Do minimalists start out to be minimalist or do they only intend to be more mindful? Is it a race to see who can live with the fewest items, in the smallest house? Or is minimalism only a label? My intent was not to be a minimalist. My intent was to be more mindful in my life and to stop buying more clothing for one year. I already had what I needed.
Life Experiences
Grey Tsunami is an Oxymoron
Grey Tsunami is an oxymoron. The term contains two words with very different meanings – a ‘trustworthy con-artist’ for example. The term Grey Tsunami is used as an excuse for our short sighted planning. We make it sound as though life snuck-up on us, took us by surprise. Shame on me for employing the attention grabbing phrase …
Happy Birthday, Dad
March 19 is my dad’s birthday and this year it will be different for me. This year he will have been dead for 55 years; the same number of years he was alive before he died in 1961. My dad taught me a lot in the short time we were together, but the most valuable lesson was the hardest for me to understand …
Going public matters …
Back in the day, almost everyone smoked. We smoked in airplane cabins, restaurants, doctors offices (along with our doc). We smoked when and where we wanted and nobody made us go outside, in the rain, to do it. But then the teachers at our children’s school started telling the students how smoking was NOT good for people. They were scaring my kids – but they were RIGHT.
I felt important that afternoon
John had made me feel important in our conversations leading up to that meeting and he was continuing to boost my confidence now. The plan he had presented made me feel good, even proud that I had chosen to meet with him. It was comforting to know my wife and young children would be taken care of if something dreadful happen to me. I also thought about how proud my father would be of my concern for my family …
Every Step Takes You Closer to Your Rainbow
Our young people are often criticized. “They always want more… They’re not grateful… They have their face in their phones…” But Generation Z, the iGens, are the first post 9/11 generation. They are the internet generation, the information generation. They access EVERYTHING faster, and they can move away just as quickly. They have inherited a new world in need of the unique rainbows only they will be able create. This story introduces you to one “iGen” rainbow maker …
Storytellers are the Best Teachers
Like all great teachers, the disheveled Dr. William E. Parish was a storyteller. On the first day of each semester he gave us the rules. “You can buy the text, even read it if you want, but the exam questions will be from my lectures – attend class, take notes, and you will have all you need for a good grade.”
Now go to work!
At the start, I thought I knew how the future would turn out. After all, I did what the textbooks said to do – make a business plan, draft pro-forma statements – step by step. But the books failed to say what Curt said, “Now go to work!”
I had always liked VW’s
I had always liked VW’s. I enjoyed the cozy feel, crank windows, stick shift, and the mystery that goes with not having a gas gauge. I have great memories from my years with my little blue Beetle. It is sad when a dream dies – even sadder when the cause of death is corporate betrayal.
“What’s that again? I missed what you said.”
It was in church. I kept wanting to sit closer and closer to the pulpit. My wife finally asked, “Why way up front … do you need hearing aids?” Wade Kirkland has become the perfect partner for my hearing journey. He takes time to listen, to understand and to present various solutions, even letting me ‘test-hear’ before settling on the best solution.