The Power of Praise - Day 25

25th December (Christmas Day)

25 (or "Pachisi", which is "25" in Hindi) is the national board game of India. It is a game for 2-4
participants played on a board shaped like a symmetrical cross. It was first mentioned in records
in Medieval India. It requires a combination of strategy, numeracy, probability and luck for
a player to win - bit like life.

Welcome to Day 25, Christmas Day - I hope you are enjoying the series to date. I think we have had some exceptional posts and today's is no exception - it is by a new voice, Diane Fennig. Diane is based in Atlanta in the USA and works as a search consultant for the Human Capital Group Inc. - part of the global Cornerstone  International Group. Diane is lively, positive and passionate. She is an excellent storyteller and writes beautifully, as you will see. I love the joyous tone and generosity of her piece - perfect for Christmas Day ( although I suspect that she wanted it posted slightly earlier in Advent). Its message applies to any and every day of the year.

At work Diane focuses on assisting within the higher education sphere, working  with universities and colleges. Prior to moving into search she served as Director of the Career Center at Augusta State University, where she developed and implemented a comprehensive Alumni Career Services Program and authored GeorgiaHire.com, a shared resume database program for 34 institutions within the University System of Georgia. Diane has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Secondary Education from Marquette University and a Master of Science degree in College Student Personnel from Miami University. She also holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Leadership and Organizational Behavior from the University of South Carolina. Diane is a graduate of the Relationship Masters Academy and serves as an ambassador in the Relationship Management Program. Outside work, Diane is a very capable cook. You can follow her on Twitter, her handle is @FansofFennig.

Both she and I wish you a joyous day, please spare a moment to proffer some praise to someone else who has done something good. (I am going to start by mentioning Diane herself for being so kind writing this post for the benefit of all of us).

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The Power of Praise

Born and raised in the Catholic Church and schooled there too, I still can recount the many symbols of Catholicism. I can still recite the Act of Contrition and the Rosary to this day, but I digress. When I heard Advent, I was transported to a church pew of yesteryear.

As a teen, I recall the December Sunday morning banter between siblings and a mom before church. The young girl noted, “someone should tell the priest that the candles do not match?"  As the mom readied an answer, the older brother chimed in, when we get to pink, the real count-down begins. The third candle, the sole pink candle of the Advent wreath, represents joy. 

The young brother got it right, joy is the answer.

In this challenge from Kate Griffiths-Lambeth, I was immediately drawn to the high fives and the power of praise and joy along our journey. 

Praise and joy can be offered, witnessed and received in so many ways….

--it is the unexpected hello, acknowledging a stranger, and bidding a sincere hello?

--maybe, a random act of kindness, from paying for someone’s coffee or bringing the morning paper to the door of a neighbor? 

--or, a hand-written note thanking someone for their efforts on a project or for a special gift?

--it could be a public acknowledgement of someone for their work or efforts?

--maybe, an unexpected favor? 

--or, is it the gift of time to gather and celebrate? 

--maybe, it is a bouquet of flowers?

--it might be a homemade treat? 

--could it be complimenting a young boy for exceptional manners? 

--maybe, permitting someone who appears in a rush, to step in-front of you? 

--or, is it commending a sales person for exceptional service? 

--might it be shoveling a neighbor’s driveway?

These efforts take little more than time. I can promise that you will continue to smile long after this act and the recipient will remember this event with a similar smile.

It is magic, spread some joy and more will come your way…

This power of praise is available 24/7/365.

Back to my Catholic roots, make a Joyful Noise...

The Wassail Song

Here we come a-wassailing

Among the leaves so green;

Here we come a-wand'ring

So fair to be seen.

REFRAIN:

Love and joy come to you,

And to you your wassail too;

And God bless you and send you a Happy New Year

And God send you a Happy New Year.

Our wassail cup is made

Of the rosemary tree,

And so is your beer

Of the best barley.

REFRAIN

We are not daily beggars

That beg from door to door;

But we are neighbours' children,

Whom you have seen before.

REFRAIN

Call up the butler of this house,

Put on his golden ring.

Let him bring us up a glass of beer,

And better we shall sing.

REFRAIN

We have got a little purse

Of stretching leather skin;

We want a little of your money

To line it well within. 

REFRAIN

Bring us out a table

And spread it with a cloth;

Bring us out a mouldy cheese,

And some of your Christmas loaf.

REFRAIN

God bless the master of this house

Likewise the mistress too,

And all the little children

That round the table go.

REFRAIN

Good master and good mistress,

While you're sitting by the fire,

Pray think of us poor children

Who are wandering in the mire.

REFRAIN

My Nana - Day 14

Friday 14th December 2017

14 variations on an original theme - is the construction of Edward Elgar's much-loved
orchestral work, The Enigma Variations, composed between 1898 and 1899.
It was commenced in a spirit of humour but became a serious project in which
the composer sketches his friends and family.

Today I have set off at crack of dawn to visit our Birmingham office. I am looking forward to spending some time with the team and then, after work, I am travelling on to Durham to collect my youngest son back from university. Let the holidays begin...

Today's post is a celebration of a family member, written with much love by Annette Hill. Annette is one of those people who makes the world a better place. She works as the Director of Workforce Development for Hospiscare in Exeter, UK. She is unfailingly supportive of members of the HR and wider social media community. You can follow Annette on Twitter, her handle is @familyhrguru. She is active off-line too, she represents HR for the South West region of the UK on the national HR leads forum which is based in the South West of England. Annette cares deeply about others; she chairs a drugs and alcohol charity in Bristol and is one of the CIPD's Steps Ahead mentors. She writes an interesting blog, simply entitled Annette's Blog that covers a wide range of topics as they occur to her. 

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Heartaches, Hopes and High Fives. I wasn’t very inspired at first. I have 2 or 3 unfinished blogs on the go and just can’t quite express what I want to.

Then the oddest thing has inspired me. As part of coming through another challenging few months, I have been slightly reinventing myself. Part of this is, big gulp, letting my natural grey hair come through! A big step as many women of my age may attest. 

I love it! It’s empowering and, unexpectedly, I am so happy to see in the steel grey coming through at the sides, colouring just like my Nana’s. 

I am one of those lucky people who had all 4 grandparents, at least for the first 11 years of my life, and who had a really close bond to one in particular, Nana Coging, my dad’s mum. I’ve been thinking about her and my grandpa a lot, and about childhood Christmases spent with them.

My Nana’s House

A very modest rented mid terrace in Carlton, Nottingham

The front door was never locked.

We would arrive and my dad would open the door with a loud ‘Yoo hoo!’

We would enter a dark hallway,

Draughts held at bay

By a heavy velvet curtain, blue I think, half way down.

The ‘Front Room’ was to the left – for high days and holidays

Then into the heart of the house

A snug living and dining room with a real fire

Over the years, I would never tire

Of watching the flames, seeing pictures, inventing stories

Full of hopes for the future.

At the back, Nana’s homely kitchen, which had an Aladdin’s cave

Actually, a walk-in pantry down a couple of steps, tucked under the stairs.

On a shelf sat Grandpa’s bottle of Camp coffee.

Never far away from a barley sugar or a toffee.

I loved that place so much.

The only thing I didn’t like was the outside loo

A bit cold and scary, would I meet spiders in there?

Overnight, a chamber pot under the bed

About that, urgh! No more to be said.

Except, my poor parents, coping with us all in one room

Sleeping over on Christmas Eve.

I remember so many tiny details;

Delicate china cups and saucers, copies of The People’s Friend,

The Evening Post, helping with Spot the Ball…

The TV was tiny, black and white, in a box

Controlled by a dial on the wall, it took ages to warm up

But we still looked forward to what was

The obligatory Christmas film, the Wizard of Oz.

Until he became poorly with lung cancer, he kept well hidden

Grandpa pre-booked Christmas lunch in January

In a posh hotel for the following Christmas Day

Nana cooked the turkey for his last one

A few days later he would be gone

We didn’t know, but the clue was his untouched meal.

At home we had warm air gas central heating and a ‘feature gas fire’,

Impossible for Santa to use!

We didn’t even have a chimney, just a gas vent.

So when the Christmas lists we made were sent

We made sure he knew where to find us

At 16 Park Road, Carlton, Nottingham, England, the World.

‘Has he been yet?’ ‘No, go back to sleep!’

But eventually, we were allowed down the steep stairs

To the front room, where miraculously, overnight gifts had appeared

My brother and I need never have feared.

There on the shiny, faux leather chairs

A pillowcase each full of gifts.

In my quilted dressing gown I opened

Felt tip packs, to be arranged over and over according to the rainbow.

Colouring books, outfits for my Sindy doll,

Selection boxes, and some bigger, more costly gifts I’m sure.

But those are not the memories that endure,

What mattered was the warmth and love.

Today, we may say it was a time of hopes, heartaches and high fives!

The latter an ‘Americanism’, we never used back then

We were happy, sad when Grandpa died, and always so pleased to see each other.

Nana lived in that house for a few more years,

I used to stay with her sometimes, holding back the tears

When I had to come home leaving her all alone.

In my primary school autograph book Nana wrote

‘Smile, and the World smiles with you, Cry and you cry alone.’

Looking back, I wonder if that is exactly how she had to live.

In poor health, never a taker, always preferring to give

My Nana was one of the wisest people I have ever known.

I still miss her.

Positive . . . Year Round !!

Day 21 (Wednesday 21st December 2016)

21% increase in electric car sales (year-on-year) in Europe

in the first six months of 2016 91,300 vehicles were sold.

The first electric car was created by Robert Anderson in 1832 — decades 
before Ford came out with the Model T. In fact, electric automobiles were so 
prevalent that Thomas Edison himself worked on a long-lasting car battery in 1899. 
However, they fell out of fashion in the 1920s, when their low horsepower and 
issues with longer distances became a hindrance. They remained popular in New York, 
where they were used as taxis, indeed in the early 1900s there were more 
electric than petrol driven vehicles on the roads in NYC.

We have reached "hump day" - the Christmas weekend is almost here. Today is a perfect day for an uplifting post from a HR superstar from America. Steve Browne is the Executive Director of HR at LaRosa's Inc. the leading pizzeria and Italian restaurant in the Cincinnati area. For many years he has championed the role of HR as a true partner and support for the business. In January 2016, Steve's outstanding attitude, and dedication to HR and the community, was rightly recognised in January 2016 when he was elected to serve as a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)'s Board of Directors.

Steve is outstandingly supportive, energetic, enthusiastic and collaborative. He regularly shares knowledge and connects with people from around the world. He has been described as "a leader for the HR profession' who "shares his expertise generously with others in the field." and "A dynamo. Knowledgeable, extremely so ... but just a little bit "off" centre, in a way that makes grasping the concepts he shares, incorporating the lessons he teaches, and interacting with both people and the world in which we all live and work extremely entertaining and fun." I can vouch for the veracity of the statements and the below post is a good example of his style and attitude. Steve is a delight to interact with, always courteous, passionate about making a difference and he often exemplifies how it is possible to have a wonderful and loving family life, well-balanced with work. He is married to Debbie and, as well as adoring her, is justifiably proud of his son, Josh, and daughter, Melanie. Steve believes that life should be made up of constant heights and hearts with no hollows, and that attitude is key.You can follow Steve on Twitter (his handle is @sbrownehr).

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Positive . . . Year Round !!

The holiday season brings on a myriad of emotions. There are those who wish the sense of generosity and welcoming would last much longer than the 30 to 45 days of the season (depending on how long the retailers want us to believe it lasts). I enjoy the holidays, but I don’t lose my mind when I see the first Christmas light or stop motion special on TV (like Rudolph). I do look forward to this time of year because I feel some people “catch up” to how I tend to look at life all year long.

I love that people feel more of a compulsion to be giving of their time and material possessions to others who have a larger need. I see more smiles on faces and there is usually more laughter that comes out with ease at even the slightest hint of something tickling your funny bone. People, in general, seem to be more at ease and connected to each other. This is where I wish I was a “human retailer” so that I could expand this season of positive wishes so that it became our norm rather than something we don during the holidays.

Feast of the Bean King,  oil painting by Jacob Jordeans 1593 -1678

I know that the world is in turmoil. There is war, famine, hostility, economic and political uncertainty and reckless behavior towards others. However, this is not new. If you look back throughout time, we have had similar challenges and threats. The difference now is that we can’t break away from the constant waves of doom and gloom. It penetrates all forms of media and we also have our faces buried in some form of technology that forces our field of vision to look downward. We don’t dare miss some meaningless gossip about people we don’t know or truly care about. But I digress . . .

I think we should be naturally positive year round. It isn’t the norm and people are actually uncomfortable and skeptical around people that choose to be positive.

I remember one HR conference I attended years ago when someone I just met came up to me and said, “I don’t believe it.”

I replied, “Believe what?”

 She said, “You’re really positive all the time. I see your on-line posts and think, ‘He can’t really be like that,’ and yet you are !!”

I laughed and gave her a hug. We actually became close friends. I wasn’t surprise that she couldn’t believe that someone could be genuinely positive on a regular basis. We all go through highs and lows in our lives – including me. However, how you view others and how you view life in general is an intentional choice. I could choose to dwell in the muck and mire that’s out there, and I could even choose to live an empty life just expecting the next disappointment to arrive. I know people who do that, but I don’t accept that that has to be our fate.

If you’re reading this, I’m sure you’re tempted to be cynical and negative. It’s our first “go to” human reaction to things. I don’t blame you, but I won’t join you. I expect the best in others because I know they have it in them. I look forward to moving past when we disappoint each other, because we will, and we have a chance to grow from it. I also welcome hearing and considering various observations and viewpoints from others to open my eyes to many perspectives. I may not agree with what others say, but that doesn’t take away the fact of how fascinated I am with how they came up with their stance.

We want people to be either “right” (where they concur with us) or “wrong” (where they disagree with us). That’s tiring and defeating. I’d like to propose an alternative that works regardless of who you’re encountering.

See the best in others. All. The. Time.

Lift others up with your encouragement. All. The. Time.

Care for others even when they don’t care for you. All. The. Time.

Smile, laugh and hug others because we all need, and enjoy, that. All. The. Time.

You can experience the joy and heights of the holiday season throughout the year. It’s a magnificent way to experience and live life. I believe in you. Be encouraged that there is someone on this planet who truly does care and wants to see you thrive. All. The. Time.