Communicate

"Communicate, communicate, and then communicate some more."
- Bob Nelson

This article first appeared in February 2011 and has been one of my more popular posts with nearly three thousand having read it. And six years later it still feels very appropriate for the time. The rise of social media means we are talking in thirty second sound bites. In fact we are yelling at each other in the form of all capital letters, memes and exaggerated news.

The louder and more outrageous is what wins people and elections. The more left or the more right we swing, the more bold of opinion we become. We become more convinced of our own position by either bible thumping conservatives or bleeding heart liberals. You see the label we put on people is easier then exploring the depth because we just might learn something different.

Can we just talk?

You see I can be just as much of the problem as the next blogger, tweeter, Facebook posting person of all ages. I poke and prod people just as they have over the past eight years. And as we did the previous eight years, so on and so forth. And did we really talk to each other or reinforce our own position and allow the middle ground to sink further? The gap widens between us more and more.

Why is communicating with each other so important? Because those who would want to see us destroy ourselves do not want us to. They see the corrosive nature of miscommunication over time. It decays the fabric of who we are more then bombs or violent acts. We do that enough to ourselves, all our enemies need to do is push us against each other and we will take care of the rest.

What was that article I wrote?

Here it is, four sentences that generated so much reading. But can we turn it into action and build back up the ground between us? Can be begin to talk to each other in a meaningful way and loosen our grasp on ourselves so that we can embrace with a handshake and conversation.

It happens to each of us, a situation comes up between two or more people and feelings get hurt or misunderstandings arise. One person thought the other knew something or another didn't give the whole story.

The problem normally is caused by a lack of communication. Its a pure and simple explanation for many of the problems that occur in our life. The lack of communication could be intentional and at other times inadvertent.

But in the end, if we just keep talking to each other we'll avoid many of the misunderstandings that get in the way of a great life.

Keep talking, keep communicating and life will be a whole lot easier. Can you hear me now?!

Stay inspired my friends!

One Hand In My Pocket

“For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain.”
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

When you feel life has taken a weary turn on you, always know that this too shall pass.

Grab your overcoat, umbrella and be sure to wear your boots in order to weather the elements of life.

A Dream within a Dream by Edgar Allan Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow
And in parting from you now
Thus much let me avow ---
You are not wrong who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away.

In a night or in a day
In a vision or in none
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand ---
How few! Yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep
While I weep --- while I weep!
O God! Can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream.

And "what it all comes down to, is that everything's gonna be fine, fine, fine."



Stay inspired my friends!

End Of The World

“In 5-billion years the Sun will expand and engulf our orbit as the charred ember that was once Earth vaporizes. Have a nice day.” ― Neil deGrasse Tyson

To look back in time and see the fragile nature of humans, we magnify our present condition along the timeline and worry that the end is near. That one man, one election cycle, one event can end it all.

We have come close at times to making our planet a not so great place to live. The threat of nuclear destruction, of accelerating impact climate change and other acts of either selfish nature or exaggerated claim.

Life will go on.

Maybe it will not be a pleasant place to live. Maybe we will just have to put up with the current condition.

When we put our current condition, our current events and our current feelings into perspective, the world will not end at 12:01 PM on Friday, January 20, 2017.

And it did not happen when ...

... eighteen missing seconds and plumbers became a scandal.
... a pardon was given.
... Americans were held hostage and an attempt to rescue them failed.
... hundreds of US service personnel died when barracks in Lebanon were bombed.
... a pledge not to raise taxes became a misguided lie.
... an intern in a blue dress was lied about and became a scandal.
... two large towers and two other acts blackened our skies killing over 3000.
... an embassy was overrun and Americans lost lives.

Nor did it happen four, eight or even through all of the preceding years of our American existence. And it did not happen when many with different opinions said it would.

So tomorrow is not when it will happen.

Maybe 5-billion years from now, but not tomorrow.

Stay inspired my friends!

Train Tracks

“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” ― Will Rogers

There is an old joke about two drunk men who were walking between the railroad tracks. One of them said, "This is is longest stairway I have ever been on." To this, the other replied, "It's not the stairs that bother me, it's the low banister."

Like these two men walking drunk, do we fail to understand where we are walking just as they were completely unaware? The excuse for them is being blind by being drunk. Our excuse could be we simply are not paying attention.

Are we on the right track?

For many of us, just knowing if we are actually on the right track is half the battle. We begin a path towards a goal or direction without giving it much thought. We let life itself dictate those things for us.

We bounce from the left to the right rail and back. We are happy for these guard rails to keep us moving straight but unknowing where it takes us. Even when the junction appears, we follow the course of the tracks laid out in front of us.

Where are we headed?

Once we find out if the direction we are headed is the place we want to go, the tracks will help guide us. In other instances, we can switch tracks to take us in a new direction. Knowing where it leads us is a first and important step.

You must then decide to keep moving. To sit down upon the rail will get you no where and could get you run over. You could build a hut next to the tracks with a nice porch, but all that will provide you is a view of the rusting rails.

Keep moving forward.

If you have ever walked down train tracks - let me state that not only is it dangerous, but walking on any railroad property is also against the law - you will know that it is not always smooth walking due to the railroad ties, rock fill and other things that could trip you up.

Yet in spite of any railroad ties or any other metaphorical obstacles, we need to keep moving forward in life. Movement will take us to where we want to be. Movement will keep the tracks from rusting. Movement will keep us more alive.

Stay inspired my friends!