When Inspiration Begins To Reveal Herself

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200 words, bigger purpose, creativity, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, hard work, helpful, inspiration, mission, teamwork

Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.

Pablo Picasso

Maybe your mom used to tell you that idle hands were the devil’s workshop. She may have felt that if you weren’t working on something productive you would end up getting into some kind of trouble.

I’m sure we can all recall times when we longed for our muse to inspire us, hoped for that next great idea that would catapult us into fame, desperately tried to move past the latest round of writer’s block…

So when I read the above quote it reminded me that inspiration doesn’t just present itself to you on a silver platter. Inspiration typically hits after a long and arduous period of hard work and/or an I-wanna–poke-my-eye-out-with-a-screwdriver monotonous time period.

It’s while we’re living our lives, doing those mundane tasks with loved ones, co-workers and sharing our thoughts and hopes and dreams with each other.  It’s when we do something, anything that is productive while letting the inkling of ideas turn themselves over and ruminate and bloom in the back of our minds that inspiration begins to reveal herself.

Inspiration does exist but it must find you working.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

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What is Done in Love is Done Well

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caring, community, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, family, friends, generosity, happy, helpful, integrity, kindness, laughter, life, listen, love, mission, Purpose, Relationships, service, teaching, values

Justine Waddell by Vincent Van Gogh

Whoever loves much, performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.

Vincent Van Gogh

Love is a word we don’t always feel comfortable using in North America. It’s a word that is limited to how we feel about our lover or our family. To use the word love with any other person can be awkward at best.

Sure we use it as in loving humankind or nature or science or a cause or for activities like bowling, cycling, reading, running, or whatever you love to do. But you won’t catch us referencing it about the letter carrier, a co-worker or neighbor.

And that’s too bad really.

Because even if you have a degree, or years of experience, or you can do whatever it is you do while blindfolded with your hands tied behind your back, it’s just a lot of noise if it’s done without love.

And every time we interact with someone, whether teaching them, listening to them, helping them we can accomplish so much more and make them and ourselves feel so much more valued, if our motivation is love.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

Hearing The Heart Behind The Words

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200 words, building community, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, heart, helpful, Homelessness, integrity, kindness, listen, meaning, Relationships, Taking offense, words, world issues

We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it. – Abe Lincoln

It astonishes me how many times I take things personally. The energy it requires to take offense can border on ridiculous.

Don’t get me wrong.

There are times when standing up against something offensive is warranted.

But we, as a society, have taken this too far for the most part.

I’ve spent a good chunk of my life working with vulnerable populations. Within this sector, well-meaning folks have declared certain terms offensive.

For example:

Many a supporter has said to me, “I’m concerned about homeless people and I want to help.”

Some might respond with, “…that offends me, I’d prefer if you said people who are experiencing homelessness.”

Instead of hearing the heart of the one who wants to help, they hear the words that offend them.

Ironically, those whom I have met living on the streets, refer to themselves as homeless people.

Yes, it’s important to not intentionally and maliciously offend, but it’s equally important to not be easily offended.

And so, I want to be someone who hears the heart behind the words.

Don’t you?

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

How Do You Feel About It?

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200 words, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, gifts, giving, good intentions, helpful, open-minded, perspective, tolerance, understanding

Cat Food Is For People – Seth Godin

photo found at http://www.morenormalthannot.com

The above quote was the title of a recent post written by Godin.

He wrote that even the gifts we give others are at least as much about how they make us feel to give them, as they are about how the recipient of the gift feels.

He concluded by saying if cat food was really for cats it would come in mouse flavor.

Truth is, most of us wouldn’t buy mouse-meat cat food because it sounds disgusting, and since kitty doesn’t buy her own food, pet foods contain ingredients that appeal to us.

Seth’s post got me thinking how this phenomenon occurs in other ways.

Like when we view other cultures and their customs for example, we interpret them according to our own beliefs.

Often, especially when a certain custom offends our own sensibility, we want to enlighten our fellow humans with our version of what is right.

If you think about it, it’s kind of arrogant.

When we position our beliefs as superior over another’s beliefs, we lessen our ability to understand and care about them.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

You Are So Much More Than That

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200 words, beauty, daughters, Diana Schwenk, empowering, encourage, generosity, good character, helpful, honesty, image, integrity, kids, kindness, life, love, miracle, self-worth, teens, true to yourself, Who I am

Always remember–you are a fine piece of china. Don’t let anyone treat you like a paper plate. ~ Naomi Campbell

Michaela in the mirror

MAYBE IT’S BECAUSE I was a teenager once, or maybe it’s because I raised a daughter…

…but when I read this quote I thought of women and how we compare ourselves to impossible ideals.

When you look into a mirror, what do you see?

Are your eyes too close together? Too small? Do you have uneven skin tone? Are your teeth crooked? Too yellow? Is your nose too big? Are your lips to thin?

If I looked at you, I’m sure I would see beauty. But you are so much more than that.

When you look inside your heart, what do you see?

Are you true to your word? Are you kind? Are you gentle? Are you motivated by love? Are you mindful of others? Are you helpful? Generous?

You are worthy of respect. You bring value to this world. You are a glorious miracle.

Don’t let anyone ever tell you different.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

 Are you a fine piece of china or are you a paper plate?

The Blizzard…and I’m not talking Dairy Queen

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Calgary, Canada, cold, Diana Schwenk, helpful, Hump Day Chronicles, snow blizzard, winter

A few years back I bought a long, down-filled coat that zips, then buttons, then snaps closed. It cost me a pretty penny. As soon as I bought it I felt guilty about spending so much money. In the time it takes me to put it on, I’m usually overheating and need to rush outside to cool down. It is the warmest coat I’ve ever had. It only ever gets cold enough to wear, maybe, three weeks a year.

Gusting winds and heavy snow

When the blizzard, a potent mixture of moist air from British Columbia and an icy north wind, came in on Monday, I blessed the day I bought that coat!

Even with the coat, the strong winds blew icy snow into my face that burned like tiny embers from a fire. It’s cold!

I’ve been thankful that I don’t have to drive in this weather. It’s hard enough to walk! Some highways were closed down. And the town of Strathmore set up an emergency shelter and took in many stranded motorists.

The City of Calgary has quite the snow removal job ahead of them. One lady compared it to trying to clean the kitchen while the blender is running with the lid off. In some outer parts of the city, while they wait for city crews to show up in their neighbourhoods, people are shoveling each other out and those with 4-wheel drive are helping others get their vehicles out of snow banks .

It doesn’t surprise me though, as with the flood, when the poop (in this case snow) hits the fan, Calgarians seem to move into action!

The average temperature for this time of year is -1C (30F) The last couple of days we’ve been reaching lows of -30c (-22f) with the windchill. Although the cold temperatures will be sticking with us for the next several days, the storm has moved south to Montana (you’re welcome) before it comes back Canada way at the Manitoba border.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

So how’s your winter going?

When Helping Hurts

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200 words, caring, compassion, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, family, friends, harmful, health, helpful, Relationships

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.

We all want to know we are needed.

We all need to know that we can count on our loved ones to support and stand with us.

But what happens when our helping causes harm?

We’ve all hurt others, and we’ve all been hurt by others in the name of helping.

Some dos and don’ts I’ve learned along the way

• Don’t say what they already know. “You’re out of control, you need to let go, that wasn’t your best decision,”  are not helpful.
• Don’t offer negative comments. words like, “You shouldn’t, you can’t, you always screw up,”  etc., tear your loved ones down.
• Do ask questions. “What do you plan to do? Do you have supports in place? How can I help you?”
• Do listen. Let them talk. Holding pain inside keeps people trapped in their own chamber of horrors.
• Do offer comfort. A promise of support. A hug. A hand on their shoulder.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

What helping tips do you have?

Related articles

• How to Listen to a Friend Who is Hurting (barbarascovillelcsw.com)

What if

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caring, community, compassion, courage, courteous, Diana Schwenk, diversity, equality, generosity, good character, goodness, happy, helpful, hope, integrity, kindness, love, meaningful, passion, peace, question, spiritual, tolerance, world issues

I know I’m not the first person to ponder what if and I probably won’t be the last.

Even as a child, I would question the way we humans treated each other while at the same time I know full well that, at times, I’ve treated people differently based solely on their appearance or status.

Why do I do that?

I clearly remember wishing that humans would intentionally start marrying people outside of their race and having children. My child-mind wondered how many generations it would take before we all looked alike, spoke the same language and adopted similar values and beliefs.

I still find myself yearning, praying and wishing because isn’t every person worthy?

Isn’t every life sacred?

Realistically, I know that there’s probably no chance we will all become one people, with one language and value system but…

~

What if it didn’t matter if you were black, white, red or yellow?

What if it didn’t matter if you were politically left, right, or in the middle?

What if it didn’t matter if you were educated, uneducated, employed or unemployed?

What if it didn’t matter if you lived in a mansion, an apartment, a hut or on the streets?

What if it didn’t matter if you were rich, poor, or somewhere in between?

What if it didn’t matter if you were Christian, Jewish, Muslim or something else?

What if it didn’t matter if you were straight, gay, bisexual or trapped in the wrong gender?

What if it didn’t matter if you were fat, skinny, short, or tall?

What if it didn’t matter if you were physically ill, mentally ill, or healthy?

What if it didn’t matter if you were young, middle-aged or ancient?

What if it didn’t matter if you were happy, sad, alone or overwhelmed in a crowd?

What if your status wasn’t determined by birth, religion, gender, or economics?

What if it didn’t matter if your hair was blond, brown, red, black or purple?

If your eyes were blue, green, brown or black?

If you spoke Hebrew, Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Polish, German, Russian, or Pig Latin?

If you were Asian, African, European, North American, Hispanic, or Middle Eastern?

If you had a high or low IQ, EQ or cholesterol level?

What if you understood that at your core…

that in essence we are all spiritual beings

who just happen to have a variety of different outer shells and experiences?

What if all that mattered was that you had good character and integrity…

that you strove to find beauty and goodness and meaning in others and in all that you do?

that you were:

Kind to others

Thoughtful

Generous to a fault

Courageous

Tolerant

Loving

Encouraging

Helpful

Hospitable

Compassionate

Truthful

Courteous

Passionate

Hopeful

I want to make a conscious effort to live these values in my life. I know I won’t always be successful, there will be days when I fall short but if I can become aware of the times I don’t quite measure up, I can correct myself and begin again.

What do you think? What are some of the things you could do differently?

What if?

Related articles

Every now and then I look at the links WordPress recommends. I was quite moved by the link below. If you have a moment, give it a read. It really is quite powerful.

• What Will Matter – Michael Josephson (tersiaburger.com)