As I type this entry it’s “Black Friday” 2019. One of the best memes I’ve seen recently is the one that points out how so many people rush out on Black Friday to buy stuff they don’t even need on the day after they’re supposed to be thankful for all their blessings. Now, admittedly, some…
Just last evening I was conversing with a friend of mine who commented on my (bad?) habit of posting photos to my Facebook page when I’m working “in my outside office.” I have a gazebo attached to my rear deck that enjoys views of the surrounding trees, sometimes the lake across the street and quite…
On any given day, but a LOT on most Monday mornings, you can look in your social media feeds and see quite the variety of posts about motivation. I’m guilty. I supply some of them. I also look through them and this morning I happened to notice just how many of them focus on outlook….
There’s an old joke about how some people are so stupid they would bang on their hand with a hammer just so they could enjoy how good it feels to stop. While none of us can imagine why anyone would voluntarily hurt themselves just so they could enjoy it when they stop, the “joke” does…
My family once owned a dog that we named ThunderStorm and just called Storm. He was a chocolate Labrador from a big family and, full grown, weighed about 100 pounds. The odd thing we discovered about him, from the earliest days we had him as a puppy, was that he loved to go out and…
Have you ever noticed that some of your friends or family never seem quite as stressed or lacking in control of a given situation as others? Have you ever wondered why? What makes them so special? How come they never seem to sweat when something goes sideways? Here are a few reasons why they might…
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…
If you Google “rules for life” you get 863 MILLION returns (in under 2/3 of a second). There are whole books written on the subject. You can find lists with as few as three rules and as many as 75 rules. Every now and then as I surf the Internet (and life), I come across…
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…
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…
From dictionary.com, the definition of “Warrior:” A person engaged or experienced in warfare; soldier. A person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics. I would submit to you that all too often in today’s society the term “warrior” is too narrowly applied to a profession and inadequately…
One of the greatest compliments I’ve ever been paid was when a longtime friend of mine posted on a social media site that I had inspired him. I hadn’t, until that point, considered that I might inspire anyone to anything, but reality is that we ALL inspire someone to something. If we’re jerks, we might…
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…
Yes, I admit to “baiting” with the title. I was hoping it would make people wonder, “What might that be?” or “What does this guy Borelli think it is?” My answer: Overcoming adversity. Out of the thousands of skills we need to learn (and hopefully master) throughout our lives, the ability to successfully cope with…
Just recently on Facebook I saw a meme that was a joke. In essence it said, “Shoot for the stars because even if you only make it to the moon… you’ll still be thousands of miles away from me with your motivational BS.” I had to laugh and share it with my friends. I wondered…
As much as it pains me to quote Rocky Balboa, the man had this right: “You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” When you think about what was one of the…
I am blessed. There’s no question about that. One of my blessings is purely intrinsic (meaning it’s inside of me; innate to me) – I try to learn in every way I can from every experience, every conversation, everything I read, etc. One of my (many) blessings is purely extrinsic (from outside of me; from…
The quote is from the Master, Bruce Lee. He was a man who certainly didn’t have an easy life, but somehow found the time and energy to train, as well as training and motivating others. All too often we – all of us humans – find a crutch in praying to god (or God –…