Random Reflections
These articles represent a grab bag of thoughts on various subjects.
The Spider Chronicles
Day 1. Walking to work this morning, I tried to catch a glimpse of a helicopter thrumming overhead. I spotted it way up there and followed it for a moment with my eyes. As I did so, my mouth was open. I noticed this because at that moment, I walked through a spider web. Fortunately, I didn’t swallow the spider. All I could feel was sticky silk on my face. The web must have been …
Just Freaking ASK
I’ve written before about how it never hurts to ask for what you want, but… Since Elizabeth Gilbert is a far better writer than I am, I thought I’d share with you a short article of hers that inspired me this week. It was a timely read for me, because just the other day someone suggested I expand my work into an intriguing new arena. My response was hesitant — not because I didn’t want …
Good Enough is Sometimes Best
I recently did my very first TV interview as part of my Constructive Wallowing book tour. As the date of the interview approached I felt nervous; I wanted to make the most of my appearance on the show, and I was worried I wouldn’t. I pictured stumbling over my words, failing to make myself understood, forgetting to mention important concepts, and generally squandering the opportunity. Thinking about what it would take to “ace” the interview, …
The More You Want Something, The More Elusive It Becomes
It happened again. I was standing on a corner waiting to cross a busy street. I was in no hurry, lost in thought. Just enjoying a pleasant walk in the neighborhood. Before I realized what was happening, an approaching car had stopped to let me cross. There are four lanes, two each way, and all the other cars instantly followed suit. Instead of having to wait for a natural break in traffic, I found myself …
Things That Are Wrong With Me
Have you ever felt like there was something wrong with you, that you were different from other people, didn’t fit in? Today I’m going to convince you of how normal you are, compared to at least one person you know: Me. According to popular opinion, I’m different from normal people in the following ways. 1. Sunshine on my shoulder does not make me happy. I get overheated easily. Normal people prefer sunny days to cloudy …
As We Dream By the Fire
Not all of my readers celebrate Christmas. For those who do, I wish you a bright and merry one! For those who don’t celebrate the holiday, I wish you warmth, peace and friendship. For both of you I’ve left a small present below. (Hint: I hope yule like it. I’m logging your reaction.) You may or may not realize this, but I learn so much from you, everything I do feels like I’m simply returning …
The Circle of Change: You End Up Where You Started (Kind Of)
Change happens in an instant, in a certain sense. But then again, it can take years for a change to really become a part of who you are. I think of change as taking me around a circle. When the change is fully integrated, I’m the same person again, but different. It’s as if I’m traveling around a clock face. I start at 6 and move clockwise through all the numbers until I end up …
Are You Playing By Rules That Don’t Exist?
Playing by the rules is something good people like to do. But sometimes those rules we play by? Um, they don’t exist. So this week I thought I’d list a few of the “rules” that conscientious people seem to live by, and pose the question: Are these really rules? Or are they just fixed ideas that limit us unnecessarily? Career “Rules”: You can’t go into business unless you know accounting (or write up a business plan, or have investors, …
What the Bad Movers Taught Me
Mike and I had a really bad experience recently with a moving company. In short, they broke our furniture and then insisted on making their own repairs, further damaging it to the point where it became junk. The company’s owner offered no apology other than a belated and grudging, “I’m sorry it happened” (he obviously hadn’t read my post on how to apologize), and acted as if this debacle was happening to him rather than …