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. 

GOP Inspired

This would be all so hilarious if it were not all so sad and if Shakespeare were writing the ending to this Republican process I believe he would have it end with a death and not, yet, another Gingrich marriage.

The character displayed by many world politicians is in a word, tragic. Party, race, creed, colour, or sex does not seem to have any bearing on the ability of a politician to make the wrong choice or to tell us a lie.

When it comes to politicians or the political system, for that matter, the big question we should be asking ourselves is why do we trust so much? Why do we display this trusting bias? I, for one, believe most people are telling me the truth and when people in power tell us something don’t you think that most people believe what they say to be true. When we hear something from a ‘’leader’’, most of us don’t engage, or don’t want to engage in the mental effort to question the assertion. ‘’He is our leader he must know what he is talking about.’’

When it comes to ethics, especially in politics, the end justifies the means. Our leaders can lie about an opponent because if that opponent is elected it will be disastrous for us all and if I lie about myself that’s OK too because it is imperative that I take office because if I don’t, again a disaster. I am sorry, but being ethical should be what is most important. Not just for our political figures but for everyone and the ends rarely, if ever, justify the means.

So what is the answer, whom do we vote for? Good luck with that one. All I would suggest is something I learned from my father and that is to ‘’question authority’’, become informed, get involved, and if you are not willing to run for office and ‘’be the change’’ than you really can’t ‘’bitch’’ too much.

Finding the Missing Peace?

Whenever I am faced with a situation, a decision, a predicament, an issue, a moment, an incident I do my very best and I take a moment and I ask myself one simple question ...
''what would love do?''
The answer usually, and I would like to emphasize usually, guides me in a direction that provides me a certain stability and calmness.