The Story of Madeleine

Keeping a straight yet flexible back!

Madeleine — Sun, 27 May 2012 17:04:11 +0000

Some news is hard to swallow. I got a piece of it this week. At the same time, this week was filled with beauty. Beautiful encounters. Beautiful sharings. Honest stories. Some I read. Some struck me to the core of my being. Some I heard. Some I spoke. And some are still to be spoken. Seemingly unrelated [...]

Singin’ & Dancin’ in the Rain

Madeleine — Sun, 20 May 2012 18:54:45 +0000

Everyone knows this Gene Kelly song, Singing in the Rain. The epitome of being happy despite some very rainy circumstances. I think I may just have found the very perfect modern hip hop street dance version of it! There is a move, a spot, a place for everyone. There is a time, a place, a moment for everything. Singin’ [...]

Nature & the Transformation Game ®

Madeleine — Sun, 13 May 2012 18:33:30 +0000

The month of May is quite a transformative month as I have now twice played the Transformation Game ®. Both times with 3 lovely lady friends. One time at home. One time during a weekend break in the South of Holland; in Zeeland to be more specific. The Transformation Game ® has been around since [...]

The Power of People to Change our World

Madeleine — Sun, 06 May 2012 19:26:03 +0000

One of my favorite quotes is this one by JFK “One person can make a difference and everyone should try“. This holds a lot of truth and promise in it. 1) it is possible for every single one of us to make a difference. 2) every single one of us is allowed to try. 3) if something can [...]

Ask & It shall be Given

Madeleine — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 22:11:56 +0000

In these days, when our economies sound like crunching old men ploughing through muddy puddles of throwaway bonuses and leftover budget cuts, I have decided to investigate Matthew’s famous and much quoted 7:7 line. Many years ago, while playing field hockey in an international tournament in Antwerp, late at night, no one left on the [...]

My Gratitude List

Madeleine — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 19:44:56 +0000

Everyone knows about the phenomenon of the Bucket List. And if you do not. Go find out. Start here and have fun. This is not about my Bucket List. I never created one. As in writing one down. Literally. Today, it’s about My Gratitude List. There is a simple reason today is about gratitude. I feel [...]

We need procrastination & the scenic route

Madeleine — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:21:07 +0000

This word. This word ‘procrastination’. I like it. And have ever since I first learned of it. One of those wonderful English words that I feel has no great Dutch translation. It means to put of till tomorrow (procrastinare in Latin). Do I like putting things of till tomorrow and is that why I love [...]

The courage of Daring and Shining

Madeleine — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:52:37 +0000

It is Sunday night. Easter Sunday. Time to write a new blog post. The last two were about dropping stories. Dropping inner stories we tell ourselves that are no longer useful. Today it’s all about adopting stories. The courage of Daring and Shining. I can use a lot of words but in this case, I will let [...]

No room for Shoulds, Musts, Have-tos

Madeleine — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 21:37:49 +0000

Last Friday night, I sent the following evening tweet “Wishing everyone a night full of creativity, in-spiration and dreams in which there is no room for shoulds, musts and have-tos“. For some reason, I got into the habit of sending tweets in the morning starting with “Hello sweet world, I wish us…” as well as bidding [...]

The Circus of Compairing and Judging

Madeleine — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 22:12:23 +0000

Last week I wrote about dropping the stories of perfection, originality and know-it-all. This week, I wish to drop the stories of comparing and judging: “but they are different from me”. A line I will get back to, a few words later. What did you think when you read the words “comparing and judging”? Anything positive? I [...]