16 January 2014

What Having Kids Does to You

Oh the epitome of adulthood, right?
Ok you've worked hard in your youth to:
look good,
achieve good,
in order to find a good mate,
then mate.
And then, yes then you are able to be satisfied as a producing human being.  Taking one for the homosapiens by spawning more dawnings of dreary eyes.
Suddenly your own dreary eyes are greeted by new ones: there is a tiny little podgy morsel waa-ing in a hospital crib and your world is revamped.
Like at first this is sheer blue sky to your clouded existence.
It unites everyone; it give you purpose; it's so helpless...and red.  And cute, podgy, and cute!
And then, yes then...
Come those silly green tubes you have to maneuver formula through to pump life into this morsel.
A  vampirous exchange of energy - your kids for yours.
Then comes the diaper bag jigsaw puzzle, shoving everything in there that may solve a puzzle at a later stage.  You're late...a lot.  No free time.  No.  Free.  Time.
Suddenly a drive alone is a miracle and you remember you are still young.  The music that amped you up as a kid is now a tribute to a time when life was free-er.
Depressing?>
Maybe a bit.  After all, there is such a thing as morsel blues and post-morsel depression.  But I say, and once more I say it, BUT:
Then comes the renewed perspective on everything, yes everything!
Then comes the humility, the patience (which isn't much fun earning but well worth having), the one-toothed smiles that melt your heart, the first time your child learns something that you taught them!
And then, yes then
You realize that they have been teaching you all along.

7 January 2014

Wisdom of the World (Part 2) - Insights from a World Traveler on Human Interaction

Something I find helpful about human interaction is knowing that:  like attracts like, and likes doing it.
  •      Wanna get passed people's barbed wire defense mechanisms and finally listen to your ideas?
  •      Wanna make new buddies all over the jolly well place?
  •      Wanna get a date with that stud or hottie?
  •      Wanna grow as a person?  Forget the protein shake, this is where it's at:
When people think you have a bunch in common with them, they automatically like you.  Interests, hobbies, curiosities, even fears (and all the other stuff like names of pets and favorite cereal if they're applicable.)
If you focus on similarities instead of differences, you'll like them more too.
(I know this can sometimes mean giving up revered hatred for the neighbors, so I'm sorry for that.)
Practically, this means you can relate to almost anyone.
You experience the same sensations that collectively form the human experience.
You inhale, they inhale.  You exhale, they inhale...wait...ah, you get the point.
When people are no longer afraid to be themselves, a world of possibilities opens.
People have been predisposed since caveman days to be afraid of the New (ie. like in the movie the Croods).  Any worldview or opinions that messes with the way they have chosen to arrange their reality is scary cos it could mean:
  1. They were wrong (No one likes to be wrong, fiddlesticks!)
  2. They have been climbing up a ladder leaning against the wrong wall
Now I'm not saying we should all sell out and paint fake versions of ourselves that agree with people's self-images.  The saying is as true as it ever has been: "You can please most of the people most of the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time."
It's just that:
Peanut butter is nutritious, but kids won't eat it on their own.
Cover it on either side with chocolate, and you've got a best-selling recipe!
Ok, I'm off to share some Reese's!

1 January 2014

New Beginnings, New Frontiers

New Year is here!

Bring on the:

Conquered fears and comforted tears. Because our smears are forgotten, hopelessness disappears.
Allow Truth to appear and bring your destiny near. Open those blind eyes to see and those deaf ears to hear.
As a generation of pioneers we're revolutionary volunteers, journeying together to mindblowing frontiers.
Spirited prayers followed by wide-open ears lead to upshifted gears and blossoming careers.
We're no more in arrears so share a couple of beers
and a bucket of cheers with your peers and loved dears.