When I saw this quote, I automatically liked it for quite a few reasons. For one, I like any quote that has anything to do with rainbows. Call me childish, but I find rainbows to be cheerful and uplifting. They never fail to put me in a good mood. I also think it's a great metaphor of finding something good in everything... including negatives. It's quite true. If you have the right attitude, you CAN find happiness in the darkest of times.
This post is also being written as a challenge, of sorts... my dad doesn't think I can actually write a blog post about THAT quote. I beg to differ. I think that happiness can be found all over, if you have the eye for it. It's like photography, to be honest... as long as you have an eye for beauty, you can make the simplest thing seem beautiful. With the right perspective, anything can be. And the same stands for happiness. I choose to find happiness in small things and in sad things. For example... when the internet goes down, I use it as time to either a) go outside and lose myself in the woods alone for a bit to think or b) play with my dog or sister and bond to them. These periods can be annoying, since I'm so used to having constant wifi... but it's good to have bonding time with my family as well. Using a smaller example, I love thunderstorms and rainstorms because then I can go outside barefoot and run around in the rain and splash through puddles. Also, rainbows. At this point, anyone reading this who doesn't know me probably thinks that I'm either very very immature or just flat out insane. I promise you I'm not! Go try it sometime... the thunder can be very soothing if you just let your stresses go and focus on LISTENING to the sounds around you. I challenge ALL of the people reading this... next time it starts raining and thundering out, go stand outside in it and let go. Listen to the noises around you and relax yourself. Wow... this post started off on a quote and is ending on the beauty of thunderstorms. I guess I CAN write lengthy blog posts about completely irrelevant things. Or maybe I'm just good at rambling... I honestly don't know and at this point, don't care. Good night, everyone. Maddie
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Pink is my favorite color. It is a nice soft color and is very pretty. I also like the color blue.
Blue reminds me of the sky and how pretty it can be. Yellow is another pretty color. It is the color of the sun, and the sun shines on every house.I also like orange, since it reminds me of a yummy fruit. Oranges grow on trees. Ashleigh Ever been around a person who is dissatisfied. They can usually tell you exactly what they want, and yet they never seem to take a step towards getting what they want. I know people like this. They say they hate their job, but they don't look for another. Instead, they say, I have been doing this for a long time and I won't find a job with similar benefits.
I never say anything to them, but I think "of course you won't find anything better if you won't actually look!" I work in finance. People change jobs in this field all of the time. Sometimes it is because they leave for a better opportunity of their own choosing. A lot of times, it's because they get let go in a restructuring and have to find something new. No matter what they end up making monetarily, 99% of the time I find that they like their new positions better than what they were doing previously. So why not look for that new position if you are so unhappy? Money and benefits aren't everything. Quality of life is much more important to me. What good is making a lot of money if you are perpetually going to be unhappy? Jobs are just one example by the way. By not actively pursuing what you want, you are not going to get it no matter what you are trying to do. My training at the dojo shows me this in real time. I have noticed two things while at the dojo. First, I noticed that the things I practice more often are the things that I improve at the most. With that in mind, I try to work a difficult move into my training repertoire so that I improve at it more quickly than I otherwise would. For the past three months or so, I have been practicing spinning hook kicks to the head. I think they look cool and have a tendency to take people by surprise. At first, I only practiced the kick with my left foot, but I noticed it is hard to land because I usually fight with my left foot forward. Thus I have been practicing the kick with my right foot as well, I can now get a hook kick to head level with either foot. I have now started to use different feints with the kicks so that I can thow them from many different setups. Bruce Lee once said that he doesn't fear the man who knows 10,000 kicks, but the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. I am nowhere near 10,000 kicks yet, but I am not done practicing this kick yet either! The second thing I have noticed is that I can tell who practices and who doesn't just by watching them. Now, there is no one way to learn karate. Everyone learns in their own way and at their own pace. I think all that come to the classes and continue should be commended. Karate is a hard discipline and the workouts can be strenuous. With that said, I think some people come to the dojo and take classes, and then never practice what they have learned at home. Others go home and practice forms, exercise, or hit a bag. You can literally tell the difference between those that do and those that don't! Sometimes, time is all it takes. Some who started slowly, got motivated once they moved up a couple of belts and then began to practice at home. I think the key is that all at the dojo took that first step to actually sign up and take a class. That first step is so crucial! They have taken that first step to go after what they want! I will ALWAYS be willing to work with someone who has willingly taken that first step. So what do you want? Figure it out and take that first step...Because if you don't go after what you want, then you likely ain't gonna get it! Tonight, I'm quite braindead and have no idea what to write about. My dad just posted a few quotes on Facebook, so I'm going to take the few that I liked and give my opinions and thoughts of them. Here we go!
"A lot of parents will do anything for their kids... except let them be themselves." I love this quote for so many different reasons. For one, it is extremely true- but second of all, I love watching parents post it on their walls all over facebook while being complete hypocrites. Almost EVERY PARENT has certain biases and doesn't let their child express themselves fully. Now, granted, there are SOME limits to letting kids express themselves. Slutty clothing, tattoos and permanent body markings (such as extremely wide gauges) should all be automatic no's. However, I see nothing wrong with letting kids (in their teens, at least) get piercings. As long as the piercings aren't completely insane... let them go for it. Honestly, it's a small hole... and it'll close within a day if you take it out. Let their jewelry and clothing be their own choice, within reason. Let THEM choose the topics they wish to explore and learn more about (outside of school). Teach them the basics they need to know, and let them venture out. If they have an interest in learning to paint- let them take art lessons. If they happen to love music, get them music lessons. If they enjoy baking, allow them to dabble in the kitchen. Allow them to become their own person... not the person you wished you could have been. Something about being a parent that I think too many parents FAIL to see is that children are growing. They are going to be their own person when they grow up. They will have triumphs, and they will make mistakes because we are human and that is what we do. You have to let them fail, so they know what disappointment is and you HAVE to let them be who they're going to be, regardless of if you like it or not. Just because you wanted to be a doctor when you grew up and failed to make your dream a reality, it doesn't mean you have to drop the weight of your dream on your child. Let them find their own dream, and when they do- encourage them to follow it. It's the best way. Well, this was supposed to be a multiple-quote post... but I sorta went over-board with the first quote, so I'll leave it here. Good night! Maddie On July 4th, everyone is expected to celebrate Independence Day. While that day used to have a true meaning, nowadays I think it would be hard to call all but a few in this country independent. Let me give you some examples:
Population of the United States: 318.9 million. Number of people Receiving Social Security: 59 million Number of people incarcerated: 2.3 million Number of people on Medicare: 49.4 million Number of people on Medicaid: 8.8 million Number of people employed by the Federal Government: 2.7 million Number of people employed by State governments: 5.1 million Number of people employed by local governments: 14 million Number of people in the U.S. military: 2.2 million Number of people receiving food stamps: 47 million Number of people receiving unemployment: 2.3 million Number of people receiving welfare:109.6 million Number of people unemployed and not receiving unemployment: 9 million Add those numbers up and that's 311 million people out of 318.9 million receiving some kind of economic benefit from our government. Granted, some of those people likely overlap, but still, it certainly says something about independence! But wait! Don't pat yourself on the back just yet. Are your children one of the 49.5 million students in the public school system? Then YOU aren't independent either. When you are truly independent, you pay for what you get. Not have others pay for you. Now, if you home school your children or send them to a private school...and you do not fit into any of the above categories, then happy Independence Day! As for the rest of you, have a nice day off in your world of dependence! I like to pick flowers in my yard. We pick a lot of them. We have lots of types of flowers
and dandelions.They are very pretty. Ashleigh "When people walk away from you, let them go. Your destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you, and it doesn't mean they are bad people. It just means that their part in your story is over." Recently, I've had a falling out with one of my friends. She used to be like a sister to me- we were there for each other through everything. We walked with each other in our happy moments and helped each other up in darker patches, as good friends do. We had this close bond for 4 years, almost. This all changed roughly a week ago.
For awhile now, she's been dating a guy who used to be one of my friends, too. We were really close, even as they started dating. Slowly, we began to have problems... not even tied to their relationship, just problems in general. Slowly, these problems grew bigger and bigger and finally, they split us apart. This left him with stung ego and battered feelings towards me, which transcended onto her. She and I had been having arguments over the stupidest crap after that, and these too turned into larger fights. Finally, after nearly a month of it, she blew up at me and one of her other friends. We all used to be extremely close... and she suddenly turned around on us and broke everything off. We tried apologies and we tried to fix things, but all we got was profanity and yelling. It was terrible and was quite honestly one of the worst days I have had in awhile. We got blocked. And we haven't talked or seen each other since. It's rough, losing someone who I held so close to me... I actually cried over it and it threw me into a mild depression that was more than likely influenced by my ability to over-think things and hormone shifts. But now... I've been reading quotes about friendship and this has helped me to realize to not regret the fact that our friendship is over, but appreciate the fact that it happened to begin with. This particular friend managed to help me through some of the roughest patches I have faced in my life and never turned me down when I was in need of help... and I was the same with her. Without meeting her... without her bond... my life may be considerably different. Am I saddened by her sudden departure from my life? Yes, extremely. Losing a friend is hard for everyone. But do I regret that our friendship ever happened? No... with each person you meet in life there is a lesson to be learned, and I learned many in those 4 years of knowing her. It just happened to be her time to leave my life. I wish she would have stayed longer... but everything happens for a reason. If you are reading this- you know who you are. Thank you so much, for everything and anything in my life you managed to change for the better. Maddie Before I even get started- I'm going to make this post extremely long to make up for yesterday's missed post. So, instead of publishing TWO posts, I'm just going to do one extremely long one. For those of you who don't know what an introvert is... I'm going to explain it. Most people confuse introversion with shyness and anxiety issues, when in reality, the two are not related. Extroverts have just as much of a chance at being shy or having anxiety attacks as introverts. The word 'introvert' is actually derived from the word 'inward'. Being an introvert simply means that we get all of our energy from within. On the other hand, extroverts are the opposite- drawing energy from the outside world and doing outgoing things like socializing. To some extent, we are all a little bit of both- but we each have a dominant trait of the two. Introversion and shyness are often confused and mis-interpreted. Shyness can be lonely and isolating, and is a type of social anxiety. Introversion is a trait. However, some studies have shown minor correlation between shyness/anxiety in introverts. However, while introverts ARE often more quiet, the traits that are actually associated with being an introvert are as follows:
Since all of us possess a tiny bit of extroversion too, even if we are natural introverts... we have the wonderful gift of being able to choose when to be social or not. Since we draw energy from inside of us and not from the world around us, we don't HAVE to be social to be happy. In fact, most introverts are much happier keeping to themselves and not interacting with others at all. In situations in which we NEED to be social, however, most of us can hold it together fine with the grace of a social butterfly. Now at one point, people believed that about 25% of the population were introverts. However, more recent studies have shown that closer to 50% of the country's population are, in fact, introverted. Even so, it can be tough to find music to relate to... but recently, I found two songs and I'd like to share them with my readers. They are below. I'm going to go to bed now, but I hope you enjoy the music.
Will Smith once said "Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings and emotions." I think this sentiment is dead on. While I don't know in what context he was saying this (was it about bad reviews for one of his movies? The opinions of newscasters? Who knows!), I can relate to the statement. For me, three areas where the quote rings true are the news media, popular culture (or lack of it) and social media. Increasingly, I find that I can't open Facebook with out being assaulted by the political and social views of people I barely know. While I have some very close friends that I have linked up with on Facebook, there are also many people who I have linked up with over the years who seem to do nothing but put up links and statements to push their own agendas.
Well, no more! I have gone through my list and stopped following posts from people who put up polarizing posts. The people who remain on my list are those that put up inspiring quotes, pictures of their families and friends and updates about how they are doing, links to funny websites, or quizzes that I can do when I am bored. People I have deleted are drama queens, those who only post things that are politically charged, those that promote lifestyles that are unhealthy, and those who always seem to have only negative things to say. Surprisingly, many people who remain of my feeds list are people I don't speak with often. Sometimes, the quiet ones are the ones that bring the constant rays of light into your life. Meanwhile, some of the most prolific posters have been thrown to the wayside. Good riddance! Sometimes, it's good to get rid of some of the clutter in your life. Surprisingly, it can sometimes be found in the people you surround yourself with. Are you unhappy? Look at the people around you. Are there any that constantly wreak havoc on your emotions? Then it may be time to distance yourself from them for a little while. See if your outlook doesn't improve. I got rid of the feeds from people who post divisive things only a few minutes ago and I already feel better. I try to do these purges every few months. If you still get the occasional likes from me, then you are still on my list! Food is good! I like apples and peaches. Carrots are nice and lettuce too. I even like
cucumbers. Ham and salami are my favorite meats. For dessert I would like cake, brownies, cookies or ice cream. For a snack I like gold fish. Ashleigh Did you ever force yourself to do something very difficult because you knew that ultimately, it was the right thing to do? I have. I won't say what it was I did, but I will tell you that right after you do it you get the feeling that you have bit off more than you can chew, and you scramble to make more changes to make your original act work.
From experience, I'll tell you that the complexity of doing the right thing, grows in proportion to the time you have spent doing the wrong thing. I can think of a few simple examples that don't pertain to what is bothering me this morning, but that will allow you to see what I am angling at. Think of the last time you got lost. There comes a point in the trip where you realize that you made a mistake. At that point, did you turn around until you reached the place where you actually made the mistake? Or did you just plow ahead, figuring you would make a new short cut? Well, I just did this one! I was heading to Nashua following directions from Map Quest. I was looking for a specific road and as I was driving, a sign at the side of the road said junction 113 next left. Well, I made the next left and the road looked like an old farm road. My daughter and I both recognized that it didn't seem right, yet I kept plowing along anyway, figuring that I would hit a cross street that would link up with the road I wanted to be on. I mean, come on, the road was supposedly running parallel with where I wanted to go anyway! To make a long story short, the road took me nearly all the way back to where I started from. I ended up adding thirty minutes to my trip going back to the way I usually went to Nashua. The short cut Map Quest promised, actually made my trip longer! There are two ways to look at my mistake. 1. My mistake was looking for a shorter way to go, when I already knew a route that would accomplish my goal. This is the wrong way of looking at it. Man is always looking for short cuts to make his life simpler and save time. Think about the time we save by using cars versus walking? The second way is the correct way to look at my mistake. 2. My mistake was that after realizing that I made a mistake (withing the first 45 seconds of being on the road), I didn't turn around right away and correct it. If I had turned around and looked for the proper turn, I likely would have found it and saved myself 30 minutes. Did I get to my destination? Yes. Did it take me longer than it would have if I had turned around? Yes. The moral here is that pride goeth before a fall. Okay, that was a simple example of what I was talking about. The more I refused to deal with the error I made, the longer it took me to actually get where I wanted to go. This example is not as life altering as what is actually bothering me, though. Here is a better example, yet also not the "thing" I am speaking of. For years I lived an unhealthy life style. I drank heavily, overate and smoked cigars. Deep down, I knew these "choices" were unhealthy, and yet I kept doing them anyway. At one point, I weighed nearly 300 pounds. I gave up drinking in 1999 and smoking cigars in 2003. I started working out in 2006 and watching what I eat in 2010. My weight is now back to the mid 240's, but my goal is 200 pounds, about what I weighed in high school. The sad part is that I realized I was making bad decisions when I was back in college, and yet my response was a half-hearted vow to improve when I was older. The truth of the matter is that the struggle to get back into shape seems to be in direct proportion to the amount of time that I was making bad choices. I drank for a little over twenty years before giving it up. Sixteen years later, I still have a "beer" gut. Sadly (in one sense anyway), I realize now as I near fifty that I am in better shape now, than I was when I was in my early twenties. While that is a good thing, it also points to how far astray I was from a healthy lifestyle back then. Was it hard getting back into shape in my mid 40's? Yes, but it is also rewarding.When you do a hard thing, and it is also the right thing, good things cascade from your decision. My decision to start taking karate with my daughter (which I did for a reason other than to get back into shape) has been a life changer for me. I am in better shape, I have started to make healthier choices in regards to what I eat, it is great stress relief, and I have made a number of very good friends. Sometimes, the hardest thing IS the right thing! My advice: If you have something in front of you that you know is right, but you are afraid to start it because it is hard...start it anyway. I am not moralizing here. I just know from experience that problems just don't go away on their own. In fact, they grow in direct proportion to the amount of time that you ignore them. What is hard for you today, will be harder for you tomorrow after the problem gets larger. Make a habit of doing the right thing now, and you will find that doing the right thing always will be easier for you tomorrow. Today we planted a small garden. We planted a small basil plant. The leaves can be
used for cooking. I will water it every day, and put it in the sun. Planting a garden is fun! Ashleigh “A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we’re pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we’re safe in our own paradise. Our soulmate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we’re two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we’ve found the right person. Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life. ”
I love the above quote for many reasons. Lately, my friends and I have been talking about soulmates- not the relationship kind, but just... really close friends who you have a strong connection with on a rather spiritual level. Have you ever met a person in your life who you have instantly clicked with- where no introduction was really necessary, and you talked for a couple of hours and completely opened up to each other? For us, it's a rare occurrence. However, I seem to have found my soulmate in one of my close friends. While we've only known each other for a few months, when we talk, we can click with each other and relate immediately. We share the same fears, dreams, emotions, and even thoughts. Now before I rattle off with my own tale... has anyone ever been able to read the mind of another? No? Yes, maybe? Because with me and my friend... we do. And we do it FAR too frequently for it to be sheer coincidence or just us "thinking alike". We've done multiple tests where we think of numbers between 1-100 and neither of us has ever missed. It's this type of thing that makes me question mental connections and psychic abilities... because we clearly have one. Unless it has happened to you, you're going to think I'm insane, but it's the honest truth. We've been looking for stories similar to ours, but to no avail online. So, I'm turning to the blog as a solution. Have you ever had anything even REMOTELY similar to this happen? If so, please, PLEASE comment. I promise not to judge... I mean, how can I if I'm saying the same thing! I'm just looking for relatability. Thank you. Maddie Although you may think that you are surrounded by idiots, there are plenty of smart people out there! One thing I like to do when I have a few minutes and I am bored is to read quotes. Oftentimes the quotes make me look at things in a different light. Whether I believe what the person said or not, the quotes that people take the time to put up will always make me think.
I pity the fools who don't make it a habit to think about things. Not just about things in the world around them but, things happening in their own lives as well. Edgar Allen Poe once said "Years of love have been forgot in the hatred of a minute." And he's right. I have seen friendships destroyed by an insensitive remark or action. Anger, fear, resentment, frustration, carelessness or a plethora of other words could replace "hatred" in that quote and it would still be dead on. If you truly love someone (or, if it is a friendship, like someone), isn't it a pity to let years of good times and good memories be destroyed in an instant? Sometimes, unhealthy relationships need to be severed (I understand), but can't they be done with kindness? Does everyone involved have to suffer the hurt? I think not. This is about as far as I want to go with this particular thought, though, just something to think about. Another brilliant writer, George Bernard Shaw, once said: "Life does not cease to be funny when people die, anymore than it ceases to be serious when people laugh." I have never taken Shaw as a humorous kind of guy. More than likely, he threw that quote off as a verbal body blow, hitting someone while they were down. Even so, there is wisdom in that statement. Life does go on after a great loss. You will laugh again, and you will always have bills to pay etc., etc. Walking around miserable after a great loss dos no one any good. The quicker you can see humor in the things around you again, the better. We all enter the doldrums from time to time. The death of someone close to you will certainly bring on moments of sorrow. Still, the world does go on, and laughter does help to clear the mind. Thus, I will use this thought to segue into the next quote I'd like to talk about, which is similar in meaning. Kurt Vonnegut (yes, another writer) once said: "Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion (stress, too, I might add). I myself prefer to laugh since there is less cleaning up afterward." To me, this is a nicer way of saying the same thing. From what I have read about Vonnegut, he was less of a curmudgeon, than Shaw. Don't get me wrong, by the way, I like Shaw! It's just that some of his quotes were a bit acidic. Given I don't know the context behind many of his quotes, I am only going on my gut feeling here, anyway. That said, laughter is the best medicine if you can swing it. I have seen enough tears in my own life to know that I would certainly prefer to laugh rather than cry...So make me laugh people! Okay, I was writing this post to get you thinking, not depressed so I'll move away from somber quotes! Instead, here is a quote from Lewis Carroll found in Alice In Wonderland. This one is a little long, but it has a simple message" "One day, Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. "Which road do I take?" asked Alice. "Where do you want to go?" was his response. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then" said the cat, "it doesn't matter." Sadly, although Carroll wrote it in a witty, teasing manner, I think it is safe to say that many go through life not knowing where they are going. Many never stop to ponder the meaning of life, or, more importantly, the meaning of their own lives. You can see it in how they act and/or what they talk about. Thank goodness this isn't everyone! I know a number of people whose actions speak louder than any words they say that they are thinking about their lives and where they are going in their journey. These people are refreshing to be around. The vibe that they sometimes give off can be infectious! The beauty of it is that all of these people have chosen different paths for their lives. None of them have the same profession or the same attitudes. Their thinking comes out in their actions! What road is your life taking? Have you thought about it? I hope so! For my final quote of the day, I'll leave you with another metaphysical body punch from George Bernard Shaw (See, I told you I like him!). "The power of accurate observation is often called cynicism by those who have not got it." Hit them where it hurts George! Am I a cynic? Sometimes. I am an analyst by trade, and I was trained to look for the holes in a story. Reading between the lines is second nature to me. At the same time, I was also trained to look for the good! Over the years, I have put out just as many buy recommendations as I have short ideas. I have been both the bull and the bear! Sometimes, my posts may seem a little morose. I apologize for that. My aim is to make my readers think...not slit their wrists. Of course, what I have gone through over the past few years has shaped my thinking a bit. I am strong though, and my thoughts here are to help others think about what may be bothering them. Think people! And after thinking, act! Nothing improves without action. (If you have a blog of your own, leave a link in the comments section. I will post a link to your site if the material is appropriate for general consumption. Today, I found a new type of editing software that I've began messing with. It's called TAAZ, and it allows you to add or remove makeup in photos, change your eye color, and even change your hair color. It's SO much fun to mess around with and I've already edited a bunch of photos of and for my friends. As an example of what you can do with it, I edited a photo of my little sister Ashleigh. I changed her eyes, her hair, and even added makeup. Below on the left is before, and to the right, the after image.
Sunday was Father's day. I said Happy Father's day to my Daddy and gave him a new
T shirt. It was very nice! I also gave him a big hug! We brought him to dinner and gave him cards. Ashleigh Carnivals are fun. They have all kinds of rides and games They also have cotton candy
and popcorn! I love cotton candy! I like going to carnivals very much! Ashleigh Last night, My daughter Maddie wrote about opportunity...in a round about way anyway. Everyone loves to throw out the old cliche "When opportunity knocks, open the door!" I like to throw it out there too. The problem is, many people wouldn't recognize an opportunity if it hit them in the face! Many of us go through life not really knowing what we want. We have a tendency to let life go on around us, while we slip into our daily routine and just live.
While this can be a "safe" route, we fail to recognize things that can be an opportunity. Here are some examples. When I was younger, I had a friend who was looking for a job. We were in high school then, so working in a store or restaurant was what he was looking for. Even so, he would let opportunity after opportunity pass him by because when they occurred he was doing something else. What do I mean? Well, one day while we were riding our bikes to a store to play video games (games used to be in stores or restaurants and cost a quarter to play) we passed a store that had a sign saying they needed help. My friend didn't even notice the sign! He just kept on riding. When we got to where we were going, I asked him if he had seen the sign. He said yeah, and that he would contact them next week. Next week! The sign hadn't been there the day before when we rode by and there were lots of kids looking for jobs. It would have been very easy for him to just stop his bike and go in and talk to the store owner (we even knew the guy since it was a small store and we occasionally went in there to play games). Well, as you may have guessed, by the time he went in there the next week, the job was already taken. If he had gone in there when we first saw the sign, he may have gotten the job. So why didn't he stop? Likely because he had compartmentalized his life. At the time, we were going to play video games...that's what we were going to do. He only looked for a job when he was bored at home. Did he finally find a job. Yes, weeks later, and much further from his house than the one we passed that day. So how do we not let opportunities pass us by? Here are some easy rules to live by, that I find are tough to follow unless you stay focused on them. 1. Have an inkling of what you want in all areas of your life. 2. Know what you already have, both the good and bad. If you don't know what you have, and what its good and bad points are, you'll miss a lot of opportunities to upgrade. 3, Always live your life fully. Don't compartmentalize it! If you are looking for a nice shirt, and you see one you like in a store window when you are out to do the food shopping, don't just pass it by because you went out to do something else! See if you can stop and get the shirt and STILL do the other thing! Opportunities knock all the time, we just need to be able to recognize them as such! 4. Finally, put yourself in situations where opportunity is more likely to knock. My daughter mentioned the story about how my wife and I started dating after I grabbed her hand to walk with her. And that's true. A bunch of us had left a party we were at to go to a shore bar that was near the beach house we were partying at. The bar had a gate to get onto the beach. One of the girls was only 18 and couldn't get into the bar. She had come to the party with Sharon, so Sharon felt obligated to go with her when she suggested going for a walk. I had been hanging out with both of them at the party and I was interested in Sharon so I decided to go along. Another guy joined us to even out the numbers. Here is where the opportunity part comes in. At that point, I hadn't made any outright advances on Sharon. We had talked and played some drinking games, but I wasn't yet certain about how she felt about me. Her husband had died a couple of months before, and I wasn't sure if she was even interested in dating anyone yet. The other girl, I was certain, had a crush on me. In fact, Sharon even mentioned it to me at one point during the evening! The problem was that she was 18 and I was 33 and we had nothing in common. As we walked towards the beach, I was afraid she would try to grab my hand to set up the couples, and I was much more interested in Sharon, who was 23 at the time, and easy to talk to. Well, to make a long story short, I grabbed Sharon's hand and smiled at her. She smiled back, and the rest is history. We broke away from the other two and had a nice talk as we walked along the beach...the perfect start to a wonderful romance! Seizing the opportunity to go for a walk with some pretty girls and then creating the opportunity to walk with the one I liked changed my life. Will all opportunities turn out as well as this one did? No. All I can say is that if you don't recognize the opportunity and then act on it, you never will know how it will all turn out. I guess what I am trying to say is to never let fear (fear of failing, fear of not being liked, fear of the outcome) stop you from living the life you want to live. Remember, it is your life. Take well thought out chances, and don't be afraid to live the life that you want! At this point, I don't know what I'm going to write about. It's 11:12 AM as I type this, and I've let the day slip away from me once again. Too often, I get good ideas throughout the day and then I just either:
1). Decide I'm too lazy to write about the topic 2). I SAY I'm going to write about it, but then forget by the time I sit down to blog 3). Find an excuse not to 4). Become overwhelmed with ideas, and then let them all slip So now it's late, and I have nothing to write about. Wait... I lied. I know, actually, where I WANT to go with this post... just not how to get there. How to reach my conclusion. Allow me to share my thoughts with you... When I began writing this post, I wanted to take the idea of not grasping blog post ideas and use it as a clever metaphor for not letting opportunities slip away from you. It SEEMED like a good idea when I began this post, but now I can't seem to segway into the point I was trying to make. Ah well. Almost time for bed now, so I'm just going to tell you my thought. I think that all too often, people let opportunities pass them by... and you never know what chances you take will affect your life in a large way. A good example of this is my mom and dad. When they first started dating, they went to a beach party together and decided to take a walk on the beach with my mom's friend and one of my dad's friends. My dad chose to walk with my mom, and as they walked, he grabbed her hand. This chance would change his life... that walk on the beach, hand in hand, led to them dating which led to them finally getting married. Without my Dad's choice to not let an opportunity slip him by... I wouldn't be here right now. I wouldn't exist, and neither would this blog. The world would be considerably different, perhaps. I don't know. If I didn't exist, what would be different? Have I saved any lives, changed any lives..? I don't know, and I don't know if I WANT to know. I'll leave you with my dangling night time thoughts and conspiracies... I have to get some sleep now. Don't ever let chances pass you by. Maddie Today we found a turtle in our Yard. It got scared and ran under Nema's car when we
came towards it. We picked him up and put him in our strawberry patch! Later l a deer ran across our drive way. I like when animals come to visit. Ashleigh |
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