labels

I think perhaps the greatest lesson I will learn in my life is the expansive disruptive power of the label.

I have never liked labels, not since I was a small child.  I was labeled with many negative labels as a child and I am hopeful that some of those types of labels are reducing as the system is slowly coping with issues around bullying. As I grew I came discover how labels worked in community, making it simpler for people to identify whether you were with them, or not. The problem was I often ended up out of the community either because I did not have their label or I just had not made a definitive decision to accept everything with that label. It has been an interesting path to say the least as I reflect back on it.

One troubling fault in it all though is just how deeply rooted our society is with its labels and the dependencies. From an early age we create contrast between labels that leads to further contrast as we age and are exposed to more scenarios.

time

On a recent trip to Florida I experienced a lot of wasted time with travel and running errands. Twice I lost time due to poor traffic planning and or long line ups.  I watched around as everyone just seemed to accept that they will not get to use their own time wisely.

extra

I see the world as a division of life split into categories of entertainment, health/wellness, income sources, family/friends, social/community and our extra. Each person’s life is a collection of these categories but what separates us apart from each other is where we choose to apply our extra time, money and passion. Throughout our lives the categories grow and shrink in their impact on our lives but always there is some space left over for us to choose our extra.  I would argue that the amount of “extra” capacity an individual has is determined by their wealth and the wealth of their community but it is there for all of us. I have become a student and observer of people and how they choose to spend their extras. 

Note: If someone asks you how the see the world, would you be ready with an answer? This is part of mine.....

possible futures

One of my favourite thing about following bloggers is when they pass along one of their own learning moments and share a new concept with us.

Reading Patrick Rhone's web site The Random Post I discovered another Gem that he found.

He point's us to Derek Sivers' concept of "possible futures" where you create a space where you allow yourself permission to brain dump your ideas of a possible timeline for your idea/project/life. I love the idea of giving yourself that safe space to let it out on its own stream of thought not interfering with other things you have on the go.

Maybe you make something of it, maybe you don't, but you don't lose your ideas for future reference.

6 years

Six years is not a sacrifice when the end goal of the project is something great. Is it?

When an investment of time into someone produces an end result that lasts a life time, how much time do you choose to invest?

blog like no one is reading

I write here to share ideas that come up from time to time.

Writing them out helps me to process them. Editing my words, over and over (sometimes not enough)  helps me to further work through the idea and the issues.

I publish it publicly because it is important to leave a legacy of our ideas, even if they are incomplete. That is the true gift of the Internet to this age, the opportunity to share unpolished ideas.

"Should I share my writing, fiction or non-fiction, as well?" You ask.

YES, absolutely, YES! Publish your thoughts, your issues, your complaints and get it out there. The ability to write out our ideas is an amazing part of being human and sharing it with others is the amazing part of being a community.

I should note, that there is one time when I say NO, you should not publish what you write. That one occasion is when you write hate or untruth. Hate is wrong, no matter where or when you are from hate has no place in the world. Writing about or encouraging hate can bring no good.  Untruth also similarly brings wrong to those vulnerable to believing you. Far too much profit is made from people speaking of untruths for personal gain to those vulnerable to believing those ideas.

The future will be a more prosperous place (in the true sense, not the financial) if we all take the time to share ideas. Never stop, never relent, share your ideas.

Visits at the end

I am a big believer in honoring people for who they are and what they have accomplished, no matter how small. I am not sentimental and I do not linger in relationships out of obligation or hopes of some magical result. The concept of karma, cause and effect, is not lost on me but I think we as a species worry too much about the quantity of acceptance of others and not enough about the quality.

My perspective does get me into awkward moments where I spend limited time nurturing family relationships that are not normally part of my life. I understand that for many they believe that it is "right" to visit with the aging and not leave them alone as their friends and family die.

I really struggle with the idea of visiting old people at the end of their lives. People seem to have a variety of rationals for doing it but I personally think that when someone reaches the health milestone or age where they know that they are leaving the living that we should respect their privacy.

To each his own, but I personally hope to come to my dieing moment alone knowing that I have helped my family and community to be out living, not holding my hand. 

I want to spend my last years quieting my mind, making piece with my thoughts and listening to the universe.