Experiences

We all have experiences that we remember at some time in our lives that may have had a significant impact in our lives that caused us to make a change or to at least, step back for a moment and re-evaluate what's going on in our lives. 


The first one I will share really has no dynamic impact in the outcome of my life as it is today, but it is something I now know, I will never forget. I believe it was in the early 90's when we were on a church retreat in Columbus, OH. I was the Youth Director at the time and it was one of our annual meetings, setting dates and planning for growth.  It was in the fall and very windy. This day in particular caught my attention because there was a flagpole that was almost doubled over. It had a huge flag attached and it was almost touching the ground. I stood there in amazement how the pole was able to withstand the strength of the wind pulling that flag downward. I just knew that pole was going to snap...but it held, and stood upright when the winds calmed. Until that moment, I never saw anything like that before...as flagpoles go. That thought triggers many other memories from that time....


The second experience I want to share, has been life changing for me. This one is going back aways...early 70's. I was dating this really hot chick and we always had a good time together. That was back in my wildin' days....every day was a party. Well, we were out late one night. My cousin was with me and my girl brought a friend along, sort of a double date kind of a thing. We had a few drinks and decided to head out to another location. My girl was driving, we were in an industrial area with rail road crossings. I wasn't really paying attention about her driving because there was no traffic, and it was dark, but I did notice she was picking up speed. I was looking out the passenger window and sort of in a daze anyway. You see, I thought I was staring at the side of a building, but what it had turned out to be was a train with box cars stacked. It was at that moment I realized we were almost at the front of the train....all I could do was yell for her to stop!!! 


At that moment, I realized I had a second chance at life and I was going to take it. I decided to call it quits with ole girl. Good times....but life was more important to me. Did I find God right away after that?...no...but, I did begin a new chapter in my life. I began to settle down and to look at things a lot different than I had before. Even now, I think of the kids--now grown--and the grandkids with another coming soon...


Looking back on that now, without a doubt, I was given a second chance at life. We came within 5 feet of making contact with that train. My cousin and I talked about that during those days, we laughed about it, and we both were very thankful to be able to continue on in life. I have so much to be thankful for. I have had other experiences that have created new chapters for me, but you know how it can be...sometimes it's a "simple" and "traumatic" experience that sometimes go hand in hand. When I think of the flagpole experience it reminds me of those days as the Youth Director...I remember the plays we had, the car washes, and of course there was Bible study and prayer meetings. Good times....all because I was given an earlier experience in life to remember.  

Night And Day

As different as night and day. That's how the saying goes. But I'd like to reference that in a different way, if I may. First, it is obvious that night and day do differ in so many ways. The daylight hours brings the activities that comes with getting things done. It's a bright spot for many reasons. If the sun shines, we receive the warmth and the vitamin D. People generally speaking are in good moods, walking, jogging, basketball, tennis, you name it. We also have the business sector that rolls right along, business as usual for the most part. The day moves along and heads into the evening hours. After the dust settles from the commute home, the hustle and bustle is absent from this time of day due to the lack of --as much business-- being done. Some have an after work jog, some grill, some take walks, and some just chill. But things do continue to operate and as we head even deeper into the nighttime hours, some activities are needed to run on a continual basis. Electric, water, gas, cable...can't forget the cable guy...these require personnel. So, their "day" begins, even though it is night. While we settle in from our days' works, they settle in for their night's work....whatever it is they do to keep things rolling while we sleep, is their nights works. Now, it's time for them to make their journey home....again, after the dust settles, they too will enjoy the sunshine, except it is a morning sun, not too hot. Some will also jog, walk, and yes, some will grill. After doing all of their after work activities, they too must sleep, and in some cases that sleep comes during the daylight hours. 
If we have worked these shifts over long years, our body clocks tells us what our nights and days are. 
So it's the same, but different...or is it as different as Night and Day. 

Move On

Time is ticking away as we have goals that have yet to be met. Some of us are waiting for that right moment...we all know what that is...the feeling we get when the time is right. I know... I've been there, several times. Some of us are able to reach some of there goals at a faster rate than others. I am glad I am going for one of mine at this moment in my life. I have enough confidence in myself to know that my goals are reachable...so I go after them. Most of my goals are Simple Things. I thought I had reached one of my goals some years ago, but it only lasted three years...does that count? I have inside of me a desire to succeed and at the same time learn while on my way. I really try not to measure success, but I  say if you have some unfinished business, and you are able to make a solid attempt at taking that goal to a higher level, then so be it. But along the way, I cannot and must not forget, to listen....and then Move On.

Change

Change has been, is, and always will be a part of our existence. The world's wonders of today have come from what was, and the time before that, and the time before that, and I believe you get the picture. Have we ever really sat back and comprehended what we have accomplished?...when you think about it, we have soured in such a short time over the past 30 years alone...we really don't have to go back that far. The ever changing IT has brought us into an age that we dreamed about, and it's really just getting started.....yeah, I think they're just getting warmed up. 
Changes come in our lives also. Me?...I'm at a point I want to allow myself to explore more of my life. I have had life changing experiences that I will always hold near to me. They have been an integral part of my life and what I am today. I have been blessed with this creative mind and I don't want to waste it. I want to know what other things that I can do.  I can't limit myself to just this....that is the point in my life I have been in for the past, several years....I'm better than that. I know that my past experiences have taught me lessons...very hard ones...but I must move on. A new chapter awaits. I have been inspired in ways I never thought would come my way. Many times I found myself looking too much at the present, and not allowing myself to accept change. Change can be tough. It can be one of the hardest lessons we have on our plates, but it will come, and sometimes it will go....I may have missed opportunities, one after the other, simply because I chose not to accept change. It's sort of like when I quit smoking. Back then, I didn't have the option of patches and what not....it was cold turkey....but I was really tired of smoking and I wanted that out of my life. It was difficult but I was willing and ready to make that change. I feel like that is where I am right now. I have energy and my mind is active.....when that happens...look out!! 
I want to apply my creativity, and to see where that takes me. Life gives us so many chances at improvement. I want that. 

Thoughts In Our Minds

Our minds are remarkable. Each mind different from the next, yet similar in many  ways. We think alike, yet we differ in opinion. Even many of our intricate thoughts and views are shared by many, without even acknowledging one to the other. Our minds are always busy thinking ahead and sometimes, behind. We are able to accomplish many things in our minds, long before they are a finished product we see with our eyes, touch with our hands. We multi task so effortlessly in our minds, it has become second nature. A thought can sometimes trigger emotions within us. We create new things, or simply improve the old from a thought. We see things with our minds and that gives us hope. A thought, or many thoughts, create an answer to a question, or perhaps an answer to a problem. When our ears hear music to our liking, it engulfs us into a state of euphoria...causing us to sway side to side, we dance, our heads bob back and forth in appreciation. 
We should be thankful for all that we are able to accomplish, simply because we have, Thoughts In Our Minds.  

True Friends

You know, it's amazing how we meet people throughout our lives. Some, are in our lives for years on end and some for only a short time. I would like to address those who become True Friends. They have become an integral part of our lives, almost like family to us. We have spent countless hours together, laughing, talking, and crying together. We know a lot about each other. We have relied on the other for various reasons. We are ecstatic when a friend comes through for us. What would we do without them? 
Sometimes our changing lives will cause us to have to separate from our friends. We are sadden because we won't be able to see one another on regular terms. Sometimes an argument will "break" friends up. That creates hostility between the involved parties.  Sometimes it's a change in lifestyle that will cause friends to drift. 
True Friends will never let distance come between them. They will finds ways to stay in touch. We may not always hear their voices, see their faces, or touch them, but we know they are still, our True Friends.
True Friends will never let hostilities come between them. Sure there may be some time that goes by when we don't talk to them, but when we are able to chill and reconnect....now that's, True Friends.
True Friends won't let change in lifestyles come between them. Remember? We've spent those countless hours together...talking, laughing, crying, helping each other, witnessing marriages, births and deaths...together. No...we won't let change come between us...because we are, True Friends.
So I dedicate this post to all True Friends. You have been there since the beginning, and we stay...True Friends. 

It's About Time

Every now and them, it seems that time gets in the way of our day to day living. How you say? Well, I'm glad you asked that question. How often are we late for an appointment, or a meeting, a date. Well, we all know that happens more than we want. Let's look into what may be the cause of it. The clocks tick away the seconds, minutes, and hours. The calendars give us the days, weeks, months and years. It is no surprise we are frantic about the time because we see it all the time, on our walls, our wrists, our cell phones, our cars, on buildings. I think the only time we don't see the time at some point or other is when we sleep and what is the first thing we look for when we awake...yeah. We have surrounded ourselves with different time pieces to the point that we feel lost without them. We have to know what time it is. So how does time get in the way? Well, it's always moving...it never stops for us...as much as we would like for time to gives us more of itself, it keeps moving on. If only I had more time to finish this project. If only I had more time to sleep. If only I had more time....
Our journey through this life is limited, but time continues to tick away. So because "time is getting away" from us...I'm quoting everyone here...it's time's fault we don't have enough of it. Come on now, we know better than that. How often have we heard of the term "time management"? 
It's about time we sat ourselves down and realize that not enough time is not the issue, but It's About Time we realize that time management can help.
We'll get around to it one day, because....we have time.

World Class

Since I have finished my required education many years ago, The world has become my classroom and society is my textbook. When I wake up in the morning, Class has begun. 


No matter how I prepare myself for the day, mentally, physically, emotionally, I will learn something. I will learn to control my anger when I may not want to at that time. I will see things that I have seen time and time again, but hopefully with appreciation. 


Sometimes the textbook is hard to understand and I may not always find the answers to questions right away. I don't always have pleasant learning experiences, but I am learning. 


Class changes without giving notice, sometimes it is welcomed, sometimes the change frustrates, but I move on and continue to learn. Class allows me to make my own decisions and I have to live with the outcome. Yes, some good, some bad. 


There are times when Class can be so overbearing, and I wish I didn't have to attend, and the textbook can be very cruel, but I'm in it and while in it, I choose to learn and to get the most out of it. 


Am I better because of it? I'd like to think so. This is our world, and it is, World Class. 

Solutions

If I were to never write a post after this one I resolve to find another way to share my thoughts. I say that to say this...it is very easy for us to become stagnant within ourselves. We could very easily find that we are really content with our lives. Our lives were never meant to become passive, without a desire to expand, to search, to learn. I've come to realize that I will never stop learning, and I think it's so important that sharing is one of the most vital solutions we have in the expansion of our lives. I am so happy to have read, or heard or saw with my own eyes, things that someone else made available for me to learn from, whether it was by chance or planned is not important, what is important is the outcome. Many individuals have contributed to the expansion of my learning experiences throughout my life thus far, and I am so grateful to each and every one of them, many I can name and oh so many I have no clue as to what their names may be. I look forward to the many more opportunities that await me as I continue to learn. You see, they will come into my life because I have questions that need answers, or I have a problem that needs to be resolved, or maybe I just need to learn....something. They are the solutions to the many questions, problems, or just to learn something from. Oh, you thought they were just your family members, and fellow church members, co-workers, the neighbor, the friend, strangers....you're not alone.

Running from/Run to

Sometimes our lives get to be complicated with the normal quirks of life....work, bills, kids, education, and so on. How we face these issues, whether collectively or separately, depends on each individual. I understand that we as human beings are limited in what we  are able to do.  We are limited because of  our finite existence. If our abilities were, shall we say, unlimited to the point where we are able to control or to even predict what will come into our lives and deal with them without anguish, despair, pain,....do we learn? Our lives would be a lot less complicated for sure, but the learning experience is nonexistent. It is imperative that we learn what life has to offer.  If we choose to run away from our opportunity to learn, we deprive ourselves from the experience of personal growth.  Which means we choose to run from the pressures and lessons of life, rather than run to the joy of learning and growing in life.

I Have an Idea

If you have been keeping up, or maybe just happen to see my first couple of posts, I said that I was going to have fun. Know what? That is exactly what I am doing, having fun. I'm finding that the more I experience in writing, the more I am learning about myself. For one thing, you cannot be afraid to go after your dreams. One of the worst feelings you will ever experience is the feeling of regret that you never even made an attempt to pursue your dreams. No, you will not succeed in fulfilling all those dreams. Am I telling you to go after every dream that comes into your mind?.....I would never do that....come on now, you gotta use some common sense here....are you with me? Alright. 
We ALL have something we've always wanted to do. Maybe it is too late for some of those things, but is there something similar? 
My mind goes to those who think they are incapable of completing tasks. This I say to you...you have defeated yourselves before you start. To this day, I still don't know what it is that I can't do. I have worked on car engines--back when you could--many times, replacing parts, but I have never torn one down and put it back together. Give me the tools, a manual and it's gettin' done! Grant it, it would take me longer than your typical mechanic, but it's gettin' done. So, does it take a driving personality to be able to want to accomplish dreams? What is YOUR make up, YOUR chemistry. Many times we look at what someone else has succeeded in doing, and if our attempt ends in failure, that is how we see our lives.
I have an idea.....let's not do that anymore. Each and every one of us is capable of being successful at something. If you're young enough, try many things, if not pick something you know you can finish...it'll make you feel good anyway. 

Mondays

For most of us Monday is the beginning of the work week. It seems to drag on forever and things go wrong and we just hate it. But don't things go wrong during other days of the week and some of those days drag along also? Yeah, but not like Mondays. Mondays are like our worst nightmares coming true...week, after week, after week, after......Even on a nice bright sunny day, Mondays can bring out the worst in some people. You know who I'm talking about....the one you were with the night before at the club, or the dinner party, or maybe it was the family reunion...yeah, laughing it up having a good old time. Nothing going wrong, everything falling right where they should be.  Then comes Monday, oh--my--goodness--it's like someone stuck a pin into them and it's causing such pain they extrude their anguish in every way possible. They sit at their desk, or cubicle, in a garage, mowing the lawn...they pause, and you can almost hear it....they know it's not everyone else causing them grief, no one stuck a pin into you. You know it's not even you....you take a deep breath, some will slouch in their chairs with their arms dangling down to the side ever so loosely, heads thrown back, leaning on that car that's been giving you grief for days, and I can't believe I forgot to get gas as you sit on the mower.....you know it's only because it's  *deep sigh*  Monday.

Rain? Water?

Rain and water, one and the same, a liquid, yet we treat each differently. Water is our everyday substance that we cannot do without. We use it in all sorts of commodities, drinks, hair products, bathing products, we use it to wash our clothes, to clean our floors, wash our hands, our cars, we play in it to no end at the beaches and the water parks, we love it so much we have pools in our back yards. We cannot do without water when it comes to the necessities of life and to enjoy in our recreations. We freeze it to accommodate us during the hot summer months, cold drinks, frosty flavored drinks....we welcome this liquid.
Rain for some odd reason is treated totally the opposite, even though it is water. It rains and doom and gloom befalls us. Please let us not wake up to the sound of rain falling. Oh yeah, the start to a great day. Instead of joyfully frolicking through the rain, we run as if it's going to melt the skin away from us, exposing our flesh.....we can't have that....so we run, not wanting the rain, uh water, to get us any wetter than what we have already become. Here's one, you get caught in a downpour without your umbrella....on you're way to work....upon arrival, for some reason, you get all kinds of --oh my gosh, just look at you dripping water all over the place, you need to do something about that. to the, awwww.....here, get out of that wet jacket, here's a towel-- look. Isn't it the same liquid we encounter in our everyday life? Sure we receive in a different way.....I mean it is falling from the clouds up above us, which I guess is compounding the situation somehow. Let's see, we have cloudy skies which seem to put us in a foul mood anyway, coupled with rain, falling from the those clouds, causing the mood from the clouds to be heightened even more....yeah, that's about it. But the fact still remains that it is the same liquid we enjoy at the beach, in our backyards and at the the water parks....but we won't wash our clothes, nor will we wash our dishes in it. We won't use it to brush our teeth or to bathe.....but it's the same, a liquid......rain/water.  So there should be no reason for us to be in bad moods when it rains......except that.....the sun isn't shining when it's raining water.... *sigh*



Darcel, this is dedicated you sweetie, love you

Men and Tears

I'm kinda curious how this will turn out myself, but the thought came to me and it stuck.
Who can remember when  a man was not a man if he cried....show of hands please....nowadays , your not a man if you can't show emotion. No wonder we're confused. But seriously, the shedding of tears is not something that is shameful. Think of it as a cleansing. I'm not ashamed to admit that the flood gates have been opened from these eyes on several occasions, for many different reasons. But I can see why some guys don't like to have a good one in a public setting because some of us have a hard time controlling it....for example, what if it called for maybe a, you know, a whimper but we begin to really get into it, we've got snot running out of our nose, face is contorted, our shoulders are hunching up and down....see?...this is why some of us don't like to cry. So the next time you might be critical of a guy who just refuses to cry openly, he just might be doing everyone a favor.