Embrace Your Ugly

Posted on April 26, 2018 by dfolstad58

Funny thing but on television or in movies I notice that ALL the cars are all shiny, clean, polished even.

makes me think of Beach Boys music

In real life my car looks either dusty or dirty seconds after I wash it, and never as clean and shiny as the cars in the car show like the one in the picture I took (above).

I think people try to be like those cars on tv, they project this shiny, polished exterior. I think nearly all of us aren’t like that car, always clean, neat and looking perfect. I know my jeans have patches, and some of my patches have patches! Lol

When we cling to and project the “perfect” image, I think it’s like those people who hold up their hand – “tell it to the hand“, and it keeps others at a distance.

sweet 2 In my life I don’t blurt out to anyone what is going on, but neither am I afraid of being vulnerable either.

I am not gloomy, cynical either, I am always able to find things to be grateful without pretending my life is perfect.

My “ugly” stuff is probably no worse than anybody else’s. It is part of life for me and that perfect life is for movie scripts, it doesn’t exist anywhere else.

Real life and dealing with it is ugly but it’s my ugly and it could be worse. I have a half fixed fence outside that I am going to fix over the next couple days, I’m half way there!

I definitely need to lose some weight, get more exercise but I also have people who make me feel good, and I had a hug and kiss from my wife when I woke up. oh yeah!

My life ain’t tv pretty, but I am glad I can embrace it, cause it’s my ugly and I am grateful to have it, very grateful and I hope you can count your blessings also!

Thanks for reading and commenting; I will be happy to reply to your comments and suggestions. You could inspire my next post!

Posted in Thinking Out loud | Tagged being real, cars, embrace, grateful, positive, real life, Television, thankful, ugly | 13 Comments

Finding Your Sweet Spot

Posted on April 1, 2018 by dfolstad58

sweet 6 I agonize trying to find the “sweet spot” in many areas of my life, and maybe you do also.

If you golf, or play baseball then the sweet spot is that spot on your club or bat where you hit the ball perfectly. If you are a business person then maybe the sweet spot is where your business life and personal life are in balance.

The Sweet Spot is applicable to all areas of life I think, exercise and relaxing, diet and treats, taking risks and not – you name it. sweet 1

Blogging is something I really enjoy and yet I post seldom but derive so many pleasure when people respond with positive comments. I would love to find that sweet spot where I regularly blog and don’t feel I am neglecting something else. I would blog more but I am looking for that sweet spot where my interests and responsibilities to my myself and others are all met. Is it possible?

sweet 7 Another sweet spot that occurs to me is that one acknowledging that my mortality is like musical chairs closing in on me gradually and still enjoy the party while I’m here?

I certainly see lots of room for improvement when I look at myself- being more organized, yard work, exercise, showing my family, and friends how I need each one of them and appreciate them.

Is there a sweet spot between all these areas? sweet 2

I think that regarding to wellness of life and relationships, I am like everyone else.

Sometimes I find the sweet spot and sometimes that golf ball of life goes wild and

it’s lost.

Regardless I am still swinging my club of life and maybe that’s the best I can do. Maybe in the game of life, we are meant to just enjoy the journey.

Thanks for reading, I hope you find your sweet spots. Comments and suggestions always welcome and appreciated. Cheers.

Posted in Thinking Out loud, Uncategorized | Tagged diet, exercise, family, friends, friendships, fun, mortality, Music, no regrets, regret, relationships, relaxing, sweet spot | 18 Comments

5 foot tall, 100 pounds – Mountain Conqueror

Posted on March 3, 2018 by dfolstad58

I recently had a discussion with a friend who has set 7 worthwhile goals for themselves.

shaileebasnet.2 I confess 7 goals had me thinking and this morning at the auspicious time of 5:30 a.m. I realized it reminded me of Shailee Basnet. (find out more about here by clicking HERE )

I heard this 5 foot tall, 100 pounds young lady at the Vancouver Toastmasters Annual Convention in August, 2017. The title of her speech was “Together We Reach Higher“.

Now you are wondering the connection between 7 goals and this young speaker. This young woman from very humble beginnings in Nepal has achieved amazing accomplishments she set for herself.

shaileebasnet.1 At her young age she has climbed all of the seven summits of each of the seven continents. (find out more about the Seven Summits by clicking Here)

African Plate – Kilimanjaro
Antarctic Plate – Vinson
Australian Plate – Puncak Jaya / Kosciuszko
Eurasian Plate – Mount Everest
North American Plate – Denali
Pacific Plate – Mauna Kea
South American Plate – Aconcagua

Moving on from scary cold climbing now she is doing Motivational Speaking especially focused toward women and even doing Stand-Up Comedy in New York. I believe you can find her on Youtube.

Mount Everest Climb

But the thought that I had was that while she had the vision to climb all summits, each of the climbs were individual projects. She would have had to raise money for her team, supplies, travel arrangements, sponsors etc seven separate times although it may have got easier as she became better known.

Each mountain had to be climbed separately, the danger and challenges of each analysed and overcome. Lessons learned and applied and new lessons added with each mountain goal.

My thoughts as I lay there this morning were big visions and goal setting is fantastic and possible but nothing is achieved all at once. Climb one mountain at a time, but while climbing that mountain you will learn and it will help your next, and the next.

But first have the vision, plan how you will succeed, and start taking steps.

The question is really ” Will you be better (closer to your goals) today than you were yesterday?

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Thank you kind reader for taking the time to read. If you follow me regularly, even bigger thank you! I love hearing comments and suggestions and when I receive them I am happy to reply so I get to know the readers better.

Posted in Thinking Out loud, Toastmasters | Tagged achievement, challenges, doing your best, goal setting, mountain climbing, Self Improvement, seven summits, Shailee Basnet, Toastmasters | 22 Comments

The Myths and Magic of Kidney Donation

Posted on March 3, 2018 by dfolstad58

In this well written, and succinct post the author did an auspicious job of highlighting the MYTHS and the MAGIC of Kidney Donation. Got 60 seconds?

Leaving It Better Than I Found It.

I have been SO impressed with the number of people that reach out to me every week about kidney donation. People are so curious and are really looking to do something meaningful with their lives! I wanted to get a post on my site that addresses some common misconceptions as well as some of the magic that came out of this process for me.

Myths:

You are guaranteed to be a match to your family members, so you’re going to save your kidney in case someone in the fam needs one.

Just because you are related to someone doesn’t mean that you’re definitely a match. Being a match to someone requires that you have a compatible blood type, and you need to be a tissue match. I don’t have exact stats, but I have read multiple places that for siblings there’s a 25% chance of being an “exact match”…

View original post 613 more words

Posted in health, Thinking Out loud | Tagged BC Transplant, donor, kidney donor, magic, myths, Transplant | Leave a comment

Walking in the sunshine

Posted on February 8, 2018 by dfolstad58

They were the best of friends, Dallas and Ryan, and time spent together was always appreciated, even when weeks passed between walks.

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Last week they walked on a cold winter day, their faces exposed to the wind, so cold their fingers were still cold inside their gloves jammed in their wool coats. On that day they had shared periods of silence comfortably with jabs of shared thoughts. They were just glad to be sharing a walk, despite the weather.

Yesterday the sun shone as the two friends talked, and walked. The sun shone brightly in intervals because of interfering clouds. As they walked they admired the stillness of the lake, so different from just a week before when it had been stirred up with wind blowing down the valley causing walkers to turtle in their coats.

Dallas was going through a valley of sadness this week, dealing with a temporary situation. He really wanted to feel the sunshine shining down, warming him inside and out. Ryan was there to listen, and understand. He had his share of days when he longed for sunshine also.

During the cloudy interludes Dallas felt chill but it was somehow less because Ryan was there. There they were, two solid friends, admiring the lake, the clouds and sharing the moments together. The clouds may block the sun, but it is still there, and regardless of choppy waves or reflecting calm on the water, it was still the same lake and the sun would break through soon.

Ryan smiled, he caught his friend’s eye, then clapped his hand on his pal’s shoulder, let’s go, tea time!

Soon they would be enjoying the warmth of hot tea, their fingers wrapped around a china mug, in between sips. Unspoken between them they realized the same understanding – No matter what, life goes on, so let’s be grateful.

flower from squirrel Relaxed in those chairs, they were walking in a different kind of sunshine even though they were indoors.

It was the kind that comes from counting all the good things in their lives and looking past the clouds, seeing the warmth that is there and the sunshine that will return to walk in, to share.

Life goes on, Life goes on. (Robert Frost knew it all along)

Just a snippet of a story I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading, and following my blog. I try to reply to all comments, so I can know you each better.

Posted in Thinking Out loud | Tagged circumstances, clouds, friendship, going forward, life, story, sunshine | 12 Comments

Forgotten treasure

Posted on February 1, 2018 by dfolstad58

In the hallway of my house is a box with thousands of old pictures. Treasure I walked past without thinking. This week my son took a day to go through some of those, and we shared the treasure of past days together. He inspired a beautiful day.

Pictures of scenery, sunsets long gone were set aside, barely noted. The pictures of people, now much older, or passed on, are now priceless, and cherished.

I realized more deeply the value of those pictures as I looked at them and it was an emotional day for me. I am not John Wayne.

Those were days of film and taking the film to be processed at the drugstore. Pictures were taken one at a time and processing was expensive. How many people now wish they had been less thrifty and had more pictures of those long past days.

I found treasure today, pictures of family, that for me are priceless and irreplaceable.

Do you have a box tucked away with photos from days past? Time well spent for me was pulling out that box and smiling broadly with the odd tear.

Thanks for reading.