin Luther King, Jr., submitted by Tess in Davis, CA

PONDER:
Dr. King's dream is alive and his legacy endures, thanks to the efforts of many people who continually renew their commitment to ideals Dr. King valued: hope, love, justice, and peace.

While I was in Washington D.C. last week to fire up folks at Georgetown and George Mason Universities, I savored a visit to the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial that stands across the basin from the Jefferson Memorial. The majestic statue and wall of wisdom will forever remind us of his significant contributions to a movement that continues to improve our country and our world.

Whether or not you have time off of school/work today, I urge you to consider how our world might improve if each of us unleashed more of our passion and compassion. Dream, then do!

Peace!
Paul,
The Ripples Guy

p.s. Send a blank email to MLK @ UnleashRipples.com (remove spaces on either side of the @ symbol) or visit my Facebook Page to view a collection of MLK quotes we've used on the 3rd Monday of January over the past 14 years.

They are also posted on my Facebook page:
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Ripples #659: Forgive.
For our tribe of 29,696 busy people who share encouragement and gratitude.
01/10/2012

PEBBLE:
Forgiveness is not an occasional act,
it is a constant attitude.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

BOULDER:
Forgiving does not erase the bitter past.
A healed memory is not a deleted memory.
Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget
creates a new way to remember.
We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.
-Lewis B. Smedes, submitted by Nathan in Plymouth, NH

PONDER:
I have complicated, conflicting perspectives on forgiveness and I have been pondering the above boulder that Nathan submitted a few months ago. On the one hand I recognize there
is a weight to carrying a grudge or holding on to a past hurt in a way that burdens a person who was wronged, possibly without any consequence to the offender. On the other hand, I recognize that many people have experienced significant wounds that were intentionally inflicted without compassion for the injured.

The distinction between a "healed" and "deleted" memory is a powerful one, and I invite you to join me in pondering how creating a "new way to remember" old hurts might help us move forward with our lives and improve how we engage with others.

Peace,
Paul
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Ripples #658: You're the Pilot!
For our tribe of 29,733 busy people who share encouragement and gratitude.
01/02/2012

PEBBLE:
The bad news is time flies.
The good news is you're the pilot.
-Michael Altshuler, submitted by Pidge in Pacifica, CA

BOULDER:
The amount of satisfaction you get from life
depends largely on your own ingenuity,
self-sufficiency, and resourcefulness.
People who wait around for life
to supply their satisfaction
usually find boredom instead.
-William C. Menninger, submitted by Brett in Madison, WI

PONDER:
Welcome to another new year and another new opportunity to navigate exciting possibilities. If you want to have great adventures during 2012, it will be helpful to frequently remind yourself that you are not always in control the events and people you encounter.

You ARE, however, usually in control how you RESPOND to the events and people you encounter. Your journey will be more enjoyable if you can embrace the positives and endure the poopiness with equal determination.

I'm looking forward to another year of being a flight attendant on your journey: I'll provide refreshments in the form of weekly splashes of inspiration, and I'll also try to help you manage any unexpected turbulence.

Peace,
Paul
p.s. I'm sorry, I may have taken the metaphor one step too far. Maybe we should land this thing quickly, so please be sure all chairs and tray tables are in the upright and locked position. I don't know how that translates to life, but I obviously fly so often the phrase just flows right out of my brain…yikes!

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Ripples #657: Live Your Life!
For our tribe of 29,783 busy people who share encouragement and gratitude.
12/26/2011

PEBBLE:
Is the life I'm living
the life that wants
to live in me?
-Parker Palmer

BOULDER:
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
-Steve Jobs, submitted by Nick in New Jersey

PONDER:
As we prepare to wrap up 2011 and launch another year, this is a great week to think about the lives we are living: decisions made, paths taken, opportunities pursued. If you conclude that any of your choices have led you in a direction that is not working as you intended, decide that 2012 will be about charting a new course so that a year from now you can more confidently answer YES to the question raised in the pebble above.

Peace,
Paul

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Ripples #656: Giving!
For our tribe of 29,822 busy people who share encouragement and gratitude.
12/19/2011

PEBBLE:
Among its other benefits,
giving liberates the soul of the giver.
-Maya Angelou, submitted by Mary in Madison, WI

BOULDER:
I don't think you ever stop giving.
I really don't.
I think it's an on-going process.
And it's not just about
being able to write a check.
It's being able
to touch somebody's life.
-Oprah Winfrey

PONDER:
As many of us count down the days to Christmas, some people are preparing to gather with family/friends to celebrate holiday traditions. This time of year can be filled with joy and fun adventures AND it can also be a time of stress and frustration.

You may find that the best gifts you can give to yourself and others won't cost you any money: patience, gratitude, kindness, and perhaps most of all, a complete and compassionate acceptance of what is (instead of wishing people or situations are different than they are).

Peace,
Paul
P.S. If you'd like some extra help in savoring the holidays while maintaining your sanity, I'm going to be sending a few encouraging words via my "Holiday Sanity Texts" and you can receive them by texting the word RIPPLES to 41411. (short code SMS works with most but not all carriers, and while these texts are my gift to you, standard texting charges apply)

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Ripples #655:  Saying YES!
For our tribe of 28,855 people who share encouragement and gratitude
[12/12/2011**]

PEBBLE:
I rarely let the word No
Escape from my mouth Because it is so plain to my soul That God has
shouted, Yes! Yes! Yes! To every luminous movement in Existence.
-Hafiz, submitted by Catharine in Greensboro, NC

BOULDER:
I asked God if it was okay
to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay
to be short and she said it sure is I asked her if I could wear nail
polish or not wear nail polish and she said honey she calls me that
sometimes she said you can do just exactly what you want to Thanks God I
said And is it even okay if I don't paragraph my letters Sweetcakes God
said who knows where she picked that up what I'm telling you is Yes Yes
Yes.
-Kaylin Haught, "God Says Yes to Me," submitted by Bruce in Milwaukee,
WI

PONDER:
If you've attended one of my presentations on
burnout or self care skills, you likely remember that I am a strong
advocate of learning how to say NO*. I stress that because so many
people I encounter, especially the leaders and helpers that I commonly
work with, are already good at saying YES.

Still, it is good to make sure you are saying YES to some of the
exciting possibilities that exist for you, and saying NO to things that
are not quite what is best for your time and energy.

Peace,
Paul
*p.s. If you would like to learn more or need a refresher on NO, you
can send a blank email to NO [at] TheRipplesGuy [dot] com and an
auto-reply will zoom some info to you (check your junk folder if you
don't see it within 3 minutes).

 

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Ripples #654: Solitude.
For our tribe of 29,909 busy people who share encouragement and gratitude.
12/06/2011

PEBBLE:
In solitude we give passionate attention
to our lives, to our memories,
to the details around us.
-Virginia Woolf, submitted by Lin in Bloomington, IL

BOULDER:

Dear Paul,
Last year, an issue of Ripples
inspired me to "spend time in silence,"
so I took my first solo vacation ever.
I'm proud of myself for spending time alone
with just me, my thoughts and feelings.
I enjoyed having the time to listen
as my heart and soul spoke to me.

I came back a different person;
not dramatically different,
but peaceably different.
I didn't resolve all my questions
and problems while on the beach,
but I found inspiration,
I found a unique freedom,
and I found that I like me.

I think everyone should take
at least one trip alone!

Happy Holidays, and Happy Living,
-Cindy in Cincinnati, OH
(shared with permission)

PONDER:
I know that the holidays are, for many people, a time to spend with family and friends which can be both delightful and dizzying. I hope you can plan some pockets of solitude to relax and refocus. If things are really crazy, take Cindy's advice and plan a solo adventure of your own early in the new year!

Peace,
Paul
p.s. I have scheduled a few weeks of solitude for myself to rest and reflect. You will still receive our Monday splashes even though I'm in quiet mode until 2012 as I have queued up the next few Ripples. Enjoy!

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Ripples #653: The Edge.
For our tribe of 29,955 busy people who share encouragement and gratitude.
11/28/2011

PEBBLE:
Let your life be like the cliff,
for beauty lies below.
And only at the very edge
will all the beauty show.
-written and submitted by Michelle E. Tetreault in Washington D.C.

BOULDER:
It is not given us
to live lives
of undisrupted calm,
boredom, and mediocrity.
It is given us
to be edge-dwellers.
-Jay Deacon

PONDER:
It is time to quickly recover from all the holiday celebrations of last week and jump into the last month of the year with a fierce determination to ensure this year ends on a positive note AND invite the new year to engage you with exciting new possibilities. Find your edge, and enjoy the beauty!

Peace,
Paul

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Ripples #652: Giving Thanks.
For our tribe of 29,982 busy people who share encouragement and gratitude.
11/22/2011

PEBBLE:
Count your blessings, not your stressings.
-unknown, submitted by Lana in Waunakee, WI

BOULDER:
Give us thankful hearts…..
in this season of Thanksgiving.
May we be thankful for health and strength,
for sun and rain and peace.
Let us seize the day and the opportunity
and strive for that greatness of spirit
that measures life not by its disappointments
but by its possibilities,
and let us ever remember that
true gratitude and appreciation show itself
neither in independence nor satisfaction
but passes the gift joyfully on
in larger and better form.
-W.E.B. DuBois, submitted by Barbara in Madison, WI

PONDER:
Hey, it's Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. For many of us that means a gathering of friends and/or family for good food and good times. I think most of us do a good job of reflecting on this holiday's theme of gratitude, and I will take this opportunity to tell you that I am so grateful that you find time in your crazy schedule to join me for a minute every Monday morning. The fact that so many people enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy crafting them is an exceptional gift.

I hope you can stretch your self a bit this week and share gratitude with someone who won't expect it, or maybe you could practice being grateful for something challenging in your life–find a way to appreciate a difficulty that is helping you grow stronger.

Peace,
Paul
p.s. If you would like access to the Thanksgiving quotes we've used in the last 14 years of Ripples, I posted them in the "Documents" section at our Official Facebook Group: http://theripplesproject.org/12all/lt.php?c=438&m=808&nl=13&s=9e55712de96aa8ca615b997efa27f433&lid=1719&l=-https–www.facebook.com/groups/TeamRipples/

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Ripples #651: Climbing Life.
For our tribe of 29,979 busy people who share encouragement and gratitude.
11/14/2011

PEBBLE:
Don't worry so much about the rough times.
Just remember, you could never reach
the top of a mountain
if the sides were smooth.
-unknown, submitted by Samantha in Oklahoma

BOULDER:
Live your life each day
as you would climb a mountain.
An occasional glance toward the summit
keeps the goal in mind,
but many beautiful scenes
are to be observed
from each new vantage point.
Climb slowly, steadily,
enjoying each passing moment;
and the view from the summit
will serve as a fitting climax for the journey.
-Harold V. Melchert, submitted by Katie in Kohler, WI

PONDER:
This week I journeyed west in my smile-covered Ripples car to hang out with some of the peppiest people on the planet that descended on Laramie, Wyoming for a gathering of residence hall leaders. IACURH was as fun and frenetic as I hoped (nice hosting, U. of Wyoming!).

While we were out west exploring the rocky challenges of leadership and life, back east my friends Ron and Denise unleashed a faculty flashmob to jumpstart conversations about the challenges of "fitting in" on campus. I'm so proud that these professors were brave enough to release their inhibitions and reveal their humanity in order to demonstrate just how much they care about the significant "uphill climbs" that some members of their campus community face. (This video captures the magic:
http://theripplesproject.org/12all/lt.php?c=437&m=807&nl=13&s=9e55712de96aa8ca615b997efa27f433&lid=1698&l=-http–www.youtube.com/watch–Q-v–E-IJi8qbcTAnU)

I hope your climb through life includes enough challenge to help you grow, and enough comfort to keep you sane.

Peace,
Paul

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