I close my eyes just to see what I’ll see
Random or real, or ghosts around me
Does light find a way through lids so thin
Does blood, veins impart patterns within
I breathe easier, soothing, at rest
Eyes closed is when I see the best
Maybe its practice that makes it right
But I see with eyes closed each day and night
And I come to know comfort herein
Eyes closed to see and remember again
Today we should really spend just a moment remembering how incredibly brave the patriot founders of our country were when they signed the Declaration of Independence. It was an act of treason against the greatest superpower of the world at that time. This superpower, put treasonous acts down with the heavy boot of its large Navy and Army. Oh and the penalty for the signers and instigators of rebellion if caught was death by hanging. Everyone knew it, so to rebel was extremely risky and highly likely to fail. Many of he signers hoped for a negotiated settlement with their mother country, but knew this to be unlikely. Within 20 days or so, the speed of ships at that time, the King would know of this treason, and a response was surely to come within another month or so. In the meantime, the colonists, had no standing Army, just local militia, as well as no Navy, just a commercial maritime fleet. Much to do in a short time to find a way to defend their declared independence, and to do so without a central government, as each of the colonies were used to managing their own affairs. The Continental Congress also was without a clear president or leader. We think of George Washington as the president at that time, he was being elected leader of the Continental Army, but he wouldn’t be President until 1789, another 13 years.
An analogy today would be if Puerto Rico, declared and decided to defend by force independence from the USA. It would be laughable, no matter how justifiable their grievances were and their leaders determined.
The patriot founders, had extensive debts held by banks in England. I’m sure they felt that might be the only saving grace for negotiation instead of being crushed by the British military and being hanged for treason… but that was a long shot. They were incredibly brave, and they built a basis for a new country based on democracy and personal freedoms that the world had not previously known. We should remember and value the risks these patriots took at this time, as well as all that came later to defend the right for this wonderful United States of America to exist and be a beacon for freedom, justice and peace!
I was once asked, how I could manage myself so effectively during a stressful meeting. How did I come up with a way to move an idea, or a process forward? Two things always came to mind as an answer, one was preparation (I had an outline of key points that I wrote, usually the day before), and a quiet, calm confidence, and focus, relying on the preparation. I actually would say a little pray before a meeting, to ask that I be at my best, and I almost never looked at the notes during the meeting. For me being at my best was not a focus on all that was going to happen, but a focus on relaxing and letting my mind flow easy. Anxiety not allowed!
I have found in sports too, there is a place, a zone, that I’ve too rarely found where you perform so well for short periods of time, then it goes away. For me it always went away before I could get in 18 holes of golf, that’s for sure. But what intrigued me is that the feeling was very much the same as a successful business meeting. A strange calmness with an exhilaration of positive feedback that the preparations and the control (or calm thinking) was working.
When I read this article, it occurred to me, that there is scientific evidence that calming the mind enables critical “in-the-zone” performance.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180627-is-quiet-eye-the-secret-to-success-for-athletes
Hope you can take this idea and thought to the golf course, tennis, or your next business meeting!
Zero Tolerance
Zero Tolerance is the demand
Heroic demonstrative, enforcement
Divide them, force them from our land
In vacuum of righteous think
Regardless the cost or loss
Compassion was the missing link
Righteous, law demanded thought
Meets the searing cry of children
Hearts turned, alternatives sought
How to undo, horrors we wrought
The terrible mess we’ve made
Reconnecting was never a thought
In the moment of action taken
Satisfied, to force an issue
In zero tolerance, our soul forsaken
The children will continue cry
For years until they stop
Broken lives we must not deny
Yes, zero tolerance, was our call
Incentive to stay away
Incentive to negotiate for a wall
What will we get?
A generation failed
Our soul’s regret
Food Fight with Wes
He says hi, pancake pup
Hi there, hamburger boy
Do you want syrup in dipping cup
Would you like happy meal toy
Would you like berries sweet
Or ketchup and Frenchy fries
At the table lettuce meet
And mustard corn flies
Mickey Mouse pancake
Giggles at dinner or breakfast
Give it a spin and a shake
Just make food fun at last!
Dreams often do repeat
Seeming never to miss a beat
Coming around again and again
Searching for a way to win
They argue and plead
And never quite succeed
In defining truth or lie
Inexplicitly they still try
So try to find meaning
In images we are seeing
Finding our way to a happy end
Or forever repeat and contend
This is a day to give thanks for our father’s … Thank you my dad, for the investment of heart and soul to me, and all your children and grandchildren and great grandchildren, we are who we are, and are happy not simply because of genetics, but because of heart, energy, and wisdom granted and gifted to us by you!
To all fathers, have a beautiful day, know we are an instrument of God’s love and wisdom that keeps a nurturing element in our hearts for our children!
Eternity
It’s a long time
Or a short rhyme
It’s a blink of an eye
Or maybe God’s sigh
For mortals such as you and me
This life’s our blessed eternity
On Friday I was told to leave my position at the company that acquired us earlier than the contract indicated. A call around 11, from some HR VP in another state, said I no longer need to come into the office. In fact, could I be packed up and out by 4:00, they will be shutting off my access to the system. No thank you, no group goodbye, no email to customers and staff. A few employees gave me a hug, and helped carry some memories out to my car, but after 38 years in the industry, it seemed so anticlimactic. I’m ready to leave, don’t get me wrong. I have other things, projects, and business opportunities I want to work on, so I’m more than ready to leave. I’ve had a successful career in aerospace and defense engineering business, and analytically and logically it’s time. But there is a passionate, bold part of me that wants something more, that feels like there is more to this career stuff than a paycheck, and that part of me feels cheated of a proper ending to this part of my career. The other logical part of me that ensures I make it through life to the end, and keeps me centered and healthy, says get out while the getting is good, and move on. Besides this is what corporate America is today… a bit cold-hearted it seems.
All this made me think of an article I read about a man with two hearts. His artificial heart was lower in his body, so it felt different, it kept him alive and did its function, but it’s beat no longer told him about passion, it robbed him of his inspiration, and intuition. It kept him alive allowing him to grow older, but seemingly it made him feel like he was outside of himself, not recognizing himself. Maybe we all have something like that, the passionate heart that is disappointed with the cold logic of business, partnerships, and more, and the one we live with that ensures we never get too worked up and keeps us healthy as we grow…
The Two Hearts of Mine
The heart I live with, ensures life and health as I grow old
The heart I love with, is ever young, passionate and bold
These two hearts play on this scarred battleground landscape
Locked together and intertwined so neither can escape
They define who I am, these two beating hearts of mine
They battle for the essence of soul and eternal mind
Neither may ever truly win
As they go around and around again
Salesman
Oh no what will you talk me into
What is it that you think I should do?
With that smile, smooth voice and shine
What will you tell me I need this time?
You’ve got just a moment to make your play
Then I’m going to send you on your way
Oh yeah, so what does it cost again?
I don’t need it, but still I’m sucked in
Geez…