Your Shield

“Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms you would never see the true beauty of their carvings.” - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

There are many "slings and arrows" perceived or actual which engulf our daily lives. There are road incidents of getting cut off while on your way to work. Did you remember or fail to kiss your spouse good-bye? The coffee shop failed to put the cinnamon sprinkle on top of the cream.

Big or small, every slight feels like a thousand cuts.

So what is our natural tendency? It is to slip into a shield of armor. A cold metallic barrier to protect us from all these misfortunate events. We build the wall in an effort to keep out and defend ourselves from any more pain.

Have you ever tried to walk in a suit of armor?

A suit of armor is heavy and very inflexible. To move forward becomes very difficult and cumbersome, in fact it slows you down tremendously. With chain mail gloves, holding that cup of coffee can even be difficult. The armor may protect you from the outside world but it also makes it very hard to truly interact with the outside world.

Let go of the hard shell we create for ourselves.

There will be plenty of cuts and bruises we take throughout life. There are also plenty of band aids, people and relationships you have developed to help heal the wounds inflicted upon us. There are others we share life and its foibles whom we can be with to defend and strengthen ourselves.

The key is in connection, not in shielding ourselves.

By building our connections with other people, a natural shield happens in our life. The strength gained by friends surrounding you will let you overcome anything that comes your way. Note that I did not say the slings and arrows will never happen for they surely will. But the healing comes from the strength of others around you.

Build a shield through connection with others, not with cold metallic armor.

And stay inspired my friends.

Your Cone of Silence

Still Life of Open Book

"Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family." - Earl Nightingale

Each of us have had a sense of being pulled in all directions. Rushing to work, making sure those multiple projects get done, getting supper made, kids picked up at school, something at church and the volunteer project you signed up for.

All sorts of things which can have a crushing effect on our lives.

You say all of these things are important but it just seems like we never get time for yourself. A simple answer would be to drop one thing we are doing, but how do figure out which thing to drop? Most of us do not even realize how much time all of our activities consume in our daily life. To help you, here are a few tips I learned which can help you do just that.

The first thing to do is track where your time goes. For a few days write down what you are doing each half hour. Learn what your patterns are and which times of the day are more open then others.

Now figure out what it is you like to do. List out any activities you participated in over the past couple of months. Put a plus sign by those which excited you and a minus next to those that seemed to tire you out. "Learn from the past, but do not be dictated by it."

When you plan your schedule, plan your leisure time first. Most of us were brought up to believe we must finish our work first before we can enjoy what we like to do. Finish your homework, clean the garage, yet we always tend to fill the remaining hours with more work. Set time aside to relax, allot a certain amount of time for work and stick to that schedule.

Develop a "cone of silence" in which to unplug from all that goes on around you. Keep the radio turned off, maybe not watch the nightly news when you get home after work. Use the time to just sit and not think about anything. It will help relieve bodily tension and help you re-energize.

Build pleasure into each day. Listen to music that relaxes or moves you. Stop for a few minutes at night to look at the stars or take a few moments to twirl your partner on your kitchen dance floor. Taking a few pleasurable moments each day rebuilds your passion. As I learned, "you do not have to wait for the big birthday cake of a vacation. Take little bites of a cupcake each day."

Finally, plan your breaks from work ahead of time. A long weekend here or there and an annual vacation. Save money for these vacations or time off as you would for retirement. Ensure your workplace understands that time off is important.

A big key to this time off and I really have to work on this myself - leave your laptop at home. At the very least, keep it in your hotel room and shut off. You can always take a quick check later for messages.

At the end of the day, we find the enjoyment in life by giving ourselves the chance to actually enjoy it. Make time for yourself, make time to enjoy what life has in store for you.

And stay inspired my friends!

Love Is One

#FlashbackFriday

From December 5, 2011, a popular article.

"Love Is ..."

"If you've got love you've got life, if you can love you can live". - Kim Casali

A comic strip called Love Is has been around since 1970. I remember reading the panel every time I picked up a newspaper. New Zealand cartoonist Kim Casali created these from love notes that she drew for her future husband Roberto.

Kim was actually born Marilyn Judith Grove in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1941 and at the age of 19 travelled to Europe and the U.S. She worked in various jobs, including being a waitress in a London tea shop, before moving in 1967 to Los Angeles, where she met Roberto Casali, an Italian computer engineer, at a party.

She created the "love notes" during her courtship with Roberto in Los Angeles. As Kim said to an interviewer "I began making little drawings for myself to express how I felt . . . It was a little bit like keeping a diary that described how my feelings had grown."

They were married in 1971 but unfortunately lost their jobs and were now living illegally in the U.S. They were trying to find jobs that would keep them "... one step ahead of the Immigration Department" here in the United States.

In 1972, they moved to Britain and had two sons, Stefano, now 24, and Dario, now 21. In 1975 Roberto was diagnosed with cancer and died a year later. However, a third son, Milo, was born through artificial insemination in 1977, nearly a year and a half after his father's death.

In 1975, Bill Asprey was chosen by Kim Casali and her husband Roberto to take on the writing and drawing of these daily panels. Even though Robert passed away in 1976 and Kim more recently in 1997, their love continues to be shared with readers around the world.

Love can be a very enduring part of our life. Love can be shared and inspire others beyond the natural part of our life. Love is ...

Stay inspired my friends.

A World Shared By Humans

"Blue Marble" image taken from NASA's Earth-observing satellite, Suomi NPP.

Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring

"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier." - Mother Teresa

A few years back I attended a conference just outside of Lisbon, Portugal. The conference was broken into two 2-day sessions so the Wednesday in-between was a rest day. It allowed speakers to catch their breath before the next set of attendees arrived.

Another speaker and I had traveled here with our wives. So during this day off we drove through the countryside of Portugal taking in all of the sites and sounds. We had great moments meeting people along the way.

Doing so is good for one's soul.

We met many people from other countries who were on holiday. Engaging with these people, however brief of time it is can expand your appreciation for the world and the people we get to share it with.

One begins to realize that people around the world are very much like you and me. Each are living life, trying to get ahead at work, raising their kids, putting food on the table and simply enjoying life.

In one particular location called Cabo da Roca, the western most point of the European main continent, we met folks vacationing and even spoke with those working. And yes, they work, eat and sleep like we do. They pray, worship, have kids and worry about retirement all in the same manner as we do.

Cabo da Roca

We are all human and share a bond in that.

Why not try to bring a little bit of happiness to all you come near.
Why not allow for our differences and celebrate our shared world.

Explore and enjoy the lives of others along your journey through life. Bring happiness along with you. The earth is a great place to live our lives upon.

Enjoy it and celebrate it.

And stay inspired my friends.