September 2013

We’re All Cracked

This is my favorite coffee cup. It was given to me years ago by a friend I really love. From her I have learned perspective, forgiveness, humor and how to sprinkle glitter on everything.

As you can see, the cup has a chip and a crack.

And that makes me love it all the more. When I drink from it, it is literally in my face and reminds me that no relationship, or thing, is perfect. We’re all cracked. But we still hold whatever good is inside us.

Then I came across this You-Tube video from Chris Staley, Penn State Laureate 2012-13, called Liking Mistakes. He, too, has a cup that isn’t perfect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBPIvZm7YEo

The other day, another friend reminded that there is always a back story. Someone acts a certain way and it is easy to jump to judgment. However, you never why they act that way – and where their crack is.

So, I encourage us to take this MindFULL Monday and seek out the cracks in our lives. Perhaps if we could look at them a little differently, we might see that they hold more for us than meets the eye. Without them, our world would be just a little too smooth…

How are you MindFULLY cracked Let us know!

SMART ART

With the rain in Colorado beating down on the skylights yesterday, we spent a lot of time in front of a screen. Football games, movies, TEDx. While the light of the screen lit rooms, soup was made, clearings of counters and desk tops moved quickly and old friends from learning days showed up to teach present lessons.

One of my friends reminded me of the delight found in the lazy days of magazine flipping. Ah, yes. Stacked on my credenza were articles collected over the last few months. Sometimes it takes weeks or months to go back through them all, but when I do, it is like finding a diamond in the rough. Love when that happens! And as such, a sparkly write up caught my eye.

Did you know that you can visit more than 250 museums (including MOMA and Musee’ d’Orsay) without ever getting out of your sweats? With Google Cultural Institutes’ Art Project, you can take in works of art that you might wish you had made it to see last time you were in NY or Paris.

www.googleartproject.com

With winter approaching (OK, I know, Fall hasn’t even started, but with this crazy weather, who knows what the days will bring), park this site somewhere easy to access. Then, take a cold day and check it out. You could even make a nice lunch and pretend you are eating in the museum café’ – without the price tag or tray to bus. Now, that’s worth the price of admission.

What MindFULL articles are waiting for you to read? Let us know!

Teaching This Old Dog New Tricks

B.O.R.I.N.G. That’s how I was feeling as summer drew to a close. It had been awhile since I felt like I really learned something that excited me. While I would never wish to be in High School again, as I watched my daughter load up her Back to School supplies I felt a twinge of excitement at the possibility of learning something new.

As the Universe works, my friend and intellectual muse, Rena, sent me an email about something she thought I’d find interesting. It’s called Coursera. “Hmm”…I thought, and then headed out to get my hair cut. While at the salon, I picked up a copy of a magazine and there was a blurb on …Coursera! “Hear something twice, pay attention” as the Sufi saying goes.

When I got home, I clicked through to the Coursera website. Coursera offers 300-plus on line courses all taught by professors at over 60 of the top colleges and universities. Its course catalog reads like a dream list of classes you had wish you could have taken in school. I was so excited by all the descriptions; I didn’t know what to choose first. Upon Rena’s suggestion, I peeked at Creativity, Innovation and Change which is offered with 3 professors from Penn State. I signed up on the spot.

I am currently in week 2. At my own pace, I watch on-line videos and read articles. I also have the opportunity to do projects, contribute to an online chat and even get a grade — which I am passing on. That would be way to close to High School for me.

www.Coursera.org

I know there are lots of other free on-line classes out there. However, I was in the right frame of mind when this one crossed my screen. I am ready for a new trick. Armed with my new school shoes and a view of the changing leaves outside my study window, I am prepared to re-enter that seasonal ritual of learning.

Who knows what trick this old dog will learn!?!

Where do you MindFULLY go to learn new tricks? Let us know!