Tag: #people

A day to listen

The sun sets on another day…

Sunset was so snowy I could barely see the road, but there was a certain amount of beauty to it, and as the darkness fell and I was lost in a perpetual star field of snowflakes, I smiled because it was good.

I met a lot of people today, and it seemed as the day went on that there was a common theme. I laughed with many, cried with some, and listened to all. It is amazing how much you can learn if you just listen. As I listened the day became a series of conflicting situations revolving around choices and interactions. I was told about different issues we had faced and different people who had left our lives or for bad.

Some of the people I talked to we’re finding their way to positivity and some of them were lost in negativity. All of them just wanted somebody to listen to them for just a moment. In the end many of us just one our stories to be heard. Whether it’s something simple or something far more complex we just want to know that somebody understands who we are.

On the other hand there are far too many people that don’t listen to others and I really wish everyone would take the time to listen and enjoy the world around them every day. To everyone who I talked to, thanks for telling me your story. And for those that I didn’t talk to perhaps next time. I hope you all find a way to find peace. It’s out there.

So as the sun sets on another day, I hope you find your peace each day. In the process I hope you listen and are heard and  in the process I hope you see far more and far further than yesterday. Find your path, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and keep living…

Positive words…

The sun sets on another day…

I was tired and switch spots for a moment drifting to sleep in the car. In the back of my mind there was something knocking on the door, and I opened my eyes to see sunset in the distance. It was a spectacular sunset and a culmination of a magical weekend.

There were a lot of things that happened this weekend. The city we stayed in was very cute and while walking the downtown we met a significant number of people. Having no social conscience, it was easy to interact with people and get a feel for the positive presence in the unique location.

During our walk around the city there were a number of people who gave advice and tried to interact in a positive manner. As everyone knows sometimes this really helps and sometimes it does very little. I think the same thing about 29000 Sunsets, sometimes it may say something that speaks to you and sometimes it will be meaningless drivel that does very little. As each person reacted with us I tried to walk away with the positive and realize that their intention was to try to help. Whether they helped or not was inconsequential but instead it was that feeling of positivity that I took away with me.

This morning we discussed that and even that is sometimes a little much but trying to be positive is a whole lot better than the alternative.

with that in mind all I can suggest is take the good with you. Take the love with you. Take the passion with you. Take the positivity with you. Take everything that can help you better day with you and make it part of your existence. There may be things that are negative but toss them in the trash can with the doughnut wrapper.

So as the sun sets on another day, we can look down on anything, but we can also look up to anything. Let’s take another path and just enjoy our day the best we can each day. The world can be a better place if we just look for the good and set aside the not so good. Along the way, lets make our time good each day, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and find the good…

Ultraspectacular…

The sun sets on another day…

I find myself circling a moment and then repeating it. Actually there were a lot of moments. As the sun set in the Western sky I smiled at the colors and creations of the day.

Words are a lot of fun. As words come and words go we have meanings that sometimes stay the same and sometimes change. I like to think everything is spectacular and awesome and that the world is breathtaking, stunning, astounding, astonishing, with a splash of stupendous extraordinary incredibility but that is almost unbelievable. In the end the words do not convey enough.

Today I had the pleasure a meeting number of people that I can only refer to by words. I think there are any words that adequately describe those people. There were the two cheerleaders who’s poise and patience were beyond belief and their grandparent and parent. There were the people who came from a gym that were magnificently communicative. Their engagement in the event was very positive. There were family and friends and people that new the foundation event and those that were there just to share in a fantastic and positive get together.

The second annual Haley Sue Foundation Ball was an amazing success in my eyes as it points all of the positives in a world that we often trip over negatives. From the well spoken emcee to all of the volunteers and officers of the event, to all of the workers that made the event a success. I can only say thank you and feel fantastic at the outcome.

The Haley Sue Foundation was created from a vision of my niece, and right now I believe she would smile at the good work they continue to try to do and at the excitement and tangible elation of people involved in the event. I look forward to this again and if you were there I hope you had a great time.

So as the sun sets on another day, to everyone that went, thank you. If you didn’t, I hope I can see you next year and beyond. Make a difference every day, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and wow!

In my hand…

The sun sets on another day…

Today’s sunset was brought to you by the words wet and gooey. Water pooled everywhere as temperatures raised and a light rain fell. This was much better than the start of the day when the entire area was encased in a giant block of ice. I went out to my truck for a drive and could barely open the door. That convinced me to stay home and enjoy the day.

I spent a lot of time with my last German shepherd teaching her the difference between her paws and my hands. She understood a great deal; if I asked her to put something in my hand, she would probably bring it and place it in my outstretched hand.

Our hands are probably one of the biggest differentiators in who we are as a species. They allow us to carry and work with things that generally other animals cannot do. We carry stuff around daily without thinking; as we do, we often carry more in our minds.

There are times when the mind and the hand are one unit. I often find myself lost in those moments where my imagination runs rampant, and I see things in my hand and think about how it would feel to hold them. The mind is a powerful tool but can also be a difficult enemy. It is straightforward to drop things from your hands, but not so easy to drop things from your mind. That can be a problem.

I hope you can take a moment and drop the negativity you may carry. Please take a moment and hold on to the positivity. I know it is not as easy as dropping something from your hand, but it does offer the ability to do and be so much more.

So, as the sun sets on another day, hands can carry an awful lot, but minds carry even more. Let’s let go of the things we don’t need, like negativity and passive thoughts. Let’s embrace passion and positivity and find our way every day to something fantastic, no matter what

Sleep sweet, love life, and let go…

Not your fault…

The sun sets on another day…

I was in a parking lot with Pepper when I saw the sun starting to set. I took a moment and enjoyed it, then snapped a picture as clouds started battling with the evening light. As I drove home, the light was pulled from the sky, and darkness closed in on me; still, it was a great sunset.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie “Good Will Hunting.” during the movie, there is a portion that focuses on the main character and their feeling of ownership of the problems in their life. A character says to them, “it’s not your fault,” and the scene becomes a powerful series of emotions as the main character realizes the heaviness they have been placing upon themselves.

I have always taken a different approach when talking to people and explain simply that it was my fault. It is my fault that a volcano erupted in the Pacific Ocean, it is my fault that there is a divide in the world, and it is my fault that some people are so afraid that they lash out at any kindness directed toward them. Depending on the conversation, I will blame myself for the woes of the world simply because it quickly points out that the situation is not correct. When people realize that I am willing to take the blame and they look at it away from themselves for a moment, they also realize that it’s not my fault, and it’s not theirs either.

It is so easy for many people to take the blame for anything. Years ago, I worked with a group of people that were very downtrodden, and they were convinced that it was always their fault. Sometimes this very idea that it was their fault created a situation that was dangerous to them and often others involved. They made the decision to take the blame for things that were out of their control or beyond anyone’s control. It is with that in mind that I ask you to take a step back from anything that is frustrating you and stop believing it is your fault. You should ask yourself a question each time you feel blame. Well, maybe you should ask two questions: could I have taken an action that would have changed anything? did my inaction change anything?

It is with that in mind that I can tell most people it is not your fault. Many of us have an illusion of control over situations and other people. It is a fact, however, that you cannot control other people, nor can you climb inside their minds and make them do anything. By the same token, most situations are out of your control, and the only thing that you can say for certain is that you were either aware or unaware, but you had no control and, as such, can take no blame. If you are treated poorly by another person, you cannot take the blame any more than I can take the blame for a volcano erupting in the Pacific. If you are in a situation that you have no control over, you cannot take the blame either. Under most circumstances, except the most direct issues where you are driving a situation, or you are the only variable, it is not your fault.

I know that it’s likely that you won’t believe me. I would love to put so much detail into this post that it would gag Godzilla. Instead, I can only ask you to consider well your position in the universe and what you can control and not control. I think you’ll find that in most cases, it is not your fault. Find the belief in yourself to believe those words and, in doing so, reduce a little stress.

So as the sun sets on another day, it’s not your fault. All those things you blamed yourself for are not your fault. It will be hard to believe, but maybe you should blame me and see how it sounds. If I am to blame, oops. Otherwise, it’s time to let go and realize you’re a pretty good person. Keep being you, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and its not your fault…

A yellow shirt…

The sun sets on another day…

Sunset was more than spectacular as Pepper and I found a spot, and watched the birds and the sun sliding from the sky. I took an extra few minutes, and laughed as Pepper sat and watched the birds. I found a moment of peace.

Where do I start.

I was writing tonight, trying to finish a series of thoughts on a series of thoughts. In the process I picked up a book next to me, “The Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran” and opened it randomly to a page. This quote called to me, “Death is not neared to the aged than to the new-born. Neither is life.”

I sat for a moment and my mind drifted. It was a moment of solace and seriousness.

In February of 2021 I published a book called “A Slice of Fear”. In that book there was a story about death. The story was from a dream I had and the dream was so vivid that if it was not real it should have been. In the story and the dream the personification of death wore a yellow shirt and slacks and was generally mild mannered. He told me about my life and explained a lot about the different trials and tribulations I had been through. All of the things in the dream were real and all of the moments described were just as real.

There are particular situations that I have gone through that have been relatively devastating. One of those situations involved the woman who took my heart and later set it free. She made a choice in her life that removed me completely. It wasn’t because she didn’t have feelings for me but instead because she was looking for peace and she described that peace in great detail. Part of the peace was finding a center so that her children would find their peace. I respected this even though it hurt. It actually hurt a lot.

I have had two additional dreams and visited with the man with the yellow shirt. the dreams were not difficult and were nowhere near as adversarial as the first dream. Still, they aligned the series of thoughts and I of course thought that somewhere in the back of my mind I was working out issues that I had never put to rest. The largest of these issues was the man in the yellow shirt taunting me with the idea that anyone that would give to me the way I gave to them would be removed from my life. To put it simply the man in the yellow shirt was giving me some sort of penance and stating that I should not consider having some people in my life that listened and heard and put in the pure passion that I did. It was further stated in my dream that the reason I did so well with my puppies is they gave back everything I put in, but their lives were finite. I agree with this premise and only a few people have ever considered the depth of how I feel. Instead most are lost in the bias of how they think I feel, or project their insecurities on me.

I’m getting to the point, thanks if you’ve stayed with me.

On December 24th of 2022 the person who I was close to died after a battle with cancer. I had no visibility into their life beyond a few messages from time to time and no idea this had happened. I found this after doing a quick check when I saw the quote tonight looking for an obituary in a town from the past.

I sit here thinking about the depth of passion and someone who was as passionate as I and to put every ounce of their passion into me as I did to them in the short time, we were together. I sit here thinking about how few people truly understand how deep passion can go. I sit in wonder of the people who hold on to anger and miss out on the depths of what can be felt. My mind is a series of emotional whirlwinds wondering how many people are next to the people right now thinking not about sleep or really anything else except that person next to them. My thoughts have drifted to peace, and I hope that this person has found the peace they were always seeking. There is very little else to say except the man in the yellow shirt does not bring pain or suffering but instead ferries souls to where they belong. I know that in this moment this person will find their peace.

So as the sun sets on another day, take stock of who you are with and those people that see past the obvious. Find those people that transcend the mundane and lift you to a new place. Seek out friends and loves that not only love you but lift you to a spectacular new height. Set aside those people that use you then ignore you or give only what they want when what they want is little. Reach out for the spectacular because you deserve even more and as you do realize that you are special and that you deserve more than anyone can give you unless they listen to and see who you are. I say it to you again, you are special. Keep holding on to your feelings and never let go of your passion, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and sleep in peace…

Overdrive…

The sun sets on another day…

Sunset was spectacular and I enjoyed watching the sky slowly fade away to darkness as colors cascaded across the horizon. It was a good night.

There is so much to say and so much to do that it will never all be said and never all be done. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to avoid saying the things that need to be said or doing the things that need to be done. Instead it means that for the right things we need to go a little farther and perhaps put it all into overdrive.

This doesn’t mean life has to be about doing everything or saying everything but it does mean that sometimes things are so important that they need to be done and need to be said. With that in mind I hope that you find the strength to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done and find the passion to do more everyday.

So as the sun sets on another day passion is an amazing thing. A near uncontrollable emotion set fire by the human will. Use your passion to make a difference and find the positivity to make people see that life can be a little better if they let it. You can be the one that makes a difference, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and find overdrive…

A matter of bias…

The sun sets on another day…

As I drove into the sunset the sky was assaulted by a magnificent barrage of color and life. The warmer air was still chilling, but I opened the window off and on for a spray of fresh air.

I had several conversations about bias today. I have written about bias many times and personal bias is at the core of how people grow and react to situations. Bias is defined as “prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair”. We are faced with a lot of positive and negative bias in our lives and of course a lot of things that we learn and find as relatively real or unreal. Bias is important because usually it’s based on things that we don’t completely know, and we just believe. Sometimes bias is very light and does not affect us very much and sometimes biases very pointed and over the top. It is often our personal bias that creates a significant amount of our personality. We determine how we react and interact based on the bias that we have built and not necessarily based on pure fact.

These definitions are easy to look up and on Sunday I had a long discussion with a fantastic person who was playing chakra bowls about bias and belief. I actually had a lot of discussions on Sunday and several interactions that were directly based on bias, and two incidents that were based on bias. Oh, my. Was a fun day huh?

Not really. Every day we are faced with things that are not real and in those we create bias, fair or unfair, to apply to the world. Extreme examples are things like racism and sexism, but how we interact with just about anyone may be based on a programmed bias. A good example for me has always been shoes. If you look at the shoes someone wears you can sometimes tell quite a bit about them, but it is not fair because it takes a portion of a person and creates a complete picture based on past events. Some people create complete worlds out of bias, and they live their bias every day, whether positive or negative.

I am sure you can come up with millions of examples if you think about it but most people see race, sex, national origin, religion, and politics at the top. I try to be more open and listen to people to know them as I have found if I am feeling bias that I realize it may not be valid. I pay attention and listen and try to pick up on their bias to avoid issues caused by me, whether true of false. In the end, it is a chess game that you sometimes win and sometimes lose.

I have digressed.

My conversation this day revolved around people’s self-realizations in eastern philosophy and how easy it has become to set anything that has worked from the past aside. The young woman noted that we have become a world of injections and pills instead of finding our center and it was a bias that built this foundation. She stated that people don’t trust foundations that have worked for a significant amount of time because someone else discards it, even if there is documented proof of something working.

I agreed with the caveat, and we laughed for a while. Many people wrinkle their noses with things like acupuncture or chiropractic medicine, even if it means something. Fun huh? I have found that if you are not sure or don’t know, you should listen, and maybe even do some research. Stop trusting that what you think is true is true unless you know it is true, and even then, take it a little further. We can all find a better world if we just stop being “sure” and instead open our minds to possibilities.

Maybe at the end of it all there is a tunnel that leads us to paying attention to our days today, and not becoming mired in our tomorrows and yesterdays. Maybe looking for tomorrow always is a bias in itself. Maybe we should push the envelope and live today with passion. Just a thought, or perhaps it is a bias.

So as the sun sets on another day, be spectacular. Realize people are great unless they are not. Pay attention to what your bias is saying. Think about the effect your bias may have, good or bad. Consider well who you are, and make your best choices every day, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and be open…

Perspectives of people…

The sun sets on another day

Sunset was again a little bit cloudy and a little bit amazing. I enjoyed the colors cascading over the clouds and smiled a little bit as the sun set in the evening sky.

If you have read anything that I write you know that I love seeing the perspectives of other people and trying to understand how everyone sees the world. The world is a spectacular and amazing place but only if you see it that way. Many people do but many people do not.

Today I met with many people who were enjoying life to its maximum limit. As I laughed and listened I once again realized how much we should all respect each other. Perhaps we should consider that the most important thing that anyone can do is live their life and as long as they are enjoying life and not hindering anyone else whatever they do is fantastic.

With that in mind I hope you find a way to be fantastic and live your life with excessive passion and persistent vision to grow both yourself and the world around you. After all we are all in this together and it is a fantastic ride no matter how you look at it.

So as the sun sets on another day, I think people are great except when they’re not and even when they’re not great there’s something to learn from everyone and everything. I hope you too find a way to grow everyday, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and find your people..

A light in the darkness…

The sun sets on another day…

I thought about sunset as it passed into the western sky, and I enjoyed the moments, even though I still could not see the colors, or the sun. Still, it was a good day and I knew the night would be better.

Today I met a wonderful young lady who was working the desk at a large shop. I say young because she was young at heart, not of age, and she told me a bit of her story. She had lost family and was alone now, but still she had friends and kept busy in her retirement just by working small jobs like this one.

As I listened she relayed her tales, and they would have devastated many. For her it was just another great and fantastic day, and for her the day would be full of excitement and meeting people.

To me it was positive because here was someone that could have given up, but instead she shined brightly and made a difference. She pushed herself into the light even as life was trying to take it away. It was inspiring to see this and I felt as though there could be few better worlds than one with her in it.

We all have choices. I know it is a tired phrase, but when life gives you lemons make some pie, after all pie is great. Find the best path you can, and in the process lets all be happy with what we have the best we can.

So as the sun sets on another day, I am always happy to find positive people who try to lift me up. I am too heavy though, don’t want to break backs. You know what I mean though, surround yourself with positive people, and make each day amazing, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and be a positive model for all…