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talktodiana

~ Igniting the power and passion in others…

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Tag Archives: dreams

What To Do?

31 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

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200 words, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dreams, growing up, health, living in the moment, memories, Mission statement, Purpose, vision

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“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien

Sounds simple, right?

Whether you’re trying to prioritize tasks for today, or you’re searching for your life-long calling, all you have to do is decide what to do within the time you have been given.

Because we don’t have forever. Time is finite.

Recently, I have reconnected with a group of folks online who grew up in the seventies in my hometown.

At 16, it feels like life is so long, like you have forever to decide what you will do with your life. Although some kids knew way back then the direction their lives would take, I would wonder for many years to come.

And even then, I ended up having to focus more on Who I would be rather than What I would be.

That’s where developing a personal mission statement really made a difference. Once I figured that out, no matter what my job is, or what my circumstances are, I am doing what I’ve decided to do every day for as long as I have been given.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Do you have a personal mission statement?

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We’re Not So Different, You And I

17 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 35 Comments

Tags

200 words, belong, caring, common ground, community, compassion, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dreams, family, friends, growing up, happy, health, integrity, joy, living in the moment, love, meaning, passion, Purpose, Relationships, safe, working together, world issues

Screen-Shot-2011-12-21-at-12.14.57-PM

“We are all alike, on the inside.” – Mark Twain

I used to want to STAND OUT. To be UNIQUE. To be ONE OF A KIND. To find ways that DIFFERENTIATED ME from others, regardless of whether or not I was being true to myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I love and admire many qualities and attributes in others that I do not have. And I try to emulate the ones that resonate with me.

Yet the older I get, the more I realize that we have more in common than not.

We all need nourishment.

We all need to feel safe.

We all need to belong somewhere.

We all need to love and be loved.

We all need to care for others and be cared for by others.

We all need to have purpose; something that gives meaning to our lives.

And beyond the basics, there are many who share our values and passions and dreams for the future.

So the older I get, the more I realize the truth of the quote above and the more I want to connect with others on common ground; regardless of whether that makes me different or not.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Do You Remember Your Childhood Dream?

02 Wednesday Dec 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories

≈ 58 Comments

Tags

childhood, Diana Schwenk, dreams, family, growing up, Hump Day Chronicles, job, kids, memories, Mom, parents, passion, Purpose, Stuff my parents used to say and do

Mom dreamt of being a nurse

Mom dreamt of being a nurse

THE VERY FIRST DREAM I can remember having for my life was to be a rancher. I loved and wanted to be around horses. I imagined a picturesque piece of land with a quaint house, beautiful trees, a  river running out back and pastures filled with horses as far as the eye could see.

Other dreams I entertained included: being a veterinarian, psychiatrist, and the first female Prime Minister in Canada.

Needless to say, I did not become any of those things.

We can usually recall our own childhood dreams, but how many of us know what our parents dreamt of being?

It’s funny how most of us can’t even imagine our parents before our birth. It’s as if they never were children, didn’t exist before us at all.

Recently, Mom shared her childhood dream with me.

My mom grew up in Berlin during WWII. Some of her best memories include having to be hospitalized because she’d lost a good deal of her hearing due to ear infections. It was a time before Penicillin and so her ear infections resulted in damaged ear drums.

It was also a time of not enough food, or clothing, or warmth in the winter. And so staying in a hospital – even with a painful ear infection and in spite of significant hearing loss – was amazing and came with one’s own bed, three meals per day and nurses caring for you around the clock.

And so my mom dreamt of being a nurse. Someone who could care for children and make them feel as good as the nurses of her childhood made her feel.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

What was your childhood dream? Did you achieve it? Do you know what your parents’ dreams were?

You Gotta Give It Away If You Want It!

25 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion, My Stories

≈ 41 Comments

Tags

200 words, caring, community, compassion, courage, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dreams, growing up, health, integrity, joy, kindness, laughter, peace, Purpose, trust

A Muslim pilgrim prays at the top of Mount Noor in Mecca, during the annual pilgrimage (Haj) December 4, 2008. The pilgrims will visit the Hera cave in Mount Noor, where Muslims believe Prophet Mohammad received the first words of the Koran through Gabriel. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (SAUDI ARABIA)

By becoming the answer to someone’s prayer, we often find the answers to our own. ~ unattributed

MOST OF US KNOW that if you want to achieve a certain outcome, you must develop strategies to get you there.

For example, if you want people to attend an event, you might send out invitations. To increase your success in getting actual bodies to your event, you may further decide to invite those who are most likely to attend your event.

The above quote seems counterintuitive in comparison. But is it any less effective?

Whether you believe that you reap what you sow, or to keep a gift you have to give it away, or that Karma lurks around the corner; you may have experienced this concept to be true.

25 years ago, I was at a crossroad in my life. I felt alone and broken. Looking back, the best decision I made, was to volunteer with an organization that looked after some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

By walking with people through their brokenness and loneliness and believing in them until they believed in themselves, I unwittingly brought peace and purpose into my own life.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What Does Home Mean To You?

07 Wednesday Oct 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories

≈ 46 Comments

Tags

addiction, Calgary, caring, community, courage, Diana Schwenk, dignity, dreams, family, health, home, Hump Day Chronicles, joy, laughter, life, living in the moment, non-profit, Oxford House, Purpose, recovery, Relationships, sobriety

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As most of you know, I started working at Oxford House Foundation of Canada as their Development Coordinator in May.

Essentially, I am the fundraiser, community engager, the Talker as one of my co-workers recently declared, and whatever else is required to help out when needed.

And I am happy to do it!

It would be somewhat of an understatement if I were to say I love it there, but I’m not quite sure how to say it differently.

All I know is that the people I work with were quick to welcome me to the Oxford family, and their passion and commitment for the organization and the work they do is inspiring.

They make me want to do a really, really good job!

For those of you who do not know, Oxford House is a network of 30 houses in Calgary and Edmonton that provide homes for over 140 men and women who are in recovery from addictions.

The concept is simple. Contribute your share of the household’s expenses and chores. Stay clean and sober. Join the workforce and take your life back.

Recovery is possible in an Oxford Home. And men and women in recovery benefit greatly from the peer-to-peer support they find in each other and the support they receive from dedicated staff who have lived experience, most of whom are also alumni of an Oxford home!

It takes hands to build a house. It takes hearts to build a home.

It takes hands to build a house. It takes hearts to build a home.

Speaking of home. It’s been the talk around our proverbial water cooler lately.

Our Oxford family has really embraced the word home.

Because we know that a house is just four walls. It keeps out the weather.

It provides security from the outside world. It gives you a place to be when there’s nowhere else to go.

But a home…

that’s where friends and family gather.

A home is where you can put your feet up and relax.

Home is where you sit around the table, eat a meal together, share your hopes and your dreams, ask for advice. Cry until you laugh. Laugh until you cry.

Home is where you can challenge others to be their best and also be challenged yourself toward the same end.

Yeah, sure, sometimes it hurts, but it comes from people who care and that makes it a precious gift.

Yes, home has become a theme; in our houses and at the office. Whenever we talk about programs or events or gatherings, we think about how to create a sense of home.

What images are conjured up when you think of home? What’s your favourite childhood memory of home? Does it seem  like I’m picking your brain for more images of home? So what? We’re all friends here, right? ❤

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

What does home mean to you?

The Feeling Is Mutual My Dear

30 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories

≈ 58 Comments

Tags

Alberta, Calgary, caring, community, courage, dreams, friends, growing up, happy, health, Hump Day Chronicles, joy, kindness, life, memories, Relationships, stories

You ever have one of those Oh-man-I-love-this-product experiences only to discover the next time you go to get some more that it’s been discontinued?

The 'They ran out of my favourite product' Facepalm

The ‘They ran out of my favourite product’ Facepalm

I don’t know when I was first introduced to them.

I can’t remember if I bought them at a market, or if someone made some and gave them to me. All I know is that I loved them.

I mean they got the job done.

THEY WERE AMAZING!!

And no word of a lie. For probably 30 years or more, every now and then, I’ve talked about them with someone.

I’d say things like:  “Did you ever have them?

What did you think of them?

Aren’t they great?

Hey do you know where I could get some?”

And then I would resign myself again to the fact that they just don’t exist anymore…

More on them in a bit…

double-face-palm

I first met Stephanie about 25 or so years ago. I was working at a Drop-In Coffee House for homeless people. Stephanie was one of many teenagers I got to know back then.

Truth is I don’t know much about how she ended up getting caught up in street culture, but I do remember looking into her face and thinking she was an old soul.

You ever meet a kid like that? I mean you look into her eyes and there’s a depth and knowledge in there; something you don’t usually see until someone’s been around for quite a bit longer than a teenager.

Then we lost touch.

Maybe 10 or so years later, she showed up again. She was in town and came by to say hi. Our organization had moved locations and was no longer a Drop In, but she found us.

No longer on the streets, she had changed her life. Now living on the west coast, she was a working mom taking care of her kids. I was so happy for her and so proud of how she was making a better life for her family.

Fast forward a few more years and Facebook comes along and we find each other again. And then one day recently, she posted a picture of THEM!

I’d thought they were gone forever, but there they were on my timeline. And Stephanie makes them!

I immediately commented on them, saying something like, “I love those! Nothing has ever worked for me like them!

IMG_20150928_183936_edit

In response, Stephanie sent me a private message, “What’s your address, I’ll send some to you?”

They arrived on Monday with a note that said something like, “Thanks for being there for me during hard times. I’m glad we’re still in touch.”

The feeling is mutual my dear Stephanie

Maybe you don’t know this, but I was struggling back then too – and people like you inspired me and made me want to be a better person.

Thank you for being there for me Stephanie.

And thank you for these awesome dish cloths and extras!

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Today Is Your Day!

23 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 70 Comments

Tags

200 words, believe, calling, community, destination, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dreams, Fear, goals, growing up, journey, laughter, life, living in the moment, love, mission, mountain, passion, Purpose, vision

nature-mountain-facebook-cover-timeline-banner-for-fb

Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So get on your way. ~ Dr. Seuss

I think we often view the Mountain as a barrier that we’re trying to get around

as something that stands in our way.

Something that needs to be obliterated in order to achieve that which we desire to achieve.

And I guess that it can be, depending on the metaphor we’re going for.

But what if your mountain is your calling?

What if climbing it is the point, not getting around it or blasting through it? What if the journey to get to the top is what gives you the very skills you need to accomplish what you’re meant to do?

My mountain is called Building Community. And I have thought it has meant many specific things at very specific times, most recently The Other Bottom Line.

But the higher I climb, the more I realize it has meant all those things. And none have been for naught. Each has been a gift along the way.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What’s your Mountain called? Do you link it directly to one goal or do you see it manifested in many ways throughout your journey?

Don’t Mind The Cracks

12 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 46 Comments

Tags

200 words, believe, courage, cracks, determined, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dreams, Fear, first steps, joy, laughter, light, mission, Purpose, vision

“There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in…” ~Leonard Cohen

paigebradley00When a child learns to walk, she may pull herself up on a couch, then walk sideways along the edge moving her right hand, right foot, left hand, left foot and so on, until she gets to the other side.

Or she may push a chair across the room in a mow-the-lawn fashion.

However she takes her first steps, she does not walk perfectly and her efforts only take her so far.

She realizes there’s a crack in her method and one can almost see the wheels turning in her head, with a look of determination as she works out her next move.

Do you remember when your child first walked to you as you waited a few steps away? How (s)he giggled with glee upon reaching you?

When you try something new, taking your first tentative steps, you’ll find cracks in your plan.

Cracks that let in the light and eventually get you where you need to be.

Most things don’t work out perfectly at first.

But don’t mind the cracks.

They let in the light.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

The Best Kind of Sleep

05 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, In My Opinion

≈ 57 Comments

Tags

200 words, coffee, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dreams, exercise, happy, health, sleep, sleepless, tea, unplug, water, wine

“The amount of sleep required by the average person is five minutes more.” – Wilson Mizener

luxury-floating-bed-sets-from-Egoparis-2We read all these articles about the best kind of sleep for optimum health.

They say you need to sleep right through the night.

They tell you that it is normal to wake up in the middle of the night; in fact, chances are this is when you were conceived.

They tell you your bedroom should be completely dark.

Sleep on down pillows.

Sleep on memory-foam pillows.

Don’t watch a scary movie before bed.

Don’t drink coffee after 2PM.

They tell you to unplug your devices by 8pm.

And don’t eat after 6pm.

Don’t exercise at night.

Drink a glass of water before bed.

Don’t drink a glass of water before bed. You’ll wake up in the middle of the night to relieve your bladder.

Do have a glass of wine.

Don’t have a glass of wine.

Drink herbal tea – chamomile.

Drink warm milk with honey.

Do sleep naked. Don’t sleep naked.

So much advice!

But I think Mizener got it right.

The best kind of sleep is five more minutes.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What’s your advice for the best sleep?

One Plants, Another Waters and Another Reaps

02 Tuesday Jun 2015

Posted by dianasschwenk in Hump Day Chronicles, My Stories, Out and About

≈ 41 Comments

Tags

Affordable Housing, Alberta, Calgary, Canada, Charity, community, compassion, Diana Schwenk, dreams, History, Homelessness, Hump Day Chronicles, life, living in the moment, memories, passion, Purpose, Relationships, The Mustard Seed

Original Mustard Seed site

Original Mustard Seed site

It was a beautiful Friday morning when I stepped out of my apartment to walk to the Mustard Seed. I intentionally chose a route that would take me past the original Mustard Seed at 521 13 Avenue SW.

Although the building no longer exists and the site has become an extension of First Baptist’s parking lot, it is a place that I often come to when I feel lost or need to make a major decision – a sacred space, if you will.

In my mind’s eye I can still see all the people on the porch of the old house that served as The Seed’s coffee house drop-in. Back then, the idea of housing folks who were homeless was just a glint in our eye, a dream we kept like a treasure in our hearts.

Unknown to us at the time, people like Jeff would spend the night wrapped in a sleeping bag tucked behind the boards under the porch. And occasionally I brought teenaged girls home with me, or spent the night with them at that old house.

The old Veteran’s Hospital used to be across the street where the Sheldon Chumir Health Centre now stands. I remember seeing the faces of the old Veterans pressed against the windows, no doubt wondering what in tarnation was going on across the street. When they learned that we would be moving to 102 11 Avenue SE in the early 90s, they lamented that they would miss, what they called, the greatest entertainment around.

Ahh but that was then and this is now. And I was on my way to the Mustard Seed for the grand opening of the 1010 Centre.

Steve Wile, CEO, Mustard Seed

Steve Wile, CEO, Mustard Seed

Stephen Wile, CEO of the Mustard Seed welcomed his guests including donors, government representatives, members of the Resolve Campaign team and past and present staff and volunteers.

He spoke of his gratitude to all in attendance; those who were there in the beginning with the vision and dream, those who began the process of implementing the plan and those who now occupy the centre’s spaces and facilitate hopes and dreams within its walls.

Pat Nixon, former CEO and founder of Mustard Seed

Pat Nixon, former CEO and founder of Mustard Seed

Pat Nixon, former CEO and Founder of the Mustard Seed spoke to the beginnings of the vision, the early meetings with key stakeholders and the objections and NIMBYism that arose and were overcome.

He went on to talk about the NOW, the new beginning in a building containing homes for up to 224 people and how these homes will change the lives of thousands.

Then a current resident spoke. She started by saying that three years ago she had it all; things were going well.

And then her husband died. And she fell into a depression and lost her job. Things continued on a downward spiral until she lost her home and was living in her car.

She eventually ended up at the 1010 Centre and spoke about the programs and wonderful staff who have lifted her out of despair.

“I don’t know if you noticed when you walked in,” she said. “But there are three little words on the main floor – Hope Grows Here – check it out when you leave, if you didn’t see it on the way in. Those words are true.”

The grand opening included other inspirational speakers, a tour of the facility and an incredible lunch. I got to see people I haven’t seen in years and I was witness to the dream, realized.

It was an emotional event for me, one that I feel honoured to have been invited to and privileged to have attended.

“Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.”

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

I am fortunate to see this dream fulfilled. Often that isn’t the case in life. Do you ever wonder about how something you started turned out in the end?

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