KEYWORD
 
Imagine if we could find a way to work together
that was for the benefit of those most in need,
as well as our own personal interests.
 
Imagine if governments across the world were to
work collaboratively, not on the basis of trade,
but in looking after everyone on our planet.
 
Imagine if all religions and beliefs were to act
together, to help all of those in need.
 
Imagine if all situations of conflict  could
be transformed, now,   to communities of peace.
 
Imagine if we could  understands our true purpose,
and  could live this in every moment.
 
Imagine if we could find something so precious
that we give our whole life to it.
 
Imagine that one word
holds the key to all of this.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.  What is this keyword for you? 
2.   Now that you know this keyword, what are you going to do? ​

KINDLING
 
We all depend on positive feedback,
confirmation that we are doing well,
being told that we are making
great progress,   and  that we are loved.
  
We all thrive when others show
interest, say 'thank you', tell us
(and others),  that we are amazing,  and,
when they  encourage us onwards.
 
These inputs from others create
new energy  within us, for each comment
and smile   is like kindling for the fire,
burning within each of us.
 
Kindling comes from the word kind, 
and means to initiate and build kindness,
in every thought,   in every word,   ​
 in every moment   and with every person.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.  What kindling  have you created and shared today?
​2.   Who is giving you kindling that  is sustaining you​?
3. What piece of kindling could you initiate and share right now? 

​Day 335 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

WORK

Work is simply a method
of engaging in prayer.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.  What is your work all about?
​2.   What would you really like to work on? 

​Day 334 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

BECOMING
 
Be with me
at the start of the day.
Be with me
throughout the day.
Be with me
at the end of the day.
 
Be with me
in all our thoughts.
Be with me
in all our actions.
Be with me
in all our relationships.
 
Be with me
in all we were.
Be with me
in all we are.
Be with me
in all we will become.

RSVP
 
Inclusion is the ongoing
invitation for collaboration,
participation, sharing and caring,
that we send out to others.
 
Inclusion is our offer
that requires acceptance.
And not everyone will say yes.
You cannot take them all with you.
 
And so, inclusion is a continuous
and everlasting invitation.
It is our individual, organisational
and global, lifelong purpose.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.   Who will you send an invitation of inclusion to today? 
2. How is you organisation being inclusive  to all its staff, those it serves and the wider international community?
3. How are you reaching out globally  to include others ?​

MEANING
 
I seem to spend so much time searching
for meaning and looking for happiness.
Perhaps I need to start in a different place.
For when I see myself
at the centre of everything,
it’s easy to lose my way.
 
The first step I think, is to go deeper within myself
to that place of nothingness.
It is here that I find all that I need.
For  here is the reservoir of love,
where I can become, at the same time,
both all powerful and yet powerless.
 
When I then act, or talk, or interact from this place
I do so from a position of all-ness rather than self.
By trusting in love, I become one with love.
For all becomes possible,
when it is no longer about
my narrow definition of self, or purpose.
 
I find the meaning of all in this place within me,
in power and powerlessness,
in all-ness and nothingness.
For I am no longer separate from everything,
adrift on the sea.
I am the sea.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.   Can you shut out the world and go deeper within yourself? 
2. Can you sit for a few minutes in the place of nothingness? ​

​Day 331 of Des McCabe's Personal Development Exercises

​TEAMWORK
 
You must work with us.
If you go off on your own
to do your own thing,
then it’s solely about you.
 
If we could all work together
then everything becomes about us,
We can help each other
to achieve all that we should.

VALUE ADDED

When we go through our list
of previous jobs and roles,
we tend to think of the title,
responsibilities and payment.
 
We may even reflect
on the people we worked with
and some of the work we did.
 
And if we keep going
we get to that same point
in every role, and hope that
we did something good,
something that lasts.
 
We also realise that our presence
becomes  embedded  as value added 
in the lives of others,
who after we leave,  take their turn
and make their contribution.
 
So remember, our job outcomes
are realised long after we are gone.
And when we look back    we see that
we did something good,
something that lasts.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE
1.   Who did you add value for?
2. How  are your job outcomes growing in each role or job that you had? ​

BIRTHDAY PARTY 
 
There is a party in our village
when a new baby is born.
Families all get together
on a Saturday morning at 11am
to meet the new arrival, and
welcome this new person to our world.
 
We celebrate with smiles and hugs
giving thanks for all our lives.
We shed a small tear of remembrance
for those who have left us.
These little parties are literally, staging posts, 
and the lifeblood of our village.
 
We call this a  'Birth Day' party,
for the time of our first days.
It’s the informal coming together of
family, friends and community.
It’s our call to journey with the child
and for us all to begin again.

​PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. ​
1.   How might you 'journey' with us and 'begin again' this Saturday morning  at 11am?
2.   Who would have been around at your Birth Day  - and what  do you imagine they said? 

 GLASS BOOKCASE

He must have been a senior lawyer
or perhaps a judge.
The extensive law library housed
in a beautiful glass bookcase
across three walls of his study,
bears witness to a serious role and
a long commitment to his work.
His large oak desk still has the
files of papers he was working on.
 
He died two years ago
and his ground floor apartment
 remains largely untouched,
although the conservatory wall
is in need of some paint.
We view the property as potential buyers
and see family photos of a grandad,
and a bedroom left as if it was
 just tidied up for our viewing.
 
His home is full of outdated furniture
and we learn that,
after our judge  lost his wife,
he lived on here for years,
immersed in his retirement.
This flat will be sold and cleared out,
except for the glass bookcase,
which I think, will  remain,
waiting for new books to arrive.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT EXERCISE. ​
1.   What books would you treasure and  keep in your glass bookcase?
​2.  What  in your life,  is your long term  commitment to?​