"He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven" Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the half-light, I would spread the cloths under your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I …
Category: Observations on Life
Carpe diem or Carpe per diem?
Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral. -- Frank Lloyd Wright A master builder, a rebel and a nature worshipper, Frank Lloyd Wright's career spanned 70 years and resulted in the design of 1,141 buildings, including churches, schools, libraries, houses, bridges, museums and more. Though Wright is …
A Brave and Determined Spirit
The miracle, or the power, that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance under the prompting of a brave, determined spirit. - Mark Twain The human spirit is animated by a powerful and inexhaustible force. To be meaningful, the force of life that courses through the veins of any …
Inspired Leaders, Inspired Organizations ask and answer “why?”
What do you believe in? What do you believe about the world? What is important to you? What matters? If you are clear on what you believe in, the rest is just details. If you are clear on what you believe in, you will find others who inspire you to strengthen your resolve. If you are clear on what you believe in, you are much less likely to be distracted by extraneous compulsions.
It’s time to make the donuts…making the ordinary extraordinary!
Extraordinary people rise above the ordinary because they embrace life with gusto! They imbue their world with a sense of meaning, of purpose and they embrace their world with enthusiasm, encouragement and respect. No task is mundane to a truly extraordinary person. Every circumstance faced by one who has chosen to be extraordinary - no matter how big or small, how apparently meaningful or insignificant - is potentially a womb for greatness.
All’s right with the world…tranquility as a point of departure
Pippa's Song, by Robert Browning The year 's at the spring, And day 's at the morn; Morning 's at seven; The hill-side 's dew-pearl'd; The lark 's on the wing; The snail 's on the thorn; God 's in His heaven— All 's right with the world! I love this little poem as it …
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U.S. Farmers Cope with Roundup Resistant Weeds: Address the Cause not the Symptom
There was an excellent article in the New York Times yesterday that underlines the risk of addressing symptoms rather than the underlying cause when addressing problems (see http://tinyurl.com/3yw758o). Such an approach offers appealing and typically profitable short-term gains, but invariably produces long-term side-effects and costs that outweigh the initial benefits. A biodynamic and organic farmer friend of mine argues that weeds thrive only in compromised soil. …
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Brevity is the Soul of Wit
Mastery in any activity is revealed when the doer makes the action seem effortless. I have seen mastery revealed in many areas of human activity - in the kitchen, on the sports field, in the theater, in the classroom - and the signature qualities of one who has mastered his art are grace and poise. …
A Blowout Preventer for Humankind: How to Save the Environment
Cleanup crews are working feverishly to deal with a massive oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. An explosion of unknown origin damaged the rig and the failure of the blowout preventer, a backup system for containing spills of this type located nearly 5,000 feet below the ocean's surface, compounded the containment efforts (http://tinyurl.com/2fdda38). Earlier today, a young man …
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Practical Wisdom: What’s your Job Description?
I once heard wisdom described as the "sense of the fitness of things." Wisdom is more than knowledge, it is a sensitivity of perception and consideration that facilitates excellence in thought, word and action. Wisdom in thought combines knowledge with accurate intuition. Wisdom in speech is saying the right thing at the right time or as …
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Gregory Hake 