The weather in my area has been quite beautiful lately. Wherever you may be, I have a task for you to accomplish the next time you look outside and notice how beautiful the weather is. I know that many of us have crazy schedules and work keeps you busy, but just slow down, take five minutes of time alone to sit and think about what you are thankful for.
If you commit to doing it, the task is not very difficult. Maybe take a walk during your lunch break, sit quietly in the car before you pull out of the parking lot, find a nearby park...whatever you have to do, just do it.
We all have something to be thankful for! Without getting too spiritual, you can be thankful that you have a loving family, thankful that you have/had caring parents, thankful that you have an income during this strained economy.
On the surface, you may think that this is a silly exercise, but you'd be amazed at how much better you feel when you take a moment to focus on the positives in your life. So often, we get caught up in the negatives and the stress around us, that we forget about the wonderful things that we have access to in our lives.
I watched the news recently and saw the story of David Kellermann, acting CFO of Fannie Mae, who took his own life. I watched as they wheeled his body out of his $900k home, and instantly thought "I'm sure that there are people less than 15 minutes from that house, who fight everyday to live on the streets with no home, and THIS man thought his life was so bad that he had nothing to live for?!" Ask yourself...do you think Mr. Kellermann ever stopped to think about what he had to be thankful for?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Happy Sunday
Ok...this is going to catch some of you by surprise but, it's only 130p and I've really enjoyed my day thus far. Why? Because it felt good to go to church this morning!
I'm not an overly spiritual person, but there are times like this morning, where it just "feels right" to sitting in church. I was feeling a bit sluggish this morning, but once I got into the sanctuary and starting singing and feeling the music, my spirit was truly lifted, as I stood there in the choir loft and sang the words:
I'm not an overly spiritual person, but there are times like this morning, where it just "feels right" to sitting in church. I was feeling a bit sluggish this morning, but once I got into the sanctuary and starting singing and feeling the music, my spirit was truly lifted, as I stood there in the choir loft and sang the words:
"I Love You Jesus
I worship and adore You
Just want to tell
Lord, I Love You more than anything."
I found myself sitting there during the message, saying my own private prayer of thanks, "Thank you Lord for bringing me here to this place. We both know that I am a sinner and that I have many faults. But thank you for at least guiding me to not do wrong at this particular moment, and to be in your house. Thank you for using music as the tool to have me come into your house, and hear your word. I could be listening to, or singing anything...but instead, I am here, singing your praises this morning, and it makes my heart feel good. Thank you!"
What a wonderful day!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Hmmm...I wonderland
Hold on tight...we're about to go to a portion of my brain that doesn't get visited very often. It's called Hmmm...I wonderland. I'm a person who usually prefers to make a decision, live with it, and not look back. 90% of the time, that philosophy has worked for me in life, so I roll with it.
Every now and then it's human to look back and think "What if....?"
"What if I would've gotten then hint when my prom date asked me to unzip her dress?"
"What if I would've actually gone to class in high school?"
"What if I wasn't introduced to porn at such a young age?"
A little while ago, I had a brief "what if..." moment that I had to get over quickly, and move on, simply because I'm a grown up and that's what grown ups do!
Let me explain: there's a young lady from my past that, for years, I had looked at as "the one who got away." I don't want to embarrass her, or put her out there like that, so for this passage, she shall remain nameless.
There was a time when we were very close friends...so close that I developed an infatuation for her. However, I never told her about it. Oddly enough, for a person who doesn't succumb to regret, for many years, not telling her how I felt, sat there in the back of my mind. Try as I might, I wasn't able to let it go. I'd find myself sitting somewhere, start to think about the period of time when we were friends, and hopelessly wonder how she was. There was this one time that I "swore" I saw her in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead concert, but the lovely woman who I spoke to was not her at all. It's amazing what shrooms and bowls of pot will cause you to see!
Several years ago, I found myself at a park, beneath a big beautiful tree, in the mood to do some writing. A woman and her daughter walked by and she reminded me of my crush from years ago, so I decided that I needed to get these feelings out of me. So I laid there and wrote her a poem, saying all the things that had been on my mind. Of course, I had NO intention on ever letting her read my words...it was strictly for my mental health. That mental exercise worked wonders! Years went by and I barely even thought about her. All was fine and dandy...and then after many years of no contact at all, we re-connected.
I saw her eyes, her smile, and for a few moments, I was back in school all over again! I got nervous at first, but then I thought back to my poem. There was nothing to be nervous about...she knew how I felt, and it was ok...or at least that's what I told myself. I took a deep breath, gathered my composure, and we had a lovely time conversing as old friends catching up...and I avoided taking the exit marked "Hmmm...I wonderland"
Every now and then it's human to look back and think "What if....?"
"What if I would've gotten then hint when my prom date asked me to unzip her dress?"
"What if I would've actually gone to class in high school?"
"What if I wasn't introduced to porn at such a young age?"
A little while ago, I had a brief "what if..." moment that I had to get over quickly, and move on, simply because I'm a grown up and that's what grown ups do!
Let me explain: there's a young lady from my past that, for years, I had looked at as "the one who got away." I don't want to embarrass her, or put her out there like that, so for this passage, she shall remain nameless.
There was a time when we were very close friends...so close that I developed an infatuation for her. However, I never told her about it. Oddly enough, for a person who doesn't succumb to regret, for many years, not telling her how I felt, sat there in the back of my mind. Try as I might, I wasn't able to let it go. I'd find myself sitting somewhere, start to think about the period of time when we were friends, and hopelessly wonder how she was. There was this one time that I "swore" I saw her in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead concert, but the lovely woman who I spoke to was not her at all. It's amazing what shrooms and bowls of pot will cause you to see!
Several years ago, I found myself at a park, beneath a big beautiful tree, in the mood to do some writing. A woman and her daughter walked by and she reminded me of my crush from years ago, so I decided that I needed to get these feelings out of me. So I laid there and wrote her a poem, saying all the things that had been on my mind. Of course, I had NO intention on ever letting her read my words...it was strictly for my mental health. That mental exercise worked wonders! Years went by and I barely even thought about her. All was fine and dandy...and then after many years of no contact at all, we re-connected.
I saw her eyes, her smile, and for a few moments, I was back in school all over again! I got nervous at first, but then I thought back to my poem. There was nothing to be nervous about...she knew how I felt, and it was ok...or at least that's what I told myself. I took a deep breath, gathered my composure, and we had a lovely time conversing as old friends catching up...and I avoided taking the exit marked "Hmmm...I wonderland"
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The Return of #28
Ok...it's time to start Blogging again. It is time to get back into that wonderfully pretentious habit that many of us know and love so much. I call it pretentious because what makes me think that anyone gives a damn about what I have to say about anything?? Why is my voice that important that someone wants to spend time out of his/her day to read what I have to say??
And then I answer that question by saying "Actually...I don't give a damn! This is MY personal therapy." So, I invite anyone who chooses to read my musings to enjoy yourself along the journey into the inner me. Trust me, it's a scary, dangerous place, but it's a place that features a lot of deep thoughts, opinions, emotions, and occasionally some really funny stuff. (Not nearly as funny as the things in Rick Younger's life, found at rickyounger.blogspot.com, but he's a damn professional!)
Today's blog is a brief message about how you need to get back on the horse of life, after it has thrown you. Let me explain: those of you close to me, know that my father in law just passed away after a very quick battle with diabetes. A battle which saw him have both feet amputated just a month before his passing. Well, my wife shared an incident with me today, that initially got me in trouble for laughing, but once I pleaded my case, she understood why I HAD to laugh.
She told me about how her mother was choosing an outfit for my father in law to be buried in, and how she was asked for her opinion. She looked over what her mother had chosen: Nice suit, shirt, tie, accessories...and then she looked over the ensemble and said "Ma, you forgot his socks!" At that point in the story, I kinda lost it, and began laughing. She finally realized...a moment like that can make you laugh or cry, and at this moment, I'm about cried out for a lil while.
And then I answer that question by saying "Actually...I don't give a damn! This is MY personal therapy." So, I invite anyone who chooses to read my musings to enjoy yourself along the journey into the inner me. Trust me, it's a scary, dangerous place, but it's a place that features a lot of deep thoughts, opinions, emotions, and occasionally some really funny stuff. (Not nearly as funny as the things in Rick Younger's life, found at rickyounger.blogspot.com, but he's a damn professional!)
Today's blog is a brief message about how you need to get back on the horse of life, after it has thrown you. Let me explain: those of you close to me, know that my father in law just passed away after a very quick battle with diabetes. A battle which saw him have both feet amputated just a month before his passing. Well, my wife shared an incident with me today, that initially got me in trouble for laughing, but once I pleaded my case, she understood why I HAD to laugh.
She told me about how her mother was choosing an outfit for my father in law to be buried in, and how she was asked for her opinion. She looked over what her mother had chosen: Nice suit, shirt, tie, accessories...and then she looked over the ensemble and said "Ma, you forgot his socks!" At that point in the story, I kinda lost it, and began laughing. She finally realized...a moment like that can make you laugh or cry, and at this moment, I'm about cried out for a lil while.
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