This is encouraging.
It’s still better to reduce the amount of waste we use and to find ways to use less oil. Having said that, I found this story hopeful about a company that has created a machine that can turn trash into oil.
Opening the Door: Change Your View, Change Your Attitude
The career of “motivational speaker” is, at its basic level, not dissimilar from most other occupations.
It’s a job. Hopefully, one gets fulfillment — beyond what he’s paid — out of doing it. (Be assured that those who make big bucks for speeches are — like with most careers — the exception, not the rule.) Granted, it has its perks. There’s very little heavy lifting or backbreaking labor, and since you’re fortunate to be your own boss, you can watch your kids play soccer, or take a long walk along the beach during the day. Again, however, like any other way of earning a paycheck, it has ups and downs.
In the same fashion that comedians might always be expected to be funny; or therapists should always be insightful; one con of this profession is people expect you to be, well, motivational. After all, a “motivational speaker” who is constantly whining doesn’t seem like he’d be much in demand, does he?
Of course, despite common perception, we are “normal,” with emotional highs and lows; and of late, for whatever reason; I’m in a valley. There have been many mornings when I’d rather pull the blankets up over my head, be left alone, and just go back to sleep. “Motivational” would not be the first word you would use to describe me pre-coffee. Mostly, I work alone, so it’s usually not problematic — but not always. [Read more…]
Giving Thanks in Tough Times
“May you live in fascinating times” is an old curse; the logic being if one chronicles history, “fascinating times” were jam-packed with upheaval. Turbulent, troublesome, frightening, epoch-making periods; anyone experiencing them would be upset, frightened, and anxious.
I point this out because, with the way the world is, one might make a case that we are currently experiencing “fascinating times,” and that future historians will find the initial piece of the 21st century to be chock-full of tumult, worthy of study for generations yet to come. For them, that may be well and good, yet for us in the present, I don’t think I stand alone when I pray we figure out soon how to get along a little better.
Giving thanks in such chaotic times is not simple. It feels difficult and trivial to find positives when all around seems urgent. However, to do so, requires a refocus on what one has, rather than a sadness of the way it is not. Saying “Thank you,” lightens the heart, and loosens life’s burdens — if only for a moment, making living worthwhile. Now, more than ever, it is essential to express gratitude for what one has. We are still blessed in many ways.
I can be thankful to sit at a table with family and friends, sharing food, conversation, and stories. We will laugh at where we have been, even if we disagree about where we are headed. We are not a perfect family unit; but we are what we are. I give thanks, and send a prayer to those less well off.
I am grateful to live where I do. Sure, I complain about excess rain and a hidden sun. I lament the dreary fog in the morning, and the wind in the afternoon. Yet, on the grand perspective, this patch of Mother Earth is no less than stunning. Endless forests of trees on majestic mountains caress the heavens; rushing, raging, rivers cut through strong stone canyons in their never ending race to become part of a breathtaking vista of world’s greatest ocean. I reside in a postcard photograph; is that cool or what?
Remember to Give Thanks for What you Have
Anti-Perfectionism Affirmation
Being Thankful for What You Have
So often we focus so much on what we do not have that we forget to take a look at what we DO have. That feeling generates a painful sense of lack, pushing us to either give up because we’re “never going to get what we want;” or to push even harder, inducing stress, and causing mistakes. It’s OK to try and do better and accomplish more. In many ways, it’s healthy. However, don’t forget to take stock of what you do have along the way.
I am thankful for what I have accomplished and for those people around me.
Noticing Perfect Moments
Take time to notice “perfect” moments in life.
How often we do let them slip by unnoticed?
When was the last time you lingered over a brilliant sunset, or stopped to watch children play, or smelled the air after a first rain, or put your day on hold long enough to make a baby giggle? How long has it been since you sat and held hands with someone special, not even bothering to talk? Can you remember just sitting and thinking about how wonderful is life – without having the urge to get up and “do something?”
Life cannot be perfect.
However, do not confuse that with a lack of perfect moments. We get so busy, we forget to notice them when they occur.