Category: Leadership
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Defiance
If I were tired and overstimulated, I would interpret defiance as stubborn disobedience and pointless opposition. What a difference a calm heart and mind can make in the approach to normal day to day new challenges. Saturday I attended a moms’ group and I was reminded of the power of prayer in keeping one’s patience…
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Capacity for friendship
I believe my capacity is quite limited. But then, as I count my friends, I find I have too many. In different stages, we’ve expanded our social groups. As our friends also outgrown their stage in life, everyone gently moved away, like icebergs drifting, but not with sadness or disappointment but with ease and serenity.…
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Selective friendships
If being loved and included by all is your goal, you will fail. Rejection is one of the most painful feelings one can experience, no matter how mature or old. The sooner you figure out it is still part of being alive, the better.Some protect themselves from rejection by isolating themselves. That doesn’t mean they…
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Children & apologies
You’ve got to let them come to you. This year with Jackie has been like that. Give her space. Be available. She’ll come to you. I love the teenage years, challenging as they may be. She is maturing under my own eyes and we are building a strong relationship. She is curious and challenges the…
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Permission
“Who told you, you can do this?” I ask my 7 year old, taken aback by her actions. “I told myself” she answered with an obvious “duh!” confident voice. I also think through every situation fast. I do. But I find myself in her predicament often. I do decide for myself even when it’s borderline.…
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Clay at MomCo
I have a trailblazer friend. She is extremely talented and, since I’ve known her, she has tried her hand at many arts. And yet, finding your passion is not about being talented but about being brave, open and perseverent. And there are seasons we go through. She says she loves beautiful things and I believe she…
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MVT 2024 Romania
We hurried through the exodus traffic to get out of Cluj, on a Friday afternoon, anticipating the cold mountain air. And the silence of autumn. Each brought a small luggage, and all five of us piled into a car. Thus we began our chatting to reconnect and tell stories about life and the kids’ extracurricular…
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MVT 2024 – Valea Drăganului
Ne-am grăbit să ieșim din Cluj într-o vineri după amiaza de toamnă, anticipând aerul rece de munte. Și liniștea. Cu bagaje mici, ne-am urcat toate cinci într-o mașină și am început din mers poveștile de reconectare sau cunoaștere. În astfel de ieșiri, tot timpul aflam ceva nou din viața dinainte de copii, despre aventurile în…
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Autonomie
În pofida dificultăților, limitărilor, greșelilor, indisponibilități adulților din viața mea când eram copil, sentimentul de autonomie m-a protejat de percepția ca traumă a evenimentelor din viața mea . Cred până în adâncul ființei mele că: “Pot face ceva. Sunt în control. Nu îmi place situația în care mă găsesc. Schimb ceva.” Mă aud zicând ca…
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Faith & Politics
What a sensitive combination of words. Do they go together? In the eve of presidential elections in US and elections everywhere in Europe this year, we bravely or recklessly decided to tackle them together, and get the input of public servants from all over the board, with different affiliations, background & party lines. From different…
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Gender identity
My 11 year old daughter asked two girls she didn’t know, who were waiting in front of the bathroom at the conference, if the bathrooms were all occupied. They answered with “this is the girls bathroom”. My daughter only responded with “I know”. She wanted to cut her hair short to be cool, different, and…
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Urgent matters & saying no to friends
Two decades ago my brother was telling me about the quadrants of busyness, formed on the axes of important and urgent. Where do you think we spend most time in? And where should we actually focus on? Important and not urgent. That should fill most of our time. Instead we get so wrapped up in…