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Jan 2

Concentration Cycles: A President’s Example

“Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.”

—No. 110 from Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation

The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior are ascribed to George Washington, but not because he originated the list, which was already over 130 years old when his tutor assigned it to him as a penmanship assignment. Presumably, during those intervening 130 years, he was not the only school boy set to copying it by his tutor; surely others had longhanded the little statements as well.

What he did do was keep the list handy, making it part of his real life, rather than treating it like a school assignment. He did not pack it away in a bundle of forgotten school papers or throw it out once he received his mark. He reviewed it regularly, and made it part of his continued improvement as an adult. Read more

Jan 1

Calendar Work

Are you sitting with a blank notebook and pen eager to start something in this new year? Are you holding the new calendar and wondering what to record? Are you intrigued with the idea of meeting with yourself weekly but haven’t a clue what to do once you get there?  Read more

Dec 31

Daily Dose 65: Home Library

Over a hundred years ago a Dr. Charles W. Eliot, president of Harvard, made the statement that anyone could give himself or herself a quality education by reading fifteen minutes a day from classic writings that could all fit on a bookshelf five feet long.

Any book lover knows five feet does not hold a lot of books, but sad to say, it is a great deal more space than many homes give to books. An enterprising publisher put Dr. Eliot to the task of actually compiling a series of volumes that would meet his criteria, and the result became known as the Harvard Classics, 51 volumes covering ancient history, scientific principles, classic literature, religious readings, poetry, historical documents, and essays. Other such series, including the Great Books (my mother-in-law led a discussion group for the Junior Great Books for many years) followed in its substantial wake. Read more

Dec 30

Daily Dose 64: Behavior Sequence

Untold millions of times each day it happens. Indeed, over the course of your own family life, it may occur millions of times. Unlike breathing or heart beating, it will never be an autonomic response. Each sequence requires distinct, conscious attention. The accrued benefits are Everest-sized; the effort required before the benefits kick in, virtually insurmountable–and buried. Hidden under the debris of daily living, its value is constantly assaulted by schedules, expectations, activities, culture, and peer-pressure. It requires, literally, a twenty-four seven on-call focused expert to attend consistently to even a majority of the sequences. It is the obedience behavior sequence and it goes like this: Read more

Dec 29

Daily Dose 63: Year End Review

The most wonderful time of the year includes the most wonderful night to stay home. New Year’s Eve. For our early married years, we were left alone on New Year’s Eve. Our church never had a service, so we weren’t torn about missing it. We could sit around and review passages we had memorized through the year and spend a long time praying for our families, our friends, plans we had. We could talk about what we wanted to do in the coming year around the house. We could decide what we needed to save money for. We could look over the calendar and see what was coming: when we could schedule our anniversary trip, when Christmas fell the following year, when David might be gone. Read more

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