How Do You Measure Security

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” ~ Helen Keller

I guess that security in life is really a relative thing. What one person feels is security makes another person quite insecure. It might be simple locks on a door, a few dollars in your pocket or having someone in your life that gives you that sense of feeling safe.

Others may find that a gated community isolates them from any and all dangers within the fenced in property. There are so many different levels of sense that people have regarding what security is. Too much, too little; too invasive, not invasive enough. How do you truly measure it?

Traveling recently through the world's busiest airport, Atlanta Hartsfield, the varied looks and attitude of people passing through security always catches my attention. Each have their own view of the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) and the role being performed by those TSA agents.

It made me realize that security is relative to each of us in our own personal way.

Do I wonder and get frustrated at the lines? Sure.
Do I wonder if all the security measures truly make a difference? Sure.
Do I wonder if I am really that much safer? Sure.

But I also know that I can not crawl into a dark secluded room and hide from what life has for me. To know that life is full of risk and adventure is what pushes me past the wondering part when it comes to security.

You may wonder if I take too much risk.

Certainly not all, I always measure the risk value of what I am doing. I wouldn't walk into a dark alley at 2:00am by myself for obvious reasons. Yet I wouldn't miss the opportunity to travel to Sao Paulo, Brazil because some feel it is a dangerous city. There is so much to do and see in this world; the adventure can be well worth the measured risk.

So how secure do you feel in this life?

Do you feel secure in the amount of money you have?
Do you feel secure in the relationship you have?
Do you feel secure in the home you live in?

These are questions only you can answer. But you have to first feel secure in yourself before any of the other questions can be answered. In fact, many of those questions will be answered once you answer it on the inside.

Believe in yourself, be secure inside first and the rest will be answered. Stay inspired my friends.

Three Leg Stool

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on." - Robert Frost

A question came up recently in which I was asked why a milking chair has only three legs. The milking chair of course being a short chair used to hand milk dairy cows. The person making the inquiry knew I had grown up on a farm and wondered why there were not four legs. The thought was that four legs were stronger than three.

The answer to this question is very similar to what I have enjoyed the past eighteen years at my place of employment. For many years, there have been two men that together with myself formed a three-legged stool. Our job was to go in when all else was hopeless and recover a customer. Some would call us a "flying team" because our engagements were typically last minute, get on a plane situations.

We always called those our "Friday crud sandwiches" because most escalations were handed over to us late in the week. This made scheduling family events or other activities a roll of the dice. You just never knew what was coming and when. But it was thrilling and we enjoyed most every one of them.

As a team we solved quite a few cases in places all over the world. When you left, you never quite knew if you would be gone a couple of days or a couple of weeks. Most times it was only one of us on location, but the other two were always available to support the one. A three-legged response that took the job seriously and worked quite well.

And now with the retirement of one and the changing job roles of the other two, the three-legged stool is about to be hung up in the barn. It will hang there for many years, unused and collecting dust and cobwebs. Then one day, someone will come along and ask the question, why were there only three legs on this stool?

The answer is because a three-legged stool works much better on a crooked floor. When the situation is found to be uneven, three legs will provide a more sturdy base. It will not rock back and forth like a four-legged stool. You will be more sure of your placement and accomplish the task given.

So yes, we were a three-legged stool always placed into uneven situations. We provided the stability until things could be smoothed out once again. I will miss working as part of that stool but as Robert Frost says, "...life": it goes on."

Stay inspired my friends.

Never Too Old

"Age is a matter of feeling, not of years." - George William Curtis

There are times we tell ourselves that age is a limiting factor. We may tell ourselves that we are too young to accomplish things. Later in life we might say that we are beyond our time. Some will say that you can not teach an old dog new tricks.

If we feel that age has taken over and we are unable to keep up with the demands of being successful, than we have given in to old age.

The following video gives a glimpse into someone that is not "giving into" old age. She is a remarkable woman and.... I'll let the video explain.



Live life to its fullest and never let age get in the way of achieving what you want in life. Believe in yourself whether young or old. For while you live in the natural, there is still time to achieve great things.

Stay inspired my friends!

How We Communicate

"Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing." - Rollo May

It does not happen very often, but I have from time to time left my cell phone sitting at home on my office desk. When it does happens, I have found myself siting in the company office amused by a certain sense of loss.

Yes, I am like billions of others that carry a cell phone. I sort of think cell phones are the modern day equivalent to shirt pen pocket protectors. Cell phone nerds of the new millennium I suppose.

I am also not sure when I became so attached to the many forms of communication we have today. All of us use cell phones for instant connection to others. We use the Internet which opens your life to an entire world and nearly all of the information amassed. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and web blogs; a vast array of information and communication sources at our fingertips.

Some might argue all of this information and communication access is way too much. Having such a huge amount of information might be a bad thing for us. Yet think about many more years ago when the first telephones became household fixtures. Those devices opened a huge new world to people everywhere.

To think that up until the time of telephones, the most instant communication one could send required going to a telegraph office, wiring off your message and then it had to be delivered physically to a person on the other end. Western Union Telegraph basically obsoleted the Pony Express.

Today, I can be standing in an office in Cork, Ireland and talk to my wife in Atlanta. All I have to do is dial her number on my cell phone and talk. And the other forms, typing an email message, writing an instant message or even setting up my web cam and delivering a live image; it can be done real time. I don't even need that webcam. That is old school. Just Facetime via our Apple iPhones.

The opening of communication between people is a good thing.

The more we talk, the more we get a better understanding of each other.

Be aware of those that use it for destructive purposes, but do not allow that to push you away from the goodness that increased communication provides. My cell phone might be sitting by itself once in a while, but I have a variety of ways to communicate with others.

And today I'll start by standing face-to-face and just talking to people.

Stay inspired my friends.