When I got home from work today, Jeanne hugged me and declared “I love daddy.” Things like this makes going home early and spending time with Jeanne an absolute joy. She probably will forget (I don’t remember much of when I was 1 to 3 years old), but they mean a lot to me and I will remember and cherish them.
I prepared a quick Valentine’s Day dinner when I got home from work. First, to keep her busy, I gave Jeanne a new coloring and set of crayons (for which she hugged me and told me “I love you, dad!”). Then it was off to the kitchen. For the main dish, I made Lemon-Rosemary Roast Chicken (which I’ve written about before so I won’t put it here again). For the side-dish, I surrounded the sides of the chicken on the roasting pan (side-dish literally) with marble potatoes. I then popped everything into the oven. For the salad, I got pre-packed leafy vegetables and Italian dressing. Tossed everything into a bowl, added some tomato slices, drizzled with pre-mixed Italian dressing, tossed, and served! Finally, washed everything down with Asti (a birthday gift from Paul and Ann, thanks guys!). C’est la vie!
Happy Valentine’s Day! Love quotes abound and one of the more popular is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
In the early Greek versions of the Bible, the word used in place of the word love above is agape. Greek has several words for love:
- storge – means “affection”, like that felt by parents for offspring.
- philia – a general type of love, used for love between family, between friends, a desire or enjoyment of an activity, as well as between lovers.
- eros – can be interpreted as a love for someone whom you love more than the philia
- agape – refers to a general affection or deeper sense of “true love” rather than the attraction suggested by “eros“.
Being the deepest form, agape was used by the earliest Christians for use to express the the deep unconditional love of God or Christ for mankind, the reciprocal love for God, and to the love for others.
Interestingly, agape is also used in ancient Greek texts to denote feelings for a spouse.
We got together with some friends at Vieux Chalet. As usual, the rustic ambiance and the city view was great. And as usual, Rico and the staff were also great. They even did a dance number. The food was just good. I had ordered Cannelloni, Fettuccine Alfredo, Pizza de la Casa, and Pizza Napoli (anyone notice how all of these seem Italian?) and though they were individually quite delicious, I inadvertently ended up with a very anti-South Beach (still remember that?) carbo-loaded menu. Still, the night went well and it was great seeing and being with friends. Thanks everyone!
I attended a short one-day seminar of Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s good stuff! Essentially, the 7 habits take us through 3 levels of the maturity continuum into becoming highly-effective people.
DEPENDENCE – We are born into this. Depending on others to take care of us. And often, blaming others for undesirable outcome of events.
Habit 1: Be Proactive – Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and subsequent actions) are the primary determining factors for effectiveness in your life. Instead of simply reacting to stimulus, decide on your response to stimulus and take responsibility for your decision and its consequences.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind – Identify and clarify your values and life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life.
Habit 3: Put First Things First – Plan, prioritize, and execute tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Evaluate whether your efforts are aligned with your values, propel you toward your life goals, and enrich your roles and relationships in life.
INDEPENDENCE – We mature into this. We take care of ourselves and make our own decisions. We accept responsibility for both undesirable and desirable outcomes.
Habit 4: Think Win-Win – Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial outcomes in your relationships. Value and respect people by understanding a “win” for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten his way.
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood – Use empathic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and positive problem solving.
Habit 6: Synergize – Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork to achieve things that are difficult of impossible to do alone. Get the best performance of people through encouraging meaningful contribution, and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.
INTERDEPENDENCE – We work as a team to achieve things that are difficult or impossible to do alone. We all have important roles. Whether as leaders or followers, others depend on us and we, in turn, depend on them.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw – The story goes that a man was cutting wood with a saw and it was taking much time because the saw was blunt. Taking the time to sharpen the saw resulted in overall time savings. Just as a tool regular maintenance, we too require our own maintenance to rejuvenate our minds, bodies, and souls to create an effective, efficient, and sustainable lifestyle.