“Midlife is when you reach the top of the ladder and find that it was against the wrong wall.” Joseph Campbell If this quote rings at all true, and if this “wall” happens to refer to your work life, perhaps it’s time for some exploration, clarification, and/or action. Perhaps you’ve been thinking about this for a while, or perhaps there’s lately been a growing sense of dissatisfaction, … [Read more...]
Eggs or Pancakes? The Catastrophic Mind And Career Decisions
Whenever I go to a restaurant, I’m the last person to order. Okay, I’ve narrowed it down to eggs or pancakes for breakfast. Then I start thinking, Hmm. I had eggs last time I was here…But I had cake last NIGHT. I need to watch my cholesterol…But the syrup here is the best…I order the eggs. A minute later I’m second guessing myself: wait, the pancakes…Why am I making such a big deal of this? … [Read more...]
Would you rather…
Pay attention to what’s right in front of you, or to what happened an hour ago…or what’s going to happen an hour from now? Would you rather notice the colors that are part of this cool piece of artwork I found, or think about how you wish you could make something like it? Would you rather pay attention to what the person in front of you is offering you or what you’d like to offer them, or think … [Read more...]
Meditation and the Mountain
Meditation teachers use the analogy of the mountain to describe the experience of solidity and groundedness we strive for in meditation. To help with this, we go on retreats removed from civilization to reduce distractions. Well, in the city, there aren’t many mountains to remind us of our sturdiness. The sheer speed and rhythm, all of the moving things, the number of people, are enough to make us … [Read more...]
Mindfulness and the Microwave
One day at work after teaching a mindfulness class I was heating my lunch in the microwave as usual. I was hungry, had a million things to do and wanted to quickly get out of the staff lounge. I set the microwave timer, hit the start button but impatiently stopped the microwave a few seconds before the time elapsed. To my surprise, my food was not warm enough. I set the microwave and, yet again, I … [Read more...]
