The Trick is Finding People Who Want to Listen to Your Stories

"Oh, before we go I want to tell you a really funny story," Lawrence says. And I think that, in a way, that's all that public speaking is: it's just standing up and telling people your stories. And maybe the trick in life is just finding the people you want to tell your stories to? And finding people who want to listen to your stories and tell you theirs, too? . . ."Ha!" I hear around the table . . no one can stop laughing, and then neither can I. I think, through all the laughter, in addition to finding people who will listen to your stories, and who will tell you theirs, the gravy in all of that, the cherry on the ice cream, is that some of those people will make you laugh too."

Pug Hill, by Alison Pace

All You Have Is Your Current Circumstances

I heard a speech one time about about satisfaction and fulfillment not being dependent on our circumstances, and it really resonated with me. The person making the speech also pointed out that people are afraid to be content with their present circumstances because they think that means their circumstances will never change (and if they don't like their circumstances, then they think if they become content, then they'll just be in that unsatisfactory spot.) But in the end, all we really have is current circumstances. We don't have yesterday, we don't have tomorrow, just us and our current circumstances. We can create possibility and "live into" a future of possibility, but all we really have is current circumstances. And no matter what our circumstances, we can have satisfaction and fulfillment, because that is based on our integrity (honoring our word) not external things.