From the End to the Beginning?

You hear about people ranting and raving about their kids spending too much time in front of video games or computers, and how cell phone use while driving or walking is dangerous (or not), and how kids have bastardized the English language by texting (and sexting) all the time. I’ve been known to throw more than a few choice words through the windshield of my truck at dipsticks more concerned with their phone conversation than the direction and speed of their vehicle too. But, as a whole, social networking has proven to fill in a lot of holes in a lot of lives, with the benefits reaching even into the realm of life-saving. The drama about the use of cell phones, one networked gadget out of many, will more than likely die down as time goes on.

Social networking, for me, has filled in quite a few of those holes. I blog, I share my photos and the tidbits I find in the news. It’s all give and take, and I’ve come to know many wonderful people who share their thoughts, photos and opinions too. Blogging has not only broadened my world view, it has brought true meaning to cultural, religious and political variations on life’s theme as I get to know people from all over the world. Facebook brings another dimension of depth to the people behind all my favorite blogs.


But, it’s all backwards!

Real Life vs Politics

If you were asked to describe your ideal boss, what would you say? Have you ever worked for your ideal boss?

I did. I had a boss once who pushed me on, who supported my efforts to push past my self-imposed limits, who respected me as a person and as his employee, who trusted me to always act in the best interests of the program; who knew my values and respected them even if his were different, and respected me even more for respecting him. If I ran into an ethical conflict, he supported my decisions, again, even if they weren’t the same ones he’d make. He was the one I’d always turn to for moral guidance, and I always felt he valued me and held me in high regard. That regard was returned in kind. I wasn’t the only one that felt so highly of him. The feeling was shared by thousands of people he had touched over the years.

That is about as close as I can come to defining a good leader. It is what I expect to see in leadership at any level, whether it be a manager of a small corner store, a worldwide corporation – or an elected official. But, as soon as the word “politics” enters into the equation, that all flies right out the window.

Meaning in a Mess?

I’m speechless. I’m astounded. There’s some major lessons here, if only I could step back enough to put it all into words. For now, I am amazed.

If you’ve been reading along, you know about my last huge bump here at the house with the electricity going out. Flabbergasted by the outrageous – and impossible – amount of money an electrician wanted to fix things back up again pushed reality right up in my face. No way.

So, I adapted. Once I got going with it, broke the rust off the squeaky wheel, it started to get easier. I could continue to function with all the various modifications to the way I do things, sans electricity. One thing is for sure: I’m not likely to flip a light switch and take it for granted that the light will actually come on again.

Sidesteppin’ the Sideswipes

… or, sideswiping the sidesteps. Confused? So am I. I think it has something to do with change and adapting and rolling with the flow. Here’s the tale of my latest bumps, and they are doozies.

I’ve never said this before, so it’s a bit strange to say: Last year wasn’t such a bad year for me. I landed a state job that allowed me to keep on as a stringer (cool word, I like it, but it just means freelancer) for the local newspaper. That part of things came together nicely.

Not everything was wine and roses, though. The chickling flew the coop, left the nest and me behind, and that took a major adjustment. I got off my ass and put myself back together again.

Already this year, I have different bosses, not only on the state job, but my editor at the newspaper flew the coop and took a publisher’s position in another state and his position has yet to be filled. More major adjustments on the way, and a lot less comfort. It sure does taint things a bit gray, if you know what I mean. Great bosses are few and far between.

Break Into the Moment

It wasn’t until I stopped thinking about being around Odin that I began being with Odin, and that is when our relationship began. The result was a profound change in myself and my life because my interactions with people evolved too.

In the Thinking

Thinking is a constant thing, and it is a great, boundless power we have. It’s what we egoistically flaunt as our superiority over the rest of Earth’s life. Positive, creative thinking builds our world; negative, destructive thinking destroys it. Would we be so destructive if we could stop thinking long enough to notice how much we have lost?

Yes. And we know it. We meditate, pray, lose ourselves in a book, in music or making love; we scare ourselves out of thinking on roller coasters, and we sleep. Then we go right back to thinking, in a straight line; linear. We have a past and a future, but rarely do we anchor ourselves in the present.

Crawling Out of the Woodwork

Hello. My name is Theresa, and I’m terrified of bees.

There. I said it. It’s out in the open now. I’ve admitted it. Step 1 is done.

Why am I thinking about bees now – in January? Because I was chased by a bee yesterday, that’s why. That danged thing had me running in circles trying to get away from it.

Put me and a bee in the same location and it means that my fight/flight response is all flight. There’s no thinking, no time for my brain to register that it’s just a little insect. No, I am out of there. No ifs, ands or buts about it. The whoosh of a breeze left in my wake overflows with expletives and four-letter words that would curl your hair. It’s like Tourette’s Syndrome with its own flair.