Mike Barzacchini 12/4/22 Mike Barzacchini 12/4/22

Three Questions at Year's End

Autumn Moon 2022. Mike Barzacchini photo.

For a blog post I’m working on for Mind Tools, I’ve been asked to consider these three questions:

What did this past year teach me?
What do I hope to leave behind in 2022?
What do I look forward to in 2023?

Blog post? I think my responses to these prompts could fill a book. Check back in a few weeks for a link to my post. In the meantime, what how would you respond to those questions?

Mike Barzacchini 6/8/22 Mike Barzacchini 6/8/22

Preserve and Persevere

“With an open heart, we pour love into the world.” ― Donna Maltz, Conscious Cures: Soulutions to 21st Century Pandemics

My goal is to wake each day with an open heart, open arms, an open mind, filled with loving-kindness to share.

But sometimes I forget. I become distracted. I wake up tired. I stub my toe.

On those days, I remember my mom. I think about how she spent summer days peeling peaches and pears, boiling jars, and putting up preserves so that we could taste summer sweetness during cold, dark January mornings.

I’m trying to make it my goal to be aware and mindful of my every day. So, when I’m having one of those good days, those abundant days, when I’m filled with loving-kindness, perhaps I can preserve some of these feelings and intentions. Then, when I stub my toe, when I’m tired, or when I forget, I can reach into that pantry in my heart and open a jar of kindness I’ve preserved for just such a day.

I’ve learned that when I’m able to find those stores of kindness on my most challenging days, it’s delightful and nourishing, just like a jar of Mom’s pear honey opened on a cold, dark winter morning.

A version of this post appeared in the Mind Tools forum as the Thought of the Day.

Mike Barzacchini 4/8/22 Mike Barzacchini 4/8/22

What really matters?

Work. Work. Work. Project. Project. Project. Deadline. Deadline. Deadline. Yes, it matters. But bigger picture, what am I here for? To share even the smallest act of support and kindness. To be fully present for those in my work and personal life. To remember I can't be the best for others if I'm not taking care to be the best for myself. To breathe the spring air and notice the goldfinch has returned to the front yard garden after a long cold, gray winter. Wishing you a day filled with what matters most. (Mike Barzacchini photo)

Mike Barzacchini 2/21/22 Mike Barzacchini 2/21/22

Kindness Every Day (Especially Mondays)

A reminder to myself to practice kindness every day. And especially on Mondays. I hope your Monday was filled with kindness.

Mike Barzacchini 2/2/22 Mike Barzacchini 2/2/22

Renewable Energies

Grace, compassion, and kindness are renewable energies. I’ve found the more that I give, the more I get back in return.

Mike Barzacchini 2/2/21 Mike Barzacchini 2/2/21

Eleven Months Later: Doubling Down on Kindness and Empathy

As we entered the pandemic last March, I wrote this series of mantras and pinned them to my Twitter profile. That was almost 11 months ago. I had no idea the year we were in for, and of course, I have no idea what’s to come. What I can impact, as Carrie Newcomer’s song “Three Feet or So” reminds me, is what happens in my immediate world. I will fill my “three feet or so” with kindness, empathy, and intentional, positive action, with faith that it may radiate out into the larger world. So I’m reaffirming these mantras, this creed, for the next 11 months and longer, with hopes that you all stay safe and well.

Let us be strong.
Let us stay positive.
Let us take care of ourselves and each other.
Let us not give in to fear.
Let us not blame the "other."
It will be hard.
Some days harder than others.
But let us stick together.
And let us build something better on the other side.