STATEMENT OF LOSS Today is my Dad’s anniversary. He died eleven years ago today. I still miss him. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. Who do you miss? 2. How will you remember and celebrate them today? AUDIT You have wisdom Beyond your years. You have understanding Beyond this world. You have gifts Beyond all imagining. You have strength Beyond all constraints You have foresight. Beyond all reason. You have courage Beyond all danger. You have joy beyond all pain. You have hope Beyond all suffering. You have light Beyond all darkness. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. This is your personal audit. Remember to be grateful for your gifts and blessings - and to celebrate your life every day. ZERO SUM GAME There is nothing, ever, to be afraid of. For love holds you and will always care for you. You, were made to smile. There is nothing, ever, to be frightened of. For love holds you. and is there when you need help. You, were made to laugh. There is nothing, ever, to worry or stress about. For love holds you. and will never let you down. You, were made to shine. There is nothing, ever, to make you anxious. For love holds you and will never let you go. You, were made to be free. There is nothing, ever, to fear. For love holds you forever and ever. And you, were made to be happy. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. Can you reach out and trust in love? 2. Can you let love hold you and smile, laugh and shine? 3. Can you journey with love to be free and to be happy? KINDNESS Personal development is not about me alone. For my personal development is dependent upon many others, especially those who I interact with for food, work, safety, security, energy, health, friendship and love. Personal development is therefore about all of us. It’s about us working together and looking after each other, in ways that enable us all to live happily, and to grow, together. Personal development is about us reaching out and giving to others, so that we can all be safe and well. And yet, in our world we see so many living and dying in shocking conditions. We have been taught to strive for more, put ourselves first and hold onto everything. But in our interconnected world, this approach only serves to make life less secure for ourselves, for our children and for others. Kindness is much more than a nice thing to do. It is our emotional, rational and practical selves acting through initiatives, responses and actions to uncover who we are and see what we can become. Kindness is uncompromising and demanding. It causes us to make choices. It takes us out of our comfort zone. It makes us look at the needs of others. It enables us to understand who we really are. Kindness is the heart of personal development. It's time to put kindness on our curriculum. It's time for kindness policies to drive our workplaces, schools, universities and governments. And it's time for us to build a collaboration of kindness in our world, in our community, in our family and in our day. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. Where is kindness in your life and in your workplace? 2. How can you personally, become part of the collaboration of kindness in the world? READING BETWEEN THE LINES The evening train derailed yesterday. You could see it happening in slow motion, as the engine came off the tracks and lay there. A sorry sight. The driver died. No one else was hurt. Just wreckage and lives, all turned upside down in the moment. And overnight the cranes came and lifted the wreck. Workmen cleared the track. And life goes on as before, for all around. A new train arrived this morning. Others will never know what took place here. It is, as if, for them, that nothing has happened. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. What do you read between these lines? 2. What events and sadness are hidden in your lines? CONDITIONER The bell rings and the dog salivates. Waiting for the next piece of food to arrive. Just because there is a stimulus, doesn’t mean that there has to be a response. Just because someone says something, doesn’t mean that you have to answer. Just because something happens, doesn’t mean that you have to act. Just because your phone pings. Just because an email arrives. Just because the time says so. Just because social media keeps talking. It is when we stop being controlled by external activities, that we can begin to listen to internal whispers. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. How do you invest your time? 2. Who or what can controls your behaviour at times? 3. What might you say 'no response' to? DAYDREAMING There are times when our minds wander off beyond thoughts, into nothingness. It seems like we have gone beyond daydreaming. These are precious moments, not a time of lost activity. For beyond daydreaming is the place of all nothingness. When for a few moments, we journey beyond ourselves PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. How are you developing the skill of going beyond daydreaming? 2. When will you next sit in silence and journey beyond yourself? SIGNATURE SPEECH Your signature speech is the last two or three words in every conversation. Your signature speech is how you sign-off your emails. It used to be Yours Sincerely, Yours Faithfully, Yours Truly, Kind regards or Best wishes. Now we say: Take care. Enjoy your day. God bless. Look after yourself. Keep well. Your signature speech is your opportunity to show some kindness in two or three words. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. What is your signature speech? WAXWORKS We can pour jelly or Jell-O into a mould, to create any shape that we want. If we don’t, it will all just set in the bowl. We can pour candlewax into a mould, to create any shape that we want. We can make beautiful, scented candles. We can pour ourselves into a mould, to create anything that we want. We just need to decide what our mould is. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. 1. What does your mould look like? 2. What are you pouring your heart and soul into? |
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June 2021
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