Thunderstorms

"We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Early one morning, I was awaken by the crashing boom of thunder. It was the type of thunder that rattles the very walls of the house. There was very little lightening to warn you of the coming thunder. At first is was odd not to see the lightening followed by the thunderous sound.

Quickly though it lulled me back to sleep. That in itself would amaze many of my siblings. I am unsure how it developed, but I had a deathly fear of storms when growing up. And since I grew up on the plains of Nebraska, large thunderstorms were common.

The mere thought of a raging storm filled with lightening and thunder raised fears of great proportion in me. There were times in which I felt so afraid and would cower in a basement corner. The fear holding a tight grip on me in a way I couldn't explain.

Fear can have a debilitating effect on you in ways that can crush your ability to do anything at all. It stifles and takes hold of your entire life. Fear basically keeps you from moving on with your life.

Take the news stories of the telecommunications giant AT&T agreeing to purchase T-Mobile for $39 billion dollars. A staggering sum of money, but with many individual people affected. I know many of those people that work in many various positions. They range from sales associates, to managers and even regional directors. Each of these people will be affected; both in good and bad ways.

One of these folks is a store manager and recently admitted that she at first could have gone to fear with the news. She could have thought the worst; allowing doom and gloom to cover her life. But she resolved to trust first in her faith and secondly in her ability to push through whatever happens.

You may think that is a naive way of thinking. But it is always easier to go to the negative. It always takes more effort to remain positive. Success and achievement take effort.

When the storms come crashing through your window, will you allow fear to rule? Or will you face the fear with resolve to overcome it?

I can tell you that my fear of thunderstorms caused me sleepless nights. Storms ruled the day until I realized that it wasn't the storms; it was the fear that I was allowing to rule my life.

The first crack of thunder still wakes me at night, but it also lulls me back to a gentle sleep. Fear remains outside to fend for itself, far from the life you are building.

Walk the Distance

"Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time." -Steven Wright

Recently I had a Twitter exchange with @LaughNYC. Originally he had tweeted, "I've got a frog in my mouth and it's making me horse <----lots of animals going on in there." And being the wise guy that I can sometimes be retweeted it with the comment, "Galloping frogs legs Batman!"

Humor, dry at times or outright guffaws, has a place in our life. It is a way to ease the tension and a way to simply make you feel good. Humor can make a point about life in a light hearted way. Or it can be very piercing and spirited in the punch line.

Either way, humor has its place in our life. As noted by the comedian Steven Wright, the road we are on is long, but only if we have enough time to walk its length. His dry wit has always amused me but his point is well taken. You can get to any place that you want by walking; that is if you have enough time.

Achieving our dreams or goals are just as achievable. You simply need to have enough time and persistance to get to them. But it means getting up now and moving towards it. That along with time and a little humor will get you most anywhere you want.

Blade of Grass

“You could cover the whole earth with asphalt, but sooner or later green grass would break through.” -Ilya Ehrenburg

It seems at times that we are surrounded by thick walls. Walls that have no clear way of getting through. They are too high and too strong. No windows, no doors and no way to get to the other side. So we quit trying. We sit on our hands and lament the impossible.

Yet even a single blade of grass never quits trying. It keeps working at the covering above it. A weak spot here, a crack over there; searching for a way to break through.

You are that blade of grass. You keep trying, you keep searching, you find a way through. Eventually it happens. Like that blade of grass covered by ashpalt, you break through the wall. You find a way to get past what confines you. You experience the sunshine, you experience greatness.

Just Start

Whatever you want in life, start today.
Not tomorrow - today.
Let it be a small beginning - a tiny beginning.
Your happiness depends on starting today - every day.
-Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Along with all that life is throwing at us, kids in school, a busy work schedule and a spouse's surgery; we decided to remodel a good share of the house. All at the same time and all culminating in our time being filled to the brink.

I would not say it is overwhelming for all of us (me, you and everyone else) as each of us has the capacity to do more then we give ourselves credit for. I would say that we took this on because waiting just wasn't in the cards. We were ready to move on all of it even if we didn't think we were completely ready.

What I mean by that is all of us have something we want or want to do in life. But inevitably we procrastinate or reason that the timing isn't perfect. Yet now is the perfect time. Now is when you should be starting to get on with your life.

For us, an opened wall between our dining room and living room will create a grand space for family and friends. Fresh paint on the walls will brighten rooms in which we gather. The new carpets will comfort our feet as we dance away the days. Yes, getting on with life in spite of all that happens is a good thing.

Take a moment to breath a short sigh and then get on with it. Start moving forward with your life. Start the makeover, start the new class, start with starting as opposed to waiting. Your life will be so much grander for having done so.

Care

"We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all." -Eleanor Roosevelt

I am limiting my writing this week in order to spend my time taking care of someone special. My wife had surgery last Friday and is now at home recuperating. Since I place her well being very high on my list of priorities, I have taken the week off to care for her.

The word 'care' is defined by Merriam-Webster as a person or thing that is an object of attention, anxiety, or solicitude. It is to direct ones attention or concern towards.

Which really means to disregard thoughts of self and direct them towards another. It is a moment or period of time in which we stop worrying about just ourself. It is a moment or period of time in which we start living outside of ourself.

As humans, we can become very 'self-absorbed' in our own life. So much that we fail to see our connection with others. The bonding of our lives with others that only comes from caring.

There are those that would argue that, "I give money to charity" or "We sponsor a local kids soccer program" is enough. Those things are well and good, but where is the caring connection? Where is the personal touch of your life within theirs?

Our lives become great and fulfilled when we interact with others. The connection of caring for others becomes greater then self. When all of this happens, we raise the level of our own lives; we raise the self.

When you take time to go outside of 'you', amazingly that caring will come back around to 'you'.

A Day Off

I will be back next week. Just taking the day off and paying attention to other more important things.

Have a great weekend!

Prepare

"I will prepare and some day my chance will come." ~Abraham Lincoln

You get up in the morning, shower, dress and eat breakfast. Some then start the car while others head off to the bus stop. You arrive, grab a coffee or other drink and sit at your desk. Or you put on gloves and a hard hat, making your way towards the task at hand.

Lunch arrives, you open your lunch pail or the menu. Maybe a personal phone call or two and then back to work until the time to leave arrives. So back into your car or to a bus ride home. The dog needs to be walked, the supper cooked, maybe a school meeting or catching up on your reading.

The time for bed comes around finally and pajama dressing, teeth brushing and setting the alarm for the next morning. All of this happens day in and day out, most times without even thinking about it.

But everything you do or have done required some level of preparation. It took some planning, some thought and some decision making. You then put each of those things into action.

Now think about your visions or dreams. Have you prepared? Have you planned? Have you put them into motion?

Paperwork of Life

"We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming." ~Wernher von Braun

Recently I spent a day with my wife going to her pre-operative medical visits. She was going to have surgery in a few days and these visits were a necessary part. So together, we bravely marched on towards the day.

Now I will admit that previous medical visits required numerous forms to fill out. We know that a visit to the doctor is probably also a date with paperwork. Even in today's 'electronic' age of computers, the need for paper still exists.

And again, as we made our way to each of three appointments, additional paperwork to read and sign. I am certain there are legislators, regulators and lawyers out there earning a very good living by the looks of it.

But in all of the ink and pulp, the human factor remained. People in a profession (medical) doing a professional job and being friendly. Each and everyone of them, happy, pleasant and just enjoying the work. We may have been 'another patient and husband' but we certainly didn't feel that way.

Do you project a positive image in your daily work? Will people get the impression that they matter and that you enjoy your work? If not, then one of two things need to happen. You either need to change your attitude or find new work. It isn't worth being miserable just to earn a paycheck. It isn't worth living your life in that manner.

Change the way you approach your work. Make it an enjoyable experience not only for you but for those around you. If you can not do that, think about finding something that does bring joy to your daily work life. Most of us are going to spend nearly forty years or more working.

That is at least half of your life time. Don't spend those years in a miserable way. Spend those years enjoying the days.

You are the only one that can make that change. It is not your boss, it is not your co-worker, and it isn't even the money. It is you that controls your own attitude.

Get on with the paperwork that will always be there. But also get on with a great and enjoyable life. It is your choice. Initial those pages, sign at the bottom and get on with it.

Tuesday

“I always give 100% at work:
13% Monday
22% Tuesday
26% Wednesday
35% Thursday
4% Friday”

Not really.

It is 100% all of the time because that is how you live life. You give 100% to work. You give 100% to your relationships. You give 100% to yourself.

You live life and you work at it. Whether it is Tuesday or Friday, you live life to its fullest. You live life at 100%.

Compassion For Others

"Compassion brings us to a stop, and for a moment we rise above ourselves." ~Mason Cooley

Each of us have witnessed on television the devastating images from Japan. The earthquake and then a large scale tsunami wreaked widespread death and destruction. One can not help but be moved to compassion for those people affected.

The Wednesday before this natural disaster, I was flying through Tokyo on my way home. During my four hour layover, I learned that I had just missed the rumblings of an early morning earthquake. Little did I or anyone sitting around me was was about to happen.

It is in our hearts to spill over with compassion when others are hurt. This compassion not only extends to great disasters, but should be an everyday piece of your heart.

There are people all around you in need. Some more then others and some with just a little need to get them through the day. This does not mean that I am ranking need. I am only saying that when you rise above yourself, the compassion for others will naturally flow from you.

Individually we can not solve many of the problems of the world. But start small, start with yourself, start by simply having compassion where its needed. Eventually you will find yourself among others doing great things.

Here Today

"My today is both my yesterday and tomorrow." ~Joseph Primm

Recently I returned from a two week business trip to Asia. It was a very good trip and successful in what I was able to accomplish. As always though, it is good to be back home.

When traveling to that part of the world, the clock is roughly thirteen hours ahead of my normal time zone. So for the length of my stay, I tend to be half a day ahead in time. In the practical sense, you are a day ahead of those you normally hang around.

The change can have a dramatic effect upon your body. There is an appropriate scene in the movie "Lost in Translation" in which Bill Murray is sitting on his bed looking out the window. It is the middle of the night in Tokyo, but he is wide awake as if still sitting in the U.S.

The movie itself is not my wife's favorite, but I like it only because of the lost feeling one experiences during a dramatic time change.

Writer's note: The movie does not depict the writer's beliefs in how one handles the situation.

The feeling is one of not being in one's own present time. The balance of past, present and future is out of whack. You push through and do the right things, you tell yourself that its simply a time adjustment. But deep inside you feel you have missed something.

Upon returning home, my adjustment is normally pretty quick. Sure, a few nights of sleeping extra and getting back into the swing happen. Yet the feeling of slipping back into the normal comes quickly.

Its the idea that where you are now is where you are supposed to be. It is the balance of what has happened to you and the direction you are headed. We each live our lives the best we can.

We are products of our past but we should not live there. Also, we can not live in the future until we have fulfilled the present. Learn what you can from what has happened in your life and use today in preparation for a greater tomorrow.

Choose The Life

"Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be." ~Grandma Moses

So how do you make a great life? Is there a procedure manual laying about in some box that someone forgot to give you? Can we perform an internet search and find the perfect blog? Or maybe there is a college course we can take that wasn't listed in the general catalog.

Unlikely and very impossible to achieve without just living life. Getting up every day and putting yourself out there will teach you the most. It is likely you will get hurt along the way. It is likely that you will make mistakes. But it will be the life you make it.

I had always thought there was some secret to all of this. A well kept secret that no one would ever tell me. A secret so hidden that if only I found it, my life would achieve greatness.

Then it happened on a rainy day, sitting on my back porch. It was my life and it was mine to determine how I felt about it. It was a pact between my God and myself to make it a great life.

You have the ability to create a great life as well. It is up to you to change the way you think, the way you feel and the attitude you choose. It is your choice. Make it a great one.

Millions To Love

"If you want to be loved, be lovable." ~Ovid

In a city of twenty-two million people you can start to feel lost among the sameness of it all. You can begin to think you are actually alone while so many people pass you by. In moving through a crowd, it becomes easy to avoid eye contact with others. Especially when in a foreign land and unable to understand the language, you want to close down.

What I found though was the more I opened up, the more smiles I got in return. The same tends to happen with any one and any place you go. If you open up your heart to people, you may find them opening up to you.

But start at home, with your family, your friends and those close by. In time you will find others opening up to you. We can hate each other or we can love to be around each other. Like the huge number of bicycles to ride in this mega huge city, the same number of people are out there to love. Why not get on that bicycle and start pedaling. You may just find a whole lot of love waiting for you.

For me it starts with one person, my wife. It all gets bigger from there.

For Every Nickel

"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." ~Albert Einstein

If I had a nickel for every mistake I have made in life, my riches would be boundless. And without those mistakes, I would not be nearly the person I am today.

We all make mistakes at one point or another in our life. some of us make a lot of them while others seem to have a perfect track record. The amount of mistakes is not what is important though. It is how you handle those mistakes which is important.

If you never learn or grow from a mistake, then it is the mistakes which control your life. But with each misstep or failure, if something new is learned then it only improves your life. It puts you closer to a greater life. Certainly it can feel like one step forward and two steps back. But in reality a mistake is just the opposite.

One step back and two steps forward should become your way of thinking. Learn from those mistakes and try to never repeat them. You will of course repeat mistakes from time to time. Again its all about using those mistakes to move your life forward.

Maybe now is the time to put a nickel in a jar for all the mistakes you make. Allow those mistakes to add up in your favor. A jar full of nickels is not a jar full of mistakes, but a jar full of life.

Burning Bright

"People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society." ~Vince Lombardi

There is a lamp on the desk where I am writing this article. A long chrome lamp that uses an LED bulb. This type of bulb is one of those in which several, thirty-six in fact because I counted them (inside joke for those that know me).

What interested me was that I could take my finger and cover any one of those LEDs and the light still shined brightly on the desk. So I tried covering several and the overall light remained very good. I could even touch each of them individually without burning my finger.

Try covering an older incandescent bulb, or touch it for that matter. The older light bulbs burned very hot, used a lot of energy and burned out in a short amunt of time. The LED bulbs together burn cool, use less energy and last much longer.

Sort of an example that working together can benefit the individual as much as the entire group. With everyone working as one, the light of success can still shine through.

The world has problems from global sized events down to the smallest of personal strife. When we work collectively on these issues, we can overcome them. We can solve things by working together.

The light will burn longer, brighter and cooler then any single individual bulb. Be part of a larger solution in life and make it a greater life.

Miracle of a new Day

Walk To Beautiful

"The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth." ~Chinese Proverb

The sun has come up and the fog begins to burn away as life awakens to a new day. Fresh coffee brews and the smell of breakfast emanates from the kitchen. The activity of this day comes to life and a new miracle begins.

Life gives us this miracle each and every day. Its a chance to experience the greatness of our lives. Its a chance to experience the miracle of a new day.

Get up and walk the earth. Get up and live the miracle.

Travel with Purpose

Pilgrim statue by Jose María Acuña in front of Parador de San Marcos - LEON, SPAIN

"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends." ~Maya Angelou

I am fortunate enough in life that my job gives me the opportunity to travel all around the world. It certainly isn't every week or even every month that I travel abroad, but so many places I have seen.

Some of these places I have been able to share with my wife. Others I have had to document in pictures and stories for her and those that I know. The world is still quite large in spite of how small it seems at times.

The statue above reminded me of the pilgrimage all of us are on. The journey to something in life that requires us to sit and reflect at times. A short rest from the travel we endure each and every day.

It could be your daily pilgrimage around your hometown or possibly across state. Where ever the road leads you in life, I have found people are pretty much the same as you and I are.

People all around the world, from where I am today in Shenzhen, China across the globe to my home in Atlanta, Georgia; all are living life the best way they know how. Each of us get up in the morning and get ready for work. If we have kids, we are getting them off to school. We are battling traffic to get to our job or running to catch a bus or train.

The work goes on, the lunch time routine and back home to make supper or shop for groceries; it remains the same for all of us. If we look beyond ourselves, we'll find that our similarities outnumber the differences. The languages might be different, the cultures not understood, but the act of living is the same.

I might be the only red-headed Irish-German within 100 miles of Shenzhen. Although there was the teen with brightly painted red hair walking down the street. But as you can see, even young people go through their phases across the cultures and generations.

If we take the time to look beyond ourselves, to look beyond the distance and cultural differences, maybe we can work things out. The arguments and disagreements will still occur; even our own families argue. Yet to understand each other a little better could go a long way in making life a little better.

Travel with purpose to understand those near to you and those far from you. The journey will take us to a better life, a better way of living and a better tomorrow.

Communicate

"Communicate, communicate, and then communicate some more." ~Bob Nelson

It happens to each of us, a situation comes up between two or more people and feelings get hurt or misunderstandings arise. One person thought the other knew something or another didn't give the whole story.

The problem normally is caused by a lack of communication. Its a pure and simple explanation for many of the problems that occur in our life. The lack of communication could be intentional and at other times inadvertent.

But in the end, if we just keep talking to each other we'll avoid many of the misunderstandings that get in the way of a great life.

Keep talking, keep communicating and life will be a whole lot easier. Can you hear me now?!

After All

“Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragement, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak” ~Thomas Carlyle

Thirteen years ago on a quiet Monday morning Lawrenceville Georgia Police were called to a family restaurant called Tanner's. It was a nice and friendly place that specialized in chicken dinners. What police found was a horrible double-murder carried out in a cold and brutal fashion.

A manager named Marc Ratthaus was killed and when the day chef, Adolfo Gonzales showed up, he too was shot and killed. Two young men with different stories and different lives with the same ending. It was heart breaking all around. The killings impacted many, many lives; the restaurant closed, people moved on.

Two brothers were arrested and found guilty of the robbery and murders. They each claimed a third man was the trigger man although one of the brothers was found to have killed at least one man. This third man escaped and it was felt by many that he would never be found or that he ever existed.

You have likely guessed correctly already. They found William Zepeda. They captured him, and now a court date will result and William Zepeda will have to confront this awful crime.

But what of the law enforcement officials? Their persistence in pursuing this case didn't end thirteen years ago. When the third suspect disappeared, they didn't give up, they continued the search. It is this persistence that defines their work. It is this persistence which defines their character.

I had thought of many ways to talk of persistence in our daily lives. To never give up and to keep pushing forward with our lives. It was when I picked up the newspaper today, February 23, 2011 my mind changed about the actual application of the word persistence.

It made me think about the word in a different context. It also gave me a chance to honor not only the Lawrenceville Police Department, but also any of the folks in law enforcement. You see my son worked at that restaurant. My son had been in the store that same morning to pick up his pay check. My son was not hurt and the persistence of law enforcement people comforts me.

Persistence can do quite a bit for your life. It can capture a suspect after thirteen years but it can also capture a dream. Remain persistent in your life and things will work out eventually.

A Brick

"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him." -David Brinkley

I guess you figuratively are not walking down the street with people throwing bricks at you. But it can certainly feel like it at times. The oddity is that it also feels like you are picking up those same bricks to carry.

It is sort of a "double-whammy" in that you are being pelted with bricks and having to pick them up carry them away. You could say it is very similar to a wagon full of rocks. An ever increasing load that you allow others to put upon your life.

The weight and size of this load slows your progress and eventually might break you down. It is a terrible thing to see a load of brick or rock come tumbling down upon someone's life. When it happens, there are only two possible results; complete destruction of the persons life or fighting renewal.

I have seen the destruction in people's lives. The kind in which they never recover and no matter how much you want; they are buried forever. It is a heart breaking process to watch but one that I learned from. No matter how heavy or burdensome, there is hope and possibility as long as life exists within you.

Start laying the bricks down, stop shouldering them and let them lift you. The foundation you can build can serve a couple of purposes. One is give you greater footing and raise you above the soft ground. A foundation that creates a means for you to reach greater heights.

These same bricks can be used to build a path for others to follow. A path that serves as an example to your spouse, your children, your friends, or others that are watching. Because the choices we make, the decisions on how we respond are being watched. Other people are learning by seeing how you respond and the path you lay for them will be everlasting.

Are you going to leave a pile of bricks or a nice brick path behind?