Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen. – Mark Twain
Article written by Alex Blackwell. Connect with me on Facebook.
Bad things come in threes.
I’m usually not superstitious, but after the events of the past year I’m beginning to believe this particular piece of folklore to be true.
One year ago Mary Beth and I were returning from a Saturday morning run when we received the telephone call her father had unexpectedly died. He suffered a fatal heart attack nobody saw coming. In March, my wife received the diagnosis of the brain malformation which would require surgery later in May. We didn’t see that one coming as well. April brought the news of my mother’s death. She had been ill for some time and although her death was not a surprise, it hurt nonetheless. I guess I didn’t see the pain her death caused coming either.
Bad things did came in threes for us.
This past year has been a year for pain and loss, and it’s been a year for growth and awareness, too. Often it’s the more significant occurrences in our life that provide a better context for what’s truly important compared to what we sometimes think is important.
I’m learning the new normal for me is simplicity and gratitude. Less can be more when we turn down the noise to hear what our hearts are telling us do. My heart is telling me to love everybody close to me as if it were their last day; to move confidently in the direction of my dreams before it gets too much later and to keep learning to be happier with the person I’m becoming.
The following lessons learned over the past year, as well as the past 46, give me comfort and hope that I’m on my way to finding the peace and happiness I deserve: Read more
If you give, you will be blessed. – Joel Osteen
Article written by Alex Blackwell. Connect with me on Facebook.
Part of running a blog means sorting through a lot of emails and other messages. While most are business-related or an encouraging word from a reader or friend, several each day are just plain spam. Other emails can make me stop in my tracks and pay attention to the message. I received one of those kinds of emails today.
Maria Elena Escasiñas, from Cebu City, Philippines, is being called to serve and shared the following with me: Read more
As we get past our material wants and instant gratification we connect to a deeper part of ourselves, as well as to others. – Judith Wright
Article written by Alex Blackwell. Connect with me on Facebook.
I have two laptop computers, a smart phone, four email accounts, a Twitter and a Facebook profile, an iPod Shuffle, four television sets and a blog. The tendency to use such devices or visit these websites frequently and then become absorbed with the information we are gleaning from them is a condition called hyperconnectedness. In the spirit of full disclosure, I suffer with this condition, too.
There are many times when I tune in a Kansas City Royals baseball game (with the volume muted) as I’m listening to my iPod while online keeping up with email traffic, social media statuses and readers’ comments. To meet my responsibilities, I do need to be plugged-in, but sometimes I can be overly connected and actually miss out on what’s going on around me.
The technologies available to us do make certain things simpler. Finding information is just fractions of seconds away (Google proudly presents the length of time it takes to return listings for a particular search term); finding and staying connected with old friends is made easier with social media websites; and reading and replying to email can be done while waiting to pick-up our children from their after-school activities.
Our hyperconnectedness to these technologies can also create a barrier around us and actually shut out the people trying to reach us. Life will continue to move on –we just won’t be in it. I know this to be true all too well. Read more
Slow down you’re doing fine. You can’t be everything you want to be before your time. – Billy Joel
Article written by BridgeMaker contributor Guy Finley.
Before you can step out of the rush and into your own life, you must first see that while anxious, hurried feelings often lend a temporary sense of self-importance, these same racing emotions actually rob you of the power you need to be self-commanding. A brief investigation will confirm this finding.
Self-command begins with being able to choose your own direction in life. And whether you’re caught in the raging current of a white-water river, or being swept along by a flood of invisible thoughts and feelings, one fact remains: Like it or not, you’re going where that current goes. You have no real choices as long as you’re under its influence. Read more
It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Article written by Alex Blackwell. Connect with me on Facebook.
General Motors declared bankruptcy last week. This iconic company which once represented what was good and powerful about American capitalism is now anemic and fighting for its financial life.
Under bankruptcy protection, GM will be allowed to write-off over $172 billion dollars in debt. To become leaner, the company will close 11 plants and hundreds of dealerships. This bail-out is intended to give General Motors a fresh start, but who will give the laid-off workers a fresh start?
In the state of California, which represents 10% of the U.S. economy, the governor is proposing more cuts to correct a trillion dollar budget deficient. These cuts aren’t just a way to eliminate excess spending from the state’s budget, but will also impact peoples’ lives in substantial ways:
- $117 million – Eliminate the Adult Day Health Care program.
- $550 million – Reduce funds to counties for certain health and social services.
- $230 million – Restrict the In Home Support Services program to the most severely disabled who can’t breathe on their own and are partially paralyzed.
- $680 million – Additional cuts for K-12 schools; including eliminating summer school programs.
- $470 million – Reduce state worker pay by five percent. (source www.sfgate.com)
So goes California – so goes the rest of the United States. So goes General Motors – so goes many other businesses, large and small, which provide food for our tables, allow us to pay our mortgages and help us to save when the unexpected occurs. Read more
