On Acceptance | Quote

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Understanding | Quote

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Make Lemonade? | Quote

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Brilliance | Quote

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There's Always More

My friend, who went to a National Park, was
telling me some more stories of things that
happened in his travels.

One interesting tidbit was when he was hiking
one day. He had spent 7 hours hiking up, and
was on his way down. He was tired, wet (there
were some beautiful waterfalls) and sweaty.
He was in a hurry to get to where he could
take a shower, relax, and take care of himself.

He passed a couple with a young child, and
as he passed, going pretty quickly, the
woman made some snide remarks about how
beautiful things were, and about how one
couldn't take the time to actually look,
"of course" referring indirectly to my
friend.

Now while she may have had a well intentioned
point, and while there may be some that will
ignore the surrounding beauty and plow through,
that certainly wasn't the case with my friend.
He even had 100s of pictures to prove that he
had taken his time and enjoyed the beauty.

It made me think about perspective, and how
we can be so sure of another person's
experience when, in fact, we haven't got
a clue. But that doesn't stop us from treating
a person according to our perception.

As common as this is, it is something that is
often overlooked when we are caught up in our
own head and own perspective. If she had
known what my friend's experience was, and
how he was feeling at that moment she may have
not been so quick to judge, and may have even
been glad to know that he had had such a great
day and would have been glad to know that he
was getting to where it was best for him to
be as expediently as possible.

It makes me wonder how often we assign negativity
to something that actually is quite positive.

I wonder if you caught something about the
situation and what I wrote. To some degree
the representation of the events makes it seem
like she was the "bad" guy, while what she
said may have not been targeted toward him
at all, but rather a coincidence of timing.

There is no way to know, and that is part of
the point. However, there may be times we
could be correct, but in times like those,
I seriously doubt a snide comment is going
to have a great impact on another - at least
not in a positive way.

If a person's intention is to be heard, it is
best to speak in a way that another would be
willing to listen, and making someone feel
guilty or bad or wrong for what they've done
may kick in the defense mechanisms. It could
also have a deafening effect or create the
antithesis of the desired result.

I suppose the point is to take in more than
just what is perceived in the moment. There
is likely to be more going on in that person's
world and mind than is readily apparent.

Perhaps it should be even taken a step further.
Perhaps it is none of our business what is
going on in that person's mind and world -
unless they want us to know and/or care what
we may have to say or do about it.

Funny thing is, though...if that was the case,
there wouldn't be much news to report, no gossip
shows or media websites. Wow. We might find
that we need to focus on ourselves and our world
instead. Wouldn't THAT be something?

(Yes. I know there is more to the picture.
There always is.)

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Brighter than the Sun | Video

Here's a catchy song to start your weekend
off with. In addition, it is my wish for
anyone who may be struggling in a relationship,
or without one. We all deserve to have the
wonderful feelings that love shares with us.



Enjoy.
 

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Perspective on Points of View | Quote

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Grabbing onto the Moment | Video

I have come to really appreciate country music in
the last few months. Some have said country doesn't
sound so country these days. Maybe that is why
something I never used to pay much attention to
now has my interest.

Any which way, I do feel that country songs have a
lot to say. The video below is about not letting
something slip through your fingers. The video is
about a man and a woman, but it is a message that
could apply more broadly to opportunities in your
life.

See what you think.

As She's Walking Away - Zac Brown Band - Zac Brown Band Videos

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The Only Worry in the World... | Video

I love this line...

"The only worry in the world
is the tide gonna
reach my chair"

Wouldn't it be great if we
had a world that was even
remotely close to being that?

Here's to all of those
wonderful get lost,
peaceful moments.



Want one of your own?
Call me!
 

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On Love Language & Life

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Don't Feed the Animals

A friend of mine was telling about a visit
to some of our national parks. He told me
that park rangers were telling visitors
not to feed the animals, and they were
explaining why it was not a good idea.

The reasons had to do with what might not
seem obvious, but are detrimental and
undesirable results.

1. If bears and other threatening animals
were to get used to human food, they would
come after it more, and come closer to
humans that they could hurt. When that
happens, apparently they have to shoot the
animals. Not to mention that people have
been hurt/attacked because bears are
comfortable around people, and are looking
for food.

2. If birds that feed off of seeds in
trees were being fed by humans they wouldn't
do their "thing" with the seeds that ultimately
helps the forest to continue, as part of it
has to do with seeds that wind up planted and
growing into new trees.

3. If the animals get used to being fed
human food they will not do what they need
to do to survive the winter, when humans
are not around to feed them. They become too
dependent on a behavior that is short sighted,
and will ultimately cost them their life.

In addition, human food is not good for the
animals, any way.

People who visit the parks are told these
things, and then guess what many of them do.

They feed the animals!

It seems to me a bit like how our unconscious
and conscious minds work. We may know something
is not in our best interest, but we do it any
way because there is something about what it is
that gives us something (very much in the way that
feeding the animals gives us something, it also
takes away something in the process).

It also occurs to me that when we are challenged
it helps us to grow. If someone makes it easy
on us, we may not do what we need to do to grow
ourselves or be able to do what we need to do
when we need to do it.

Some might even encourage dependence for some
self serving reason that could be conscious or
unconscious. From everything in life we get
something. If we didn't get it, we wouldn't
do it.

Maybe it pays to take a step back every now and
again and see what we are doing that might not
be so great for us or those we love. Then, if
we do recognize something that might be worth
changing, considering doing something about it
before we are attacked or die (metaphorically
speaking, of course).

We like to act like things don't matter. But
we could be wrong. We could be very wrong.
Is the cost of our self centered actions
based on little more than arrogance - and
potential denial - worth it?

This is not to say that everyone is this way
in regard to everything. But every day there
is news of those things that didn't matter
having adverse effects for those who are near
enough to be affected. One might think if
they're not near, they're safe. But we're all
connected, and sooner or later the effect could
trickle down. So why not reconsider some of
our assumptions and make some changes before
it's too late to know what "suddenly" hit us?

I don't know about you, but it saddens me to
see that collectively in some way, every day
we are whittling away the world with our shrugs
and myopic vision. And yes, some may say otherwise,
but tell me: is it an argument worth winning when
it may often be difficult to tell the effects of
today's actions today, and tomorrow may be too late?

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Discord & Love | Quote

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Love & Detours

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If this is true | Video

If this video is of something that isn't fake
(as some claim), it is pretty cool. However
it makes me wonder, if they can do "anything,"
can they do people, too?



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When it Rome...?

I was reading an article about how NYC has
a rule about signage being in English that
hasn't really been enforced. However now
they feel it would be to the benefit of
those in the neighborhoods and in the fire
and police services to have the signage in
a way that can be understood by those who
speak English.

It raises an on-going question about language
in this country. I remember walking through
a part of Queens in the NYC area called Astoria
a few years back, and you wouldn't have known
you were in the US. It was (and maybe still
is?) a VERY Greek neighborhood.

Another time I was on the subway, and I over-
heard approximately 4 conversations on my
ride, none of which were English, all of which
were different. At the time I marveled at how
all of these people from different places
could come together in a place like NYC.

I also spent some time in Europe at one point
and was around people who didn't speak English.
While I appreciated those who did, I tried to
learn a few words to be able to communicate in
the language of the land.

While I know there are some who might take
great objection to what I am about to say,
it seems to me that when in Rome, one should
do as the Romans do. Or, in this case, when
in America, do as the Americans do.

Of course, there will be some who will say
they are American, and not speak much English
at all. However, the country as we know it was
founded with English speakers, and has had English
as a predominant language for quite some time.

At the core of what I believe is a necessity
for us to be able to communicate effectively
with one another. If I was going to go live
in France, I would expect to learn the
language so I would know and understand
what was going on, and how to communicate
with others.

It just makes sense to me that we have a
difficult enough time communicating with
each other in the same language we don't
need added complications of different
languages.

I am not saying that people should forget their
own language, or stop speaking it, but when
out amongst others, it would be really great
if we had some way to communicate effectively
without having to go through hoops and
legislative and politically correct dances.

As with anything I say, my mind is open to
other possibilities. I just don't know what
they are at the moment, and present my case
based on my own experience and perspective
as well as a desire to be able to communicate
with those around me.

Interestingly, when I was in a Home Depot in
California, I was looking for something, and
couldn't find it. I asked someone for help,
and he only spoke Spanish. I could have
found someone else, but I was attempting to
step up to the challenge, and was seeing if
I could communicate in Spanish what I needed.

I was unsuccessful, and also grateful that
there was someone I could speak with and
effectively communicate what I needed.

As a tool, I'd say language has an ability to
either pull us apart or help us come together,
and it isn't so much the language itself as it
is those who use it.

If those who use language had more of a desire
to be able to be understood by (and to understand)
others, I think we could find a way to make things
work without having to resort to the negativity
that surrounds this topic. When living in the
NYC area, I had friends who spoke Spanish.
Occasionally I would try to speak to them in
their language (to help me keep what I knew and
learn more) and at times we'd speak English, and
I'd help them to better learn the language.

In this country we have freedom, and perhaps it
is in part because we are able to have a common
and understood (well, mostly) framework in which
to work. If we can't understand each other,
how well can it work, really?

I find sometimes that divisions only divide us.
I am not saying we shouldn't appreciate our
differences, but when we come together it would
seem to be to our benefit to be able to find
a workable middle ground, and that doesn't
always mean we'll be balanced. Sometimes it,
like any relationship, will seem to favor one
or the other party. Done right, though, the
resulting balancing act will be to the benefit
of all.

At least in my opinion. What's yours?

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