No cuts

Shows on TV nowadays leave out a lot of real life so that people don't have to see the humdrum of reality. They skip from one scene to the next allowing people to assume the action that happened in between. In NCIS LA tonight, for example, the two main detectives go to the director and tell her that she needs to send them to Afghanistan. In the very next scene, the two detectives are wearing middle eastern garb and are in Afghanistan - no preparation to go there, no flight to get there, no car ride from the airport to the house where the next scene is, and no unpacking and changing clothes in their hotel before going to the house of the next scene.

I would like for this to happen in real life sometimes. I would be nice to skip the mundane scenes in my life and just go from one substantive scene to the next. On trips, I would get to cut out the 5 1/2 hour drives to either Dallas or Austin. Every morning I would get to skip the routines to get ready for work. I would get to cut right to the parts that had meaning in my day.

But reality is not TV. I do have to go through every second of every day, good or bad. But, it makes a better person out of me because I get to learn from my failures in the bad moments and experience great happiness in the good moments. I get to watch others in how they operate their business and learn from them. I get to watch others have their worlds take turns in unexpected directions and see them make lemonade from lemons. And that gives me comfort, vicarious experience, and satisfaction. I would not be the person I am today if I got to skip the scenes in my life. I would end up with less happiness; I would make assumptions about the missing action that would not match what really happened; and I would have less understanding of the connectedness of life.

As it is I experience every second of every day and have great, great hope of how I want the future to be.

The world at your beck and call

A lot of life happens according to your view of it. My father was one who knew the power of positive thinking and used to tell the story of a man who traveled to a town in search of somewhere to settle. He was met at the gates of the city by a wise man who lived there. The traveler told the wise man that he was looking to settle and wanted to know if this was a good town. The wise man asked the traveler what his experience had been in the last town he lived. The man replied that it was a town of many disgruntled people and that nothing went right there. The wise man advised the man that he would find the same in his town, so he might want to look elsewhere. A second traveler arrived the next day and asked the wise man if this was a good town. The wise man asked the second traveler what his experience had been in the last town he lived. The traveler answered that he found the town to be friendly and active, and that he hated to leave it. The wise man welcomed the traveler and told him that he would find the same kind of people and activities in this town.

Yes, the positive view makes for a higher quality of life. And I know someone who lives that way every day. I am inspired by such a life, and my own view is better, clearer, more productive, and efficient as a result. In this season of thanks... thank you for such inspiration. You have the world at your beck and call every day you wake up.

A gift from Japan

Yesterday was an interesting day. The Ministry of Education in Japan commisioned 4 University professors (from 3 different universities in Japan) to visit some United States' online schools so that the Ministry could write new national standards specifically for online schooling. They would keep the current standards for their brick and mortar schools, but write new ones for online schools which they hope to establish in the near future. So, the delegation of four profs selected and came to visit three schools - two in California, publicly funded schools, and one in Texas, a private corporate school, Orion Online Learning. The delegation spent 4 1/2 hours getting acquainted with the Orion protocols for modules and operations in general, taking notes and asking questions. At the end of the visit, and in true Japanese fashion, the four professors gave an appreciation gift to Orion from Japan.

Working with that delegation was very interesting. It would be a nice opportunity to help in writing standards or curriculum for another country. The delegation's visit might lead to some cooperative work with Japan, but even if it doesn't, it helped in expanding my professional horizons.

The last 365

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler.
Long I stood and looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
But as for that, the passing there had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black...

(The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost)
______________________________

A year ago I struck a new path. I did have a choice to stay or go. But, going meant that I would be able to better my position financially. Normally, that is the only consideration I look at in making a decision.



In fact, it was financially better after a year than it would have been had I stayed. And, in fact, it led to opportunity that could not have happened if I had stayed. It continues to produce in the opportunity category. But there was another category. Money is not even in the same arena as this category, and opportunity can not lead to any destination worth it if it means missing the place this other category would lead to. A person can measure the amount of money (s)he makes or determine the value of the opportunities that may come along. But, this other category cannot be measured except in terms of what the heart can produce. 2010 in that regard has been one of great hope.

Still the same

This is election night. Decisons made in the election of 2008 are being turned on their heads. The Tea Party has really made an impact and is upsetting the power structure. Even Republicans are taking notice that the Tea Party element is going to dictate some of their future actions. The Democrats didn't know how much of a dent the Republicans were going to make, and even thought that they might hold onto the House of Representatives. But, it has not turned out that way, not even close.

But over the last two years in my life, there is nothing upsetting at all, no major impacts... no Tea Party push, no takeover from the opposite party. Friends of mine are still friends of mine. Progress is being made in my professional life.

And the one who adds the spring to my step, still adds spring to my step daily and gives me hope.

Affecting the outcome

Watching the world series was a contrast in talent level this year. It was portrayed best by the game's centerpiece, the amazing pitcher of this last game. San Francisco's starting pitcher threw for 8 innings and looked just as fresh then as when he started the game even though it was 101 pitches later. He helped the Giants win and inspired those around him to rise to the occasion also. The Giants won the game not because of luck but because of what they brought of themselves. And the outcome to the series was affected.

My life has always benefited from a talented supporting cast around it. But, of late it has benefited from an amazing pitcher in its center. And, 101 pitches later I am still inspired by this person to rise to the top of the occasions life places before me, to be better than I am. Truly I am fortunate!

Certainty

When I was growing up I played all kinds of board games... Life, Clue, King Oil, Chess, Checkers, Candyland, Risk, Chutes and Ladders, Spades, Hearts, Poker, Backgammon, and several, others. I won more than I lost, but many times I won with just good guesswork.

Skills from game playing carried over to education and life skills like judging character. I won most of the time there too, but it still included some guesswork.

Over time, life skills improve so that guesswork is at an absolute minimum. I am more and more certain of what makes me happy, for example. And I know, without guessing, who I can trust and who I want to surround me. And it is certainly not a guess who brings a smile to my lips and contentment to my heart.

In a few

It's really amazing how just a few words can turn clay into ceramic beauty or pewter to gold. On two occasions today, my day was transformed from normal to supernormal and from routine to extra special by just a few words. That makes this day a charmed day. And that ends this blog with just a few words, in honor of the few words that absolutely transformed this day!

What I wouldn't give!

The other day I had a friend mention a work situation that would be good for several parties involved. I remember commenting, "What I wouldn't give for that to happen." I don't say that very often. I might have said that when I was younger, I really don't remember. But, I have said that only twice in recent memory (probably the last 15 years). Both times it was about a wish I have. And I really would give everything in my world to live that reality, to live out my dream.

Someday!

Matters as a whole

Some days just go right. Not that every little event happened like I wanted. Just that matters as a whole ended on a hopeful, optimistic note. And there's nothing that will allow for life to go forward like hope. A lot like the sun which is about to break out from behind its shielding clouds at the break of day.

Positive pondering

The mind can't help but ponder events during a day's time.

I bought some pottery in Maine last summer. They had to make it first and send it later. It arrived about two weeks ago. I unpacked it just the other day, and it caused me to ponder all the really serene sights and sounds of a magical day on Peak's Island where I ordered the pottery.



My partners and I have a growing business. We have expanded in office space and will expand in services offered in about 3 months. It makes me ponder where all this is headed, but at this end of things, it has much promise.



I ponder many things in a day's time. Those thoughts are not always positive like the two examples. But, mostly I ponder the positive matters. It helps me plan my time with great energy.

I have to say I ponder the year 2009 every day, more than anything I have ever mulled. It energizes me because it was the most positive year in my whole life.

Love to ponder such an energy-giving, life-giving year!

Splash me

Color in life is important. So, being around people who will splash the beauty of their color on us makes our lives just that much more enjoyable. I love the color of having my horizons stretched, for instance. The people who have done that in my life, have splashed me with their color.

There are other colors I enjoy too. So, splash away. Feel free.

Turns

Sometimes in writing people get stuck and seem not to be able to generate any more thought toward what they are writing. They experience "writer's block." It happens. They have to walk away for a while and then return to their work. In that "while" they will have their minds focused on other matters. When they return to their work, they have a fresh perspective on what they should generate to continue their writing. They had time to mull and blend ideas from what they saw during their time away from their writing, so that a fresh perspective can be brought when they sit back down to write. Their time away served as a catalyst to get past their stuck point.

In business sometimes, companies bog down in product development. Cars need a new shape or color, tennis shoes need to be lighter, oil needs to be brought out of the ground more cheaply. Any number of products need revamping. Employees are asked to think of new ways to do streamline processes sometimes. They are encouraged to "think outside the box." Usually it takes a catalyst of some sort like the accident that created Post-it Notes, or the experimentation in space to create lighter plastics, or paying attention to some detail of research that finally makes sense in curing lung cancer.

Stuck points come every so often. Life is great about throwing curves to foil plans, to bring the unexpected angle to a situaton, to twist events into what is dreaded or feared, or to lead people to the mundane, hum-drum, doldrums. Catalysts are needed to get past those points. Sometimes I'm good at spotting those catalysts. I can take a fresh perspective and see how to get through a situation. And sometimes I am not good at all at knowing what to do to affect change. Things are interconnected and convoluted and the way through seems messy.

One of the cruelist hammer blows of life is when I can see the catalyst clearly that will propel me past a blockage in my stream of personal events and I am ready to act, but life disagrees and takes a turn in the path. I hate it when that happens more than I can express.

But, Hope can overcome even this on occasion, smile with favor, and turn the path back.

An offering

A very special person in my life likes having and using quotes. So, I would like to offer a quote, since I have had the benefit of being around the beautiful life of this person who places noble and worthy quotes on desks, on blogs, on walls, and in this person's own heart and soul.

I offer it for your new job and for the continued higher education you seek. I offer it because you live by it and have taught me to trust what you live by.

___________________________________________________

When you come to the edge of all the light you have,

And are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown,

Faith is knowing that one of two things will happen:

There will be something to stand on,

Or you will be taught to fly.

(Patrick Overton)

I have all faith that when you step off into the unknown, you will be standing on top of Mt. Everest and soaring with the eagles!

Magnitude

There is a way to show that certain aspects of something mean more than other aspects. We weight things we like and slight things we dislike. If we like sitting by a fireplace rather than going to the grocery store, then we sit by the fireplace more than go to the grocery store. If we want to exercise by jogging rather than by weight lifting, then we jog instead of lift weights. If we like some people more than others, then we choose to show friendship to the ones we like more.

The idea of giving weight to show meaning shows up in more places than just our ordinary preferences in lifestyle. We show this in proportioning our spending, saving, and investing. And speaking of investing, inside investing there is a way to give weight to certain areas of investment. Whether trading stocks, real estate, metals, or currency, adding magnitude to some trades yields greater profits than if the normal trade was made.

So, when we find the ones along the way in life who would add magnitude to our own lives, we don't hesitate. We add the magnitude. And, it yields greater happiness, more productivity, more energy, and a higher level of fulfilled living.

Empty chambers - not for me

In my house I have three rooms that I rarely go in. The front room is stocked with a snooker table and couch, but they just sit there looking pretty for the people on the outside to see since curtains don't fully cover the windows. There's an extra bedroom for "guests" who might drop by once a year. The lady who cleans vacuums it twice a month, but she is the only guest to visit the room. And, there's a study with part of the room for pictures. When someone might want to use the printer, that part of the study gets used, but no one really ever goes to look at the pictures.

The chambers of our mind are like that. Many of them get used, but there are those areas that are rarely entered. Memories fade when that happens because the brain is going to use its capacity, so it begins using old paths for newly made information and all the connections that go with it. It overrides what was with what is happening now.

I think of life's rhythms sometimes, how they wax and wane. And, to avoid the empty room syndrome or the synaptic pruning in my brain during some of life's rhythms, I think of meaningful events that still push me to do things better or different. They keep my mind active and progressive rather than empty or stale. Or I think of the amazing person who makes my life colorful and happy. So, the rhythms in life don't leave behind empty rooms or withered dendrites, they leave behind traces of spectacular reflectons in rainbows.

Chagrined

Tomorrow I have to go to jury duty. It's like going to the fair. It's all very predictable. It's a place where games are being played, shows are going on, rides are taking people on a streak of giddiness. People spend a lot of money. It doesn't last very long, and people have to convince themselves that it is all worth it.

That's, of course, a cynical way of looking at it. I go to watch the backstage antics put on by the attorneys. I like to see them jockey for a favorable position with the jury pool. What actors they are. But, I like to also watch the defendant. No matter how dim or bright his prospects look, he puts on a sober face to act as if he doesn't care.

I'll show up, but all the legal activity is not about the truth. It's about foolery. I'll see who's better at it tomorrow - the defense or the prosecution. I hope to read about the case in the newspaper. I surely don't want to give an account from the inside after having been picked. I would be one of the attorneys worst nightmares if chosen. I would be counting words for the type-token ratio to know where the lies are. That's the most predictable part.

Next day beauty

Yesterday was a day of great negativity.

Today is different. It's amazing what a day later brings. Today I have health, a business that is growing, money in the bank that matches a decent lifestyle, success in trading on the exchange, a future that is not cut short by anything except my own limitations, and someone who illuminates my thoughts and makes me vibrant. I couldn't see that yesterday. But, today I can.

What a difference a day makes in perspective. The sun is shining on the beauty of this day.

Salve plus

I saw the word salve the other day. I hadn't seen that word in a long time. It always strikes a chord with me when I see it because it has a certain connotation with me. I know that it means any lotion or lubricant a person puts on skin, but to me it means that it is put on the skin if the skin needs healing in some way. Salve=healing is the first thought for me when I see or hear this word.

I can think of a number of things from the past that have made me well. I have been made well by pills, by liquids, by jobs, and by good will from others. I am grateful for them all. But, there is a category above what salve can do. It's the salve plus category. It can only be experienced when a person is made better by another. It's not something that makes one well, it's someone who makes well being an everyday matter... like smiling, laughing, enjoying, living fully, seeing new horizons, and feeling fully satisfied.

Salve plus might just be Nirvana! It most certainly is heaven on earth!

Life in the brain

The survival of the fittest idea from 180 years ago has undergone some scrutiny by the last 4 generations. Many just dismiss the idea out of hand. But, science seems to meet in coming and going, so it has to be given some credence. The latest brain book I have read uses it as its basis in order to arrive at some of the conclusions it draws.

One of the principles of this book is that humans have lived in a changing environment over time. The brain organizes itself according to what is needed in a human's environment. In that way, we become strong and dominant in our environment. It also means that our brains reorganize neural networks as we put ourselves in different environments. We can remain fit enough to see what is needed at every turn and remain strong and dominant. That means that change is natural, which goes against an adage in our society, "change comes hard." What is natural doesn't come hard. The adage, then, is not accurate according to science.

I know from experience over the last 8 years that change comes pretty naturally. Having a son, not having a son, jolts the emotions and changes the environment. The brain reorganized itself. From that point, the environment around me changed because it unraveled. But the brain kept up. It reorganized. Then my life encountered something bright, brilliant, vibrant, and joyous. It reorganized again. Change did not come hard. Change came naturally. And, I will vouch that because my needs changed, my brain reorganized. I am a joyous person, a better person as a result.

Dimensions illuminating us

Our lives have dimensions to them. We grow over time in different areas that add to our beings. We try to develop some interest of ours into something large and productive, so we pursue it as far as we can. We want to hone a skill we have, so we spend time making it better and better. We want to be the best in our jobs, so we learn all there is about it to enhance our performance of it. Our children force us to see life again from a really young perspective, through the eyes of someone we really love and cherish, so we don't forget the world we left behind. We love others, so we learn about the give and take of experiencing the world in an unselfish manner. We make it a point to place people in our lives who are head and shoulders above all others who surround us, who make us better. We have all kinds of dimensions to us.

All those dimensions work together to help us look forward to getting up every morning. They act as one to give us a reason for living. They strengthen us to do what we would otherwise not be inspired to do. They work as rays from the sun to illuminate our otherwise mundane lives. Heaven forbid that we should take the dimensions of our lives for granted. It would greatly weaken us.

He's got my full attention

There are just some things that shouldn't happen. A couple who has infant twins and loves them dearly shouldn't have an impersonal institution take the children from them in the name of protection. What will the institution do? Love the children? Hardly.

Somebody with credentials has to be behind such a move. Child Protective Services doesn't just act alone unless a very severe case presents itself. But, most of their cases are not severe requiring immediate attention. So, when the "somebody" decides to make a travesty of justice with the system in place, he needs to have to face a little travesty of his own.

The case of taking infants from their parents with bogus evidence to do so, should deserve misery in return. Some would say people should be better than to render an eye for an eye. The difference is that the "somebody" in this case has had time to reconsider his own position with evidence contrary to his own opinion. Still he is unchanging. But arrogance is a blinding disease. And it is a disease that allows me to do my work more effectively because the person can't see the lies he tells himself and spreads to others. But, I can see those lies. And, there are some things that just shouldn't happen.

Charades

I was listening to a teacher talk tonight. She was mentioning that she had had some kids "tested." That's code for getting an official designation to label the kids with so that everybody knows they are behind. The kids had come to her without any records of tests, and she thought they were low in skills for the grade level. The teacher went on to say that over 50% of the kids qualified for an intervention program. That speaks volumes. Not about the teacher necessarily, but about the educational system.

For one, what is being tested is not IQ (and there is not such thing as intelligence) because who really knows how to define and measure intelligence. It is not ability because the test was not an achievement test. It is not innate ability because the test was not an aptitude test. What is being tested is the average performance level a child is supposed to perform at given a certain grade level. And how is that average performance level determined? It's not the statistical part that is in question here, but the arbitrary performance level assigned to grade levels. Given that kids cognitively mature at different rates, it fails me that any grade level assignation could be made and called "average."

For two, what kind of system needs to have labels for some group of kids who are cognitively maturing at different rates according to the dictates of nature. Who is really in charge of some set of skills (call it curriculum) well enough to set parameters around something even nature has not settled on?

The educational system may be beyond repair in this country. I firmly believe the people in the year 2200 will refer to the way we do things presently as the failed educational experiment for the masses. It boils down to one thing. Education, which touted the scientific method as a way to discover knowledge, failed to heed its own advice. It pays very little attention to what science has to offer it, giving it lip service, offering bogus tests as a charade for deceiving the communites that have entrusted their kids to it. I implore the leaders and those who will lead in the future to pay attention to the science that really would inform the system on how to give kids something to help them with their futures.

Notional, flawed education

From time to time I get to have a theoretical discussion about critical learning windows regarding education. I usually find myself in a minority when such a discussion happens. I recently read a book about the brain that also addressed this idea although the authors called it sensitive learning windows (time-sensitive, that is). The authors of the book hesitated to completely agree with the idea, but they did give a couple of instances where the best explanation was the disappearance of the window. A critical learning window is the time period that exists during which learning takes place or some programmed events happens, such as puberty. Before the window, proper cognition is not in place to understand a concept fully, and after the window, the optimal conditions for learning a concept no longer exist and learning that concept becomes virtually impossible to enhance but more than a little.

The American school system ignores the idea of a critical learning window altogether. In second language acquisition, for example, nearly all offerings for language learning appear in high school a good 5-8 years after the critical window has closed. I guess it's no wonder that America remains mostly a monolingual country. Reading by teaching it phonetically also rejects the idea of a critical learning window. The child of 2-4 years of age learns that way, but not afterward much (only about 25% of children learn phonetically after that point). It's no wonder that many children grow into adulthood reading slowly and painfully. They were forced to "learn" reading through a method that yields limited results. And, horrendously, math from the time of kindergarten through 2nd grade gets roughly half the time dedicated to it that reading does. Mistakenly, the educational establishment thinks reading improves math skills. It's no wonder at all that children come away from the critical learning window during which math logic can best be instilled with only half or less of the time they need to do well. That certainly shows up in older children and young adults.

Surely, at some point, science will prevail and educating by notion will give way. When that happens, education will take a great leap forward. Learning will take place in more natural ways, according to natural rhythms, yielding naturally higher results. Knowledge will take a quantum leap. And, performance of individuals will correspondingly increase.

Beautiful script

One of my favorite TV shows is Flashpoint. Tonight was a particularly well written script. The episode contained a main plot and four subplots. All five fit together perfectly. Two of the plots dealt with children learning to trust in people they had been conditioned to distrust. One of the plots showed the vulnerability of parents in trying to work in the best interests of their child. One subplot depicted a woman who had lost a 3-year-old daughter getting to work through her grief by saving another small girl. The four parts were woven together in a seamless, delicate manner. By the end of the time slot, all the subplots had come to a noble resolution. It was simply beautiful - a good reminder of how life is orchestated sometimes in piecing together people's lives for happiness and satisfaction.

Some of life either doesn't work out or it works against you. But, sometimes it works together seamlessly, delicately. And for the portions that are still in the making, a person can work to make them turn out well or put them in the hope category. I look at the last three jobs I have had as an example of life working together in the same way as the Flashpoint episode I watched tonight. They worked together seamlessly, one building to the other, one being incorporated into parts of the other.

It's a good feeling when some of the important things in life, like a job, fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. My greatest hope and dream, however, has not yet been fit into that seamless, delicate puzzle of life. Should the script of life incorporate this episode into my experience, life would not have just been pieced together happily and satisfactorily, but ecstatically and totally enjoyably.

In the center

The downtown areas of major cities are distinctive. They have defining shapes in size of area, height and slope of skycrapers, and geographical features like harbors, lakes, plains, or mountains. They are considered the hub of the city because they have the meaningful activities going on in them, such as finiancial districts, business, industial, and government provenances, restaurant regions, and shopping stretches. They many times are the pulse of the suburbs around them, pumping life into those smaller towns. Show me the downtown areas of the top 10 US cities, and I would bet you money that I could recognize them because they have their particular characteristics.

We need the people in our lives that sit in the downtown of our hearts. The people that are distinctive. The ones that rise head and shoulders above anyone else because of their personalities and accomplishments. The special ones among us who thrive and provide others much of life's pleasure, cheer, and enjoyment. The ones who sit dead-center in our psyches. Our thoughts wander onto them so many of the minutes during a day.

I don't know that everyone has such people. Perhaps I am fortunate. I can easily draw the skyline in the center of my heart and thoughts.

Coming in handy

One of the forensic methods I learned in my formal training in sociolinguistics was how to chart the strength of social networks. I didn't think anything about it at the time, but it has really proved to be useful in the line of work that I have been in, including my current position. It helps in particular to know what to say to whom.

I think because of having this information, I have been able to say the right words at the right time to the right people. It may have just saved my bacon. I remember when I was in my 20s that I didn't always know what to say or who to say something to or what to keep silent until just the right person was available. While some of what to say at the right time to the right people is a matter of maturity over time, some of it is correctly judging the strength of a social network. Some people in the network will spread your words to many people, sometimes in a twisted form or in a twisted context, and some will not.

But, over the last 9 months, I had to make sure that I protected myself in my work with words that followed particular channels of networking with the right information reaching the right people at the right time in order for the result to turn out in my favor. It took some work, but last Saturday I had it verified to me that I had judged the social network just right. Whew!

There but not here

The other night I was watching dark clouds move into the area from the north. I could see a flash or two of lightning, hear thunder rumbling, and feel the rush of wind that often precedes a rain storm. I checked my phone for the radar on whether the storm would hit my house directly. I was not in the main path of the storm, but on the fringe. The brunt of the storm was headed a little west of my house, headed toward a place that I care a great deal about. That place did receive quite a bit of rain. My house? Only a trace. I had to laugh. Rain usually does elude my house. I could see all the signs of a storm, but it was virtually a dry run with all the visual, audio, and tactile effects of the real thing. If I compare the number of rain storms that happen to the place just to the west to the number I receive at my place, a pattern emerges. It nearly always gets the measurable amounts, and I nearly always get the trace amount. I have to laugh at the irony of that. I don't know why that happens.

Life is intermittent in what it brings. There is no doubt about that. Trying to understand why things happen the way they do drives me crazy. A pattern emerges there too. I don't understand why things happen. My way of dealing with things I don't understand is to shake my head, and laugh at my little understanding of the grand scheme of things. But I am really glad that things happen well or right just to the west of me.

The pool effect

Having a back yard pool does not add value to your house according to realtors. I guess that's right. At least, if you sell your house, realtors don't want you to depend on added value from having a pool. But, to me, a pool adds value, aesthetic value if nothing else. The water surface shimmers when the sun glints off of it. It ripples when the wind blows. It makes small little splashes all over when it rains. It adds blue to the color of the green yard surrounding it. It invites you to jump in and refresh your day!

A pool is a symbol of the quality certain people add to our lives. We need that person who makes our lives shimmer, ripple, make little splashes all over, add color, and invite us to refresh our day. A pool and the person it represents are sheer enjoyment. Life could be lived without that person, but what a hole that would leave!

Radiant brilliance

One thing about the sun - it's brilliant. I've heard it's more of an average to low-medium star in the big scheme of the universe. Other stars can outshine it. That doesn't matter a whole lot since I will never get to see any of those other stars in any way except as remotely distant stars in a dark night sky. The sun I see everyday is the most brilliant object I will ever get to see in life.

I have people around me, fortunately, who shine brightly and send their rays into my life. I bask in their radiance. They make me better. I even try to light up others' lives because I have been warmed. I am grateful for the sun that greets me every morning as I wake and for those who warm my heart and make me better from their brilliance.

And there's really only one sun that greets my thoughts as I walk in the park most mornings.

Making the shape beautiful

A couple of days ago, I had the trees at my house pruned. They had not been pruned in a really long time. They look so much better. The limbs are in the shape they should be, and they are at the right height. The limbs that had begun to touch the roof were removed, and the ones on wires were cut back. The usual pruning.

Our bodies do it naturally, too. Cells die and are replaced, even in the brain. Hair grows and falls out, but is replaced by other hair. Nails act the same way. Internally, white blood cells have to always watch to remove the toxins and unwanted substances from making us ill.

Pruning just helps. Occasionally, I have to look around to see what I can do to make my life more shapely, more effecient, less at risk, more productive. Sometimes, I can do this automatically and at other times, I have to make time to do it. One part of this process is to be mentally productive, shedding antiquated information and preparing it with new for those times when knowledge will win the day. Another part is to shape the heart, allowing it to drop unpleasant feelings of past events and to continue very special memories and hope of moments that bring true enjoyment in life.

3-2=+1

I read a book a great number of years ago called Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Backward. It was about the trials and tribulations of life. But, as I think of the title, I see that the book is really about forward progress. The net result is still a postiive one step (3-2). It's a great principle in life that Rome was not built in a day or that we can only take one step at a time. As convoluted as the picture of life is at times, it's refreshing to know that progress is made in the smallest units - a step at a time. Even if the path beneath our feet seems to have reversed, it's just the two steps backwards before we are propelled ahead 3 steps. Backwards is merely a snapshot. It really is a two-step prelude to the forward three steps that follow. And forward progress means we are on the road to somewhere, the road toward our goals.

Exchanges

The brain does something curious at 10 months of age. Its produces about double the amount of neurons than before and it lasts just about 4 months. After that the signal is given to prune the brain's neurons. It will be another 10-12 years before that happens again and it will be driven by hormones when it happens at that time. At 10 months the brain needs all those cells in order to test the full range of possible sounds for the language the child is born into. After the sounds have been tested in all that babbling and after the baby is sure that (s)he has distilled the sounds from the native tongue, then the neurons are reduced in by about 1/2 and the neural network for language acquisition has been started. After the language network has been started, then the brain can concentrate on something else to develop. It trades the neurons available to keep the full range of sounds to develop whatever else in the baby's environment needs developing, keen eyesight, for example, or keen hearing.

There is a saying in English, "Life is a series of trade-offs." I know the saying originated from something else in life other than language acquisition, but what the brain does with language is a good example of the principle. When we need something, it is produced but at the cost of something else. When a stroke victim has to learn language again, it is not usually through the left hemisphere, the original location of language, but with the right hemisphere since there is no damage there. Another example is with cab drivers. The area of the brain that works with directionality is larger with cab drivers than in other people. But, to gain that directionality, something has to be traded off. So, they are weaker in speed in some area of lesser utility than the area using directions.

Had I known the trade-off principle earlier in life, I know I would have done things differently. Now I understand, which makes me more leary of being willing to pursue something because I know there will be a trade-off somewhere. There are also those times when I know exactly what would be traded off if I were to make particular decisions. I would jump at those opportunities and fully enjoy the new pursuit. Some trades are desired and are the stuff dreams and hopes are made of.

Few have seen

These tracks cross a snowpatch on Rapadalen Mountain, Sweden, above the Arctic Circle. Very few people will ever see these tracks. That doesn't matter. It doesn't reduce their beauty in such a pristine environment. Symbolically speaking, we all have people in our lives that we retreat to (whether physically present or not) when we need their beautiful qualities, their smiles, their vibrance. When life produces frustration from its twists and curves, it's the retreat to the almost hidden snow tracks that offer comfort and renewed spirits for hanging on till better times come. I am thankful for the snow tracks high on the mountain, created by that special one, to retreat to this evening. Monday brings a better day.

Fast-paced investing

Trading currencies is a little like gambling in Las Vegas. You have to know when to buy and sell based on the spread of a pair two currencies. It's a very fast-paced style of trading. In stocks, you can look at charts of today's trading, the last week's trading, the last month's, the last year's, on up to the last decade's. In trading currency you click on 1 month, 1 week, 1 hour, down to 1 minute. You have to be really on your toes.

It's not the kind of investing for the faint-hearted. It takes some risk, but it also takes study and watching particular pairs, like the Euro and US dollar, or the Chinese Yuan and the US Dollar. It's only fun if you're in the plus column. It's such a sinking feeling to look up and see that you have lost 20% of your money.

It has taken me a while to settle on something to invest in, but now I think I have found a niche. It's my version of being around something lively, challenging, and productive even if it drives me into an ADHD world. If done right, it will provide profit along with its suspense and fast pace.

Top of the heap

I am sitting here watching the Patriots play tonight. I watch them every chance I get, which is not every week since I do not live in New England. I watch them for the same reason I watch the Lakers in basketball. I like the coach and the main player. Nobody is better than Bill Bellicek and Tom Brady. Both are at the very top of their game. They just win - not every game, but most of the time. They are competent.

I am attracted to people who are competent. They study hard, work hard, and most of the time you can place a winning bet on their outcomes. I have been around both competent and incompetent people at work and in other categories of life. What I really despise is the person who has swagger and a high opinion of himself/herself but who has little to offer except bluster. It doesn't take long for the bluster to become a thin veil for the incompetence that lies behind it.

Everyone has an area or two of incompetence, but generally people know what those areas are and try to compensate through friends who can help or through avoidance of situations that might show their flaws. Just in the last week I have come across several such incompetent people - an attorney who has given bad advice to jeopardize the custody of a couple's children, a detective that refuses to advance a case that clearly begs for something to be done, a person at work who cannot be organized on any kind of long or medium term basis and who proffers opinions not based on evidence or research, and a speaker who gave out inaccurate information because of lack of preparation.

So, when I see competence, especially in people I like to surround myself with or to relax in watching as a form of entertainment, I want to shout and jump and let them know that I do so appreciate the beauty of their level of performance. Few have it. It's why they are the top rock on the heap.

The face of attitude

I see faces when I think of attitudes of people in my life. I see my father's face when I think of leaving for college. I'll never forget his words to me as I left for my freshman year, representing an attitude of support for all my future endeavors. And when I think of times of honesty and rejuvenation, I see a face of a friend who over a 20 year period of time has been with me through thick and thin. And when I think of repulsion, I think of someone in whose veins I am sure Neanderthal blood runs. I have a face for repression, egocentrism, eternal optimism, and chronic depression. I can see a host of other faces, all exhibiting certain attitudes or behaviors. But, there is a single face that appears when it comes to vitality, exuberance, and competence... a single, smiling face.

Enchanted

I used to have a picture of the Andes Mountains similar to this one hanging in my office. I find the mountains enchanting. They intrigue me. I like their beauty because they are in stark contrast to most other scenic terrains.

People who stand in stark contrast to the run-of-the-mill crowd I am also enchanted by. I can't exactly hang them up in my office, but I can love being around them whenever possible, love hearing their voices when they call, and lock them into my heart forever.

Drops of refreshment

Today was the hottest day of the summer so far - heat index of 111, temperature of 105. I was proofing some documents for work looking out the window as I was doing so. The sun was still shining and it was hot even inside the house. From nowhere rain began hitting the ground, the house, my car, the porch - big, big drops of rain. The drops were falling from the merest wisp of a slightly gray-tinted cloud. Momentum began making the drops fall in ever increasing amounts until in five minutes a real torrent was pouring from the sky that was only slightly overcast on only one part of it. In another five minutes it quit. No lightning, no thunder, just 10 minutes worth of a downpour.

I had gone outside during the torrent. The smell was so refreshing. I kept breathing in deeply because I couldn't get enough of the refreshment. It was life-giving to the ground that needed it desperately. It was life-giving to me in the midst of a sweltering day.

Not long ago my life received rain amidst its desolation. It restored me. I am thankful and refreshed and still breathing in deeply.

Dance of the wise

Proverbs in society sometimes offer conflicting advice with their wisdom. For example, the following two proverbs seem to assert opposite claims.

Good things come to those who wait.

and

If you stand still, life will pass you by.

I suppose a person could justify that both adages bring with them great wisdom and a wise person would know when to act on the two bits of sophistry. They do appear contradictory, however. So, I just need to say that I don't know which is true, and it is often not apparent which of the pearls of wisdom to live by or act upon. I have one goal in life. I don't plan to wait, but if I end up waiting, it will be worth the wait. As in nearly everything, accomplishing something is not entirely within the scope of my own actions. I also don't plan to rashly push when waiting is wiser for realizing this goal.

So, I act and wait, wait and act. I do a delicate dance. I learn to read life as it happens and perform the dance of the wise.

Tide cycles

Recently I got to see the tide ebb and flow on a coastline. It was really beautiful. The waves would begin rolling in and crashing against the rocks. The waves would eventually grow stronger, striking with forceful crests. As time passed, the tide would begin to recede and the waves' strength would weaken. All of this with seagulls peering down into the water as they flew above it. Occasionally, they would dive down till they hit the water, then fly away with a fish in their beaks. Crabs would crawl in the foam left behind by the crashing water no matter what the level of water was. All the other water creatures carried on as if they did not notice a high tide/low tide cyle.

I was visiting with a friend about the dramatic events that happen in one's life and how that changes a lot of things. Life has cycles to it much like the tides in the ocean. And, many times people react to the cycles as the water creatures do - as if nothing different is happening. But, for me, in the last 7 years, there have been 2 dramatic events both of which changed me in many, many ways. One happened 7 years ago, one 18 months ago. The first laid the groundwork for the second. The first allowed me to know that one must make the best use of time because a person cannot tell what is around the corner. Thus, as far as it has to do with me, I need to live justly, decently, surrounding myself with the things and people that will create happiness. The second allowed me to know that life can be vibrant and full of verve. As convoluted and unpleasant as life can be sometimes, it matters who is around you and who you allow into your psyche.

Snipe - snipe

Someone today found out that I had a linguistic background and actually very sarcastically asked for an "expert" analysis of a sentence used in a power point. He didn't hear the analysis he wanted or thought he would get. He piped down after that.

Life brings those unexpected moments on a fairly regular basis. Last week and again today someone crossed the line and wanted to frame me in a rather unflattering light. I guess the person didn't expect a backlash from doing that. Wrong - I can play point/counterpoint if engaged.

Just to think that I really try to be a peace-loving person. Too edgy? Perhaps, but being on the battlefield makes a person a little keener in developing those self-preservation instincts. Survival of the fittest is the law of the wild. I will be back in the tame environment away from the battlefield in a few short days. I truly hope no more targeted shots come my way... but if they do, I'm not planning to take any prisoners.

Like apples of gold

There is a Hebrew proverb that says:

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold on a setting of silver.

I spent some time alone in Portland, Maine and on an island off the coast of Maine. It was rejuvenating. It soothed my soul. I also spent time in Newport Island, Rhode Island, but it was spent with others and I ended up having a headache from it. The second was like an apple of gold on a setting of plastic. The first was like the Hebrew proverb.

I guess it was the reflection time that made the first event a gold and silver experience. I have other experiences that qualify for gold and silver. One of them stands head and shoulders above the rest. It brought shining and spirited life to a desolate and wasted desert. I am so thankful for apples of gold on settings of silver. They make me better.

Loving it!

Every so often events in life go right. A person works hard, establishes a reputation, and gets rewarded. It seems simple, but life is complex and convoluted. Most don't get the recognition they deserve. So tonight I go to sleep smiling for a kindred spirit who was rewarded for working hard and establishing a great reputation. Just loving it!