Joy to the World

OK, I'm over my snit about guns from the other day. I haven't changed my mind one bit but I'm just in love with the world today. A friend phoned with tickets to the hockey game tomorrow night, I found a new leather jacket at 60% off, had a great lunch at Leo Fu's and everything else seems to be turning up roses. And no, I'm not about to start attracting things I don't want by feeling guilty about just plain feeling good! So, as old blue eyes sang back in 1977 - "What Now My Love?"
My neighbour, across the back, has had his Christmas lights on all night but he doesn't have them hooked up to a photo electric timer (sniff) so this is a haphazard, not a nightly occurrence. It is however, a very pleasant experience to walk into the kitchen at 5:30 AM and see colourful lights spreading a little joy into the world. He will never know that he has done that for me personally, but isn't that the reason most of us put up lights through the holiday season - to bring a little light, a little joy into the lives of others. It doesn't take much to accomplish this, in fact I suspect that it is the small acts of "joy-spreading" that mean the most. The small and often anonymous acts of kindness, given without need of a return, or a thank you, can often change lives. They can certainly change the lives of the giver, if not the receiver. I suspect that the key here is to be very mindful of giving without expectation even though we dance between expecting the courtesy of a 'thank you' on some occasions and wanting to remain anonymous on others.
I was reminded last night of how lives get changed. Most of you will know that we have an annual hockey tournament that honours the lives of two young men in our community who died 5 years ago in an avalanche (there's a link below). This tournament takes an enormous amount of time and effort by some very dedicated people, most of whom didn't even know Ben or Jeff. I looked around our dining room table last night at 8 people who have come together in a cause that is bigger than themselves. They will be responsible for providing a great deal of joy to the 300+ players in the tournament in addition to offering the opportunity for all of them to apply for education bursaries. Who knows, one of the bursary recipients could go on to find a cure for cancer, in which case, each of these 8 people (along with others who are involved) will have played a small and probably anonymous role, in helping change the world. Most of us want to change some things in the world that concern us and I suspect that the best way to start might be to take a small step in the direction of joy - our joy and the joy of others - try smiling at the first person you see after reading this. Then, watch their lights come on.

VALUES

So, my ego is getting stroked pretty good. There are not exactly thousands of people checking this blog every day but I really appreciate those of you who have taken the time to send emails directly to me, or call, etc. with some very flattering remarks. Thank you. This has been a great exercise as it helps me hone and discipline my writing skills (OK, so maybe I could spend a little time learning punctuation - I was sick that day - let it go).
I have become a little bit addicted to this entire Google mail and blogging thing and the fact that my computer was giving me grief today created a little anxiety. I see however, that access on my home computer is fine.
As faithful readers, you will remember that I am reading a book called Me to We by Craig and Marc Kielburger and today I read a passage that resonated with my New Year's penchant for establishing some objectives for the coming year. I sometimes call them resolutions but the word is not nearly as important as the concept of considering where I was, where I am and where I want to be, in relation to the values I consider important in my life. I could paraphrase but that wouldn't give credit to the following direct quote from their remarkable book.

"Overall, research has found that three types of goals that people strive for are consistently related to well-being. The first type involves intimacy, the desire for close, reciprocal relationships. Fundamentally, these kinds of goals involve creating (or recreating) connections with others. The second type involves spirituality. These types of goals involve a concern with ethics and lead us to seek the divine in daily life. The third type involves a commitment to and concern for future generations. For us, such findings suggest that happiness happens when we recognize and appreciate our connection to others and align our goals with the best of our values."

I can't say it better, but I can continue to strive to be better - care to join me?

GUNS

So, I'm a bit confused. I'm neither a hunter nor a gun owner and so you might say that I don't know what I'm talking about. You would be right, but I have a lot of trouble understanding why anyone needs an automatic rifle, machine gun, pistol or whatever, that fires multiple rounds in a matter of seconds. How the hell many times can you kill a deer? Sorry, "target practice" is a smoke screen - what are you targeting? I understand farmers requiring a rifle to keep predators under control and I understand (sort of) hunters who use a rifle to provide food but I just don't "get" what the need is for automatics. A weapon that fires multiple shots with the squeeze of a finger hardly sounds like "sport" to me - what it sounds like is a weapon of war. So what does someone need a weapon of war in their house for, in this part of the world? If politicians in this country, or the good ole neighbour to the south, had any guts, they would vote to ban automatic weapons in the hands of the public. PERIOD! And please, don't give me that old saw about constitutional rights. Try and drag your knuckles into the 21st century. Parents who have automatic weapons in their house or on their property are irresponsible, selfish, dangerous to the human race in general and themselves and their children in particular. Saying they are locked up and therefore, "safe," is a load of bunk visited upon us by people unable to take responsibility for their actions. I've heard the old line that guns don't kill people, people kill people. Get over yourself - everytime I pick up the newspaper or watch a news program I see people holding guns killing other people.

That's my opinion, it doesn't have to be yours.

Rhythm and Moves

It has recently come to my attention that the picture included on my profile makes me look like I'm picking my nose. Upon closer inspection, it has been determined by a panel of experts, that this is not the case. I try hard to not get caught on camera doing something embarrassing, despite my daughter's best efforts. This doesn't mean that I don't do embarrassing things - I just try to keep my clothes on now.
Big changes in our house over the weekend! I have cleared space in the storage area of the basement to move the treadmill from the rec room to a much better location (also known as the workout area). Out of sight - out of mind. It joins the wobble board and exercise ball in a special place of honour. Now there is much more seating room for the Stanley Cup Playoff run - book your seats early!
The voting for the title of this blog is now running 4 to 3, in favour - a simmering controversy if ever there was one.
There was no newspaper in the mailbox this morning before I left for work. I normally have a coffee and read the paper prior to going out to slay dragons. With time to spare, I was able to sit in the family room quietly and without interruption from people or TV's or music and spend some quality time with myself. It occurs to me that there is a natural rhythm in our lives and that we often ignore it. In our rush to accomplish things on our "to do" list, we move past that which is calling for our attention and move to areas of our lives that show we are "doing" something. I am reminded that we are "human beings" not "human doings." Spending time listening to what is tugging at our heart, listening to the inner voice trying to make itself heard, probably takes us closer to experiencing "joy" than another tick mark on the list could. I have this feeling that our minds and bodies are able to focus energy in particular directions, at specific times and that if we take the time to recognize this particular energy and act upon it, we can experience more joy, accomplishment and success than we can by forcing ourselves into situations in order to satisfy an artificial timetable. We can only know what we need to do by listening in a place that is physically, intellectually and emotionally quiet.
Given that last comment, I will be quiet now and let you focus on what is important in your life.

Image

According to my image consultant, who goes by the acronym SWMBO, I need to seek the services of a hair stylist and "we" are now letting my hair grow out??? Dishevelled, thinning and greying - I thought these were already styles. To add more abuse to my life, I returned to my trainer, Elvira the Mistress of Pain yesterday, for the first time in three weeks. She tells me that the excessive sweating, cold clamminess and spots in front of my eyes are caused by toxins in my body. I was under the impression that it was the Amarula and hot chocolate left over from Christmas and New Year's.
Is it just me or are you tired of "breaking news stories" based on some idiotic misdemeanour by some second rate celebrity? Isn't it amazing that television stations, who try to create a serious news image, can convene a panel of experts on a moment's notice, to discuss, actually speculate, about the potential legal ramifications of some star's DUI. Are we that bereft of actual things to think about? It would be easy to lay the blame at the foot of the media but somebody is watching and apparently in large numbers. The ratings suggest that as soon as news channels show a picture of a blond starlet in a compromising situation, their ratings skyrocket. The media outlets have some culpability in this situation but the rest of us need to vote with our channel changers. It is mind-boggling to imagine the amount of money spent on technicians, on-air personalities, electricity, equipment and infrastructure to carry all of the prurient details of some over indulgent teenager with too much money to a breathless public with the "right to know." Could we please move on to something, anything, with meaning, like perhaps the plight of the homeless, pollution, world hunger, graft, disease..........

I seem to be a tad grumpy this morning.

So, I see that the Futurist Organization predicts that a Cloak of Invisibility, something like Harry Potter's, is within the realm of possibility. I would like to place my order for a cummerbund - it's OK, I can wait for the laugh.
Yesterday, one of my best friends told me that he didn't like the title of my blog. It reminded him of some sort of noxious bodily function. COOL! Now, if I could just get 2 or 3 more friends or family members to agree with him, I will know that I'm on to a good thing. What do you think?
Travel is also on my mind today. Friends are returning from warm places with tales of fun and sun and I wonder what it would be like to live in that kind of climate. Would we get bored with it, would we simply take it for granted, would we ever think about the people who live in cooler climes? The technology certainly exists so that most of us could conduct our business from anywhere in the world. What prevents us from doing so? An accident of birth has placed most of us geographically in a particular region and do we just become comfortable and familiar and choose not to change? I know it is a choice we make and we have but to change our minds in order to change our worlds.
In some parts of this world, most of them quite warm, by the way, it probably doesn't look much like choice. My thoughts wander to many places in Africa, in particular, as we continue to hear about the tragedies that occur on a daily basis. It seems that we here in the West, should be able to do more, in a real way, to help. I am in awe of people like Bill Gates, who have combined their own resources with those of some very high powered friends like Warren Buffet and others, to try and make a difference. I hope that they, and we, can have the patience to let this help take effect. I suspect that it will take more than cheque books to make a long term difference, however. I believe that access to education is the single most important way that the third world can eventually change its status. I'm reading a tremendous book at the moment called, Me to We and will comment on it when I've finished, but the two young authors have made incredible inroads into solving some key issues through their Free the Children organization. You can find more information at www.metowe.org

Stayin' Alive

A few months ago, a good friend invited me to a very special evening of entertainment. It seems that he had been taking a stand up comedy course and he and his classmates were giving their first performances at a local comedy club. I arrived to find about 400 people jamming the theatre and anticipation was running high. Some were good, some were nervous and some were hilarious. I'm prejudiced, but I think my friend was the best of the lot. I asked what I thought was a pretty obvious question, "Why?"
He gave me a one sentence answer that has stuck with me ever since, "Every year I do something to scare the shit out of myself!" he replied. You've heard the saying - brevity is the soul of wit, but it may be the soul of wisdom too. In 12 words, my buddy had said something that I had needed to write a whole book about. See the link to The West Coast Trail: One Step at a Time found below. I had been doing something similar for a few years. After all, how do we know we are alive unless we challenge ourselves to do something unfamiliar, or even a little scary. I'm not too proud to steal good advice and pass it on but I have decided this year, to incorporate it into my New Year's Resolutions, as well. So now there is a brand new category called, what I'm going to do to scare the crap out of myself. This year I have decided to learn to surf! Besides all of the training, conditioning, balance and strength work, it means that I have to go to Hawaii - my favourite place on this planet - too bad, eh? If there is any pictorial evidence of this auspicious event, I will pass it on in this space. I've got until April to get ready - so does Hawaii.
I have another thought rolling around in my head that I find pretty scary as well, but we'll just have to wait and see if I have the courage.
What will you do this year to scare the crap out of yourself?
How will you know you are alive, if you don't?