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Second Half 2018

Here you are. It’s summer and you think you owe yourself more idle time because the young ones are out of school. Wrong. It’s actually time to roll up your sleeves and show them what work is all about. There are those outstanding odd jobs around the house and the pet projects deserving of attention as well as the pursuit of continuous learning. Learning is growing and we should be doing some of it every day in order to keep the creative and inspirational juices flowing. We are inundated with stories of troubled minds through the media and at every turn there are references to chemical imbalances or hereditary predispositions when perhaps the biggest contributor to mental aberration is idleness.

The summer of 2018 will depart us and when you look back, let it be a time of productivity as well as play. Throw yourself into something worthwhile which will bring you pride. Capture memories of family adventure while incorporating engaging activities. Stimulate yourself intellectually because as the old adage goes, “leaders are readers”.

Additionally, I encourage you to reflect on your place within the economic system in the context of who you know you to be.  Nobody really knows you better than you. We fool ourselves into thinking that constructive feedback from those close to us should form a larger barometer of our being but this strategy is really rationalization for delay when in actuality the fear of execution persists.

If you are serious about taking a hard look at yourself and your current participation within the economic system, you may pick up a copy of my ebook, “Your Business Mind”.  

  

 

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Signs of Erosion In Civic Health

 

1.       Fraud and corruption

2.       Dishonored contracts

3.       Property rights disrespected

4.       Rural crime frustrates farmers

5.       Civil suits backlog court houses to the benefit of lawyers receipts

6.       Littering and indifference to the infraction

7.       Brashness and deceit in politics as winning formula

8.       Inattentiveness to the elderly

9.       Pronounced tail gaiting at the speed limit

10.   Proliferation of public debt accompanied by perpetual deficits

11.   Rising pedestrian deaths

12.   Propensity to relax rules and regulations

13.   Quickness and inclination to judge others

14.   Isolation of children

2.      Police detachment with better things to do than respond to                        trespassers and bike thieves

16.   Closure of arts / music venues

17.   Graffiti

18.   Loitering and the ambivalence toward it

19.   Decline in volunteerism

20.   Usury and government’s perception and reaction to it

Book Reviews

Out of the Valley – Book Review

Are you intrigued by the psychodynamics of dating? Have you ever wondered if that man or woman of yesteryear could have been the one? Have you suspected that that articulate attractive and poised person of interest may just have a chink in the armour? Then, Out of the Valley is for you. Cam Clark’s well constructed characters of Scott and Candice will have you reaching for this paper back at every idle moment. Although cast in darkness, it’s unwound through evolution and discovery. You’re there at their dinner table. You are transfixed by what will come of the text messages.

Cam juxtaposes between thoughts and words helping you with the disconnect. It’s the most appealing portrayal of human nature’s propensity for reservation in the face of fear. There is adversity and its confrontation. There is modesty in Scott’s manner. There is revelation in undiscovered strength and there is plot which hosts this pair. 

Have you ever found yourself in the valley? Perhaps, you’re there right now grasping for a foot hold up the escarpment in need of some edification. Cam describes the view from the valley with eloquence and meanders through the depths with gracefulness not representative of the state but typical of his writing style. 

Available on Amazon.

 

 

  

Lifes Lessons

Good Samaritan Alert

After a strenuous bike ride today, I disembarked at the Marlborough station and started walking the bike down the off ramp. Upon hearing a bang, I looked into the parking lot below and a man had just turned a sharp looking white car into a large lamp post with a cement base. It was either an absent minded moment or he was distracted by his phone. He was alone in the car.

After one circle around the off ramp, I turned again to see how we was handling the assessment of the dent on the passenger door panel. By this time, a middle aged woman had arrived on the scene having exited her teal Mitsubishi Mirage and I’m intrigued. She must have seen what I heard. I make my way down and I just have to check this out. As it turns out, this woman had seen a young Jamaican man in emotional distress by the circumstance and felt compelled to console. It was that simple. She had also perceived that the young man may have been new to Canada and that he may need help in navigating the insurance system and claims process.  I complimented her sense of exemplary civics and rode home refreshed from the fatigue of a long bike ride.    

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What Is Facebook Anyway?

Is it a platform which began as a place to share but has become more of a sponsored ad bulletin board? Is it a place for the voiceless to espouse political doctrine? Is it a place to promote unabashedly? Is it a place to put publicity into ones otherwise closeted past time? Is it a place to “troll” other’s opinions and activities for discovery in place of a phone call and meaningful relationship?

Although the platform continues to appeal to my curiosity and sincere interest in other’s lives as well as a place to share my blog and thoughts, I do marvel at its plasticity. I’m amused at how polite people can be in public but obnoxious and rude when on line. I’m perplexed by the degree of engagement by some in the context of actually making a living. I’m grateful for its convenience in connecting to relatives at physical distance. I’m exasperated by the vanity expressed by some.

There’s no question in my mind that “social media” has had negative consequences for the sociability of mankind. Net negative? Hmm. Reminds me of a story to share.

This past Wednesday, I headed down to McHugh House to take in some live music and witness first hand roots of the local music scene. To my disappointment, the band played excessively loud for the small venue and if one wasn’t equipped with ear filters (I was prepared), the discomfort would be intolerable. The most intriguing aspect of the performance was how transfixed these young people were to embracing the act instead of embracing each other. This was not an auditorium environment. It was actually a restored heritage home. As expected, on arrival prior to the opening number, folks stood silent with heads bowed over their phones.  I made it through one set and recall one relatively decent tune by this band called “Heavydive”.