In today’s computer age, days where you can’t look around without seeing someone on their “smart” phone, and times of everyone being connected nearly full time, the word “hack” has come to take on a whole new meaning. It is essentially used to mean “something that makes your life easier or an easier and faster…
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,…
Near the end of every calendar year… or in the first few days of a new year… huge numbers of people make resolutions with the goal of improving their life. Some of those resolutions are very specific and equally unrealistic. For example, after someone has been a cigarette smoker for years (if not decades), they…
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…
As happens all too often in my household, my son asked me a question that forced me to carefully think through my beliefs and values before offering an answer. I have to think carefully because I know, for sure and certain, he’s already trying to form that next question so if I’m not as specific…
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…
Although we don’t tend to think about it much, our lives are full of traditions. We inherit them from our families without thinking about it. We learn them as young children and then either look forward to them as we get older or dread them; one or the other. How we celebrate holidays is usually…