Tempus fugit..

Fifteen days from now, I will be 61 years old and still not as wise as maybe I should be. SIXTY ONE, dammit.. wah!!

I had a bucket list but can’t remember where I put the bucket. I am so crippled up at times, getting to the front door is an excursion in itself. I am more tolerant than I used to be, but nobody gets to see me so I can show them. The only fun in getting old is that I can get away with behaving oddly, but I am too self-conscious to do that.

Nine days from now is the real high spot. I will know if I have been awarded MVP status again by Microsoft. It used to be fun because we were sent a gift, not always a really useful item, but a gift nonetheless, and I have kept most of them. However, it is the award that counts most. It is good to be recognised as having a useful purpose in life, especially an old stooge like me.. :-)

Two days from now, it will be Christmas day, a day for kids everywhere, but kids are not just for Christmas. Remember that, and also remember what Christmas is all about. Love is what you do for somebody throughout the years, not what you buy them at Christmas.

Wherever you are, whoever you are, there is a festival around this time of year. Try to make the most of it even if you feel like dirt. You will get more out of it if you think about others before yourself.

Some advice.. well, maybe a warning..

There is nothing wrong in hoping that tomorrow will be better. Just don’t sit around for all of today doing it..

Lest you should forget..

.. in the run up to the season of ‘goodwill to all’.. 

Calling other people ‘ugly’ doesn’t make you any prettier..

Give these up and be happy..

Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy – we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. Ready? Here we go:

1. Give up your need to always be right. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?

2. Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel.

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu

3. Give up on blame. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.

4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk. Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that.

“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle

5. Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly!

“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle

6. Give up complaining. Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, many things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

7. Give up the luxury of criticism. Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.

8. Give up your need to impress others. Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take of all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.

9. Give up your resistance to change. Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it.
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell

10. Give up labels. Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer

11. Give up on your fears. Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

12. Give up your excuses. Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.

13. Give up the past. I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.

14. Give up attachment. This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.

15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves. You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.

A footnote. These are NOT my words, but I support them wholeheartedly. Feel free to pass them on..

Karma – a quick recap for 2012..

The dictionary definition in simple terms:

Karma is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect. In Western terms, “reaping what you sow”

OK so far?

So, before you speak badly of somebody or something, do a bit of soul searching first because WE all have skeletons in the cupboard.

Stupid is as stupid does, not just because YOIU say so.

When you talk behind somebody’s back, ensure that what you are saying is citable truth based on consensus and not just personal dislike. Generally, people who talk badly of others will leave NOBODY off the target list. Yes, you too will become the topic one day.

When you do good, do it quietly and expect no return. To expect anything back is selfish, a desire for praise, public recognition. If you only do good for praise, recognition of how ‘good’ you are, don’t expect others to swoon at your greatness. They will be able to see quite clearly that you are fulfilling the task all by yourself.

If you have belief in a ‘human’ god, a god who watches over you, bear in mind that your god will see good and bad, and that all actions made by you, everything you say, could and most probably will be used as evidence at your final trial.

On that note, I will leave you to sleep soundly. because you have no reason to worry, right?

----------------------------------------------------

I have done much soul searching of late. For all the good that I may have done, there is a slew of stupid, mindless actions and statements, some of which I am unreservedly ashamed.

Sometimes, I talk about them, not to get forgiveness, not to show any god that I have changed, but purely to pull them out of the Pandora’s box where I so carefully stored them, out of sight of anybody who might think less of me for what is there.

I am admitting that I have not always displayed sense or thought or care for anything around me. Before I talk about others now, I look back at some of the stuff that I have pulled out of the box and if I see something that looks even close to identical, I temper what I say and show some understanding.

People have often said to me that I am not perfect in response to something I have said or done. I don’t need to be told that I am not perfect, and I never claim to be, but I do try to head in that direction. It is a pity that the people judging me show few to no signs that they are even trying.

May your god go with you..

Here we go again..

If you are living with somebody or a group of people who bring life and vitality, be thankful and have a great day.

For those who of you who live with giant leeches who suck anything good around them into their personal black holes, you have my sympathy. I know the feeling well.

Do what you can today and everyday, and try not to let the buggers grind you down.

I had a very brief experience which brought a smile to my face and gave me hope for the future. I will endeavour to take the feeling of that that experience with me into the new year.

Wish me luck as I wish all others luck..

The dance we never had..

ILD - iue – DL

The End..

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
Ill never look into your eyes...again
Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...strangers hand
In a...desperate land
Lost in a roman...wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah

Remains of missing toddler, Caylee Anthony, identified..

Discovered in an area that was supposed to have been searched already, what is left of the toddler could have been found as early as August. Cause of death would have been easier to establish at that point. As it stands, cause of death can't be determined. This little girl is a victim of incompetence in life and after death. She has been failed by all upon whom she would have relied for a decent life.

Maybe it is better this way for her that she is free of the craziness.

Casey. the mother, has not spoken one true word about her daughter's disappearance since the story originally broke. Her capacity to fabricate is enormous. This can't be anything new, and the parents of this woman must have known that she NEVER ever tells the truth.

Cindy, the grandmother, has openly admitted to misleading the authorities. She and her husband now want immunity from prosecution before they will tell a straight story. George does as he is told, it is said.

What chance would this little girl have had of anything approaching a normal life? Any innocence she had prior to death would have been replaced by less than favourable qualities shown by her immediate family of late.

The local police chief is saying that there were thousands of 'leads', so it would be easy enough to 'lose' the three leads which would have lead to finding the body months ago. The police, professional searchers, mediums, all kinds of people had been looking for Caylee, but the three reports of a suspicious bag within a half mile of her home were obviously not properly followed up. Too busy; we looked there already; didn't want to get our feet wet; there was a snake there.

It is very sad that a little child's life has to end the way this one did, but people knew that not all was well, and the statements of morons who have appeared on TV interviews justifying dysfunctional behaviour is absolutely sickening.

Let's all live in La-La land and pretend that all around us is 'tangerine trees and marmalade skies'.

Nobody wants to take responsibility anymore. Caylee Anthony is not the first to die like this, and she will not be the last, and we have learned NOTHING.

Sit quietly for a minute, close your eyes, and pray in advance for the next child to be let down by society, because there is a child there in the wings with thousands standing in line behind.

When My Times Comes..

When I pass from this life, you may see people cry. You will assume that they are crying for me, but don't be fooled. They will be crying because they could not find the pile of gold or stack of banknotes which made me happy, made me who I was and what I was.

They will not find either of the above because I never had or needed either of the above. I can take with me the things that made me who and what I was, but I will not be taking those things out of spite. They come with me because they are what makes me who and what I am. They are me..

Phantom Hope..

It is said that the world is warming up. As it does, animals like the Polar Bear will disappear because their habitat will no longer exist. It is difficult to imagine a world without the North and South polar icecap. One can't help but feel that something cataclysmic would happen along the path to total meltdown, something really BIG. If you think about it, the rising ocean levels swamping what are now coastal low lying areas is bad enough.

You may think that you are sitting pretty if you live on high ground, but you would soon lose that smug grin. Where do you think all of the people in coastal cities like Montreal, New York and London England are going to be displaced?

Who, exactly is going to pay for the removal of infrastructure away from the areas which will be hit hard? How and when will it be moved?

As the oceans rise, so does the level of water in estuaries, and what is attached to all estuaries? Yes, you guessed right. The small river not too far away from you is also going to rise. Today's fields, farms, golf courses, business parks and domestic housing areas are going to be lakes.

Wild animals, their habitat fast receding, will come into conflict with the escaping hordes from the large coastal cities, whose only interests will be getting someplace to live, be it on a high ground farmers field, or vast tracts of previously forested land, all of the trees about to be cut down to allow for space and building materials.

Fishing fleets will have nowhere to bring back catches unless they fix wheels to the fish processing plants and centres, so no more Sole Meuniere at your favourite restaurant, or cod and chips out of the paper while watching the waves gently roll up the beach.

Meanwhile, up on the high ground, you can't go out in the sun for longer than fifteen minutes unless you smother yourself in sunblock with a rating of '2000', which is probably just as well because there are marauding bands of displaced city dwellers looking to take what you have got, and I don't just mean the sunblock. Better to lock yourself in at night and maybe daytime too.

Living on what is left of the surface will be no cakewalk. Ecosystems contained under glass shields are still very much in the trial stages. Billions of dollars are being poured into space research, but space is a long way from here, and from pictures sent back of our sister planet Mars, unless we are in the market for red rocks and dust, there is not much hope coming out of the research at all.

In the meantime, billions of dollars are being spent on the war to decide whose god will ultimately save us. Salvation is in our own hands, yet we do not seem to have the mind set to realize it

I woke up this morning, still holding what I see a the glimmer of hope that life will improve, but as days pass, the glimmer is like the expectation of watching a forest burn in the belief that, when the flames are extinguished, it will immediately transform into the lush green that it was just before fire took a hold.

Thought of the day

The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goals, it lies in having no goals to reach - Benjamin Mays

How Can People Believe That Anybody Cares When They Live In A Society Where The Only 'god' Is Money?

The paper stuff or coins are not what is revered. It all comes down to the 'over the top' possibilities which the possession of money allows.

I have watched TV programs where..

• parents are paying out for plastic surgery on teenagers. Not reconstructive surgery either.
• people try to put back aging by as many years as they can through plastic surgery
• people go to huge lengths to plan weddings etc. In one case, almost an entire small castle was lit with candles.
• people buy up cheap properties ideal for those who do not have much cash, and then renovate them to the point where only somebody with huge money can afford to buy them.
• people trade currency as a commodity.

Reality TV? Good for sponsors maybe because they hope to get money from the constant advertising. How do they get it? Have you watched 'Reality' TV? How real do you think any of it is? Real or just sensationalist, it certainly panders to those who like to peep through the keyhole at what only the butler might otherwise have seen.

There was a time when, if you could see it, it was real. Do you remember those days?

Thought of the day

Your interpretation of what you see and hear is just that - your interpretation

Out Of The Blue? I Think Not..

Kick up enough sand, and a sandstorm will follow. Kick up enough snow, and a snowstorm will follow. Kick up enough water, and a rainstorm will follow.

Do you see a pattern emerging here?

That's right. Kick up enough of anything, and a storm will surely follow..

How Good Am I, Says I..

Personal taste is just what it says it is. PERSONAL. Your personal taste may not be to everybody's taste, and it does not put everybody else's taste into second class. Some people have a better sense of color and co-ordination than others, so how do you rate yourself? if you were to enter into a competition with others, do you think that your house decor or fashion sense would stand out from the crowd for all of the right reasons? Do you think that everybody should have the same taste as you?

Dining out with a group of friends or associates is always difficult, especially if you are having to organize it. Personal food tastes for ALL of the dining party have to be accommodated, so it is important to find out if there is a finicky eater amongst you, or maybe a vegetarian or Vegan. Do you always take the time to find out what everybody likes, or do you just book in at your favorite eating hole, assuming that because you like it, everybody will have to like it or that's just too bad? Have you ever looked across at what one of the party has ordered, and then proclaimed publicly "Yuck, that looks awful. How could you eat that stuff"? Do you feel comfortable watching one of the party pick at something because their needs were dismissed under the 'well you can't please everybody' maxim?

Do you see friends as equals, or do you covertly patronize them? How good a friend are you? Do you willingly give up your time for others? Having done so, do you then moan to others about having done it? When you help somebody, do you ask how they want you to help, or do you just do what you think is right regardless of the thoughts or feelings of the person you are helping? Do you get upset if they tell you that you are not doing it the way they want it done, and then just stalk off?

Looking beyond the instinctive reaction to go into denial, how much effort do you truly put into being a friend? If you don't honestly put much effort in, or you moan to others about it, then why do you expect anybody to be a good friend to you? If you want others to think good of you, give them a good reason so to do. It is not enough that you think that you are the 'cat's whiskers'. Remember that what you see of yourself is only personal perception.

Nobody wants to know a person who is always negative, always denigrating everything that anybody else is or has? Nobody wants a friend who always appears to be talking behind the backs of others, and you can understand this too because there is a very good chance that the friend talks behind your back.

They say that what goes around comes around. So what is coming at you? And where do you think that it started? By the time that the cock crows, will you have denied yourself thrice?

Treat others the way you would like to be treated and do it regardless of race, color, creed or income.. yours or theirs.. 

Cruel Irony..

Bobby Fischer died on Thursday, January 17, at his home in Reykjavik, Iceland. He was 64 years old.

Bobby Fischer was a bright kind of guy. By the age of 14, he was US Chess Champion and he brought the World Chess Championship title to the US during 1972 after beating Boris Spassky in one of the more peaceful Cold War face offs.

He was also an outspoken critic of his native country to the point where he denounced his US citizenship, becoming a citizen of Iceland instead. When the US administration talked of the 'Axis of Evil', he talked of the 'Allies of Evil', those being the countries which fully supported the present troubles in the Middle East. Was he wrong in what he said? Well, if you look at some facts, you may find yourself agreeing with him.

Allegedly, Bush and his playmates had a plan in the making to invade Iraq BEFORE the events of September 11, 2001. Bearing in mind that it is hardly de rigueur to invade a sovereign country with no pretext, it must have been seen as the biggest stroke of luck that the Twin Tower attack took place. If ever there was a reason to wage war on a country, this had to be it. Of course, Iraq and Saddam Hussein were not responsible for September 11, but hey, who cares! Bush and Co didn't like the guy anyway.

So Bush commands the US military to charge into Iraq, using 'Shock an Awe' tactics. This is similar to Hitler's Blitzkrieg except that the only shock and awe about it all is the way in which Iraqi civilians and US/Allied military personnel were and still are dying like flies.

Having brought down Saddam Hussein and his evil government, it became clearly obvious to all that Bush and Co had no follow up strategy in Iraq other than to instruct Hallliburton, a company in which some members of the US administration may or may not have a vested interest, to safeguard and maintain oil supplies out of Iraq.

What of finding the real culprits behind September 11? We were told that the Al Qaeda leader was hanging out in Afghanistan, but the US needed soldiers for the Iraq invasion so, Canada and one or two other countries were left holding the Afghan baby. It must be noted that in past years, the Canadian military has been a non-aggressive peace keeping force. The change in function has not impressed Canadians a whole bunch.

The Middle East crisis predates anything that ever happened to the Twin Towers. The biggest problem was the way the state of Israel was created. Many Jews had migrated to Palestine because of persecution by the people of other nations. After World War II, the major Western powers elected to form a Jewish state but shuffled the responsibility onto the United Nations who gotten it all wrong by allocating more land to the new state than would be left for the Arabs whose homeland Palestine was.

Needless to say, the United Nations forced the plan through with the promise of aid and full military backing from the US, Britain and France. And here lies the overriding problem. In order that we can preserve our economic interests abroad, we feel that it is our duty to enforce our ways on people who neither understand or want them. One has to note that any country lacking in resources wanted by the West, or that doesn't pose a threat by the spreading of communism, is left completely alone.

The US is not alone in acts of International vandalism. Britain has left messes behind it after pulling out of territory previously governed as part of the British Empire. Pakistan is a good case in point, where the British supported one faction until such time as they were ready to pull out. At this point, they changed allegiances. leaving Pakistan in political turmoil, a state from which the country has never really fully recovered.

We have seen the same after the fall of the Soviet Union, none more so than in the former state of Yugoslavia which completely fell apart, former hostilities between Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia rising like the blast from Krakatoa.

Until we stop forcing our ways onto others, there will always be problems.

It is said that Bobby Fischer had his fair share of idiosyncrasies, and it is true that his chosen lifestyle was somewhat reclusive, but he was a man who had his eyes open, and he looked beyond the 'national' emotion that seems to grab some.

The West is looking for ways to bring peace to the Middle East, but Bush and Co will not be the ones to do it, especially as they are trying their level best to get the world and his dog to turn on Iran. Why Iran? Well, busting Iraq apart did no good at all, Iran is close by and it would be relatively easy to move troops there.

Here is a quote from somebody famous...

"No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it".

The author of the quote was none other than the great problem solver himself, Albert Einstein.

Thought of the Day

Time and words cannot be recalled even if it was only yesterday

Good words to live by

The only people with whom you should try to get even are the people who have helped you.

Always remember

Life is not about waiting for the rain to pass on, it's about learning to dance in the rain.