When you’re a child, everything you have to remember is about how to get through the day. Parents get you up and tell you what to wear. You know you have to brush your teeth, go to school, when to be home and all the rest. If you forget something, it’s far from the end of the world. But when you grow into adulthood there are other things to remember that help you manage life as a whole. Sometimes it feels like you’re just trying to get through each day, but in reality that feeling is about managing stress and not letting circumstance overwhelm you. There are a few “lessons of life” that can help you get through those days and I wanted to review a few of them here.

Even having read just the title I suspect there are some people who disagree with the statement. “Taking ‘it’ for granted is inevitable.” First, some will question what ‘it’ is. Second, some will argue that there are some things that are never taken for granted. To address the first – ‘it’ can be almost anything that we really should appreciate or be thankful for. Things like waking up each day, not experiencing pain, having food available, being healthy, getting attention or gifts and more. ‘It’ can be anything that we should be thankful for each day, and throughout each day, but that we usually get so used to we stop really appreciating it; we start to take it for granted – until it’s not there any more. To address the second – there are certainly some things that never should be taken for granted, but unless we make a conscious effort to recognize and appreciate them, eventually we just accept them as a normal part of our day; we expect them; we take them for granted.

As I sit to type out this year’s Thanksgiving entry it occurs to me that I would never have considered doing such in my younger years. I don’t know if this is a sign that I appreciate life more in my maturity or if my focus on what’s of value has changed. Back in my 20s and 30s I always looked forward to Thanksgiving, but as a police officer I also knew it would be unique if I had the day off. More often than not I ate Thanksgiving dinner out of a Tupperware or Styrofoam container, charitably provided by a family in my jurisdiction or sent in with me by my in-laws. It’s been about 20 years since I had to eat a Thanksgiving meal seated in a patrol car and a lot has changed in those years. One of the biggest things that has changed is one of the things I am very thankful for. (more…)

One really spectacular benefit of social media is that it allows you to follow those you choose, ignore those you want to and share news or commentary on your day as you see fit. There are a great many people who use it purely for trivia or entertainment. There are many companies that use it to pimp their product. There are also a host of people who use it to regularly share good news, positive messages and (hopefully) inspirational commentary. Finding THOSE people wasn’t as easy thirty or forty years ago and, in that way, social media can benefit everyone on a daily basis. That said, the benefit only exists if YOU seek out and follow the folks who share such positive messages. Here are a few other thoughts to go along with what you might find if you do. (more…)

Every now and then we get reminded of just how good the people in our world can be. And “our world” isn’t just our circle of nearby friends, or folks from our neighborhood, friends of friends, etc.  It quite literally is people from around the world. Bear with me as I elaborate and follow along as I try to share what has been impactful for me this morning. (more…)

So, I received a private message on Facebook from a gentleman asking, “What qualifies you to give advice on life to anyone?” I had to think about this. It’s a good question. I found myself wondering if he has a point? What DOES qualify me to give advice on anything to anyone? For that matter, what qualifies me to teach anyone anything as well?

The answers become obvious after a while. (more…)

Recently I saw an image through the wizardry of social media and, after having read through it, thought about just how true it was. The title was “Simple Formula for Living,” but that didn’t really describe the list of items included. As I read them, I felt they more described lessons to be followed for a prosperous and spiritually valuable life. I certainly don’t always follow each bit of guidance (because I’m human and therefore imperfect), but I see the value in each and strive to maintain my compliance to them. Let’s go through them and briefly discuss the value. (more…)

NOTE: This blog isn’t being written, or even approached, with journalistic structure or professionalism in mind. The topic is suicide: awareness and (hopefully) avoidance or reduction. The statistics and data listed are gleaned from various sources and listed at the end. The rest of this is the result of input and comment from family, friends and coworkers along with a huge subjective filter that runs from my brain to my fingers – with a detour through my heart. It’s my hope – throughout the process of researching, gathering comments, collating and writing all of this – that it has some positive impact on the readers. I hate to think it, but some of the readers may be in a dark place and contemplating suicide to resolve their problem(s). Other readers may know someone who is thinking about committing suicide (statistically speaking, that’s almost guaranteed).  HOPEFULLY, some of this… any part of it, will help.  Last item: Some of this, because so much of it is just my articulated outlook, might aggravate you, anger you or insult you. None of that is my intent and I beg you to continue reading past anything that you don’t like to see if I suitably explain myself. (more…)

A long time ago (in my lifetime) a Drill Sergeant told me that every day I woke up above dirt was a good day. It was hard for me to appreciate that when I was cold, tired and miserable doing morning exercises and preparing for a run in the rain. After some years I realized that even such a morning was better than the option: being beneath the dirt in a coffin. “Above Dirt” took on a new meaning for me; so much so that I wrote a book (with the help of a gentleman named Steve Forgues) called “Above Dirt: Motivational Thoughts Supporting A Positive Outlook.” (http://amzn.to/wIhKaT) This morning (as I type this it’s April 2017) I had opportunity to have conversation with a gentleman who is facing some challenges in his life. His statement was, “I just wish I could skip the days until this was over.” I was relieved that he didn’t just want life to end but confused by his desire to skip days… to essentially give up time until his current challenges pass. To me, every day is a blessing, even if the day is full of challenges. Challenges come and go, but life is only ours to enjoy for a given time – and none of us knows how much time that is. Much like nature which faces cyclical challenges but comes back every spring: stronger, healthier, bigger and reinvigorated. (more…)

Every year around this time, as all law enforcement professionals know, suicides and suicide attempts seem to climb in number.  The stress of the season, for whatever reason, seems to outweigh the happiness and good cheer that (seemingly) all of us are trying to spread.  The challenge is that not ALL of us really are trying to spread good cheer.  Some people are merely trying to make a few more dollars before the fiscal year ends. Some people are just trying to get a few more sales made before the end of year. Some people are just trying to leverage the season to fatten their purses/wallets and they don’t think about anything else. Now, it’s true that such folks can really only prey on those who haven’t set a budget or haven’t made up their mind what they want to buy, etc. (more…)