Posted on November 17, 2021
By Nan Russell
“We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn’t always know this and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.” ~ Roger Ebert
(Updated reprint of a 2017 Nan Russell Thanksgiving post)
Some people collect coins or books, kaleidoscopes or post cards. While I can add my name to tangible collections through the years, what I really collect is quotations that speak to me, like the one above. As if a treasure unearthed, when I find a quotation that nudges me, inspires me, or touches my soul, I savor it.
I added this quote to my collection after the 2013 death of Pulitzer Prize winner and acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert, whose cancer battle left him unable to speak for the last few years of his life.
While reading about his life, I found his words humbling. They were written by Ebert after more than a decade with debilitating and disfiguring health issues. I’m grateful to have found Ebert’s words. Every time I read them, they encourage me to try a bit harder, to be less self-absorbed, and to contribute more joy.
It’s not hard to contribute a bit of joy every day — acknowledging others’ contributions, smiling at a stranger, being there for family or friends, helping a neighbor, listening without judgment, or telling someone how much we care.
Still, we often don’t. We get caught in our swirl of life — our own busyness and dramas and troubles — absorbed in our (continue reading →)
Posted in: In the Scheme of Things, Life |
Tagged: gratitude, In the Scheme of Things, joy, Kindness, Nan Russell, Nan S. Russell, Roger Ebert, showing up, thanksgiving |
Posted on April 23, 2019
By Nan Russell
“People find life entirely too time-consuming.” This aphorism from 20th century poet, Stanislaw J. Lec, captures how many of us feel at times. There’s too much to do and too little time to do it. But for me, spring offers an antidote. It reminds me it’s time to pause and notice that winter is gone and life’s natural rebirth has arrived. I’m drawn to spring’s beauty as trees and plants renew with bright, vivid green growth, and flowers venture toward the sun.
But in all of life’s busyness, this yearly reminder to notice what’s happening around me isn’t enough. So, it’s with that perspective that I share a piece from my journal written 16 years ago. Finding it recently nudged me about the importance of everyday noticing; I hope it nudges you, too.
[On the shores of Loch Ewe in Inverewe Gardens, located in the Highlands of Scotland, I’m sitting in bright sunlight listening to water softly lick the grassy slopes. Across the loch, there are mountains, and sheep, and a post card village with tiny white houses. It’s an image of a simpler life where nature’s sights, sounds, colors, and smells comprise a world quite different from the one I’m used to. Vibrant impressions weave together as I write. I look again, a bit closer, seeing now the heather covered hills peppered with ruined stone walls. A sharp chord sounds in my brain as I note these markings of hardships and struggles. (continue reading →)
Posted in: In the Scheme of Things, Life |
Tagged: gratitude, In the scheme of things; pause, Inverewe Gardens, life; memories, Loch Ewe, notice; breathe; moments; Nan S Russell; Scotland |
Posted on November 20, 2018
By Nan Russell
While basement cleaning isn’t on my fun-to-do-during-time-off list, growing necessity prevailed during a recent staycation. Space was needed to expand the photo studio for my Etsy vintage shops, but too many boxes of stuff moved too many times, were in the way.
It was during that stuff elimination project I discovered old gratitude journals in a worn box. Every day for years I’d logged five or more things I was grateful for that day. Skimming the pages in dozens of abundance journals, my gratitude statements kindled warm memories of occurrences, kindnesses, and people.
But they sparked something else, too. The last time I saw the journals, I chose not to part with them. Perhaps I thought someday family or friends would read how grateful I was about each of them. But now, I was struck with how silly it seemed to hope they’d find my words. This time, the journals ended up in the recycle bin.
I believed then that gratitude was an inner feeling, a heartfelt expression of appreciation, love, and thankfulness. And it is. It enables us to see the blessings we have, and the positive elements in our life. It’s the kind of gratitude we hold inside with love and thanksgiving and it makes us feel good on several levels.
There’s a second kind of gratitude, the external kind, that’s nice to get and give, too. I first felt its power (continue reading →)
Posted in: In the Scheme of Things, Life |
Tagged: but for the grace of, different kinds of gratitude, giving thanks, grateful, gratitude, gratitude of spared sorrow, In the Scheme of Things, Nan Russell, Nan S. Russell, thanksgiving |
Posted on November 19, 2017
By Beth Pelkofsky
While being grateful may be top of mind this week, being thankful is better as a regular practice. With that in mind, I thought I’d share a favorite quote that captures the meaning of gratitude and thankfulness. Start following these impulses!
“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” -American Writer, Henry Van Dyke
Posted in: Life |
Tagged: give, gratitude, impulse, Kindness, thankfulness, thanks, thanksgiving |
Posted on September 7, 2017
By Nan Russell
“Nan-a!” her voice held displeasure. “You wore that last week; why do you wear that t-shirt so much?” “It’s my favorite,” I told my 7-year-old granddaughter. “I got it on our first Hawaii vacation when your dad was just a teenager.” I didn’t tell her I bought it when my optimism about people and the world was intact; a time when I was idealistic, or naïve, depending on perspective. In the years since, reality cracks, weathered-edges, and life experiences have augmented and enhanced my views.
Still, that t-shirt is my favorite; not because of its decades-old fabric, although I love its soft feel, and not because it holds memories of exploring Volcano National Park as a young family. No. This worn, turquoise patterned t-shirt is my favorite because it speaks to me.
“No Rain — No Rainbows” the front reads, with “Kimos Rules” on the back — everything from “Never judge a day by the weather” to “The best things in life aren’t things.” The front words are the ones that give me pause, serving their magic in the form of a nudge for me to keep my perspective; to remember life’s rainbows in times of rain.
Certainly life events shape us. As a child, having a fire destroy our home in the middle of the night created my need to (continue reading →)
Posted in: In the Scheme of Things, Life |
Tagged: difficult times, good life, gratitude, In the Scheme of Things, inspiration, keep perspective, life challenges, lose perspective, Nan Russell, no rain no rainbows, rain, rainbows, rough patch |
Posted on November 24, 2015
By Beth Pelkofsky
I’m a colleague of Nan’s. I regularly post here about work, life and sometimes the merging of the two. In the next several days many of us will be thinking about the people, the places and the things we’re thankful for as we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. What we may not realize is, being thankful throughout the year can have tremendous health benefits for us and it is free! This week, I did some fact-finding* and research* on why it is healthy to practice gratitude every day. I thought I would share it here.
So, what is gratitude? Why is it healthy? And, how do you practice it?
According to Merriam-Webster it is a feeling of thankfulness.
Robert Emmons, a psychology professor at the University of California at Davis, a leading researcher in a growing field, called (continue reading →)
Posted in: Life, Tips |
Tagged: appreciation, attitude of gratitude, creative, gratitude, health, journal, life, optimistic, relationships, sleep, stress, thanksgiving |
Posted on November 17, 2015
By Nan Russell
In the early days of a start-up company I once worked for, a plump turkey was a small thank you token given to employees around the holidays. The turkey-giving practice lasted maybe three years, until the growing size of the organization necessitated its change. While enhanced benefits emerged to replace that poultry gift, the missing turkey still appeared as a resentment issue years later in employee forums.
Not long ago, I was surprised to hear employees grumbling at a company that provided a daily complimentary hot breakfast to employees. Not enough organic fruit, too many high carb selections, no green tea, and limited options were frequent murmurs. Turns out their well-intentioned gesture was not met with any thanks, just complaints. What didn’t surprise me was (continue reading →)
Posted in: Winning at Working |
Tagged: appreciation, gratitude, Nan Russell, recognition, relationships, thank you, Winning at Working |
Posted on November 6, 2014
By Beth Pelkofsky
As a colleague of Nan’s, I regularly post here when things grab my attention about today’s workplace and sometimes, life. At this time of year, I make a conscious decision to think about the many good things and people I’m grateful for in my life. Gratitude … feeling or showing thanks, as defined by Webster. With that in mind, here are several of my favorite quotes about Gratitude:
“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive. To breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aureluis
“An attitude of gratitude brings great things.” — Yogi Bhajan
“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” — Aesop
“Giving is an expression of gratitude for our blessings.” — Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen (continue reading →)
Posted in: Quotes |
Tagged: appreciation, Beth Pelkofsky, gratitude, perspective, quotes, relationships, thankful |
Posted on January 14, 2014
By Nan Russell
“None of us get a perfect life,” she said at the end of describing years of despair after being widowed as a young military wife with two children under four. Years later, I still reflect on her words and that decades-later conclusion she’d evolved to proclaim.
As we enter this new year of possibility and challenge, it’s good I think, to remember that perspective in our own worlds. Not all of us must deal with the tragedy of sudden loss, the distress of withering vitality, or the hopeless words of medical providers; not all of us must live with perpetual violence, starving children, or utmost poverty; not all of must face hatred, injustice, or inhumanity. Some of us do live with much heavier burdens on this planet.
While I count myself among the most fortunate despite a few challenging squalls here and there, my heart turns to those who face an everyday life under grim circumstances, unimagined grief, or perpetual hardships. Their struggles make my own seem shallow, trivial, and insignificant because they are in the bigger scheme of things.
Yet even for the most fortunate – there is no perfect life. We all face (continue reading →)
Posted in: In the Scheme of Things |
Tagged: birthday reflection, gratitude, In the Scheme of Things, life challenges, Nan Russell |
Posted on November 18, 2012
By Nan Russell
As a colleague of Nan’s, I periodically post here when things strike me about titleless leaders, which they did recently.
I live in Ocean City, New Jersey. Recent weather conditions, hurricane Sandy and a Nor’easter a few days later, got me thinking about the importance of gratitude. Not once a year at Thanksgiving but how we operate everyday.
It is something we all know – holding a door, a thank you; a comment such as “I appreciate you staying late to complete that report” all matter. Expressing gratitude builds strong personal and professional relationships. In the workplace gratitude ignites initiative and discretionary effort, and it’s something titleless leaders regularly do.
Try Watching Yourself
- How often do you notice someone doing something right? Your boss, colleague, co-worker?
- How often do you recognize it by expressing appreciation?
- What would happen if you starting do it?
This week is a perfect time to start noticing what others are doing at work that is helping you do yours. How can you recognize them in a personal way?
Posted in: Tips |
Tagged: Beth Pelkofsky, gratitude, titleless leaders |
