Take 120 Seconds to Unplug

Posted on May 12, 2015 by dfolstad58
sand between her toes

sand between her toes

Seize A Moment to be Still

Stop reading, planning, doing…. just for two minutes.

Seize a Moment and be Still

Are you mindful, or mindless of the moments slipping away?

Can you taste the food that you are chewing or

are you checking your email, mindlessly consuming.

2014-06-21 12.04.08

Seize a Moment to be still

Breathe deep and feel your chest rise, and slowly fall,

Feel your attitude, are you tense? poised?

See the wind toss the leaves and move the grass.

manners

Seize the Moment to be still,

Give your thoughts a moment to breathe

Let go, and let some gladness in life into your heart.

Seize the Moment to be still,

Count your blessings, and smile.

Sunny daze

Sunny daze

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I’m fighting and losing the battle plus an Amazing Swim Party

Posted on May 9, 2015 by dfolstad58

foghornI’m fighting and losing the battle, I’m turning into Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace – albeit slowly. I’m not there yet but I can see it coming, I want peace and quiet, and easy listening music! But the little kid in me still breaks out now and then – yahoo!

I’m not a kid anymore but still find my moments. I was out for walk the other day and the wall beckoned. A cement wall with footing a little wider than my foot edged a property – I could walk on the road or I could walk on the top of the wall.

dave sr youngI walked on the top of the wall, this is kid stuff. Part of me knows the fun of making dams connecting rain puddles, swinging on tree branches, and rolling on the grass. You know, jumping on and off stuff, skipping along instead of walking – the light hearted attitude of the simple life when we were knee high tadpoles.

Yes, I have my Mr Wilson tendency moments but part of me reverts to the little boy still inside me.

Posted in FAVORITE POSTS - A Few of them ♥, humor, Thinking Out loud | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Seeing the Sun Through the Clouds

Posted on April 25, 2015 by dfolstad58
overlooking Okanagan lake

overlooking Okanagan lake

Spring makes me optimistic, and we all need that idea of more warmth and sunshine after winter’s long cold night and shorter daylight.

I had to face up to lack of success recently, not failure. I am learning to see the positive and accept the gift that not always succeeding brings.

I think it is sad that we shy away from doing or trying new things because we don’t already know we will succeed or believe that it will be easy for us.  Isn’t that robbing ourselves of kajillions of options?

The tragedy is not failure, the tragedy is not attempting. – Theodore Roosevelt

Recently in Toastmasters I competed in a speech contest and was not chosen to compete past the Division level. I walked away that day fighting the dark cloud on my shoulder called disappointment. Actually for me I had achieved a great deal. I have been a Toastmaster for years and never competed before, so I was in new territory, THAT”S FANTASTIC for me. I was encouraged by everyone and many people enjoyed my talk. I examined the results and realized I had achieved something positive. I know now the amount of rehearsal, and dedication it will take to get past this level of competition. I also learned the importance of vocal enthusiasm and variety.

sunsets were 5 Star

sunsets were 5 Star

The clouds wanted to push their way in and rob me of my being thankful for certain but I remembered in time that here also was an opportunity to smile and encourage others to push their boundaries.

Life is not all about winning, it’s mostly about enjoying the journey and I grew as a result of my experience, I’m still going to celebrate, and I have grown.

I can see the Sun through the clouds, it was there all along – how did I forget?

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Wake Up, You are humming 007 theme music again

Posted on April 15, 2015 by dfolstad58

dr no poster  October 5, 1962 the new Bond film “Dr. No” hit theatres – the actual birth of 007 would have been 1953 with the first published book “Casino Royale“.

[click the purple links to learn more]

sean connery

The one and only Ian Fleming is of course the author and his biography is a spy novel in itself,  especially his wartime service with British Naval Intelligence.

I’ve grown up with the James Bond movies, I used to go downtown on the bus and watch Bond double-features continuously aston martin james bond carand stagger out five hours later, my head reeling with Bond music, humming on the bus home.

I’ve also read as many James Bond books as I have come across, starting with Ian Fleming’s writings, then the numerous other writers who have carried on the “shaken, not stirred” tradition.  I’ve even read the juvenile books of James Bond and his adventures before he was assigned his “007”. Great books as well.

‘A dry martini,’ he said. ‘One. In a deep champagne goblet.’

‘Oui, monsieur.’

‘Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?’

‘Certainly monsieur.’ The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

‘Gosh, that’s certainly a drink,’ said Leiter.

Bond laughed. ‘When I’m … er … concentrating,’ he explained, ‘I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink’s my own invention. I’m going to patent it when I think of a good name.’

Casino Royale, Chapter 7

from russia with love posterI drove home yesterday and wondered how many millions of men daydreamed adventures as Bond. Not the fights on the train like “From Russia With Love” but the other more seductive (shall we say) aspects of his lifestyle (not the killing).  I have decided it would be “jillion” of us guys, give or take a billion.

004Reality hit me and I realized (again) that I’m not a James Bond, or MI6 agent, regardless I am a fan, assign me my own number – possibly 004.

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Early Memories – The Beatles – I wanna hold your hand

Posted on March 27, 2015 by dfolstad58
love the foot in the air

love the foot in the air

Some memories stick and I don’t understand why.  Oftentimes I stop, and try to take whatever I am experiencing, and make it stick, make it soak into my memory bank for future recollection.

When I was really small I remember visiting my Baba & Guido in Kindersley, Saskatchewan.  I remember I was quite young, and I was sitting in the back seat, waiting in the car as oftentimes, we had to do when we were young.

The car was white, the picket fence in front of the house was white, and the street was unpaved but hardpacked with gravel. Small town in the prairie. Baba and Guido (Grandma & Grandpa) owned a small home on a quiet street, in a quiet town.  To a city boy it was awfully peaceful, you could hear crickets at night.

stunned by the moment

stunned by the moment

I think my Dad left the radio to keep me company, and the Beatles came on the radio ” I wanna hold your hand” (link!). I never listened to radio and didn’t listen until I was in my teens. Somehow this song “stuck” and with it the memory of little boy, in the back seat of white Ford, relaxing – parents will be right back.

Can you remember the first song you heard on the radio?

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The Amazing Things That Happen When You Get lost: On Getting Out Of Your Comfort Zone And Finding Yourself

Posted on March 27, 2015 by dfolstad58

I liked this post because it not only had beautiful images but it also shared how the writer has grown so the reader can also experience the advantages of being lost, exploring, and yes, even time spent alone. Read, and see if you don’t want to take a walk down down a street somewhere new, and gaze over a bridge, or hear a songbird.

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