What is in a Jar

"Go for it now. The future is promised to no one." -Wayne Dyer

A Saturday morning in fall, the sun starting to spread its warmth across the landscape and breakfast at the kitchen table comes to life. The coffee is done brewing, a short glass of orange juice and two slices of toasted bread are before you on the table. The butter melts across the browned grains and you wonder which type of jam to use this morning.

It is a great morning to relax.

Where did you get that jam or jelly? It is very likely that you got it from the heart of a man whose passion was birthed in that jar. If you listen closely to the opening of the jar, you will hear the love escape from it. You see this is a story of a man that loves a woman into something special to share with others.

This man, Big Papa, cared for his wife as she battled sickness. Every day he would come home to care and tend to her. For many of those hours she would sleep but he kept attentive to every breath she took.

In all those hours he found a passion for canning. The jams, the pickles, the various things that one can; pun intended. With each jar, a piece of their love went into each. Big Papa lost his wife but their love and passion fills each jar.

All of us have the ability to bring a passion to life.

The passion you bring to your life can create great things from the sorrow or pain that life sets at our door step. We could simply sit at an empty table and do nothing or we could get up and make toast and coffee. All we need is a jar of jam to open on that Saturday morning in the fall.

Stay inspired my friends!

If you are interested in meeting Big Papa in person, visit him at Suwanee Days if you are in the Suwanee, Georgia area this Saturday (09/21).

SCREEN: ORIGINAL HORROR MOVIE!

"Give them pleasure - the same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare.' -Alfred Hitchcock

There is a film maker I know by the name of David P. Baker. He is one of those passionate guys when it comes to making movies. Which is pretty much like you or me when it comes to doing what we love in life. For him its about making great movies which gives him his greatest pleasure.

Currently he is a long way from his home in Scotland. He has joined forces in Tulsa, Oklahoma with another passionate movie maker named Oklahoma Ward. Together with Nicole Alonso, the three are on an ambitious project to film two movies and a documentary about the whole process.

The first movie (currently being filmed) is called CRAWL. This is Oklahoma's movie and will certainly make a lot of heads turn.

The second movie will begin shooting after the completion of CRAWL is called SCREEN. This is David's and has been...well a lot of years in the making. All I can say is that after seeing this film, chances are you might be too scared to ever go to a drive-in movie theatre again....if you can find one.

Now to the point of my article. David is making this movie on what some would call a 'micro-budget'. There is no major studio backing him, nor is there a rich executive producer funding the whims of this director. No, David is pushing forward with this film in such a manner that will make it easier for others to follow in his foot steps.

So now you are asking, "what is the sales pitch?" I have been backing David for a couple of years now. Mainly I do this because he is a pretty decent guy, talented and most importantly passionate about what he does. I like that and with a few limited bucks, I try to help him out. If it helps give him that little added boost to keep him moving, then its worth it.

You can do the same thing, with just a few bucks. We all know times are tough and money is tight. But David could use your help with some additional expenses he has in the filming of SCREEN. My pitch is $10, $20, $50 or even more if you can. The goal is $5000 and he is part way there with roughly nine days to go. Take a chance, donate a few bucks and be part of something that is pretty cool.

And as Hitchcock said (paraphrased), "send a little pleasure ($$) David's way, the same pleasure he'd get when waking up from a nightmare."

Click on the picture below and it will take you to his campaign site. There you can see a video from David explaining things, some additional information and a place to donate.

Follow your passions folks, those dreams and goals you have are achievable. Surprisingly you will find others that share your vision and want to be a part in making it a success. And thanks for your donation to David's vision!

Passion In Life

It can be a busy time trying to get back into the swing of things after being on the road. Coming back to speed with the pace of your home life and the flow of every day living. This period is what I call "becoming normal again."

But even with all of my travels and issues that come with it, I can't get enough of it. The passion that drives me isn't so much the travel as it is the relationships and interaction with other people along the way.

The same thing holds true for you in your daily life. What is the passion that moves you to enjoy and take hold of every day? An article in Prevention Magazine by Ardath Rodale talks about what feeds this passion.

Read the article by her to put in into context, but I've included some of her statements here. Just find what your passion is and feed it as often as you can. In turn, your passion will spill over into other people's lives.

Enthusiasm: Genuine enthusiasm can only be sustained if you are truly passionate about something. Find that passion, embrace it, and take action.

"Dreams are the soul pantry. Keep it well stocked, and your soul will never hunger."
--Shirley Feeney from the TV show Laverne & Shirley.

Perseverance: Don't let others set limits for you. If people say it can't be done, it usually means that it can't be done by their rules.

Intuition is essential: Shakti Gawain says that as you learn to live from your intuition, you give up making decisions with your head and act moment by moment on what you feel, allowing things to unfold as you go.

Explore new horizons: Open your eyes to the wonder of the great outdoors and eagerly seek solutions to all challenges that come your way.

Affirmation: See yourself already being a winner. The power of positive thinking fuels success.

Stillness stokes the fire of a passionate life: It rejuvenates our minds and bodies and surrounds us with peace. We need quiet moments of beauty, contemplation, and thankfulness for new growth and expanding vision.