Author Archives: Frank Borelli

What Do You Live With?

Hardly a day goes by that I don’t speak with someone who is trying to figure out how to make it through the day. Now, keep in mind, most of them are exaggerating when they say they don’t know how they’re going to make it. What they really mean is that they are tired – mentally, physically or emotionally, or some mix of all three. Maybe they legitimately need a break, or maybe they just need to take a minute to see some of the positive side of their life. Some of the folks I talk to seem bound and determined to see the negative side of everything even though their average day is full of blessings. Given that happenstance, I thought I’d take a minute to focus on the meaning of a few things that can help us all see the brighter side of each day. The question I asked, to select these things was, “What do you live with?” I mean each day, day in and day out. What’s good in your day? Continue reading →

The Strength & Necessity of Journaling

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Somewhere in my house (and I know exactly where) there are a series of notebooks full of my journal. Some of those entries date back to when I was as young as twelve years old. I refer to this collection of writings as a “journal” and not a diary, quite honestly, because in my adolescent years I felt that keeping a diary was something only girls did, but keeping a journal… that was something done by every good leader and even way back then I had some aspirations to do and be more than just an average person. (For the record, I still feel very much like an average person; like I can do more with each day.) Continue reading →

Sunday Evening Self Conversation

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When I was in my teenage years, I remember my father, almost every night, sitting on his bed, just staring into space… or at least, that’s what I thought. When I asked him about it one day he told me he was meditating. When I asked why and what about he told me that he felt it was calming for his mind. He was a district court judge and questioned his own judgment quite frequently. He’d sit and review cases and testimony in his head and try to confirm for himself that he’d made the right decisions, or if he had to make a change in the outcome somehow. He’d also ponder what the days ahead might hold and try to get himself “mentally in the game” as he put it. Continue reading →

In Harmony and In Balance

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In almost every culture, on every continent, in every language and throughout history you can find references to trilogies. I don’t mean the three-book novel stories that have become so prevalent in today’s entertainment world. I am referring to more meaningful trilogies such as… Continue reading →

What Do We Learn From Autumn and Trees?

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The glory days of spring and summer have passed. The days are shorter, the nights are longer, the fires are warm and blankets are good. Snuggling occurs far more often. For all that, many people will tell you “spring” if you ask them what their favorite season is. They’ll cite the rebirth, the returning greenery, the warmer temperatures – so many “new” things. I far prefer fall to spring, mostly because I’m out a fan of pollen, but I also think there are a lot of valuable life’s lessons we can learn from the season. Continue reading →

Peaceful vs Harmless

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Every now and then I run across something in my social media feeds that make me stop and think… and then I start feeling like I have something to say – and you, my dear readers, suffer the outcome. In this case, there was a post that said (paraphrased) you can only be peaceful if you are capable of violence. Otherwise, if you are incapable of violence then you’re harmless. This is one of those items that made me stop and think, “Hmmm….” Continue reading →

Eight Things to Quit

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In any given December you can hear people talk about the bad habits they’re going to quit as part of their New Year’s Resolutions. My biggest challenge with such statements is that the person is waiting for a specific day, as if they need the calendar’s permission for when to start. How about starting RIGHT NOW? Another challenge I have is that some of the changes require changing their lifestyle, not just breaking one habit. My favorite is, “I’m going to quit smoking cigarettes.” That’s awesome; it truly is. It will surely help you live a longer and healthier life. But what about the excessive alcohol, sodas and fatty foods you eat? How about the fact that you never exercise? How about the fact that you have to take pills to sleep, a gallon of coffee to wake up and something to help you void your body of the junk you’re going to have for lunch? I’d far rather see (or hear) anyone resolve to live a healthier lifestyle and if that includes quitting smoking cigarettes, then awesome! Continue reading →

Friends – Casual and Others

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Words have meaning. In a perfect world, the same word would have the same meaning to everyone. That alone would reduce the amount of miscommunication and misunderstandings that occur. We don’t live in a perfect world though, and those misthings occur. Just recently there was a conversation held, that was unfortunately (or fortunately?) overhead, and had to be shared for the lesson that was available. The biggest misunderstanding that existed in the conversation was that the two people involved had different outlooks on what the word “friend” means. Continue reading →

Defining Nobility & Why You Should Pursue It

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Have you ever wondered why or how someone particular got to be King or Queen? Sure, if you watch movies and assume any level of accuracy in them, some of the kings our world has seen become so through nothing more than force of violence. They were the strongest or they had the strongest army. That “strongest army” might also have simply meant most brutal or best armed. But when our world reached a point where Kings weren’t just the result of brute force, how was a king selected? As recently as the late 1700s, a new nation tried to select a man to be king. George Washington turned down the title and refused being “royalty,” but why was he chosen to potentially be such in the first place? Continue reading →

Circles and Lines

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Is life a circle? Or is it a line? Does it matter? Why even think about it? Just recently I ran across some memes that had me wondering about the mindset they presuppose and the overall tone, be it positive, negative or somewhat neutral. They started me thinking about Body’s Cycle – the humane decision making cycle taught to many (if not all) combatants. The cycle is a four step repeating process wherein your observe your surroundings, orient yourself to the situation, make a decision and then act upon that decision. Your action causes a change so you have to start over with observing the change and so on. These cycles are often referred to as “OODA Loops” (said “u-dah loop”). They are circular and repeating. They are also usually applied only to compressed time frames such as competitions and conflict where your actions have to happen fast… fast enough to get ahead of your opponent’s OODA Loops and emerge victories. Can the same thing be said on a grander scale about life? Continue reading →