What the onerous brings out in a person

I work with groups of people to turn out a written product that follows certain protocols. Inevitably these groups do not follow the protocols, so I end up having to write or rewrite the portions that the group cannot do or do right. It's the most onerous task of the job I have. That's what I am sitting here doing tonight... concocting portions that a group did not do.

So, of course, I am doing everything under the sun not to have to write these sections. I have taken 3 strolls in the last 2 hours just to relieve my mind of what I do not like to do. But, that leads me to think of pleasant thoughts. I think of things people have said to me. I think of events that make me smile. I think of various witticisms that always give me energy. I think of money in the bank. I think of TV shows that make me laugh. I think of comedians and their sketches. And, I think of texts that I receive that always brighten my day or night that remind me of the poem Xanadu... love them.

When those thoughts fill my mind, I can carry on with onerous tasks and the deadlines that have to be met. So thankful for pleasant thoughts!

Looking at the present landscape

Geologists and archaeologists are always finding evidence for an earth that looked so very different from the one we live on now. We have had oceans that existed that don't exist now. We have had tropical climate on places that are frozen wastelands now. Bones of crocodiles that swam in swamps are found today in sand dunes where there is no water at all. We find axe blades and arrowheads chipped from rocks in places where living conditions would surely make humans today look for another place to live. There are ancient ruins of buildings under the seas. There are precision-cut rock plates used in construction of buildings before any known tools to cut precision rock plates were known, lines that stretch for miles on tops of mountains forming designs before aerial views could have been possible, and megaton rocks dragged (who knows how) from far places before being assembled into ceremonial gathering places. There are houses from Neolithic times in the Arctic Circle built underground using small rocks that have just recently come from being submerged in the ocean. Looking back on the earth's history is a challenging puzzle for us moderns to piece together. But usually a harder look reveals some unifying cause or theme to them.

Sometimes as I look at the landscape of my life, I see it as a challenging puzzle. Some of the jobs I have held or the views of life I have voiced seem to be like a checkerboard of various moves. But when I look hard enough, there is an underlying theme to most of them. They are not just wild hairs. I have learned more with each passing year. And, I have made adjustments in judgment due to those learnings. I think it is also true of our hopes and aims. They change as our experience informs them. So, while my hopes may look different from the past, I work everyday at making sure that my aim is true and connected to my nature because I truly desire my hopes to become a part of the current landscape.

A round of thanks to...

The LA Lakers won their second NBA championship in a row last week. Kardashian hubby, Odom, looked fantastic in game 6 and made key rebounds in game 7. I was pulling for the Lakers all through the playoffs, so I was happy at the end of game 7. Kobe Bryant played very well except in game 7. But, he knew what to do even when he wasn't playing well. He supported the other players with stellar passing. One of his passes was to Artest who hit a very pivotal shot in the waning moments of the game. Artest was ecstatic. After the game, a commentator interviewed Artest about the shot. But, Artest wanted to say what he wanted, so he didn't really answer the question. After making a statement of how happy he was, he went down the list of several names of people he wanted to thank as if he had won an Academy Award. The last person on the short list was his therapist. Artest thanked his therapist! I have never heard that before. He said that the therapist had helped him relax and that was the key to hitting his big shot. Hmmmmmm... the therapist.

I really haven't talked to a paid therapist, but if the criterion is that a therapist helps a person to relax so that he or she can perform at his or her highest level, then I have a therapist. And really, I don't feel relaxed these days very often. There is a little bit of an edge that is created when I am among people at work. I can't really let down too much of anywhere. I guess when I am alone, I relax some, but usually I am doing something or reading. I do have a therapist, though... a person who makes me feel totally relaxed and around whom laughter returns to my vocal cords and a smile adorns my face.

So Artest is right. A person has to be relaxed to perform at the highest level. I want to thank my therapist!

Recent but magnificent

I am watching the most magnificent building being built on the Science channel. It's in Singapore and has just recently been built (mainly because the technology hasn't been available until the last few years). It is a skypark built across the top of 3 towering apartment and business buildings standing about 100 yards apart and is complete with hotel and casino. Part of the skypark is a cantilever, a 218 feet portion that sticks out away from the last tower like a diving board. The park rests 600 feet above ground connecting the three buildings with a couple of bridges so that it continuously runs across the buildings. After the walkways, swimming pool, trees, and nightclub have been added, it will be a beautiful place to exercise, relax, or entertain for all the residents in the hotel and apartments. Truly magnificent in both looks and planning, inside and out.

Some of the beautiful things I have learned or beautiful people I have met have come in the most recent part of my life. The things and people from the past are still important and significant. But, it makes me a more robust person to add meaningful events and people from the past to the ones that are recent. And, even though I didn't encounter them until recently, they are beautiful and magnificent, inside and out.

What a sham(e)!

It is the hardest thing to sit and listen to people say things at a quickly concocted conference that are just not true. I listened yesterday to a tale of just such a case. Somewhere in the recent past some educator thought that it made common sense that there is so much reading to worded problems in math that good reading habits would lead to better math capabilities (and higher test scores since math capabilities would be enhanced). Like a fad, that thought has made the rounds among school districts. And like many thoughts that make the rounds, at some point educators take it as gospel even though there is really nothing but what seems like good sense backing the thought.

But the idea is a sham. It may seem counterintuitive at this point to those who have accepted this unsubstantiated idea, but the cognitive research says that math stands on its own as a skill at the very least. There is even a hint that math may even dictate ideas that would make for good reading skills. But the battle is uphill at this point because so many have swallowed bait and been reeled in. I want to weigh in on the side of solid research. I want to help stem the tide of such faulty reasoning on the part of so many educators. And, I want to blame those who should know better for not allowing the research of those in sciences that can inform education to surface and set the record straight.

I have seen this ploy before by the reading establishment. Two studies have come out condemning the way that reading is being taught. Those studies have not been allowed to see the light of day by many who teach reading or instruct districts in reading methods (and subsequently by district administrators who have been duped). Shame on them. The remedy is simple. Read the studies, understand the conclusions, trust the outcome. I want to join my very close friend who has remained in education working hard to change the world of mathematics... hopefully convincing others that long hand division and pages of written answers can be replaced through computers and calculators... and in the case at hand, hopefully bringing administrators to their senses that the symbol stream for reading is not an enhancer for the logic and symbol stream for math.

From the supernatural to the natural

I watched a program tonight off and on that dealt with three men that contended that they were modern religious messiahs. There was nothing there that was new. They all three have been spoken to supernaturally. They all three use religious jargon for inner awareness. And they all three have followers who swoon and sway to every word dripping from their lips. I have one word for them... BOGUS!

When I think of a present day messiah, it's of the natural type, not the supernatural. I think of someone who would help me be better than I am, someone who would inspire me, laugh with me, give me optimism for living. I think of someone with whom I can share both the monumental and the mundane, the successes and failures, the trips across terrain and the trips through the heart.

Messiahs of the earthly sort are not bogus. They exist... but not on every corner... They're special people still... once in a lifetime.

When minds mesh

Kindred minds are hard to come by. Only very occasionally have I found those with kindred minds. I had a college professor who taught me Greek who had the same philosophy I did in translation. He died during one of the semesters I had him, but he taught me much, mainly because we shared a passion for the same idea. About a decade later, I met someone I had gone to college with. We have remained friends ever since. I don't think we could be too much more opposite in nature, but it was in the contrast of natures that our complementary sides came out. We have been friends for a really long time now, and all because we shared with each other our lives and talents, as opposite as they may have been. Somehow, the complemetary side formed the bond. And sometimes compatibility makes for life's enjoyment. With only one person have I had such complete compatibility. Our minds think much alike; our spirits enjoy the same kinds of activity; our humor is very much the same; our aims in life are so very close. That person is witty, much more than I, but I try to make up for that in other ways.

Kindred minds... making memories glorious... making the future worth the journey.

Morphed

There is a new plastic bracelet out that kids buy a lot. The plastic is soft, yet rigid enough to have a certain shape like guitars, cars, hearts, tennis rackets, etc. When you put the bracelet on, it stretches and becomes round to fit your wrist, but when you take the bracelet off, it goes back to its original shape. I think that's why kids like them so well. They return to their original shapes.

Some things in life are like that. They return to their original shapes. But, life's experiences don't act like that. Generally, we go through experiences and are not left the same. Recently, I was taught to enjoy reality TV programming. It stretched my horizons. I learned the names of the stars and the network of friends that they had. It was exciting to stretch myself. Right now, I don't have time to watch much TV at all, but I have found I cannot return to the shape I had before I stretched myself. I have dropped Criminal Minds completely from my repertoire. It used to be a staple in my viewing diet, but my attraction to it has changed. I haven't watched NCIS in three months, another former staple. I find myself wanting to watch the new programming I had been introduced to, plus another program or two that I have picked up like Flashpoint.

I have enjoyed so much broadening my horizons, I wouldn't go back to my former shape if I could. The heart has trapped new scenes and cherishes those trappings.

Life cannot trump hope

Some things in life a person never loses hope for or sight of. I was always told growing up that if you want something badly enough, you just go get it. Life has a way of making that adage too simplistic. Oh, there is some truth there all right. Nobody gets anything if he or she doesn't pursue it. On the other hand, just because a person pursues something doesn't mean he or she will end up with it. That's where hope comes in.

Life is very good at throwing twists and turns that are unexpected. It convolutes or diminshes or seemingly makes the thing you hope for the most appear so distant. I don't really understand how life can so consistently thwart the desires of the heart, but it so consistently does that I respect its power to do it. But, one thing is more certain than life and its power to convolute, and that is the hope I have for the thing I want most in life. Hope does not diminish, get convoluted, or become distant. I can always see my greatest hope very clearly! And, like the phenomenon of the Northern Lights, it is so beautiful...

A touch from others

I had a phone call the other night from a number that I didn't recognize. It had a Dallas area code, so I answered it. It was a high school basketball buddy that I had not spoken to in 7 years. We had a good talk and "caught up" on some of the matters that we had in common. I admire his desire to want to stay in touch through the years. He's a good friend.

I had a phone call just four days ago. I didn't recognize the number, but I answered anyway because it was about 10:30 at night. The voice of my friend who was in Nigeria was on the other end. I had not talked with him in about 4 months. I wasn't aware that he had come back to the states, so the call was a nice surprise. He was glad to be back even if it was going to behere for only a month. We talked of all his encounters in Africa like riots and life on the edge of the Sahara Desert. It was good to be in touch. He goes back in July. I admire his stamina to live for a cause he truly believes in.

I had a phone call yesterday afternoon. I didn't have to look at the number because I recognized the unique ring tone I've given this person. The fact that I have a unique ring tone for this person signals how special this friend is. I was driving to my mother's house on a crowded freeway, but my friend's voice soothed my soul immediately. We talked and laughed, a hallmark of this person. We talked of matters that affected our lives and of children. I admire this person's exuberance, love of life, and raw intelligence among many other attributes worthy of respect.

Phone calls from those in our spheres... It's a beautiful thing to keep in touch and let my friends touch my soul in admirable ways.

Coloful days - bright nights

Sometimes I stay at a hotel in another state. I try to get the same room each time because I like the view out the window. The harbor from the ocean comes within view of the hotel. Over the harbor is a bridge that carries interstate traffic, but I like the view of the arched bridge with the span of the harbor behind it. The gray steel of the bridge archway against the bright blue of the ocean makes for a colorful, pleasant scene during the day. At night lights line the archway and flickering bulbs from houses and businesses along the shore of the harbor shine and reflect in the water, also so pleasantly. Whether it's day or night the scene is worth the minutes of viewing I get during my stay.

The last 18 months are like the view out the window. The reflection time I have reviewing the scenes of those months are filled with color during the day and brightly shining lights at night, figuratively speaking. They flow seamlessly from day to night, night to day... beautfully, wonderfully. I treasure those moments and guard them closely from ever leaving my soul and mind.

It's the smile at the start of the day

Some mornings just start out right and stay right the entire day. Today was one such day. I was working with what has proven to be a rather contentious group of people. But today, the group got along with each other without incident. In another group of people, there are two moaners and groaners about every little matter. They, too, were on their best behavior. They complained only once, and then only for a small amount of time. The weather was beautiful all day long, having very little wind and the perfect 70 degree temperature. I have a business partner that I ate supper with. He and I always get along, but he was in an exceptionally good mood this evening while discussing some of the future plans we have for our company.

Of course, the day went right because it started in the best possible way. I was just about to start the work day with a group of people when I my text message signal sounded. Someone had sent a picture to me. It was the perfect picture. It immediately brightened my day, and it brought a smile to my face every time I looked at it during the day. It would not have mattered if the temperature had not been 70, if the groups of people I was working with had been their disagreeable selves, or if supper would have not been upbeat. The day had had a perfect beginning. It could not have gone downhill! I was not on the beach. But, today was a day on the beach because of the smile that was sent my way as the day began.

Love hearing voices

Voices are unique to people, so there is one voice print for one individual. That's how we recognize people. Because voices are unique, we can hear those voices of special people inside our heads even without the person being present. Some voices we single out because they helped us through life. My father's voice is one such voice. He is no longer with me, but I can hear his voice very clearly from the time when he was present, guiding me when I had questions I needed answered. Some voices bring me the remnants of the life they represent. I can hear my son laughing and calling my name on occasion. And, some voices remind me of my own... my daughter's, for instance, asking me questions much like I did my father.

Some voices are treasured because they are highly regarded. 3 weeks ago, I received a call from someone very special. I had not heard the voice in quite some time. But instantly, I knew who it was. We exchanged information about daughters and some other matters, but hearing that voice again made me aware of why the voice had never faded from memory. I was flooded with warmth and vibrance once again. In fact, I was made warm and vibrant twice that day. What a special day from a special voice! It's amazing what a highly regarded voice will do for a person.

The content life

Michael Jordan is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time. Kobe Bryant strives hard to replace Michael. He has modeled much of his game after Michael. This year was the first year that Kobe had a consistent year in being the game's best player. This was acknowledged by the Phoenix Suns' coach when Kobe hit 3 really incredible shots to win game 6 against Phoenix. When asked by a sports commentator about Kobe's outstanding play at the end of the game, the coach said, "Was it Michael or was it Kobe? I couldn't tell."

In our own corners of the world, I think we all strive hard to achieve what would make us content and satisfied. Sometimes, our achievements are realized through hard work. A small few times they might be realized through luck or fate. But, sometimes, dreams are realized through hope and corresponding actions. When dreams are realized, contentment is a by-product, and life is richer, fuller, and very meaningful.

Making tracks

Tires make tracks on pliable ground - sand, mud, soft dirt, snow. You can see the track exactly as the tire tread looks. Tires cannot make tracks on hard surfaces such as asphalt and concrete, however.

I have been told that I am hard to get to know or that I am hard to read. I'm that way purposely. It has to be someone special to make the tread marks on my mind because I tend to lay down asphalt and concrete to keep the imprints out. I guess that I hate to be influenced too much by someone else. But, if someone special can make tracks on my mind, I enjoy so much the mirror image of the tread.

Crossed or uncrossed?

I remember playing the game cross-uncross. It was hard to guess at first when a pair of scissors was crossed or not. Once the code was broken, then, of course, I_ could guess every time whether the scissors were crossed or uncrossed.

Another thing I remember about the game was the patience I had to have in the interim between not knowing the code and knowing it. Many people got frustrated, but I knew that staying calm would lead me to the answer because I would not miss_ the clues of the code. In English there is the adage that patience is a virtue. Patience for the game paid off in finding the answer.

In life, I have come across situations that require patience. Nearly always patience paid off even if it took a really long time. It has kept me from missing some opportunities. It's not a 100% foolproof rule. But almost. You_ might say that patience leads to hope... of finding the answer if playing a game or of realizing much desired endings if going through life.