Yesterday

      If we think back in our lives there are probably many times and moments that we wish we could have a “do over.”  But we know that is not possible.  When I was growing up, I had a great interest in music.  I’m sure many of you did.  I enjoyed listening to the songs that were popular at that time and I played in a rock ‘n roll band.  One of my favorite groups at the time (and their music is still enjoyable to hear) was the Beatles.

     One of their songs (although it was done by Paul only) that I particularly enjoyed was “Yesterday.”  It was released in the United States as a single in 1965.  It was considered a melancholy ballad about the break-up of a relationship.  I never realized at the time how much truth there was in the lyrics.  That was a time when songs were written and performed to have some type of meaning behind them.  Today I don’t keep up with the songwriters particularly, but it seems that most of the music no longer makes sense to me.  Perhaps it has to do with my getting older.  I’m not sure.

     However, getting back to the song “Yesterday.”  The chorus of the song helps us to understand that this song has to do with a personal break-up and it’s the theme that is repeated by the lines of the chorus. 

     “Why she had to go, I don’t know, she wouldn’t say.

     I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday.”

     This desire to return to a time when the couples situation was in better condition can be understood by many of us.  We long to return to days that have passed and have things the way they were before we made some type of mistake or changes came that we no longer are happy with.  However, knowing that we cannot do that, we at times “long for yesterday.”

     However, to me it is the other lines of the song that have come to resonate with the sounds of truth within a persons life.  Consider the first opening words of verse one of the tune:  “All my troubles seemed so far away.  Now it looks as though they’re here to stay.”  When we were younger it’s as though we had no problems at all.  As our lives continued to advance the problems of living began to grow upon us, until within our later years it seems that these problems cannot be avoided or in many cases improved.  Yesterday was the time we should have enjoyed the lives we had and now we realized that things were going to become much more difficult to deal with.

     The song continues in verse two to tell us:  “I’m not half the man I used to be.  There’s a shadow hanging over me.”  Because of pains and afflictions our lives change.  We are no longer able to do the things we once did without even giving thought to our actions.  At times circumstances beyond our control are at work and at other times it is due to the circumstances that we bring upon ourselves.  Whatever the case my be for us, we come to recognize that we’re “not half the man (or woman) we used to be.”  And as we continue to travel down the road of life, barring any unforeseen occurrence, all we really have to look forward to is death.  Yes, that “shadow’s hanging over” us. 

     The last bit of information shared with us in the song in verse three tells us that yesterday, “love was such an easy game to play.  Now I need a place to hide away.”    In most circumstances when younger we never truly considered the feels of others.  We were only concerned with our own gratification.  Love, indeed, was some type of “game” we could play and if we were not satisfied with the results of our “game,” we would simply move on to another player and see if we could get a better outcome.  Now, however, we often have to find a “place to hide away” our love because we very often become the “prey” of the careless and loveless actions of others.  We become the “victim” of the “games” consequences and our hearts become more pained than we could have ever imagined.

     If you would like to recall this precious song, give it a listen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrgmdOz227I

     It was a simply written song when I first heard it.  The lyrics flow so smoothly that you do not imagine that there could be such power behind the words.  But when you take the time to look back on that simple tune you will see how well it describes the lives of many of us.  Could things have been different?  Would we have been better if we could have remained in that pleasant realm of “yesterday”?  There’s no way for us to know for certain.  However, we know that we can look back on our lives, at times, with regrets for things we have done.  Or perhaps for the things we didn’t do.  Being able to do that simply reminds us that we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Learn from your prior mistakes, 

but keep your eyes on the goals of tomorrow,

yesterday is gone!"

Thoughts

      There is an old saying “It is the thought that counts.”  Well, the “old saying” may not be as old as you think it is.  The proverb is credited to Henry van Dyke Jr, a Presbyterian clergyman.  He was also a writer and poet, and is said to have coined the phrase about 1906: “It is not the gift, but the thought that counts.”  As with many proverbs and idioms, only the latter half of the phrase is generally quoted, the listener is expected to supply the beginning of the phrase for himself.

     There is also another saying: “You can’t have it both ways.”  When someone tells you this they are trying to tell you that you have to choose between two things and cannot do or have them both.  Yet, that is often the very thing we want as humans.  At least when it comes to having “our thoughts count.”  What could I possibly mean by that?

     Let’s consider two different examples and try to understand.  First, when the thought is to our advantage.  Here we may be in a situation, perhaps as parents with our children, perhaps as co-workers at our jobs, or whatever the case may be.  We have given a gift to someone and it is not exactly what we had hoped to be able to give them.  Maybe we waited too long in procuring the gift and the item we had truly wanted was no longer available or perhaps we simply did not have enough money to purchase the item we had wanted to get, so we were obliged to get something less expensive.  However matters had worked out, we probably gave them the gift and upon their opening it, we said: “Remember, it’s the thought that counts.”  Thus implying to them that although the gift may not be up to the caliber or price tag that we had desired (or also perhaps them) we did think of getting them something!  That is the situation where we want to be looked at in a better light than perhaps the gift puts us in.

     The other scenario is that of not wanting our thoughts to condemn us or put us in the suspicious circumstance of appearing guilty.   We might say something like: “Don’t hold my thoughts against me.”  There are times we do this to ourselves saying that we have been having some disturbing, awful thoughts that make us feel hopeless, unloved or even unlovable and we don’t want such thoughts held against us.

    Probably the worst situation would be one that involves the police.  You have probably seen those television crime shows in which the police have apprehended a suspect and began reading them their Miranda Rights: “You have the right to remain silent.  Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…”  That is probably not the time to start letting your “thoughts” spill out of your mouth into words that you will probably regret later.  It could well be that your “thoughts” put into speech could be very damaging to you at a future time.

     But recall that we can’t have it both ways.  We cannot have our thoughts as an excuse for what we don’t do and yet have our thoughts as an ally for what we do!  One way or the other we are going to have to face the situation and deal with it the best we can.  It would always be our desire that we can “pick and choose” the way we want things to be done and many times that is exactly what we can do.  But most of the times we must make a choice and that seems to be the problem because we’re only human!    

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Your thoughts may not be conceivable.

Your intentions are!"

Missing

      It is reported by the National Missing and Unidentified Persons database that more than 600,00 people of all ages go missing every year!  While the vast majority of these cases are resolved relatively quickly, there still remains more than 17,000 missing person cases and 13,000 unidentified body cases open in the United States.  If we assumed that the 13,000 unidentified bodies are part of those 17,000 missing persons that still leaves some 4,000 people who are GONE!  What has happened to these people?  Where did they go?  Have their bodies simply just not been found?  Or is there a more sinister underlying condition in play here?  And I am only considering figures from the United States.  Although reports can be a bit sketchy what would this figure be if we considered the entire world?

     However, some of those missing individuals are never found and no real explanation for their disappearance is given.  If you’d like to consider a list of some of these cases go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_disappeared_mysteriously:_post-1990 .  I’d like to take a few moments and consider a few of them more in detail and offer my opinion.  The reason I will consider these particular cases is that the information provided on them indicate that perhaps there was some “strange” implications along with the investigations.  I am not here trying to provide an explanation to the solving of these cases, just my opinion.

     Paige Renkoski:  Paige went missing on May 24, 1990.  She was last seen talking to a man on the shoulder of Interstate 96 near Fowlerville, Michigan.  This is one of Michigan’s longest running cold cases.  According to witnesses, she had seemed upset when seen talking to two African American men on the shoulder of Interstate 96.  Hours later the 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais she had been driving was found still idling, with her shoes and purse inside.  There was no sign of Paige.

     Fowlerville is about 30 miles southeast of Lansing, Michigan and about 75 miles northwest of Detroit.  According to Michigan MUFON State Director, there are hundreds of UFO sightings reported each year in the state of Michigan.  True, the vast majority are resolved as something of clearly human origin and simply a visual misconception of what was seen.  However, there are many that remain unexplained in this state as is the case in many other areas.  Greater Lansing itself has had no shortage of strange sights: floating orbs, illuminated discs, silver teardrops and hovering objects.  And Detroit has not been left out of the limelight.  Over the course of 2021, there have been 12 reported UFO sightings in Michigan, several of which occurred in the metro Detroit area, according to the National UFO Reporting Center.  Actually, Michigan ranks 11^th in the Center’s ranking of overall sightings within the United States.  We also have to remember that we are dealing with REPORTED cases.  How many sightings and/or contacts may go unreported by individuals?  Could it even be possible that individuals who might have a sighting or contact have been “programmed” to forget the incident or in some other manner had the memory of the sighting or contact “removed” from their minds? 

     You may also be familiar with the Michigan Triangle.  This is an area on lake Michigan were planes and boats disappear.  It is scarier than the Bermuda Triangle because it is not located in the middle of the ocean but it’s much closer to land.  Is it possible that such an area COULD exist in various locations ON the land and perhaps it is a “moveable” climatic effect that appears and disappears from locations at various times? 

     Could Paige have been caught in such an event?  Or could she be the victim of “alien abduction”?  Perhaps there is another explanation that we have yet to even consider?

     Joe Keller:  The 18-year-old who vanished from a dude ranch in Colorado’s Rio Grande National Forest in July, 2015.  The summer between his freshman and sophomore years at Cleveland State Community College he had gone on a road trip with his buddies Collin Gwaltney and Christian Fetzner traveling to Las Vegas, San Francisco, and the Grand Canyon before heading to his aunt and uncle’s dude ranch in the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado.

     The full details of this incident can be read at https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/exploration-survival/leave-no-trace/ but here I will simply consider a few brief details.

     Joe and his buddies went on a run likely along Forest Road 250 which was to be about an hourlong run.  Afterwards several people related how they had seen Joe on various locations during the run; however, after the others had completed the run and waited for Joe they returned to the ranch.  Hours passed and NO Joe!

     A small patrol of ranch hands went looking for him and eventually the search engaged about 15 dogs and 200 people on foot, horseback, and ATVs.  But with these and other efforts Joe was not found.  Robert Koester, a.k.a. Professor Rescue, commented: “I’m a scientist.  I’m fond of Occam’s razor.” That’s the principle that the simplest explanation usually holds true.  He continued: “You could have a band of terrorists tie him to a tree and interrogate him.  Is it possible?  Yes.  Is it likely?  No.”

     After some time had passed John Rienstra, a search and rescue hobbyist, discovered Joe’s body in a boulder field below the cliff band, less than two miles, as the crow flies, from the ranch.  The preliminary cause of death was “blunt force trauma to the head.”  It seems that Koester and his Occam’s razor theory was the correct way to go.  But there were still many unexplained details about the situation according to Joe’s mother.

     Knowing the reputation of the Colorado mountain areas as I do, perhaps another theory would be that Joe had an encounter with a Bigfoot that wasn’t very interested in sharing his habitat with Joe.  Or could it fall back on simply being the outcome of an unexpected falling accident after all?  We may never really know the truth.

     But as humans we are often so highly emotional that the wild and fantastical explanation is the one, we want to believe.  We want to think that there are things of fantasy that we will never understand or explain and therefore will never be able to realize the truth about the physical world in which we live.  At times it may only be a coping mechanism so that we can deal with various tragedies in our lives.  Whatever the case may be, the simple fact remains that we’re only human!  

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Of all the things I've ever lost,

I miss my mind the most!"

Travel

      With many people having been isolated within their homes for so long due to the Covid pandemic recently, now that some restrictions are being lifting it seems that one thing everyone wants to do is travel!  Some want to get away to the mountains, some will prefer to be at the ocean, others just want to get away to somewhere new!  One consideration might be to do your “Google” search and come up with some ideas that you probably haven’t thought about.  One such site (https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/best-places-to-travel-in-2021 ) gives you a list of “the 50 best places to travel in 2021.”  Now maybe one of those places listed will be just the location you have been thinking about, but weren’t exactly sure the spot that it might be?

     However, there are many serious considerations that must be given before you simply pack up the family and “take off.”  Especially is this true if you are wanting to visit somewhere outside the continental United States.  There are health factors, to be sure, but these are not the only considerations that you will need to think about.  Is the place you are wanting to go to a safe place?  Now it seems that areas that at one time were considered a “family” location may not be viewed in that perspective today.  You must also consider the time factor.  Some years ago it was simple to make a plane reservation, show up at the airport, fly for a few hours (or less) and enjoy your destination until it was time to return.  Now you might show up at the airport (especially upon your return flight) and find out that the flight has been cancelled and now you and your family are stranded for who knows how long?

     This also brings into the play another factor that must be considered: money!  Not only will you need to have enough money for the trip itself, but your spending considerations while you are enjoying your vacation will need to calculated very carefully and then you may need to have access to additional money in the event that unforeseen circumstances develop and you are having to spend more than you anticipated on delays or lay-overs.

     And I haven’t begun to mention other circumstances that might arise during such a vacation venture, such as, locations shut down that you will not be able to visit, the arise of unpredicted weather conditions that hamper your vacation, civil unrest in the location where you will be travelling to, and any number of other things that might develop in today’s political and civil climate.

     Now what I am about to suggest as an alternative will not appeal to all, probably not to the majority.  Believe me I understand the desire to physically be at a specific location and enjoy the feeling of soaking up the local flavor.  But as an alternative and a way to save money, time, and other headaches, have you considered purchasing a book on the location you might like to visit or even a travel video about the location?

     It wouldn’t truly be the same and I understand that, but it would give you an idea about the anticipated location and maybe at another time you would be able to arrange a personal visit and would find the visit much more enjoyable since you now know more about it than you previously did?

     The 50 places mentioned in the above referenced website all deal with locations within the Untied States.  However, with travelling by means of books and/or videos you are not limited by expensive costs or time constraints about where you might like to visit.  You would be amazed about the fascinating locations where you will enjoy learning about the culture, climate and opportunities from many parts of the world.

     Yet, I know that the inner desire will be to travel to these locations yourself regardless of some of the risks that might be involved or the costs or the time constraints because we are always wanting to have “first-hand” experiences for ourselves within our lives and with our families.  And that is only natural because, we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"No two people will experience

a vacation in the same way."

Space

      Well, it has finally happened!  That which has been science fiction has now become reality.  The original television series Star Trek aired in the United States in September, 1966, giving us a view of a future life in the United Federation of Planets with Captain James T. Kirk at the helm of the Star Ship Enterprise.  Now just over 55 years later William (Captain Kirk) Shatner made his personal historic flight aboard the Blue Origin.  No doubt, millions viewed this event. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lliRCiyk_0A )   

     “Space --- the final frontier.”  “To boldly go where no one has gone before.”  Those phrases have echoed in the hearts and minds of generations of individuals.  And many have worked tirelessly to achieve those accomplishments for mankind.  Stepping onto the surface of the moon and now reaching out to Mars and other frontiers to advance the human race to unbelievable achievements.  Where will the growth of such expectations and explorations lead?    

     I have personally followed the news events of various achievements over the years and have now begun to ponder the results that have been gained.  Am I now saying that all the things that have been discovered, created, or developed within and around the space program been for naught?  Certainly not!  However, I would like to provide some “food for thought.”  These comments may be offensive to some and for that I apologize in advance; however, I feel that these are points that need to be considered under the present economic world developments.

     “Federal spending on the U.S. space program, especially in the 1960s, was considerable and characterized by almost unheard-of rates of growth. Outlays on space and science went from $0 in 1948 to more than $100 million in 1957 and peaking at $7 billion in 1967. “  (https://billofrightsinstitute.org/activities/was-federal-spending-on-the-space-race-justified )    

       Since that time billions have been spent by governments around the world on space faring projects.  However, now the majority of space exploration is being shifted to the private sector with individuals like Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and Jeff Bezo and their investors “footing the bill”.  The untold billions that they have spent (along with perhaps others) to “get their feet wet” (so to speak) venturing into space with their various programs cannot be truly understood by the “average” person.

     Again, while the achievements are fantastic and have, in some respects, been beneficial to advancing mankind in areas of technology, science, and perhaps medical fields, many speculate that these humongous costs could have been spent on the more immediate needs of humankind right here on planet earth. 

     I am, by no means, an expert on the needs of humankind at this time, but I can see what people are going through with unemployment, health issues, child care, education, housing, and many other areas of humanitarian need.  When a person can’t find work, or put enough food on the dinner table for their children, they are probably not too impressed that William Shatner (or any other person for that matter) was boosted about 65 miles into space for a trip that lasted just over 10 minutes. 

     Many would feel that the BILLIONS of dollars spent and the yet billions more that will be needed to truly advance the exploration of space could have been spent on present human needs.  Others would say that the expense will be well worth the advances that will be made.  Who may be correct, I am not the one to say?  Only time will perhaps provide the answers to those questions.

     Some people may look forward to the exploration of other planets in the fashion that was highlighted in the television series “Stargate SG-1.”  In this concept, after the government learns that an ancient alien device called the stargate can access a network of such devices on a multitude of planets and in space, a program is set-up for various teams to explore the galaxy and defend the earth against various alien threats.  Such a discovery and use of such a device may prepare humans to “take their place” as an advanced civilization within the realm of other intergalactic races.  Of course, these assumptions carry many “fantasy” aspects as they do possible scientific ones. 

     If, as some conjecture, we are not alone in the universe, perhaps there are those who do not want humans reaching out to become part of their “neighbors.”  Perhaps such beings may feel as one of the races did in the Stargate series when it was said by Anteaus of the Nox: “The very young do not always do as they are told.”  We may be very young in comparison to other species that MAY be somewhere in our universe (or in another universe). 

     Or we may be surprised by a visitor like that as shown in the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (1951) when Klaatu made his final speech before departing our world. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASsNtti1XZs ) In dealing with any or all of these possibilities one tremendous hurdle remains: The problem is and will continue to be:  We’re Only Human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Why explore outer space?

I have enough space within my head

that will take years of exploration!"

Manage Your Energy Levels

      In 1970 when his wife told him she was pregnant, singer-songwriter Jim Croce wrote the lyrics to his hit song “Time in a Bottle” which appeared on his 1972 debut album.  However when he was killed in a plane crash in September 1973, its lyrics, dealing with mortality and the wish to have more time, had additional resonance.

     Although I personally enjoyed that particular song very much, I have often thought that the major aspect of its lyrics (saving time in a bottle) was really the secondary feature to enjoying our lives.  The more important portion was WHAT were we going to do with the time that we might be able to save?  And adding to that would be the idea: “Would we have the energy to do those things within the extra time that we had been able to save?”  So we should be considering are we in a position to better manage our energy levels so that we will have the right amount of energy available for activities that we would wish to engage in when we have the time to engage in them? 

     Our varying degrees of your energy levels can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Sometimes you have to have the energy to complete a task or activity and other times you seem to have the most energy when you’re trying to relax.  If you can learn how to manage your energy levels effectively, you can move ahead rather than lag behind. 

     Here are some tips about how to manage your energy levels so that you’re ready for anything – at any time. 

1.      Determine the times you’re most energetic. Some people are more energetic in the mornings and others are night owls.  You should be able to determine from past experience which time of day you get more done.  Those are the times you should schedule the most harrowing or mind bending of tasks, although you may still have to pace yourself throughout these activities.

2.      Identify what drains you of your energy.  Be honest about this assessment.  When you know which obstacles and situations keep you from being the best you can be, you can do what it takes to minimize them or eradicate them from your life altogether, if possible.

3.      When you do have energy, is it negative or positive?  If you have lots of energy, but your output is all about negativity, you are likely in a constant reactive mode rather than a positive, active mode.  Negative, but energetic people never seem to have enough time to get things done.

4.      Use your energy to make headway, not merely survive. We all have increasing demands on our time.  The way that we meet it determines whether we go through life just barely getting by or having the energy to advance.  Quit rushing through in survival mode simply to get more things done.  Choose performance over immediate solutions.

5.      Be consistent in the way you handle situations.  When you experience energy highs and lows, you may find yourself reacting to situations according to your energy level.  If you’re energetic, you can be positive, but if you’re lethargic you could react in a totally negative manner.  Try to be consistent in your reactions and it will help your energy levels to be consistent. 

     Thomas Leonard, a highly successful financial planner and business entrepreneur says that time is an illusion – “There’s no such thing as time management. There’s only activity management in the time we’re given.”  How much activity you get done in that allotted time is directly responsible for how energetic you are. 

     Make your activities into priorities according to your energy level.  Performing low-energy tasks at times when you’re least energetic and high-energy tasks at times when you energy level is highest can help you meet all the demands and expectations and still have time to relax and enjoy life.  The greatest culprit to our success or failure is how we view ourselves within these matters.  This continues, and probably always will, fall back on the fact that we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"If I could save time in a bottle ---

I'd be in different line of work,

making a lot more money!"

Reflections

      I’ll make a confession.  I often do a lot of surfing on the internet to see what is out there.  OK!  I said it!  Quite honestly there is a lot of garbage floating around in cyberspace that really shouldn’t be there and is not worth the time to pause and give it any consideration.

     However, today I saw a little post that caught my attention and made me pause for contemplation.  Although there was no author credit given, I’d like to share the information with you anyway.  I think it contains a point that we might want to give serious consideration to.  It went like this:

     “There is a story they tell of two dogs.  Both at separate times walk into the same room.  One comes out wagging his tail while the other comes out growling.  A woman watching this goes into the room to see what could possibly make one dog so happy and the other so mad.  To her surprise she finds a room filled with mirrors.  The happy dog found a thousand happy dogs looking back at him while the angry dog saw only angry dogs growling back at him.  What you see in the world around you is a reflection of who you are.”

     Now the story may seem very simplistic, however the message it conveys is thought to ponder.  If we look at the world around us.  And this doesn’t have to strictly apply to the global scene.  It could be our own little circle of the cosmos that circulates around our daily lives.  And when we inspect this arena with a negative or sarcastic eye, what do we see?  Isn’t it normally an appearance of exactly what we picture it be in our minds?  Perhaps, in reality, we are only seeing a reflection of ourselves and our own attitude!

     Perhaps we are spending too much time looking at and trying to fixate on the “thorn” and are paying no attention to the “rose.”  Now we should not be delusional and think that if we only concentrated on the “rose” that the “thorn” would not exist!  No, we have to look at the world around us with a clear, accurate eye and be realistic. 

     Bad things happen in the world!  That is a statement of fact.  But we can have the optimistic view or we can be the pessimistic.  Which would get more beneficial things accomplished?  Interestingly enough, a poll conducted on behalf of Borden Dairy made this observation:  “The new survey found that ‘glass half-full’ thinkers, while being more optimistic, also tended to be more patient, more creative, more competitive, more adaptable and more playful than ‘glass half-empty’ thinkers.  On the other hand, glass ‘half-empty’ thinkers tended to be more laid-back, more introverted, more serious and prouder than their ‘half-full’ counterparts.” (https://swns-research.medium.com/the-personality-differences-between-glass-half-full-and-glass-half-empty-people-2cfc05ad3706 )

     Does this mean that one view is more desirable than the other?  Not necessarily.  But I think we can all appreciate that having a more positive perspective to situations around us will help us better deal with whatever those circumstances might be.

     You may have heard the expression: “Every cloud has a silver lining.”  Therefore meaning that there’s hope or something good to be found in every bad situation.  In real life, when a cloud looks like its edges are shining and silvery, it’s because the sun is behind it.  That’s the metaphor: things are cloudy (bad), but they will get sunny (positive) again – or you can least enjoy the one shiny (positive) part in all the gloominess.

     Quite often the problem lies in the fact that we have resolved our entire life to being dark and gloomy.  We fill our minds and our hearts with negative thoughts and simply refuse to belief that ANYTHING good could happen within our lives.  This is the sadness we often deal with on a daily basis.  A major contributing factor is that we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Do not be deceived by what

you think you see."

Self-Improvement

     In today’s world we are always looking for the latest and greatest of whatever product there may be on the market.  It seems like at times we are never able to keep up with the changes in improvements that are being made.  I recall a commercial on television many years ago that well illustrated this.  It showed a man placing the new and improved version 4 model of a computer system into his car and driving off while in the background a man was being shown changing the sign on the billboard that now read “Enjoy our new and improved version 5 model!”  That seems to be the experience that many of us have at times. 

     However, there may be no great disadvantage to continuing to use a certain model of product even while the “latest and greatest” is being dispensed all around you.  My kids are usually on my wife and I because we haven’t upgraded our phones to a newer model for five or six years now.  Which is probably like 100 years in phone tech time!  But our view is, the phone does all the things we want it to do, so why change?

     This shouldn’t be the case with us as humans.  We should always be in a mode to improve ourselves the best that we can.  We should seek to better ourselves within the confines of our personal and circumstantial situations and we should be willing to help others do so whenever we can.  But how do you know if a person is willing to attain to a measure of self-improvement?  This is a question with no definite answer.  It will all depend on the individual.

     It may simply be the case of a person not knowing where to start in making necessary improvements within their lives.  Many people have goals, dreams or ambitions but do not know how to go about achieving them.  They may have thought about what would make up self-improvement and their ideal life, but have no idea how to even begin to make the plans and take the actions required to make them a reality.

     With others it may be a different scenario.  Some people have a vague idea on how to go about self- improvement.  These are the ones that believe that if only they had a better job, or had been given better opportunities, or met the love of their life, or whatever else, everything would be fine and they would be happy.  Their aspirations may be noble, but their goal to achieve them may not be headed in the correct direction.  They feel their happiness or lack of happiness is decided by external factors and their thoughts and actions are of little consequence.

     Some believe that if they only had more money, they could have whatever they wanted and would be on their way to self-improvement and betterment of their lives.  They are under the false impression that THINGS are going to improve their lives and only by obtaining them are they going to have a measure of happiness.

     They may have spent little time thinking about what they actually want from life, and do not really believe there is anything they can do to create their fuzzy version of utopia anyway, apart from buying more lottery tickets and hoping their dreams come true with the BIG win!  But these people are often very disappointed too.

     Other people do not even know what they actually want from their lives and may even have little idea what would really make them happy.  They seem to just drift from day to day, week to week, month to month, and year to year, and do little more than just about get by.  They continue with their same daily routine and somehow think that things are going to change.

     They may have seemingly secure jobs and be earning enough to live relatively comfortable lives.  They seem happy enough and have no great ambition to achieve anything more from their lives than they currently have.  They are completely satisfied with the status-quo!

     So we might ask: Is self-improvement really important?  The reality is that throughout our lives we are all constantly growing and developing.  Changing circumstances make us grow and develop, even if we do not make the conscious decision to do so.

     Up to a certain age, we learn through formal education and we continue to learn through our experiences for the rest of our lives.  We have to learn and grow to deal with everything that life throws at us.  This is the present difference between us and “intelligent” machines.  They cannot fully adopt with changing and unknown circumstances the way the human brain is capable of doing.  However, as humans, we all have to go through self-improvement and change on a constant basis.

     Modern life moves at a dramatically faster pace than at any time in history.  For anyone living in modern society there are more opportunities to do anything that you want to do with your life than there has ever been before.  Many of these opportunities are worthless and only time-consuming.  However, we must learn to distinguish the difference.

     But there is also more competition than ever before, and ever-changing technology means that there really are few, if any ‘jobs for life’ anymore.  It is now normal not only to change jobs quite often throughout our working lives, but even to completely change careers and industries.

     Because the workplace is so competitive, people who are ambitious and hungry for success know they need to learn new skills and knowledge to keep ahead of the pack.  To attain this, self-improvement is needed.  We have not reached the point, and will probably never do so, where we can simply “take a pill” and have instant new thinking abilities or physical abilities.  But individuals who have the desire to continue to make self-improvements and changes as needed according to their surroundings and circumstances, these people will continue to advance.

     At the least, these are the people that will be most likely to keep their jobs, or progress within their chosen field, or that will be readily employable in different organizations or industries as conditions change.

     A commitment to self-improvement and personal growth may well be the deciding factor in how anyone’s future will turn out to a large degree.  And not everyone is willing to make those adjustments and commitments.  However, the continual dominating  flaw in the equation is the fact that we’re only human! 

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"NO ONE has greater belief in you,

than YOU!"

Thoughts

 

     It’s one of those occasions again when I sit and stare at the blank page of my word processor and wonder why the words are not flowing across the sheet as they have done so many times in the past.  The thought process doesn’t seem to be working today and a specific topic is simply not coming to my mind. 

     I was thinking about perhaps a subject on one of the many family issues that people are facing today.  But I then rejected that idea because which one of the many issues should be the one that I write about?  And simply writing about them and not having some workable type of solution would almost seem meaningless.  Everyone knows about family problems, but the real helpful writing would be to provide people a way to be able to deal with their problems and make improvements within their lives and the lives of their family members.  However, I am in no position to provide the answers they need.  I would only make suggestions of giving their circumstance serious and prayerful consideration.

     Then I was thinking I could write about a current topic in the political arena, although I don’t want to get myself involved in politics.  Because, there again, there would be so many issues to choose from, how would I know which one I should select?  And whichever one it was, there is no lack of heated arguments already going on concerning it that I would only be placing myself into the center of a fiery furnace from which I would not be able to survive!  It wouldn’t matter from which part of the world I would look either.  The topic couldn’t be looked at in balance, but would only tend to split the opinions of people and there are already enough of those types of discussions (or arguments) going on.

     With the thoughts going through my mind I should write some uplifting topic that will help people, if only momentarily, to shift their thinking from all the upsetting things that are going on in the world and replace them with a solid hope for the future.  However, it seems when I try to speak to people about such topics, the things that they should really hear and take action on, they are really not interested in listening to them.  For some reason they want to continue to lie in and wallow about in their own self-piety.  Often with no desire to improve their current condition, they only want to find some excuse for not making it better.

     So here I sit in front of my computer with all these thoughts going through my mind and trying to make a decision about a topic for this blog post.  What I find is that I am left completely alone with only my thoughts.  Perhaps there are times when that is the only way things can be because we’re only human!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"The thing about all great inventions

is they start with a single thought!"