Recently Jason posted a blog featuring some tidbits Erma Bombeck left behind before she passed away from cancer. I have reread her thoughts a number of times. It’s almost as if I can’t read it enough. After I read her words I feel like I’ve found the “golden ticket.” It helps me put things in perspective and gives me permission to make sure I am enjoying each moment.
The other day Jason and I were talking with some friends about life and death. We were talking about the wisdom that is gained by either a near-death experience, a life-threatening illness, or the death of a loved one. He posed the question, “Is it possible to trick yourself into having that experience without really having it?” Wouldn’t it be great to learn the lessons that those experiences give us, without having to go through them?
I really don’t mean to copy Jason, but I just happened to run across some wonderfully wise words of a dying 40-year-old man from FL. He recently passed and I’d like to share this to pass along the inspiration I gained from his wisdom. This is another great example of the clarity in thinking that one gains when faced with their mortality.
Today we have higher buildings and wider highways, but shorter temperaments and narrower points of view.
We spend more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses, but smaller families. We have more compromises, but less time. We have more knowledge, but less judgment. We have more medicines, but less health.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk much, we love only a little, and we hate too much.
We reach the moon and come back, but we find it troublesome to cross our own street and meet our neighbors.
We have conquered the outer space, but not our inner space.
We have higher income, but less morals. These are times with more liberty, but less joy. With much more food, but less nutrition.
These are days in which two salaries come home, but divorces increase. These are times of finer houses, but more broken homes.
That’s why I propose that as from today:
You do not keep anything for a special occasion, because every day that you live is a special occasion.
Search for knowledge, read more, sit on your front porch and admire the view without paying attention to the needs.
Pass more time with your family.
Eat your favorite food.
Visit the place you love.
Life is a chain of moments of enjoyment, it isn’t only survival.
Use your crystal goblets.
Do not save your best perfume, and use it every time you feel you want it.
Take out from your vocabulary phrases like “one of these days” and “someday”.
Let’s write that letter we thought of writing “one of these days”.
Let’s tell our families and friends how much we love them.
Never pass up a chance at adding laughter and joy to your life; every day, hour, and minutes are special.
And you never know if it will be your last…
If you’re too busy to take some minutes to send this message to someone you love, and you tell yourself that you will send it “one of these days”, just remember that “one of these days” can be very far away, and you may not be there to see it…..
I think we all have these nuggets of wisdom (kind of like the chocolate nuggets from a Wonka candy bar) in us somewhere and it often takes a tragedy for us to fully realize them. Can we really conquer our inner space without being faced with our final days? I’m sure going to try…maybe if I eat a lot of chocolate that will help.
In this super scary Halloween podcast, brought to you from the haunted studio 203 in Madison, Wisconsin, we talk about memorable Halloween costumes. We will also discuss Pee-pee Teepees, grown-ups who celebrate Halloween, and give you tips on how to look like a zombie.
Shout Outs: Spooky thanks to Bob from Madison, Jason from Colorado, the DVDs (David G., Victor, and David B.), and everyone who submitted stories on the Kim & Jason Chalkboard.
Here I am sitting with the newest Cabbage Patch Kid prototype…David Letterman’s future sidekick…the offspring of Yoda and Elton John…actually, it’s John, the son of some good friends and my nephew by proxy. If nothing else, he looks like the world’s smartest baby. Cute, ain’t he?
Rock. Paper. Scissors. The ultimate conflict resolution game for kids. You pick rock, your buddy picks paper, and you get to climb the fence to get the errant tennis ball. Did you know that there is an actual Rock, Paper, Scissors International World Championship? Believe it.
What about using Rock, Paper, Scissors to help make important life decisions?
Stephen Shapiro of GoalFree.com shares a technique he learned from a "creative-type" named Russ Schoen:
Step 1: Identify a decision you have been struggling with and boil it down into two distinct options. For example, perhaps you are struggling with how you should proceed in your current relationship. Your two options may be (option 1) continue to date your boyfriend or (option 2) end the relationship
Step 2: Next, find a friend to play RPS. At the conclusion of the game, should YOU win, choose option 1. Should YOUR FRIEND win, choose option 2. For discussion sake, let’s say you win. In our example, the decision would be to continue the relationship.
Step 3: Now, sit with that decision, as though it were a done deal, for 10 minutes. See how you feel. Are you relieved? Do you find yourself saying, “That’s what I really wanted?” Or do you find yourself secretly wishing that the other option were selected? Were you really looking for an excuse to end the relationship? Whatever your gut is telling you during those 10 minutes of sitting with the decision, MAYBE that is the decision you should make.
Step 4: Make a decision. Use whatever method that makes the most sense to you. The RPS approach is not right for every decision. Regardless, it may help nudge you in a particular direction if you are paralyzed by indecisiveness and give you insights into deeper feelings.
Stephen goes on to say that we often avoid making decisions simply because we’re afraid of making the wrong choice. And in many cases, "straddling the fence" is the worst choice of all. When I was a kid, I had a hard time making decisions. This fact is almost always brought up at every major family gathering (Thanksgiving is less than a month away!) When faced with the choice of vanilla or chocolate ice cream, I would freeze up (pun not intended, but I’ll leave it there anyway) and break down into a pool of tears. My mom learned pretty quickly. "Don’t give him a choice," she’d warn. "Just tell him what he’s having."
Of course, looking back now, allowing myself to be paralyzed was the worst possible choice. It was the only choice that didn’t result in me eating ice cream.
Thankfully, I’ve outgrown this little personality quirk (why didn’t anyone ever suggest ordering a twist cone?), and although it’s important to measure our choices carefully, sometimes we need to just take action. Kids tend to be impulsive when it comes to life. Sure, that may border on childishness at times, but deep down they know that life is for living, not for sitting on the bench until everything is just right.
And if you can use Rock, Paper, Scissors as a catalyst for getting back in the game, I’m all for it.
The Click to Cure Cancer auction ends today. Depending on when you read this, you may still have time to place a lest second bid for a one-of-a-kind Kim & Jason item. Plus, your contribution will help beat up cancer.
This morning started as a normal Sunday morning at church. The opening song was starting as the priest and altar servers were walking down the aisle. As they approached the altar I noticed they had a visitor- a young girl, my guess is 3 1/2 – 4-years-old. She had followed them up on the altar. She was dancing freely to the music with a big grin on her face. She danced and danced for what seemed like minutes, but it was probably only ten seconds. Then she did something that surprised us all! (As if this wasn’t surprising enough already!) She went up to the podium and grabbed the microphone, yanked it down to her level and sang her own version of the opening song. She sang for a few seconds before the priest whisked her away from the microphone and her mom approached them both and helped her off the altar.
We were all a little shocked and most of us were left smiling from ear-to-ear and wondering, “What just happened?” It certainly wasn’t the normal routine for the opening song.
This child had spirit! (Understatement of the century!)
It was an obvious example of childlike joy and spontaneity. It left me wondering where my spirit has gone? No, it’s not socially appropriate to run up in front of everyone and sing and dance during a church service, however I find myself struggling with spontaneity. It’s a very childlike feature. I think it may be one of those things that you need to consciously work on as an adult. Is it truly being spontaneous if you have to put it on your to-do list first? Monday afternoon: Be spontaneous. Something tells me this little girl did not plan her adventure ahead of time. She just felt like dancing and singing “on stage” and so she did.
I think this went beyond childlike spirit- it was purest picture of childlike joy.
Talk about escaping adulthood. May I introduce you to Matt "Fiddy" Fidler and Scotty MacDonald, two recent graduates hitchhiking their way to all 50 state capitals — in 50 consecutive days or less. Their web site, Hitch50, documents the entire journey. From their own words:
Why are we doing this? We both just graduated college and didn’t exactly pursue the typical business jobs our classmates were chasing, so we needed something to do. Something fun to do, which involved traveling and meeting people and sharing experiences with them. So… we decided to hitchhike to every state capital, in 50 days or less. This gives us the opportunity to meet fun people and see fun places all over the USA. During the process we’ll also get the opportunity to neglect sleep, nutrition and exercise for almost two months….which is awesome.
They have a map at the top of their blog that shows their EXACT current location. So far they’ve gotten a lot of media attention.
Not long ago, Kim and I watched the movie Elizabethtown, by Cameron Crowe. I don’t think it got the greatest reviews, but we both thought it was a pretty good flick. Maybe it caught me in a peculiar mood, maybe it has a similar effect on everybody who watches it, but while the credits rolled, I had an overwhelming desire to just chuck everything and go on one of those life-altering, who-knows-where-you’re-going-it’s-all-about-the-journey type road trips. Kim and I already do a lot of traveling to speaking gigs, but it’s all very structured. It would be nice to not have to worry about paying rent and phone bills and keeping up on e-mail and updating the site every day.
We still might do something like that…maybe next spring. A mini-one at least. Who knows. Have you ever had a trip like that? Any tips?
In any case, for the time being, it’s kind of nice to live vicariously through Fiddy and Scott. God speed, gentlemen!
Recently Jason posted a blog featuring some tidbits Erma Bombeck left behind before she passed away from cancer. I have reread her thoughts a number of times. It’s almost as if I can’t read it enough. After I read her words I feel like I’ve found the “golden ticket.” It helps me put things in perspective and gives me permission to make sure I am enjoying each moment.
In this super scary Halloween podcast, brought to you from the haunted studio 203 in Madison, Wisconsin, we talk about memorable Halloween costumes. We will also discuss Pee-pee Teepees, grown-ups who celebrate Halloween, and give you tips on how to look like a zombie.
This morning started as a normal Sunday morning at church. The opening song was starting as the priest and altar servers were walking down the aisle. As they approached the altar I noticed they had a visitor- a young girl, my guess is 3 1/2 – 4-years-old. She had followed them up on the altar. She was dancing freely to the music with a big grin on her face. She danced and danced for what seemed like minutes, but it was probably only ten seconds. Then she did something that surprised us all! (As if this wasn’t surprising enough already!) She went up to the podium and grabbed the microphone, yanked it down to her level and sang her own version of the opening song. She sang for a few seconds before the priest whisked her away from the microphone and her mom approached them both and helped her off the altar.
Talk about escaping adulthood. May I introduce you to Matt "Fiddy" Fidler and Scotty MacDonald, two recent graduates hitchhiking their way to all 50 state capitals — in 50 consecutive days or less. Their web site, 
