Month: March 2012

Watch it Rain

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Yes, it is one of those “splash barefoot in a puddle of rain water” days.

I haven’t written in a while, I apologize. Lately,  I have been struggling to stay above water, and I am sure I’m not the only one. To those swimming in the sea of stress and never ending to-do lists, keep treading. All of your exhaustive work is worth something in the end.

Today, it rained ever so beautifully. I know it seems rather odd to describe rain as beautiful, but the rain fell from this beautiful wash of blue and grey skies. The sun attempted to break through the  few openings in the clouds, and it created the most magnificent view from my window. I wish I would have been forward in my thinking and took a picture, but I didn’t realize I would be blogging about my rainy day later in the  evening. I know most rainy days are dreary and not as colorful, but for some reason today’s rainy day was different… or maybe it was my perspective. It just seemed like the rain ever so gracefully landed on the leaves of the palms as the trees would dance in the wind, and the sun would give light to each raindrop as if each drop were sent from heaven. Watching the rain bounce off the ground and gravitate into small pools along the sidewalk was my favorite part.  It was like watching a river flow into the ocean. The streams of water would just flow into these ocean-like puddles. 🙂

You may think I am crazy for watching the rain so observantly like I did, but it took my mind off the millions of thoughts racing through my mind. Not to mention, it was refreshing to have the rain fall in an always sunny and hot climate . The rain almost gives you an entirely new appreciation for how beautiful the sunlight truly is. Granted, the rain is beautiful too, but you can’t appreciate the one without the other. Just like you cannot appreciate happiness without sadness.

Anyways, the point of my post today is to remind you to take a step back. Stop your mind from catering to all the thoughts that race around it. Take a moment to pause, observe and appreciate your surroundings. Trust me, I know it’s much easier said than done, but challenge yourself. In the end, you will find yourself refreshed, renewed and re-energized.

Don’t see the rain as a hindrance, see it as an opportunity to have fun in its puddles. 🙂 Your never ending to-do lists will eventually get done, but take advantage of the times when you can focus on you and do something fun!

“Don’t wait for the storm to pass, learn to dance in the rain.”

A Wonderful Fact to Reflect Upon

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(This post goes out to my recently acquainted friend, Matthew Galewski. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet you at GARP, and have spectacular memories of that weekend with you and our GARPhamily. There is something about you that draws people in, and once their in, they don’t want to leave. You are extremely intelligent, charismatic, humorous and motivating. Most importantly, your caring ways genuinely reflect the size of your heart. All of that wrapped into one package…pssshh…now that ain’t right! lol)

“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.”- Charles Dickens, A Tale Of Two Cities

This quote was introduced to me by Matt during our Graduate Assistant Recruitment Weekend at the University of South Carolina. Matt, myself, and our friends Kelsey & Supaphen decided to take a stroll through the education building when we happened to stumble upon an empty classroom. Without hesitation, Matt goes to the front of the empty classroom and pretends to be our professor. His lesson consisted of writing quotes on the board, and we, as students, had to guess the person being quoted. Anyhow, he writes Charles Dickens’ quote on the board…and of course, we guess wrong, but afterward, the quote itself got me thinking.

Just to introduce my readers to the individual I am quoting, for those who don’t know, Charles Dickens was a famous English writer/novelist during the Victorian period.  His two major works include A Tale of Two Cities (1859) and Great Expectations (1861). Just for fun, I would like to mention that Charles Dickens and I share the same Zodiac Sign. By no means am I saying that we have the same writing abilities, but since he is an Aquarius, he’s probably one cool dude!

 The quote in its entirety reads, “A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!”

Personally, I think Charles Dickens is so eloquently stating that we, as humans, need to reflect upon our judgments of others. Each of us is a profound secret to the other. We are all a mystery in the eyes of one another. Therefore, how can we justify the right to judge a mysterious creature of this Earth when  we ourselves are mysterious creatures of this Earth? It goes back to the simple phrase of you cannot judge a book by its cover. Look at it this way, we are all books… There are billions of us that make up the compilation of this Earth, and each one of us is filled with different content. We are filled with different languages, feelings, stories, pictures, memories, humors, thoughts and directions. Most importantly, we are all influenced by different characters.

If all of us are different, then on what basis can we judge one another? Even Charles Dickens quotes, “every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!” Meaning, sometimes the people closest to us don’t always know the mysterious of our being. Even the hearts that beat closest to our own cannot pass judgement.

I understand this is simply my interpretation and my interpretation only, but I hope it doesn’t hinder anyone  from wanting to comment below. I am open to all interpretations and opinions… that is what quotes and blogs are all about! So, please, comment below if you agree, disagree, or have no idea. 🙂

Lollipop Moment

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A great video about leadership. Have you ever had a “lollipop moment”?? If so, take the time to acknowledge the person that gave you the “lollipop moment”.

“There is no world, there’s only 6 billion understandings of it. And if you change one person’s understanding of it, one person’s understanding of what they’re capable of, one person’s understanding of how much you care about them, one person’s understanding of how powerful an agent for change they can be in this world, you’ve changed the whole thing.”

 

Empathic Civilization

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Bestselling author, political adviser and social and ethical prophet Jeremy Rifkin investigates the evolution of empathy and the profound ways that it has shaped our development and our society.

This is a great watch! “To empathize is to civilize and to civilize is to empathize.”

Shout-out to my best friend. :)

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Dear Readers,

My best friend, Sarah, posted this on my Facebook today and I feel compelled to share it with you.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.’ We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
~Marianne Williamson.

Sare, thank you for taking the time to share this with me. Not only did it make my day, but it gave me the reassurance I needed to push forward. You inspire me each and every day in so many different ways. You are a role model to me; a leader that I will follow for a lifetime. You have a special place in my heart, and I genuinely value our friendship. I love you and miss you, and hope that someday soon we will be working side by side; inspiring people together. 🙂

To my bloggers, read on. Share with your friends what my friend shared with me. Acknowledge the people you care about most- trust me, it goes a long way.

With love, Court

(PS- Sorry I have been out of operation for the past two weeks. Once I can catch up on my life, I promise my blogs will be more interesting.)