Teaching

What makes a good teacher? I always thought the best quality of a teacher is patience, but no more.

Sure, you may need to be patient and be in the moment when guiding someone through something that you feel is obvious. But the audience still needs to learn, otherwise you aren't teaching.

So patience, yes, but also knowledge. Passion. Confidence (in the material).

Perspective

Today I was digging through storage, searching for my school diploma for an employment background check. As I did so, I came across my college yearbook.

I opened it to my picture and, after laughing so hard I was brought to tears (can't believe I went out of the house looking like THAT even once, let alone on a regular basis!), I thought: "What would I say to the young me today?"

So, here's some advice for 21 year-old John Grieco:

• Treat everyone with respect.


• Make time for your friends. Some of them will be gone before you know it or before you're ready for it.


• Laugh. A lot. Don't worry if others think you're crazy, but do try to convince them to join in.


• Sometime in 1995, you'll see a gorgeous lock of hair behind some boxes stacked on a hand truck, trying to open a door. Make sure you help her. Give her your busines card too.


• Relax. Enjoy the journey. Becuase no matter what you do things always work out.

Worthiness

It says here that next year Tiger Woods will become the first athlete to have over $1 billion in earnings (winnings). How did he do it?

Sure, he practiced a lot, I imagine. And he undoubtedly has gifted genetics. But how does someone become 10X, 100X, 1000X better than someone else? He has two arms, two legs, two eyes just like everyone else.

So it must be something else, right? Something you and I can't see. Attitude. Mental toughness.

Give

Have you ever noticed that if you try to "give till it hurts" you never succeed? That's because giving feels good!

There are several psychological and genetic reasons for this:

• When you're giving, you have taken your mind off yourself. You have 'gotten out of your own way', allowing yourself to flourish.


• In-grained survival mechanisms. You know you are making the species better by giving, and that enhances everyone's likelihood of success and survuval.


• Selfishness. Oftentimes the giver beneifts directly, through learning a lesson or interaction with someone they wouldn't have normally had an interaction with.
  

So, what can I do for you? Give me the chance to be a better person.

Fly

Today I opened my front door to a baby red-breasted robin and mother on my front porch. The youngster was learning to fly, mom nearby coaxing him.

I stood there, watching. I didn't want to open the front door anyway, and disturb a class in session. I watched as the baby figured out how to get over the railing and move along.

When class was over I got in my car and ran some errands. Shortly thereafter I returned home to see that the mother was still there, hopping about and eating breakfast (worms ), the young one nowhere in sight. So it occurr to me that I had just witnessed mom saying goodbye to her baby as he went about his life.

A necessary part of life, sometimes, this spreading your wings and flying. And also, the letting go by those you've left behind.

Optimism

MSN Health & Fitness displays an article by Marguerite Lamb called Act Like an Optimist, Improve Your Health. It's interesting in that it makes the (correct, I believe) distinction between optimism and happiness.

It also offers ways you can "train" optimism into your life: goal settng, persistence. etc. A useful and thoughtful article, check it out!

Ways I stay optimistic include: working out, appreciating what I have, laughing (finding something to laugh about), and sometimes just looking out the window at the scenery.

Perspective

On our honeymoon, my wife and I visited Italy and, as part of that trip, toured the Sistine Chapel. It was explained during the tour that Michelangelo for many years was thought of as a great sculptor but not as good a "colorist", based on his painting of the Chapel's ceiling.

In 1984, a restoration of the ceiling was undertaken. During this time, the restorers stripped all the wax and painted definition left in previous restoration attempts, bringing the surface back to as xclose to Michelangelo left it as possible.

Suddenly, scenes were shown in bright, vivid color. Suddenly, scientists realized the candle smoke and layers had obscured the genius of the artist. Suddenly, Michelangelo became a great colorist, on par with his sculpting ability.

So, the point of the story is to lift the veil on things in your life. Let the real you shine through. And don't pay any attention to what others say, good or bad.

Connection

There are times in life where there just seems to be a 'spark' that ignites something in you. It happens in many different ways: your eyes lock with someone else's, you discover a new way to move in a yoga class, or happen upon a business idea. Either way, it seems that time slows down or becomes irrelevant.

Such a thing happened to me in college. I had just started studies, picked Business Administration as a pursuit because it seemed closest to that spark for me, but there was something more and I knew it.

In my second semester I signed up for a computer programming elective. I sat down at the terminal (that's what they called them then ) to write my first program, finished it in what seemed like an hour. I looked up at the clock and 5 hours had gone by. The guy who couldn't stay still for more than a minute had actually sat still for 5 hours, moving only his fingers!

So, here I am years later still riding that spark.

Give

Today I read a story about kidney transplants, with profiles of 6 donor-recipient pairs. This got me to thinking about what giving really means.

Webster's...er....gives several meanings depending on context:

• To present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; bestow: to give a birthday present to someone.


• To hand to someone: Give me that plate, please.


• To place in someones care: If you give me your coat, I'll put it in the closet.

...and so forth. The one that most captures the spirit I'm discussing is the first one.

I think the joy of giving in this manner comes from the 'compensation' you do receive, because it is so unexpected. At the very least you get the feeling that you are advancing human-kind's place in the world, one person at a time sometimes, and sometimes by affecting entire groups of people.

Friendship

Today I celebrated National Trails Day by running on trails with friends. Here is a list of things I appreciate about today:

• The wonderful weather we had.


• The unique event we participated in (the 'Train'ing Run).


• The health of my body.


• The company of friends.


• The raising of funds for a good cause. We raised over $1500 for cancer research!


• The sense of humor my friends possess (and the fact that they put up with mine ).


• Seeing friends I hadn't seen since last years event.


• The level of fitness of the participants - some ran 34 miles, some 68. That is NOT a type.

National Trails Day

Tomorrow is National Trails Day. The running club I belong to, RVRR, celebrates with a unique event called the 'Train'ing run. It's a time for us to give back. To show how much we appreciate the trail(s) we run on as a group and as individuals, and while we're at it we raise funds to cure cancer. Mostly, we just appreciate who we are and the tremendous gifts we've been given.

Check out the RVRR site for information and, if you're in Central NJ tomorrow come join us. Meet some great people, eat some BBQ and raise money for cancer research!

Animals

After a run I usually do about 10 minutes of yoga stretches. This morning one of my cats (Elliott) joined me, we have three and typically all three come into the room when I stretch.

As I launched into a Downward Dog I decided I would rename it Downward Cat in his honor. He proceeded to give his version of it, called the 'Downward Cat with Licking Paw' variation.

So this got me to thinking. Why is it that cats always seem to be doing yoga, even while sauntering around the house or leaping on top of a counter? Is it just the way they are, some combination of musculature and attitude? Or is it choice?

Most animals seem to be doing yoga at all times. Even squirrels, though they do some sort of version of Speed-Power yoga I don't think any of us humans can try.

Question

What is the answer to the musical question 'Who let the dogs out?'. Does anyone know?

Anticipation

Today I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. I know the gifts are there, I know they are coming to me, I just wish they would arrive.

Sometimes, in fact most times, this is being felt in a spirit of excitement. I can't wait to employ my skills in a new team, can't wait to grow and succeed with my next employer.

Sometimes it's felt with a little frustration, like the kids in the back of the car saying "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?". It's those times that I know I need to appreciate where I am, because that feeling of frustration will only distance me from the gifts.

Progress

In the past few years I've been instilled with a philosophy that I feel has really served me well, so I'd like to share it in the hopes it will do the same for you....

It sometimes seems like the only thing to do is give up on a goal. Discouragement may be rampant or you may feel 'lost' or not as confident that you will achieve the result. It's at times like these that I remember one of two things (or both):

• Look at a stairway you are about to climb. Many times you can only see the first few steps, so do you refuse to climb them?


• You get in your car to go to the store or even another state. You travel half way and say "Well, since I don't see the destination it must be impossible to reach so I'll turn around and go home."

Life is full of beginnings, and most of what you think are endings are not that at all. Most times you are not exactly at a goal you set out to accomplish, but it's still there where you put it when you started. So keep going! Turning around would just be a waste of gas money :-).