Epic Life

"Let go of the past and go for the future. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined." -Henry David Thoreau

We have just completed a religious holiday that is observed by Christians around the world. Now before you go and leave this article, I am not here to preach or convert. I simply want to talk about your life and what you can do with it.

When it comes to Easter, it is believed by Christians that Jesus was crucified, dead and buried. On the third day (EASTER) he rose from the dead and his resurrection gives us renewed hope. While as a Christian I find all of that very powerful, what I also find amazing is just the life that this man called Jesus lived.

Whether you have faith and belief in the religious context around it or don't, it is the life he lived and gave up. His was an epic life based upon making it a great one for others and in turn, himself. I like to say that, "Epic is the word for all of our lives. Epic is the life that was given for all of us."

You have the ability to live an epic life. And no, I am not here to say that you can be greater or bigger then the man we call Jesus. John Lennon made that mistake in how he said it back in 1966. But what you can live is a big life, an epic life; one that impacts others and brings greatness into their lives. In turn, your life becomes greater then it otherwise would have.

To me an epic life is one full of every day, ordinary heroic acts. These are the types of acts that are not splashed across the headlines of newspapers. They are not ones which produce ticker tape parades. They are not acts which garner medals and plaques. An epic life is one in which you do the small things which make a difference in other peoples lives.

The holding of a door for someone carrying a package. Letting another car onto the freeway during rush hour traffic. Donating money to a needy cause or person. Saying "I love you" to your wife and kids as often as you can. It is a life of doing all the small little things which create big things for others.

Your life can be poetic in the sense that others will look at you and say, there goes a great person, there goes an epic person.

The World Wants You

"Like the sky opens after a rainy day we must open to ourselves.... Learn to love yourself for who you are and open so the world can see you shine." -James Poland

The week started with YOU and ends with YOU. The week was about how you are important to everyone and everything around you. You matter and that is what matters.

Once you figure out that simple basic thing, a whole new world opens up. You will have the confidence to move forward even further. And you will realize that while you do matter, it really isn't just about you. It is about how you involve yourself with that whole big world around you.

So be you; know that you matter and then spread the light which is you to those all around. See how your world grows and the world with you.

The ME in TEAM

"There is no 'I' in TEAM but there is ME." -Joseph Primm

It is an old team building phrase that says there is no 'I' in 'TEAM'. It is used to ensure everyone has a common goal or purpose. If a team executes as individuals, it is bound to failure. But if everyone works together then success has a much higher probability.

My version of the saying is meant to indicate that you are important to the team. Whether it be an organization of one hundred people at work or one of two people in a marriage, 'ME' matters. Your contribution to the goals being pursued by the larger group is critical.

The 'teams' you are important to can be formal ones; church, marriage, family, work, or bowling league. The 'team' might be an informal one such as your community, social network, or even the traffic on the highway.

Each part of these requires your participation. Everything you do or contribute has a direct impact on the success or failure of that team.

So the 'ME' in 'TEAM' does matter. You matter.

Sigma Significance

"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it." -Mohandas K. Gandhi

In the world of statistics, a result is referred to as "statistically significant" if it is unlikely to have occurred by chance. So the amount of proof that is needed to accept that an event has happened due to chance is known as the significance level.

In some fields this statistical significance is measured in units of "σ" (sigma). It is meant to show how much variation there is from the average or expected value.

Wow, I actually remembered something from statistics class in college AND managed to bore you at the same time.

My purpose here is not to teach statistics nor is it to bore you. My purpose is to let you know that the significance of one may seem insignificant on the surface. But what you do in life matters to so many others in unexpected ways.

There are variations on this idea and many times put into movies. Think of "Its A Wonderful Life" or the book "The Butterfly Effect"; your life matters in ways you may never fully realize, but it does.

What this means to me is that in statistics the value of one is generally considered insignificanct. But in our every day lives, significance of anything has to start with one, then two, three, four, ...

It means that you matter, you are significant. Everything you do puts other things in motion that cause very significant things. A pebble in the water creates ever increasing rings or waves. These spread out from the center growing ever larger. Eventually these waves wash ashore a sea shell found by a child, brightening and changing that child's life forever.

Yes, you matter even though it may seem insignificant. Remember what Gandhi said, "Whatever you do will be insignificant...", but everything you do will be important.

One Degree

"It takes only one person with one match to light one candle to fill an entire room with hope." -Joseph Primm

There is a principle called "212" or sometimes "211 to 212". It is a pretty simple concept to grasp and has to do with the boiling point of water. As we all have learned, water reaches a boiling point at 212 degrees Farenheit. It is the point at which water begins to change form.

One degree less and the water is just very hot. Nothing more then that and not at the point at which water is transformed. Water begins to change from a liquid to a vapor. The boiling point creates the ability to sterilize and ward off bacteria. It is a point where everything can change.

But stop short at 211 degrees Farenheit and nothing happens. One degree, one more step, one more person. The principle of 212 means to go that one extra step, to go where change will happen in your life. But I think its significance is in the one degree.

That one degree is you. You can make the difference between nothing and something. You can make the difference that changes everything. You can be that one degree.

You

The significance of you and your ability to make a difference. Coming soon!

Until then, read Leading Change again and know that you are the type of person that can do it.

Leading Change

"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself." -Henry Ward Beecher

You have most likely seen it happen many times. It may have been at work, at the market, or in school. It comes in many different forms, many different versions and many times in subtle ways.

One way to describe it is a lack of leadership in setting a good example. Or you might see it as demanding of others but not of yourself.

One example I could use is while driving on the road. Recently I was driving down the freeway, probably in too big of a hurry and maybe it had been a long day. One particular car had me "pinned in" the far right lane, driving just fast enough so that I could not move over due to a large truck.

Frustrating as it was, I soon looked closer and on the car was one of those bumper stickers which read, "How's my driving?. All I could think of at first was, "stupidly". Okay, I might have thought a few other words also.

As we kept moving along, it made me wonder how is "MY" driving? Was I demanding greater perfection from others then I would demand of myself? Were my own driving habits a bad example or having a negative cascading effect upon others? I eased off and ended up with a much more relaxing few more miles home.

It would be interesting if we had a bumper sticker on our back.

The question is, will you lead the change in your life to be better? Will you demand more of yourself before you demand it of others. How is your driving?

Success in Steps

"The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance - and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.." -Oprah Winfrey

It is a very refreshing and calming thing when you have achieved success. You breath easier. Your shoulders relax. Life just seems to be perfect at that moment.

But like the sweet smell of fresh cut flowers or newly baked bread, the aroma lingers but for a while. It drifts and suddenly you find yourself looking to take the next step on the journey.

Some folks I know recently achieved a milestone of success. On their road to achieving a goal, they reached one important step. Every road to reaching something big requires reaching many smaller ones. Sometimes if a small one is not met your whole journey gets rerouted. But if you do get to key ones along the way, then your journey makes a huge step forward.

For two film makers and an actress, the first small step was to secure initial funding. Fun, intense, frustrating and relief are some words they may use to describe the result.

With their funding in place now, they can smell the sweet aroma of success. But they each know that the journey has just begun.

If you want a visual, think of it this way;

Vision: deciding that sitting on the couch forever is not an option
Action: getting up off the couch and walking out the front door

These folks have simply gotten through the gate at the end of the walk. A destination is out there waiting for them. There is a destination out there waiting for you as well.

Take your success in small steps. Consider each and every step towards a goal as a success. Savor each one of them but only for a short time. The next milestone will smell even sweeter.

Crawl or Screen to your Belief

CRAWL               SCREEN

"To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest." -Mohandas Gandhi

A couple of years back, Twitter was relatively new and I decided to join the conversation. I was looking for a way to simply draw attention to my blog site. I figured that if people needed motivation or a small bit of encouragement, they might catch site of my blog and be inspired by one or two articles.

It was early in this adventure that I caught sight of David Baker from Scotland in the U.K. David is a writer, director, producer, actor with a passion for making movies. Two people from different backgrounds, connected in the electronic world where elsewhere we never would have.

I have enjoyed reading and talking with David as he has worked hard to follow his dreams. So I am a supporter of his efforts, like anyone that believes in themself, David also acts upon what he believes in; he lives his vision which will end in the realization of that vision.

It was through Twitter and the electronic social world that David met a guy named Oklahoma Ward from (yes, really), Oklahoma here in the United States and an actress named Nicole Alonso from New Jersey. All three realized pretty quickly that they shared much of the same vision and passion for making films.

So they decided to put belief into action and are currently raising start up funds to create two films (CRAWL and SCREEN - shown above) and a documentary film giving us a view into what it takes to live your passion.

Right now (April 13, 2011), they are in the final 36 hours of that fund raising effort. They are a mere $1,900 US dollars short of their mark.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

You can be part of the movie industry. You can be part of movie making magic. You can donate a few bucks to make this a reality. The links I've provided detail everything you need to know and how to become involved. But you need hook up today because when the hours tick down to zero, if the money is not there, the movies and documentary don't get made.

But they will get made...believe in it. That is what I always say, correct? What I'm asking you to do is believe in Nicole, Oklahoma and David.

Jump into the action today, live your beliefs and realize greatness in your life.

Tomorrow Is Here

by Mocachip

“I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” -Stephan Grellet

Yesterday I wrote an article titled "Building St. Peters". It was an article to try and get you thinking about starting your journey now. If you feel you have been stuck and not living your life to its best potential, yesterday was the day to start. That first step, that laying of the foundation walls; it takes movement.

Some people would misinterpret this to mean, open wide the throttle and run over people on your way to something. And there are those in life that will simply run over and crush those in the way of their goals. But once arriving, all they have done is left a trail of broken trust and broken relationships; they have left a broken legacy.

Achievement in life doesn't mean achieving your goals at the cost of others and at the cost of you. It means bringing others along with you and arriving at a destination with others, not alone.

There is an old saying that advises, "be nice to people on the way up as they will be the ones you meet again should you fall." I am not sure why people forget this one human quality of 'being nice.' There are certainly people that would rather not see you succeed. But there are many more that want to see you do well.

What we sometimes call the race to success is not the same destination for everyone. What we define as success is different to different people. So don't think of it as a race to only one goal for all people. It is your personal destination and others will help you, while you help them.

So now that I have distracted you a little bit from forgetting that you failed to start yesterday; are you starting today? Are you starting to be a little nicer to people? Are you getting up and making movement towards your dreams and goals?

Tomorrow will be here soon enough and all of your yesterdays will pile up behind you.

Building St. Peters

St. Peter's Basilica Floor Plan

"To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time." -Leonard Bernstein

The other day I performed some volunteer work at my local church, theC3Church. It was one of those work events in which the talented church members in the construction industry put those talents to a grand plan. For me, its a matter of volunteering my back to assist them in bringing that plan to fruition.

This particular project is to rebuild a seating area by installing risers for those seated further back. Quite an undertaking when I first viewed the area and the work required. But to accomplish the task is this purpose of my article today; putting your plans into action.

Each of us has a dream or vision for what we want in life. Sometimes it is a well announced vision while many times it is quietly kept to ourself. The core thing to remember is that it takes action to put your plans on a course to accomplishment.

Look back at all of the great cathedrals built around the world. Most of these first grand buildings were built in the 1100 and 1200s AD. Even the grand St. Peter's Basilica in Rome was a vision at first. What followed was a plan followed then again by action.

I watched the lead people review the drawn plans, take measurements once, twice and discuss. Then action occurred and as we worked the plan started to become a reality. BELIEF in a vision takes you to the point of planning and preparing. You then must ACT upon the plan and begin moving forward with what you want to accomplish. Finally you come to REALIZE that vision.

We can dream and envision day in and day out about what we want in life. We can even sit at the drawing table creating plan after detailed plan on how to achieve it.

But in the end, if we want to view the grand Sistine Chapel ceiling of our life, we must begin by building the foundation. We must raise the walls in order to support our dreams. We must begin to act upon the plan.

Will you turn your dreams into plans today? Will you turn your plans into action? Will you?

Not the End

"Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact." -William James

It seems the world is falling apart. You pick up a newspaper or read your favorite web news site; stories of concern can be found in nearly every part of the world.

We currently have the devastation in Japan, unrest and uncertainty in the Middle East and Africa, and a possible government shutdown here in the United States. Anywhere you look, it might be easy to believe that December 21, 2012 is here already.

But stop for a moment and take a breath.

2001, World Trade Center terrorist attack kills thousands
1994, In Rwanda, Hutu militias begin killing Tutsis in a genocide
1990, Twin ferry accidents on opposite ends of world occur
1975, North Vietnamese forces begin final offensive in the Vietnam War
1968, Martin Luther King Jr. is shot and killed in Memphis, Tenn.
1941, Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece,
1861, U.S. Civil War begins

And the list could go on and on as far back as you wish to go. Bad things happen. Horrible things happen. Generation after generation has to deal with the circumstances and issues that arise on their watch. It is a part of life.

If you feel overwhelmed by all of it, place yourself in the heat of World War II. The common person, seeing a truly world at war with horrific news and events. Go back the Great Depression of the 1930s, World War I, the U.S. Civil War; on and on there are generations that had to endure.

The good news is that each of the generations have made it through. The world didn't end. Humanity found a way through all of it.

We can be concerned but we have to turn that concern into energy to solve or begin to solve present day issues. If we merely cower in the face of despair, nothing will ever be accomplished.

You have a journey of life to live. Know that there are a hundred other good things happening as well. Just look around, stay positive, stay focused and we will overcome any present day issues.

It is going to be okay.

Treat with Decency

"It is a good idea to be ambitious, to have goals, to want to be good at what you do, but it is a terrible mistake to let drive and ambition get in the way of treating people with kindness and decency." -Unknown

Some times it surprises me that one would ever have to even write about this topic. What I am referring to is the mere idea of just being decent when dealing with other people.

Recently an administrative person was downsized at my office. I really hate that term to begin with. That term and others such as "excess reduction", "rightsizing", "delayering", "smartsizing", "redeployment", "workforce reduction", "workforce optimization", "simplification", "force shaping", "recussion", and "reduction in force" are all indirect terms for being told your services are no longer needed.

This person wasn't laid off for any bad reason. She was simply caught in the numbers game of needed employees. So after 20 some years of employment, she was gone, asked to fill a box and leave the building.

The act of someone getting laid off happens almost everyday for a wide variety of reasons. It is nothing new and it will be something that goes on well beyond my short article. What can change is how we lay off people. This lady was well respected by co-workers and was a very loyal employee in all of her years. But she was treated poorly and without much respect. The 'corporate policy guidelines' allowed for a very indecent removal.

I don't wish to complain about this particular circumstance. It is unfortunate and the way it was handled reflects poorly on a company I work for and admire. What I am here to say to you and everyone else that can hear me, "just be decent in how you treat others."

It is a pretty simple idea to live by. It can make a world of difference not only for the other person, but for you as well. It reflects poorly on you when you treat people badly. It reflects poorly, plain and simple.

We all have to learn and teach ourselves this idea. I try to be decent to all those I come in contact with. It doesn't always work out that way and I try to do better the next time.

So can you, in every encounter, every situation, every day; treat others with decency. You know you would want the same in return.

The Iceberg

"Success or failure depends more upon attitude than upon capacity. Successful men act as though they have accomplished or are enjoying something. Soon it becomes a reality. Act, look, feel successful, conduct yourself accordingly, and you will be amazed at the positive results." -William James

In the movie, A Bronx Tale, the kid, Calogero 'C' Anello, makes a statement near the end in which he says, "The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices that you make will shape your life forever." The ability to do or be any thing you want in life is a lesson sometimes learned much later then early.

Do not fool yourself into believing you have no abilities to achieve great things. There is quite a bit inside each of us, inside of you, that given the right frame of mind can propel you to greater heights. It all happens with a huge positive attitude inside.

Think of the iceberg floating out in the large open sea. The area above the water may appear small with only enough capacity to carry a few seals. Aimlessly it drifts with the ocean currents, ships avoiding contact where possible. But underneath the iceberg is an immense structure of ice that goes mostly undetected.

That huge area underneath is your attitude. It can be a negative one or a positive one. Its your choice on what its going to be. A negative attitude will keep you floating aimlessly, never achieving much of anything in life. A positive attitude will propel your abilities to greatness.

We always tend to under estimate the power of our attitude. It can be the difference between languishing in an unsatisfying job position and having a very fullfilling work life. It can be the difference between being lonely forever after a divorce to finding a new life filled with love and happiness.

It can be the difference in everything.

You Can Pretend

"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." -Helen Keller

Simply put, you can put yourself alone out on the edge of a cliff and wait. You can sit there hoping that the world will fill in before you. It is a very lonely existence to be there on your own, no connections, and no one to keep you from falling over the edge.

It is connection to others which is a key thing here. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines connection as, "the act of connecting, the state of being connected, as a casual or logical relation or sequence (the connection between two ideas); a person connected with another especially by marriage, kinship, or common interest."

So it takes two or more people for this connection to occur. To stand out on a ledge and hope someone will grab hold will require a connection. To have a friendship with anyone or anything will require a connection. To live your best life will require a connection.

But how do connections become established? Do they just happen? Do they magically appear between two people?

No, connection requires at the very least one person making an effort to connect. The other person needs to respond and reciprocate to complete this joining of two people. The problem is that many times neither side is willing to put their hand out first.

Standing on the edge of being alone, you have to turn and face away from that edge. You have to be willing to look to where others are standing. We know from the laws of physics that people are not floating out in mid-air. So we have to turn and reach out to where others are.

Those of us standing back away from that edge have to be responsible for making the connection also. We can tell ourselves "no way, that person is much too close to the edge. I'm not going out there." But as Dr. Gordon Moore has said, "You can pretend to care but you can't pretend to show up." Going out to that ledge to connect with someone whom is paralyzed by the edge is just as important.

All of us can use connection in our life. Whether it be with one person or many, it helps us live a great life. It brings meaning and purpose in to our daily existence.

You can be lonely and pretend not to want anyone else in your life. But down deep it is connection that we all desire.

You can pretend to care about those living out on the edge. But until you reach out and make the connection, it is just words.

Connect with someone today, be it the first time or the one hundreth time.

Crayon Life

"Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up." ~Allen Klein

All it takes is a single cloudy day and the color of life seems to fade away. The greyness of the day simply takes over and it takes over our attitude. It is an odd thing but then the sun comes out and the light reflects wondrous colors.

The sparkling green of the grass or the deep blue of the sky, each does something to us. The red of the roses and the yellow pine pollen seem to jump out and grab hold of us. Colors that we had forgotten about in one day reclaim our attention.

The changing weather is almost like our ever changing lives. The ups and downs of circumstance that enter and exit our world. The dullness of the day replaced by joy and excitement the next. It is an ever shifting pattern that can frustrate you endlessly.

But if you always try to look at the goodness of the grey sky. The rain that follows that dampens the ground. There is something positive to be gained from those times. The rain feeds the ground which nourishes the flowers. The trees draw from it and the cooling shadow of the clouds gives retreat from the warm sun.

These days in our life will and are followed by the shining sun. We do come out of the greyness. We do get to stand again in the warm light of the day. The colors of our world return to fill our life.

Never despair, never give up; never allow the yourself to use only the grey colored crayon. Use all of the colorful crayons you have been given and brighten even the cloudiest day. Color your life with magical wonder to share with those around you.

No More All Fools Day

Foolish Questions #36

"There comes a morning in life when you wake up a new person; that is to say, you wake up the same person but you realize it's your own fault." ~Robert Brault

Here it is the first of April, well known as April Fools Day. Did it come from a copying error of the manuscript for Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in 1392? Did it come from the tale of Londoners being tricked into going to the Tower of London to see the Lions washed in 1698? Or maybe all of us have been fooled over and over these many years into believing it had something to do with anything at all.

Interestingly enough, we do have that ability which allows us to fool ourselves into believing what isn't true. In other words, we can get good at pushing the truth into darkness and living what isn't true. This type of self-deception can be partly explained by what psychologists call "confirmation bias" and also referred to as Morton's Demon.

Morton's Demon was a thought experiment created by the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell. A hypothetical demon sits at the gate of our mind and if and when he sees supportive evidence coming in, he opens the gate. But if he sees contradictory information coming, he closes the gate. In this way, the demon allows us to believe we are right and avoid any of the contradictory information.

Dr. Stephen Diamond writes, "Consider the ordinary example of some heated conflict with a spouse, lover, relative or close friend. How is it that after the fact, each participant can have a completely contradictory version of what happened? Objectively speaking, first A happened, then B occurred, then C was said, D followed, etc. But what if the objective facts or our own behavior don't comport well with how we see ourselves? We distort the facts to support our particular point of view and to sustain our beliefs about the kind of person we are or want to be."

But enough with the medical terminology and explanations. We simply have the ability to fool ourselves. We fool ourselves so much we forget whom we really are at its worst.

Look in the mirror again today and rediscover who you really are. Find the real you inside. Robert Brault also said, "Looking back, you realize that a very special person passed briefly through your life, and that person was you. It is not too late to become that person again."

Do not let that person slip by without getting to know him/her. Know yourself and let the greatness of you come to the surface.

Believe It

"We are what we believe we are." -C. S. Lewis

It can be hard, really hard, to believe in yourself and in the greatness of your life. Life has a pretty nasty way of throwing circumstance and events at you. Just when things seem to be going pretty good, you stumble on a rock or the rain washes away your bridge.

Things happen and holding onto belief can be downright impossible at times. But something is only impossible if that is what you believe in. If you believe you will never succeed, you won't. If you believe you will never achieve what you want in life, you won't.

Try turning that belief into something good for your life. Believe in you and your dreams. Believe that you will get that new job. Believe that you will lose those 20 pounds of weight.

Believe that you can and you will.

Quiet Good

"You don't have to know somebody to do good for somebody."
-Mennonite Woman

I was watching a nightly news story about Mennonite's from Central Pennsylvania that went to Diamond, Louisiana to assist those still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. They are rebuilding homes for many folks, which in turn is helping rebuild lives. All without payment, all without banners and celebrations. Quietly going about doing something good.

It is something that happens more often than you might think. There are individuals doing good things quietly. Many times people are helping those they know from family, church or work. Maybe a friend or other person through your child's school are being attended to. People helping other people within the community.

But as the unknown Mennonite woman said, "you don't have to know somebody to do good for somebody." It is giving for your fellow human being. It is helping out someone in need. It is doing all of this for the sole purpose of just doing good.

So many people have their stories of doing something for another; quietly and without trumpets and horns heralding their deed. If you would like to anonymously share your story, let me know. Send me a private email to josephprimm@bellsouth.net and I'll share the stories with others.

When No One Is Watching

DigitEL - Shadow Tree

"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." -Abraham Lincoln

I was, putting it in a very uncool phrase,"surfing the web" for information on the subject of this article. Normally I pick a subject and then look for an accomodating quote. Today things happened a little backwards.

As I was "surfing the net" (much cooler phrase), I happened upon the above image created by DigitEL. The illusion of the tree's shadow on the hedges caught me right away. It really made me think of how we project an image to others but the real us is revealed when no one is watching.

The quote happened to follow pretty quickly, sort of a serendipitous discovery. I get lucky that way when writing some days. Things just come together. It works well as I like to write in private, quietly and all alone. All of this I do when no one is watching.

As you conduct the business of the day, the nice suit and tie exuding confidence. Your smile and friendly aura fills the office and lives of others. But what happens when you go home, in the privacy of home with your spouse and children. Do they get that same attention and care. What happens when no one is watching.

You might ask if we all need perfection? I wish we could but we should try to strive for it. The person we are in public should be the same person we are in private as best we can. The stress of the day can mount and tire you until you come home and it all releases when no one is watching.

But guess what, your kids are watching. Your wife is watching. The neighbors at the very least can hear it. More importantly, you can see it yourself. Look in the mirror to see whom is the real you when no one is watching.

I try to apply all that I write. I try to be the person both in private and publicly that these words encourage you to be. I know that others are watching me. I know that my family is watching. I know that I strive to be a better person even when no one else is watching.

We can live the two lives of a tree and its shadow, or we can be the rock solid tree with our one identity. Like the tree, we will go through our seasons of wonderful color, the loss and the budding new green of life.

But those things will be the real us and not a shadowing attempt at something which isn't. We will always be that tall and strong oak tree, even when no one is watching.