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Inquiring minds want to know: What were the most amazing, profound, surprising, or even whacky things you’ve learned over the last year?

Yes, you read it right! Here’s another entry (for her other blog) from Jean Browman, who also writes Transforming Stress to Personal Power:

Transforming Stress Into Personal Power is a continuation of the classes I’ve taught, and groups I’ve led, on stress management. The essence of what I’ve been teaching is included in the page Traits of Stress-Hardy, Resilient People.

I started this blog the same time I started Cheerful Monk. Like Cheerful Monk, it’s a weekly blog. This one is posted on Sundays. The posts I learned the most from, by month starting with June, are:

June – The Slightly Buried Under

I like this post because it has a cute picture of a squirrel covered with snow, completely unperturbed about the situation. It was a good metaphor for the way I was feeling about blogging… he was a great role model for me.

July – Lifelong Learning

This post talks about the importance of playing, pursuing some interests just because they fascinate you. It gives examples (Steve Jobs and Richard Feynman) where play ended up having some practical value. But even if that doesn’t happen, it will keep you creative and fully alive. And that is one of the best preparations for thriving in this rapidly changing world.

August – The Greatest Teachers

This post expands upon a quote by the Dalai Lama. It maintains that the greatest teachers are people who teach us about love and deep connection with our fellow human beings. That’s a great antidote for stress and depression.

September – Finding Inspiration

This short post made me see the easiest way to get started on a post: find a picture and a quote. I hadn’t realized that before. So even if no one else liked this piece, it has been invaluable to me.

October – Keep the Pen Moving

Talks about the power of writing to clarify our thoughts and our beliefs.

November – What I Learned From Being Downsized

My first contribution to the monthly What I Learned From… series. The experience was a example of good stress-management techniques.

December – What I Learned From Sending My Aikido Partner Through a Plate Glass Window

My second contribution to the What I Learned From… series. Lessons learned: Don’t be afraid to try something new. If it doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to quit and try something else. Keep your sense of adventure.

Main Lessons Learned

I didn’t get a high speed connection to the internet until December 2006, so I’ve learned a lot this past year from both blogs. I didn’t even know what a blog was before then! Yes, I’ve learned things from individual posts, but the most important thing was learning to create my own blogs and to post regularly. It’s been a great year.

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So what’s it all about?

Friends, if you’ve written about it at your blog in 2007, then you’re invited to join us for this special edition of What I Learned From… Care to share with us your favorite/ best/ most controversial/ strangest, etc. posts? (You get to pick one from each month you’ve been blogging in 2007.)

Well, don’t just sit there like a bump on a pickle; click the link, check out the simple instructions, and jump right in! Get your entries in by Sunday night, January 13, and I’ll publish them all right here at Middle Zone Musings.

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!