Day 3,054

Growth:

Sometimes it takes guts to point out an error someone is making. It takes even more guts to say it when that person is your boss. When someone says it as a matter of fact, a matter of caring – regardless of whether or not that person is your supervisor – they are a person of outstanding integrity. I’m grateful to have those people around me, they inspire me to be a better me.

Appreciation:

After finishing Ender’s Game I decided to follow the path into the next book in the series, Speaker for the Dead. It is one of my favorite fictions of all time thanks to the depth and complexity of the characters and their interactions. Throw in several insightful concepts of spirituality, mortality, and philosophy and it really has everything within its pages.

What leapt off the pages for me today was a quote from one of the protagonists, Valentine. She’s spent the past years moving from planet to planet taking time to write the history of each. In a flash of insight she realizes how much she has changed as a result of her experiences.

“And it’s true, thought Valentine.  I’m not the same person, really, from book to book, because each world changes who I am, even as I write down the story of the world.  And this world most of all.”

Orson Scott Card, Speaker for the Dead

It really struck a chord with me. I’ve recently and often written about “never stepping in the same river twice” or never being the same person who’s read the same book in the past. Life changes us and as a result we are not the same person as the day before. Even the process of writing each blog changes the me. Her statement was such a beautifully eloquent way of making that point.

Presence:

While my walk outside in early February over lunch was fantastic, the moment which stuck out to me today was during our monthly Star of the Month meeting. I had the privilege of sharing who the two recipients of this month’s Star of the Month were to our teams. The smiles on their faces when they realized they were the ones being bragged up were priceless! They both did an outstanding job of living into our core values this month and seeing the recognition on their faces was epic!

Thanks!!!