Well, with Christmas slowly dropping behind us we have New Year approaching.
In this day and age of our high tech, busy lives. Governed by the atomic clock, electronic calendars, invitations and appointments on Facebook, Global news on Twitter.
I like to look at the bare trees, the dark evenings and early mornings, the wild seas and the neglected fields and remind myself that, despite all the modern gadgets and gizmos, the World continues on as it has done for thousands of years.
When our ancestors decided to break down their lives in manageable chunks, inventing days of the week and months of the year (names after their Gods and revered leaders) and the Seasons - taking the path of the Sun and the Moon to mark auspicious occasions - Solstices - the highs and lows of the Year - they were in tune with their surroundings, in tune with Nature.
Festivals were held to celebrate these important occasions - Harvest Festival, Christmas, New Year, May Day. Charting the progress of the year and giving thanks for the bounty that Nature provides us all.
To celebrate the ending of the old year, to bring cheer and merriment during the cold dark months and look forward to a new beginning. To mourn the passing of the old, ready to be reborn, resurrected into the New.
It's no wonder that so many of our Faiths and Beliefs reflect these ideologies and rituals.
They have been ingrained into us ever since we started tracking the herds to hunt, planting seeds to grow, sailing the seas to explore.
I only hope we never allow the technology to take us too far from this intrinsic bond with Nature and our World.
Thursday 27 December 2012
Tuesday 18 December 2012
Christmas Cheer
Christmas is fast approaching and we as a family are all organised – no last minute rushing about for us.
I know that, to some people, that’s what Christmas is all about – the hectic bustle and mild panic of last-minute shopping, trying to get stuff wrapped up the night before, remembering at the last minute to post the overseas cards.
Not for me, thank you. I fall into the Bah Humbug category – and am fortunate to have a very organised wife. We have Christmas well under control from about June onwards, and if we actually hit December and the decorations are not up, the cards have not been sent, the presents not wrapped and the shopping done, then there’s something seriously amiss.
I don’t really enjoy Christmas – too much fuss and fake goodwill. A good excuse to eat too much, drink too much and watch the usual roll-out of Christmas specials on the TV.
So, to all you people out there, please allow me to wish you a very Happy Christmas – I hope it brings you whatever it is you are looking for – be it Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All, or another glass of wine to go with the turkey sandwiches on Boxing day!
Friday 27 July 2012
I read a blog the other day about someone that's given up their Facebook account and "switched off" a network of 555 friends. She cited deciding to make her social networking 3D - not virtual, but real. She said she didn't want every aspect of her life to be published for everyone to see. I'm paraphrasing, but I have one or two objections to raise.
1. Who really has 555 friends? I don't even know 555 people, let alone call them friends.
2. Yes, we need to remember to keep our social network 3D, but there is also a place for Facebook and the like.
3. There is only one person in control of what you publish on Facebook - you. You don't need to show that you've done the ironing on your status. You put on there your milestones, your achievements - but the ones you want to SHARE. If you want to keep something private, keep it private - resist the temptation to post it!
What I like about Facebook is how you look at your list of friends, and you see you and someone else have a mutual friend and you think "I didn't know they knew each other"!
: D
1. Who really has 555 friends? I don't even know 555 people, let alone call them friends.
2. Yes, we need to remember to keep our social network 3D, but there is also a place for Facebook and the like.
3. There is only one person in control of what you publish on Facebook - you. You don't need to show that you've done the ironing on your status. You put on there your milestones, your achievements - but the ones you want to SHARE. If you want to keep something private, keep it private - resist the temptation to post it!
What I like about Facebook is how you look at your list of friends, and you see you and someone else have a mutual friend and you think "I didn't know they knew each other"!
: D
2012 Olympics
I'm watching the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony and I am deeply touched seeing all the various nation's athletes coming together in peace and in celebration and in competition. Makes me wish once more for World peace. If we could only all behave towards each other as we are tonight... With Respect.
Thursday 28 June 2012
Spring Clean
OK, It's not spring anymore, it's summer - not that you can tell from the fog, drizzle and chilly wind driven rain - but as far as the date is concerned, it's the first week of summer.
So, spring cleaning - I looked at my virtual world and decided it was far too cluttered!
I did that thing you're meant to do with your possessions and clothing. Have I used/worn this in the last 6 months/year? No? Bin It!
LinkedIn? Gone. Deleted.
Twitter? Ditto.
Various email addresses (wow! so much junk accumulates when accounts not touched for months) now deleted.
Extra Facebook profiles - Gone! (Sorry to see you go... Really?? Hardly Old Son!)
My Virtual Alter Egos have been purged, and now I feel decidedly uncluttered. Suddenly my smartphone Hub app has 3 entries instead of 7. I'm sure servers all over the world are breathing a collective sigh of relief as tons of spam gets erased from dormant accounts.
My security must be tighter too now. Facebook and three email accounts - Gmail, Ymail and Live
(Just in case - you never know when you might need one of the Big 3!) - so much easier to keep track of! And with the recent LinkedIn password hack scare, perhaps that's not a bad thing?
So Thank You spring, for the inspiration to simplify my e-Life. I feel positively tidier!
So, spring cleaning - I looked at my virtual world and decided it was far too cluttered!
I did that thing you're meant to do with your possessions and clothing. Have I used/worn this in the last 6 months/year? No? Bin It!
LinkedIn? Gone. Deleted.
Twitter? Ditto.
Various email addresses (wow! so much junk accumulates when accounts not touched for months) now deleted.
Extra Facebook profiles - Gone! (Sorry to see you go... Really?? Hardly Old Son!)
My Virtual Alter Egos have been purged, and now I feel decidedly uncluttered. Suddenly my smartphone Hub app has 3 entries instead of 7. I'm sure servers all over the world are breathing a collective sigh of relief as tons of spam gets erased from dormant accounts.
My security must be tighter too now. Facebook and three email accounts - Gmail, Ymail and Live
(Just in case - you never know when you might need one of the Big 3!) - so much easier to keep track of! And with the recent LinkedIn password hack scare, perhaps that's not a bad thing?
So Thank You spring, for the inspiration to simplify my e-Life. I feel positively tidier!
Thursday 10 May 2012
Monday 12 March 2012
Cicero
Cicero a Roman politician, lawyer, and orator, who lived from 106 BC to 43 BC, had this to say:
“Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century:
Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others;
Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected;
Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it;
Refusing to set aside trivial preferences;
Neglecting development and refinement of the mind;
Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.”
“Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century:
Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others;
Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected;
Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it;
Refusing to set aside trivial preferences;
Neglecting development and refinement of the mind;
Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.”
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Mission Statement
I remember not that long ago how dedicated I was to living the right life.
I was conscientious and committed to the environment, to my job, to my friends.
At the beginning of each new year I would decide on one new thing to learn - juggling, ice skating, sign language.
I wrote long letters to my friends and I traveled hundreds of miles to visit them.
I would spend all day preparing a three course meal for my friends.
I meditated, I studied Buddhism and I vowed to live a good life free of want and clutter.
...
These days I barely seem to have a minute spare. My days blur from one to the next. Weeks get swallowed up in a routine that is far from routine. I dash from one chore to the next. My friends might get a hastily concocted email every two or three months, if they're lucky. I've not left Cornwall in months.
I have a list of things I need to do that never get done. The important things in life get elbowed aside by trivial time-wasting pursuits.
...
Basically, I have become lazy and ill disciplined.
Not lazy as in bone-idle, but lazy as in not dedicating myself to the right things.
I will Facebook for an hour - and not even good Facebook social interaction - no, bad Facebooking - establishing my kingdom in Castleville! Meaningless drivel.
Instead, I could be teaching my daughter to play the guitar, learning Italian, baking bread or writing a letter to a friend. I could be snuggled up on the sofa with my wife watching a movie. I could be painting the camouflage pattern on the wings of my Spitfire. Any number of better things to do.
...
I once vowed to be the best husband and father I can be - and I live under delusion that I am, because I treat my wife and daughter well, and do many things for them - possibly more than the average guy would - but I fall far short of what I could be. With very little further effort I could do far more, just by devoting my time to them.
The book I am reading at the moment says to "begin with the end in mind". It suggests imagining your own funeral - imagining four people delivering a short speech about you. A family member, maybe your spouse or child - next, a friend, then your employer and finally a member of your community. What would you want them to say about you?
Whatever it is that you want them to be saying - those are your inner goals. And so, each day should be about moving towards those goals.
It also goes on about Leadership and Management - It says Management is about doing something properly, but Leadership is about doing the right thing. It says you can spend your life self managing every detail - taking courses to improve your skills, pursuing promotions, securing your future - but without Personal Leadership - without making sure you are heading in the right direction, that management could be a waste of time. Management is about climbing the ladder. Leadership is about making sure the ladder is leaning against the right wall.
So from now on I will be thinking more about personal leadership - making sure I spend that time teaching my daughter the guitar, making more effort to appreciate my wife, keeping in touch with my friends, and less time managing my kingdom!
I was conscientious and committed to the environment, to my job, to my friends.
At the beginning of each new year I would decide on one new thing to learn - juggling, ice skating, sign language.
I wrote long letters to my friends and I traveled hundreds of miles to visit them.
I would spend all day preparing a three course meal for my friends.
I meditated, I studied Buddhism and I vowed to live a good life free of want and clutter.
...
These days I barely seem to have a minute spare. My days blur from one to the next. Weeks get swallowed up in a routine that is far from routine. I dash from one chore to the next. My friends might get a hastily concocted email every two or three months, if they're lucky. I've not left Cornwall in months.
I have a list of things I need to do that never get done. The important things in life get elbowed aside by trivial time-wasting pursuits.
...
Basically, I have become lazy and ill disciplined.
Not lazy as in bone-idle, but lazy as in not dedicating myself to the right things.
I will Facebook for an hour - and not even good Facebook social interaction - no, bad Facebooking - establishing my kingdom in Castleville! Meaningless drivel.
Instead, I could be teaching my daughter to play the guitar, learning Italian, baking bread or writing a letter to a friend. I could be snuggled up on the sofa with my wife watching a movie. I could be painting the camouflage pattern on the wings of my Spitfire. Any number of better things to do.
...
I once vowed to be the best husband and father I can be - and I live under delusion that I am, because I treat my wife and daughter well, and do many things for them - possibly more than the average guy would - but I fall far short of what I could be. With very little further effort I could do far more, just by devoting my time to them.
The book I am reading at the moment says to "begin with the end in mind". It suggests imagining your own funeral - imagining four people delivering a short speech about you. A family member, maybe your spouse or child - next, a friend, then your employer and finally a member of your community. What would you want them to say about you?
Whatever it is that you want them to be saying - those are your inner goals. And so, each day should be about moving towards those goals.
It also goes on about Leadership and Management - It says Management is about doing something properly, but Leadership is about doing the right thing. It says you can spend your life self managing every detail - taking courses to improve your skills, pursuing promotions, securing your future - but without Personal Leadership - without making sure you are heading in the right direction, that management could be a waste of time. Management is about climbing the ladder. Leadership is about making sure the ladder is leaning against the right wall.
So from now on I will be thinking more about personal leadership - making sure I spend that time teaching my daughter the guitar, making more effort to appreciate my wife, keeping in touch with my friends, and less time managing my kingdom!
Monday 16 January 2012
Creativity, Journals and the Blank Page
Is it just me, or is there something magical about The BlankPage?
I see a new notebook, I open the cover and for a single moment I'm wondering... What Will I See?
Will it be blank or lined? Thick drawing paper or thin writing paper?
Is it spiral bound, book bound or stapled?
Does it cry out for penmanship, art or stuff to be cut out and glued in?
I love journals and diaries! I cannot resist them. To me they shout creativity. They invite comment, demand action, desire design.
"Can you put something interesting, compelling to read on my front page?"
"Will what you create, write, draw make the reader want to turn to the second page?"
Many of mine start well, but then the inspiration dwindles, they get put aside, and then - horror of horrors - I find a new journal, a pristine blank notebook, a must have scrapbook experience and a new adventure begins.
Diary, Journal, Scrapbook, Facebook, Website, Twitter, Blog
Is there no end to my desire to fill The Blank Page?
I see a new notebook, I open the cover and for a single moment I'm wondering... What Will I See?
Will it be blank or lined? Thick drawing paper or thin writing paper?
Is it spiral bound, book bound or stapled?
Does it cry out for penmanship, art or stuff to be cut out and glued in?
I love journals and diaries! I cannot resist them. To me they shout creativity. They invite comment, demand action, desire design.
"Can you put something interesting, compelling to read on my front page?"
"Will what you create, write, draw make the reader want to turn to the second page?"
Many of mine start well, but then the inspiration dwindles, they get put aside, and then - horror of horrors - I find a new journal, a pristine blank notebook, a must have scrapbook experience and a new adventure begins.
Diary, Journal, Scrapbook, Facebook, Website, Twitter, Blog
Is there no end to my desire to fill The Blank Page?
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