Thursday, April 26, 2012

Centered? WHICH One?

A  L  O  H  A

Just Like a Woman by Bob Dylan on Grooveshark

Your Ship is Coming In


"Baby can't be blessed,
till she finds out
that she's like
all the rest- "

Bob Dylan













We wore headbands - they sport knitted hats-



"And in the end,
the love you take
is equal
to the love
you make."

 The Beatles  












 Mist in Manoa Valley



Half the joy of life
 is in little things
 taken on the run...

but let us keep our hearts young 
and our eyes open
that nothing worth our while 
shall escape us. "


Victor Cherbuliez














Waikiki Sun


" Only divine love
 bestows the keys 
of knowledge.

Arthur Rimbaud


















Not everyone notices




" Your Enlightenment
 rests on
 your own Shoulders"

 Dalai Lama















The Daily Work Continues


  "Thus the superior person
 encourages people to approach  
 by readiness to receive 
them."

I Ching


   "If I had another 50 years 
added to my life I 
would spend it studying the 
I Ching 
so that at last I might 
be made free 
from error." 

Confucius



<<=>>


Once I worked
at a non-profit
Do - Good
kind of place.



There was a lot of 
talk
about being
'Client Centered.'


Funders,
and of course
clients,
liked hearing it.


But I noticed
that the word
'client'
when used among
staff
was a judgement.

"You're acting
JUST like a
client!"


That was a put-down.

I wanted to help
the clients,
I regarded them
as survivors of lives
that my fellow staff
would not, could not,
have overcome.

 I identified with
the clients.

But client centered?

I wasn't there yet. 
I was still
blessing them.
I wasn't
a client.


We are all
self-centered
to a certain degree.


Call it the 
Survival Instinct.

Even martyrs
(in daily life - not holy books)
are all about 
"ME."
Look how much stronger
MY suffering is
than others' !

Appreciate that others
suffer too-
it's not all about 
you,
martyr!

I wanted to help others.
But it was self-centered
because it helped me
feel worthwhile.
And I needed that
feeling.
And they were
paying me.

This morning on my walk,
an older guy in a motorized
cart stopped
and spoke with me
about the photograph
I was taking.


I gave him my attention.
I took my time.

A few steps later,
I realized that
I hadn't taken time,
or showed Aloha-
HE had first!

I no longer need
to be the one helping,
to make others
my clients.

He had blessed me.

We bless each other.
We each deserve it.
We each need it.


Hello,
my name is Cloudia,
I'm a recovering
superior do-gooder.




Thanks for doing me good.
YOUR visits & Comments
feed my soul.


                             Warmly, cloudia




29 comments:

The Weaver of Grass said...

Your comments about clients really has me thinking Cloudia.

Jeannie said...

I used to struggle with how much to do for others, how much pain I could take, how many things were enough and what was truly needed - I decided that without that selfish streak, we could not survive. That is what has made us a successful species. It is also what will probably cause our demise. But it is not something evil. It can not be eliminated although it should not be left to grow without boundaries.

Daryl said...

life is a constant lesson in living

Charles Gramlich said...

Definitely a characteristic of too many folks who say they want to "serve others." I've seen it in my profession more than I'd like to say.

Full-On-Forward said...

They say you want an Evolution- oh yeah you know.....

wait-- wrong word....

You're perfect in my eyes!

J

Teresa said...

Profound. Thanks for sharing.

Myrna R. said...

I am in recovery too. No longer a do-gooder I try to live life, and that's good. Blessings to you for noticing our non-profit selfishness.
(I worked in non-profits most of my career and know exactly what you mean about a sense of superiority towards 'clients' - our sisters and brothers.)

I mention you in my blog today. You get a Sunshine Award.

Cloudia said...

Thanks for these enlightening comments my Dear Friends!!

Elephant's Child said...

Thanks Cloudia. I am off to do some training for one of the do gooding things I do. I will take these quotes and sentiments with me.

Anonymous said...

Glad you've recovered! You're still doing "gooder", with your lovely spiraling blog, but hopefully without pain. DrumMajor

Anonymous said...

can't think of anything intelligent to write - thank you very much. please have a good friday you all.

Friko said...

Of course doing good is for your own benefit. It makes the do-gooder feel good about him/herself.

It liked your remark:
we wore headbands they sport knitted hats. That shows tolerance and understanding.

Cloudia said...

Each of your pleases and honors me with your dear time and comments.

Thank You sincerely

21 Wits said...

...and it's so wonderful getting to know you Cloudia! Every step of the way.

magiceye said...

that was brilliant!

namaste /\ from mumbai
aloha!!

Cloudia said...

Such jolly friends!

Anonymous said...

So inspiring!

And I really like the Beatles quote.

Erika said...

Thanks Cloudia for sharing with us your nice pictures and your quotes. Ciao dall'Italia.
Erika

Pietro Brosio said...

Great post, Cloudia! Thanks for sharing these joyful pictures and excellent quotes, so beautiful the photo "Mist in Manoa Valley"!

Bob Bushell said...

Great photos and superior quotes.

Kay said...

Ahhh Cloudia. You really are a blessing. It's good to come back from an exhausting trip to your reflection and kindness.

Dianne said...

you're a good old soul ya know :)

Betty Manousos said...

i love your shots especially the mist in manoa valley one! gorgeous!
yet another superb quotes.

a warm alohaaa!!!

PerthDailyPhoto said...

I have a feeling that you'll always be a 'doer of good things' Cloudia, there's a difference!

SandyCarlson said...

You're so wise. Funny about the word client. I prefer it to patient, but not by much. Sometimes I think providers should just get is straight and call their patrons customers.

Cloudia said...

you each bless me BIG time!


Thank YOU

Ruby said...

Lovely quotes and very interesting thoughts Cloudia, of course if you are always a do gooder you resent it atleast a little bit after a while :)

Reader Wil said...

Of coursr we are all self centered! The self is the only one that teaches you how to cope with others. When I was in Israel the driver who took me to the airport said to me that you cannot love other people unless you love yourself first. He was right. Actually Jesus said the same. Have a great weekend, Cloudia!

Cloudia said...

so happy to see both of you! thanks