Friday's random thought ~

Anyone who buries his or her truth hates to be called out. It means that they are somehow transparent.  People hate to be caught naked.  They see it as an intrusion into their privacy.

We all need to feel safe.  It is natural to bury what is fragile so it doesn't become broken or used as a tool against us.  That is why our most fragile organs, like the heart, and the lungs, are buried behind bone, to protect them because they are vulnerable.  We do that with our feelings, with our words and actions saying one thing but then doing something else and even with our thoughts.

Find your passion!

I’m going to let you in on one of the secrets to my life. Something I have noticed in the years most recent. It’s so simple you may be surprised?

Surround yourself with passionate people, passionate about life.  Passionate about the things they do, the people they love. When you talk with people who are passionate about what they’re doing, passionate about life and the people they love, it is transformative. I am talking about the excited, fired-up, feeling-strongly-about, thinking-about-it-all-the-time, can’t-wait-to-do-it-when-you-wake-up passion. When you talk with people who are like this, you can’t help but get fired up yourself. It’s the kind of energy that feeds itself. It makes you want to go out and do something exciting. 

The more you surround yourself with these types of individuals the more you will become one of these individuals. Cool Eh! Passionate people not only inspire you, they give you ideas.  Ideas that will come out in the way you live your life and this in turn will draw more passionate people to you. You can probably already identify with people that are in your circle that have this effect on you. Well I can guarantee you that you most likely have the same effect on them, nurture this, allow yourself to be inspired by other people who are passionate and full of ideas, encourage them to share those positive, inspirational ideas with you. The people in your life should act as fuel for a very intense fire. It’s incredible to talk with people like this, and to spend time with them, and you can’t walk away from them without getting a bit revved up.

While I am working on leading a life of a minimalism, I’ve learned that minimalism can be done anywhere you go and it doesn’t require that you move to a farm or give up your contact with people. Just the opposite: minimalism is not about giving up things  as much as it is about giving up consumption in favor of doing things you’re passionate about and having real relationships with a few people you really value. I’d much rather have a conversation with someone doing something amazing than go shopping. I rarely shop and I thank the universe, daily, that I have found someone who shares this passion. Grow into someone who is about creating and not so much about consuming. 

I have also found that you don’t have to live in a big city like Toronto or Vancouver to surround yourself with passionate people. They’re in small towns too, it might take a bit of searching to find them but don’t stop looking. We are everywhere. My sister who lives in the smallish town of White Rock BC is the perfect example of this.

Find small businesses that are doing amazing things, and talk with the people there. Look for startups, for artists and writers, for people who are obsessed with doing something really well. My daughter with her artwork and my son with his music inspire the passion in me, everyday.

I believe that this is one of the reasons that social networking is in such demand and a flourishing part of our lives nowadays. Because if we can’t find passionate souls where we live we sure can find them online. They’re everywhere if you look. Read books, watch films by people full of powerful ideas who are doing innovative things. Go to local art galleries, check out local music venues, visit the library, support local farmers, go to poetry readings, and check out neighbourhood independent restaurants. Read blogs, talk via email, follow on Twitter, and comment on their wall posts. Start collaborating with people that share your passion.

Be one of them, and not only get inspired but do your best to inspire others. 

Growing From Pain

What matters is the value we've created in our lives, the people we've made happy and how much we've grown as people. ~ Daisaku Ikeda

I am constantly evolving. I am shaped, the most, by the tragedy in every moment and in every decision that I make. And in that process I’ve learned that it’s okay to be shaped by pain, but it’s not okay to be defined by it. Actually it's better than okay, it's intrinsic to our having a ''happy'' life. 

I have also learned that we all, at times, feel alone and when we are feeling alone it is vital to ask for help. That is why we are surrounded by loved ones. Remember, the amount of joy that you experience when helping others is exactly the amount of joy that others receive when helping you.

Some, most, of my greatest self discoveries came from those times that I would sometimes prefer to forget. That unknown, frightening path that pushes me outside the feel safe and familiar zone is the place where I discover the most about myself, this is where I learn. That is also where I have the most opportunity to be the most me. An added bonus is that it is on that path that the light and dark sit in a circle of balance and where I am at peace.

totally FREE

I read this on a wall somewhere and found it so insightful in the moment that I took the time to copy it down.  ~ 

We are all walking around with these glossy eyes. ''I'm just tired' we say. But you know what? It's BS. Yes, we are tired, but it's not all from lack of sleep. We are tired of waking up to nothing to look forward to, tired of going to bed exhausted from doing a million things we find no enjoyment in doing. We are tired of the void, the emptiness that looms over us even though our days are packed full. We are tired of the loneliness that presses down on us even though we are surrounded by dozens of people. So why can't we just say it? Humans are so afraid to look into each other's eyes and say ''I am unhappy, I am broken, I am hopeless and fallible.'' We've been conditioned to associate pain with weakness, sadness with coldness, loneliness with unworthiness, difference with disease, as if these feelings are contagious, as if ambivalence is something not to be felt but to be feared. Well, screw that. Screw forced smiles and polite handshakes and ''I'm fine'' and ''thank you''. Screw the fear of crying in a public place, screw the fake chipper voice, screw the lies we spit out to cover up our problems. We are HUMANS. We are meant to feel. To feel everything and to feel it al openly. We are not metal - we are flesh and bone. Our boiling blood courses through our cold, clammy hands. We are intricate and beautiful and we should never hide in our human parts, because if we do, then what's left to show?    Anonymous 

~ What do you think?

Brokenness

We see and live in a world that the less sensitive, amongst us, cannot enter.  


They think we are crazy.  


We see the brokenness of the world. It is not seen by all. 


We are aware.


This is my curse. This is my greatness.

Retail is Detail And Apple Is Paying Attention.

The Genius Bar is home to Apple’s resident Geniuses. Trained at Apple headquarters, they have extensive knowledge of Apple products and can answer all of your technical questions. In fact, Geniuses can take care of everything from troubleshooting problems to actual repairs.

Do the geniuses at Apple's Genius Bar receive any bereavement counselor training? I'll tell you why I ask. My daughter, Molly, who was having problems with her MacBook, decided to take a trip into her friendly neighbourhood Apple Store and I was lucky enough be visiting her that day so I was asked to come along, how exciting? If you have never been in one of these stores I can tell you that they are a carefully designed piece of architecture. With simple lines, pristine environment, symmetrical dimensions, and gregarious, clean-cut, staff they really are a marvel in marketing. An extension of the products sold within.

We were directed to the back of the store, to the Genius Bar, and asked to take a seat on a high, wooden stool where we were to wait for our ''genius'' to assist us with our problem. I have to tell you I was so very impressed, talk about the WOW! Factor.

As I sat and waited I couldn’t help but notice how many blue-shirted, staff members were out, wondering the selling floor. I swear it had to be a 1 employee to 1 client ratio. Ever employee had the ability to approach the ‘‘client’’ with the grace of a word class ballerina and immediately engage them in delightful conversation. It was magical. I would like to note at this time that my daughter, a 20 year old university student, did not seemed to hold what was happening around us in the same regard. Was this something that she had come to expect in the new world of retailing? If so, I have got to believe that Apple is responsible for raising the bar.

Within minutes our genius approached and he was everything and that. He was polite, intelligent, witty, and with charm. He went straight to work and began his search for the cause to Molly’s frustration. While we were sitting there we were drawn to the events taking place with the woman seated next to us. The genius that was assisting her approached with a distinguishable calmness. He slid her noticeably ‘’older’’ laptop across the counter with the words ‘’I’m sorry but there is nothing I can do.’’ The customer in disbelief replied ‘’are you sure?’’ to which the genius said ‘’Nope, she was just too old, you were lucky to have had her for as long as you did.’’ Were they talking about the laptop? The woman carefully picked up her laptop and slid it into it’s coffin ... er I mean carrying case; zipped it up and stood there for a few minutes while her eyes slowly filled with tears. The genius reached out and touched the woman on the shoulder and expressed his sympathies and then suggested that the woman take a few minutes before maybe looking around the store for a replacement computer.

We really do become attached to our computers, laptops, ipods, ipads, don’t we? There is a connection to the electronics of the new age, one that was never felt for radios or TV’s of the past. Maybe it’s because our laptops are filled with our personal thoughts in the form of journals, letters, emails, and blogs. With our favourite songs and movies, with videos of fun times and photographs of cherished memories. They have become more than just electronic devises; they are a part of our lives, of our families.

The respect that Apple gives to these devices and the stores that sell them is maybe more deserving than we realize and recognizing this was maybe the true genius of Mr. Jobs.