It's good to have goals. I personally have goals and aspirations, not only for myself, but for my children, for my town, for the world I live in. Goals keep us motivated to move in the right direction, and to know where we want our lives to take us. Everything has an end point, and it's best if we have a hand in deciding where that end point is. But having an end game and having a game plan are not always the same thing.
We often look at things from A to Z. A - Where am I? Z - Where would I ultimately like to end up? A is constant, we are where we are. Z is also a constant. Yes, only we know what we want from life, what our goals truly are, but ultimately, our own personal Z never changes. The things we have a tendency to miss, the variables in the equation of life, are B thru Y. How are we going to make our dreams come true? How are we going to find our happy ending? The answer simply is, I don't know.
What I do know, is that it's not going to fall into our laps. We have to work for it. We have to earn happiness. And happiness is earned one step at a time. We do not achieve our goals by working from A to Z. We achieve our goals by working from A to B, then B to C, and so on.
I don't know how helpful anyone will find this blog. I don't know how many of you who read this haven't already figured this out without my help. What I do know is that I'm just now starting to see this clearly, and that this, is the next step in my journey through the alphabet, to my hopeful goal. And keeping this in perspective along the way is the only way I'm going to make it.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
The Plastic Egg of Patience
We all know that patience is a virtue. Those of you who know me also know that, virtuous or not, it's not one of my strengths. But it's something I need to work on, other wise I would miss out on a lot of really great moments. For example...
Every time my daughter ends up at the grocery store, she asks for a Care Bear out of the machine in the lobby. Any most of the time she gets two. She's spoiled and rotten as all get out for it, but hey, you'll have that. Anyway, last night we made a trip into the grocery store, and she got herself a Care Bear toy.
Now, during this time of collecting, she has been trying to get all 8 varieties, but really wants two specific bears. The dark pink one, and the dark blue one. She has managed to get several of each of the other 6 types, but no luck on the two she doesn't have. It's really kind of becoming an obsession. When we walk in, we get one, and it's a third copy of the orange one she has. She's happy she got one, but she wants me to put it in my pocket because she's just not that interested in more of the usual. She's 4, it's really kind of hard to fault her for that.
Anyway, we do our grocery shopping and as I go to pay, I notice that I have a dollar in my wallet. It shouldn't be any problem to turn this dollar into quarters and get my daughter, who is at this point talking the ears off anybody who comes within 50 feet of her, our cashier not withstanding. After I pay for our groceries, I ask the cashier if she can give me change for a dollar. She, in not so nice a fashion, tells me if I want change I have to go to another register, and points me in the right direction.
This is where that patience thing comes into play. I start getting frustrated almost immediately. I am not going to waste my time walking around, just because you can't count out 4 quarters. Miraculously I don't say this to the lady. My daughter and I then make our way to this second register, which is not open, but has a sign directing us to a third register for "any of your check cashing needs". I don't really need a check cashed I just need some quarters, but whatever.
More frustration.
I then get to the tertiary register to find a line. Ok, another set back, but we'll survive. Until the cashier walks away for what appears to be no reason, leaving this line of people to fend for ourselves.
More frustration.
I'm to the point now where I look down at my daughter and tell her we're going to have to skip our second Care Bear and head home. She's sad, but understanding. On our way out the second register is now staffed, with a person counting money at it. We walk up to it and I start to ask for quarters, since the drawer is already open. I get to the "Can I get..." part before I am interrupted. "It's going to be a minute!"
More frustration.
I then wait with what little patience I have left for this person to finish counting her money and closing her drawer. When she asks what I need I say, I just need quarters and hand her my dollar. She informs me she will have to call someone over to open her drawer. The drawer that as just open.
More frustration.
I finally get my quarter and am so frustrated and fed up I can barely see straight. We're on our way out and my daughter grabs my hand and yanks me over to the Care Bear machine. We put our hard won quarters in and she helps me turn the handle. And wouldn't you know it, the elusive dark pink Care Bear makes an appearance. My daughter is ecstatic. She starts running circles around the vestibule, she starts screaming and jumping up and down. She is hugging her little plastic egg thing to her chest, elated that she has the dark pink Care Bear.
All of my frustration melts away in an instant. My daughter is the happiest she's been all day. Possibly all week. All because of 3 quarters and a plastic Care Bear.
Patience. I see the virtue in it. And I see why it is some important to have it, use it, and make it a part of every situation we find ourselves in. Now I just need to find a way to cultivate that in my own life, so I can share more moments like this with the people I love.
Every time my daughter ends up at the grocery store, she asks for a Care Bear out of the machine in the lobby. Any most of the time she gets two. She's spoiled and rotten as all get out for it, but hey, you'll have that. Anyway, last night we made a trip into the grocery store, and she got herself a Care Bear toy.
Now, during this time of collecting, she has been trying to get all 8 varieties, but really wants two specific bears. The dark pink one, and the dark blue one. She has managed to get several of each of the other 6 types, but no luck on the two she doesn't have. It's really kind of becoming an obsession. When we walk in, we get one, and it's a third copy of the orange one she has. She's happy she got one, but she wants me to put it in my pocket because she's just not that interested in more of the usual. She's 4, it's really kind of hard to fault her for that.
Anyway, we do our grocery shopping and as I go to pay, I notice that I have a dollar in my wallet. It shouldn't be any problem to turn this dollar into quarters and get my daughter, who is at this point talking the ears off anybody who comes within 50 feet of her, our cashier not withstanding. After I pay for our groceries, I ask the cashier if she can give me change for a dollar. She, in not so nice a fashion, tells me if I want change I have to go to another register, and points me in the right direction.
This is where that patience thing comes into play. I start getting frustrated almost immediately. I am not going to waste my time walking around, just because you can't count out 4 quarters. Miraculously I don't say this to the lady. My daughter and I then make our way to this second register, which is not open, but has a sign directing us to a third register for "any of your check cashing needs". I don't really need a check cashed I just need some quarters, but whatever.
More frustration.
I then get to the tertiary register to find a line. Ok, another set back, but we'll survive. Until the cashier walks away for what appears to be no reason, leaving this line of people to fend for ourselves.
More frustration.
I'm to the point now where I look down at my daughter and tell her we're going to have to skip our second Care Bear and head home. She's sad, but understanding. On our way out the second register is now staffed, with a person counting money at it. We walk up to it and I start to ask for quarters, since the drawer is already open. I get to the "Can I get..." part before I am interrupted. "It's going to be a minute!"
More frustration.
I then wait with what little patience I have left for this person to finish counting her money and closing her drawer. When she asks what I need I say, I just need quarters and hand her my dollar. She informs me she will have to call someone over to open her drawer. The drawer that as just open.
More frustration.
I finally get my quarter and am so frustrated and fed up I can barely see straight. We're on our way out and my daughter grabs my hand and yanks me over to the Care Bear machine. We put our hard won quarters in and she helps me turn the handle. And wouldn't you know it, the elusive dark pink Care Bear makes an appearance. My daughter is ecstatic. She starts running circles around the vestibule, she starts screaming and jumping up and down. She is hugging her little plastic egg thing to her chest, elated that she has the dark pink Care Bear.
All of my frustration melts away in an instant. My daughter is the happiest she's been all day. Possibly all week. All because of 3 quarters and a plastic Care Bear.
Patience. I see the virtue in it. And I see why it is some important to have it, use it, and make it a part of every situation we find ourselves in. Now I just need to find a way to cultivate that in my own life, so I can share more moments like this with the people I love.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Global Logistics
This is a subject I touch on a lot, but it's been a while since I've take a few moments to reflect publicly on the subject, and I think it's something we often have a tendency to lose perspective on.
As some of you know, I work retail for a living. Recently, while putting up some freight, I came across a pen in a box of shoes. The pen had obviously not been placed their intentionally, and my assumption is that it fell out of a shirt pocket of an employee and the packaging location for that particular pair of shoes. As I was busy that day, I just grabbed the pen and put it in my pocket. Later, as I got to thinking about it more closely, I pulled the pen back out and looked at it in a different light.
This pen once belonged to a factory worker, somewhere out there. There was a worker out there, somewhere, who had at some point in the not so distant past, found themselves in the same position I often find myself in...looking everywhere for my pen that has miraculously disappeared. The difference is usually my pen ends up in a drawer in my office, this persons pen ended up in the hands of a retail manager in central Indiana. This pen, had found it's way across the country, into my hands of all the places it could have been sent. This pen was now an actual tangible connection between myself, and the person who used to own it. My life, and their life are now in the smallest of ways, connected, and all because of a lost pen.
I don't know who that individual is, and I may never know, but I do know that it's a bit awe inspiring to think about the implications of it. How many people that we will never know, are we connected to in the same way? Who packaged the computer you are reading this on? Who was the person who stocked the coffee mug you drink out of each morning onto the retail shelf you purchased it from? Who are you connected to, and in what ways?
Everything is part of the same web. Everybody is part of the massive Global Organism that our modern world has not only created, but perpetuated without most of our even noticing. But it is certainly something worth taking note of. This phenomenon is an opportunity to stay connected on a global scale, with the remainder of our kind...people.
I left my pen on a table in a McDonalds in Frankfort Indiana. I don't know what has happened to my pen since that day several weeks ago, but I know that by placing it there, I've made myself a part of bigger adventure than I can ever begin to imagine. Perhaps my pen was picked up by a truck driver on his way through town and is not resting in the center console of his rig. Perhaps it was picked up by a stay at home mom who now uses it every week to fill out her grocery list. Perhaps it was simply thrown in the trash. I don't know where it came from, and I don't know where it's gone, but I do know that for the briefest of times, it was with me. And whether for good or ill, I had an effect. The smallest of effects, but still an effect.
As some of you know, I work retail for a living. Recently, while putting up some freight, I came across a pen in a box of shoes. The pen had obviously not been placed their intentionally, and my assumption is that it fell out of a shirt pocket of an employee and the packaging location for that particular pair of shoes. As I was busy that day, I just grabbed the pen and put it in my pocket. Later, as I got to thinking about it more closely, I pulled the pen back out and looked at it in a different light.
This pen once belonged to a factory worker, somewhere out there. There was a worker out there, somewhere, who had at some point in the not so distant past, found themselves in the same position I often find myself in...looking everywhere for my pen that has miraculously disappeared. The difference is usually my pen ends up in a drawer in my office, this persons pen ended up in the hands of a retail manager in central Indiana. This pen, had found it's way across the country, into my hands of all the places it could have been sent. This pen was now an actual tangible connection between myself, and the person who used to own it. My life, and their life are now in the smallest of ways, connected, and all because of a lost pen.
I don't know who that individual is, and I may never know, but I do know that it's a bit awe inspiring to think about the implications of it. How many people that we will never know, are we connected to in the same way? Who packaged the computer you are reading this on? Who was the person who stocked the coffee mug you drink out of each morning onto the retail shelf you purchased it from? Who are you connected to, and in what ways?
Everything is part of the same web. Everybody is part of the massive Global Organism that our modern world has not only created, but perpetuated without most of our even noticing. But it is certainly something worth taking note of. This phenomenon is an opportunity to stay connected on a global scale, with the remainder of our kind...people.
I left my pen on a table in a McDonalds in Frankfort Indiana. I don't know what has happened to my pen since that day several weeks ago, but I know that by placing it there, I've made myself a part of bigger adventure than I can ever begin to imagine. Perhaps my pen was picked up by a truck driver on his way through town and is not resting in the center console of his rig. Perhaps it was picked up by a stay at home mom who now uses it every week to fill out her grocery list. Perhaps it was simply thrown in the trash. I don't know where it came from, and I don't know where it's gone, but I do know that for the briefest of times, it was with me. And whether for good or ill, I had an effect. The smallest of effects, but still an effect.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
The Two Faces of Doubt
Doubt is a funny thing. We often times doubt ourselves. Doubt we are capable of what we say we are. Doubt we know what we think we know. Doubt we can accomplish the goals we have set for ourselves. Doubt we can live up to other peoples expectations.
This kind of doubt can be a huge issue if we don't get it under control. I'm not saying that we should always hold our heads up and if we try real hard we'll persevere. If any of you have met me, you know I'm not that guy. I'm simply saying that when it comes to our own abilities and knowledge, our own drive, our own lives; no ones knows us better than we know ourselves. If you have doubts about yourself, examine those doubts, and find out why you have them. Most of the time you'll realize that those doubts are misguided. You are capable of doing what you say you would. You do know what you think you know. You can accomplish your goals for yourself. You don't need to live up to other peoples expectations, you only need to live up to your own.
This is not the funny thing about doubt. The funny thing about doubt is that we rarely doubt other people. We may not always believe 100% of what we hear, but when it comes to doubting others, to challenging what we are being told or shown, we more times than not take the "experts" word on things. But these are the times we need to doubt most.
Now again, don't take literally every word I say here. We don't have to assume everybody and everything is wrong or lying to us or some sort of snake in the grass who's trying to get us. All I'm saying is that when we are presented with information, whether it be facts, answers to personal questions, information regarding what a person will and will not accomplish, we need to take a look at that information and see what we know about it. Research it further, find out how that fits in to what we already know, find out how that fits into our personal philosophy, and make our own decisions based on the information given to us. If we do this we will find that when it comes to other people, the situation is rarely black and white. Sometimes they are right. Sometimes they are wrong. Sometimes they are misguided. Sometimes they understand what we're going through better than we do. One thing we can usually count on though is that most of the time, they'll surprise us.
Like I said, doubt is a funny thing. It can be a huge liability, or a great asset. We just have to teach ourselves the ability to identify the good doubt from the bad doubt and be able to react to it when we see it.
This kind of doubt can be a huge issue if we don't get it under control. I'm not saying that we should always hold our heads up and if we try real hard we'll persevere. If any of you have met me, you know I'm not that guy. I'm simply saying that when it comes to our own abilities and knowledge, our own drive, our own lives; no ones knows us better than we know ourselves. If you have doubts about yourself, examine those doubts, and find out why you have them. Most of the time you'll realize that those doubts are misguided. You are capable of doing what you say you would. You do know what you think you know. You can accomplish your goals for yourself. You don't need to live up to other peoples expectations, you only need to live up to your own.
This is not the funny thing about doubt. The funny thing about doubt is that we rarely doubt other people. We may not always believe 100% of what we hear, but when it comes to doubting others, to challenging what we are being told or shown, we more times than not take the "experts" word on things. But these are the times we need to doubt most.
Now again, don't take literally every word I say here. We don't have to assume everybody and everything is wrong or lying to us or some sort of snake in the grass who's trying to get us. All I'm saying is that when we are presented with information, whether it be facts, answers to personal questions, information regarding what a person will and will not accomplish, we need to take a look at that information and see what we know about it. Research it further, find out how that fits in to what we already know, find out how that fits into our personal philosophy, and make our own decisions based on the information given to us. If we do this we will find that when it comes to other people, the situation is rarely black and white. Sometimes they are right. Sometimes they are wrong. Sometimes they are misguided. Sometimes they understand what we're going through better than we do. One thing we can usually count on though is that most of the time, they'll surprise us.
Like I said, doubt is a funny thing. It can be a huge liability, or a great asset. We just have to teach ourselves the ability to identify the good doubt from the bad doubt and be able to react to it when we see it.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
"Our Own Heart is Our Temple"
Quite some time back, I got ordained through an online ordination service. I didn't do it out of piety or out of a desire to start a church, I had done it because I was at home with the kids and got bored. Lately thought, I've been thinking about that. About what it means to minister. What it means to be a reverend. And what it amounts to, for me, is little more than what I do here in this blog. For me, it comes down to noticing something about the world at large, sharing my thoughts on the matter with those who are willing to listen, and holding an open discussion on what exactly the implications of those thoughts are.
I don't generally have the right answers. Nor do I ever feel that my answers are the only answers. But what I do feel is that I am occasionally on to something that might in some way effect the human experience in some small way, and that this is my outlet for sharing these thoughts. And as much talking as I do about what I feel being human is all about, I try to do at least that much listening. The world is my congregation, and my minister, all at the same time. I am all the time reaching out into what the world has put before me and taking away what I can use to make me a better person, and then I come back here and find a way to articulate (however sloppily) those thoughts to you, not to tell you to change your life, not to tell you you're doing it wrong, but to tell you how I perceive the world, and how I have grown as a person.
The Dalai Lama once said "There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; my philosophy is kindness."
We don't need to go and learn everything about any given religion and all the rituals and rites that go with that. We need to learn to be better people. We need to learn to constantly be growing and developing as human beings, and looking to positively impact the world we live in. I'm not saying that I am the one to lead us down that path. I'm simply saying that we can take our learning from anything and everything around us, not just from a minister or a sage or a rabbi or a witch doctor, but from experiences, our own and the experiences of others, and use that to mold ourselves into what we perceive "goodness" to be. Inspiration is all around us, we just have to be receptive to it.
I don't generally have the right answers. Nor do I ever feel that my answers are the only answers. But what I do feel is that I am occasionally on to something that might in some way effect the human experience in some small way, and that this is my outlet for sharing these thoughts. And as much talking as I do about what I feel being human is all about, I try to do at least that much listening. The world is my congregation, and my minister, all at the same time. I am all the time reaching out into what the world has put before me and taking away what I can use to make me a better person, and then I come back here and find a way to articulate (however sloppily) those thoughts to you, not to tell you to change your life, not to tell you you're doing it wrong, but to tell you how I perceive the world, and how I have grown as a person.
The Dalai Lama once said "There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; my philosophy is kindness."
We don't need to go and learn everything about any given religion and all the rituals and rites that go with that. We need to learn to be better people. We need to learn to constantly be growing and developing as human beings, and looking to positively impact the world we live in. I'm not saying that I am the one to lead us down that path. I'm simply saying that we can take our learning from anything and everything around us, not just from a minister or a sage or a rabbi or a witch doctor, but from experiences, our own and the experiences of others, and use that to mold ourselves into what we perceive "goodness" to be. Inspiration is all around us, we just have to be receptive to it.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Tell it to the Frogs
There is an old Tibetan story about a frog that goes something like this.
Once, there was a frog who lived his whole life in a dank well. One day a frog from the sea visited him.
"Where do you come front?" asked the Well Frog.
"From the ocean," replied the Sea Frog.
"How big is the ocean?"
"It's gigantic"
"You mean about a quarter the size of my well?"
"Bigger."
"Bigger? So, half as big?"
"No, even bigger"
"Is it...as big as my well?"
"There is no comparison."
"Impossible!" said the Well Frog.
After this, the two frogs set out to see the ocean together. When the Well Frog saw the ocean, it was such a shock that his head just exploded into pieces.
How often do we find ourselves in the position of the Well Frog? We live our whole lives in our own little world. Blinded by the walls we have surrounded ourselves with, ignorant to the mysteries the world has to offer.
We believe that regardless of what others say, we are right. We have the best that life has to offer, and no one can tell us any different.
When we are confronted with what the others around us have, and those things exceed our own, we handle it in a way that is less than flattering, and often times outright bad for us. Why can't we just be happy for our fellow man and their great fortune?
We find that we have spent so much time focusing on our lives and our world, that we are completely unaware of the world that surrounds us is so full of wonder and happiness that when we are finally confronted with it, it's too late for us to be able to enjoy it.
Sometimes we need to reach out, see how the other half lives, and understand what a better place our world could be if we just found a way to balance our world, with the worlds of those around us. What if we spent a little time reaching out to those around us, and seeing what the world is like through there eyes?
Once, there was a frog who lived his whole life in a dank well. One day a frog from the sea visited him.
"Where do you come front?" asked the Well Frog.
"From the ocean," replied the Sea Frog.
"How big is the ocean?"
"It's gigantic"
"You mean about a quarter the size of my well?"
"Bigger."
"Bigger? So, half as big?"
"No, even bigger"
"Is it...as big as my well?"
"There is no comparison."
"Impossible!" said the Well Frog.
After this, the two frogs set out to see the ocean together. When the Well Frog saw the ocean, it was such a shock that his head just exploded into pieces.
How often do we find ourselves in the position of the Well Frog? We live our whole lives in our own little world. Blinded by the walls we have surrounded ourselves with, ignorant to the mysteries the world has to offer.
We believe that regardless of what others say, we are right. We have the best that life has to offer, and no one can tell us any different.
When we are confronted with what the others around us have, and those things exceed our own, we handle it in a way that is less than flattering, and often times outright bad for us. Why can't we just be happy for our fellow man and their great fortune?
We find that we have spent so much time focusing on our lives and our world, that we are completely unaware of the world that surrounds us is so full of wonder and happiness that when we are finally confronted with it, it's too late for us to be able to enjoy it.
Sometimes we need to reach out, see how the other half lives, and understand what a better place our world could be if we just found a way to balance our world, with the worlds of those around us. What if we spent a little time reaching out to those around us, and seeing what the world is like through there eyes?
Monday, March 24, 2014
The Clinging Fire
"Cling to the power of higher truth" I Ching, Chapter 30
We all have times in our lives when it's easier to let things fall to the back burner than to deal with them. Than to give them the time and attention they deserve. This blog for instance. It has been easier for me to not deal with it than to continue writing. And though I have not continued writing, it doesn't mean that I haven't continued musing.
When we allow things like this to fall by the wayside, we are letting them die. We are taking something we enjoy, something that makes us happy, and whole, and we are refusing to fuel this thing. Refusing to let it continue to burn. But this should not be the case. We should be allowing ourselves to fuel those fires that give us heart in times of need. That give us strength in times of weakness. That give us joy in times of sorrow.
So like fire, clinging to the wood that fuels it's flames, let us cling to those things that fuel our souls. Whatever those things may be, cling to them, and never let them go out. Make life what it can be, and what it should be.
We all have times in our lives when it's easier to let things fall to the back burner than to deal with them. Than to give them the time and attention they deserve. This blog for instance. It has been easier for me to not deal with it than to continue writing. And though I have not continued writing, it doesn't mean that I haven't continued musing.
When we allow things like this to fall by the wayside, we are letting them die. We are taking something we enjoy, something that makes us happy, and whole, and we are refusing to fuel this thing. Refusing to let it continue to burn. But this should not be the case. We should be allowing ourselves to fuel those fires that give us heart in times of need. That give us strength in times of weakness. That give us joy in times of sorrow.
So like fire, clinging to the wood that fuels it's flames, let us cling to those things that fuel our souls. Whatever those things may be, cling to them, and never let them go out. Make life what it can be, and what it should be.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)