It seems the more people we connect with the less there is of us to go around. I start with the default answer of 'No' when a friend asks me to do something. I check my calendar. Then I offer a date 3 weeks in the future. Am I free now? Yes. But I have a false notion of obligation. I feel so little control over my time that I hoard the time I can control. I then squander the time I hoarded instead of spending it wisely ... by saying yes to my friend. It seems we … [Read more...]
Have you taken this secret vow?
October 5, 2012 by
I pulled into traffic on northbound 75. I felt my phone vibrate as I took my place in a lane. I reached for my phone. Looked at the message. I started responding immediately. Did the text require an immediate response? No. Was it worth endangering myself and others? No. Was the topic remotely urgent? No. Then why did I let the distraction take over? A - Because I could. B- Because the transaction would be immediate. C- Because rules and consequences don't apply to me. D- … [Read more...]
What do you want to leave behind?
May 29, 2012 by
Let's stick with the Lego theme. I've written about building ideas ... ideas are the Lego blocks. Putting the blocks together is the execution. Many of us get caught in the idea trap. Accumulating ideas like a hoarder accumulates newspapers, cats and Elvis plates. The ideas pile up until we're overwhelmed by them. They're everywhere! You can barely walk in your brain because there are so many ideas piled up and laying around. Most of my regrets are about what I haven't done. … [Read more...]
How amazing is your grace?
January 24, 2012 by
Familiarity breeds contempt. Spend more time with someone and you'll get jaded. You'll take things for granted, and get angry over smaller things. Hot buttons will emerge. They'll be easier to punch as time goes on. This is probably why marriage can be so hard. It's easier to forgive the waitress who screwed up your food order than it is the wife who forgot to put the cap back on the toothpaste ... again. Grace doesn't dwell well in a world of presumed outcomes. We force grace out of … [Read more...]
Reach out and touch someone
January 23, 2012 by
More people are watching porn than ever before. A recent poll showed that 79% of people are consuming porn nowadays. It was in the 30% range in 1983. The studies also show people are having less sex. They are masturbating more. We are a lazy species. We will do the thing that costs us the least. Contact and direct interaction are expensive. They require real-time emotional engagement. They require processing of non-verbal nuance. They require empathy and awareness. This is one … [Read more...]
All I want for Christmas is…
December 25, 2011 by
Jen's whispered, "C'mon. It's time to feed the babies." All I want for Christmas is for my babies to sleep through the night. I've told so many people that my Christmas present would be the twins sleeping through the night. These were typical responses: "Keep dreaming...." "My babies are a year old. They still don't sleep through the night." "That's not going to happen." "Good luck with that..." Not encouraging words. They're actually the complete opposite. The people … [Read more...]
‘Twas the Day Before Christmas
December 24, 2011 by
This one is different. Times have changed, so have we. There's no tree. No garland. No decoration. No lights. Instead we have two babies who have overflowed our lives. We have joy. We have frustration. We have laughter. We have tears. Times we want to run away to Canada. And times we're drawn nearer. We've been challenged. We've been tested. Plenty of times we have failed. Time and again, love, faith and hope prevails. It's overwhelming. It's daunting. It's made me … [Read more...]
