Common Ground
It’s a beautiful spring day in Montana. Hooray! It’s been a long winter here (going on seven months …) and that, after a long, hot summer and vicious wildfires. I lump the last year into two chunks of extremes. Summer | Winter. Hot | Cold. Dry | Wet. Smoky | Snowy.
And yet. It’s the Fabulous 406. Montana. Big Sky Country. A beautiful place to call home. Sure we’ve journeyed through extremes, but we’ve been through it together.
At coffee counters and hardware stores and breakfast nooks, weather chit-chat opens the door to conversation that is generally easy, effortless, engaging, and speaks to being present, grounding. There’s no wrong or right, there’s just what is, while still allowing space for personal likes or dislikes – snow, rain, heat, cold. There’s empathy, laughter, “where were you when” reflections, lamenting about the weather reports and/or predictions, and potentially moving into acceptance. We can’t do much about the weather – though we experience it, talk about it, and move on. Take it one day at a time.
Recently I read a Facebook post from a friend who was sharing the joy of his engagement. The proposal took place in Yellowstone, and his post read something like, “We love each other and we love YNP.” I paused. Reflected. Smiled. And thought about sharing this with all of you.
I imagine sitting at a coffee counter with you, amidst a summer adventure in a Great Place. Maybe we’re in Yellowstone. Or Moab. Or Sitka. Or Bar Harbor. Maybe we greet one another and start a dialogue with the weather chit-chat. We find commonality. We connect. And then, we morph into a conversation about our greatest common denominator of the moment, most likely, the Great Place. We may initially appear as chunks of extremes – Black | White. College Aged | Retired. Ohio State Fan | Michigan Fan. Hiker | Biker. However, with some intention, we focus more on the Great Place that has brought us together instead of things that drive us apart. As we do, the moment looks brighter. More promising. More peaceful. More lovely. The world looks brighter. More promising. More peaceful. More lovely.
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank
Summer 2018 isn’t too far off. Don’t wait for summer before you embrace the opportunity to be the change you want to see in the world. One conversation at a time. Start with weather chit-chat and play it forward. Reach for lovely.
If you’re looking for a fresh Great Place to find a connection with others, CoolWorks.com is brimming with incredible opportunities. It is NEVER too late to find a Job In A Great Place.
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Finally, don’t overlook your chance to connect – virtually – with other CoolWorkers via our MyCoolWorks Community. Thanks for hanging out. It’s lovely to be here with you.