A legend for what we do or who we are?

Beloved, cherished, loved and admired.

When we use words to try to describe someone that is truly special or has had a phenomenal impact on our lives, sometimes words just don’t cut it.

Is a legend a legend only because of what they do or because of who they are at their core?

This week, a man I would consider a legend in the truest sense of the word passed away after a long battle with cancer.  Ernie Harwell was known best for his work as an announcer for the Detroit Tigers baseball team and his boundless energy.  But, the one trait for me that takes him to an even higher status is that he was a man of faith that, by all appearances, was not only a Christian in name only, but in practice as well.

Rut is wrong with you?

So, how automatic has your life become?  When you think about what you are doing now and where you thought you would be in your life by now, are you there?

We sometimes get stuck in our lives in a place of tyrannical sameness.  We get up, follow the same patterns (good or bad) day after day and become comfortable with the way things are.  We get stuck in a rut.

What is a rut anyway?

Definition: rut (rut), noun

1.    a fixed, routine course of action, thought, etc., esp. one regarded as monotonous

Spend the Currency of Your Focus Wisely

We expend energy every day on so many things.  The energy to begin our day, the energy to exercise, the energy to problem solve.  Where we focus our energy is equivalent to a currency we can spend in creative ways every day.  How are you spending your energy on a daily basis?

If we are not careful, we can find ourselves focusing on the wrong things and the wrong thought patterns.  If we are going to be spending our energy anyway, why not spend it in constructive ways.  Spend it focusing on the blessings you have received.  You may not think you have anything to be thankful for, but if you are breathing, you have something to be thankful for.

What do you think?  How can you spend your focus in more creative and productive ways?

Be Who You Be, Even When Nobody Can See

(Right off the bat…excuse the grammar usage in the title – trying to make a point.)

I have to admit that I love the age we live in right now. I mean from a technology and access to information standpoint.

By self-declaration, I am a proud and unabashed maven of gadgets, whiz bang toys and oh, I can’t forget about cell phones…I l-o-o-v-v-e new cell phones. To put it bluntly, I am a techno geek.

I got to thinking the other day about this whole “social” media phenomenon and how people have become so engulfed in communicating this way, anonymously, without actual human contact, seemingly without restrictions or boundaries.

Earlier this year, a study came out (http://bit.ly/5uV2) declaring people visited Facebook, the most popular “social” media site nearly 1.2 billion a month, MySpace more than 810-million times a month and Twitter more than half a billion times during a typical 30-day period. That’s a lot of visits and a lot of time behind a computer screen for a lot of people.

Hug it Out…

An article appeared in the New York Times in recently, taking an interesting angle on the whole Swine Flu (H1N1) thing. Undoubtedly, the second coming of the virus (the first being in the Spring of this year) is being anticipated and feared by the general population and people have begun to prepare themselves and for many, there is an intense look at how we do everything we do.

Following the advice our mothers told us when we were young, healthcare experts are saying, over and over that following basic hygiene, cough etiquette, hand washing and staying home if you are sick are the best ways to avoid the onslaught (unless you have a weakened immune system). But, what about how we all greet one another and show general affection towards those we meet or come in contact with on a regular basis?