In the middle of all the moving crazy last week, I “used a lifeline” to call a friend, my coach Michelle James.  In the past, even when things were swirling in my life, I’ve been able to keep pretty calm, in my head.  But recently the swirling has crossed all the lines, which has put me in a bit of a blurry place on several fronts.  When that happens, all my usual routines “to keep the peace” seem like they aren’t enough.  I needed an outside mentor to listen patiently and then help guide me back to finding my center.

Michelle does this better than anyone I’ve ever worked with.  

While we were on our call, a conversation emerged about the difference between being nice and being kind.  At first it seemed like a small caveat from the main topic of conversation.  But as I let it sink in, I realized it …