a blog by John P. Schuster
We are put on earth a space to learn to bear the beams of love ~William Blake With this post, I am announcing my year-long project to record my thoughts on my 70th year, beginning on my 69th birthday. I finished 69 years yesterday, and I start my 70th October 18th, 2017. This is also the last year of my 7th decade. Why do I want to do this recording of my thoughts on aging?[…]
Read moreIn a class on self-expression for “The Afternoon of Life” held at the Jung Center in Houston, I was asked to write quickly before I did any censoring, on what I know. Here is what came out of me. What do you know? Remember, write fast. What I know, and want to pass on John P. Schuster I know love rules Grace matters Pain subsides Anxiety teaches Anger cleanses Hugs heal Laughter lightens Smiles welcome[…]
Read moreOn TV last night in Houston, St. Patrick’s Day — yes, I still watch local news and weather sometimes — was a most touching story of a school janitor lady giving some of the little money she had to repair a vandalized school bus, one that transports the kids she loves at the school she has worked at for 20 years. It got me to thinking. We all know the above famous Martin Luther King[…]
Read moreWe are gearing up it appears, if legislative forecasting for 2017 can be believed, for a big spend on the long-neglected infrastructure of highways and sewers and bridges. It took us decades to get to this mandate and let’s hope we intelligently add to our public assets. Democracy itself has a less visible infrastructure, but one just as badly in need of repair. Like physical systems, we use the democratic infrastructure all the time: they[…]
Read moreI did an un-American thing last month. I went on a 33-day trip to Wales, England and, mainly, Ireland. I walked the hills and listened to music and drifted and did nothing to add to the U.S. GDP. It was enriching. I slowed down to a crawl, and had no goals except to enjoy the current day with my wife, Patti. I saw amazing sights, like the sunset posted here, off of Slieve League, a[…]
Read morePeter Block’s insights into our work and lives is so precious in this interview of a few months ago at the Hudson Institute’s annual meeting. https://hudsoninstitute.egnyte.com/dl/4eajYdLL0F?utm_source=CHIC+Newsletter+June+2016&utm_campaign=Summer+Newsletter&utm_medium=email
Read moreOk, my most recent reading binge has been on ripening, aka maturing and aging, the 3rd 3rd of life. I am too far along for the “second half of life” term, though this has been and is still a very useful term in some contexts. All of this reading is on later-in-life psychology and even end-of-life. And all of this is age-appropriate material for me, only 27 months away from starting my 8th decade of[…]
Read moreEnjoy this ICF webinar I presented on February 7, 2016. If you want to coach leaders with a sense for meaning and calling as central questions of life and work, and an appreciation for the ethical/spiritual dimensions of leadership, then you may want to check this out. Deeper Coaching, Better Outcomes The Bigger Thoughts Behind Our Everyday Thoughts A little offering in a new way to coach: As the coaching field continues to grow,[…]
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