“Those who danced were thought insane by those who could not hear the music...”
For Carmen Lousia - who lived it, breathed it and loved every secon of it!
Convention is a dangerous thing. It puts those who dare think outside the box in a position of oddity in the eyes of others. Haven’t we all seen someone doing something out of the norm and just thought to ourselves "Is he/she for real ???" or "is he/she nuts?" … Yes convention sets the bar for mediocrity to feel comfortable.
I am reminded of the story of the Wright brothers who dreamed of a flying machine and were mocked until the day the first plane, the kitty hawk, drew wind under its wings and flew for 12.5 seconds, for a distance of less than that of a modern day jet.
I am also reminded of every person who has inspired me (or YOU!) by marching to the beat of their own drum; maybe an aunt labeled crazy or an uncle previously believed to be odd or whichever type of unconventional character who might have inspired you. They all, you see, had things in common: They thought outside the box and they also had an unquenchable thirst for life. They drew inspiration from it and were happy every single day they were given. In my opinion these characters had tapped in to the secret of life.
We constantly see these people walking around, not able to hear the "tam tam" of gossip that surrounds them and completely oblivious to the fact that they are being mocked by others who lack the energy and openness of mind to be different, to be unique. Originality has its price; it just never concerns those who have it, only those who think they can’t afford it.
So as you make it through your walk of life (whichever you might have chosen, it makes no difference) I beseech you to listen deep and hard inside yourself, for the very instrument from where, traditionally, All feeling emotion, and passion is derived from has also been equipped with a beat. A beat that is yours and no one else’s. Follow it! Dance to it like no one is watching! And rejoice every day to it. There will be no victory sweeter than that of having lived a life as only you could have done so!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Just another day...???
Hello! And welcome to the first day of the rest of your life!...so what are you planning to do with it???...
As we go through life we have many a moment of clarity and many a moment of dimness (lets just say at times we might be a French fry short of a happy meal if you know what I mean). We make choices everyday that alter the course of our lives as we knew them. We constantly miss these intersections when left to our own devices so we end up making these choices at the very last minute when it is forced upon us.
When faced with the possibility of changing something in our lives, whether it is major or minor, we find any and every possible excuse to NOT proceed with it rather than looking at the pros of the whole affair. This, in turn, leads to our lives becoming monotonous and just a day-in day-out automatic thing which we complain about nonstop yet do nothing to actually get out of.
As I walked home the other day I found myself in one of those moments thinking UGH this walk again!...looking at the same cracks on the sidewalk, same cars parked outside the same houses everything seemed …synchronized. I took a moment right then and there, looked around and decided that it must change. I proceeded to cross the street (even though I actually live on the side of the street I was already walking on) and was welcomed by a beam of the last rays of the day as the sun set and the sky became a haze of purple and orange. I closed my eyes and let the light bathe me and as I opened them there was a half moon like a big smile (which due to high trees on the other side of the street I cannot see) and, to my surprise, a star right next to it. As I looked down I saw the same street I walked down every day in a whole new light and everything was different with new possibilities just waiting to be discovered.
As we go through life we have many a moment of clarity and many a moment of dimness (lets just say at times we might be a French fry short of a happy meal if you know what I mean). We make choices everyday that alter the course of our lives as we knew them. We constantly miss these intersections when left to our own devices so we end up making these choices at the very last minute when it is forced upon us.
When faced with the possibility of changing something in our lives, whether it is major or minor, we find any and every possible excuse to NOT proceed with it rather than looking at the pros of the whole affair. This, in turn, leads to our lives becoming monotonous and just a day-in day-out automatic thing which we complain about nonstop yet do nothing to actually get out of.
As I walked home the other day I found myself in one of those moments thinking UGH this walk again!...looking at the same cracks on the sidewalk, same cars parked outside the same houses everything seemed …synchronized. I took a moment right then and there, looked around and decided that it must change. I proceeded to cross the street (even though I actually live on the side of the street I was already walking on) and was welcomed by a beam of the last rays of the day as the sun set and the sky became a haze of purple and orange. I closed my eyes and let the light bathe me and as I opened them there was a half moon like a big smile (which due to high trees on the other side of the street I cannot see) and, to my surprise, a star right next to it. As I looked down I saw the same street I walked down every day in a whole new light and everything was different with new possibilities just waiting to be discovered.
In life it sometimes takes one split second for everything to change, a decision made in a minute turns in to friends meeting; lovers’ crossing glances for the first time. Maybe today its your turn to get a new lease on life be it by greeting a stranger in a friendly manner, picking up the phone and calling a loved one or just by crossing the street and seeing life from a diffrent perspective.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Lessons in Customer Service and embracing change
New beginnings are tough, scary and just flat-out rough. Change usually comes in right in the middle of the thought “isn’t everything just perfect!!”…and then, all we know is turned upside down and all the things we had as certainties are challenged. Sometimes, however, change comes just in the nick of time, when we think that the world is coming perilously close to complete and utter decimation.
I once read a book that stated “...change does not happen all at once or in one abrupt minute, as people usually think, it just seems that way because we were too busy taking everything we had at the moment for granted to notice the slight hints of change in the air…” this, to me, seems harshly true. How immersed in our own lives at the moment is directly proportional to how unaware we are to things that happen around us.
Change, however, should not be viewed as a bad thing. Sure it’s tough to not be with that someone with whom we thought we would spend the rest of our lives with any more or have a loved one pass away suddenly. Nor is it easy to make bonds with people and places like, say, a work place, or a circle of friendly faces that have shared our triumphs and moments of terror for the past few months or even years. Only to have them there no more. I have learned that change is not without reason, for it knows far better than we do when it is time for us to move on and pursue other boundaries. Sometimes we must just trust our gut and go with the flow.
One personal experience brought change about in the form of a person. A friend, who showed me many lessons, allowed me to recognize my strengths and weaknesses and in the end showed me that the fear of change is much bigger than the actual change itself. After these lessons were learned that person faded out just as easily as they had come in to my life.
As agents, many of us can relate to this for we are given but a few, brief , precious moments to change a life by showing the person on the other end who we are and what we stand for (after all this is why our vibe section on the legend has a personality question, so show it and be proud!. it might just make someone’s day and make this call the one that changed their lives forever) and the opportunity to have ours changed, I assure you it will always be for the better. i.e. An Irate customer will show us how NOT to EVER call in to customer support the same way the customer who is calm and friendly will show us how precious life is by letting us know how much they will enjoy their radio and boogie down to their favorite song before they head down to their oncologists office for treatment for the cancer they have.
We are faced with change every single day of our lives. The question is do we want to just let it blow past us and mildly affect us because it inevitably affects our environment or do we want to be an active part of it? The next time you are faced with change I suggest reassessment of what we have and what we want and total acceptance of it changing. Embrace the change that is about to happen. Have the good sense to accept and find the positive side of what is about to transpire and learn to not be sad because a stage in your life has ended but to be happy because it happened.
I once read a book that stated “...change does not happen all at once or in one abrupt minute, as people usually think, it just seems that way because we were too busy taking everything we had at the moment for granted to notice the slight hints of change in the air…” this, to me, seems harshly true. How immersed in our own lives at the moment is directly proportional to how unaware we are to things that happen around us.
Change, however, should not be viewed as a bad thing. Sure it’s tough to not be with that someone with whom we thought we would spend the rest of our lives with any more or have a loved one pass away suddenly. Nor is it easy to make bonds with people and places like, say, a work place, or a circle of friendly faces that have shared our triumphs and moments of terror for the past few months or even years. Only to have them there no more. I have learned that change is not without reason, for it knows far better than we do when it is time for us to move on and pursue other boundaries. Sometimes we must just trust our gut and go with the flow.
One personal experience brought change about in the form of a person. A friend, who showed me many lessons, allowed me to recognize my strengths and weaknesses and in the end showed me that the fear of change is much bigger than the actual change itself. After these lessons were learned that person faded out just as easily as they had come in to my life.
As agents, many of us can relate to this for we are given but a few, brief , precious moments to change a life by showing the person on the other end who we are and what we stand for (after all this is why our vibe section on the legend has a personality question, so show it and be proud!. it might just make someone’s day and make this call the one that changed their lives forever) and the opportunity to have ours changed, I assure you it will always be for the better. i.e. An Irate customer will show us how NOT to EVER call in to customer support the same way the customer who is calm and friendly will show us how precious life is by letting us know how much they will enjoy their radio and boogie down to their favorite song before they head down to their oncologists office for treatment for the cancer they have.
We are faced with change every single day of our lives. The question is do we want to just let it blow past us and mildly affect us because it inevitably affects our environment or do we want to be an active part of it? The next time you are faced with change I suggest reassessment of what we have and what we want and total acceptance of it changing. Embrace the change that is about to happen. Have the good sense to accept and find the positive side of what is about to transpire and learn to not be sad because a stage in your life has ended but to be happy because it happened.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Control or ilusion of it.....
Lesson of the week: Take a deep breath, exhale, let go and open your eyes. I mean REALLY open them… see how everything looks better!?
Simple is better! Why complicate things by over thinking them!? What has been done is done and there is no turning back now. We sometimes nearly burn our brains out trying to think of different ways to do things or to react to them. I say revel in this simple fact: it’s all said and done. NOW the key is to not stop there because that bus stop is called mediocrity and we don’t want that to be our final destination.
Pause there for a minute and realize that all your thoughts have been organized and shaped by your mind as it reacted to an environment that strictly dictates to stay in the box. By “box” I mean convention, the norm, what has been previously established as proper train of thought or way of thinking. We need to cleanse ourselves of this and let go of all need for control. By doing this we gain new perspectives on the world around us…a “new pair of eyes” if you will. After we stop being afraid of not being in control we actually start enjoying the ride we have chosen for ourselves. At this very moment we are taken outside the danger zone or “box” and are thrust out in to a universe of endless possibilities, where there are no bars, no limits and every and any idea is a good one. Our brains are freed from any mold previously established once we learn to ignore the need for this control.
You see when we let go of control of ourselves and all the miniscule problems we don’t even have a say in we are able to really asses our choices in life and also see ahead to what it is that we really want. Think of it as a car ride, when you are in the passenger seat, you really get to enjoy the ride. I say give in to this feeling and apply it to life. Maybe as you look at everything and everyone that is around you, free your mind, and really open your eyes to it you might just realize that you are the one who has been holding the steering wheel all along.
Simple is better! Why complicate things by over thinking them!? What has been done is done and there is no turning back now. We sometimes nearly burn our brains out trying to think of different ways to do things or to react to them. I say revel in this simple fact: it’s all said and done. NOW the key is to not stop there because that bus stop is called mediocrity and we don’t want that to be our final destination.
Pause there for a minute and realize that all your thoughts have been organized and shaped by your mind as it reacted to an environment that strictly dictates to stay in the box. By “box” I mean convention, the norm, what has been previously established as proper train of thought or way of thinking. We need to cleanse ourselves of this and let go of all need for control. By doing this we gain new perspectives on the world around us…a “new pair of eyes” if you will. After we stop being afraid of not being in control we actually start enjoying the ride we have chosen for ourselves. At this very moment we are taken outside the danger zone or “box” and are thrust out in to a universe of endless possibilities, where there are no bars, no limits and every and any idea is a good one. Our brains are freed from any mold previously established once we learn to ignore the need for this control.
You see when we let go of control of ourselves and all the miniscule problems we don’t even have a say in we are able to really asses our choices in life and also see ahead to what it is that we really want. Think of it as a car ride, when you are in the passenger seat, you really get to enjoy the ride. I say give in to this feeling and apply it to life. Maybe as you look at everything and everyone that is around you, free your mind, and really open your eyes to it you might just realize that you are the one who has been holding the steering wheel all along.
Hope and faith
I once heard someone say that human beings were incredible beings with an immense capacity to love and dream, yet greatly flawed since we reside in such weak vessels. I have witnessed many triumphs of the human spirit over adversity. One thing always sticks out. That is our ability to hope against all hope and the faith we are able to keep intact throughout the whole ordeal.
Sure this sounds like a monumental effort and we must all admit to being victims, at one point or another, to the loss of both of these attributes. We give in to defeat not because the feat we have before us is impossible but because it is easier to not try at all than to try and then admit failure. One thing I have been able to observe is that, in most situations, it is not actually failure we are afraid of … it is success. Success and failure are similar you see. They will both take us out of our comfort zone and in to a whole new arena of possibilities which are all exciting and scary at the same time.
Hope and faith are like life rafts. We don’t always use them but it’s always good to know we have them.
So no matter what it is that you are seeking for in life, whether it is success, love, personal growth, children or anything your mind can come up with. The fact that these have not yet arrived in the form that you expected them to should not frighten you away from these; I would say reach for the moon!!... However someone already left a footprint there…so reach higher! Further! Don’t be afraid to take that giant leap towards greatness. Remember though sometimes our greatest feat is not attaining these but being able to hope for them and having faith that someday these will come true. You see as humans, weak vessels and all, our greatest achievement is our ability to dream at all.
Sure this sounds like a monumental effort and we must all admit to being victims, at one point or another, to the loss of both of these attributes. We give in to defeat not because the feat we have before us is impossible but because it is easier to not try at all than to try and then admit failure. One thing I have been able to observe is that, in most situations, it is not actually failure we are afraid of … it is success. Success and failure are similar you see. They will both take us out of our comfort zone and in to a whole new arena of possibilities which are all exciting and scary at the same time.
Hope and faith are like life rafts. We don’t always use them but it’s always good to know we have them.
So no matter what it is that you are seeking for in life, whether it is success, love, personal growth, children or anything your mind can come up with. The fact that these have not yet arrived in the form that you expected them to should not frighten you away from these; I would say reach for the moon!!... However someone already left a footprint there…so reach higher! Further! Don’t be afraid to take that giant leap towards greatness. Remember though sometimes our greatest feat is not attaining these but being able to hope for them and having faith that someday these will come true. You see as humans, weak vessels and all, our greatest achievement is our ability to dream at all.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Think its been bad...???
Starting to think that 2008 isn’t panning out like you hoped for… It has crossed my mind. A small chain of events can and will (most times) discourage and predispose us towards people, places, situations and even entire years.
Two things can come from life’s harsh and trying circumstances: we either break down and refuse to get out of that rut wanting to morbidly relive in our minds the sequence of events that lead us to “that place” OR we pool all of our strength together and pull through by using all of the energy surrounding those events and turning it in to affirmative actions. Most times we cannot make sense of certain trials that are put before us and are left with an empty feeling at the pit of our stomachs and about 1000 unanswered questions which only add to our already negative state.
WHAT NOW? isn’t a valid question. Our goals were outlined before you were taken to the crossroads were you might find yourself now. If they are truly what the heart calls for and where passion is derived from then we must go forth and walk our road (nobody can do this for us) you may also wish to reassess your goals, maybe what has happened has been put there to make you realize what might be truly important so you may readjust things in order of importance in your life. The empty feeling at the pit of our stomachs is nothing more than our subconscious noticing the absence of drive and screaming at us MOVE ON!
It is always healthy to mourn for things past as long as we remember that we are still present. We [say it!] are still here. When finding ourselves at this crossroads (no matter how big or small the event that brought us here was) we must make our choice. We must keep our charted course or change to a new road but we must never allow ourselves to just stand there, and be swallowed up by the unfailing tic tock of time (which stops for no one). Whichever your choice may be never forget from whence you came and who we’ve met along the way for they have made you who you are. So pick it, walk it! There is something wonderful out there just waiting to be discovered all we have to do is be willing to.
Two things can come from life’s harsh and trying circumstances: we either break down and refuse to get out of that rut wanting to morbidly relive in our minds the sequence of events that lead us to “that place” OR we pool all of our strength together and pull through by using all of the energy surrounding those events and turning it in to affirmative actions. Most times we cannot make sense of certain trials that are put before us and are left with an empty feeling at the pit of our stomachs and about 1000 unanswered questions which only add to our already negative state.
WHAT NOW? isn’t a valid question. Our goals were outlined before you were taken to the crossroads were you might find yourself now. If they are truly what the heart calls for and where passion is derived from then we must go forth and walk our road (nobody can do this for us) you may also wish to reassess your goals, maybe what has happened has been put there to make you realize what might be truly important so you may readjust things in order of importance in your life. The empty feeling at the pit of our stomachs is nothing more than our subconscious noticing the absence of drive and screaming at us MOVE ON!
It is always healthy to mourn for things past as long as we remember that we are still present. We [say it!] are still here. When finding ourselves at this crossroads (no matter how big or small the event that brought us here was) we must make our choice. We must keep our charted course or change to a new road but we must never allow ourselves to just stand there, and be swallowed up by the unfailing tic tock of time (which stops for no one). Whichever your choice may be never forget from whence you came and who we’ve met along the way for they have made you who you are. So pick it, walk it! There is something wonderful out there just waiting to be discovered all we have to do is be willing to.
Monday, February 18, 2008
¨What we do translates into who we are...¨
In life we reap what we sow. If when we get out of bed instead of looking out the window and thinking “UGH!” we learn to be grateful for all the blessings that we have been given. Like the beautiful sunrise in front of us, or the fact that we still have our warm pj’s on and a warm cup of coffee in our hands. The universe responds to our positive energy and multiplies these blessings for us and makes these moments abundant in our life.
When we give love, it comes back at us three fold. We are the masters of our own destinies by karma. I recently had a friend pass away who had, in her life, the biggest heart but maybe not the best procedures for distributing her love. When all was said and done and her moment came she had 10 people at her funeral and the whole affair was over in 2 hours. I was sad for a while and then I started remembering all the good times we had spent together. How she was with me when I got the chicken pocks and never left my side only to catch it herself because she never mentioned that she had never gotten them or all the times she was there to comfort and sooth growing pains. And I realized at that moment that she had not been at her funeral, she was probably somewhere else already. How her life ended did not define her, the way she had lived it did.
Day in day out we make choices that define who we are to our families, friends, perfect strangers and well... Every body. What we do with the time we are allotted on this earth is what will define us, not the unnecessary warranty and cost of our caskets. We must love like it’s forever, bestow second chances as many times as it is necessary for the other person to get it right and hope against all hope that what we are about and who we have become comes through loud and clear to the world around us. And know for certain that sometimes its not the size of the mark we leave on this world but the impact of it. Remember a select few have actually walked on the moon but we have walked on the earth and it’s a much more beautiful place. Have a beautiful life and remember what we do matters even if it’s only to ourselves.
When we give love, it comes back at us three fold. We are the masters of our own destinies by karma. I recently had a friend pass away who had, in her life, the biggest heart but maybe not the best procedures for distributing her love. When all was said and done and her moment came she had 10 people at her funeral and the whole affair was over in 2 hours. I was sad for a while and then I started remembering all the good times we had spent together. How she was with me when I got the chicken pocks and never left my side only to catch it herself because she never mentioned that she had never gotten them or all the times she was there to comfort and sooth growing pains. And I realized at that moment that she had not been at her funeral, she was probably somewhere else already. How her life ended did not define her, the way she had lived it did.
Day in day out we make choices that define who we are to our families, friends, perfect strangers and well... Every body. What we do with the time we are allotted on this earth is what will define us, not the unnecessary warranty and cost of our caskets. We must love like it’s forever, bestow second chances as many times as it is necessary for the other person to get it right and hope against all hope that what we are about and who we have become comes through loud and clear to the world around us. And know for certain that sometimes its not the size of the mark we leave on this world but the impact of it. Remember a select few have actually walked on the moon but we have walked on the earth and it’s a much more beautiful place. Have a beautiful life and remember what we do matters even if it’s only to ourselves.
“Cafeteria food and the people who like it…”
How many times have we gone to a cafeteria, looked through the sneeze guard and thought “What in the world is THAT...??” I know I have! Yet we stand in line, buy our tickets and eat it anyways! And in the end actually enjoy it!!! This completely mundane act got me thinking are we conforming? Have we lowered our standards so much that we will eat the calamari chickened rice, not like it and never say a word? Should we settle???
After much pondering and many a sit-down spent observing general behavior in the mess hall the thought struck me! It is not settling. I mean sure we complain and grunt (we have that part down pat) It is the realization of something that goes far beyond food and is always too quick to pass to fully grasp in a 30 minute interval. In the moment we realize that what we are looking at through the Plexiglas are our choices, and very much like in life we must make it in a very limited time. They might not always be Crème Brule or caviar canapés but it is the hand that we have been dealt for the day and we, in turn, make the best choice possible to the best of our abilities. We sit down to what we have chosen, usually next to close friends or fellow co-workers and let good conversation, opinions and debates take over. All in all, one heck of a good time if the right people are sitting at your table.
Lunch, you see, offers us a simplistic analogy for life. We are presented with choices, some we like and others we can’t fathom ever going for (even thou we sometimes do and end up being pleasantly surprised) and then we sit down to eat: we reap what we sow. What is in front of us on our tray is there by our choice and no one else’s and as we let the food nourish our bodies we accept, embrace and enjoy OUR own doing. We learn for a split second to modify our attitudes and fully give in to what I consider to be my favorite saying “ We could have a broken car and be mad or have a broken car and be happy … either way you will still have a broken car” where the choice lies is obvious.
So next time you are at the cafeteria I say down that fish flavored chicken with pride and savor it! It has been our choice, it might not be exactly what we wanted but it was the best choice out of all the options. Applies to our jobs as well: we might not be exactly where we want to be, and our stress levels are sky high BUT it is there on our plate by our own choice…what we make of it is ours to decide.
After much pondering and many a sit-down spent observing general behavior in the mess hall the thought struck me! It is not settling. I mean sure we complain and grunt (we have that part down pat) It is the realization of something that goes far beyond food and is always too quick to pass to fully grasp in a 30 minute interval. In the moment we realize that what we are looking at through the Plexiglas are our choices, and very much like in life we must make it in a very limited time. They might not always be Crème Brule or caviar canapés but it is the hand that we have been dealt for the day and we, in turn, make the best choice possible to the best of our abilities. We sit down to what we have chosen, usually next to close friends or fellow co-workers and let good conversation, opinions and debates take over. All in all, one heck of a good time if the right people are sitting at your table.
Lunch, you see, offers us a simplistic analogy for life. We are presented with choices, some we like and others we can’t fathom ever going for (even thou we sometimes do and end up being pleasantly surprised) and then we sit down to eat: we reap what we sow. What is in front of us on our tray is there by our choice and no one else’s and as we let the food nourish our bodies we accept, embrace and enjoy OUR own doing. We learn for a split second to modify our attitudes and fully give in to what I consider to be my favorite saying “ We could have a broken car and be mad or have a broken car and be happy … either way you will still have a broken car” where the choice lies is obvious.
So next time you are at the cafeteria I say down that fish flavored chicken with pride and savor it! It has been our choice, it might not be exactly what we wanted but it was the best choice out of all the options. Applies to our jobs as well: we might not be exactly where we want to be, and our stress levels are sky high BUT it is there on our plate by our own choice…what we make of it is ours to decide.
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