Two Roads Diverged.....

You "get" me
Very few people do
Complex thought processes coupled with a
Dichotomous outlook
Result in a conundrum that few understand

Glad our friendship has endured decades 
And come full circle

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2011

Solstice Encounter

Came upon a piece of me that has been buried

That’s why it feels like a story, like a slice of someone else’s life

I know the pain is there because I can only read so much

Of the long ago journal before having to close the well-worn cover

It’s a story that is buried so deep

That it feels like I’m reading a novel or a bio of another’s life

*****************************************

Young, intense, competitive love

Forming each of us into adulthood

Soul click

Heart break-  no…..

 heart-shredding

Living a façade for the masses

Led to an end to us as you left for self-discovery

Escaping the conservative confines of our city

Searching for a progressive place that would allow you

To explore the stirrings in your own soul

A chance to answer the question that had been pulling at you

Like demons in the night

Buried pain, picking up the shattered pieces

Wondering if I could go on without you

Intelligent, Motivated, Driven,

Intensely Competitive, Sophisticated, Narcissistic-

You were my male twin and even our hearts beat in sync

Later, as with all deep heart-wrenching pain,

I went on with my life

Using yours as the yard stick

by which all future relationships were measured

Years rolled by and became decades

I found you once again within the pages of

A college photo album

Pictures curling as the adhesive aged

Hand-in-hand together at Coney’s Moonlight Gardens,

Nominated for Homecoming King & Queen

An irony like no other….

Searched for you online only to be met with resounding silence

You were nowhere to be found

And I feared that you no longer walked the earth

How unbelievable when the universe shifted recently and a

Tear in the cosmos allowed me to find you again

So many years have passed, yet it feels like yesterday

Only different…..

“What an unexpected gift and blessing from the universe….remember, after all these years, we have plenty of time! Love ya, Michelle.”    ~Todd

And yes, Todd. Time is the one thing we do have……

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2011

Xavier Networking Event

Awesome day at XU attending the Alumni Networking Event! Kendra Ramirez of Sales Konnect was the featured speaker on the topic of maximizing LinkedIn to build business and make connections. Met some new folks and ran into old classmates and colleagues.

I just love all of the programs that Xavier puts together for their students and alums!!!

WHAT HAPPENED TO CHRISTMAS CHEER?!?

I have been holding a burning desire within myself for the past 24 hours. It has been smoldering within me as I travel through the business of my life, just waiting for an opportunity to stop and process what is on my mind. Of course the extremely dreary, gray day with the torrential down-pour adds nothing to lift the state of being that I currently reside in. In fact, as I write this, the sky is growing ever more blacker, and the rain is literally pounding on the skylights in my office loft.

I shall forge on regardless.............Yesterday, I followed my morning routine of breakfast, coffee and the Cincinnati Enquirer prior to jumping into my work day and noted the very depressing headlines that were screaming out in large black type just one week before Christmas. Given the already worrying conditions in this country, having all four lead articles spew out doom was very distressing. Here they are:

• CHRYSLER, FORD IDLING US PLANTS
• NEARLY HALF OF HOMES IN COUNTY FALL IN VALUE
• LAGGING SALES CANCEL 1 'NUTCRACKER' PERFORMANCE
• OHIO OKs ELECTRIC RATE CUT- FOR NOW

Then the news about Keri Shryock's death during the first Christmas performance of "Awakening" at the Crossroads Community Church was just too much. This young woman, a graduate student at my alma mater, Xavier University, had found community within this mega non-denominational church that does so much good for the local community and abroad. She was a performer in the show and fell 30 feet to her death (see earlier post). Reports from her friends show that she was a wonderful, caring, young woman who was truly making a difference in this world. A difference that is sorely needed given the above headlines that are morphing in various forms on every front page of every major city in this country. My prayers are with her family and friends as they go through this difficult period of loss. My hope is that her spirit of giving will live on in the many lives that she has touched and that these people will go on to pay it forward and touch other lives.

The message of Christmas is all about love: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Let's remember why we are celebrating December 25th and focus on the good that is going on in our lives.

• BANISH THE DARKNESS FROM YOUR LIFE
• DO SOMETHING TO IMPACT ANOTHER PERSON IN A POSITIVE WAY
  
• BE THANKFUL FOR ALL THE BLESSINGS THAT YOU DO HAVE
  

Despite the picture of bleakness that the media never ceases to remind us of, there are many rays of sunshine: just look for them closely, or go create some like Kerry did in her short life-time. And please add Keri's family to your prayers.

God Bless!

XAVIER UNIVERSITY

One of my most favorite places in the world is Xavier University. I absolutely had the best undergrad experience there, despite the fact that I had no clue where Ohio was upon first visiting the campus (due to being from the East Coast). Xavier led to many life-long friendships, my career at P&G and my rebirth with the post-MBA certificate program, "Back To Business" last fall.

As an undergrad, I was very involved in Student Government, Admissions, Psi Chi (Psychology National Honor Society), Psychology Club, Alpha Sigma Nu (Jesuit National Honor Society), Student Government Association and Theta Phi Alpha Sorority to name a few. Later got my MBA there as well. Hard to believe that after living all over the US and overseas as a child, I ended up living my adult life thus far in the same city that I went away to college in. I LOVE it- Cincinnati is like Mayberry all over again. I think we exist in 3 degrees of separation here, just ask anyone in Cincy about this.

Was there last week for some meetings at the Williams College of Business and took a couple quick shots of the campus. My how the campus has changed! Also posting a shot of me at the Back to Business Course.

grat⋅i⋅tude

   /ˈgrætɪˌtud, -ˌtyud/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [grat-i-tood, -tyood] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful: He expressed his gratitude to everyone on the staff.



Earlier this year, I was inspired by my friend Shelly Steffen-Byrne to keep a Gratitude Journal. It is a very simple endeavor: merely list five things on a daily basis that you are truly grateful for in your life. On busy days, my list reads exactly like that- 5 short sentences. On days where I have more time or have experienced something completely awesome and wondrous, the five items are almost a paragraph each. In any case, the journal serves two purposes. The first is to give life to the blessings that are born each day and by the simple act of writing them down, I am reflecting upon them and giving thanks for their occurrence. The second purpose is that it gives me a chronological detailing of my life as it is lived. I am a journal keeper going way back to the age of 10 and lucky for those who come after me, I have kept every single one. It's quite interesting to use the pages of my past to self-analyze to discover how I came to be the person that I am today. Freud would be proud!


Here's a peek to a randomly selected day:

May 12, 2008

I am grateful for:

1. A wonderful Confirmation ceremony-everything worked as planned.
2. Great bike ride to the library with Mack on Saturday. We made it up both big hills without stopping.
3. Great comments from long-ago XU friends Dan Lally & Vince Weseli via LinkedIn after reconnecting with them.
4. My wonderful group of sister writers (Shelly, Sandi and Laurie).
5. My family and good health.

Social Networking- Not Tonight!

Well, I was going to post my essay on Social Networking here today, but after looking it over I think it is way too long to post on here. Lol- it's four typed pages and I only scratched the surface with my discussion. Suffice it to say that I am a HUGE fan of social networking and of professional networking site LinkedIn. I have met an incredible number of people I now count as friends and have reconnected with others from my distant past all through use of the site. I am a "Connector" in the Malcolm Gladwell sense and enjoy the opportunity to bring people together.

Here is an article on the LinkedCincinnati Group that Jennifer McClure started. I was featured in the article written by fellow LinkedCincinnati member and former Business Editor for the Cincinnati Enquirer, Stepfanie Romine who is now an editor at SparkPeople.com. I enjoy people, learning about them and discovering what they do. People and data fascinate me so I'm sure they will become recurring themes in my future posts.

Above , is a picture of me giving the graduation address at the Xavier University, Williams College of Business "Back to Business" Program in October of 2007. BTB was a post-graduate certificate program for women with MBAs who had left the corporate world and desired a return. It was a life-changing event for me.