Yet our useless fascination goes on

Posted on May 28, 2014 by dfolstad58

Food for thought, I think you will agree.

Live & Learn's avatarLive & Learn

eyeball,black and white
In this age of the quantified self, we measure how many hours we slept, steps we took, calories we burned. Yet we know nothing about ourselves. We spend more time checking-in to our stats than our souls. Our experience is mined for data but not depth. We have all these numbers to improve now, but no idea how to dial back the numbness.

Life doesn’t have to be a spreadsheet, yet our useless fascination goes on. We spend more time shopping, in considering the thread-count of our sheets before purchase, than we do soul-searching, that beautiful art of thinking about the quality and purpose of our lives.

We are addicted to the constant digital stream, often peering gape-mouthed into the sordid details of other people’s lives; in the process we have checked-out of reality, neglecting our own life so pregnant with potential and meaning.

If we are to measure and…

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Pets, the critters get under the skin, lucky us

Posted on May 27, 2014 by dfolstad58

When I was a young tyke, my family lived in a small town, Quesnel, BC.  It seems a kind of Mayberry and that would make me Opie I suppose.  (are you whistling the theme song “the fishing hole yet? )

Quesnel was a little boys dream. Wild blueberries just outside of town, as a boy I remember playing marbles in the school yard. I tobagganed on the hill beside my house, and there was a creek close by that had wide pools you could cool off in during the summer months. In the summer there was lots of bush near by my house for playing imaginary games of the young boy type. In the winter my Dad made me my own ice rink in the yard, and the snow was deep enough to tunnel under, yes under!

 

Of course, life for a small boy in a utopia like this includes a dog. My dog was named Tiger, a german shepherd. A good dog,  his thumping tail in the middle of the night scared away the monsters under the bed.

Pets, they get under the skin, and into the hearts of us mortals who love them.  My growing up memories include Tiger, my dog. My kids had their pets, also – Errol Flynn (our cat who swashbuckled his way into our hearts), and Houdini (the bunny who was so soft).

We love them, pets, and they are there for us, God bless them all.

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Parents: Lung capacity is key when choosing an inflatable toy

Posted on May 27, 2014 by dfolstad58

Clever writing, love the humor in this post. I will checking out other posts for more invaluable advice!

Ned's Blog's avatarNed's Blog

(Because I am still off the grid and out of air from inflating water toys over the weekend, I am offering this re-post from the archives as a warning to parents as they kick off the summer inflatable-toy-buying season. In the meantime, Skippy the Rabid Blindfolded Squirrel and I hope to see all of you tomorrow for the next edition of The Box! Assuming, of course, that Skippy gets his blindfold off…)

Inflated whale We live less than 15 minutes from our favorite lake. The problem is, it also happens to be everyone else’s favorite lake, which means in order to get a spot within the vicinity of actual water, you have to be there when the gates open at noon and participate in something similar to the Oklahoma Land Rush. It’s not uncommon to see small children strapped to inflatable toys and tossed ahead of the crowd in order to claim…

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Only two words

Posted on May 26, 2014 by dfolstad58

Two words for me ? cheerful optimistic

dfolstad58's avatarLife and Random Thinking

This post started in grade 12. I went to Burnaby North High School.  Sitting around talking with my closest friends; we challenged each other to find only two words to describe each other.

In this “game” the objective was to summarize how you saw that person.  We took our time and I remember I thought the words insightful, and I think the others did. It was quite a challenge but as you search for just the right words, you realize you have to boil down your word pictures to how you see that person’s strongest characteristic in your friendship with them.

What two words would you like to summarize you?  Are you thinking perhaps “loyal”, “considerate”,  “supportive”, “generous”.  What if acquaintances described you as “selfish”, “aloof” or “predictable”, or possibly “stingy”?

Of course, we cannot help all the impressions we create for ourselves, especially when they are brief, or while…

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Fence Sitting hurts, and gets you nowhere

Posted on May 26, 2014 by dfolstad58

time 4Life is daily decision making. Some are easy, like where where to eat lunch, or deciding on what book to read.

Some decision are huge, what career should you follow? Where should you live?  Should I get married?

I suppose we all have our own methods of making a decision and hopefully take the time to use the resources we have to make an informed decision such as consulting friends, or family who know us, using the internet or library resources to learn more to help us understand our options and result of our decisions whether yay or nay.

But some people never make a decision if they can help it.  They sit on the fence metaphorically and never make a firm commitment.

time 3I belong to Toastmasters and as a result of years of belonging I have seen the widespread positive effects to has for people who get involved, and grow by their commitment. I see others pass it by,  admitting it looks good but never visiting as a guest but simultaneously acknowledging the value it could have to them.  The problem is usually, inability to make a decision.

Others I have met,  I have invited them and they visit right away, and join giving themselves a night out doing something educational, fun, and beneficial in a myriad of ways. The difference is the ability to commit and the ability to grab opportunity.

Of course, you shouldn’t take advantage of every opportunity you have just as you can’t turn down every lane you see when you are driving because you would never get anywhere.

But when you turn down an opportunity, you should consider the result. If you are just not interested, fine. If you are interested but can’t commit, then maybe you need to nudge yourself and get out of a rut. Choose what is best for you, but when choices come your way that have great potential, with no downsides, those are the ones you shouldn’t hesitate on.

Fence sitting develops numbness and causes inertia, both hindrances to personal growth and new doors, new friends, and more opportunities.

fence sittingAre you fence sitting?  Are you missing an opportunity that you are invited to participate in ? Have you checked into it and you like it? Have you used your resources to learn more so you are informed and knowledgeable?

Get off that fence, one side or the other – life is too short to miss out on.

Take the small risks and you”ll be happy you didn’t perch forever.

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We shouldn’t be surprised when it happens, we should expect it

Posted on May 22, 2014 by dfolstad58

A few minutes ago I was relaxing reading another Stuart Woods novel, I’m going through those books like free drinks at an all inclusive resort.  But I digress,  the phone rings and a polite voice asks for me, and once identified requests permission to come provide service in 20 minutes.

sprayingIt’s my tree spraying service guy, he sprays my plum and cherry tree, and today he makes a strong, memorable impression that is positive. Isn’t that a pleasant change?

I’m talking about manners, especially verbally. Good Manners, not only should it happen, we should expect it, nay,  demand it.

I decided to quickly lawnmow the last corner of my lawn that I was going to do later so since this guy isn’t coming for 20 minutes, I zip outside and out back to get’er done.

About 10 minutes later,  Cody, the sprayer is peeking over my fence into my back yard.  I notice he doesn’t barge in, I notice he doesn’t yell at me to get my attention, he could have been waiting a few minutes but he didn’t mention it.

So I  shut down the mowing beast, and Cody addressed me as Sir. He says that a breeze has popped up and would it be alright if he delayed until 5:30 AM tomorrow. I say fine, and he thanks me again and calls me SIR again.  (He is already here, has his truck, he’s wearing his mask on his head, but he wants to do the best job I presume so he would rather make a second trip, I’m impressed….positively) He makes a quick comment about the good weather and turns to leave and I thank him. He again uses Sir and wishes me a good day.

I am standing beside my lawnmower beast thinking, “We should be surprised about good manners, but I am. But I am also impressed, in the best way.”

cell phonemanners

It gets me thinking about manners. It starts me thinking about business manners and the importance of TSP.

  • Thinking

  • Speaking

  • Persuading

At some point I believe this young man was thinking about his customers, and how he wanted them to feel, perhaps how he likes to be treated.

This thinking lead to him Speaking after thinking, and not without.  You and I are more used to the latter instead of the former.

Since he thought, spoke after thinking, his words had the power of Persuasion.  Not only am I glad of his service, but I would recommend the business.

If you are in business, would you like to Persuade? Probably, and likely you just need to remember the steps that have to precede. Thinking. Speaking.

Etiquette or Manners are the rules of behavior for all types of situations, social, business, at the gym,  in line at Starbucks,  and in your own home.  It strikes me the value of always knowing the rules because they are really to do with respect for others.

Forbes has some rules for us – general use suggestions, read the Starbucks one (rule #7) and see if you don’t nod your head! Link Here

Thanks for reading!

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