Hot Buttons

Got a Hot Button?
It's at 6:30 a.m. I finally mail that e-mail with my great and big financial appeal for a contribution. What am I doing up so early -- or is it so late?

I want to fill up two pages now with words. I want just to allow the words of flow and see a great my good friend dragon speak naturally does perform. And that is exactly what I'm going to do.

There are days that are like no other. What are they, I don't exactly know! But aren't there days you just know will be lucky days? Aren't there days when you just feel that everything is going to go just right!?

Maybe they are, maybe they're not. But I think there's a big difference between a day with good attitude or a day with bad attitude. Yes, it all boils down to that very simple, tired, old worn out phrase and cliché: Attitude!

As a wise scholar once said: You are not what you think you are -- but what you think, you are! 98% of it is in the mind. No, not all of it. Some things actually occur externally. If a person is, God forbid, hit by a truck, that is not in the mind. If a person breaks out with yellow fever, that is not in the mind. But perceived slights, insults, fences -- or hesitation, shyness, or lack of assertiveness -- that IS in the mind.

And the mind, is either our best friend or our worst enemy. I've lived with my mind, for many many years. An understatement. There are so many buttons in my mind that I wish I could turn off. There are so many hot buttons that I wish I could cool down. And there are so many hesitation buttons that just stand in my way.

But as time marches on, I must attack these buttons and get them out of my way quickly. Because life is not going to wait for me to catch up. And today, is never coming back again.

I don't know, I just don't know. But I sure wish I could short-circuit some of these buttons.

Cold Bones

Bones get Cold

Yes my friend, bones can get cold. And when they do -- when the wind and the dampness and the cold seeps into the bones, you feel it!

Over 15 years ago on an early morning, I slipped on the cold wet pavement and fell down. I got up and I had fractured my humerus bone. That's the bone that connects the shoulder to the elbow, for those not familiar. For weeks after that, I could not sleep in a bed, but had to sleep in a recliner. And all I could do to heal the bone was to wear a sling for probably a month or more.

Well thankfully 15 years later the bone has healed. But the damage lingers. When it gets cold outside, or damp, I feel a pain -- sometimes a stabbing pain -- in my arm. And when I sleep at night, if I sleep on that shoulder I feel it.

It's just a reminder, and a painful one that some things never go away.

Yes, I'm trying to think of words to dictate to continue to train my dictation software, "Dragon, Naturally Speaking." But my ideas are running dry this morning. Nothing seems to come to mind. Writers block? Probably. Not exactly a sin or crime -- but frustrating nonetheless.

So I have to do rapid dictation. Rapid dictation as you must know from our previous posts, is where I just let the words pour out. It's as if you pinch yourself and you say get them out, get them out, get them out. But say what, or is it best to say nothing at all?

The truth is I am torn inside me at this moment. I have other obligations and I must tend to and I'm dodging them. Primarily, I have to call someone and try to negotiate a contribution from them to a good cause. And I'm not very comfortable doing so. So I struggle -- and procrastinate.

Okay, enough for now.

All Tied Up with Pins and Needles

"I'll Try."

What do those two words mean? When you ask someone to do a task, either as a favor or an obligation -- what is the meaning of the response "I'll try?" Will you do it, or won’t you do it? You’ll ‘try’ to see if you can close the door? Meet the family at 7 p.m. in Sacramento? Actually take out the trash?

We have allowed clichés to seep into our culture and consciousness and we tolerate them, despite the fact that they mean different things to different people. Consequently, our communication is stifled, confused, and often misunderstood.

A case in point: "I'll see you later." You will? How? You’re taking a plane to Kalamazoo, and I'm going back to Baltimore. Where will you see me??

Another example: "let's have lunch sometime." Oh? Actually, I expect to have lunch every-time; today, tomorrow, and probably the next day too. Did you mean that we ought to have lunch together? But you're flying to Kalamazoo -- and your plane is leaving in an hour. Gosh, that's why I drove you to the airport! And now you think of lunch?!

And what about: "I'm sitting on pins and needles." Well for heavens sake, get up! That's got to be mighty painful, all those pins and needles. And there you are, sitting on them?!

And finally, for now: "I'm all tied up." As in, "I'd love to go to lunch with you but I'm all tied up." You are? Would you like me to call the police? Are you tied up of your own free will? Or has someone done this to you? Is this a daily occurrence?

These expressions and clichés are not really bothersome for us locals, because we've learned to read between the lines. But we need to realize that our language, English, has become a global form of communication -- especially with the Internet. Using clichés in an international arena can cause much confusion. The gentleman from Bolivia, or the woman from Indonesia, who have struggled to master the English-language, just get more confused when they have to decide about taking lunch sometime with someone who is sitting on pins and needles and all tied up.

On Crossing the Threshold to a New Year

On Crossing the Threshold to a New Year

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

by Robert Frost.

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it's queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there's some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Every year at the stroke of midnight, the night between December 31 and January 1, we usher in a "New Year."

A quick thought for all of us. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.

As each year fades and each new one arrives, we become more aware of the ticking clock. The journey remains long, but we dare not slacken.

Because in truth, we all have -- promises to keep.

And we've got a lot more to go, to reach our destination. And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.

A very happy and thoughtful New Year's to you all!