Balmy Breezes and Blackberries

We enjoyed a family reunion on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina this week. I'm an introvert so I don't feel comfortable in large gatherings, but Doris and Walter (my in-laws) were clever enough to rent a home with this view out the back window.

Here's a few things that caught my eye or touched my heart on the trip:

• Dolphin swam by the dock every morning to say 'hey' and to remind me that we aren't the only intelligent creatures on this earth. They told me to tell you to break away from your computer every once in a while to step outside and feel the sun on your face.
• Long, uninterrupted, unhurried, unforced, chats with the family. Jim discussed his breakthrough idea about personal growth that he calls "Crisis to Creation." In a nutshell, his principle states that people often need a crisis to force them to abandon their current life course. But once they do, they often find an infinitely more rewarding mission. I know that it is a good idea because I kept asking myself, "Will it take a crisis for me to throw away my Big Blue security blanket and start work on something new?"
• Dad looked great and in the best of health. The walks on the beach gave all of us a little more zip in our step.
• I brought along two emergency beers and they were sorely needed. The risk mitigation planning we do in project management saved me again.

"Key lime pie - a magnificent study in balancing the sour with the sweet."

• My only decision for this week was whether or not I should gobble up real key lime pie or Blackberry ice cream for desert at night. This is the first time in years that I've said "blackberry" and didn't think about something buzzing in my pants.
  
• You had to see Chris, Elke and Doris in the kitchen preparing meals. There was no designated leader just a chaotic symphony of motion that produced consistently excellent meals ... which confirms my premise that mothers make natural project managers. You put my brothers and me in a kitchen with knives and tell us to make something and I guarantee that there is only one person standing at the end of the hour.

It's going to be hard to focus my mind on my October solution launches. I feel slow, lethargic and oh so happy. I think I'll live on virtual island time for a few more days.

NEVER Try this at Work

I was on a long drive with my brother and his girlfriend Kim. We were swapping tips about improving relationships and dealing with difficult people. Kim offered this gem:

When you are discussing your issues or concerns, turn off the TV go to a neutral place like the kitchen table and make sure that one part of your body is touching. Before your mind goes off in the wrong direction, it can be your hand or a barefoot touching, just make sure that one part of the body makes physical contact.

I looked up the word touch in Webster’s and the first definition states, “Handle or feel gently usually with the intent to understand or appreciate.” Why do you touch soft silk? Because you just love the smooth, cool feel. In other words, you appreciate the material. Why do you hold hands when you walk with your date or mate? Holding hands makes it hard to get around fixed posts, but again there is an element of appreciation in that simple gesture.

I think that a simple touch can be a powerful tool to reach a compromise when you disagree on an important issue because it reminds you that your appreciation for that other person is more important than winning the argument.

I hear some tips and say to myself, “I’d like to try that.” I heard this tip and said, “I have to try it.”