Levelling The Land

Proud to be.......

2008-12-02T19:47:00.000-08:00

Today is the day I received huge privilege, honor and blessing in my life as I became a Citizen of the United States of America - One Nation Under God.

All Hallow's Eve 2008

2008-11-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

I choose not to celebrate Halloween - my employees (and others in our department) choose to celebrate it. They are an incredible group of professional administrators...and apparently dancers! Here is their performance this year at work before we opened the doors to the public for normal customer service.

Tipping Trees

2008-10-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Due to immense rot in a neighbor's tree causing a large limb to break off on to their house, we had to take it down this weekend. But to take it down safely, we had to take another neighb or's tree down first! Having got that one down we realized it too was totally rotten.

Funny thing happened after we tipped one tree and it was totally laying across the road, blocking the whole street (you'll see from the photos/videos how obvious that was!) when up comes a couple of cyclists. I had to stop them trying to go any further for their safety, as when you buck the boughs they can often spring back as the main stump shifts position and fly up. They asked me "What are they doing?", so I looked across as this huge tree in the middle of the road and said "I think they are taking a tree down..what do you reckon?" to which they replied "Oh really?" Some people...I just replied "I guess.... " and laughed at them.

Enjoy the videos!

Rapture

2008-10-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

Perspective.....

2008-09-16T17:49:00.001-07:00

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words, redistribution of wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, 'How is your friend Audrey doing?' She replied, 'Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely h as a 2..0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over.'

Her wise father asked his daughter, 'Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.'

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, 'That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!'

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, 'Welcome to the Republican party.'

If anyone has a better explanation of the difference between Republican and Democrat I'm all ears.

Submitting....

2008-06-29T11:42:00.001-07:00

It's been way too long since I blogged and part of that has been the reason for this latest blog. As a species we wrestle with submissive behavior on a regular basis. Sometimes we are calling others to submit, and oftentimes others are calling us to take up a submissive stance. Either way, the very art of this character trait causes a deeper disciplinary act within us all.

Many of us have been on both sides of this fence - the submittor or the submittee. Which is easier? HA...that's a no brainer. It's so easy to call people to submit to us, right? Hmmm...not always. I guess that depends on who is doing the calling. Mr Ego-Hey-Look-At-Me has no trouble doing so. Doesn't even stop to consider it. But Mr I-Got-To-Get-The-Right-Balance will still call for an act of submission, but be constantly and thoroughly checking his stance to ensure it is fair and responsive to the needs of the majority,and tweaking it accordingly. Even so, while it can be all that, it still doesn't make it right. This is how cults grow up and out of hand.

And what about the person being called to submit? Yeah, OUCH! Not many relish that one! But what we submit and buy in to often states what we are about and what it really is that makes our core tick. I'm not talking about being controlled here. Control is completely different as it implies you have no power or ability to make a choice outside of that being enforced upon you. Submission is choosing to agree to a leader. Or not, as the case may be. Submission becomes hard when you know the leader calling you to submit is right, but you still don't wish to do it. That could be your boss, your parent, your webmaster, your pastor etc.

So whether you are the submittor or the submittee in any category right now, I challenge you to stop and ask yourself - is that which I am requesting or that which is being requested of me fair, honest, and something that I buy in to and respect? How and what you submit or buy in to speaks volumes about the person you are. If you simply go along for the ride with others you still have to be accountable for that, as it is unequivocally your choice. Equally if you pound out the requirement for submission in to others unrelentlessly and without due consideration, don't be surprised when the masses won't support your leadership.

A new start

2008-06-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

It has been funny coming back to blog after all this time. As I read the start of the last one I posted it was all about "firsts". And it still is. Only now it is with my new job. "Firsts" are happening on a daily basis and I've been there 6 weeks nearly now. God is doing a new thing :)

I love my new job; the people are encouraging and positive - they don't send me hate mail, black mail, smash up my office windows and neither do they break in and steal my laptop. They do timely professional development reviews and you even get pay reviews and increases! Imagine that! But most of all the work is challenging and others are genuinely interested, supportive and invested in what you do. They want to see you grow and what to be a part of your success. It is an awesome environment to find myself blessed to be in.

As the 40 days of fasting came to an end, I dreaded that things would just slide back. I actually felt quite sad about the prospect. But I can certainly say that has not been my experience so far. When you cry out to God, he is faithful - all the time

40 Days - Day 8

2008-04-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

Wow!

"Firsts" are just coming up all over the place - too many to mention, but the Lord works in mysterious amazing ways alright! My husband and I are just growing and blossoming left right and center. Which is more than I can say for the flowers. After temperatures of 84F last weekend, it snowed on the valley floor this weekend! What's with that?

So this is my last 2 days in my current job. As I sit and look around my bare office with boxes stacked up with my belongings I can feel a new season coming through. I pray to God it is summer - physically and spiritually! Haha.

I'm looking forward to a few days R&R before I start my new job. Exciting times all round. God is doing a new thing us for sure \0/

40 Days - Day 4

2008-04-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

Still alive and kicking!

Yesterday was a day for "firsts". Fed my husband tofu for the first time in his life and he actually almost enjoyed it. Living in a city where hippiedom is rife, it's easy to get overwhelmed with stereotypes when they are constantly in your face. So this was a good experience of finding out that something about the lifestyle isn't so bad after all and learning tolerance. I don't think I will start growing leg hair just yet though ;)

My first was getting the opportunity to share some deep personal experiences with a lady who is going through much the same as I did, only ten years later. I had never met her before, but she was very open to the discussion. It was so heart-warming being able to take my past pain, draw alongside hers with understanding, and encourage her to keep pressing on in prayer and faith, knowing that this is just a season, and one day her life will be full again. It's such a priviledge when we get the opportunity to share such personal moments with one another, especially when we don't even really know them.

40 Days - Day 1

2008-04-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

So those of you who follow my blog are in for 40 days of total randomness hehe. I'm just going wherever I'm led during this time, so anything could happen. Hold on to the cissy bar - could be a rough ride!

So Day 1 went well yesterday - we got to 9:00am without anything too disasterous happening ;) Then the call came from one of our sons to say he was stranded due to car issues. Seems the ignition switch was PMSing big time and needed holding in a certain position to allow the car to continue running. Errr....did I mention it was a stick shift? LOL So we BOTH drove it to our mechanic's shop about 20 miles away - my son steering and holding the ignition switch at the required place, while I changed up and down gear for him. We got pretty good at that - see, driving in England all those years helped enormously as it was a natural place for a stick shift for me! Never would I have figured the problem out. Turns out that after-sale car alarms cause a huge issue with ignitions, as the alarms are not designed for the lifetime of the car, and as they fail, they cause crazy things to happen to electric units around them. Once the alarm system was removed the car purred in to action.

Also read something that made me stop and think, and I wanted to share it with you. Life gets tough at times, right? You just never know when the next battle is going to come and from which angle, but you can bet your bottom dollar it is coming, and usually without much warning. Sometimes it can be with a loved one, or maybe even a parent or sibling. Someone says something and before you know it you are in a total out-of-proportion argument, and one of you ends up telling the other you never want to see or speak to them again. Yeah, who of us hasn't been there at some point. Friends or other family try to persuade us to change our minds, and our reponse often falls way to "No, it's a decision I can live with". Well good for prideful little us huh. But what about after that? Is it also a decision we can DIE with? Yeah, there's the crunch right there! Can we live with the choice knowing that we also die with that choice, or possibly even worse, the other person dies leaving us with no option to change our choice anymore (yeah - I should have warned you guys this was a post-caffeine blog!)

And so it is with your decision about having a personal relationship with Jesus. So you can live with the decision not to get to know him? That's great, seriously, because life is a trial. But can you die with that decision too? Can you take that risk? Like my son's car - usually it takes one person to drive it when everything is working fine, but if anything goes wrong, you can need 2 at the controls. Life is easy to navigate on our own when everything is going well, but when it turns to stormy waters, who have you got in your boat to help you. To REALLY help you. And don't let the after-sales life "alarm" coverage fool you - it won't work forever, be it a mother, a friend, a girl-friend! All these fail and perish in time too. Your thoughts.........

Go Adrynalyne - Street Dancer!

2008-03-29T19:16:00.001-07:00

Get your own at Gizmoz.com

2008-03-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

It's not just a song. Put yourself to one side; put your beliefs to one side; open up yourself to the point of vulnerability; listen and allow the lyrics to penetrate.

Meet my Daddy!

2008-03-06T20:04:00.000-08:00

So I want to introduce you to my family; mainly my fantastic Father. I would put a photo up of Him for you to see but unless you've met his Son you're not going to be able to see Him anyway.

So let me introduce you to His Son first. Hmmmm......I don't have any photos of him either, but His name is Jesus. Some of you have already met Him. He is the most amazing, loyal, faithful, loving, compassionate, awe-inspiring, devoted friend you will ever have. Given that, I can't possibly imagine why anyone wouldn't want to meet Him. But there are some who just cannot bring themselves to. It's kind of crazy, because every day in our lives we instantly make countless decisions - what we are going to eat, what we are going to wear, who we are going to hang out with - all kinds of things that affect our well-being and vitality here on earth. But given the decision of overcoming death and having eternal life without the ongoing pain, suffering and hardship of this world and we actually not only stop to consider if this is what we want, but we fight it!

Back to my Daddy. He's not just mine. He's a great big awesome Daddy to everyone and anyone. You just have to believe in Him. Heck, even if you don't believe in Him, He still believes in you and loves you. More than you realize. Yeah, I know. You think I'm crazy believing in something you can't see. Note I said YOU can't see. Because I can. Look at it this way. Imagine it is a very cloudy night. It is pitched black. As morning comes you would still expect it to get light wouldn't you? You still KNOW the sun (Son) is there even though you can't see it shining in the sky. Why? Because you have had an experience with the sun before. You've grown up as a baby having many daily experiences of the sun revealing itself to you from behind the clouds. However, you had to open your eyes and look in the correct direction to see it first. And so it is with God. Baby steps first until you learn which direction to look in and have your first experiences of knowing He's there...maybe a little hidden behind the cloud of your life that you have wrapped yourself in, but He's there!

Curious as to why you would WANT to know Him yet? Because he has an amazing gift for you.......it's totally free and totally awesome! He's wrapped it up just for you and it has your name on it. Kinda like a present under the Christmas tree. He's gone to more effort and pain than you will ever comprehend to provide this gift for you. Wouldn't it be awful if we took time and effort to find just the right gift for someone, and then they didn't even open it? How would YOU feel? Gutted and disappointed!

Want to know more about your gift? Leave me a comment with your MSN Messenger nick and I'll tell you more. It will be one of the best decisions you have made....so far.

Finally, I would like you to meet two more members of my family. They are the Pastors of my church, Jubilee World Outreach. Wonderful people full of encouragement, kindness and hope. They also love you, care about you and pray for you so that you may come to know the hope they have in God. \0/

Geocaching 101

2008-01-16T08:34:00.000-08:00

During the last hunting season my husband bought me an awesome handheld GPS system; a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx no less! He figured that since I am no woodland Tarzan as he is, when I get turned around I will always be able to find my way back to the rig. So far it has worked well ;) When we were traveling in Washington State earlier this year we met some people who were also geeky, and introduced us to the world of geocaching. Now having this fantastic GPS system it seemed only logical to explore this new-found hobby.

Our youngest son is a little geeklet too, and quite a head of knowledge on his shoulders, so we waited until we were in the UK with him to check out our new Geocaching skills. Armed with laptop, we found caches on the website. Once you have the cache you wish to go and find, you simply download the coordinates to your handheld GPS and off you go! Simple right? NOT! In the UK there is no WAAS System available. This means you are just using GPS accuracy to locate your cache, so the GPS will get you within 20-30 feet of your target. The rest you have to figure out on your hands and knees, using the cryptic coded clues given on the geocache website, if any is given at all.

So naturally we picked the wettest day of the vacation to go geocaching, and we picked the hilliest part of the county in which to seek a cache! Pounding through the muddy woods off the beaten track wearing 3 inch mud-platform sneakers, we soon began to look conspicuously suspicious, wander vaguely round and round in circles between trees as if looking for a good place to hide a dead body! Those walking their dogs eyed us in a typically British fashion, looking away abruptly if we made eye contact with them, but curious enough to turn and sneak another peak after they passed, hoping that we weren't still looking in their direction.

As one leg began to slide backward down the hill and the other remained stationery at the top of the hill (ouch!), our son found the geocache hidden at the base of a tree in an old ammunition box! Sweet :) How appropriate! You see, we are also members at MajorGeeks.com so the ammo box was very topical. Flat Tim, the 2D downloadable version of one of the co-owners of MajorGeeks, has his own website depicting his travels, so it was only right that we took him on his first geocache with us.

So having signed the log book, we picked up two Travel Bugs (no, these are not malware...you are safe to click the link!) and headed back to the car. Do you know how long it takes to remove 3 inches of mud from your feet so you don't trash the rental?? The Travel Bugs are now back in Oregon, USA and I am looking for a couple of cache boxes to stash them in. There are a few near to our home, so we are hoping to move them on this weekend.

In conjunction with our son, who is also a great fisherman, we are now planning planting our own geocache box with a Hunting & Fishing theme. It'll be great to see how far the Travel Bug fly fishing lures might get ;)

This will touch you....

2007-12-16T14:16:00.000-08:00

Bambi is dead!

2007-11-25T16:55:00.000-08:00

It's official. The stinky, tick-ridden creature no longer walks the earth. Honestly guys, he really wasn't the cute animation you've all been led to believe in for all these years. But before we examine his personal hygiene problems in detail, let's look at his downfall on that fateful day......

It was any normal October morning. We rose well before the break of day, put on our thermal under-layers and camoflauge outer layers and waited for our son to arrive at the house. It was with anticipation we all clambered into the pick-up with steaming thermal mugs of coffee and headed out to the local McDonalds drive-thru for a hunters breakfast - sausage and egg mcmuffins with cheese.

As we arrived at the private unit we planned to hunt and daylight made itself known, we stopped, added all the extra layers, gloves and hats, loaded up the 30-06's, and while Randy drove, Ryan and I hopped up into the back of the rig for a great view of the woods. Ryan took the left hand view and I the right. We'd barely been trucking down the muddy gravel track more than a few minutes when Bambi exposed himself, butt first, from within the trees! Not at all what I expected from such a self-righteous character!! I tapped on the cab roof to stop and we grounded to a fairly quick halt. I was totally unaware Ryan had already hopped down from the rig and walked to the front of the cab on his side. I too moved in for the kill. My eyes were firmly fixed on Bambi's as the loving stare-down began. Just as hearts began to appear in his eyes, and drool started to flow down my chin as I thought of those burgers. Safety off, BAMMMM!

One-shot Lev they call me now. Bambi bucked high and ran for deeper cover. Too late - a piece of his lungs lay brightly on the ground. Score! A trophy buck - Western Oregon blacktail 5 point (11 point to you southerners). He barely got 100 feet from the point at which that fatal slug hit.

Now, about Bambi's personal hygiene. How disgusting! Cute and squeakly clean? Far from it. Lice, flea and tick-ridden smelly, gland-seeping, sexed-up creature willing to spawn with any female of it;s kind who happens to pass by. Shame on you parents who encourage your children to watch such a filthy, movie full of lustful beasts!!

Oh, one other thing, before anyone gets their political correctness noses out of joint, just remember.......carrot juice constitutes murder.....

via videosift.com

Republicans for 2008

2007-11-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

Love Addict

2007-10-05T21:43:00.001-07:00

Success - Thoughts on 9/11

2007-09-11T08:12:00.000-07:00

Success
To laugh often and much,
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children,
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends,
To appreciate the beauty, to find the best in others!
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch or a redeemed social condition,
to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Only Imagine

2007-09-06T21:03:00.001-07:00

Today's blog is very simple. You just need to listen ....Perfect!

Hope

2007-08-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I last blogged and a lot of metaphorical water has flowed under the metaphorical bridge since then. Both time and events brought me back to something we all need in life to carry us through......HOPE.

So where do we get hope from?

For me personally, I find hope in Jesus, but this blog isn't about my Jesusfreakiality (did I just make a new word up?). I'll save that for another blog, as I don't want to lose people along the way on this one.

Because we are human, we look for hope in many things and many people. Often those people are the ones close to us - our family and our dearest friends. Ever had hope in one of these people only to be let down big time, and been left wallowing in a sea of pain and suffering as a result? Of course you have - we all have, even if we would rather not talk about it or admit it. That's natural because it hurt. You hoped your friends would turn up because it was your birthday, but they didn't. OUCH! You hoped your boss that you have been busting your gut for doing overtime to help his business would show you a little respect, but he didn't. OUCH! You hoped one of your family who has caused you so much heartache over the years would finally want to just let you be yourself and embrace you for who you are, but they still judge you harshly instead. OUCH! Am I touching any nerves here yet?

I've seen people suffering like this on a daily basis for many years. Nowadays they don't even need to voice their despair and pain at the loss of such hope they held high - I can just see it in their eyes as they walk by. Sometimes we crave so much for a hope from those nearest and dearest to us that when it doesn't come to fruition, it leaves us spiralling into a depression of total hopelessness. Often those so closely involved in our lives are the wrong people to look toward for hope and encouragement. Often those qualities can only be found in the most unusual of places instead, if only we would open our eyes a little more and look for them.

I have had three people touch my life in such a hope-filled way, and out of those three, two I have never met physically face to face, and the third I knew only by name through a mutual friend before I met her for the first time and it was then that she did one of the most unselfish things possible for me. At a time when she was full herself of hopelessness she knowingly gave me extreme hope. The second person I already mentioned - Jesus Christ, and that is a whole different blog. The third person was a gentleman called Gary aka G.T. Despite his own human suffering he continued to shine that light of hope in to peoples' lives daily, taking time to talk to them about their struggles at a time when he too was facing the biggest struggle in life......death. His positiveness and desire for sharing kindness and love were uniquely amazing always, but especially in those last months.

So, when the person you are craving hope from isn't putting out, look around you. Really look around you, andI believe hope is always available in situations deemed to be hopeless....we just have to think outside the box and seek it with an open heart, because hope is always there, it just might not be in the exact place you are searching.

Forgiveness

2007-06-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

So taking a look at forgiveness and issues around it is much easier when you are not actually required to be in a forgiving mood for something yourself. We can be much more logical (and critical) when it isn't an emotional issue for us. So here goes......

I'm not talking about forgiving your friend because she didn't return your favorite Madonna CD or hoody (although that would require a lot on my part if it was my Majorgeeks hoodie!)' I'm talking here about the big stuff....you know...where the rubber really hits the road. The heart-rendering issues and concerns in life that leave us feeling totally (and perhaps justifyably) angry, mad, vulnerable, bitter, broken, hurt, disbelieving and mostly unforgiving. That friend or family member who breached your trust; the person who physically or sexually assaulted you; the best friend who slept with your spouse/partner; the person who lied about you to save their own face - whatever it may be - we've all been there in some way, shape or form.

Now forgiveness. What do we do it for? To release the other person of the extreme guilt they are feeling about what they did wrong? Yes, that's a part of it, but seriously, I think that is an extrememly small part of it. The person who did you wrong needs forgiveness, sure, but from you? Yeah...removes the surface guilt, but it doesn't remove the guilt trip and lack of peace that is maybe (or hopefully at some point) going on deep down inside them in their very core.

So why should we do it then, if not to forgive the person who did something awful to us? Have you ever been with someone at the moment of them discovering that they have been abused, betrayed, walked all over etc? Remember how livid, angry and full of hatred they were at that moment, so much so you thought they could rip the whole world in half with their bare hands in one strike? THAT is why we should forgive! All that negative emotional turmoil also goes to the very core of our being and sits there. It eventually goes off the boil to a steady simmer, but it never goes completely away. We carry it around like a fully-ladened oil tanker bobbing about on the sea. Yeah, the tanker will keep afloat, until something hits it hard and knocks it off balance, then all that black sickly oil comes pouring out and drenches and coats everything it touches, leaving it almost impossible to clean off without strong detergent. Even if you do have the time to clean it all off, it is a huge operation taking tons of time and energy and no guarantee it is going to be ever fully clean again.

Wouldn't it have been so much easier to just work through forgiving the person in your own heart in the first place rather than carry that tanker load of dirty oil around for the rest of your life, hoping that one day nothing causes you to spill it out over the rest of your life..........food for thought guys.....food for thought.

The Donkey

2007-06-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

Live simply and appreciate what you have.

Give more.

Expect less

NOW ............

Later on . . .

The donkey later came back, and bit the farmer who had tried to bury him. The gash from the bite got infected and the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock.

MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON:

When you do something wrong, and try to cover your ass, it always comes back to bite you.

-----
Thank you to the person who sent this fun but truthful gem to me :)

Zero Tolerance Anyone?

2007-06-07T15:38:00.000-07:00

We all know that feeling only too well, right? You constantly struggle to cope with something for as long as you possibly can. But the day comes when someone does something that just tips you over the edge and SLAM, you go face first into the wall known as Zero Tolerance.

My current personal Zero Tolerance is people who refuse, for irrational or illogical reasons, to step outside of their comfort zones. In fact, I would go as far as to say, it isn't the fact that they won't step outside the comfort zone, its the fact that they have a ceaseless supply of lame excuses as to why they have not or will not step away from the norm and try something different or new. Add to that the incessant whining of how terrible or impossible something is in their life, but yet it still isn't bad enough to try a suggestion or take some well-intended advice. Or simply, in a working situation, 101 excuses why something simple and non-time consuming was not completed, while you yourself are so overloaded with other things to do you really don't have the time or inclination to hear their myriad of pathetic reasons that justify why they simply did nothing other than stay in their dreamlike comfort zone, while you are so far out of yours you no longer have the slightest clue what a comfort zone would be perceived as!

So now you are clearly on the same page as me, right? So how do you constructively deal with your personal zero tolerance? I'm interested to hear.....

Vintage Wines

2007-06-04T21:22:00.000-07:00

Recently extended-family events and discussions with friends have caused me to sit back and take a long hard ponder at both myself and others. How well do I truly really know anyone? Do we even know ourselves until pushed to our furthest limits?

You can spend years in the company of someone. Not neccessarily a spouse or signficant other, but then again, yes, maybe so. We believe because of that length of friendship, we understand and can predict how a person will respond given a particular set of circumstances. Think again! Friendships can be like a bottle of wine. POP! The cork of friendship is unplugged and it's a barrel of laughs (or a bottle in this case...maybe the analogy should be a keg of beer!) First impressions after the initial POP can be pretty rough on the palette, until you get to appreciate the specific taste of that bottle of friendship and select the most suitable food to complement the now open bottle of wine. As food and wine become in tune with one another the taste blends beautifully to the point where the tastebuds tingle with pleasure at the new found friendship and another bottle is readily opened....and another...and another...the friendship with that wine bonding hard and fast. Years go by enjoying that wine. Bad day at the office? You know that bottle of wine is going to hit the mark and POP! another evening spent laughing and enjoying its' relaxing company.

Then comes that day, the bottle of wine open as usual, but when you take a drink it is putrid, tasting of vinegar and it is all you can do to spit it out quickly. Such an old faithful friend, that turned overnight and with no real reason, leaving you stunned. It's hard to trust a wine will ever taste good again, right?

Thankfully, once in a while you get a true vintage wine that is made to perfection. It doesn't matter how long you leave it on the shelf. It will always taste the same. Those bottles of friendship are far and few between. They come around only a handful of times in one lifetime. Treasure those trusted bottles. Drink respectfully from them with a clean glass, and savour every drop. And most of all, don't forget to let the bottle of wine know they are a vintage year!

Indirect Challenges

2007-05-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

We've all experienced how some people seem to dislike the fact that we are successful at something, and often we put this down to the simple yet wasteful human emotion, jealousy. But that really is just too simplistic for what is a very complex subconscious thought process that is taking place.

By being successful through striving hard to do better, we indirectly challenge those around us to work harder and accomplish more for themselves too. Some will endeavour to jump onboard our positive leadership and achieve, through their own labor, greater successes in their life. For many, however, this is an unconscious indirect challenge to their own comfort zone and level of working. They would have to work harder than they do already to achieve more, and laziness may restrict them from doing so. Equally, to strive to be better at what they do means they have to accept that for many years, perhaps, they have never been performing at their best. Add to that, if they did choose to accept the indirect challenge, there is always the risk of failing to improve. Having to deal with the fear of failure is far worse than simply accepting the restrictive comfort zone in which they have established a niche within.

Sadly, many people will never accept the gauntlet laid down by that indirect challenge, and as a result, will never accomplish many of the things that would improve and add quality to their life. So, outward jealousy is perhaps an even more negative emotion than previously thought......

Welcome

2007-05-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

I've just never taken time to develop a blog, and have recently been encouraged to do so by a friend. At first I thought they were crazy, after all, what could I possibly have to say that anyone would want to make a point of setting time aside to read. Then I thought about it, and you know, there are times when we just want to share with people our observations and walk in life, but nobody is around to listen. So this way, I get to share and you get to listen, but it's in a time that suits us both. Hey, you even get to comment back if you find my ramblings touch a note with you, good or bad. So, kick back, grab a soda and snacks, and let's hang out together a little......