Sunday, April 28, 2013

What You See Is Not What You Get


What You See Is Not What You Get


Rounded

She fills the room with laughter,
only some of it hers.
We never know what's going
to come out of her mouth,
nor does she.
She's a lawyer,
to me a surprise.
With people, a starter,
and in her work, brilliant,
a finisher.






To Ponder

            1.   We I.D. people don’t we? We see them, even for the first
                  time, and think we know who they are.

            2.   It doesn’t matter whether or not we like what we see in
                  them, we tend to paste a label on them.

            3.   I’ve done this as much as anyone, particularly when I
                  was younger, and learned the hard way how wrong I was.

            4.   I’ve glamorized some and was disappointed or let down;
                  I demonized others and missed out on their skill
                  or good company.

            5.   How much better it is to reserve judgment, to simply
                  wait and see rather than congratulate yourself for your
                  superior insight.

            6.   This lightens your disposition, gives you a free &
                  easy coming at life; makes your presence more desirable;
                  spares your being a burden.

            7.   You will receive gifts that surprise you, amaze you, lift you.





© 2013 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________________

If you enjoy reading this story, you may wish to order WHOA! Are They Glad You’re in Their lives? available on Amazon Kindle and in print edition too. 

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Sunday, April 21, 2013

Choose Engagement


Choose Engagement


India

A new growth country,
working a new
way of reaching out
with new feelings
and words,
some of them spelled
backwards and upside down.
Scratchy pens-
an array of them-
carbon black ink on paper
from afar,
foreign, everything foreign,
fresh hard work,
failure, loss deep,
beneath some
dark, holy river,
sometimes light, yes,
a new world giving
new color
to the new country,
the chasm
so long felt
I see,
behind me.






To Ponder

            1.   I find myself marveling today over the countless changes
                  a full human life must master.

            2.   We are quick to see this as an infant becomes a child.

            3.   Other changes, though, seem so repugnant or difficult
                  that we’re amazed, looking back, that we mastered them.

            4.   In my work I’ve seen successful culture change in
                  organizations that reclaimed who they are that they’d
                  lost sight of.

            5.   Since change is essential and inevitable in evolved life,
                  astute selection of engagement is the opening step
                  toward consummation.

            6.   Seeing past fear is the dominant imperative to
                  engagement with others and the looming task.

            7.   The sought single choice among a diversity of ideas and
                  options is the one that can lead to distinctive results.
                  Make that your choice!




© 2013 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________________

If you enjoy reading this story, you may wish to order WHOA! Are They Glad You’re in Their lives? available on Amazon Kindle and in print edition too. 

  • Kindle Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

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Sunday, April 14, 2013

Have Fun with Creative Wondering


Have Fun with Creative Wondering


Laced

Sitting up,
laced fingers
resting on my abdomen,
some of the time
my thumbs laced
as well, but
at others pressed
lightly together.
Is this a pose
of relaxation?
I don't know;
it's just a question.
Seems possible
the Indian-inspired
practitioners
who sit with
their hands curled open,
palms up, cupped
or separate, are
more ready to receive,
but I really
don't know.




To Ponder


            1.   Sometimes it’s fun to ask might-be trivial questions of
                  myself when I truly don’t know the answer.

            2.   This strikes me as useful as well as being a pleasant
                  and even amusing activity.

            3.   Upon thinking things over (my behavior), I might learn
                  something—come to know what I don’t know; declare
                  if it matters or not.

            4.   This seemingly aimless wondering might in time bring
                  me to a conclusion that improves my life just a smidgen.

            5.   A flight attendant once told me she believed passengers
                  who lock their ankles at takeoff are showing their 
                  anxiety.

            6.   Is she right? I don’t know, but it seems when my legs
                  are separated anywhere I’m seated, I’m more at ease.

            7.   So that brings me to the matter of lacing my hands and
                  pressing my thumbs together. For me, that’s worth
                  facing.




© 2013 Allan Cox, Allan Cox & Associates Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________________

If you enjoy reading this story, you may wish to order WHOA! Are They Glad You’re in Their lives? available on Amazon Kindle and in print edition too. 

  • Kindle Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?

  • Print Edition: WHOA! Are They Glad You're in Their Lives?


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