As we, the whole nation, celebrate our Independence, but looking back on the past few months of challenges our nation has faced, I felt compelled to comment on something I’ve often disagreed with folks about.
As I sit to write this it’s the early part of May 2020. For the past few months the news has been dominated by the coronavirus and the resulting sickness, COVID-19. As part of one of my jobs, I have to update numbers on a website each morning and those numbers include the total number…
To steal a word that so many politicians are already overusing: We’re living in unprecedented times. As this is written, around the world there are countries taking steps to attempt to limit the spread of what is commonly referred to as the coronavirus or COVID-19. Most of the steps involve limiting people in their travels…
Folks, welcome to another morning in America. It’s Sunday morning, roughly 10am while I write this. In a lot of place, under normal circumstances, a lot of people would either be getting ready for church, coming home from church (depending on which service they attended), having a relaxed brunch with their family or have been…
It’s no secret that I’m a huge Star Trek fan. Because of a quirk of circumstance, it’s actually documented that I was a fan when I was just three years old and the original series itself was only a few months old. In one of the movies – the sixth one for the original series:…
Not long ago I made a list of the new projects I was starting for 2020. As I reviewed, edited, shared, edited and continued to critique the list it occurred to me that a significant part of it are items of self-improvement. Several of the items are things that cause me some type of discomfort,…
About 20 minutes ago, as I write this, I posted the following on Facebook and wanted to expand on it: “I am not the best policeman to ever have worn a badge. I am not the best police instructor to ever wear a red shirt. I am not the best writer to have ever been…
A few months back my wife and I attended a social gathering of some friends and folks with common interests. One of the attendees was a lady who was celebrating her 45th birthday and the hosts were quite encouraging about everyone wishing the woman a happy birthday. They wanted us to help bring joy and…
On one of my social media feeds, a man I’ve met only briefly but who I hold in high regard posted (paraphrased): “In a cosmic sense, man isn’t far above the cockroach and we might do well to remember that.” Another comment was made that there is a distinct difference between those who recognize that…
Ah, it’s that time of year. For the past week people have been building up to and celebrating Christmas. For the next week some folks regret all that they’ve eaten, losing another year of not improving themselves the way they’d like to have, and generally making false promises to themselves (called resolutions) that they swear…
I came across this “comfort zone” diagram in my social media feeds and wish I could find out who to attribute it to. I had to stop and study it for a moment, considering what it displays and whether or not I agree with it. Thinking back across my own life, could I think of…
I was just looking at what is probably one of my favorite photos from recent years: it’s a picture taken at Disney World while my wife, son and I were on the Tower of Terror ride. In the photo, captured by the ride’s camera during the lifts and drops, my son and I are both…
A great many people believe that motivation and discipline are the same things. In reality they are drastically different. Motivation is something you feel; discipline is a skill… it’s learned. Those folks who believe that discipline is an automatic follow-on to motivation as it wains need to learn the difference.
I have had several friends make fun of me for my outlook on sleeping. As much as I enjoy it when I’m exhausted, I also resent it. No matter how long I (you) live, if sleep consumes six to eight hours per night, 25%-33% of a life is spent sleeping. That’s time that can never…
In today’s society we all-too-often here members of various generations criticizing each other. Baby Boomers will call Millennials “pansycakes” or “snowflakes.” Millennials will say that Boomers and Generation Xers are too harsh, unempathetic or cold hearted. The reality is that from the different perspectives, it may all be true. The question then becomes, “What is…
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…
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…
As with so many things I see each day, this was brought to my attention via a post on social media: 15 leadership lessons from General Mattis – call sign Chaos. I’m going to list all 15 but only comment on a few. They are the ones that are applicable far beyond military leadership; the…
Somehow, somewhere along the way, we as a society seem to have come to the belief that every person perceives every experience in the same way. The fact of individual experience, individual knowledge, individual background, individual resilience… these things all seem to be dismissed in favor of the belief that if X happens to little…
I just recently saw a quote about nothing being in the middle of the road except for double yellow lines and roadkill. My first thought was that you usually don’t see roadkill in the middle of the road but in the travel lanes instead. The double yellow lines are what separates traffic going in different…