Month: June 2018

“The only time you should ever look back is to see how far you’ve come.” – Author Unknown

But presumably a Stoic.

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And a good doodle is visible thinking made clear.

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“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” – Winston Churchill

But you’ll never know unless you pull up a chair.

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Imagination can be a great escape.

It can also be a prison.

“You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” – Ayn Rand

Maybe the secret is to dream with one eye open and make sure not to disappear for too long.

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People are always searching for something.

Most have no clue what it is that they are even looking for.

They’ll tell you that they’re seeking fulfillment. Although they can’t really describe what it is that they are lacking, they’ll tell you that they’ll know it when they find it.

It is not easy to find what you don’t know it is that you are looking for.

Nevertheless, people keep on searching.

Aimlessly.

Endlessly.

Hoping to find something.

Anything.

In their quest for some unknown something, people begin discovering all of the things that they don’t desire or need.

And, wouldn’t you know it, by the sheer process of elimination, some end up finding whatever it was they thought was missing in the first place.

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“It’s the possibility that keeps me going, not the guarantee.” – Nicholas Sparks

Well, of course not.

There is no thrill in certainty.

Having the answers takes all of the fun out of discovering them.

Choose adventure – run with the unknown.

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It is said that life can turn on a dime.

That just one day can forever alter your existence.

Sometimes that day takes you completely by surprise. In other instances, it is a day that you have been planning for your entire life.

June 24, 2003 was that day for me.

It was the day I met my husband.

Today, June 24, 2018, is that day for my sister as she sets out to follow her dreams to Colorado.

It seems to me that June 24th is a fine day to explore the other side of a dime.

Seize it like a #Stoic, Sis! xoxo

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Paul McCartney doing Carpool Karaoke is one of the best video clips I’ve seen in a long time.

In it, McCartney describes how the inspiration for the song, “Let it Be”, came to him in a dream where his deceased mom assured him that everything would be okay and that he should just let it be.

When I was pregnant with my son, my grandmother – who had passed a few years earlier – came to me in a dream and, too, assured me that everything would be okay.

Her name was Mary – like in the song.

When I awoke from the dream, I looked at the clock. The time displayed was my grandmother’s birthday.

My son, who was named after her, inherited her jovial disposition.

The power of dreams.

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“The catastrophe that awaits everyone from a single false move, wrong turn, fatal encounter. Every life has such a moment. What distinguishes us is whether — and how — we ever come back.”

Spoken by a man whose paralysis never kept him powerless.

Spoken by a Stoic.

And a constant reminder that an individual is defined not by his circumstances, but by his comebacks.

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“Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.” ― Pablo Picasso

It belongs in a museum – not in a courtroom.

Where it could be admired instead of distorted.

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Imagine the possibilities if resources are allocated to resolving problems instead of inventing them.

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“So if you got the guts mister,
yeah if you’ve got the balls
If you think it’s your time,
then step to the line,
and bring on your wrecking ball
Bring on your wrecking ball
Bring on your wrecking ball
Come on and take your best shot,
let me see what you’ve got
Bring on your wrecking ball
Bring on your wrecking ball
Bring on your wrecking ball” – Bruce Springsteen

“Wrecking ball? Oh, I thought it was a punching bag. My bad.” – Sincerely, The Stoic

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I was recently informed by Facebook that it is better to be late than to arrive ugly.

Accordingly, please note that from this moment forward I will not be on time to another in-person meeting or video call.

Please date any such calendar invitations to me 15 minutes early.

Thank you.

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“Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music.” – George Carlin

And some dancers are so bad that they are seen as insane even by those who can hear the music.

Therefore, you might as well just dance like you’re insane – regardless of who is watching or listening.

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I must have driven through countless intersections during my lifetime.

While I always made sure to observe the color of the traffic light, I never paid notice to its size.

That is until the other day when I was stopped under a traffic light that was undergoing construction.

I was surprised to realize that a traffic light is nearly equivalent to the size of a grown man.

I thought that was remarkable considering that I had always assumed that traffic lights were – at best – the length of my finger tip to my elbow.

Because I had always viewed them from afar, I had spent my entire life completely underestimating the immensity of traffic lights.

I began to wonder about other things that may be misproprtioned.

Like worries. Or fears.

Maybe these things only feel bigger because they are so close.

Perhaps minimizing them is as simple as creating distance.

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Yesterday, my daughter relayed a fable that I hadn’t heard before, but one that I felt needed some modification. So I took the liberty of “karma-lizing” it.

Anyway, it goes a little something like this:

Once upon a time, there was a handsome Prince who sought a Princess.

There were so many beautiful women to choose from that he was having a difficult time making a decision.

The Prince decided to hand each woman a seed, and the woman whose seed grew into the biggest flower would become his Princess.

To secure victory, instead of planting their seeds, all of the women – except for one – concluded that it would be wiser and easier to purchase monstrous flowers from the local florist.

While they were cheating sizing up flowers, the one lady who chose to plant her seed anxiously waited for a flower to bud.

She waited.

And waited.

And waited.

But, no flower ever bloomed.

Through her tears, she apologized to the Prince for the failure of her seed to sprout.

The rest of the women laughed as they each presented the Prince with one flower bigger than the next.

Once all of the flowers were presented, the Prince made his final decision.

He explained to the women that all of the seeds they were given were special seeds incapable of ever sprouting.

And so the only honest woman in the village became his Princess.

Fortunately for the Prince, in addition to having integrity, she was also very good in bed.

#KARMA

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Tuesday’s word of the day was Blamestorming – [bleym-stawr-ming] – noun – a discussion or meeting for the purpose of assigning blame.

Isn’t it amazing how one word can capture the essence of every single government meeting in the history of mankind?

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When a friend of mine had no interest in dating a guy, but didn’t want to hurt his feelings with a rejection, she would act like his proposal wasn’t serious.

Upon being asked out, she would playfully reply, “oh, you’re so funny!”

It was an absolutely brilliant response. In fact, I wish I had thought of it.

Even my husband is enamored with the “oh, you’re so funny” retort.

Throughout our marriage, whenever either one of us doesn’t feel like doing something, we resort to the “oh, you’re so funny”.

It goes a little something like this:

“Honey, are you going to put the dishes in the dishwasher?”

“Oh, Honey, you’re so funny!”

“Honey, you’re gonna to fold the laundry, right?”

“Oh, Honey, you’re so funny!”

I could go on and on.

Anyway, after eating breakfast off of a paper plate and now facing five baskets full of unfolded laundry, I realize just how funny we both truly are.

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Luck is a funny thing.

Those who rely on it, never have it.

Those who pay for it with blood, sweat and tears, are never without it.

Don’t wait for it.

Don’t wish for it.

Don’t bank on it.

Just seize it.

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Blessings are easy to spot when we remember to look for them.

“Things got bad and things got worse
Half like a blessing, half like a curse
Seems a blessing’s so hard to see sometimes
Got a little clearer ’bout dusk last night
Ain’t nobody got a blessing like mine
Ain’t nobody got a blessing like mine
It’s a red sky night and I’m doin’ all right
Red sky night and I’m doin’ just fine” – Brian Fallon

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