What I’m Telling Myself Today...

What I’m telling myself today…

Today is totally unique. There has never been, nor will there ever be another day like today. As much as I think I could plan for this day, it will possess moments and experiences that will catch me off guard. I’m ready, I am totally equipped to handle whatever comes my way. I choose to greet every experience with curiosity. I will ask myself how specific moments are meant to impact my thoughts, my actions, my personal growth. I will embrace every encounter with others as a challenge to leave them feeling better than when they arrived . For every individual that will seek my perspective, I will honor that trust with the same respect that I would desire. Today I will seek forgiveness for any transgressions as close to the actual occurrence as possible. I will aggressively search for the miracles, serendipities and anecdotal amusements that I so often miss. While this is my sincere desire, I expect that I will fall short not out of intent as much as human frailty. And should I be so fortunate to have experienced the completion of this day, I will require the same if not more tomorrow. Wish me luck!

We Can All Learn Something From

These Olympics

Yes it's true, these Olympics will show that every athlete competing is happy for the winners and happy for the other competitors.  When the Closing Ceremonies conclude, the world will have witnessed an amazing show of sportsmanship.  Silver medal winners will be overjoyed for the gold medal winners.  Bronze medal winners will be excited for silver and gold medal winners.  Fourth place and beyond finishers will cheer on the athletes that stand on the podium.  Coaches will be ecstatic for the entire field of athletes and judges will do their best to recognize the talents as they are delivered.
As citizens of the world we will take pride in the fact that there were no arguments, no disqualifications, no doping, no unsportsmanlike conduct and no differences between first and last place.  This will be the Olympics that restore our faith in our fellow man.  It will be the Olympics where competitors hug competitors with joy for their accomplishments.  It will be the Olympics with a world record number of smiles.  This is not a fantasy, it is reality.

       The Special Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea 
         is scheduled for January 29 - February 5, 2013.
    
                             

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FREE BEER TOMORROW!

FREE BEER TOMORROW!

As a member of the Fairfield Optimist Club this sign would greet me at the bar every Thursday night. Free beer tomorrow promised false hope for the majority of our members, tomorrow never came. And so the members would belly up to the bar and fork over their cash while longingly admiring what the future might bring.

2010 begins the onslaught of many tomorrows that offer Free Beer, lost weight, new relationships, discarded habits and every other ambition under the sun labeled as a new years resolution. Our signs might read: Totally Fit Tomorrow, Married Tomorrow, Smoke Free Tomorrow, Debt Free Tomorrow etc. We do this every year. Is it because it works or is it because we have no alternatives? If it did work, why must we repeat it again next year?

When confronted, our Optimist bartender would say, “ it’s today not tomorrow, come back tomorrow.” Of course if you came back tomorrow he would just repeat the same response and the vicious cycle would continue. Isn’t that how we treat our new years resolutions? Don’t we promise ourselves that tomorrow we are going to put our foot down? When we live for tomorrow, today comes and goes without fanfare.

What did you do exciting yesterday? How about the day before? Can’t remember? If everyday is spent concerned about tomorrow, then the vicious cycle is the first thing we should abandon tomorrow. Or, how about today? Why don’t we abandon an age-old tradition TODAY? Now there’s a twist, let’s try to get the most out of just this day and see if we don’t remember it tomorrow. Ever wonder why businesses aren't open 48 hours? I can see the sign now 'Drive-Up window...Open 48Hours!'

Task: attack today like everyone is watching and there will be a story detailing how you got value out of every minute. Don’t worry about tomorrow until it becomes today. Give it your best shot and then call me and tell me about it. Better yet, meet me at the local pub and we’ll have FREE BEER TODAY!

MACY'S THANKSGIVING PARADE IN JEOPARDY OF CANCELLATION!

THIS JUST IN...MACY'S THANKSGIVING PARADE IN JEOPARDY OF CANCELLATION!

Parade organizers may be found at fault for tragedy. Many people are asking why the professionals in charge could not foresee the impending doom. Who in their right mind would position The Planter Peanut Float directly ahead of Horton?

Horton Hears a 'WHO WANTS PEANUTS?' and the rest is parade pandaemonium history.

one onlooker was heard to say "oh the humanity" and then of course the network lost their feed. Try and erase the pictures from your mind and Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

5 Simple Ways To Be A Hero Today!

The news pipelines are filled with stories of unsung heroes that beat the odds to triumph over tragedy. It's not unusual to hear of superhuman strength in the middle of an auto accident. We are not surprised with the details of the individual who risked life and limb to enter an inferno only to return cradling a small baby. We may even experience a little envy when we learn of the airline pilot that wrestles a tumbling aircraft from the skies. As we digest the details of heroes in action we also calculate the odds of similar scenarios playing themselves out in our everyday world. If it happened to all of us on a frequent basis, well then it just wouldn't be news.
And yet on a regular basis we are faced with the opportunity to be real heroes to real people but we may not recognize the hero value. Below I have listed 5 opportunities to have a hero impact today:

1. The human body is a blood factory with a limitless supply of product. According to the Hoxworth Blood Center of Cincinnati http://tiny.cc/OBTIQ one unit of blood can be divided into as many as 5 different blood products. Every time you donate a unit of blood, your body immediately begins to replace that blood and you can donate as often as every 8 weeks. If you are donating just the platelet portion of the blood you can donate every 2 weeks to a maximum of 24 times per year. No matter what you donate your body will automatically replace the donation and allow you to donate again. As many as 3 lives can be saved with just one unit of blood http://tiny.cc/wlcoO.

2. Most of us have an extra kidney http://tiny.cc/SsMLN. That's right, we could live a normal life with only one kidney. Perhaps we are carrying around that extra kidney until someone else is in need. While not everyone is an ideal candidate to donate their kidney, thousands of people have successfully gifted a kidney to the save the life of another. You don't have to run into a burning building in order to be a hero. You don't have to land a jumbo jet on a postage stamp to be a hero. You don't even have to step between the president and an assasin to be a hero. You need only donate an organ that you could live without, to a recipient who may not live otherwise.

3. Skin, it's the largest organ of the body. Who needs skin grafts http://tiny.cc/YUOzX? Cancer patients, burn victims, babies born with deformities, the list goes on for those individuals who could benefit from the donation of skin. Skin grafts may be the easiest of organ donations because no drugs are needed to prevent rejection. Type matching is not necessary with skin grafts. With the increase in weight reduction surgery, excess skin has never been more abundant. Many people have a chance to be heros just by directing where that extra skin should go.

4. Did you know that the liver is an organ that regenerates? That's right, a small portion of your liver will grow to normal size in a matter of months from the time that a recipient has successfully completed a surgery http://tiny.cc/6irBl. Not only will the recipient's liver grow to normal size, your liver  will repair itself as if the donation had not occured. Hepatitis, alcohol disease, cirrhosis, and a hundred other conditions will cause a liver to fail. 1 decision on your part can eliminate any of the more than 100 causes. Be a hero, let your liver grow a little.

5. Leukaemia and other bone marrow related diseases have been impacted through the donation of bone marrow http://www.marrow.org/. Recent developments in medical procedures has made the harvesting of bone marrow products very easy. Look into the eyes of a young leukaemia patient that yearns for the assistance of a bone marrow donor and you can understand the impact of a hero.


The 5 opportunities mentioned above are just that, opportunities to be a hero. While many heroic acts are sudden and without preparation, you have the opportunity to be a hero in your own time under your own conditions. You have been equipped to save lives, improve the quality of life but maybe most importantly you have the opportunity to set the example that empowers so many more people to choose to be a hero.

You Don't Have To Be Nostradamus to Understand What's Going On!

Which ever type of media you subscribe to the same topic seems to dominate the message, it's the economy stupid! For every opinion out there on the subject we find a new mystery unraveled. Being the lemming that I am, I too must follow the lead of all the prognosticators who would have you believe that they hold the answer to the question of the year.



While Nostradamus has earned himself quite a good reputation, I am bold enough to take my place on the world stage and proclaim what little wisdom has found its way into my cranium. The state of the world in the 21st century can be summed up in the knowledge of a wheat farmer during the harvest. I am reminded of a story about wheat farming that was shared with me several years ago. The author of the story is unknown to me so I share it with you without taking any credit other than remembering the message.

The question was presented to me,"do you know when it's time to harvest wheat?" Like many of you, I was not familiar with the telltale sign. For those of you who do know the answer, please do not shout it out and render my story useless to the other readers. And so the storyteller continued, "wheat grows as a shaft with a spear like head that points towards the heavens. As the wheat grows tall the farmer looks for one sign that without fail announces the harvesting time. When the head of the wheat gains enough weight to cause it to bow, then the crop is ready for harvest." The storyteller was standing next to me when he explained the process. The visual of his clasped hands folded together in prayer and pointed to the sky was very demonstrative. When he ever so slightly allowed the point of his fingers to tilt towards the earth then did I get the full picture of the harvest.



What pray tell does this have to with the state of our economy? I'm glad you asked. Not just here in the United States but in many nations around the world we have enjoyed unprecedented financial growth. We have seen our standard of living exceed our wildest dreams. And in the midst of it all, we have believed that it was all of our own doing. In essence, we have walked the earth with our heads held high thumping our chests and proclaiming our personal victory. Just as the wheat farmer has repeated the process of planting and harvesting, the process of nations growing in stature is not new. The history books are full of stories of greatness that does not last.

Back to the point of the message. What is going on in our economy here and around the world? We are in the midst of a great harvest. It is only when we are humbled to the point of recognizing where all of our blessings originate that we can truely appreciate their value. This is a time for great joy because the Farmer has recognized the time of harvest and for every head bowed there is a place in His storeroom.

My Kidney, His Life...

A wonderful story about one donor connected to three other donors and four recipients
http://whattypeofheroareyou.blogspot.com/