A picture I took at a random location of the fall foliage.
The lessons that nature teaches us are on display all around us each and every day. All we have to do is listen and being fortunate enough to live in an area the has a distinct four seasons, I am lucky to experience these changes and I am grateful for it.
For many years I am ashamed to say that I never really enjoyed or contemplated too much about it, but lately, I can’t help but be amazed and think about all that the changes of the season bring to the world. Right now it is autumn in Maine and that means that each and every day you will see a wide array of colors, red, yellow, orange and even brown. This change where once there was only green makes you think and often about gratitude.
On the Surface
Seeing the leaves change is a pretty miraculous thing. To think that nature knows exactly how to work itself for the trees to survive is amazing, and further than that there is the show they put on. I have been fortunate enough to see, bright-colored leaves reflecting on the still waters of a fall lake surface. It brings many thoughts to my mind as I look at the colors and understand them for what they are. Harbingers of what is to come and we merely need to listen to hear their warnings and to learn from them.
Change Is Constant
One of the best reminders of fall is that change is happening all around us all the time.
Leaves are falling all around, it’s time I was on my way.
You may not be able to see it visually, but everything is changing all the time. These variations are usually never as visual as the leaves but they are as real. Each relationship, job, and personal journey is changing all the time.
No matter what you do and no matter what you think of your current circumstances, it matters little because soon they will be different because things are always changing. Just like the fall will eventually give up its life to the oncoming winter, so must we learn to let go of our attachments to this life.
It is the values of these changes that make them appear good or bad. Yet aren’t they simply just experiences? The fall season helps me to contemplate and understand the changes that are happening in life all the time. I have a gratefulness inside for all of the changes that have happened in my life and that growth is not possible without change.
Endings Are Just Endings
Another great thought of fall is the twilight of the year, the ending of summer and how this season represents an ending in our lives. The phrase “The Autumn of our Lives”, captures this effectively.
I have a problem with this phrase because we simply do not know with any kind of certainty when this life is going to end. it may be over in five minutes or it may last another 30-40 years. Nobody knows.
When you look at the fall it will have an ending, just as all of our lives will, but there is a hidden promise in the fall. It is there in every nostalgic feeling and thought, that eventually, the spring and beautiful summer will come again. We just need to be patient. All things will eventually end, that is the way that the universe works. All things have a beginning, a middle and an ending.
This is not a bad thing, it is only a thing. So it teaches you to enjoy the summer, or the fall or the winter or whatever season you are experiencing right now because that is all you have right now. There may never be another summer to look forward to, so not completely enjoying today is a foolhardy choice.
The fall makes me grateful for each and every day and what it has to offer.
One of my favorite coffee stops was Tim Horton’s, now they are gone from the area but I am grateful for them still.
Day 2 of Gratitude project- When I look back on my gratitude journals for the past year, I am continually grateful for the delicious cup of coffee I am usually enjoying at the time I am contemplating all that I am feeling grateful for. Yet I think it is more than that.
Coffee is one of my favorite beverages and I can enjoy it at any time of day. It doesn’t affect the way I sleep at all. It seems like that no matter what is going wrong in the world, a hot cup of coffee can make it all seem better. If things are going great, what better way to celebrate than to enjoy a tasty cup of Joe? There isn’t one.
I am also often quite grateful for the people I am sharing the coffee with. Even if they don’t drink coffee themselves, there is a conversation that coffee inspires all the time. It brings people together, helps to build understanding, and allows for many problems to be solved.
Since most coffee is consumed in the morning, I think that when you drink it, for the most part you have high hopes about what the new day is going to bring. Will that problem be solved? Will that person call? Could you get that new job or raise? Whatever is on your mind can be pulled out, discussed and contemplated in a way that can only help you. All because of a delicious cup of a hot beverage full of caffeine and deliciousness. Tea I am sure works the same way as well.
According to Sheldon Cooper of the Big Bang Theory you should always offer someone a hot beverage when they are upset about something. Coffee works for me and I am sure for most people. The truth of this practice has some psychology behind it. What will make you feel more nourished and cared for? A hot beverage in your hands, that warm feeling might even be mistaken for love. No matter what it will make you feel better and that is the point.
So Today I am grateful for the thousands of cups of coffee that I have been fortunate to enjoy in my life and for all of the many wonderful people I have shared them with. I am grateful for the problems that were solved, the issues that were brought to light and the fact that no matter what happened, life was just a bit easier to live after enjoying this wonderful drink.
I am grateful for all of the many coffees I have enjoyed in my life, the people that have shared them and the solutions we found.
My Top Five Coffee Stops EVER: 1. Panera Bread 2. Dunkin Donuts 3. Tim Horton’s 4. Breton’s Store 5. Starbucks
Pouring over my daily dose of inspiration I was looking for a great idea to write about, and most great ideas come from other bloggers who know much more than me.
I didn’t have to look very far to find one that hit me right where I live. It was on the site called Creative Guru , which features great ideas, fantastic writing and a tale of self discovery.
Today there was a post about what color she is, not literally, but here personality. That she was once a yellow but over time has become more of a blue. She started to have blue infiltrate her life, to fill it up. Blue just started to show up in clothing and household items.
I was intrigued because I was trying to see if there was a color that had infiltrated my life. I enjoyed the writing so much I commented and stated that I didn’t particularly notice any color all over my life. She suggested to start by noticing the color of the shirt I was wearing today.
I didn’t touch nothin’ Wonka! Peter is blue too.
I looked down at my blue jacket I had on, and unzipped the coat. Revealing a shirt the exact shade of blue as the jacket. “That is kind of strange” I thought to myself, then noticed further the blue pants I had on. I looked like a giant walking blueberry. I even had blue socks on!
It was absolutely true that I put no thought into what I was going to wear today, I just picked what jumped out at me and that was blue. How accurate could this color business be? Well here is what blue is said to reveal about your personality:
” Lovers of blue have a deep need to find inner peace and truth, to live their life according to their ideals and beliefs without having to change their inflexible viewpoint of life to satisfy others.”
This was kind of a strange thing because without looking very hard I found the following pieces I have written in the past year about living my life by my own ideals.
A Path to Inner Peace , Everything You Do Matters, Forgive and move on,
Then I learned that those who favor Indigo:
“have a need to feel in harmony and at one with the Universe and to be accepted by others as the aware and intuitive spiritual beings that they are.”
Which I wrote about in a post called My Biggest Fear, which happens to be the fear of what others think about me. Much of what I write is from a spiritual perspective or has been influenced by my journey of self discovery. Then I was totally psyched up because there is definitely something to this color business. You can pick almost any of the posts I have written and they come from this base. Read any of the Thirty Question Project posts and they will reveal the truth, that yes, I am blue, but in a good way!
I feel this blue! Thanks Tobias.
Then I started to think about how blue I really am, how I own other color shirts but I like blue the best, from my trusty superman shirt to any and all New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox paraphernalia I wear on a semi-regular basis. Blue, blue, blue, there is no escaping it I am a blue man. I should move to Vegas and join the Blue Man Group.
In all seriousness I enjoy learning about new things so much, and to find out things that are signs of why I think the way I do, act the way I do, and wear what I wear.
This was so much fun and such a great experience that I decided to post it immediately so if you are interested in seeing where your personality type lies then follow the link below! You may be blue, red, yellow, or some other color. No matter what where you fit in on the spectrum of color. It is OK because that is who you are! Wear you colors proudly.
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt
In a conversation with a friend, they mentioned that they always kept a pack of items in their vehicle, just in case there was a cause to go on an adventure that day. It got me to thinking that each of us should create our own “Adventure Packs” for whatever each day might bring us. There are many things that you could do every day to make your life more of an experience if you wanted to. I figured that why not set the tone and expect something adventurous by carrying an adventure pack, just in case. Think of all of the adventures you might be missing out on just by not having one. The pack doesn’t have to be fancy or anything, it can just be a bag with a few of the necessities an adventurer might need. I think there are many different experiences that can qualify as adventures, here is a short list of adventures you might have.
Physical Adventures Are Good For You And Fun
My pack is always ready.
These are the most prevalent kind of adventures, I think, the ones that take you somewhere, on a hike, or a walk, or around the bend to see what is there. In your daily activities, you might see a road that you wanted to walk down, or even a park you wanted to visit, to see what was there. What is stopping you? If you have an adventure pack with a bottle of water, sun screen, a light jacket, then you will be ready for this type of excursion. The benefits of these types of activities are improved health which is good for your heart, your mind and your soul. The difference between a thought and an experience is action, so don’t be afraid to take that action step. Make sure you keep a snack in your adventure pack so that you will always have the energy to carry out the adventure in front of you.
Social Adventures Good For Your Mind
Adventure packs are light weight and make you smile
These are the ones that involve getting together with someone in a social situation, going for coffee or breakfast just for the sake of socialization. Your adventure pack doesn’t even need to have much in it to carry on this type of excitement. If you have a strong desire to connect then you really don’t need to do anything other than a little money to pay for whatever you eat. Most often when you visit with old friends you will have revelations and memories about yourself and them that you had forgotten a long time ago. Life is a can be a long road and it is a much happier experience when you travel it with friends. So always keep a little extra cash in your adventure pack, just in case the opportunity to connect comes up.
There are a bunch of simple adventures that you can experience with just a little bit of energy and imagination. On any clear night, you have access to one of the grandest adventures on earth, the night sky. When you make the effort to get where the lights of civilization are not a factor you can view the stars and any time you do this, you can’t help but be swept up in the power and wonder of the vastness of space. Each star billions of miles away has a story, and you are just a very small and insignificant spec to whatever story is happening there. You can also have the same kind of adventures at any natural wonder, a river, a lake or the ocean. You will have to travel with your adventure pack to get to these locations most likely, but keep a map in your adventure pack and you will never get lost on your journey.
Doing Something for Others
My pack usually has enough to share, if not we’ll make due.
Having an adventure pack handy should allow you the freedom to help someone else. There are many people who don’t really need anything other than a visit and a kind word. This adventure is very low-cost and will never be out of demand. If you don’t know who needs this type of adventure from you, look around. There are hospitals and nursing homes with people in them who would like nothing more than a friend to talk to and share their stories with. This is why it is always important to keep a handy list of topics with you at all times. Remember that any commonality is a conversation in and of itself. A sport, a team, a performance or anything that you can relate to in any way can create a conversation that will pick up someone’s day. This type of adventure is doubly good because it is good for the person you visit and it is good for you.
In the end, there is no shortage of ways that you can enjoy life more than you do right now. If you are already filling your life with adventures, then perhaps it is time to add new people to them. The more the merrier is a great theme to follow as you move through life. It is true that the more people you share your life with, the richer you will feel. So create your own adventure pack and hit the streets, life is nothing more than an adventure waiting to happen.
Many years ago, I can remember being a kid and just wondering who was going to be available to play after school. There were not many things that were more important to my elementary school self than what I would play, where I would play and who would be available to play with. Growing up in the town of Greenville, Maine, Tuesdays were always a difficult day because the bulk of my colleagues were Catholic and they had to go to Catechism, which significantly cut into my options. I often urged some of my friends to skip their religious instruction for a rousing game of kickball or football or anything outside that involved a game of some kind.
I was fortunate to have a built-in playmate in my brother who was only a bit more than a year younger than me, and we always had Joel Wortman. I can remember us getting home from school watching a little TV, eating a snack and then playing until the call to dinner would end our fun. If there was a game, we played it. For whiffle ball, we arranged the back yard like a Fenway, with the house being the “green monster”, the rock in the ground was first base, the worn patch was second and we would throw something down for third. There was never a complaint or a problem with the facilities. It was the game that counted.
Remember those days when there wasn’t an organized game to go to, people just played for the sake of having fun
Play was such an important part of our lives that I wonder how it ever faded away, but it definitely did. As you grow older it becomes less and less a part of your life as you move into the “fun” of adulthood, the games of youth are left behind. As young adults the opportunities for play are plentiful, but most of us confuse competition with play. See any adult softball league to see this factor in action, too worried about winning a game that should be enjoyed just for being played. Like many things as adults we forget what is important and that is just playing.
I enjoy playing golf because it gives you the opportunity to get outside, move around, socialize with your friends and just play. Golf is only hard when you worry about how well you are playing, and much like life, golf is a game that can’t be won, only played.
Many people have play in their heart, and when they have children of their own, the spirit comes back out and they now have the approval of society to play again, like they did when they were young. Some of the best parents I have known didn’t forget how to play.
Without researching too very hard here are some of the benefits that you can gain right now from playing.
I couldn’t stop laughing as I climbed a tree for the first time in many years. It was harder than I remember.
Play Provides Connections to Others
As you play any game with someone else there is a connection that is made. A shared memory or experience created through play will be carried with you through the laughter and joy that you share with someone else. Play has also been shown to help develop compassion, trust, and the ability to connect with others.
Play Helps You Learn About People
There are many social skills that are keenly honed through play. Creativity, acceptance, tolerance, risk-taking, social etiquette are just some of the lessons that playing has taught me, and I assume can teach anyone.
Play Makes You Happy
When you play you will find that it is difficult to be mad, sad or otherwise pissed off at anyone. I am told that this is because endorphins are released into your bloodstream resulting from play. I know that it is impossible not to smile when you are truly enjoying playing.
I wasn’t sure if I remembered correctly or not, and the only way that I could know for sure was to actually try to play. It was harder than you might think to find a venue to play where you are allowed to be yourself and not interfere with anyone else. Then I really focused on playing and having fun and surprise, surprise it was better than I remembered. I played catch, ran around and climbed trees, which was not as easy as I remember, but really a lot more fun. I mean it has been over 30 years since I tried to climb a tree.
My advice to you is that you take a moment or two and play with all your heart. You will remember what it is like to have fun.
The leaf is so simple. I remember never being able to understand how a green leaf could change into so many different colors? Or why a tree would shed it’s most valuable skin? I always think back to my childhood when I recall memories. Probably because the best ones derived from innocence.
Jumping in Leaves
Everyone remembers jumping in the leaves. It’s priceless. You tend to forget year after year that those leaves do in fact have pointy stems. That is, until you get one in the eye. Or that they’re rather fragile the older they get and crumble making their way into your clothes causing you to become itchy.
Garbage Bag Ghosts
Making Garbage bag ghosts. Scary!!
Stuffing garbage bags in the shapes of ghosts and using them as lawn decoration was always a favorite. Watching Mom fight with the bags while they try to blow away because she refuses to put a rock in them.
Halloween Thoughts
Halloween was always a good time. Trying to pick an outfit that will keep you warm in the biting cold but still look cool enough to wear in front of your friends. Mom was always good at coming up with last minute ideas and making them amazing. Something about crunchy leaves kicking around while you’re trick or treating brings life to the holiday. Sparking spook and scary feelings.
Pumpkin Hunting
Finding the Perfect Pumpkin
Finding the perfect pumpkin was the most important Fall pastime. Perfectly round, no blemishes, and just the right size. And the baby pumpkins that sat on the table. I used to love coming home from school and walking down our long driveway. It clutters in leaves entirely and makes the most earthly sound when you walk through them. I’d walk out to meet my sister when she got off the bus half an hour later just to take the walk again.
There’s always a smell that reminds me of the previous year. Something different that I’ve never smelled before, but always follows a memory. I haven’t found it yet this year, but I’m confident I will.
It was about four years ago that I had had enough. No matter what was happening globally, it seemed the media had to spend its time spreading fear, unhappiness or promoting programs on their network of stations that even further spread fear and unhappiness. Enough was enough, and I tentatively started my own personal news boycott to avoid the negative media and their effects on me.
The news boycott is for all national news shows no matter what time they are on because they are focused on the most negative aspects of life. You miss nothing because the news cycle is, all the same, continually telling you how to feel, who to trust and who to dislike. A tragedy of some kind occurs, and they will milk it as long as possible. Gossip is close enough to the news. Skipping this daily barrage of negativity, you would think that I would not be able to keep up with current events or news, but that has not been the case. With Facebook, Twitter, and the radio, no major news event has gone by without me knowing almost immediately. What I got to miss was all of the wallowings in anger, gossip, ridicule, and fear-mongering that the national negative media pours onto every “news story” they cover.
A great example would be the theater shootings that took place in 2012. I heard about it, though it was awful, felt sympathy for the victims, and understood that this guy (the shooter) was obviously disturbed. “Normal” people don’t do things like that.
What I didn’t do is wallow in it. The national negative media tried to dissect the perpetrator’s life and try to understand why he would do such a thing. Talking to everyone from classmates in college and kids he went to high school with. I only know this by what others have told me, so I can’t report any first-hand knowledge of these interviews. I know that my life has been much more positive without that negative media machine spouting their “news.”
Pay Attention to the Positive ignore the Negative Media.
Every day there are positive stories of people doing good deeds and helping others live more positively. However, these stories do not even gain a mention in the vicious negative news cycle. There are, in fact, many more good people than bad in the world. More good things are happening than bad. There is just no money in reporting that things are great and wonderful. Only partial blame belongs to the media because they just provide what the market will tune in to see. A celebrity dies, nude pictures of celebrities, the public figure takes a fall, murder, terrorism are all topics that draw you in, and you watch incessantly. So until we all stop watching, there is not going to be any significant change.
Never Been More Sure of News Boycott
Since the beginning of mass media, the practice of propaganda has been developed to control public opinion. The national media has become very skilled in telling you what to think, who to trust and who to hate. Whenever the world is split into us against them mentality, odds are, you are being manipulated.
In this election season, I have never been surer that my news boycotthas become permanent as the silly election season moves into high gear. There is an inundation of false, negative, idiotic campaign ads that do little to inform but much to scare or frighten. We can sum them up into two categories. One is that the Republicans will ruin our country if they are elected president. On the other side are the Democrats, who will ruin the country if they are elected. The negative media wins either way.
A snapshot of the time that negative stories are given in the TV news cycle, from Jan. 20 to April 9, 2017. Each is designed to manipulate your thoughts, cause fear and control your thoughts.
The ads are designed to make supporters mad at the opposition and experience fear about the presidential election outcome. Personally, both options are just two different sides of the
same coin, and we will experience party politics and business, as usual, no matter who wins. However, if you look at the ads observed in a vacuum, they are quite humorous. Republicans hate Democrats and each other; Democrats hate Republicans but not each other; we are all stuck in the third grade listening to the negative media.
The national news shows, I am sure, are pontificating on the positives of their candidate and spewing the fear about the opponent. Count the number of negative sentences used in an ad designed to instill fear or fear-based thinking, and it will surprise you. Not me because the media has shown that fear sells, sensation sells, and good deeds don’t make good copy. Practice your own news boycott, and you will feel a lot better about the world and put a dent in ending the negative media.
If you don’t use your mind to think your own thoughts, someone else will fill it with theirs. So take a moment and look at how things really are and what can really hurt you. Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see.
I have often wondered why I have such a love for the game of baseball, it is sometimes long and the action sometimes is slow, but it continually comes back to me that so many aspects of the game are a direct representation of the way life is. Life lessons are displayed daily on the baseball diamond, and we simply have to be paying attention to soak in the knowledge. Following are some of those observations.Keep your Head In the Game
If you are not in the starting lineup, or you do not like your role, always be ready and keep your head in the game because the opportunity to show what you can do could come at any time. Taking advantage of an opportunity is how your preparation and attitude meet this chance. In life, if you are not happy in your current position or job, you have to keep a positive attitude and prepare for your opportunity to shine. You never know who you are going to meet or what situation you may be in. Be prepared and you just may find your dream job doing what will make you happy.
Believe In Yourself
You can strike out three times in a game, but hit a game-winning home run in your fourth at-bat and the day is a success. This happens all the time in life, you are at work and the day or week or year may seem to be going right down the outhouse hole. But then there is a pitch you can hit, and you don’t miss it. You hit it out of the park! Just when your team needed you the most. The three strikeouts are forgotten and you are remembered for being the hero. This can only happen if you keep your focus, maintain your concentrated effort and believe in yourself.
Keep Your Focus
Sometimes it seems slow and that there is nothing happening. Keep your focus and maintain your effort and you will most likely be rewarded with the opportunity to be great. In life, days, weeks and even years can seem to be slow and boring with little happening. Don’t waste your time bitching and complaining. Life is too short for that. You are the main catalyst of your life, and you determine how exciting things are. Since that is the case, why would you waste time complaining about it? You have to maintain your focus and when given the opportunity make something happen that is not slow or boring. You may be the catalyst for your own life if you look to be.
Things Change Quickly
A promising start to an inning can lead to absolutely nothing. Bases loaded with nobody out can turn into a strikeout and a double play with no runs scored in a matter of a few pitches. In life that means don’t get too excited when things look promising, they can change for the worse in very short order. Appreciate it when things are going your way. Enjoy the moment fully, but don’t get carried away that the game is already over. As Yogi said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
Prove Yourself Continually
No matter how good you have been, you have to maintain the effort and performance or you will find yourself out of the game. Being great and thinking you’re great are two different things. In life, even if you have been successful in the past, if you stop putting in the effort you have, or let your preparation slide you may find yourself out of a job or relationship before you know it.
You’ve Got to Put the Past Behind You
Put your yesterday’s behind you, good or bad they won’t help you perform today. Every day is a new chance to win a game. In life, this can be hard to do but it is a must. You can’t look back and wish for the past to return, because it won’t. Learn from your experiences, treasure the memories, but use those experiences to fuel your future or you will be standing in place for years, wondering what might have been and missing out on great opportunities for growth. You have unlimited potential to grow and succeed, let those situations find you!
Team is Most Important
The greatest individual players, can’t win on a consistent basis without a competent team around them. In life, this is fairly obvious. You can be an outstanding individual talent at whatever you are doing, but without a competent group of people behind you in the workplace or at home it will be difficult to be successful consistently. At the very least having great “teammates” at home and on the job will make your achievement easier. Find good teammates!
It’s A Game of Inches
It is a game of inches. Just fair. Just foul. The difference between winning and losing often comes down to the inches. It is always easier to finish on top when luck is on your side. In life often times it also comes down to inches. These inches aren’t as visible as they are in baseball, but they do exist. One simple decision here, a little extra effort there, one poor decision, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Life and success is a game of inches and sometimes it just comes down to luck. You can increase your chances of finding good luck by doing the right things every day. Be honest, interact with positive people, do the right thing all of the time even when it isn’t easy. The inches will shrink and success will be easier.
Take What They Give You
Take what they give you. If you continually try to hit how you want to and not what they give you, you are going to constantly hit weak ground balls to the infield. Go with the pitch and you will find more success. In life, you can pound your head against the wall and insist on things being the way you envision them, even when they are clearly not working and you will end up experiencing failure. Change your approach when things aren’t going your way and take what life and circumstances are giving you and success will come much easier.
Do Your Job
Do your job and usually your team will be successful. Moving a runner along, hitting a fly ball deep enough to score a runner from third with less than two outs, rather than just swinging the bat for no purpose, will give you focus and allow your team the best chance it has to win. In life, you are not always going to be the superstar or the hero, sometimes in life, the biggest heroes are the people who consistently do their job to the best of their ability regardless of what is required of them. By always doing their job, they will become invaluable to the success of the business they are in or the family that they have. By comparison, the person who fails to consistently do their job will be shipped out, to the minor leagues or to the unemployment line.
Jump at Opportunities
Take advantage of the opportunities the game gives you for success. In every game and in life, there will be an opportunity for you to perform and help your team win. Be ready for the opportunity. You can sit around and be negative because you feel that things aren’t going your way. If you waste your time worrying about things that you can’t control you will not be ready when that opportunity does show itself to you. Keeping a positive frame of mind will help you take advantage of the opportunities that life will inevitably present to you. Sit on the bench and sulk or be ready to jump into the game with all your heart.
Sometimes You Fail
Sometimes you just strike out. Even when you prepare and do everything right, it is no guarantee of success. Sometimes you just strike out. That is life and that is baseball. It is kind of a scary thing that you can prepare, be positive, look for your opportunities, be a good teammate, work hard and do everything right, and still when the opportunity presents itself you fail. What baseball teaches us about this is that you can’t let one failure, no matter how large, stop you from pushing forward and searching for your next success. There will be a new game, with new chances for greatness coming tomorrow. Keep doing the right things and next time you may not strike out, you may hit the game-winning home run. Maybe. Nothing in baseball is guaranteed. What is guaranteed is that if you quit and stop trying you will never experience that success.
Life isn’t Fair
Baseball is not always fair. Along the same lines, as sometimes you strike out, baseball is not always fair. Life is also not fair. It has never been and it never will be. You can spend time worrying about this but it is a fact and it is 100% out of your control so you can’t do anything to change it. How is baseball not fair? Umpires often make bad judgment calls that are clearly wrong and cost a player individual production and even a team wins. In life we often deal with bad calls from umpires, getting an undeserved poor evaluation, getting passed over for a promotion you deserve, having your pay cut, losing your job, the list goes on and on. Just like in baseball, it’s not the bad call or the unlucky break or the unfair thing that occurred, it is how you react afterward that defines you, in the game and in life. It is not an easy thing to do when life seems to be pitching a no hitter against you to stay positive and keep working hard, but inevitably that is what must happen for you to find success or win the game.
The Final Tally
Finally, no matter what you do, eventually the game will end and the final score will be tallied and the statistics of that day will be remembered. The heroic acts and failures will become a part of history and each player who participated will be evaluated, revered, remembered or forgotten for whatever they accomplished on that day. In life it is much the same, eventually, it will end and at that time, you will no longer have control over what kind of life it was. Was it a blowout? Did you dominate from birth to death and get elected to the hall of fame? Was it a game full of fantastic comebacks, unbelievable gaffes, retribution, and ultimate heroics? The fact is that as the innings of life pass you have to keep your focus on what you can do to get the job done. Learn from the failure and keep giving your all until the final pitch is thrown. Baseball is indeed like life, and the most important thing you can do to be happy is enjoy the game.
Poems about Baseball
There’s No Crying In Baseball
Classic baseball scene, because no matter how badly things go for you, there is no crying allowed, it won’t do you any good or get you any hits at all. No Crying is not an acceptable public reaction to bad luck or poor play.
Field of Dreams: People Will Come.
The classic explanation by James Earl Jones (Terrance Mann) about why baseball is a symbol of hope for everyone and people will come to Iowa to look at a field to remember all that was good once and could be again.
Roy Hobbs Homerun St The End of The Natural
Perhaps the most prolific and symbolic movie homerun. Kirk Gibson’s real home run against the A’s in 1988, was almost immediately compared to Roy Hobbs fictional blast. Today, they play the music whenever a big home run is hit over the fences.
Homerun By Roy Hobbs Into Clock At Wrigley Field
When you’re struggling in a bad slump, sometimes it’s the woman you are with. For Roy Hobbs, that was the case. Just the site of the “Woman in White.” His high school sweetheart, whom he left behind because of some poor choices in his life, was enough to remind Hobbs about who he really was. Redemption is a theme that is played out in real life over every season in hundreds of different ways.
Game Called By Grantland Rice
My favorite baseball poem of all time. It applies to not only baseball, but to life in general, because when it’s all said and done, what people will remember about you is how you played the game, or in the more real sense, how you lived your life.
An anonymous friend of mine agreed to cash in his 10-year-old stepdaughter’s change collection and start her first savings account. I was informed of this decision and asked to participate in the endeavor. Knowing that learning to save is a critical skill for anybody, and realizing that I lack that skill myself, I decided I would help get the project off the ground.
The “culprit” the purple crayon bank
Trouble Hits
Now the change was housed within the plastic walls of his step daughter’s “piggy bank”, which is a deceiving name because it was not shaped like a pig at all. It was shaped like a big purple crayon. I have never trusted the color purple and now I know why. Half way between his door and the car, the bottom of the “bank” gave way and all of the change went clanging all over the ground. I have heard of pennies from heaven, but this was ridiculous.
Moving Forward
There were some angry words spoken at our immediate misfortune, but both realizing the value of our mission, and not wanting to disappoint anyone, we started to do the only sensible thing we could do, we started picking up the coins for deposit. This should have been an easy process, but my friend and I can’t ever seem to do anything without fighting and arguing about it. What is the best way to pick up the most coins? How do you get the least amount of mud and pine needles in the bucket? We both differed quite a bit in technique and in the acceptable ratio of pine needles to coins.
Pine Needles Don’t Count
My friend picking up change, carefully with no needles
I am from the school of “Let’s get this done as quickly as possible”. So to my thinking, there are going to be a certain number of pine needles and mud, no matter what you do, so you might as well just pick up the coins as quickly as possible. And that is how I proceeded and was chastised for my technique and effort.
Neatness Counts
My friend had the idea that if there were one or two pine needles in the mix the change machine at the bank would reject his money and there would be a heartbroken 10-year-old out there and it would be at least partly my fault. I was not from this school of thinking, and freely shared this thought and criticized his technique as slow and inefficient. Our bickering actually made the time of picking up the coins go by quickly, and before we knew it, a combination of techniques had picked up about $150 in pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.
I Was Wrong
As my friend continued to clean pine needles from the hoard of coins, I continued to give him free advice as to how to complete the job quicker and with better results. He ignores all of my ideas out of hand, it is his conditioning. But I thought my idea of using gravity to separate coins from needles was just brilliant and quick. He had other ideas. Then finally, the needle ratio reached an acceptable level for him and we were off to the bank. At the bank, he started to deposit the coins into the machine and all was fine at first. Then the machine jammed because we definitely didn’t reduce the pine needle ratio enough. This was a miscalculation on my part because I wouldn’t have removed any, and my friend was trying to remove every one of those pesky needles. In hindsight, I guess he must have been right.
Happy Ending
In the end, we got the job done. There is one more child with a savings account in the world and she can now learn the value of saving her money, and how neat it is to watch the overall value of the account grow. My friend learned that those machines at the bank do not have an unlimited pine needle to coin ratio on them. I learned: You can’t trust purple, plastic crayons, you can’t tell your friend how to use gravity, although pine needles don’t bother me, they can really mess up machines and that although learning to save is a worthwhile endeavor, it can be time-consuming.
In the end, I was left to conclude because of our fighting and my friend’s insistence on ignoring my great advice and doing everything his way that The more things “change”, the more they stay the same.
Autumn officially began on Sunday
Autumn: Turning Over A New Leaf
It’s International Coffee Day: What’s your morning poison?
Feeling Blue
Why men’s fashion is feeling a little blue
Fun with Blue!
True Blue – Our Love Of Sapphires
Adventures Based on Song Lyrics
Let’s go on an adventure today.
Honeymoon Beauty, Part III: The Adventure Seekers
3 Unbelievably Awesome Uses for Pumpkins
Halloween Party Ideas & Tips for the Office
If you are not in the starting lineup, or you do not like your role, always be ready and keep your head in the game because the opportunity to show what you can do could come at any time. Taking advantage of an opportunity is how your preparation and attitude meet this chance. In life, if you are not happy in your current position or job, you have to keep a positive attitude and prepare for your opportunity to shine. You never know who you are going to meet or what situation you may be in. Be prepared and you just may find your dream job doing what will make you happy.
Sizz-Bits: Revival
MLB Notebook: R.A.’s age added to storybook ’12
Joe Rosson: Babe Ruth’s baseball tips book valuable if first edition
