If today were the last (part 2)

I’ve thought about this previous post several times; what it says, who it’s for, and how it really fits into the reality of my life (maybe yours too).

On an average day I wake early, work out, get ready for work, help get kids ready for school, spend the day at the office (half stressed and half loving my job), eat a healthy balanced lunch and dinner (lots of fruit and veggies), spend time with the wife and kids, read, draw or create music, then off to bed. No complaints, I have a good life with an interesting and unique life story to go along with it. But…if it really were my last day I’d wake before the sun rises, skip the workout, call off work, keep the kids home from school, write the best song ever, eat pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I’d share as much time as I could with those I love, laughing and telling stories late into the night.

I always find the ‘last day of your life’ question an interesting one to hear people answer.

A different church experience

I was in church Sunday and my heart was closed, the useless words of the pastor bouncing off me like flimsy man made spears off of a dragon’s armored skin. I couldn’t help thinking of Eustace Scrubb in C.S. Lewis‘s book ‘Voyage of the Dawn Treader‘.

Suddenly I have the armored skin of a dragon and nothing can hurt me. The Pastor hurls his words and I stand there motionless, not even feeling them as they bounce off my armored scales. I try to curl up and go to sleep to avoid the distraction, tucking my head under my wing and curling my tail around me, but I can’t avoid the annoyance of the pastor’s words. A puff of smoke escapes my nostrils as I sigh and lay my head on the ground looking at the pastor so small and vulnerable. He has no armor or sword, no weapons to use against me…I guess it would be unfair for me to fight him…maybe if I just ignore him he’ll give up and go away. No, he just keeps standing there talking with a smile on his face…what’s he so happy about anyway? I feel the anxiety build up inside me and I want to stand up and scream, or at the very least whip him with my tail.  But, I’m a noble dragon and it would be in bad form to take action against such a ‘non warrior’ as this man, so I will simply outwit him with my patience (and my uncanny ability to ignore his every word).

Time passes and the message of his words wear on. Does this guy ever give up? I wonder.  He’s not a very smart man to try the patience of a dragon. And though I really want to take him for a fool, I realize he has no fear of me, and total faith that he will win this battle; a battle he is not even fighting, yet in my heart, I know he’s winning. As the message winds down, I start to tire and lose my focus. ARRGH! I feel the sting of one of his words as it penetrates my skin and suddenly I barely have the strength to stand. The words now feel like spears ripping into my flesh and I try to run away as they come at me with increased speed and frequency. Then it happens, he hits my heart and I feel myself falling to the ground in slow motion. I don’t want to be a dragon anymore, though I believed I could be one forever just a minute earlier. Then, little by little, his piercing words feel like hands, painful at first as they tear the scaled skin away from my body, eventually feeling like strong loving hands, pulling me out of the dark shield of the armored skin and standing me up in a sea of light. I feel tired, I feel ashamed, I feel loved.

I didn’t make this up because I wanted to write a story, I wrote it down because in my head this is how it happened. It’s not the first time I’ve been distracted in church, and it won’t be the last. I pray for a strong Godly focus in everything I do, but I fail frequently. Fortunately, I get lots of tries to get it right, even though I never will. Thank you Lord for your patience!

Comments?

Take charge of the New Year; 7 ways to start 2012

This isn’t about resolutions, it’s about kicking the brain sludge loose and doing something out of the ordinary.

1) Call a friend or family member you haven’t talked to in a while.You can get over the awkward silence by saying ‘I guess if I called you more often there wouldn’t be this awkward silence’

2) Don’t watch TV for a week (or even a month). Nothing against TV, but the time you’re investing in watching it could be keeping you from performing acts of greatness. Better to film events in your own life and create a reality show where others will watch you on TV (or at the very least on Youtube).

3) Google your name and see what comes up. Others are Goggling you, so you may as well do it so you know what others are seeing, if it’s not something you like, figure out what you have to do to change it (hint; Google ‘personal brand’ for some possible resources).

4) Stop your exercise program. If you had a 2011 ‘I’m going to get into shape’ New Year’s resolution that you actually stuck to, congratulate yourself and take a few days off. Eat some junk food while you’re at it and you’ll revitalize your desire to get back to the gym.

5) Read a book not on the New York Times Best Sellers List. Get two copies, give one to a friend to read and talk about it afterward.

6) Try to go a FULL day without complaining. If you make it, go for two (no offense, but do you really think anybody cares what you say when you’re complaining anyway?).

7) Make your opinion heard. If you like, dislike, or have an opinion on something that you believe everybody in the world should hear, make a video about it and post it on Youtube.

Bonus #8 – Learn to play a musical instrument (guitar anyone?); it’s the coolest thing ever!

OK, now it’s your move.

Thoughts?

Reality (mine or someone else’s?) check please

Image by PNASH via Flickr

I recently ‘parted ways’ with a client at work and it didn’t happen amicably (unfortunately). After sending an official ‘termination’ letter to him I received a reply back with some scathing remarks about me, who I am, and how I do business. It set my blood boiling, and because of that I didn’t respond immediately. A day or so later, I received a second email from this person saying ‘you don’t even have the guts to respond to my emails’ (he actually used a different word in place of guts). Yep, that made me even happier about the situation and I realized that my initial response to the email would only incur who knows how much back and forth email banter. I replied back suggesting that maybe it was better if we actually talked rather than email to each other, not even sure what we would talk about, but hoping we could address any further issues, as it was never my intent to become enemies or create any bad blood.

Shortly afterward I had a thought that I hadn’t (or maybe didn’t want to) consider; what if what he said about me was true? If not in my reality, maybe in his? The entire situation was re-framed in my mind, now I was dying to know if that’s what he really thought of me, or if he was just venting at the time he wrote the email and his comments were simply a defense mechanism.

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t talk to me after that, so I may never know, and maybe that’s for the better. The odd part is that I’m thankful to the guy for responding to me the way he did, I mean what a way for me to question whether or not my charming personality needs improvement! I know I won’t please everybody, but it really made me stop and take a look at myself from another perspective to try see what others see, something I can probably do a little more often.

Do you think the reality of how you see yourself is the same as that of your friends, family, and people you work with?

More pitch correction please…?

Image by silverfuture via Flickr

I went to my daughter’s middle school music program the other night and have to give props to the kids that participated. While I did enjoy the program, a big part of my attention was on the band director/chorus instructor Mr. D. As I watched and listened to the chorus perform, I couldn’t help thinking about all the work and…well, frustration Mr. D must have went through to pull this musical program together. I sat there wondering what is must be like for him to go through all those years of musical training only to have to listen a group of (more than likely) inexperienced sixth graders sing their sometimes off pitch hearts out while his ears scream “what the heck is going on? I’m sure Mr. D likes his job (hopefully he loves it), but I wonder if he wanted to pound his head against the wall at times? If he had the choice would he use pitch correction on the kids? A studio back ground track? A slick high dollar producer? All I can say is that I’m glad he didn’t do any of that, he did his best to make the kids shine, and they did; pure voices in the rawest form with no pitch correction, polished production, or modern studio tricks. I loved every minute of it.

I don’t know what anybody else (save my wife and kids) thought about the show, but I do know that Mr. D has my respect and appreciation for being patient and teaching his art to others.

Hopefully we’re all teaching what we know to others.

Creative drought?

Sometimes creative ideas flood my brain faster than I can write down or record them. Other times it’s closer to a drought, like I actually have to put ‘work’ into it…that frustrates me.  Enter this great post via J. Michael Dolan

http://www.jmichaeldolan.com/comment.php?blogid=170

Thanksgiving with the kids

Today will be my fourth Thanksgiving meal this month. The first three were with the kids at their schools and I’m proud to say, I lived through all three of them, brief synopsis below (there may be a parent or two that can relate). 

Son #2 was first and if you have ever wondered, elementary school cafeteria food has not changed, it was pretty brutal. The best (or worst) part was the cold turkey, not turkey that was once warm and has cooled down, no, this was right out of the refrigerator chilled, probably would have been good on a Subway sandwich (and inspired my three turkeys story).  The dressing was actually pretty good…or maybe I was just so hungry it was the best option at the time. Of course, the best part of the lunch was spending time with wife and son, but after eating in the cafeteria I wonder if I should fear for my child’s health when he buys lunch? 

Son #1 was the first of two middle school lunches on the same day. The food was a step up; actual potatoes vs. instant mashed potatoes, but the stuffing looked like it was from last Thanksgiving, I think it could have been lifted out of the serving tray all in one piece…and it looked like carpet padding (yes, I ate it, wasn’t as good as the dressing at son #2′s school). The turkey wasn’t cold…well, it was cold, but at least at one point during that day it was warm and wasn’t right out of the refrigerator. It was cool hanging out with my son, though he’s at the age when he is focused on talking to his friends more than me, I love him to death and I’m glad he asked me to join him.

Daughter was the last lunch of the day…and yes, I was already full, but saved a little room after son #1′s lunch. I had more of their lunch meat type turkey with canned gravy and was happy to see daughter grab a big serving of green beans (I don’ t do green beans, one of the few veggies I don’t care for…yet, my wife continues to serve them for dinner on a regular basis and I still can’t figure out why).  We talked through the entire lunch and she told me about all her school friends. I loved every minute of it and even felt a little heartbroken as I thought about how fast she is growing up.

So today, I hope you are able to take a few minutes to really focus on what you are thankful for…and then grab some real food, I’m seriously craving a piece of real turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The story of the three turkeys

Once upon a time there were three turkeys, and though they knew their eventual demise, they all hoped for one thing; to bring love and cheer to others on Thanksgiving Day.

The first turkey ended up on the dinner table at the White House as the center of a prestigious Thanksgiving dinner celebration. He was a gorgeous presentation proudly served on a silver platter with all the trimmings. He thought he must be the best looking Thanksgiving Day turkey in the world. But, when the meal was served to the guests, all they talked about was politics and the economy, no love or cheer like he had hoped.

The second turkey ended up on the Thanksgiving dinner table of a rich and famous Hollywood movie star. There was a ‘who’s who’ of Hollywood peeps in attendance that day, and though he was served on an expensive designer crystal platter and prepared by a world famous celebrity chef, all the dinner guests talked about was money, cars, and plastic surgery, no love or cheer like he had hoped.

The third turkey ended up as the turkey lunch at an elementary school cafeteria. He was served cold on plastic dishes, and looked nothing like a fine Thanksgiving Day turkey, actually he was more like a step up from cheap grocery store lunch meat, and this made him sad. How could he represent the spirit of Thanksgiving and bring love and cheer to others when he didn’t look like the Thanksgiving Day turkeys in cook books and woman’s magazines?

Then all at once it started; teachers trying to keep control of their class, yelling students dressed like Indians, complaining parents trying to fit into the elementary school chairs, and then suddenly…laughter, smiles, and kids happy to be able to spend a little bit of time with their family and friends. And though he had to share a plate with instant mashed potatoes and canned gravy, the third turkey realized that he was bringing love and cheer to others on Thanksgiving Day, as he had hoped.

The End

Two words

We will give thanks this week and I can probably write for hours about what I’m thankful for, yet, it’s easy enough to say in just two words: God‘s grace.

Peace and love through music

Talk about some of my favorite things; Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Guitars In The Classroom, and one of my favorite Samick acoustic guitars all wrapped up together to help raise money for kids? It just doesn’t get any better than that!

So here’s the deal, all these cool musicians like Tom Petty, Jack Johnson and Jon Foreman of Switchfoot autographed and donated instruments to Guitars in the Classroom to raise funds for an 11-day online auction titled Peace & Love Through Music. The auction runs November 18 through the 28.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers signed a solid cedar top Samick Greg Bennett Rio Grande OM15CE guitar for GITC. As a part of the auction, Guitars in the Classroom will also offer a selection of items that include one of a kind artisan gifts, special experiences, celebrity and local music lessons, and wonderful tools for the musician, teacher, and music lover. These are just a few of the treasures that holiday shoppers and music lovers will find at the auction.

What’s all this for? good question, the online event is designed to fund free musical programs, music therapy, training and supplies and is co-sponsored by two other music non-profits, Resounding Joy and the Playing for Change Foundation, along with a charity founded to teach kids to foster peace in the world: Kids for Peace.

Supporters can access the campaign and participate in the auction by visiting www.peacelovethrumusic.com.

Peace and love through music, I just love that idea, don’t you?