Signs Around Town (Excerpt)
It’s a call for these times.

It’s a call for these times.

In recent months, I have listened to the stories of a number of close friends and co-workers as they navigate the difficult process of saying their good-byes to the tangible, physical embodiment of a loved one and participating in the loved one’s own good-bye.
I find myself filled with memories of those I still love though the loved one is no longer embodied in the physical form in which I met them. For me and for those with whom I share my memories, they live on as such and. in greater and lesser amounts, in how I think, respond, and act to this day and beyond.
Those of you who talk to me more regularly have heard me mention that I’ve been taking a modest on-line course in non-violent communication. The course basically offers mindfulness and communication skills for more compassionate communication with oneself and others. Though much I’d heard before, I found the course well constructed and accessible. I found the weekly emails, even when I did not feel moved to complete the suggested exercises in writing for myself, served as a regular call for mindful speaking and reacting at a time in my work life (and in my life as an engaged citizen) when I can use all the reminders I can get.
I’m repeating the course, which starts in June 2015. For those of you who may be interested, here’s the link: http://compassioncourse.org/
This sign was posted in a corridor in a federal government office building I went to this morning for a meeting. Without getting into any details, a colleague and I acknowledged how telling the need for the sign. The sound was not really that much like gunfire.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.