Happy Thought for the Day: The Universe Has a Sense of Humour

 Ponderings  3 Responses »
Apr 232013
 




Well, the craziness that has kept me on my toes lately hasn’t lightened up much, but I’m taking comfort in one fact – the universe has a sense of humour.

Today had moments of such bizarre activity around me that I couldn’t help but to laugh. Laughter is healing and incredibly stress relieving, so as weird as life still is, I feel a lot better.

I think it’s too easy for some people to get wrapped up in the seriousness of situations. I don’t mean to make light of problems or stressful situations, but the universe is an incredibly bizarre place. Sometimes, if you can take a different viewpoint for a moment, you realize how incredibly funny it can be. That momentary alignment with the humour of the universe can do a world of good for your mind and your soul.

This might just be back-seat philosophizing by a former stand-up comedian, but I rather think that being in touch with the humour of the universe is why some of the incredibly wise people like the Dalai Lama are always smiling. It’s something I aspire to in a way.

Well, even if the world is still weird, at least it’s weird in a funny way for me. What’s keeping you smiling or laughing lately?

Third Star on the Right…

 Ponderings  4 Responses »
Apr 222013
 




It’s been a quiet week on the blog front, but one filled with a lot of thinking. I have half-a-dozen half-finished ideas for blog posts, and about a dozen more ideas that have been working through my head.

Casey, Christine, and a number of other bloggers have been asking some inspiring and challenging questions lately.

I’ve come out of the past week both intimidated and inspired about future possibilities and potentials. In a weird way, I think I’ve gone around a corner and made a great leap forward in self-discovery.

Inspiration is a fickle friend in the modern era though. I’ve heard great swaths of the modern internet referred to as “inspiration-porn” – meaning that it’s empty substance meant to make you feel better. I don’t necessarily agree, but I understand where that writer was coming from. How does pinning a picture with an inspirational slogan help you become a better person? Does anyone actually fundamentally change who they are based on passing inspirations, or are they simply momentary changes of actions – as if we had caught some sort of inspirational flu that gets quickly dealt with by our immune system of apathy.

Perhaps it’s my optimistic nature, but I choose to believe that it’s just a question of finding the right inspiration. If inspiration were easy, we’d just need one person to succeed and we’d all be perfect. The first person to do anything amazing would be hailed almost as if they were a deity. Human beings are more complicated than that though. We have a tough skin to get through, and sometimes we wear apathy and excuses as armour on top of that skin. As I’ve mentioned in the past, you need to find someone who speaks your language.

What does this mean for me?

Well, the funny part is, while I’m inspired as heck, I still don’t have an absolute plan. I think I just have a vague direction to walk in.

Third star to the right, straight on ’till morning.

What rekindles your flame?

 Ponderings  3 Responses »
Apr 032013
 




In the modern Olympic era, there is the tradition of the Olympic flame. There is a flame maintained in Greece, and that flame is used to light the torch which is then transported to the country hosting the next Olympic games.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of the Olympic torch. In a way, we hall have our own torches. The challenge is in keeping our own torch lit and burning bright while the world often does its best to put your torch out.

The sad truth is, sometimes your torch will get put out. Sometimes, things will get you down and burn out your passion and fire. The Olympic torch is accompanied by a supplemental flame source that can rekindle it. Some people can rekindle the fires of their passion for life very easily. Others, sadly enough, never manage to do so.

Today I had my flame blown out. Something supremely crappy happened to me, and it sucked the life right out of me. But, about an hour later, without me even thinking about it, my flame rekindled. Maybe it was the spring weather, maybe it was eating better, who knows? All I know is that I managed to shrug it off, and I was feeling good.

Maybe you don’t know what you’re supposed to do with your life. Maybe you had a tough day at work. Life tries to blow out your fire. When it succeeds, how do you rekindle your flame?

I think I need to explore more about what rekindles mine, because it sure feels good to get my fire started up again!

A weekly update – the first Saturday of 2013

 Ponderings  2 Responses »
Jan 052013
 




Well, we’re a week in (a short week, but I count anything that ends in a weekend as a week). How am I doing so far with my goals?

Well, so far so good for the most part. I still suck at sleep, but I’m writing more, exercising a lot more, and I even at a salad for breakfast this morning. I’d say that’s a good start to things, but the start isn’t the finish so I still have more to do.

As for healthy time out with my wife, we’re going out ice skating tonight. It’s awesome.

I’ve been pretty motivated as of late, and have been reading and discovering a lot of good blogs. As you would expect from the time of year, there have been a lot of posts about New Years resolutions goals and other things. One item that really stuck with me was the need to state a goal and be held accountable for it. So, while I don’t feel any need to publicly state how much water or anything I’m drinking, I do want to go out and state my intentions for exercise.

When I did my biking challenge with Steve, my crazy motivating blogger friend, I biked 800km in a month. It was insane. I didn’t think I could ever do it, but I managed it – at the expense of any real trace of a social life for that January.

I’m going to start slightly more sane this year, and instead commit to 100km a week of biking on my exercise bike. There will be other forms of exercise as well, but my eventual goal is to get back to where I only watch TV when I’m biking.

Experiment for this week

I’m finding that my sinuses have been bothering me a bit with the winter air, so I’m going to try an experiment with nasal strips to see if that let me sleep better.

What I’m reading this week

Well, there are a TON of great blogs I’ve been discovering lately. Here are just a few of the posts I’ve been enjoying reading:

Modest Money: Not only am I really enjoying what is being posted, but the link posts are introducing me to lots of great new writing and bloggers. Thanks for the mention this week!

Money Life and More: A great post on New Years Resolutions and why you shouldn’t wait for New Years to make a change you need to make today.

Making Sense of Cents: Another great post about New Years resolutions and how to stick with your exercise program. This was another post motivating me to state my exercise goals.

Work Save Live: This was a post about how to connect with recruiters. It’s not an angle I think I’ll be taking in my career plan as I create it, but it’s valuable information for anyone thinking of making a change.

And lastly, over at Vanessa’s Money, a fun thought for how malls could be redesigned. I don’t like how the men’s section is so small, but I love the creative thinking!

How to Have Good Luck

 Ponderings  7 Responses »
Jan 042013
 




I’ve been accused of being a very lucky person, and I don’t deny it one bit.

4 feet is 4 times as lucky

Four feet is four times as lucky

I get a lot of flack from people for being lucky, but I certainly don’t turn down luck when it comes my way.

Is it possible to create a life where you have more luck?

Chance favors the prepared mind – Louis Pasteur

If you feel like you’re unlucky, take some time to push your comfort zones. Also, open your eyes. It’s not by coincidence that children often find money on the ground – it’s because they spend more time looking at everything around them than many adults do.

In my life, I have the most luck when I get out of my comfort zone. Recently, I had the incredibly luck of winning a laptop. I won as part of a contest for people who attended a product launch party on a Monday. Normally, the idea of going out to a late night event on a Monday is absolutely unheard of for me. I have a long week after that, so the idea of being out late right at the beginning of the night isn’t something that would get me excited (I admit it, I’m a bit of an old fuddy-duddy like that).

If I had followed along with my routine, I wouldn’t have been able to learn about the new product lines and meet new people. Also, if I hadn’t gone out, I wouldn’t have been tweeting about the event, which means that I wouldn’t have been in a position to win the laptop. Breaking my routine led to me taking in a LOT of caffeine on Tuesday, but it also put me in a position for luck. I spent a LOT of time out of my routine in December, and the result was a LOT of lucky things happening to me.

So, if you, like many of my friends, are cursing me for my good luck, think of what you can do to get out of your routines and find out opportunities for good things to happen to you. After all, if you want to find good luck, you need to let good luck get out and find you!

Do you consider yourself to be a lucky person?

Always look on the bright side of life

 Ponderings  No Responses »
Dec 162012
 


In the face of the very many things that can go bad in this world, I find it important to remind myself of the good.

The world is awe-inspiring and terrifying. We can’t ignore either side of the coin.

So, if you find yourself getting depressed by what is happening in the world, take the time to search out something good and inspiring. You often won’t see things like this in the news, but they are there, and they are worth watching.

Balancing out your inputs can be an important part of helping keep your brain and emotions on the right track.

Happiness Experiment 37: Setting Priorities in Life – Conclusions

 Experiments  No Responses »
Dec 022012
 


Well, the end of this experiment has reflected my thoughts as the week has passed.

Did it feel good to get a lot done? Heck yes.

Do I feel like I truly grew? No, not really.

I feel like that random element to less-organized time gives me significantly higher chances for personal growth.

All things considered, this is time well spent if you don’t have anything else on the go, but if you have better plans or fun options, then run with them.

Happiness Experiment 37: Setting Priorities in Life – Day 6

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Dec 012012
 


Well, I have to say, I am really enjoying getting this much stuff done. I’m cleaning, eating healthy, exercising, and getting a ton of stuff done.

However, taking care of the present does not guarantee that the future is taken care of as well. Perhaps this is an issue with my planning for this experiment. I always feel like I should be thinking and planning for the future as well as living in the present.

So, I’ll continue to work hard at this experiment and get things done at an amazing rate, but I don’t think (at least so far) that this is the solution to finding perfect contentment.

However, it should be stated, that I do feel better getting things done than I feel when I am unfocused and get nothing done.

Happiness Experiment 37: Setting Priorities in Life – Day 5

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Nov 302012
 


Over halfway in to this experiment, I’m starting to see the positive and negative sides of things.

When you know exactly what you want in life, or are pretty sure of what you want in life, focusing and setting priorities in life can be hugely efficient way to live if you know what you want. However, if you don’t know what you want, how does that focus give you the time to find what you want?

I’m getting a lot done in this experiment, but I’m not completely satisfied, as I feel like there’s still something missing.

I believe that in an ideal situation, I would need to devote the majority of my time to getting the day-to-day necessities done, while still devoting a portion of effort to new projects. That lets me still search for things that offer opportunities to grow, while not forgetting the day-to-day things I need to get one.

Happiness Experiment 37: Setting Priorities in Life – Day 4

 Experiments  No Responses »
Nov 292012
 


Today went much better than yesterday, as I had the night planned out much more effectively.

I made a healthy lunch and a healthy dinner, and even have a healthy lunch set up for tomorrow.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately as well, partially brought on by all of my volunteering. I’m learning an incredible amount in my writing and studying, the real challenge now will be letting my brain sort it all out productively.

I even fit in a couple of walks and stretches.

All and all, an incredibly productive day!

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