Plenty has been written about “the butterfly effect.” Whole movies have been made about it from dramas about how minor changes we make can change the future, to science fiction movies where someone consciously tries to manipulate the present or future by changing something seemingly minor in the past. This entry is neither drama nor…
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…
Just this morning (as I type this) I enjoyed a quick back-and-forth conversation on social media and then via email with a man I consider of reasonable wisdom and maturity. He is a hard worker, husband, father and motivated employee of the same company I work for. He has a quick wit and a good…
One of the most important parts of communication is understanding or at least attempting to see and understand the point of view of the person you are interacting with. The ability to do this makes the difference between taking everything literally or taking things as they are potentially meant. The same statement can have a…
I remember being a little kid… maybe six or seven years old, and my parents were “old” to me. Of course, my parents were 35 years older than I, so they were in their early forties; hardly what I would call old these days. Then again, I know a couple people today who are in…
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…
How many times have you been out in public some place – it could be the mall, a city street, a restaurant – and you see those folks who are so busy looking at their cell phones that they are completely oblivious to what’s going on around them? How many times have you seen someone…
As happens with most thoughts we consider to be deep or memorable – worthy of remembering – this one came to me in the middle of the night, as the result of a dream I had woken from. In the dream I had been discussing religion with an older gentleman and he had been sharing…
Fork: an instrument having two or more prongs or tines, for holding, lifting, etc., as an implement for handling food of any of various agricultural tools. The point or part at which a thing, as a river or a road, divides into branches. All of us have heard, and used, the term, “a fork in…
“The eyes are the window to the soul.” A quote attributed to a great many people and we’ll never know who really said it first. But if the eyes are the window to the soul, then OUR eyes – the eyes we see others’ with – are a reflection of our perceptions. If that’s true,…
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…
Country music star Brad Paisley wrote a song called, “A Letter To Me,” and the basic idea of the song was… if he could write a letter to himself; write it now but somehow send it back to his teenage self, what would he say? In the song he takes the opportunity to give his…
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…
WARNING: This is my OPINION. As such I don’t need to justify it, support it, argue points of it, etc. If what I say upsets you, you are welcome not to read it anymore. – – – – – – – – – – – It’s morning in America. It’s Wednesday; middle of the work…
As I type this it’s Sunday afternoon, November 12, 2006. Two days ago, November 10th was the Marine Corps’ Birthday (231st). Happy Birthday Marines! I’m proud to have to call my older brothers on that day and wish them all a Happy Birthday since all four served as Marines and two even retired from the…