Transitioning From Unplanned Descent to Planned Ascent

The medical profession calls a fall 'an unplanned descent to the ground'. I think that it's a nice way to describe an ugly situation. Whether your talking about an unplanned descent literally or figuratively there will be pain! Either skinned knees or bruised egos or both will be involved. Thousands of people die every year from falls and even more sustain life changing injuries from broken bones and internal injuries. The figurative descent results in depression which can also be deadly. The damage from depression is hard to detect and often harder to treat. A planned ascent on the other hand will require a team to support and encourage you. You will need someone to give you an emotional boost when things get tough.

Marginalized

I know what it means to be marginalized. Now I know how some children, the elderly or some ethnic groups feel. Not only does your opinion not count. It isn't even asked for. Your opinion isn't even solicited. This happens even when you are imminently qualified! I experienced this first hand as a physically challenged person with dysarthria. This spoken by a professional disc jockey with over thirty years of experience! This can result in embarrassment in social situations even though there is no relationship between this symptom and the individual's intelligence. When I am in a group setting with my family or friends, I am often ignored or left out of the conversation. Meanwhile, my thoughts are left out like day old meat. It's important to let people know how you feel and you have something valuable to contribute to the discussion. A friend described this perfectly. She compared it to a newscaster talking to a foreign correspondent and the delay which often occurs before the other person starts to speak. Patience is a virtue...

Why Mixing Bowls Aren't Flat

One of the wedding gifts that I purchased for my son and daughter-in-law's wedding is a set of mixing bowls. I thought that it was a practical gift that they will get a lot of use from. I thought about some of the other gift choices and I wondered why unlike plates and trays mixing bowls are created to bring ingredients together. They are lower in the center of the bowl to encourage blending. A good marriage is a lot like a mixing bowl. It is designed to bring things together.

Climbing out of a hole...

The mind is willing, but the body is weak! MS is a chronic disease not a terminal one that is characterized by fatigue as one of its many symptoms. My mind has been minimally affected and often I find myself wanting to do things that would require too much energy. I think about this and I literally have to will myself to do it. It's kind of a drag. I quickly discovered that most things aren't that important or critical and they are placed in the "bigger fish to fry" category. When I do accomplish a task I almost hurt myself patting myself on the back and giving thanks to God. You have to dig yourself out of this hole called depression and keep doing what you had been doing to the best of your ability fighting gravity every step of the way.

Embracing The Uncomfortable

As a teacher and instructor I realized that for learning to occur people need to step out of their comfort zone. I would tell them if they're not uncomfortable then I'm not doing my job. In life it's important to do things that make us a little uncomfortable. As human beings it's the way that we learn. Choose something that you're comfortable with that you want to change and decide that you're going to embrace change. The majority of us don't like change. We want things to remain the way that they have always been. This isn't realistic though. Things in life are constantly in a state of flux. What do you want or need to change? Will you accept this? Will you embrace this change?

Leap And The Net Will Appear!

I consider myself to be a risk taker. The majority of business owners are. The concept of leaping first and the net appearing is a Zen principle. It's really about having faith and being willing to take a risk and trusting that things will work out for the best. I just watched a video by Steve Harvey where he talks about your parachute and how it won't open until you jump first. Are you willing to take a leap of faith and jump into your destiny?

You're amazing!

I just finished watching a video by spoken word artist Prince Ea entitled 'I Sued The School System'. He has another video which captured High School students reactions to the video. I have read many articles about the education system in the United States and they all say the same thing. Our education system is broken! People are unique and yet the system is the same for everyone. The school system teaches to the test and most of what is taught is not relevant to everyday life. Every person is amazing and unique and yet the school system doesn't act like it. I believe that our educational priorities need to be examined and changed to place greater emphasis on the individual. More emphasis should be placed on critical thinking instead of core competencies.