Daily Mood Quote - June 7, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 34 – June 7, 2011

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Over the past few weeks, I have found myself thinking about the road not traveled. I have been told by many that it is normal to wonder if your life would have been different “if” you would have changed direction , or “if” you had turned down another road, or just stayed put. Maybe, the better question might be, “Do you have regrets about the direction you have taken or the path you have traveled?” When I decided to leave home, the only decision I made was not to live the same kind of life my mother had. I wanted to be different, smarter, better. I wanted to travel, meet people, see what the world had to offer.

Well, I've done that...however, I did so without a road map. Would I have changed a few things? Well, I think everybody has 20/20 hindsight. The “would of”, “should of” and “could of's” of your life. But, like Tim McGraw sings in Red Rag Top “that'll drive ya out of your mind.”

Many years ago, I had a conversation with my father-in-law about returning to school to get my degree. My father-in-law told a story about a man, who had many opportunities in his life and because of fear, his own and those of his family, he never followed through on any of them. He missed opportunities that would have changed the direction of the family's lives. Now that man sits on a porch swing wondering “What if?” he would have said yes, instead of a lifetime of no's. Then he ask me, “Do you want to be 80 years old sitting on a swing wondering “What if?”

In the movie Mr. Destiny there is a dialogue between Destiny (played by Michael Caine) and Larry Burrows (played by Jim Belushi); it goes like this:

“Larry Burrows: How can my life change so much just because I hit one stinking baseball?

Destiny (Mike): Well, you see Larry, one's destiny is a very complicated thing. Every incident in a person's life affects everything else that follows it. Instead of missing the baseball, however, you hit it. Then you became a hero, married the prom queen, and so on, and so forth, until you find yourself exactly where you are. So you see, hitting that baseball has spun your life off in an entirely new direction.

Larry Burrows: Are you an angel or something?

Destiny (Mike): Not exactly, no.

Larry Burrows: Then what are you?

Destiny (Mike): Have you ever been faced with a decision, and you weren't sure what to do?

Larry Burrows: Yeah, sure, plenty of times.

Destiny (Mike): And then something inside you made you choose one direction over another?

Larry Burrows: Yeah. So?

Destiny (Mike): So that's me. I make the suggestions, and you make the choices. That's how destiny works, Larry - very subtly. Welcome to your new life, Larry. I hope you like it.”

Yep, another baseball reference, but in my defense it is summer. The point is that when we make choices, our paths continually change. Every choice, every day. Sometimes it's the smallest of course adjustments that make the biggest differences in our lives. That's OK, because if we hadn’t made the choices we did, then the things we love and cherish in our lives, might not be in our lives. Along with that is the inevitable cost of passage. There are bumps and scrapes, the mental and ego bruises and the hard-earned lessons. But, these lessons can be passed on, so that our children can chart their course more accurately, with less scrapes and thorns.

I have realized while writing this day's blog, I am exactly where I should be. While there have been mountains to climb and raging streams to forge, my path is the one I'm supposed to be on. And, I won't be 80 years old wondering “What if?” instead, I will have lived, and I will have learned, being exactly where I should be.

How will you chart your "path" today?

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Daily Mood Quote - June 6, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 33 – June 6, 2011

Keep your heart open to dreams, for as long as there's a dream, there is hope, and as long as there is hope, there is joy in living.

~Anonymous

I know, keeping dreams and hope alive is not always easy in this time of turbulence. Gasoline prices spiraling out of control, unemployment 9.1% (national average) and people are losing their unemployment, because their benefits had dried up before they could find a job. People are losing their homes, their cars and sometimes everything they ever worked for because greed seems to be running rampant. So, everyday people have to make tough decisions such as, which bill to pay? Do I choose to keep the lights on, or pay to keep the gas on? I know people making these decisions everyday and I see the stress on people faces at the grocery store, at Wal-mart, even while window shopping at the mall. It's hard times out there, no doubt. Don't stop reading now, this will get better.

I am here to tell you, 'You are not alone.” The struggles many of us are experiencing are crappy, big giant piles of poo-poo, but if we close our hearts, we'll lose our hope and then joy leaves the building. Hope gives us the ability to rebound, who remembers the “energy crisis” of 1979? When crude oil went from $15.85 per barrel to nearly $40.00 per barrel. Gas prices jumped to $.90 per gallon and you could only buy five gallons at a time. It may seem laughable now, but it put a lot of people out of work in 1979. People ground through it, they buckled down, looked towards the future and took it one day at a time.

In the movie Titanic, Jack Dawson (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) says to a table of wealthy and powerful people, including Kate Winslet (Rose De Witt Bukater), “I figure life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You don't know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you... to make each day count.” Life can present obstacles and sudden challenges for everyone, even those who are well off, that is for certain. To get past them, its best to learn from the past, take each day as it comes and never stop dreaming about the possibilities of the future. For in those dreams there is hope and in hope there is great power. Hope has carried humanity through some of its darkest times. It is the single thing that helps us to rise above our problems and seek safe harbor to weather stormy times and to be ready to set sail again, once the storms have past. This too will pass, but for now, as Jack said, “Life is a gift....to make each day count”

How will you make today count?

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Daily Mood Quotes - June 5, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 32 – June 5, 2011

If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint, and the voice will be silenced. ~Vincent Van Gogh

In my lifetime the words “you cannot” have been said to me often. First, and most impactfully by my mother, every time I wanted to try something new. I, like many, had most of my youth packed with “you can't do that” memories. I remember, once as a young adult in boot camp I was struggling to make the one mile run. It was required to pass the physical education section to graduate. So, I called home looking for support. What was I thinking? I suppose I was seeking approval and once again, I got “you can't”... pass the run.” I have really never believed that quitting was a valid option. So, when my mother said that, something in me changed. Something told me that I didn't believe in “cannot” anymore. The voice that had for so long said “you cannot”, changed to one that boldly stated “Yes, you can!” In that moment determination was born and I grew up.

The next day, I passed the one mile run to graduate and shared my tears of joy and pain with many of my fellow enlistees (turns out I ran with torn ligaments in my ankles). Unfortunately, I did not graduate with them, because I failed the final written exam (I worked to hard to pass the run and not hard enough to pass the written test). However, I was given a second chance to pass the test and graduated a week later. Determination...

Life doesn't always hand things out like coupons at a kiosk and if you want them... A career, a friendship, pretty much anything that holds significance, you often have to develop the determination to mentally push past the negative voice and sometimes the pain, that says you cannot and find the “Yes you can!” that lies within.

Today's quote From Vincent Van Gogh talks about painting, but I think inside everyone one of us lies that subtle detractor, that little “you cannot” voice, that attempts to keep us from reaching for our dreams and achieving our potential. In the Disney movie The Rookie, Baseball player Jimmy Morris (played by Dennis Quaid) was an established teacher and baseball coach, to the world, to the people in his world he was by all accounts a success. But in his heart he hadn't achieve his potential, because of “you can't.” It came from negative talk and lack of support by his father. Overcoming the odds; being out of baseball for years, having a serious shoulder injury, his age, and the weight of family responsibilities (mortgage, kids, wife, etc...) he picked up his glove and pursued his dream... one 98 mph fastball at a time. Maybe that's the thing: Keep throwing strikes until you achieve your true potential. Most importantly, it begins with believing YOU CAN.

No single movie quote today, because the entire movie carries a great message.

What “you cannot” will you throw fastballs past today?

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Daily Mood Quote - June 4, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 31 – June 4, 2011

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.

~Marcus Aurelius

What a difference a day makes, To awake listening to the birds singing outside, the soft summer sunlight filtering through the blinds and the gentle fragrance of the locust blossoms filling the air. Ahhh, the quiet of the morning... What a wonderful way to start a Saturday. Just kidding, does any day really start like this? Well for “a brief shining moment...and then that mouth” Victor Melling (played by Michael Caine) said this of Gracie Hart (Sandra Bullock) in the very funny Miss Congeniality. In our case, gentle little Hope began by singing her “Get up! Get up!... Hellooooo? Get up” song in her not so subtle feline vibrato and as loudly as possible. Who needs an alarm clock, we have the alarm cat!? It was time to get up I suppose. Then the dog chimed in, singing his “I've got to go outside to tinkle song”, with typical canine enthusiasm. What a musical start to the day. Just between you and me, I'd rather listen to the birds. But, on the bright side, better the cat and dog than the neighbor's lawn mower, or gas powered edger at the crack of dawn. Oh, that was last Saturday. 

 

Seriously, how rude have we become as to fill the air with that noise, so early in the day. “Hey buddy, you might be wearing headphones, but the rest of us aren't.” Anyway the sun is up. It probably heard the cat's chorus too. And the day has begun. Sooo... what precious privileges lie before us today?

Marcus Aurelius was right. It is a privilege to be alive, to rise each morning and have the chance to appreciate the subtle beauties in everyday life. You just have to carve your way through the noise and distractions to see them. Funny thing is, that very often, the noise and distraction makers are the very things we love the most. Huh, just thought of that? Even the noisy neighbor's lawn mowing, leaves the smell of fresh cut grass in the air. And what would a day be without Hope.. and Chester of course. So, bring on the noise that fills our everyday life, except this time don't listen to them as the noise makers of the world, think of them as the songs we love to listen to in life.

What “shining moment” will you find in your day today?

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Daily Mood Quote - June 3, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 30 – June 3, 2011

“Chaos in the midst of chaos isn't funny, but chaos in the midst of order is.”

~Steve Martin

When you have a dog, kids and/or a spouse, then you have in addition to chaos, desperation, confusion and frustration (a healthy mix), all at the beginning of the day. It's Friday, the last day of the week. We usually look forward to this day with anticipation for the weekend, when alarms don't go off, there's no car pooling to school and no protesting, “Mommmmm, I have nothing to wear today!” The eyes begin to roll, because you know this only means, they haven't found anything they like to wear. “Houston, we have a problem” as said by Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell in Apollo 13. And so begins the compromising and “the great apparel search of 2011”. Ughh!

Just to keep thing interesting, Chester, our big, goofy dog, greeted us this morning by inexplicably throwing up (good thing it was the kitchen floor, that's an easy clean). Still, that doesn't go over well at “O-dark thirty AM”. Why all these things and why do they always happen first thing in the morning? Who knows, but one thing is for sure “It's always something” (thanks Roseanne Roseannadanna portrayed by the late Gilda Radnar on Saturday Night Live).

I believe it's all in how you approach the situation, or the day in this case. My husband says, “That which starts out rough, ends up great. Chaos carries in its turbulent winds a gift. But, getting ahold of that sucker is tough sometimes”. Does that mean this is going to be a Fan-damntastic day? I sure hope so ...WOOHOO, I just cannnn't wait. Why do dogs eat grass anyway?

How will you handle the “ always something” in your day today?

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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.

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Daily Mood Quote - June 1, 2011

Daily Mood Quote

Day 28 – June 1, 2011

 

“Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.”

 ~Napoleon Hill

One of my favorite writers is Napoleon Hill. This quote gives me reason for pause every time I read it, because in my lifetime I have witnessed, been party to and made the mistake of not thinking before speaking. We are in a time where social networking, immediate responses and instant gratification have become the norm. The problem is when we “fire off” our statements before we think them through, the effect, in some cases, can be negative and lifelong. It can affect you, your career, relationships and loved ones, instantly.

Each of us individually has a great power. “The power of words.” I remembered as a child the phrase, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Except words, they do hurt, they hurt everyone, the person you are speaking too, the issue you are speaking about and they hurt you, the speaker. “yes, sticks and stones can break my bones, but they will heal.  Words can hurt and can last a lifetime.” For many of us, words do last a lifetime. Words have the power to initiate peace, or create conflict. To make the world a better place, or much worse. Now, with social networking sites the words we say for the world to see, can be seen all over the world. What you put in cyberspace has a great affect, not just to the person or issue you are speaking about, but on any opportunities you may be seeking, like... a job. I know we may delete what we say, but truly once it is “out there”, it is there forever, and it doesn't matter how many times you hit the “delete” button. Someone somewhere read it before you deleted it, remembered it and pass it along through conversations. There is a concept called, “six degrees of separation” Imagine this recipe, you wrote something negative, someone read it, passed it along, and before you know it, it reaches someone who actually knows or has heard of you, now add some more negative words like, “I hate” or “embarrassed” or adjectives like “stupid” or “ignorant” and you are speaking about a class, social group or culture. The recipe result is disastrous, for you and those around you. As our little green friend Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) said to Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, in Star Wars: Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back... “Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”

I am not a big fan of being politically correct, but I am a fan of honesty and thinking before you speak. I had a college professor drive home the point in a communications class, “It's not what you say, it's how you say it.” When we choose angry and hateful words, we choose to have it come back on us. In an earlier blog (Day Seven, May 11,... I promise to not do many call-backs, but this begged to be restated) the quote was:

"It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”
— J. W. Goethe

The simple fact of the matter is, you get what you give. No matter what you call it, the energy you put out there is the energy you will get back. Many would call that karma. My husband calls it balancing the universe.”

What will you think about before you communicate today?

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