Tag: stories

Pearls and Pigs

Attacked, Condemned, and Trampled

Have you ever been attacked for offering goodness?

Have you ever been condemned for doing right?

Has another person ever trampled you into wondering, “What’s up with that?!”

A Better Way

There must be a better Way.

In the realm of human nature, there is nothing new under the sun. Things today are about like they have always been. Amazingly, though, when it’s our pain, the hurt is real.

When managing our emotions, this one encouragement is a reminder of the power that is ours.

We get what we allow.

In other words: If we do what we have always done, we will get what we have always got.

This Is The Way

Tired of being attacked? Sick to death of being condemned? Crawled out of the mud, for the very last time?

Do you want to know about a better Way?

Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy.
Don’t throw your pearls to pigs!
They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

Pigs

Who are PIGS?

People
Intently
Glorifying
Self

Pearls

What are PEARLS?

Precious
Exquisite
Arrangements
Reflecting
Life’s
Secrets

The precious gem of your multifaceted life Story deserves to be shared with the world. Because a few ugly creatures are ungrateful, does not diminish the value of YOU.

Please, accept the responsibility for never again offering your gifts to the wrong people, move beyond the pen of PIGS, and boldly share your PEARLS of wisdom — Your Life Story — with those patiently waiting for the one and only, unique, courageous, and priceless creation of YOU.

Foundations

I’ll bet some pretty good money it’s been a while since you thought about the foundation of your home.

Yet, of all the parts and pieces of your beautiful home, the foundation is the most important.

Our Structure

The same can be said about the structure of YOU.

Each of us has a foundation. The majority of it was formed in childhood and as young adults. There are some people who obsess about their foundation. They want to regale us with the stories of abuse — because they had ‘bad’ parents.

Granted, there are evil people who engender children — and, those children have bragging rights. For the rest of us older kids, we can acknowledge we had regular parents — imperfect ones. And, as a parent, I fit right in that category.

Our Foundation

Let’s take a look at the similarity of our foundation and the one designed for a beautiful home. In fact, we might start with the home, itself — and, see that the home fits the foundation.

In other words, if you live in a McMansion, the foundation is massive and somewhat of an architectural wonder — with all of its various depths and offsets. For the more humble of abodes, the foundation will be much more plain and straightforward.

In the olden days, most log cabins were built on a foundation of four large stones — one at each corner of a four-sided structure. The old-timers did their best with what they had. For the skyscrapers of today, months – and, sometimes years – are invested to provide the necessary support for what rises above.

Our Choice

Here is another of those ‘humor Kim moments” — examine the structure of YOU. Are you a Cabin? A new-fangled Modular? Or, maybe you are an honest-to-goodness Mansion. There’s no right, or wrong, to this mental exercise.

However, I can guarantee the structure each of us has built fits and matches our foundation. And, to be clear, I’m not talking about the physical manifestation of who we are. I’m making reference to the emotional, mental, and spiritual components of the real individuals underneath our personas.

I’ll bet some more money that those individuals who experienced hardship in childhood and as young adults have the strongest foundations. Those hardships are the rebar and aggregate (rock, sand, and gravel) binding with cement to support the multi-story complex of these individuals.

Magnificent

The good news for all of us is that we can continue to build. For those with a massive foundation, they will keep on adding stories.* For those with a structure they have grown to dislike, there is the option to remodel — which, generally, requires new foundations.

I hope each of us examines our foundations, revisits our blueprints, and, then, sets our hands to the construction of somebody magnificent.

* Stories — and, Chapters to the Book of their Life. 🙂

People Over Process

Do you want to be a star? Someone who is a sparkling speck of celebrity?

Someone who can tip off the stage and be swept around the arena on the hands of raving fans?

Here’s the secret — always, keep People over Process.

Think about it. Process is designed for efficiency. People are created for growth. As soon as an individual grows, the process no longer fits the occasion. The rules must change to reflect the new person.

POP ~ People Over Process

POP — How many definitions come to mind? A father figure is a POP. There’s snap, crackle, and POP. Maybe it’s the sound at the beginning of a race. Or, it might be the crack of a whip. Sweet to the taste is a soda. Pick your favorite — so, as to always remember — People over Process.

How do we build relationships with People? Let’s use just a little bit of Process to break down the word and discover the steps up to the stage of becoming a bonafide PEOPLE star.

Present ~ Be present. When given the opportunity of another person, be with them.

Enlighten ~ Think light. Be bright, lead the way, and exude warmth.

Open ~ Be vulnerable. Put a little skin in the game and get prepared to be bruised.

Powerful ~ Offer the best in sacrifice of time and resources for the benefit of others.

Listen ~ Stories are the channels to deeply connect and experience the flow of a soul.

Enjoy ~ The talk and walk are less important than the music and dance. Feel it!

Our Performance Stage

Now, the final question, “Do we need a stage on which to perform?”

Yes, and No.

No, in the sense, that we hone our gift in the garages and basements of life. We work diligently with a select few, out of sight, and out of mind — until, our talent is ready for presentation, to the whole wide world.

Yes, in the sense, that we must be visible — to offer our best, to the most. We climb high to project our voices to many. Guaranteed — by choice, or fate — each of us will, eventually, fall off the stage on which we have chosen to perform.

And — when we do, we will know whether we have kept People over Process.

There will be the POP of a body hitting the ground — or, the POP of fingers keeping time to the chorus of voices from adoring fans, as we are carried in loving arms, to a place of safety.