Habits

 I walk every morning, rain or shine, at least 30 minutes, often more. I do it partly because it is good for me, both physically and psychologically, but mainly because I enjoy it. The best habits are like that. We often resist starting habits when they are suggested as 'good for us'. We may not outright reject them, because we acknowledge that the person recommending the habit means well, cares about us, and that they have a good point. But often we drag our feet because we are not drawn to start a habit even though we know we "should". The sense of obligation acts as a deterrent. We also feel that if we start something we have to continue. And we often plan a specific date to start - like New Year's Day - and then fall behind and quit.

It has been said that doing something for 30 days in a row establishes a habit. You don't have to start on a particular date, just start and keep it up for 30 days. By then it will be ingrained in your day and a day without it would be lacking. It is best if you can start habits because you like them, like my walking. But there are some habits that you can start doing because they are important and then find that you do enjoy them. Sometimes you just do things because they are important - like my daily blood glucose testing and food diary. 

My blogging has gone through stages. I started as a spotty thing - blogging when I had an inspiration and had some grand presentation. I would do a series over time and then lag. I did a series a couple years ago for a Toastmaster speech project which required me to do 8 posts over a month and then give a speech about the process. I did and then faded. It was too easy to miss and too hard to schedule an every other day post, or twice a week. So I decided that what I needed to do was just post daily. No waiting for inspiration, no long involved posts. Just doing something daily.

 I realized that I didn't have to share the post (FB, Linked In, twitter, etc) all the time. I could treat it like a diary and share on FB, etc, when I felt it was really good, or at least 2 or 3 times a week. And the day I began was April 3rd - not the 1st, not a specific date, but just when I decided to start posting. There have been a few days when it was late by the time I posted and sometimes I would wake up with an idea. I don't know how long it will last, but for now I am planning to continue, and I hope my sharing is beneficial - not only to me, but to a wide range of people. I would appreciate your comments on my posts. Thank you.

Celebrate Earth Day

 On Earth Day it is good to remember that we all share one home - one planet - we are a global community whether we like the concept or not. Climate and weather and all the ills and benefits of both do not respect national borders. And as the native tribal people recognized no one really owns the land. Neither you nor your ancestors have  always occupied the land you live on, nor will you or your descendants always occupy that land, and in truth you occupy it with a responsibility to preserve it for those who will come after and occupy it. We must remember the lesson of kindergarten - share. 

How do we do that? We need to raise our awareness level, to see both the beauty and the peril of our world. It doesn't take much, just "a walk in the park" and "stop and smell the roses along the way". On this Earth Day go out for a a walk, without a radio or music player. Listen to the wind, the rain, the birds. Look at the vibrant colors in nature around you. Smell the flowers, feel the wind blow. Immerse yourself in nature for a while. Take a bag along, and maybe some gloves, so that you when you see litter you can pick it up and desposit it where it belongs - in the trash. 

Take time to plant flowers or vegetables - it doesn't take much. I have just a balcony but I plan on planting some cherry tomatoes again this year, and maybe try some carrots and radishes as well. Nothing tastes as good as fresh veggies right out of the ground.:)   You may think you can't do much to help, but loads of people doing just a little, helps a lot.

On this Earth Day, and on every other day, celebrate life and our home.

choices

 Have you ever resorted to flipping a coin to make a decision? How about doing eeny, meeny, miny, moe? Or one potato, two potato? And when you got the result did you immediately go with the decision or did you think "let's try 2 out of 3"? Or are you more practical, listing pros and cons of each possible choice? Do you have a version of "buyer's remorse" - once you have made your decision do you regret it? Sometimes we have real trouble making up our mind, and sometimes it is for seemingly trivial matters.

I'm not saying that we should be flippant and impulsive in our decision making, but sometimes we treat things way too hard, so serious. Part of it is that we are afraid of making the wrong decision, with terrible consequences. We want to make the best decisions, which is laudable. But the truth is that we will often make wrong decisions just like everyone else 

As I look back on my life I can see where I made bad decisions or avoided making decisions and have often wondered how different things would have turned out if I had decided differently. My first year of college was a disaster. I partied too much and studied too little. I ended up with a 1.5 GPA in a 4.0 system.. I flunked Shakespeare - me, a fan of the bard who knew several passages by heart!:(   I, an incurable experimenter, failed to put together a project for chemistry lab, rarely showing up, and got a C in chemistry only because I did very well in class. As a result I ended up changing my major and giving up my dreams of studying abroad. 

For both my wife and I had similar experiences and yet because of the paths we took we ended up together and have been happily married for over 26 years. It was meant to be, even with the errors we both made in our decision making. So when you take a tumble making a decision, pick yourself back up and go again. Look at the bright side of it all and celebrate life - you might even make a rash decision or two, but still celebrate. And by the way, if you really took inventory of all your decisions you've probably made many more right than wrong.

Justice

 What is justice? Is it getting the right outcome in a trial? Is it passing laws to combat discrimination? Is it protesting till authorities take action against unjust practices? Those are all part of it, but it is more. For one thing it is more than just structures and laws, it is the encouragement of fair and equitable processes. It is the equal sharing of resources and opportunities with all. It is changing from requiring mandates to a mindset of doing right because it is the right thing to do, not just because you have to do it. 

A recent example is hospital visitation, specifically the ICU. The usual rule for patients in the ICU is that visitation is limited to immediate family members. For many hospitals with a religious foundation have ruled out visits by same sex partners, even married ones. There has been legislation to address this problem, forcing hospitals to change policies. But why is a law required to prompt institutions to do the right thing? How can those who are in the healing professionals deny comfort to those hurting, based on some dogma when the visit would help and not hurt anyone? Isn't the first rule of the Hippocratic oath "do no harm"?

Sometimes I think we see ourselves separate from justice. We formalize justice into a system and forget that we need to be administrating and demonstrating justice in our daily lives. We can't and don't have to wait for justice to be done, we need to be doing it ourselves, with the lives around us that we can help.

As the Old Testament admonition goes "Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly" It is not just something that is done, but something we all do - or should.

Flexibility

Flexibility is something we strive for. I am a fan of gymnastics, especially watching the Olympic competition. I marvel at the moves, strength, and flexibility that those athletes have. Age and lack of practice diminish the ability to be physically flexible and my bones and muscles ache just watching the gymnasts perform. Some say that yoga can rebuild some of that stretching ability, so I may have to try that. But there is one area that we can all practice stretching.

The craft of a wordsmith is stretching. Learning and practicing the powerful and effective use of words is a craft that any can attempt. Being able to go beyond simple talks to inspiring, encouraging, challenging speeches is something that we should aspire to. The better we can communicate the more impact we can have for good in this world.

In Toastmasters we begin with eliminating filler words  - the 'ahs', 'ums', and 'so's' that can litter our speaking and be as annoying as physical trash on the street. We call out bad grammar and praise good use of grammar. We plant words of the day to increase our vocabulary and give recognition to 'colorful words and phrases', as we call them - when speakers incorporate elevated descriptions into their presentations. 

Recently we have been taking that work to another level - competition. One of our veterans recently commended speakers at a Division contest for 'stretching' themselves in their speeches. Taking them beyond the ordinary and with continual practice become more precise and descriptive and inspiring.

There were definitely some 'wow' speeches. It has definitely inspired me.

And if you want to hear some truly inspiring speakers you will again be able to listen to the best of the best at the World Championship of Public Speaking put on by Toastmasters International for free on Zoom this coming August. 

The 3 E's

 When I first joined Toastmasters my first speech, as is for all new members, was my icebreaker. An icebreaker is where you introduce yourself to the club and share how you would like to be remembered. In some ways it is the easiest speech and the toughest speech, all at the same time. It is the easiest because the topic is you and you are the expert - easy to remember and uncontroversial because it is all about you

But in some ways it is also the hardest. How do you define yourself, how do you narrow down the details of your life to fit 4-6 minutes. Don't sweat, there will be other icebreakers as you navigate the paths of TM. But I believe the first answer that comes to mind usually is best. So the answer to that first question - who are you? - is what comes to mind first.

That's how I came up with my "3 E's" speech. Explore, Experiment, Express. Those are the three words that define me most. I love to explore - both physical space and mental and experiential knowledge.  I love to experiment - try new things (food and otherwise) , do things a different way, and combine elements (chemistry and food mainly) to find out what happens. And I am a expressive person, even for an introvert. I enjoy expressing to others what I am thinking or what is going on with me, through music and/or words, in order to help people grow, feel accepted, and challenged.

Musing on those 3 leads me to articulate what I see as the purpose for this blog. I want to help you expand your mind and your horizons. I want to inspire you to explore without fear. To experiment with abandon And I want you to be able to express who you are, help others to see that, and to affirm yourself and your self worth. All of us have stories to tell, you need to tell them, and the world needs to hear them.

And hopefully I can use this blog and the comments to do inspire you. Don't let anyone tell you what you can or can't do. Be yourself and be proud of it.

It's okay to be different - even weird

 Have you ever been called "different"? Did you every suspect that they were really thinking "you're weird"?  There can be pressure today, not just in our teen years, to conform, to stick to the mainstream and "fit in ".  But if you look around at nature you see all sorts of differences, even within types of flora and fauna. When I go on my morning walks I see and hear all sorts of creatures. I am often greeted with a chorus of frogs, unseen but clearly heard. I see scampering squirrels and hopping wild rabbits. It gets me in a good mood for the day. 

And then there are the birds. In essence they are the same creature - two-footed beaked flying things. But we know that there is so much variety, in every way. They look different, they sound different, they behave and fly differently. The little chickadees and quail flit swiftly from place to place, darting for crumbs and then away again. The ducks furiously quack like they hate to fly, while the geese honk as they head onward in formation across the sky. The herons lift off gracefully as they launch themselves into the sky, while the crows play chicken with cars, zipping off quickly at the last second.  And then there are the Stellar Jays who mimic others birds with their voices and are known among vacationers as campground thieves. 

So why should we be afraid of being different, or sticking out? Sometimes it is because we don't have company. We have normal stamped into us all by those, at home, at school, in society, who fear that we will be hurt if we stick out. Yes, some feel threatened by us being different, but I think a lot of well-meaning people, both parents and not, are afraid we will be rejected if we appear different. Sometimes we are restrained by words - that we don't want to apply to us.

I encountered one of those words in my life - weird. Nobody wants to be called weird. It has strong negative connotations - a bad label. I had a particular unusual food combination choice that I liked but many considered weird. I had a coworker who repeatedly used that word to describe it. Frankly one day I had had enough, so I said "okay, so I'm weird, somebody has to be, might as well be me". After that she never used the word again - I had neutralized its sting. It didn't hurt me since I had accepted it.

What labels have you had? What potentially keeps you from being you? Next time someone tries to limit you (even if it's just in your mind) by using a label like 'different', or 'weird', think of the birds and take pride in your 'difference'. Try to imagine how you can turn their words against them, or better yet how you can use that word to motivate yourself to be different. It can be a great challenge, but I believe you are up to it. And you have plenty of company if you just look around. If we were all quacking ducks afraid to fly, how far would that get us and how boring it would be.:)