Posts by LisaYoung

Appetite For Distraction?

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas | 0 comments

The title of today’s post comes from something I heard in an audio book by Father Richard Rohr (@RichardRohrOFM) called “The Art of Letting Go“. In it, Richard talked about how we, as a collective society have fared more along the lines of Huxley’s “Brave New World” than we have Orwell’s “1984″. His thoughts circle around how we’ve done ourselves in by our chasing of pleasure, versus being controlled by Orwellian “pain”. Granted, Rohr is a Franciscan, so I expected him to speak to our materialist natures, but this particular part of the audio book hit me hard.

An “appetite for distraction” implies that the more we chase these pleasurable distractions, the less we focus on what really matters – on being our true selves and being able to be present to what life is about in the here and now.

The other morning I was immersed in part of a 40 day & night transformational process I’m developing.  In response to a writing prompt about what I believe about my business, I wrote down the following:

She Said I Was Her Next Of Kin

Posted by LisaYoung in Family | 0 comments

“I’m getting on a plane in the morning. I’m going to go surfing Central America.”

This couldn’t have come at a worse time, quite frankly.

My sister rings me up, essentially out of the blue, to remind me that I’m her next of kin, and that if “anything happens” while she’s out of the country, the life insurance check comes to me.

“I love the idea of people getting money if I get washed out to sea.” she said. “I mean, I don’t like the idea of getting washed out to sea… but if I do, I’m happy to know there’s a check coming your way.”

That’s my sister. I love her frankness… most of the time.

Today, however, I’m not sure if I love her or hate her. Not because of her, but because of me, of course.

Recommit Every Day

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas, Faith | 1 comment

When a pilot hops into the cockpit of a plane, he’s got a plan to take him in a particular direction. He lifts off and heads into the sky, allowing the process to unfold.

But while he’s in the air, he doesn’t just leave everything to chance.

No. Every time a bit of turbulence or air traffic comes his way, he adjusts his course. Course corrections are part of the necessary actions that keep an airplane on track to reach the final destination.

Likewise, stepping into your new testament, allowing your True Self to fully manifest is not a one-time decision or action.

Making the commitment once isn’t enough. Too much stuff will happen to try to throw you off course. You must course correct.

Jump, And The Net Will Appear

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas, Faith, videos | 1 comment

This 4th grader has more intestinal fortitude than many adults I know. She is a great example of what we all do before taking the leap.

We try to talk ourselves into it. We obsess, we interrogate, we obsess some more.

We feel our nerves, sometimes we shy away from the edge, and we generally believe we’re not capable.

Then, with the encouragement of a guide, a mentor, a friend, someone around us, we give it a go.

When we come to the bottom of our 20 meter jump, we realize that it was the anxiety at the top of the hill that made it feel so crazy. We confidently say that a 60 meter jump is nothing now. We can do it because we’ve got experience with the smaller jump.

But that first jump… it’s a doozy!

Ripples and Rising

Posted by LisaYoung in Big Ideas | 0 comments

It wasn’t intentional to launch this series during Holy Week, and yet, this couldn’t be better timed, Godly enough.

Stepping into your new testament begins with a birth – or more accurately a re-birthing process. You slough off the old protective womb that’s enveloped you, and begin a new journey where you’re feeling fully alive – even if it hurts sometimes.

We also get to really feel what’s going on. Like everything is more vivid, more textured, more varied, more flavorful.

Life becomes more rich in every respect when we shed the insular existence of our old testament.