Humor can alter any situation and help us cope at the very instant we are laughing.

-Allen Klein.

Can you laugh?

They say that laughter is the best medicine.  Obviously that isn't always the case, but having a good laugh, just at the right time can really ease the tension and release stress.  Have you ever had one of those laughs that was fueled not just by humor, but stress and nerves.  I have, and I've found myself laughing all the harder because it was a release.  The funny thing was (pun intended) as I was laughing I knew it was making me feel better.  Not just because of the funny thing that caused the laughter, but because I needed to let go of the tension and burden of holding on to things that kept me down.  There really isn't any reason to hold on to baggage and when you let it go, it feels amazing.

Humor makes it fun

There are times when serious attitudes and outlooks are wholly appropriate.  At the same time, there's no reason to be uptight and deliberately coarse or mirthless.  You don't have to use crude or offensive jokes to be humorous.  In fact, you just need to see things in a different light.  Sometimes the most innocuous comments can be funny if timed just right.  Humor among coworkers, friends, family, can help build a special bond, and laughing makes things more memorable. 

When people get together and talk about shared experiences, it's a lot more fun to say "remember that time..." and end the story with a great laugh that everyone can share.  And really that's the best thing, being able to share a good feeling with people you care about. 

So go ahead, have a good laugh!

While there's life, there's hope.

- Marcus Tullius Cicero.   

Struggles of life

There will always be struggles in your life.  Things will always present themselves that seem insurmountable, unbelievable, and oppressive.  In short, life is a challenge.  In fact, life is the single greatest challenge you will ever face.  It’s difficult by nature, unforgiving and callous too.  You will suffer, you will despair, you will cry and you will feel sorrow.  It’s unavoidable.  But guess what!  There is good news, and it is this: There is Hope.  As our famous quote from Cicero states, while there is life, there’s hope.  Do you know what that means?  It means that life doesn’t have to be all gloom and doom.  Every moment you live is a chance to turn things around, change your perspective, find your focus, achieve your goals, and continue on your mission.  All you need is hope. 

So, what is hope and why is it special.

Pandora’s box 

The ancient Greek myth of Pandora’s Box tells us that even though the world is full of hateful, evil things, not all is lost.  Pandora was unable to resist the temptation of looking inside the box Zeus had given her, but she managed to close it before the one positive thing inside was lost; that thing was hope.  The ancient Greeks understood the power of Hope.  Hope is the power to change your perspective in order to find the positive path.  Even if all things seem lost, as long as you have hope, things might just change for the better.  Now, it takes more than hope to make a positive impact against your struggles, but hope is the start.  

Keeping your personal hope alive

In your day-to-day life, how do you prevent all the negative, dark, and destructive elements from poisoning you with despair and insecurity?  You start with being open to the possibility that things can be different.  At first, you don’t even have to believe that things Will change, just that they might or could change.  That’s where you begin.  Cherish that idea of change, nurture it with constant attention until you start to believe that change Will come.  Remember, it’s your mindset we are focusing on here.  Your hope for the future doesn’t have to be a false one, as long as you continue to develop a solid foundation of positiveness.  That’s what hope can do for you. 

It won’t happen overnight, but keeping hope alive keeps your future alive.  Believing life can change for the better is the first step in making a better life a reality.  You can do it, and it starts with Hope.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post.  Thanks for reading.  

Enjoy the silence.

Sometimes it’s okay to have nothing to say.  Sometimes it’s okay to just be quiet, sit back and enjoy the peace and quiet that can come with inactivity.  Relaxing and letting your mind decompress from the day, or week depending on how stressed you are, can be a great thing.  Not every minute of every day of your life has to be chasing your dream, carrying out your mission, or on your feet.  You are allowed to relax every once and a while.  In fact, it should be part of your schedule.  You know that old saying, ‘All work and no play makes jack a dull boy?’  Well, it’s true.  You have to know when to slow down, take a moment and pause.  Reflecting on what you’ve accomplished for the day, the week, or just at the task at hand is a good way to gauge how your success is going, or not going as the case may be. 

Sometimes I have felt myself pushing too hard and not getting a good return on my time investment.  If that ever happens to you, slow down, stop even.  After I finished my master’s thesis, I wanted to just jump right into my next project.  I thought being busy was the best way to maintain my productivity.  But you know what I found out?  My brain was way over taxed and I needed time to decompress.  I realized and had to accept that I needed time to be silence, relax, and find a new perspective.  It took three months before I felt like I could realistically take on a new challenge.  But you know what?  I’m glad I took that time because now I have so much more mental energy to devote to my new endeavors, it feels invigorating!

So, you should take a look at what has worked, what isn’t working, and what might work.  Sleep on it.  It will be there in the morning.  And if you come to your task with a fresh perspective, you might just be more successful at achieving your goal.  And all of it was because you weren’t afraid to take a minute and relax.

If you have questions or comments, please reply.  Thanks for reading.

Stay positive, it's worth it!

There are highs and lows in everyone's life.  It's a fact and there's pretty much nothing you can do about it.  Good times and bad times.  It can be amazing and shocking just how fast things can turn around from bad to good, or good to bad.  There's an inherent unpredictability to life that is unavoidable.  And the more you try to control your life, and life around you, the more closed off you can and will be to that sudden and dramatic change.  Why is that bad?  Because when you control you become stuck; stuck in patterns and attitudes that insulate and protect you from things that seem harmful.  But there's a price for that false security.  And it's your happiness. 

Keep and open mind.  Fight everyday against the rigid and cold mindset of security.  You must believe that things will get better, you must believe that it won't always be hard, sad, cold, lonely, and depressing.  Change doesn't happen overnight, but the direction of your life can, especially if you keep an eye out for the good things.  Stay positive!


If you have a question or a comment feel free to reply.  Thanks for reading!

What do you get when you cross Moby Dick and Star Trek?

Answer:  Probably one of the greatest scenes in cinema.  Bold claim yes, but consider all that goes into this scene:

(For the above movie clip, All rights are reserved by Paramount pictures, copyright 1996)

Patrick Stewart and Alfre Woodard are both incredible actors.  Herman Melville's book is a classic tail of obsession, revenge, and loss.  Star Trek represents a positive, righteous image of the future.  Put all those together and the emotional and cinematic energy is powerful.  I love this scene.

Okay, that's my dork post for the week.  Enjoy.

Also, ready Moby Dick.  It's a good book.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post.  Thanks for reading, and watching!

What’s the price of your dream?

Ocean of Dreams

Have you ever wanted something so bad that you were willing to sacrifice everything else to get it?  There are so many choices we have to make in life, sometimes it’s difficult to know what to sacrifice and what to hold on to.  Dreams can be powerful motivators in directing your life to a positive state.  However, dreams can be destructive gremlins that ruin everything else if you let them.  It’s okay to have a dream, to want it fulfilled and live the way you want to live, but it always comes at a price.  I’ve heard it said, you have to give to get.  Well I’m sure that’s true, but how much should you give, and how much should you get back?  If you haven’t realized yet, I’m talking about balance.  When your life is balanced, things make sense.  When you are off kilter, things are confusing.  So, if you have a dream and are willing to sacrifice everything else to get it, will that balance your life?  To me, the easy answer is no.

When I was in college, I wanted to graduate.  Obviously graduation represented an accomplishment and proof to the world that I achieved something extraordinary.  Graduating also meant I could get a better job.  But also, and even more important to me, were the experiences I gained while in school.  Yes it was important to get an education, it was important to have credentials and documents, but I was not willing to sacrifice everything to get it.  I read about some people who sacrifice things in advance without knowing the consequences, and it’s sad.  Was their dream to be mired in debt for life?  Of course not, but it goes to show you life can be tipped off balance easily if you don’t pay attention to details.  I worked through college just like a lot of other students.  I also knew exactly why I was there.  And, coming from a poor family, I understood the value of every dollar I earned and spent.  I had to balance my dreams with my reality. 

It’s hard to find balance sometimes.  It may be that you will have to suffer before you come to understand.  I know that’s not comforting, but it is reassuring to know if you pay attention to those details I was talking about, you will find that balance… eventually.  Following your dreams is a worthy endeavor.  Don’t stop.  Just remember that there are many paths to go down in your pursuit.  If something seems way too difficult, complex, or confusing, stop.  You don’t have to change your dream, just change the path you take to get there.  That way, you can still follow your dream without sacrificing everything else you care about to get it.  And that’s a good balance in life!

This amazing painting is by Josephine Wall; it's called Ocean of Dreams.  Check out her online gallery.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reply.  Thanks for reading!

Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.

Today our Famous Quote comes from Robert Heinlein.  Some of you may know him from the movie Starship Troopers, a SciFi film based from his novel.  He also wrote Stranger in a Strange Land, the book from which our quote comes from.  


I like this quote, firstly because it deals about love.  Love is a subject that is wonderful and amazing, but also mystifying and tragic. I also love this quote because it comes from someone who writes SciFi. I'll admit that I love SciFi; yeah I'm a little bit of a geek about it.  Hey, ya gotta love yourself right?


Anyway, there are many forms of love.  I would suggest trying to expose yourself to them.  As Huey Lewis put it, "It might just save your life...!"

I'd love to hear what you think.  Feel free to leave a question or comment.  Thanks for reading!