Columns – Page 41 – FindYourBuriedTreasure

Successful stories come from fears and failures

I got a strong dose of motivation and inspiration over the weekend. It happens every year around this time, which is when our Toastmasters District holds its Spring Convention. A highlight of the convention is the International Speech Contest, which brings together the winners of ten Division contests. These are people who have already won at three levels of competition, so you can imagine how polished and persuasive their speeches are by the time they reach the District level. What I’ve always found fascinating is [...]

By bettyliedtke|May 6th, 2016|Columns, Toastmasters, Values|Comments Off

Where were you when you heard?

“Where were you when you heard the news?” Only a few historical events evoke that question, events of such magnitude that people remember exactly where they were and what they were doing at the time. The bombing of Pearl Harbor. The assassination of JFK. The attack on the Twin Towers. And now there’s another one. The death of Prince won’t be in the history books in the same way as those other events, but – especially for Minnesotans, and in particular those of us living [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 29th, 2016|Columns|Comments Off

Hidden stories contain powerful lessons

It is our most debilitating weakness that often turns into our greatest strength. Our most shameful secrets that bring about our most lasting peace. And our deepest sorrows that lead to our greatest joys. But not until we share them. For most of us, this goes against every instinct we have. The awful experiences in our past – whether they are things we’ve done, things others have done to us, or devastating and embarrassing events that just happened – the last thing we want to [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 22nd, 2016|Columns, Faith, Health and Well-being|2 Comments

Safety is a concern for us all

I laughed as I read the email, which began, “Dear Secretary of Nice.” The email was from a friend who’s also a regular reader of my column, and her salutation was a reference to a column I wrote a month ago, in which I suggested we could do with a “Department of Nice” in the federal government. And I assigned myself to be in charge of it. That idea came from a recent conversation with my husband and daughter. We were discussing the upcoming presidential [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 15th, 2016|Accountability, Columns, Values|Comments Off

Watch out for April snow and April fools

“Guess what? It’s snowing outside!” When I was young, that’s the greeting my sisters and I woke up to every year on April 1st. Mom would come into our bedrooms with the exciting news, but before we could jump out of bed and race to the window to see for ourselves, she’d add, “April Fool!” By then we were awake enough to realize for ourselves that we were now in the month of April. And it never snowed in April. April 1st came and went [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 8th, 2016|Columns, Faith, Family, Holidays|Comments Off

A stormy anniversary brings a timely reminder

“Do you know what today is?” my sister asked when she called me Sunday evening. “Besides Easter, I mean.” Did I forget someone’s birthday, or another special occasion? I immediately ran through my mental list. March 27. Nothing rang a bell. “The tornado,” she said. “Today is the 25th anniversary of the tornado.” She didn’t need to say any more than that. I immediately recalled the day, 25 years ago, when the town we lived in was devastated by a tornado that ripped through the [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 1st, 2016|Columns, Family|Comments Off

We can’t go back, so let’s go forward

“I want to go back in time and do this over.” That was my response recently when careless inattention caused me to miss one of the most important events of my life. Fortunately, I woke up from the dream I was having, and realized I hadn’t actually missed anything at all. The event was my son’s upcoming wedding. In my dream, it was the day of the wedding and my daughters – I had two in my dream – were out swimming in a neighborhood [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 25th, 2016|Columns, Family|Comments Off

A new candidate has a new agenda

The Department of Nice. That’s the federal agency I’m going to be in charge of after my daughter is elected president. My husband and I spent last weekend in Florida, visiting our daughter and son-in-law. On our first morning there, we spent the earliest part of the day just talking and sharing thoughts on whatever subjects came up. Our conversation eventually turned to the presidential election, and to news and views of the candidates. At one point, I turned to my daughter and said, “You’d [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 18th, 2016|Columns, Family, Gifts and Talents, Travel, Values|Comments Off

Sorting photos relives the journey

I’m still sorting and organizing pictures from my recent pilgrimage. Since we visited a number of churches, chapels, cathedrals and basilicas, many of my photos are of the beautiful artwork and architecture in each of them. Other photos are from different cultural and historical sites and activities – the Palace of Fine Arts, where we saw the stunning Folkloric Ballet of Mexico; the Museum of Anthropology; the site of what is believed to be the largest pyramid in the world, where we said prayers of [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 11th, 2016|Columns, Faith, Organizing, Travel|Comments Off

An old friend is new again

I felt like a kid in a candy store – mouth watering as I scanned all the choices, knowing I could select anything I saw on the shelves in front of me. In reality, I could choose just one item. But it could be anything I wanted, and it was absolutely free. I wasn’t actually in a candy store. In fact, it wasn’t a store at all. It was the Chanhassen Library. I don’t go to the library nearly as often as I used to. [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 4th, 2016|Columns|Comments Off

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