Overcoming No-See-Ums

“Only the moon's smile can cure the unseen scars of darkness.” ― Munia Khan

It has been several days since I have been able to write. My week was filled with work at our company's annual customer convention called EMCWorld in Las Vegas, Nevada. A place for over 10,000 people to get together and learn about the latest trends and products in data storage. Afterwards, I took a few days and traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah.

A chance to view one of nature's great treasures.

Just outside of Salt Lake City is a lake called the Great Salt Lake. It is the western hemisphere's largest salt water lake and fourth largest in the world covering anywhere from 1,000 to 3,300 square miles depending upon the time of year and water levels.

For my visit the weather was cooperative and a few of us traveled out to Antelope Island State Park which sits in the middle of this vast lake. Antelope Island is the largest of ten islands located within the Great Salt Lake and home to abundant wildlife and various promontory spots to hike and capture breath taking views.

Capturing the beauty nature has to offer.

A group of us walked up Buffalo Point to capture these views and as we reached the peak the wind calmed and swarms of hatching Ceratopogonidae flies, otherwise known as "No-see-ums" found us in great numbers. Not often am I distracted from the views but these flies were doing their very best to keep me from enjoying this time.

Very quickly I took some pictures, one of which you see above. What you do not see are the flies swarming all around me and many in our group starting their descent in a very quick manner. These flies are so small you simply can not see them, thus the name "no-see-ums".

Descending the rocky path, we were harassed by these unseen foes.

Many times in life we are attacked by unseen detractors in life. These are the people trying to ruin your life experience. Many times we allow them to destroy our joy of all that is good around us. The detractors come at us with their negative attitudes, trying to pull us down from our joy. These detractors could also be those circumstances in life which try to defeat us on our journey towards something great.

The unseen forces in life will try to knock us off balance but we each have the ability to succeed in spite of their ways. We can still see the beauty which surrounds us while fighting off their bites or words of discouragement. There is so much for us to enjoy in life that we must not allow ourselves to be distracted.

Overcome the "no-see-ums" in your life.

Keep your focus on the beauty which exists all around you. And stay inspired my friends!

Breakfast With Salman

#RewindWeek from June 2011

"With the brush we merely tint, while the imagination alone produces color." - Theodore Gericault

Once in a while you get the chance to brush by fame. In this case it was Salman Rushdie. Or so I believed it was he when having breakfast at my hotel in London one morning.

I was on a business trip and due to my frequent hotel stays, the club room is a convenience which makes the trip much easier. The quiet of these mornings away from the hustling restaurants are a pleasant and invigorating respite.

There are those who always asked me afterwards, "Why not ask to take a picture, why not engage in a conversation, why not...."

But I did not ask and here is why.

In all of my travels, it is very rare that I come within ear shot or even see famous people. For all of the media exposure so many people get, there are many others who are average, everyday people like you and me.

So it was with great interest to me that the man sitting one table away seemed very familiar. In my hotel in central London, the business lounge provides breakfast on the top floor for members. This particular morning I chose a later time to arrive.

With only three of us in the room, there was no particular reason I sat at a table near this man. The only thing which drove me in that direction was closeness to the television showing international news. It also gave me a clear view of the Thames River.

Maybe the river view was my primary reason for sitting where I did.

There was something about the presence of the man sitting near me. His familiar face told me he was of some importance or celebrity. After a short while it dawned on me that it could very well be Salman Rushdie. Yes, that famous author who wrote Satanic Verses which became the scorn of many Muslims worldwide.

In 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini, (religious leader of Iran at the time) issued a fatwa or decree telling all Muslims to kill Rushdie and his publishers. Salman Rushdie was placed under police protection by the British government. As best I have learned, Salman has not been harmed, but it is said thirty eight others connected with the book have been killed.

The power of the written word still amazes me.

So my mind kept thinking and rationalizing his presence in this place. No body guards or entourage, yet after so many years, I had to think he had slipped back into some level of obscurity and maybe it just was not as big of a concern anymore.

But was it really Salman Rushdie?

I never asked because I have always felt there are times of approach and there are times of quiet. This certainly seemed like a time of quiet. We both nodded a good morning to each other at one point and then left each other to our quiet, peaceful breakfast.

This man may have simply been a person who looked extremely similar to Salman, but I like to think otherwise. My story is that I had breakfast with Salman Rushdie and we enjoyed the peaceful quiet of the morning.

All of us need these quiet moments in time.

It allows us to pull ourselves back from the hurried and noise filled life which surrounds us each day. The quiet allows time to reflect on things that matter to us. A time to let down our guard a little bit and not have to be looking over our shoulder.

Maybe next time I'll ask to be sure, but then again knowing the real answer just might disappoint me. Then the peaceful and quiet breakfast I had with Salman Rushdie will disappear forever for me. And I chose to allow that memory to linger for myself and for Salman as well.

Stay inspired my friends.

Just Open The Door

#RewindWeek from May 2012

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, Rejoice, for your soul is alive.” - Eleanora Duse

There is a great song that many of you are probably familiar with titled Mr. Blue Sky, written by Jeff Lynne and performed by the group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). In a BBC Radio interview, Jeff Lynne talked about how he came up with this song.

He had been staying in a Swiss chalet trying to write his bands next album after release of the previous album A New World Record. As he says, "It was dark and misty for 2 weeks, and I didn't come up with a thing. Suddenly the sun shone and it was, 'Wow, look at those beautiful Alps.' I wrote Mr. Blue Sky and 13 other songs in the next 2 weeks."

A blue sky to lift our spirits is like a smile upon someone's face when they greet you.

It is the ability of kindness to make your day better. It all starts with a simple gesture or sky of blue. And while I have this song in my head, another song by the same group comes to mind. A song which speaks about picking ourselves up and getting on with it.

While a blue sky may appear, we also need to do something about it. We have to create movement in order to create a better life for ourselves. See those lyrics below from a song titled The Diary of Horace Wimp. See if it helps create inspiration in your life.

The Diary Of Horace Wimp by Jeff Lynne

Monday
Late again, today,
He'd be in trouble though he'd say he was sorry,
He'd have to hurry out to the bus.

Tuesday
Horace was so sad,
He'd never had a girl that he could care for
And if he was late once more, he'd be out.

Don't be afraid, just knock on the door,
Well he just stood there mumblin' and fumblin'.
Then a voice from above said -
"Horace Wimp, this is your life,
Go out and find yourself a wife.
Make a stand and be a man,
And you will have a great life plan."

Wednesday
Horace met a girl,
She was small and she was very pretty,
He thought he was in love, he was afraid.

Thursday:
Asks her for a date,
The cafe down the street tomorrow evening,
His head was reeling, when she said "Yes O.K."

Friday
Horace, this is it,
He asks the girl if maybe they could marry,
When she says "gladly." Horace cries.

Sunday
Everybody's at the church,
When Horace rushes in and says
"Now here comes my wife, for the rest of my life." and she did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even when the dark and rainy clouds appear in your life, a blue sky sits just behind them. Get up and stay inspired my friends. Go out there and grab a great life. Go ahead and check out the following video of the song performed by ELO. Don't be afraid, just click on the play.

And stay inspired my friends!

Friday Pilgrim

“I want to know what passion is. I want to feel something strongly.” ― Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

Guest blogger this Friday comes from my son Joe of Denver, Colorado. He loves music and no surprise today is all about one of his favorite artists. So sit back, listen and enjoy this lazy Friday afternoon.

And stay inspired my friends.

pil·grim ˈpilɡrəm/
noun
1. a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons.
synonyms: worshiper, devotee, believer
verb
1. travel or wander like a pilgrim.

Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, GA. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring. Michael Houser and George McConnell have also played lead guitar for the band.

Since their inception in Athens, GA in 1986, Widespread Panic has risen to elite status among American jam bands. Following in the steps of other Southern rock jam bands such as The Allman Brothers, they have influences from the Southern rock, blues-rock, progressive rock, funk and hard rock genres.

They are frequently compared to other jam band "road warriors" such as the Grateful Dead and Phish. Widely renowned for their live performances, as of 2013, they hold the record for number of sold out performances at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO at 48 and Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA at 20.

Michael Houser was a founding member of the band and played lead guitar. He passed away from pancreatic cancer on August 10th, 2002. He will be forever remembered as the defining guitar sound and transitional genius for Widespread Panic.

www.widespreadpanic.com