A poem I received by email

Slow Dance This is a poem written by a teenager with cancer. SLOW DANCE Have you ever watched kids On a merry-go-round? Or listened to the rain Slapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight? Or gazed at the sun into the fading night? You better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. Do you run through each day On the fly? When you ask How are you? Do you hear the reply? When the day is done Do you lie in your bed With the next hundred chores Running through your head? You'd better slow down Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. Ever told your child, We'll do it tomorrow? And in your haste, Not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch, Let a good friendship die Cause you never had time To call and say,'Hi' You'd better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music won't last. When you run so fast to get somewhere You miss half the fun of getting there. When you worry and hurry through your day, It is like an unopened gift.... Thrown away. Life is not a race. Do take it slower Hear the music Before the song is over. ---------- -- -------- Dr. Dennis Shields, Professor Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology 1300 Morris Park Avenue Bronx , New York

asking the right questions

This is a much greater challenge than many of us realise . Asking questions is quite difficult for some people but asking the right questions at the right time in the right way is a challenge we all face.

Sometimes we ask in a tone of voice which confuses our listeners, sometimes we only realise the question we could have asked hours after the event and I'm sure many of us have asked the right question at the wrong time.

Its a skill to practice and when training to be a coach I had to practice asking clients questions in many different ways, directly and indirectly, questions to speed up thinking, questions to encourage reflection, questions which can be answered easliy and questions which can't be answered at all.

Think about the questiosn you ask yourself this week, if you asked them in a different way .... would you get a different answer ?