Celebrating the day

Back in the day when gods were bigger than life and beyond the grasp of the average person, Aphrodite, the deity who liked to control every aspect of the affections of human beings, according to Greeks, grew so vain that she instructed her son to go to earth and destroy one of the famed, beautiful women among human beings. Aphrodite would not allow anyone to be in competition with herself. So, her son, Eros, went to Earth to destroy Psyche, the woman whose beauty was reported to rival Aphrodite's.

But, as Eros spied Psyche, he fell head over heels in love with her. So, instead of doing away with her, he created a beautiful castle for them to live in as long as she never looked on him because he was a deity. She agreed to feeling his presence without looking at him. But, Psyche's sisters convinced her to look one day. When that happened, Eros left, and with the absence of his presence, the beautiful castle with all of its gardens instantly changed to weeds and a pile of rubble. Psyche loved Eros so much that she went looking for him. Of course, it came to the attention of Aphrodite that someone beautiful was again walking the Earth.

She would brook no rival, so she met Psyche and told Psyche she had to bring Aphrodite the piece of the soul or essence (the meaning of the Greek word psyche) of one of the goddesses of the underworld. Psyche succeeded through a little trickery to get a part of that soul, but the effect of the goddess' soul in the box where Psyche carried it caused her to fall into an eternal sleep. Eros could not believe what his mother required of Psyche, so he went looking for his wife and found her eternally asleep.He went to plead the case for her life with Zeus, king of the Gods. Zeus relented, gave Eros his wife back to him, and Eros and Psyche lived happily ever after in a beautiful castle with extravagant flower gardens.

We are told the story by a Roman, Ovid, so the names were changed to those of the Roman pantheon, Venus, Jupiter, and Cupid.

The allegory is a great one to show that the human essence (Psyche) longs for the sweet fruits of attraction, falling for someone completely. Of course, that explanation came from a world far away and long ago.

Today, we understand the world so much more clearly. We frame the affection that consumes us so totally for someone as something innocent, pure, and sweet, saying it is sweeter than summertime. It's the taste of honey. Our busy work days ask us to be everything to others, causing us to miss out on the sweet nectar of our lives, our American Honey. That's the modern version, and I'm sticking to it on this day celebrating Cupid's expression of his eternal affection for the most beautiful woman of his life.

Winnowing

The sports model of success is what I think all successful people operate by. In junior high everybody plays a sport, and usually several sports. I'll focus on football since it is America's biggest sport. Junior high students, small and large, fat and thin, white, brown and black all play. Then they all go to high school. Amazingly, only a portion play at the high school level, the good ones. Probably about half as many or fewer play because more than one junior high feeds a high school, and so competition is a notch above junior high. Then those players graduate. Some go on to college, the best. Probably around 20% of the high school players play for a college. After college, only a few become professional football players, maybe 5%. Those are the cream, the best of the best.



When a player makes the pros, he can see that there are levels even among them. Some of them wear superbowl rings or have Pro Bowl beside their names, the very best of them. But even among those elite, there is a single spot available for a league MVP, just one, the very best of the very best.



Successful people learn this sports principle as they experience life. At first everyone is a friend. Then, they see that not everyone can benefit their positions at school or on the job. So, they make a few cuts on the ones they allow themselves to be close to. It seems that with every passing year they notice that they need to surround themselves with better friends or significant others. They want a symbiotic relationship with other successful people. They want positive energy, not negative. They want cheerfulness, not sullenness. They want lifted spirits, not a denigrating aura. At some point, successful people surround themselves with only those on whom they can rely fully. They have friends or significant others that they trust, that they need, that they depend on. And usually people have an MVP.

I can't imagine going through life without looking around and seeing faces of those I trust, need, and depend on. It's been a process. But I have followed the model and found those who are the best of the best. They have great successes of their own that they offer our friendship or significant relationship.



And everyone has that reserved spot... for the best of the best of the best... of the best.

No, not fate

The Adjustment Bureau has some interesting philosophy behind it. I have only seen the commercials to this movie, but it looks like it will be a treatment of an age-old theme in story-telling.

The consummate story telling this theme is from the Greek theater. Sophocles wrote a play called Oedipus the King. The theme is whether or not humans have free will to choose their course of actions through life or whether some bigger picture comes into play as in the idea of destiny or fate. Oedipus made some choices, but by the end of the play, the fate of the gods ruled his actions without his knowledge, and his actions ruined his life completely.



Earlier than Sophocles, the Hebrews had a play called Job where the world around him was controlled by a deity thus controlling Job's reactions. His immediate family was taken from him, but he ended up conceding that he didn't control anything, so he gained a new second family. The Hebrews apparently liked this theme because an even earlier story was told of a character of really humble means who rose against all odds, and not due to any action of his own, to become second in charge of a world-class empire. By being in that position, he saved a nation, and the deity controlled all the action, not humans at all.

Stories like these two exist even earlier in Sumer and in the Indus Valley Harrapan civilization. Early people, no doubt felt that they didn't control the environment around them, so their own actions fed a larger picture that wasn't controlled by them, but in conjunction with those supernaturals who did control the environment.



Two of my favorite movies of all times are You've Got Mail and, a little later, Serendipity. One interpretation of these movies would have a higher force drawing people together no matter what human actions got in the way of the drawing power. Events followed a force line that people ignored to some extent or for a period of time, but eventually the force defied people's action and the two that should be drawn together were drawn together.



I think people in general like to think that something or someone outside of themselves directs their big picture actions, but there is another explanation to events that happen much like the ones in You've Got Mail and Serendipity. People ultimately know themselves and what would make them happy. It sometimes makes them take calculated risks as in You've Got Mail. And sometimes it makes them understand the math behind intersecting lines and trajectories between two points as in Serendipity.



But the reason I like those two movies so much is that it shows it is a heart's desire backed by a steady, unfailing hope that brings one person to another .

A place to linger

I love this Robert Frost poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.



Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.



Yesterday and today will likely be the coldest days of our entire year. So, I am reminded of this poem of one the coldest days of Frost's experience in New Hampshire many years ago. And even though it is cold, my mind has made a great number of stops today in its open field of thoughts. The horse-drawn carriage stopped at thoughts of cold, bleak territory in my mind. I didn't linger there, though. I next stopped at a few places that brought to mind good memories of places and people far away and long ago. And then it traveled on to to pause at that one great spot as inviting and beautiful as the snowy woods in the poem. The horse must have thought I made a mistake because I lingered there many, many times longer than any other spot on the road.

But there was no mistake in stopping at the most lovely place in my entire mind. I let the woods of my mind fill up with the snows of the warm, pleasing scenes crossing it. It was a quiet, sacred place, full of cheerful and enjoyable snowflakes stacking one on top of another. This particular place of inner sanctum is sacred because it contains the desire of my heart, the source of warmth in the coldest of times, the spark of flame for every joy, and the need to linger in its presence when triggered by scenes of soft, white, glistening beauty.



But I have promises to keep, so I have roused my horse to continue my journey. I have miles to go before I sleep.

Wishing for warm feet

Tonight is one of the coldest nights in 25 years. Tomorrow night will be the same. A little snow blankets the ground and coats and gloves are the order of the day.

But my heart is warm. I will sleep well tonight. It helps that the air in the house is 55 degrees warmer than outside, but mainly I will sleep well tonight because my heart is warm. The one who warms it doesn't usually wear anything but shoes even in the coldest of weather. So, tonight I wish for warm feet tomorrow as the day begins for the one who warms my heart.

Not so early, not too late

I was watching Taylor Swift's biography the other day. She was one determined young person in getting her music to the right person in the right place. It definitely paid off for her. Her music has a definite style and much of it has a particular theme to it. But, that's how she has identified herself.

Today I was watching the Lakers play basketball against the Celtics. They didn't play so well in the 3rd quarter because they decided not to guard Paul Pierce very well and he put the game out of range for the Lakers to recover. In interviewing Phil Jackson at the end of the 3rd quarter, Phil said that they failed to identify Pierce [in changing the game complexion], so the game took a definite swing against them.

Identification is important. Taylor Swift identified herself early in life, and it benefited her. The Lakers took too long to identify someone detrimental to their cause, and it cost them the game. Earlier in my life I spent a useless amount of time in identifying those who were competent, who I could learn form, or who I could be happy with. But of late, that has not been a problem. I know exactly who is competent, who I can learn from, and who causes my happiness. (This last part could not have happened earlier. It happened at just the right time). Now my time is not uselessly spent, and my satisfaction meter is much higher. I am clear about identifying sources of satisfaction.

Soul Pictures

Canada has two provinces that are north of the Arctic Circle. The Yukon is one of them, and it has quite a bit of land that is pure, frozen tundra. Few people live there. Pictures of the place are usually beautiful if you like pictures of cold, cold altitudes and alpine lakes.

If I ever find myself having frozen thoughts about my life, I know where to go in my mind to release the warmth of a smile, the sun rays of laughter, and the radiant, soothing comfort of a cheerful voice. So, while pictures of the Arctic are nice to view, I draw on actual mind pictures to surround my soul with... those of smiles, laughter, and cheer.

The best position

Inspiration doesn't hover over a person. It comes in spurts, or moments, or in flashes. Usually something external creates the flash, moment, or spurt. It improves a person for a little while.

But, there's an exception. Inspiration could derive from the inside of a person because someone believes in her or him. Then, inspiration is not something short and profound. It is a continuous quality and allows one to rise above the daily quagmire to a level above the crowd.

Continuous inspiration helps one to feel or be a cut above the crowd, and how fortunate one is to find herself or himself in such a position.

A string of adjectives and still true

In English adjectives describe nouns. That means that when you think of a person, place, object, or idea, you can alter the noun by making it more specific. Three types of specifying are allowable. You can tell how many of the noun you have, what kind of noun you have, or which noun you have. If you take an object, rainbows for example, you can tell that there is one or four rainbows; you can say that it is a full rainbow or a partial rainbow; or you can say if it is a brilliant rainbow or a faint rainbow. It's easy to know what is being said about a noun. Simple enough!



I remember a time when I was driving to a professional development session and meeting other presenters there. One of them mentioned seeing the rainbow that I had seen as well. So, we talked about it for a moment. The very next day I saw the rainbow in the sky again about the same time of day. I mentioned that to the person I had been discussing the previous day's rainbow with.



I haven't seen a rainbow in quite some time, maybe not even since that time two years ago. But I came across a cache of rainbow pictures today, and I was reminded of how adjectives work.

I was looking at beautiful, many-splendored, vibrant, cheerful, perfectly-arched rainbows.

And they still hold the same symbolism as the day we were talking about them with each other. Loved those two rainbows. Love what they represented!



And I received a double portion. Love that best of all, and it is still true!

Number 8

Today is the 8th birthday of a young man who has all the characteristics a parent would want. He has a heart for the underdog, so he helps them. He has the competitive spirit, so he participates in all kinds of sports from baseball to hockey. He has the mind and wit of a true academician. At 8 he knows more than the teacher at times. And for personality, he gets an A+. He never shies away from speaking with an adult. So today, a birthday tribute goes out to this outstanding young man.

And I just finished reading a book on the brain. In one of the chapters, some experimenting was done to see what part of the brain was involved in whether a young person reacted to scenarios being shown him or whether the young person anticipated what the scenario might bring with it - something threatening or something routine. The results were reported, but one of the conclusions was that the young person's brain responded reactionary-like or anticipatory-like based on the parenting style in his environment. So, I also want to compliment this young man's amazing mother whose parenting style (and genes) enhances this outstanding young man's many admirable traits.

No day is black

The soul drives the person. It's the part of the brain that tells me the day is worth meeting every morning, that the day will be envigorating. Or, it tells me that the day is black, that it has nothing to offer. Or, it dictates that the day is somewhere in between, that it is some shade of gray.



With someone by our sides, every day is envigorating.



The soul does not believe the day is black or some shade of gray. It believes that the one by our sides sends light into the day no matter what the shade of gray or darkness is



and that the day cannot offer up an invincible, unconquerable conundrum...

with that someone by my side.

Next stretch of the road

I have had a few premonitions in my life, but very few. They foreshadow what happens a little ahead of the actual happening. My partner and I have been working on a project for a little over a year. Today, the project was ready to be launched. It's not quite finished, but it is finished enough to begin. The rest can be added as we go. We have launched two other projects and they are successful, but not lucrative (yet). This project has much greater promise to be lucrative. Usually I have a rather cautious approach to the success of something because I have been a part of several failed attempts in business. And even though I don't have a true premonition about this project, the beginnings of this one have all the shadows of success ahead of their official start.

If this venture becomes a success, it will go a ways down the road in helping to complete a life's desire of mine to be financially independent. The sweetest success of all, my heart's greatest desire, would still lie a little way farther down the road, but a successful venture would make my step a little lighter while I'm walking that next stretch of the road.

Enamored with Madagascar

Madagascar, the island off the eastern side of the tip of Africa, is the seat of human development and the place where a number of earth's oldest plants and animal relatives are. It has an enchanting atmosphere because it contains the original of what is on the Earth today. To many it is the source of life.

As I walk through the days of my life, I realize that there is a source for my everyday actions and aspirations, spawning what I will become in the days to come. How enchanting is my Madagascar!

Bon et beau

Over the years words compund their meanings. The word beautiful is an example of this. It started out 2500 years ago in Latin as the word bonus, which means "good" at its root.

Roman troops carried Latin to England and the language took root there alongside Anglo-Saxon. So the Anglo-Saxons began adopting some of the Latin into their language. Bonus was one of those words, and it took two routes to get to the present. The Angol-Saxon people began pronouncing the o in bonus as oo (but spelled ou) in the Middle Ages. So, the form boun is found as in the word bounty, which has come to mean reward or something good in great quantities. During the early years of the Middle Ages, in French, the o in bonus was pronounced and spelled as eau. So, the root was beaun. But, the n was heard as an l, so there was some confusion with the root bel, which means very pretty. From there it wasn't much longer before the word beauty was born. l and n were both dropped from pronunciation, leaving beau. After the French conquered the English in 1066 ACE, a good number of words took on their French spellings even though many of the Anglo-Saxon words remained unchanged. English adopted beau (but they still kept bou in their native tongue) added the suffix -ty as a suffix carrying the grammatical meaning to indicate the word as a noun. Finally, a second suffix, -ful was added to make the word an adjective.

There were a lot of derivational gymnastics taking place for beautiful to mean what it does today. As for me, I like the fact that bounty and beautiful share the same root. If you bundle the two words together, you get the idea of someone strikingly attractive containing great quantities of goodness.

I know this person. And what a bonus!

Translation

Translation is very nice because it takes words that a person doesn't understand, that is not in the person's grasp, and makes it come to life for the person.

One of the mightiest motivators on Earth is the idea that the desires of the heart will transpire. So I get up every morning thinking that I am a step closer to my heart's desire being translated to moments in time that come to life.

Je le veux tellement! Lo quiero tan mucho!

A part of the brain for ethics?

I read a chapter in a book today of why the brain developed an ethical part to it. It was an interesting chapter. It addressed the fact that people really do want to live together peaceably, but that it has to be on its guard since there are those few people who would endanger the species because they are deceivers and would thin out the ranks. So the brain has a way to construct behavior that is considered fair. Violators of this notion of fair become easy to spot, and therefore, to control or weed out.

This does seem to support the idea that people in America have of everyone having certain inalienable rights and equality. And while equality is a good philosophical ideal, I know about pecking orders. All I have to do is visit any school of any level and I see those playing fair and those violators who have to be controlled or weeded out.

Fortuantely, another principle is in play at the same time that young people are figuring out the nature of life (and that part of the brain that deals with ethics). Cream rises to the top. Very fortunately this prinicple is more powerful and produces more people for the ranks than those who get confused about ethics and let unethical influences override the ethical developmental process.

That keeps hope alive that the next generation will not only survive but succeed, keeping the future bright for those young children who will inherit tomorrow's society.

Better, more efficient, happier

Rocket propulsion has advanced over the years. When rockets first began being launched, jet fuel propelled 2 stages out of earth's atmosphere. Then there were 3 stages, using more fuel. But, fuel is heavy. So, when the shuttle needed a boost to space, attaching the shuttle to a rocket designed just for the fuel to lift it, detach from it, and fall to Earth, became the next step in the evolution of propulsion.

Then, came the era of the space probes being sent to planets, comets, and deep space. They were lighter, so they didn't use as much fuel, and they were going so far that fuel would burn out far before they reached their destinations. So other propulsion methods were used like gravity sling. Now it has been discovered how to generate power in the probe itself to create an ionized power source having very little weight and recreating its own ionized power indefinitely.

Advancement of propulsion of rockets is exactly how indiviual wisdom in life is formulated. Wisdom, like rockets, eventually generates its own knowledge base that works to make us able to live better, more efficient, happier lives. So, when it comes to knowing what is good for our psyches and who we allow to help shape our existence, our latter judgment is far superior to our former.

Beautiful when it happens

Every so often in life's journey people enter it that have profound effects and light up the night sky. Sometimes it is parents who encourage and support. I had two of those. Sometimes it's a professor who taught distinctly and truthfully. I had one of those. Sometimes a friend comes along who sticks through thick and thin. I have one of those. And, sometimes it's someone very amazing who brings brilliance to the path.



6 1/2 billion people on earth. Amazingly a handful stand out enough to think of daily or influence me to become better than I would normally be.

Our highest thoughts

Alla. Arriba.

There's a new series on CBS called Off the Map. American doctors are dedicating their time and healing talents to a little known place in South America. They help the people in a very poor rural area with all their health problems. One way the rural population gets from one place to another is with a cable strung from one mountainside to another or to the valley below with a little chair hanging from it. But, the people are proud of their mode transportation. It has served them well in the absence of roads and cars. In the initial episode of the series, one of the natives of the land was asked how he planned to go to some people who needed medical help. He pointed to the cable above and shouted the Spanish words meaning, "There. Above."

When thinking of times that might represent the rural places in events that come our way, and we need that healing thought to go on, all we have to do is look to those zenith moments and that person who brought the happiest episodes of our lives. Our minds immediately bring up the healing pictures of those stretches of time and elevate them, shouting, "Alla. Arriba..." so that we look up and receive glimpses of our most elevated hours.

Language of a liar

I have been following the disappearance of a teenager from Colorado City on the news for the last week. Finally, tonight CBS showed two interviews of the parents. So, I put my forensic ears on while the interviews were going on to listen for lies.

The biological father used language that repeated itself, the tell-tale sign that truth is being told. His actions matched the words he was saying. He was going to malls in Odessa, Midland, and Big Spring to pass out fliers to find his precious daughter.

The mother used language that did not repeat, the sure-fire sign that lies are being told. Her actions matched. She was worried about her own credibility with the media and community. She's living with a boyfriend that has at least once threatened to kill both mother and daughter. She and her boyfriend hosted a New Year's party even though the daughter had been gone for a long time at that point.

Even without the matching events to go with the language, the words of the mother ring as loudly as a bell begging for someone to completely exploit every aspect of her story about the events causing her daughter to be missing. She knows a lot of information that she is withholding. The language of arousal and fear are borne in her utterances - arousal that people are snooping around her for the truth and fear that if she is not careful, she will be found out.

As the story unfolds, we'll see where it leads. But, I am predicting at this point that the road to truth goes through the mother, not the father. I would bet that she knows who, when, where, and how. I hope someone soon exploits the knowledge that she has so that justice can be served.