Daily Mood Quotes - January 17, 2012

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 242 – January 17, 2012

“The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.”

~Flora Whitemore

First let me begin by explaining why I did not post yesterday. I realized that there were so many quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., flying about the Internet yesterday, that my little effort may have appeared disingenuous. I have quoted him often and respect his legacy too much to try and leverage his day of remembrance with obligatory quotes. It's that simple. It was also a day that I really had a tough time being even remotely positive, for other, personal reasons.

So, yesterday I closed a door or two in my personal life. Sometimes you have to do that. Its not a reflection on character, or experience to say “enough, I'm done with this.” Everyone has a line. I found mine yesterday. I dealt with a situation which I had invested much time and love and genuine sacrifice, but I realized it was to no avail. That was a profoundly emotionally painful experience and it stopped me in my tracks for a while. What is done is done and a door to the past which had caused me much pain must close. I really am not ready to discuss it further at this point. Like Forrest Gump said, in the movie Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks), “That's all I've got to say 'bout that.” It's time to open the door to the future. That door is one of limitless possibilities, even if that means starting back at the bottom again. But then again, what is a climber without a mountain? Just a person with a bunch of expensive, useless toys....

The big question is which new door to choose and which to forgo? I feel like I'm on Let's Make a Deal! I'l take door number..... Better think a bit before I answer. I'll try and leverage my experience and choose better this time. That's the thing about life that I really appreciate, no matter where you are no matter when you are in life  (15, 35, 45 or in my case 47) you can choose a new direction, plot a new course, open a new door. It just takes a bit of courage, a bit of hope and the wisdom to weigh the risks and the responsibilities and consequences of stepping through. The more you learn the better your chances. Then, to quote the old NIKE ad “Just do it!” Although, my personal favorite, the old Navy saying, “It's not just a job, it's an adventure!!!” The same applies to closing old and now useless doorways that you have passed through. If you aren't going back, just close it. Onward, upward and ever forward...here we go again.

What door will you choose today?

Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote

Thank you for reading.

Daily Mood Quotes - December 11, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 219 – December 11, 2011

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Gee whizz, I really hate to wax political, its such an unseemly mess and there are way too many blogs dedicated to polarized sides of any political issue. But, I must tell you that I have been distantly following the Republican Presidential primary, with indifference and a healthy dose of skepticism. I know that historically these things are at very best a popularity contest, won by the candidate who is willing to bend the lowest and pander to the fears and greed of socially disconnected, special interest groups. For the past thirty years, the Republican party has progressively distanced itself from anything that remotely resembles the genuine will or needs of the people of the Unites States of America. Ostensively, the party's leaders have been focused almost exclusively on the narrow financial interest of a small group of self-serving, ideologists (I would say idiots, but...) that have bastardized the American ideal and transplanted it with a twisted, mono-partisan and greed driven perspective. I hasten to remind, that when Mr. Gingrich was Speaker of the House, the split between parties became a gaping chasm. His rhetoric is corrosive, destructive and completely ignorant. If you don't believe me, check this out. If it sounds a bit harsh I can't really apologize, because it isn't nearly as harsh as the viewpoints expressed by him.

The following recent statements are from the front running Republican Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich.

"Really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working and have nobody around them who works so they literally have no habit of showing up on Monday. They have no habit of staying all day. They have no habit of 'I do this and you give me cash,' unless it's illegal."

“I think that we’ve had an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs, and who were historically part of the Arab community,” said Gingrich. “And they had a chance to go many places, and for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s, and it’s tragic.”

Ummm. “Stupid is as stupid does” as Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks in the movie Forrest Gump) would so eloquently profess. It really needs no further explanation, or comment. However, I say what's on my mind (it is a daily mood quote), so here it goes. First of all, no child rich or poor, aspires to poverty, for that matter I suspect neither do their parents. He has blithely disrespected and turned a blind eye to millions, not thousands, but millions (if not billions globally), of working poor; the honest, hardworking people who have not had the advantages, that I might add, where given to him to start their lives. Need examples? What about the children of working single moms who have two, or sometimes three jobs and yet still struggle to make ends meet? What about the children of split shift working fathers who may work sixty hours a week and are not paid a fair and equitable wage for their efforts because of the inequities of the system? What about those, through no fault of their own, are unemployed and can't find work? Does he know how fast savings evaporate, when you are unemployed and trying to keep a roof over your head, while trying to feed those “poor” children? Poor can come at you fast and hard, without mercy. But, I guess he wouldn't know that having almost his entire life paid for, from his teen years on. And, I might add, for the most part, paid for by the tax money wrenched away from the “poor” people he just spit on.

Dalai Lama said, “Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace” well, these two statements demonstrate true slavery to ignorance. Is this really the best America has to offer for Presidential candidates? Are you freakin' kidding me (thanks Mike C.)? What kind of peace can an idiot like this make? What I find so surprising is that Mr. Gingrich has a PhD and taught History and Geography at West Georgia College in the 1970's. Apparently, he learned nothing but how to twist the arms of political contributors and manipulate the easily swayed. I think a quote from Maya Angelou would be appropriate here, “My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors." I think that says it best.

To end my little rant: In my opinion, Newt Gingrich is a political prostitute, pandering for money to advance his campaign's “war fund.” He'll say or do anything, without thought to the consequences, to achieve his goals. Do you honestly think the rest of the world's memory is as failing as our attention deprived voters? Can you image what would happen, if he spoke like that at the United Nations? He does not represent the nation. Nor should he ever... Mr. Gingrich, shame on you and your ignorance.

Will you think before you speak today?

Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote

Thank you for reading

Daily Mood Quotes - September 29, 2011

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 149 – September 29, 2011

I'm not feeling very well – I need a doctor immediately. Ring the nearest golf course.

~Groucho Marx

I wasn't going to write today because as the quote says, I am not feeling well. But, that would not be the right thing to do. So, I'm going to buck up, stand up, shake off as much as I can and write. Let me tell you, the pain I am experiencing would make it so easy to whine. But I am not a whiner, I may be grumpy, a bit sharp in my attitude and a little careless in my disposition, I really do feel yucky...I guess it's that time of year. Every year I look forward to autumn, but I always forget the insidious return of the cold and flu season. Arrrgh! I guess every season has its caveats, With autumn, for me, it's sinus headaches.

I have grudgingly made a doctors appointment and I know he will put me on antibiotics. As my husband says, “Better living through chemistry.” I usually have to get pretty under the weather before I'll make that call though. The fact is, I hate going to the doctor's office. I'm always worried that they'll find something more wrong; as if they have quotas, or something. I know that's not rational, but hey who doesn't have irrational fears? But, when I am really sick, then all bets are off and my philosophy is, if it works, and I will soon feel better, bring it on. It's funny that I let things get so bad for me before I head to the doctors, when I'll drag my kids and/or husband there if I see a temperature rise, or even have the inkling that things are getting worse. Not me though...I'm tough! Well not really; I'm not tough, I'm just plain old stubborn. That's okay because my husband thinks that's a good thing and he sometimes quotes Christian Bale of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and Empire of the Sun fame, who said of his wife Sibi Blazić, “What I love about my wife is that she's a really strong minded, stubborn, fiery woman. I find that sexier than anything else.” I think he said that to make me feel better and it does help a bit. Then he called the doctor.

Sooo.. “Stubborn is as stubborn does.” (thanks Forrest Gump for the paraphrase). I'm headed off to the doctors, face feeling like a balloon and grumbling all the way. Isn't chocolate a better cure??? Just asking.

How will you face your irrational fears today?

Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote

Thank you for reading

Daily Mood Quote - September 20, 2011

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 140 – September 20, 2011

People live longer today than they ever have. They live happier lives, have more knowledge, more information. All this is the result of communications technology. How is any of that bad?

~Tom Clancy

On the surface I can agree with Tom Clancy, there is a great benefit to better communications and more widely available information. The caveat is that the information most people pay attention to is only the surface information and they draw conclusions based on very little and often very sketchy information. One lesson, I have worked very hard to teach my children is; before you accept something as gospel (the truth, or fact based) do your research, find out what kind of information is out there, and what is being said or claimed, as being the “be all and end all” of information. Some of my children have learned this lesson; others, well let's leave that for another blog. Who knows maybe it will be “The funny side of parenting: the reasons we have grey hair.”

Anyway back to communications; with the advancement of technology going nearly as fast as the speed of light, it is very hard to keep up with all the information. Trust me as you age, it is harder to care about how fast technology is going, because it is becoming impossible to keep up with it. You buy a cell phone and by the time you finish reading the manual to use all the bells and whistles it offers, someone has begun a campaign for the next, latest, greatest and newest cell phone. More bells and whistles and a bigger operations manual to read. We need to live longer just to be able to process all the new information that's being thrown at us.

Seriously, being able to share important information has never been easier and global conversations are happening every day, that helps us move forward as a world community. That is good. Unfortunately with the good comes a host of... well not so good. The Internet is now full of scams, identity thefts, electronic espionage of counties and organizations. It's just sad; seems like it's human nature to take a good thing and screw it up. History is full of good discoveries and innovations that have been turned to “the dark side” (Thanks George Lucas, but FYI my husband coined that term way back in the early 60's, long before Star Wars and Chewbacca was even a fuzzy idea).

The point is everything that is new and good, comes with baggage. Lao Tzu noted this 2500 years ago and we haven't really changed a bit. He said, “Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill, keep sharpening a knife and it will blunt.” So too with advanced communications; sometimes its too much and you hit a saturation point, then errors start to happen. Information overload spills into lives and suddenly people are hooked, to their cell phones (aka: digital leash), an internet connection, TV 24/7 news feed, plus other things too unsavory to mention and the important things in life begin to slip. Subtly at first, but that's how the “dark side” works. But, then it's sooooo hard to walk away, for even a little time. “Just turn it off” becomes a terrifying concept. I have recently read that in offices around the nation, up to 30% of an office worker's day is wasted on personal internet use and email. If that's you, please go back to work: I'll wait for you to read this when you have some free time. I love that you read this blog and our reader numbers are growing, but please do so responsibly. I want you to keep your job. Goodness knows they're hard to find these days. 

In the movie The Matrix, with Keanu Reeves (Neo), Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) said, “Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate it seems, is not without it's sense of irony.” Good things usually came with unintended consequences. That's just how it is. Do yourself a favor take a walk _open mined and unplugged, enjoy the scenery and experience for just a few moments life outside the techno-bubble.  I like what Gordon Brown said, “Take, therefore, what modern technology is capable of: the power of our moral sense allied to the power of communications and our ability to organize internationally. That, in my view, gives us the first opportunity as a community to fundamentally change the world.” As long as we are changing it for the better. That's all I've got to say 'bout that (Thanks Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump).

How will you responsibly communicate today?

Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote

Thank you for reading

Daily Mood Quotes - August 19, 2011

 

Daily Mood Quote

Day 108 – August 19, 2011

Your attitude can make a world of difference.

~Unknown Author

In the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest (played by Tom Hanks) said, “Mama (played by Sally Fields) says they was magic shoes. They could take me anywhere.” and in the movie, those shoes did take Forest everywhere, school, college, the Army, a table tennis champion, a shrimp boat captain and a dad. All because he believed what his mother told him. “Attitude: what you believe.” I believe attitude is the difference between a good day and a bad day. From relationships to raising children, attitude can guide your destiny. It is the vehicle that takes you where your going. And, like any vehicle, it requires maintenance, fuel and reasonable care. There will be days when your attitude will "run-like-a-top" and you will be achieving, moving and doing at the top of your game. Then, there will be days, where your attitude breaks down and requires repair, refueling and even a day of rest (reasonable care). When we ignore it, the breakdown can be far reaching and even more destructive than a purposefully bad attitude. A broken down attitude usually gives rise to feelings of failure, ineptitude and hopelessness. Hope is the very cornerstone of a healthy attitude. We talked about that in an earlier blog.

Yesterday, during a visit to a nearby school, I noticed the sign from which today's quote is taken. I wondered if the kids who walk through the school everyday notice the sign, or know what it means? I have heard from students that they don't read the signs on the wall, but I'll bet those signs just being there everyday with a positive message helps. I guess to the student body, it's just nice wallpaper. But environment does count and every little reminder conscious, or subconscious can act like attitude maintenance. That said, I also think that while in that “environment,” the school staff needs to restate and reinforce that positive attitude message, at every reasonable opportunity (this goes for parents too). But, temper it with a bit of common sense. If “Little Johnny” blows a test, let him know that grade counts and "that's that;" but there is always the next test to do better. I think these positive affirmation signs are awesome, but, we must also teach and display them in our behavior, for the positive affirmations to have any meaning. In our own lives that same position holds true. A person can surround themselves with positive reinforcement signs, comfort food and friends that offer solace; but in the end, its the doing of the "positive" that creates and maintains a positive attitude. Waiting for someone to give it to you, like walking by the signs on the wall, can only do so much. Don't get me wrong, attitudes are not “steady state” items. They bend and flow like the other rhythms of our life, but with a little effort, (maintenance) we can take those rhythms to a higher register and then even our bad attitude days will be better than most. “That's all I have to say about that.” (Thanks Forrest).

How will you maintain your attitude today?

Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote

Thank you for reading

Daily Mood Quote - June 2, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 29 – June 2, 2011

“Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day.”

~Author Unknown

“The only disability in life is a bad attitude”

~Scott Hamilton

Today is a two quote day. Both quotes are directly related to the mood I am having today. It's not really a mood, it's just...BLAH. Yes, just BLAH, there is nothing good and nothing bad, it's just there. Colors seem a little less bright. The blue sky, singing birds, the sunshine, and the good music are all there, but I have a “I am just not interested” feeling today. I do care, but I just “feel” like I don't. So, today will be one of those days where I have two options; lock myself in a room with a good book and have no contact with anybody, or force myself to interact and find the good, the funny, the best in the day.

We are all responsible for our actions and accountable to ourselves for how we treat ourselves and others. Just because we have “off mood” days, doesn't mean we have the right to project that mood onto the world, or cause someone else to have an “off day” too.

It's our attitudes that make the difference and they have to be cultivated. On days when we wake up with a BLAH, or a negative mood, the trick is to not beat yourself up about it. We are all human. Those are the days, we need to dig a little deeper and work a little harder to find the good. It certainly takes a little more work to find the good than it does to find the bad, but the effort yields much better fruit.

There are those who are eternally optimistic, like Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump, but that is the exception, not the rule. We are human, not robots or cyborgs. Our emotions, including our moody and bluesy days, are valuable parts of the tapestry of our life. Its how we deal with those days, that helps to ensure a healthy crop of experience to draw upon, when truly challenging days come our way.

Like Tom Hanks said as Forrest Gump (not Forrest Grump), “My mamma (Sally Fields as Mamma Gump) always said. Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.” We really don't know what tomorrow holds, but one thing is for sure: A BLAH mood of today, doesn't take away the great possibilities of tomorrow.

What does your “box of chocolates” hold for you today.

Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote

Thank you for reading