Daily Mood Quote - October 23, 2011

 

Daily Mood Quotes

Day 172 – October 23, 2011

“The best cure for an off day is a day off.”

~Frank Tyger

Yesterday, I took the day off. It was time to disconnect, become unwired, break free of the grid, or what is also known as the daily grind. I logged off for a day. Over the past six years, I have logged many, many hours on the computer. First with school work, research projects, papers, communications with fellow classmates on projects and presentations, work, The Daily Mood Quote, and family and friends... E-mails, Skyping, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube; where does the madness end? It doesn't unless you say E-N-O-U-G-H!!! Much like Bruce Nolan (played by Jim Carrey) in the movie Bruce Almighty, when he said, “Bruce giveth and Bruce taketh away. Don't like it? Megabyte me” as he unplugged the computer. All right, I wasn't that harsh, and I did not unplug the computer. I just walked away.

I did that yesterday, I said enough and logged off for a day. Here's why, the weather was nice, I remembered I had a family and I was having a menopause day of gargantuan proportions. Every time, I looked at my computer, throwing it out through the sliding glass door crossed my mind. That's never good, so when my husband asked me what I was going to write about, I walked away. Ipods, Ipads, cell phones, apps, laptops, desktops; they all made me twitch yesterday. It was time for a change, even if that change would be short lived. So, I watched a little TV, the movie Die Hard (one of my favorites, I like Bruce Willis - as an actor). I also watched Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase and some of the World Series with the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals. I took some time to go to Wal-mart to pick up a few items and just enjoyed the day unplugged. Not even a cell phone call. It was nice.

I think Matthew Broderick said it best, when he played Ferris Bueller in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” and if you don't step away from technology for a moment, you're missing a lot. Even the great Andy Rooney took a day off. And so that's done; I can get back to addressing the needs of digital reality. The need for total immersion in real reality has been satiated for now.

The point is, well you know there's always a point... Anyway, We all need to step back away from whatever has our attention the majority of the time; be it the computer, the internet, a group of associates, a job, a religion, or anything that absorbs time like a sponge. Then take a deep breath and appreciate the little things we so often take for granted. No matter where you might be, there is beauty and peace of mind to be found if we disconnect, open our minds and hearts and let the best parts of real reality in.

How will you enjoy your day today?

Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote

Thank you for reading

Daily Mood Quote - August 1, 2011

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 90 – August 1, 2011

We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light.

~Mary Dunbar

Eleven years ago our world collapse around us. Everything we had worked for was taken away in an instant. At least it seemed like an instant, but was actually “a series of unfortunate events.” First our entire life savings was pilfered by our accountant and at about the same time, business dried up and our remaining clients went from paying in 30 day cycles to 180 day cycles. Then several of them filed bankruptcy at once, leaving us holding the bag for all the expenses. Oh by the way, the ne'er-do-well accountant also had misfiled our tax returns for several years. This was not a happy year for us. Unfortunately, insurance doesn't cover stupid. Actually naive would be a better word, we knew the business, we just didn't “know” business. Trust me there is a big difference between the two.

At the time, we made the only decision we felt we had. We went home after months of pressure from family to come home and be “safe.” What a grave mistake, we took the bait, “hook, line and sinker” (thank you Die Hard with a Vengeance). Needless to say, the family did not have our best interest in mind, they had their own agenda. It would have been better to face the fear than to run from it. We learned nothing by running, at least at that time. Well here we are again, different place, different players but the same game. In the movie Die Hard 2, John McClane (played by Bruce Willis) said, “How can the same s#$% happen to the same guy twice?” I personally believe that when you are faced with the same situation twice in your lifetime, it means you have something to learn from it. So, the question is, do we buckle under the pressure to run and move somewhere else to satisfy our “families” desire to have us safe and in their grasp, or do we stand our ground, work through the problems despite the fear and palpable uncertainty?

In the movie, Sister Act 2, Sister Mary Clarence (played by Whoopi Goldberg) said to her students, “If you wanna go somewhere and you wanna be somebody...you better wake up and pay attention. Because if every time something scary comes up you decide to run...y'all are gonna be runnin' for the rest of your lives.” Moving - running doesn't always yield the best results, if we can't make it here, then what is the guarantee we can make it somewhere else? Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” In his classic Sci-Fi book series Dune, Frank Herbert wrote an interesting mantra about fear, “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” It has been my experience that fear has never made a good life decision. I'm not taking about “getting out of the way of a speeding bus” type fear, but long-term health and welfare decisions. What others think and fear only matters to other people. Not this time fear, not this time.

How will you stand your ground and face “fear” today?

Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote

Thank you for reading