Are you getting everything you can out of this life?
A self-less, feel-good blog about love, life, and work by career coach and existential adventurer, Cliff Flamer
Neighbors are great for impromptu chats, standing in the street with dogs, with trash bags, with full bottles of wine (I had a French neighbor once).
Dave noticed the pipes that had just shown up running along my fence, down the garden, and letting out onto the sidewalk.
“Ar … Read more...
Ironically, it’s the absence of words on a page that makes people read the words.
It’s the white space between these lines that makes you want to read the next one.
Designers call this “visual rest.”
We could stand to do this more in conversation:
add
a
little
wh… Read more...
Everyone loves Molly.
If you’ve met her, then you agree.
We can’t walk a block without some serendipitous meeting. Yesterday, we were in a HomeGoods parking lot 3 cities away, and we ran into someone cutting across the credit union drive-thru. She gets along with everyo… Read more...
Ours is a species driven toward accomplishment. We often hinge good-feeling on getting things done, we push relaxation to come after something else. The beer tastes better after mowing the lawn. (Makes me want to mow the lawn lol).
This is a good way to live: a productive way to l… Read more...
“Hey, just checking in. How you doing?”
Man.
So few words, so much impact.
So much love around you in an instant.
Whether you’re good or not so good, you feel seen, remembered, and held.
And if you haven’t gotten one of these sweet sweet checkins in a while, th… Read more...
I made a pamphlet.
It’s a trifold brochure that sits on my monitor stand between the paintbrush my art teacher gave me and the ticket stub to a giant human maze me and my daughter conquered in Montana.
On the cover is a picture of Molly, carefree and on a boat.
Inside are list… Read more...
It’s hard to live.
Our brains are well-developed. We’re a thinking species; not always a good thing. We’re a long way from being content just sitting on a mossy rock. After 5 minutes of one thing, we feel an urge to move on, to find a reason to make us grow. And … Read more...
I often say inappropriate things. I can baffle and offend. I confuse people.
My mind skips around. I connect strange dots. It’s a blessing and curse.
To be odd and unexpected.
Still, I speak freely. Less analysis upfront means less stress in conversations and more brain power … Read more...
Don’t judge me!
Sorry. Can’t help it.
We’re designed to judge each other; it’s for our safety and survival.
Our brains make rapid-fire decisions about what we see based on past experience, learned and lived. We tell ourselves (in a split second), we’re … Read more...
I’m not claiming to have all the secrets to raising kids right but if I were to give one piece of advice to parents it would be to build a karaoke stage in your house.
I’m not talking about just going out and buying a karaoke machine; I mean creating a permanent space … Read more...