Just a second

If you had one million dollars, how much of it would you use to buy things to make your life better? How much would you use to circumvent the lives of others?

It may sound like a foolish question. I am assuming your answer is that you would spend the entire one million dollars making your life and the lives of other people better. It seems wasteful to squander monetary resources to hinder someone else.

Even if you have enemies or people with whom you disagree, it does not make sense to spend hard earned cash on them. It is far better to ignore those folks and focus your attention on your own needs and the needs of your own causes.

Right?

Now let’s look at another number; 86,400. That is the number of seconds you have in a day. We choose how to spend them. How many of those seconds do you want to use for your own causes? How many of those seconds do you want to use to circumvent the lives of others?

People spend a lot of time arguing, bearing false witness, lying, slandering, and circumventing others because of differences of opinion. Some cannot abide another to have a differing value, opinion, or political viewpoint. Such an individual is the object of ridicule, protest, and condescension.

In my mind, time is money. Why waste a precious commodity in a vindictive, rancorous pursuit? Why fill your life with anger and bitterness? You would be time and money ahead to use your resources to do what you think is right instead of trying to block what someone is doing, in your opinion, wrong.

I remember a contest we had in junior high school. Three jars were placed in the office. One jar for each grade; seventh, eighth, and ninth. The jars were to hold money for a fundraiser. A penny would count one point for the grade. A nickel, dime, or quarter counted against.

Some people put pennies in their own jar, while others put silver coins in the other grade’s jars. It was chaos, but all of the money went to a good cause. Even then, I thought it was counter productive to put silver in one grade’s jar or the other. My theory was to put all of your money into pennies and place them in your own jar.

I suppose it would be logical to split your silver money between the two grades of which you were not a member, but the metaphor works better to make my point if we stay positive.

So stop belaboring points about problems and talk about solutions. Don’t waste your time on anger and negativity. Instead, use your energy and resources to “do” something. Be a builder instead of one who tears down.

Life is short and we only have 86,400 seconds in a day. In my book one second used to hold a grudge or plot someone’s demise is wasted time.

What a world that would be if we were to live that way. What a world that would be.

Until the next time
John Strain

More alike than different

Throughout recorded history there are countless stories of people who have overcome. From David and Goliath to Rosa Parks, people have beaten the odds and succeeded when the “smart money” was betting against them.

It is my contention that how we cope with struggle is what shapes us as individuals and ultimately as a people. The drive and ability to conquer barriers is part of our humanity. When faced with obstacles, some stop or turn around, but others forge ahead and overcome what was perceived to be insurmountable.

These days we are surrounded by conflict. Issues are often reduced to two extreme points. Debate and discussion are lost art forms replaced with hyperbole, demagoguery, and filibustering.

Politicians want to be reelected, movement leaders want to stay in power, and the press wants a story laced with sound bites of one side lambasting its opposition.

All of this thrives on conflict. The differences are magnified and the similarities are ignored. This is actually a good strategy for those in power and those wanting to raise money for their cause. If they can keep a fight brewing and prolong the illusion of an enemy, than their cause has merit.

Conflict killers are when we start seeing what we have in common with the “opposition.” A Red Sox fan may hate the Yankees, but can appreciate a Yankee fan by relating to the fervor and loyalty one gives to a team.

A soldier may have an enemy, but may admire his enemy’s courage and battle tactics.

Human beings are more alike than they are different. When we are born, we possess the same number of fingers and toes, our intelligence, size and strength will be comparable.

And we will struggle. We will be faced with obstacles and obstructions all along life’s way. The things we want will not come easily. Dreams will not come true with out a fight and it won’t be fair. All of us humans have this in common.

There are many layers to a person. There is our sex, nationality, religion, family, intellect, physical abilities, and personality. A lot of this we do not choose, it just happens, but it is the hand life deals us. It is the collection of tools we have to make our dreams come true.

It would seem to make sense that the brightest, wealthiest, most beautiful people would be the ones to succeed. But the ones who make it are the ones who believe they can and work to make it happen. They try and fail until they try and succeed.

David was not stronger than Goliath, but he won. Rosa Parks was not anyone really, but look what she did. Lance Armstrong should be dead, but instead he overcame a cancer death sentence and went on to win the Tour de France seven times in a row.

There is a picture in the sidebar of my blog showing President Bush running with a soldier who is missing a leg. Marathons have been run by people without legs. Books have been written by people without college degrees, and obstacles are overcome all the time by people who never seemed to have a chance.

What makes us different is far less important than that which makes us the same. What is skin color compared to the human will? What are a few dollars in a trust fund compared to a spirit of adventure? How could any human feature or condition be more important than the instilled belief to never give up?

Until the next time
John Strain

Worth a reminder

A timely message for humanity and for those of us who choose to write, previously posted January 24, 2005. I like to go back and drink from the well of the masters occasionally; William Faulkner certainly qualifies.

WRITERS WRITE

Until the next time
John Strain

Do you ever stop?

Do you ever stop and let the world go along without you? Do you take a moment every now and then to thank your lucky stars, count your blessings, and admire things like a single blade of grass and the shade of an ancient tree?

Are you waiting for things to be a certain way before you slow down?

When do you suppose that will be?

Time is passing. The sun rises and sets each day. The seasons come and go until soon we find ourselves in the autumn and winter of our own lives.

When you get there will you have regrets of things you did not do or will you savor the things you did?

Is your treasure in relationships or in the latest toy?

Can you appreciate quiet?

There are patterns in life that cannot be ignored. For instance, our muscles suffer damage when we use them. The damage is repaired with rest and the muscles become larger and stronger in the process. Without rest, the muscles continue to break down and we feel the fatigue.

Likewise, if we work without rest, we are heading toward burnout. Our lives are void of joy and our thinking becomes predominantly negative.

Stop.

Slow your breathing.

Use your senses to experience the moment. Drink it in. Fill your tank.

This is why we plant gardens, knit, listen to music, paint, dance, ride horses, run, read, and walk. This is why we sit on our porch with a cup of coffee and wave at the neighbors.

The psalmist wrote, "Be still and know that I am God."

To stop is to press our reset button. Hopefully we learn to shake off the stresses, drink in the elixir of solitude, and refuel. We emerge from the rest renewed and rededicated to our tasks with the energy to make it happen.

Now get going.

Until the next time
John Strain

Walking in the rain

It's a rainy day in Covington. Bear and took a nice long walk in the deluge. Just because it's raining doesn't mean he can hold it 24 hours. I don't have him trained to just run outside and do the deed. If I do let him out, he takes a few steps then turns and stares at the door.

I guess he has me trained pretty well.

My front yard looked like a lake this morning. I had the urge to grab my fishing pole and make a few casts. Since Katrina, things have been screwed up. Drainage problems are all over the place now. My particular problem is due to the city fixing a water leak, filling the hole with sand, the sand washing into the pipe under my driveway and clogging it up.

I called the city and hopefully they will "blow it out," as promised.

I am still perplexed about the data transfer rates connected with my blog. According to Apple, where I park all of my photos and everything used on my blog, I have used 21 GB's this month. I used 1 GB over night.

I have googled my site and the Apple site and found some hotlinkers. I renamed the photos to disable that practice, but something is getting a lot of play and I am paying for it.

The mystery continues.

Short and sweet today. I do have stuff to write, but I haven't sat down long enough to do it justice. I also have some catching up to do on my blogroll.

Happy midweek and keep your powder dry - that would be difficult here today.

Until the next time
John Strain