Real Life Reflections

Depending on your source, new businesses that fail within their first twelve months range from 20% to 90%. My own observations over the years (I have no solid data to back this) is that these failures are not from a lack of skill but from a lack of business-sense and of infra-structure.  So here I am with my own start-up, and of course, I want it to succeed, but I'm a writer, an editor, and an HR professional. I'm not a small business owner. Oh wait. Yes, I am. Last week, I spent a fair amount of time networking and learning about the business side of things. By Thursday evening, it's fair to say that I was a tad overwhelmed.  I had listened, processed, and absorbed as much as I could. It felt like I had walked into a dense forest. Trees grew closely together and leaves scattered the ground. I could no longer see the path. I looked up. I looked around. Nothing but trees and leaves. Tall and beautiful and amazing in their brilliant fall colors but so many of them!  I froze.

 Americans have a favorite pastime, and no, I'm not referring to baseball or football. This pastime doesn't cost any money. You don't need tickets, and there's no set game time. It happens every day. You don't need to be physically fit. You don't need special training. We do it at book club, at work, on the road, in meetings, having lunch with friends, etc. You get the idea. What is it? Complaining. We love to complain, and I'm right there in the fray, tearing everything and everyone apart. Sometimes it wears me out. My mom passed away many years ago, and one of my all-time favorite memories of life with her goes back to my summer between high school and college. We worked together that summer. Drove together every morning, bright and early, right into the rising sun. One morning, my mom reached into her purse and grabbed her sunglasses, putting them on just as we rounded the bend on the St. Louis-rush-hour-busy road that put us directly in the sun's pat

A few weeks ago, my husband and I had dinner with our daughter-in-law and two of our grand children. My daughter-in-law lost her job a couple of months ago. I wanted an update on current job prospects or plans, so I asked, "What are you doing these days?" Her answer was simple and yet incredibly profound.              Resting. (Is that even a word in the American lexicon?) I'm proud of her, and of them, for making the decision that it's time for her to rest. She's been in hyper-drive for all the years I've known her (over 16).  That word has haunted me since she spoke it. Resting. What would happen if I...if you...gave it a try?  In Psalm 23: 6a, David says Surely goodness and mercy will follow me. In K.J. Ramsey's The Lord is My   Courage (page 240), she tells us that our English word, "follow," doesn't convey the power behind the original Hebrew word that David used (radaph). She tells us that radaph means "to pursue, chase, and pers

  "Gradually then suddenly" This line from a poem written by  my poet/philosopher nephew strikes a chord with me (Apparently some guy named Hemingway was the first to pen it. Although, I prefer to give the credit to my nephew). Gradually then suddenly  seems to be the way life happens. You wait for your dream-job. You long to find "the one." You can't wait to become a parent. The pining and preparation go on for years (just ask any medical student - or their spouse!). Then suddenly you get the call and can-you-start-next-week; or he finds your wallet and your life changes its trajectory ( true story about my niece) ; or the adoption agency contacts you when you've all but given up hope. Sometimes the gradually then suddenly isn't of our own choosing. Sometimes life propels us into a suddenly that we don't expect and may not want...or maybe we do.  I've been a litlover since childhood (both reading it and writing it). I've done the work of