I had a great full-circle moment with my son today. It's actually been an ongoing lesson for him with me but today it just hit me, he is really paying attention.
I live my life by doing things with people's best interest at heart. No, I am not a saint; however, I truly love to doing for others what feels good in my heart, mostly by my own standards and with no one watching. I will not talk about what events I have or have not done or where I have been in my life, simply because that undermines the theory that you do nice things for the sake of doing from your heart and not for the acknowledgment. However, this situation...it just came 'round and wrapped itself up nicely in a neat bow, packaged with a little sparkle for the added touch.
A few days ago, we were driving through Mickey-D's and a truck with two people in it pulled up at the very same time I did, almost as if racing to beat me to the punch. Now realize, we had to be on the road within 15 minutes in order to make it to our next destination, so you can imagine I was pretty determined to get in and get out of that fast food line! We got toe-to-toe, or bumper-to-bumper as the case was, and we both grinned three miles wide. He lifted his hand up and gestured as if to say, "please, go ahead...” and I, of course, took him up on his offer. He watched through his window as we proceeded to fashion a two-family meal plan, leaving nothing out but the cherry on the top to finish the meal. We took a little longer than the two people behind us probably would have taken for their meal, we gathered by the looks on their faces. We even joked that they were probably sorry they let us go first.
Just as we were about to pull up to pick up our food, I could see the people behind us joking around and looking up at us. As we paid for our meals, the girl at the window chitchatted with us and asked if we were all through. I asked the cashier to do me a favor. Yes, much like the dry-cleaning commercial where the girl pays for the guy's shirts to be cleaned, we did the same for the folks behind us in thanks for letting us go first and being patient with our long order. Without a glance back, we went on our way.
My son started to make a comment about our actions to his aunt, and we both responded in kind: You do not need to mention to others when you do something nice for someone else, you just enjoy the moment and move on to the next one. It was just a nice thing to do. He smiled and let it go. I had hopes, but never did it cross my mind he would think about it again.
Fast forward a few weeks and we were ordering food at a favorite local eatery. Two of my brothers and their families were there, along with my mom, as we nestled up to the counter to order. We were last to put together our meal plan. I ordered but left out my oldest son's meal, as he was out of sight playing video games nearby. When he ran up to tell me his request, the girl smiled and added it without incident. Just as I am ready to get going, I remember, shoot, I really wanted to order fries to share with the kids. As I stepped back in line, the girl was closing out her register. She said it was no problem and started to put the money back in the drawer. I said, “No! It’s ok, really, thanks..” not wanting to prolong her shift. She smiled and seemed to appreciate the gesture as she continued counting out her drawer.
My son helped me pick up our order when he realized we forgot to order him a drink. I requested another one and she gave it to us on the house, no problem. In a sort of half grin, my son smirked but did not say a word. Our order came and we happily enjoyed the meal and the company. Just then, the first girl came over and brought us a steaming hot order of fries. She laid them on the table and said, “You’re the one that wanted the fries right?” I nodded and she said, clapping her hands together as if to signify she was all done with us,“It’s on the house.”
Just then, I looked over to my son and he had the biggest grin on his face. “Mom, did you see that?” He whispered. “What is that saying mom, ‘You do something nice for someone and it comes back around...’ it always comes back around, right mom? Remember mom, remember last time and those people...you did something and now, without even thinking about it, you got something in return. That was cool mom, thanks for that.” I did not see that smile leave his face for the rest of the night. When we were leaving, he put his arms around me and gave me the best hug ever. Somewhere behind those playful eyes, he just simply got the perfection of the moment and savored it as we went on in the night, without speaking a word about it again.
Now listen, I should leave on the table the theory, I don't always do right by everyone; I am, simply put, more aware of my actions when I am doing good, then when I am missing the mark. But alas, such is the plight of mankind...to learn to be aware of the moments when I am not being my genuine self or thinking of the highest good for every time and person, not just the times that feel good or the people who treat me nicely. Nevertheless, I will leave that story for another post.‘Till then, this is just another memorable night to add to my long, long bank of beautiful moments...and boy do I ever feel God’s blessing in each of those many memories.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Friday, December 1, 2006
Happy Meals vs. Zen: Battle Royale
Ah, Christmas is but upon us again; seems like just yesterday I was chucking old toys to make way for new ones. Oh, just who do I think I am I kidding, I have kids: we do not chuck. We keep every modicum of toy accouterments that grace our presence. We even keep McDonalds and Jack-In-The-Box toys, those cheap plastic worthless things we trip over (expletives added *^ #$ %!) and bruise our bare feet on whilst readying our kids for bed.
Why we keep those things is beyond me...never once did the toys from a fast food restaurant last longer than it took my kids to devour their “happy meals”. That should be a clear sign to launch those puppies in the trash before the kids turn back and find reason to fight over them. Lord, can you imagine, fighting over those contemptible little pieces of work! Ok, Ok. Some of them are cute and worth collecting, but the others, Lord, help me. See, there is the difference...that line: the one that determines which toys are worth keeping, and which toys demand tossing. It is really a crapshoot if you ask me.
Nevertheless, the trick is to wait for the kids to turn their heads for a fraction of a second while you pilfer them away to nomad’s land. There you can quickly hold a private funeral for them in your 32-gallon trash bag. Yes, because that is what it takes to get rid of all of those wonderful pieces of work: A HUGE BAG for burial.
Once, admittedly, we had two trash bags full of fast-food toys. OK. That is just far too much fast food for two families. Granted, life was rather hectic for a while, but still, far, far too much fast food going on there. (OK, and remember, here is where it becomes apparent I was not lying about the lack of toy chuck-ability...so give me a break here...)
I think I would like to simply take back the unopened happy meal toys and ask for some useful items in their stead. Such as pencils or pens, perhaps some colorful Post-It pads...anything that we can use for something better than weapons of mass destruction that wind up being hurled across the room at just the right rate of speed as to cause a concussion should it land on the wrong target. Or the right target depending on the person who launched it and how good his or her aim actually was.
Ah, but alas, back to the whole idea of cleansing and purifying our rooms of clutter and unused belongings. What is it so hard about throwing away things we do not use? I mean really. Do we really need every space in our tiny little lives so cluttered with useless items that we cannot see past our own desire to accumulate? Do we really need to hang on or is it simply getting past the idea that we may need it someday? You know, I'd rather live without those items and know that somewhere along the line in the future, I might be able to accumulate some big ticket items that actually hold some real value to me and my life.
I think I just tripped over, quite literally at times, my new, New Year's Resolution: Teach my kids how to toss, toss, and toss some more! Maybe when we rid our lives of the junk, we will actually find way to get to life’s valuable items a bit easier. Imagine that, a clear shot across the room at bedtime--without half-killing myself on scattered toys--to kiss my kids goodnight. Hmmm, I could really buy into that concept.
Zen never looked so good....
Why we keep those things is beyond me...never once did the toys from a fast food restaurant last longer than it took my kids to devour their “happy meals”. That should be a clear sign to launch those puppies in the trash before the kids turn back and find reason to fight over them. Lord, can you imagine, fighting over those contemptible little pieces of work! Ok, Ok. Some of them are cute and worth collecting, but the others, Lord, help me. See, there is the difference...that line: the one that determines which toys are worth keeping, and which toys demand tossing. It is really a crapshoot if you ask me.
Nevertheless, the trick is to wait for the kids to turn their heads for a fraction of a second while you pilfer them away to nomad’s land. There you can quickly hold a private funeral for them in your 32-gallon trash bag. Yes, because that is what it takes to get rid of all of those wonderful pieces of work: A HUGE BAG for burial.
Once, admittedly, we had two trash bags full of fast-food toys. OK. That is just far too much fast food for two families. Granted, life was rather hectic for a while, but still, far, far too much fast food going on there. (OK, and remember, here is where it becomes apparent I was not lying about the lack of toy chuck-ability...so give me a break here...)
I think I would like to simply take back the unopened happy meal toys and ask for some useful items in their stead. Such as pencils or pens, perhaps some colorful Post-It pads...anything that we can use for something better than weapons of mass destruction that wind up being hurled across the room at just the right rate of speed as to cause a concussion should it land on the wrong target. Or the right target depending on the person who launched it and how good his or her aim actually was.
Ah, but alas, back to the whole idea of cleansing and purifying our rooms of clutter and unused belongings. What is it so hard about throwing away things we do not use? I mean really. Do we really need every space in our tiny little lives so cluttered with useless items that we cannot see past our own desire to accumulate? Do we really need to hang on or is it simply getting past the idea that we may need it someday? You know, I'd rather live without those items and know that somewhere along the line in the future, I might be able to accumulate some big ticket items that actually hold some real value to me and my life.
I think I just tripped over, quite literally at times, my new, New Year's Resolution: Teach my kids how to toss, toss, and toss some more! Maybe when we rid our lives of the junk, we will actually find way to get to life’s valuable items a bit easier. Imagine that, a clear shot across the room at bedtime--without half-killing myself on scattered toys--to kiss my kids goodnight. Hmmm, I could really buy into that concept.
Zen never looked so good....
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Data Lost, Source Found
Well, I did say, "on a semi-daily basis...” I am back again, with no thought in my head as to what subjects shall come from the fingertips pounding on these keys. I am going to write...about what, I never know until I get to clear my mind through this very process.
Considering I just had my hard drive crash and I did not (yes, I’ll say it again: DID NOT) back up any of my data in say, what, a whole year...I guess I can talk about how devastated I am at the loss of data. How silly we (a-hem, that would be, me) can be in knowing something like that can happen and we (again...ME) turn the other way instead of preparing for that possibility. Nevertheless, alas, something good has come from this loss.
My only consolation is in knowing that whatever thoughts I had back then to create those creative works of poetry, anecdotes or amazing thoughts that graced my plentiful pages, can be driven from the source yet again in the creation of newer, fresher, more exciting pieces of work.
I never claimed to have momentary genius, but truthfully, when you tap into that source of all-knowing, somehow the words just magically appear in just the right order, at just the right moment in time. That magical flow of prose that surprises me each time I finish writing.
So, suffice it to say, back up or no back up, I know I will continue to write and create pieces of work that in some way will touch someone else, God willing, somewhere along the line. One day I am sure that even as I type something new, the core of who I am remembers what was lost and will tap into that to make sense of the moment...the need...the purpose of the opportunity to connect with someone else...and it will be reborn.
Considering I just had my hard drive crash and I did not (yes, I’ll say it again: DID NOT) back up any of my data in say, what, a whole year...I guess I can talk about how devastated I am at the loss of data. How silly we (a-hem, that would be, me) can be in knowing something like that can happen and we (again...ME) turn the other way instead of preparing for that possibility. Nevertheless, alas, something good has come from this loss.
My only consolation is in knowing that whatever thoughts I had back then to create those creative works of poetry, anecdotes or amazing thoughts that graced my plentiful pages, can be driven from the source yet again in the creation of newer, fresher, more exciting pieces of work.
I never claimed to have momentary genius, but truthfully, when you tap into that source of all-knowing, somehow the words just magically appear in just the right order, at just the right moment in time. That magical flow of prose that surprises me each time I finish writing.
So, suffice it to say, back up or no back up, I know I will continue to write and create pieces of work that in some way will touch someone else, God willing, somewhere along the line. One day I am sure that even as I type something new, the core of who I am remembers what was lost and will tap into that to make sense of the moment...the need...the purpose of the opportunity to connect with someone else...and it will be reborn.
REBORN.
That's what it is all about anyway...
Caio for now!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Me, Tim, and The Light That Shines
I am sitting here hanging with Tim McGraw on my internet radio and thinking how this music is very much like my many thoughts on writing and emotion combined, it is love and madness mixed. Where it comes from only a writer can wrap around that source...but the benefit is in the way the result simply takes shape through each person it touches. Writing put to music is a source of healing, motivation, and pure emotion. There is no making sense of that joyful noise, because it effortlessly finds way to move you beyond comprehension, regardless of the genre.
I love that about music. I love that about life. That you can find so many ways, even trip over them unexpectedly, to feel drawn into this world you know nothing about, yet somehow it just fits perfectly into your mind, heart, or soul experience. It just simply moves you. It can be the words, the tune, the passion; it can be its strength or detriment, it can simply be about the moment in time you are experiencing that grabs a hold of you and doesn't let you go until the last tune trails off into the next space in time.
How could I not know all my life that writing and music are where my heart is at home? It is where my life takes shape and where my career belongs. How can something affect me so profoundly at any given moment, and me not think: Hmm, wonder how I can make a living in that realm? Silly, crazy, wonderful revelations: In simple moments like these, when songs move me move toward my passion and away from the mundane reality of making a living. I will live my dream of being so involved in my work that it is not work: It is my life.
Imagine! To wake up every single day engaged and connected to a source of inspiration on all levels. Then, to translate that inspiration into something that moves someone else. I see myself being that person, the one who provides that inspiration for others, simply by living my own revelations. If you are not doing that in your life, figure out why not! Find your truth and live it fully so you can give back to the world what it desperately needs...a piece of you that moves someone else to positive change. Be that change and watch how others will light up around you! I look forward to all the ways I will watch my own career unfold before me, and the many, many people I will reach to inspire making their own changes.
I used to think about how I would hide my light so others would could be comfortable around me, but then I thought: why, why short change my experience to appease someone else? In letting my soul shine, as bright as it can possibly shine, I am allowing all those around me to do the same. MAN! Open up! Allow yourself to be everything you ever thought you could, and even better--all of those things of which you never dreamed yourself worthy.
Well Tim has done it again. He has brought me to a revelation by doing something he just loves to do, something he simply is. He does not even know me, and yet he, through his music and life choice, has moved me to expose my own truth. Live my passion and let others in on that joy. Mountains will move, silence will lift, and emotions will stir. How grateful I am to be a part of this life and all the freedom we have to be whatever, whomever, we want to be. I am ready; let’s go get it done...
I love that about music. I love that about life. That you can find so many ways, even trip over them unexpectedly, to feel drawn into this world you know nothing about, yet somehow it just fits perfectly into your mind, heart, or soul experience. It just simply moves you. It can be the words, the tune, the passion; it can be its strength or detriment, it can simply be about the moment in time you are experiencing that grabs a hold of you and doesn't let you go until the last tune trails off into the next space in time.
How could I not know all my life that writing and music are where my heart is at home? It is where my life takes shape and where my career belongs. How can something affect me so profoundly at any given moment, and me not think: Hmm, wonder how I can make a living in that realm? Silly, crazy, wonderful revelations: In simple moments like these, when songs move me move toward my passion and away from the mundane reality of making a living. I will live my dream of being so involved in my work that it is not work: It is my life.
Imagine! To wake up every single day engaged and connected to a source of inspiration on all levels. Then, to translate that inspiration into something that moves someone else. I see myself being that person, the one who provides that inspiration for others, simply by living my own revelations. If you are not doing that in your life, figure out why not! Find your truth and live it fully so you can give back to the world what it desperately needs...a piece of you that moves someone else to positive change. Be that change and watch how others will light up around you! I look forward to all the ways I will watch my own career unfold before me, and the many, many people I will reach to inspire making their own changes.
I used to think about how I would hide my light so others would could be comfortable around me, but then I thought: why, why short change my experience to appease someone else? In letting my soul shine, as bright as it can possibly shine, I am allowing all those around me to do the same. MAN! Open up! Allow yourself to be everything you ever thought you could, and even better--all of those things of which you never dreamed yourself worthy.
Well Tim has done it again. He has brought me to a revelation by doing something he just loves to do, something he simply is. He does not even know me, and yet he, through his music and life choice, has moved me to expose my own truth. Live my passion and let others in on that joy. Mountains will move, silence will lift, and emotions will stir. How grateful I am to be a part of this life and all the freedom we have to be whatever, whomever, we want to be. I am ready; let’s go get it done...
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Early AM Initiation
Greetings one and all,
Welcome to this writer's ramblings for a beautiful Saturday night. Why am I doing this? Oh heavens, who knows. Seemed like a good thing to do, on a suggestion from a friend. Thanks Manoj :-)
First and foremost, I love to write. I love to ramble. I love to go on and on. Here, it simply doesn't matter if you like what I have to say or not..if you catch errors or find inconsistencies...that's what rambling is all about! So sit back, take the journey and just enjoy the process of one mind clearing a path to enlightenment. I figure, if I can get all this stuff out of my head and onto a "paper"...maybe, just maybe, I will find that quiet space in meditation, to actually feel the silence and find my truth.
So to clarify: there is no universal purpose here, other than to share the transformation of thoughts from mind to this clean white page. I am a writer at heart: not an editor; much as I am a marketing person, not a graphic designer! So take what is shared with a grain of salt, prolific or endearing, allowing the errors to flavor the writing, not impede the understanding.
Here's to a journey of pure unadulterated thoughts designed to color the pages of my life, and bring to those around me some kind of connection that brings us closer. Cheers!
GL
Welcome to this writer's ramblings for a beautiful Saturday night. Why am I doing this? Oh heavens, who knows. Seemed like a good thing to do, on a suggestion from a friend. Thanks Manoj :-)
First and foremost, I love to write. I love to ramble. I love to go on and on. Here, it simply doesn't matter if you like what I have to say or not..if you catch errors or find inconsistencies...that's what rambling is all about! So sit back, take the journey and just enjoy the process of one mind clearing a path to enlightenment. I figure, if I can get all this stuff out of my head and onto a "paper"...maybe, just maybe, I will find that quiet space in meditation, to actually feel the silence and find my truth.
So to clarify: there is no universal purpose here, other than to share the transformation of thoughts from mind to this clean white page. I am a writer at heart: not an editor; much as I am a marketing person, not a graphic designer! So take what is shared with a grain of salt, prolific or endearing, allowing the errors to flavor the writing, not impede the understanding.
Here's to a journey of pure unadulterated thoughts designed to color the pages of my life, and bring to those around me some kind of connection that brings us closer. Cheers!
GL
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