Wondrous Stories

"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe." ~Gail Devers

Recently I was listening to the song Wondrous Stories, by a group from back in the 1970s named YES. This particular group was and remains a favorite of mine. It reminded me of visiting my hometown with my father. As we drove, he told me stories of life growing up.

These stories are truly wondrous and I love to hear these wonderous stories not only from him, but from others about life. So much can be learned from listening and hearing of those things which make up who we are today.

It is these same stories we will pass down to others. There will also be stories that we have to pass down to others. All of these are wonderous and special. Each of them are worth gold to our lives if all we do is hear them. If you take the lessons learned, they will mold your dreams.



Yearn to hear the wondrous stories that those in your life have to tell.

Busy Bee

"As busy as I claim to be, I've still got the greatest job in the world." ~Peter Criss

Would I want to be the drummer of a world-famous rock-n-roll band? Would it be the coolest thing to tour all over the world playing before thousands upon thousands of people? At one point in my life it was a thought. It was the drumming part that I was not very good at.

As a matter of fact, my musical skills were much better in my mind then in reality. So the dream of touring as part of the mega-great group KISS was never going to be in my future. What else was there?

The thing that brings my 'once vivid' dream is the manic lifestyle that probably accompanies such a life. But then, a manic lifestyle can touch each of our lives at most any time. It could be a crazy Monday or week that creates pandemonium in our lives.

What matters is taking better care of ourselves when the hectic times start to take over our lives. Carolyn Rubenstein writes in Psychology Today that, "We are conditioned to think that when more needs to be done, we must increase the amount of time spent working and decrease the amount of time spent refueling. This thinking causes a strange sense of obligation to sacrifice our well being due to the time crunch and demands of the situation. While it may seem counterintuitive, during the most hectic of times, we actually need more time to recharge."

It is your health from many perspectives that suffers during these hectic times. You need to take care of yourself throughout those busy times. All of that is a given and the advice is great.

It is also very helpful that you enjoy the work that you do. I don't mean to say that there are not certain things and times when the job isn't so enjoyable. But overall, you have to enjoy what you do if surviving the hectic times is going to happen.

Your life outside of work is going to get hectic enough at times. Yet if you compound it with a hectic job that you don't like, then things can become worse. And if you like the work you do, the hectic times are much easier to get through. In fact, enjoying your work has an impact on the rest of your life. Your relationships, your days off and even your sleep will be improved.

My hectic life is not your hectic, nor that of the next person. But it is my hectic life and I enjoy my hectic life. Are you enjoying your hectic life?

Hurry Up and Slow Down

Life of a Small Town Photographer"

"Just be patient. Let the game come to you. Don't rush. Be quick, but don't hurry." ~Earl Monroe

Each weekday morning I leave early for work. My 5:30am start works for me as I can have the quiet of the office to accomplish quite a few tasks. What always surprises me though are the number of other people. Those early morning lights upon the freeway making their way to some destination.

In 2009, the estimated population of the Atlanta metropolitan area was roughly 5.8 million souls. So there are bound to be people on the roads at all times of the twenty-four hour cycle of a day. And each one of us seem to be in a race to somewhere.

My particular ride to and from work is short by standards, only eight miles to go with six of those on the freeway. Yet I see so much in those six short freeway miles. The folks in their big shiny cars, pickups, clunkers, trucks, tiny and green cars. There are the fancy along with the boxy and utilitarian models.

Each one of these folks without very few exceptions are in a hurry to get to their destination. In many respects it appears to be a race. A race to get in front of those two cars ahead of you. Zooming in and around others with a seeming need to be ahead of the other.

All the while, there are always more cars in front of you. The thing I have always thought of is a great race to nowhere. We speed and dart about as if all 5.8 million people are racing to the same destination where only two parking spots are left. Be there first and you have your choice of the spot closest to the front door.

I have read that nearly one-third of all traffic deaths are related to speeding. A sobering statistic that in rushing to get somewhere, some are ending up in the same place.

Which is my point, life isn't a race. The end result for all of us is the same. It can be argued that we have only a limited amount of time on this great earth so we have to do as much as we can as quickly as possible. And what follows this life I'll leave to your own beliefs. But we each need to slow down just a little bit and enjoy some of our journey.

That rush to be first, to park the closest, to be there before anyone else causes us to miss things along the way. The old saying that you should "stop to smell the roses" has meaning. By never slowing down, we will miss opportunity to really experience life.

You can be quick to react, you can be in a fast slip-stream of life; just don't miss the view along the side of the road. As I slow down, I certainly don't want to see you mangled along the side of the road. I would rather see you along the side of the road smelling the roses. And I'll even be so kind to leave you the parking spot closest to the door.

Signs Everywhere

"There are no road signs to help navigate. And, in fact, no one has yet determined which side of the road we're supposed to be on." ~Steve Case

I tend to have my father's penchant for maps and is something that has tended to help me through out life. When driving, it helps to have already mapped out where you are going. I am also lucky enough to have a pretty photographic memory of where I have travelled such that I can remember in most cases and describe the routes.

I'm not sure if that makes me 'special' along with my 'counting steps' while walking, but it does make getting from point A to point B easier.

Growing up I would watch my father take a yellow highlighter pen and mark the routes to be taken on a trip. And when I got older, my excitement grew at getting my annual road atlas from State Farm. Yes, the simple joys in life one might say. As I've grown older and technology grows, the use of Google maps and the satellite views gives me an added advantage. I can actually map and see what the route looks like before I ever get there.

Even with all of the maps and technology we have, there are still the signs along the way to guide us. There are exit signs, distance to, airport locations, hospitals, and street names. We have signs to tell us how fast we can go or where not to go. Sometimes there are so many signs it can be overwhelming.

Its too bad we don't have those same signs to help us with our lives. Sure, there are the "Don't Drink And Drive", "Click It or Ticket" signs to remind us to be safe. But why not signs to remind us that life is pretty good? Or why not signs telling us which decisions to make in life to get us to our vision or goal?

If we listen and pay enough attention though, signs do exist out there. There are people in your life that are signs standing out as great examples. All we have to do is place ourselves in position to see and submit to those signs. Even deep inside of us there are signs that tell us what the right thing to do is. Don't under estimate your own intuitions.

Sounds all too simple I'm sure. In some ways it is and some ways it isn't. But then again, if everything was easy, everybody would have everything ever wanted out of life.

The road to your vision isn't going to have all of the visible signs needed to guide you. But if you look hard enough, you will find them and eventually your destination.