Family Trip for Christmas
Since I have not written a newsletter since last December, I want to share with you an update on my life. I was blessed to spend Christmas in Portland, OR, with my two daughters and family, and one of the highlights was hiring a photographer to do some family pictures. These are always such treasure to have. (Notice that all the girls have on Collective Heart sweatshirts! 😉
2 picture
On December 26 the Portland gang all left to fly to Palm Springs, CA, where Garrett’s family joined us from Seattle. I rented a big house on a lake for the week, and although it was only in the 50’s, we had some fun adventures……from putting together puzzles, dashing to the hot tub, watching movies, going to the Living Desert zoo and Joshua Tree national park to the more adventurous afternoon of renting an ATV to ride in the desert, and finally, exploring downtown Palm Springs and having typical Mexican food for dinner. It was a fun family time to all be together except for Gavin who had to work in San Diego. We also did another all family picture taken there. I am blessed to have such wonderful children and grands!
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My Word for 2022
For many years, I have chosen a word for that year that becomes my focus during the next 12 months. This year I have chosen the word, IMMANUEL which means “God with us.” With all the fear, divisiveness, and hate in our world today, I want to focus on the HOPE that God really is in charge and has a plan for us in the midst of so much chaos. What is your word for 2022?
Blessings,
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“Hello, Barbara! Thank you again for the amazing presentation. The audience loved you and your content.”
Kelsey Rogers, Terryberry Marketing Manager
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VALENTINE’S DAY– Month of LOVE
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I am sending love to all the people who have added so much JOY to my life. May your days be overflowing with gratitude for those you love and for those who love you. I am so VERY GRATEFUL for all the LOVE I have in my life today. and I wish the same for each of you!
“LOVE is a friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing, and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.
LOVE is content wit the present, it hopes for the future, and it doesn’t brood over the past. It’s the day-in and day-out chronicle of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories and working toward common goals.
If you have LOVE in your life, it can make up for a great many things you lack. IF you don’t have it, no matter what else there is, it’s not enough.”
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. And those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” – Robert F. Kennedy, 1966
A ROMANTIC STORY FOR VALENTINE’S MONTH
This is a story about my Dad (and actually, ultimately, how I came to be!) My Dad was always a born romantic. When my mother finished college, she was given a job as the art teacher in Storm Lake, Iowa. Daddy, who was single, was a manager for Standard Oil at the time. In those days small towns always posted pictures of the new teachers in the newspaper. Daddy saw Mother’s picture and decided then and there that he was going to marry her!
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For the next two weeks he sent fresh flowers every day to the home where Mother was staying. They had never met – he just signed his name on the card. After two weeks (and using up every kind of vase in her landlord’s home), Daddy called and asked her out to dinner. How could she possibly say no after all that! And the rest is history…….;-)
For the rest of Daddy’s life Mother had fresh flowers delivered from him every single week. Even after he died, he had arranged with the florist that Mother would have fresh flowers for several years. So, thank goodness for a romantic Dad and all those flowers, or I might not be here today!
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“Extremely practical and lots of wonderful take-aways that I can use right now. Amazing session and a great way to end the day.”
National SHRM Conference 2020
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TEN TIPS FOR A MORE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE
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I love these tips from Donald Cooper’s Blog, especially numbers 5, 7 , and 9.
- Book time for yourself and family as you would for any other important customer. We have customers at home, too! (I only wish my kids and grands did not live all the way across the country, but we can do many things through Facetime or Zoom. Be creative even if you can’t be in person!)
- Create family traditions…they’re the ‘glue’ that hold families together. Without the ‘glue’ of traditions, families come unstuck. (One of my favorite books, “CARE Packages for the Home – Dozens of Little Things You Can Do to Regenerate Spirit Where You Live,” is filled with all kinds of fun ideas for family traditions if you need help.)
- Hug more. They’re free, low calorie and returnable. (Oh, YES!!!!)
- Hang out with positive, talented people. Get rid of the toxic people in your life. (There is a wonderful quote that says every encounter we have with another human being leaves both us and the other person on a higher or a lower plane. Always try to be a person who lifts people up, not puts them down.)
- Treat yourself. Small, affordable treats are ‘celebrations’ that can make a big difference. For example, buy the best bed linens and biggest bath towels you can find…and every night will be like sleeping at the Four Seasons. (I especially love clean sheets and new underwear!)
- Live with great design. Great design uplifts and inspires us. Bad design stresses and depresses us. Great design doesn’t have to be expensive. Buy any kitchen gadget by OXO. Great design for just 12 bucks. (This is a fun one – try Home Goods as well as the internet.)
- Use the alphabet to trigger new experiences. Be alive…be adventurous. Every month set a budget and commit to doing something that you’ve never done before that starts with the next letter of the alphabet. Start with picking Apples or trying an Australian wine or going to Al’s diner. Next month try Brie Cheese, Burgundy wine, or go to Boston. You get the idea…start with A, work through the alphabet till you go to the Zoo, or adopt a Zebra …then go back to A again. (LOVE this creativity. This is especially good for a longtime marriage or relationship when you need a little zip added! I also use the alphabet to remind my audiences to be grateful. Write something you are grateful for with every letter of the alphabet.)
- Give back…volunteer…practice random acts of kindness. When we make even a small difference in the lives of others, we make a big difference in our life too. (I would, however, suggest doing DELIBERATE acts of Kindness as well.)
- Travel…explore, expand your mind and enlarge your circle of friends. Get the book “A 1000 Places to See Before You Die.” Pick a page…and go there. Then pick another page. (I LOVE this book. I periodically go through and mark all the places I have been – feels like I am experiencing them all over again. And many of them are not well-known, so when you are planning a trip anywhere, look at what is near where you will be, and you might find some gems. I have!)
- All those things you’re saving for special occasions…get them out and use them now! ‘Life’ is a special occasion! (This is a great reminder for me as I tend to “save” things that are especially nice. I need to use my china and silver more often, too!)
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“Even being on Zoom, Barbara was awesome. Always a session I like to attend to feel good.”
National SHRM Conference 2020
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CREATE A CULTURE OF CARING
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2020 LEADERSHIP STATISTICS
As I continue to work with organizations that want to raise morale, increase creativity, service, and ultimately create cultures of kindness, joy, and caring, these recent statistics from “ 21+ Inspiring Leadership Statistics 2020 Edition”, reinforce the importance of this work in organizations worldwide.
- 79% of employees will quit their jobs due to a lack of appreciation from leaders.
- 83% of employers agree that it’s crucial to develop their employees’ skills, yet only
- 5% of corporations actually implement these improvements.
- Only 14% of CEOs have the leadership talent they need to grow their businesses.
- 15% of candidates state they turned down job offers due to a negative work culture.
- 70% of employees in the US are unhappy in their jobs due to negative management.
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March 4 is Employee Appreciation Day. I have two books that will help you with ideas to help you appreciate your employees and create a more caring workplace. The best news – most of them do not cost money! To order these books, go to www.barbaraglanz.com/products/ books/
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“Since the first day I met you, years ago, I knew you would continue to play a role in my life somehow. Your quotes, your books, and most of all, your heart, have given me the inspiration to love and support my family, friends and others that happen into my life. Bless you, Barbara Glanz.”
Laurie Bacon
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COLLECTIVE HEART – 15% OFF!
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If you sign up for Erin’s mailing list, you can get 15% off your next order! www.collective-heart.com. Many of you know that my daughter started a company a year ago focused on “Women Supporting Women” to help impoverished women in India. The women create lovely bags, scarves, t-shirts and sweatshirts from patterns Erin selects from women artists all over the world. You can support her efforts, the women in India, and those of many other women by subscribing to her newsletter, wwwcollective-heart.com. You will find different prints and styles each quarter.
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We think it is like color therapy for the soul. We are proud to feature the playful, limited edition print designs of independent female artists from all over the world.
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“Wonderful and inspiring! I am going through a major life change currently and your content, caring and support were so inspiring. THANK YOU!!!!”
National SHRM Conference 2020
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Dewitt Jones, the world renowned photographer included this beautiful piece by Eric Alan in his latest newsletter, and he and Eric were kind enough to let me share it with all of you.
GRATEFUL BY NATURE –
Walking Gratitude’s Wild
Path Home by Eric Alan
Earthy Valentine
What a time it has been, and still is. If winter is a time of dormancy, why is chaos growing so profusely? Shouldn’t it also be resting under snow? There’s a time for hibernation, and this is it.
I embrace winter. I wouldn’t feel complete or refreshed without it. I love the season of stillness, the chance to go inwards, the reflection and creativity that annually results. Yet by winter’s end, darkness strains the limits of how much light I can bring. Mid-February usually marks the moment when winter begins to oppress me with its chilly beauty. I need more daylight nourishment again, to maintain balance.
Probably coincidence that Valentine’s Day arrives with the winter doldrums. Or maybe it’s a scheduling issue within the Hallmark marketing department. I’m as wary of profit-driven holidays as I am of sociopolitical chaos, though I’m not suspicious of love itself.
I’m still deeply in love with the earth we share. I stand in awe as new green shoots already begin to silently reach out, before February ends in the Oregon forest. The first flowers offer their tiny bouquets. Despite everything going wrong in the human world, something pure still grows below us—and from this, I learn about love.
From loving the earth, I especially learn about the need for each of us to always keep growing. Earth offers her growth for us to notice, but still grows even if it eludes our vision. Her growth isn’t done to please us. She expects no reward. It’s what she needs to do, to become her truest self. That’s exactly what we need to do for each other, whether we’re in love or believing we’re without it. Our steady growth nurtures the love we imagine we lack. It’s ever present.
Inevitably love includes conflict, be it between two lovers, within family, or touching all of us and the earth. I’ve learned from restoring our neighboring forests and meadows that damage isn’t healed by assigning blame and punishment. Punitive justice isn’t justice at all. It’s a perpetuation of damaging cycles. Instead we ask what the harm is, and how can it be healed? How can future harm be prevented? The principles of restorative justice apply to meadows and marriage.
More than one wise counselor has told me that the strongest indicator of how a man will treat his wife is within his relationship to his mother. I’ve learned to extend this too, in an earthly way; to see that often, how we treat each other mirrors how we treat the earth. Are we truly paying attention to our planet’s needs, and to each other’s? The two are inseparable. And the challenge is as inevitable as growth.
The earth is my valentine, and yours. Our other earthly love is only possible within her context. We’re not only in relationship with nature, we’re a part of it. Some of spring’s inevitable growth comes through us. It’s up to us to look at the earth’s undemanding, persistent growth and do our own with humility. It’s our work every day we’re alive. We can always be better inside, better to each other, ready to forgive the harm and recognize it as our own, ready to celebrate each other’s reach towards the light. Only then do we fully bloom, as sacred as spring.
Eric Alan is an author, photographer, and workshop leader who is a primary contributor to the project Celebrate What’s Right with the World, with motivational speaker and former National Geographic photographer, Dewitt Jones. His forthcoming book Grateful by Nature will be released in spring 2022. His previous books include Wild Grace: Nature as a Spiritual Path, and Grace and Tranquility. More information at www.natureofgratitude.com. Eric can be reached at eric@wildgrace.org.
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“Barbara is an excellent speaker. She has a very calming voice, and her session was very true to real life. She even had me crying a few times! Loved her and the content of her presentation.”
National SHRM Conference 2020
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Thank you so much for being a part of our team and spreading YOUR contagious enthusiasm wherever you find yourself in life. Please let us know any ways we can be of help to you as you plan your association, company, or manager’s meetings. We would love to help you discover new ideas you can apply immediately in the areas of Employee Engagement, Customer Service, Appreciation & Recognition, Creating a Culture of Kindness, and Understanding the Human Level of Change.
“Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier.” ~ Mother Teresa
Blessings,
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© Barbara Glanz Communications Inc. 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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