Memories, Meanings, and Lessons for Life

Written by Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE


Some places just feel like home even if you’ve never lived there. I can feel calm settle over me as I turn fromrepparttar highway and see St. Joseph Convent perched in its solid position aboverepparttar 123930 Pennsylvania Dutch countryside. Its three-story arms spread acrossrepparttar 123931 hill as if embracingrepparttar 123932 furrowed farmland below. The manure-covered fields puff pungent perfume intorepparttar 123933 April morning air. The dense pine trees planted by my grandfather are almost as tall asrepparttar 123934 bell tower. I don’t rememberrepparttar 123935 pink and white dogwoods that blush next torepparttar 123936 retreat center but then again, I have never been here in spring. An emergency calls me here now.

Could it have been 45 years ago I watched my beautiful aunt walk downrepparttar 123937 aisle and become a “Bride of Christ”, a term that kept my eight year-old Catholic mind in puzzlement? I rememberrepparttar 123938 coolness ofrepparttar 123939 chapel andrepparttar 123940 stained glass colors dancing acrossrepparttar 123941 pews. Could it have been so long ago and after successive summer visits, that my twin brother and sister and I foundrepparttar 123942 cows kept by Sister Phillip,repparttar 123943 grotto walkway,repparttar 123944 Lady of Lourdes statue and chicken coops? Could it have been so long ago that countless arms swaddled in black gauze reached to hug us against ample bosoms?

How strange it seemed that we had to meet her—Auntie Pep now-called Sister Mary Clare—in a small parlor with uncomfortable velvet chairs. Stranger too was hearing Nana and Pappaw call their daughter, “Sister Clare”.

There was mystery behind all those doors marked “private” just as surely there must have been some secret hidden behindrepparttar 123945 starched headpiece and cowl and beneathrepparttar 123946 long black skirt and veil. Yet for allrepparttar 123947 mystery, my overwhelming sense was always one of contentment when I walked uprepparttar 123948 steep marble stairs torepparttar 123949 entry hall and candlelit chapel.

The black habits are gone and I am staying in one ofrepparttar 123950 rooms behindrepparttar 123951 private doors .I wear my bathrobe and stand shoulder to shoulder with nuns of all ages at a sink to spit toothpaste and water. I carry my tray intorepparttar 123952 dining room and laugh at jokes around a table. I knowrepparttar 123953 security code to openrepparttar 123954 backdoor and whererepparttar 123955 yogurt is hidden inrepparttar 123956 big refrigerator. It is now a different kind of mystery.

Look for the win, win!

Written by Josh Hinds


I'm absolutely convinced that if we look hard enough at any given situation we can identify a win, win situation in it. "So what'srepparttar big deal about win, win" you ask? Admittedly, I know a lot of people (many are friends of mine) that go day to day in their business dealings (and personal lives for that matter) looking for opportunities that only benefit themselves directly.

Now I am not saying there's necessarily anything wrong with this. Even so, I can't help but imagine that their personal level of success might multiply if they only tookrepparttar 123929 extra time to explore ways to ensure thatrepparttar 123930 opportunity was equally beneficial to all parties involved.

There's something magical about focusing on win, win scenarios. When we're fortunate enough to develop ourselves torepparttar 123931 point where we are always looking for these types of opportunities it's as if they literally come out ofrepparttar 123932 woodwork. The fact is people like to deal with those that don't haverepparttar 123933 "what's in it for me attitude", don't you agree?

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