Cartoon Pane

"Trying to break out of the box." -Peter Kiss Gallery

“Great dreams... never even get out of the box. It takes an uncommon amount of guts to put your dreams on the line, to hold them up and say, "How good or how bad am I?" That's where courage comes in.” ~Erma Bombeck

In the old western movies, there always seems to be a line in which one cowboy says to another, "this towns too small for both of us." It usually was followed by some fight scene in which the good guy wins. The atmosphere is one of pending break out to something greater for the the town. It is a bold statement that finally shows the true greatness of the hero.

We can modify the statement apply it to our own life. Apply it in such a manner as to cause the hero in side to break out to something greater. To envision what I'm saying, imagine a single cartoon pane as your life. This pane is your whole world, safe on four sides but limited in reach. Now imagine telling yourself, "this box is too small for me." Shout it out so that those beyond the page can hear you.

As you gain confidence, you grow and the box actually starts to become too small for your life. Take your hand and push through the left side of the box. Punch a hole in the bottom with your right foot. Tear at the remaining pieces until your head emerges to reveal a big life awaiting your arrival.

No, I'm not talking about rebirth or any analogies to that. I'm talking about getting outside of the box we each tend to hide ourselves in. If we bust loose and break away from the artificial binds we have created, then a bigger and greater world is ours. We can rise above to the jet stream and sail to where we want to be in life.

Break out of the cartoon pane, break out in to a great life.

JETSTREAM by DOVES

Rambling Sense

"Days of the week are helpful. Sundays are good, but I like Saturday. Sometimes I’ll write down a day of the week and wonder why it’s spelled that way. “Wednesday” is the hardest day to spell. Sundays are good for pro football, but now football season’s over. People like watching football. It’s so much colder in winter. It would be nice if we could have some warm spring days mixed in the middle of winter to even things out a little. I have a watch that tells me the time, except when the battery dies. Everything dies. That’s why I keep a spare watch battery. Why is a AAA battery smaller than a AA battery?" ~Andy Rooney

Okay, so what could I have to say today about a rambling quote from Andy Rooney on a "60 Minutes" television show? It is a rambling speech about days of the week that really seem to say nothing. Why would any of it seem to make sense?

When I read through it again and again, on the surface none of it made. But when I broke down each of the statements, each one had meaning and value. I'm not sure if that was Andy Rooney's intent or not, but it made sense to me.

Our life and the events that happen around it may not seem to make sense in the broad view. But when we stop to look at each of those individual events, each has some type of meaning or lesson. With so much going on in our daily lives, all of those details seem to blur into a rambling or haphazard series of events.

If we take a bit of time to reflect and examine some of those events, each will become more clear. The rambling will become more sensible. Life will seem to make a bit more sense.

Windows of Opportunity

"If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade." ~Tom Peters

We can go through life being told that our window of opportunity is small. When that moment arrives, we need to be ready for it. The window might be tiny, it might be large, but the window will appear for us.

I can't disagree with the fact that we will each encounter a window of opportunity. But what I do believe is that the word window should be plural. The belief is that we are presented with 'windows' of opportunity as opposed to a single one.

The question becomes just how good are we at recognizing those windows and more importantly, taking on the opportunity. If we believe only a single window of opportunity exists for us and we don't recognize it, then we stop looking for more and lose hope of ever trying again.

In my belief, these windows of opportunity happen all of the time. We simply have to learn how to recognize them and then act upon them. But how do we learn to recognize them? You can only learn by trying, by 'trial and error', by being bold and going for them. Over time you will learn which ones work and which ones don't.

Do not mistake this for jumping in willy-nilly. What I'm saying is that you have to understand that opportunity passes us by each and everyday. Most of us fail to look for them, let alone act upon them.

If we are to advance our lives and have an impact, then we must know that there are many windows for us. Look for them and then boldly discover how these opportunities can lead you and others as we live the journey of our life.

Silence

By WickedNox

"Only silence perfects silence." ~A. R. Ammons

Today the silence begins until next Monday. As I have a Men's Conference to attend and help run, Friday will be a bust as far as writing goes.

As with anything, my silence is a chance for you to experience silence within to reflect. Enjoy your weekend, enjoy reflection, and prepare yourself for even greater things.