Quotation Station...
From the Movie "Broken Trails":
"We're all travelers in this world,
From the sweet grass,
To the Packin' house...
Birth till death
We travel between the Eternities."
"Plants are the young of the world, vessels of helath and vigor... they grope ever upward toward consciousness."
Ralph Wlado Emerson (1803-1882)
Fear less, hope more;eat less, chew more;whine less, breathe more;talk less, say more;love more, and all good things will be yours.
-Swedish proverb
Knowing When to Improvise...
Knowing When to Improviseby Patricia Ryan Madson[
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A successful life involves both planning and improvising. Sometimes we actually do need a script. Those scripts that are working well for us (positive habits, for example) should be preserved and treasured. Spontaneity for its own sake is never the key. Knowing which strategy to use involves examining things clearly. Our moment-to-moment experience is improvisational, even though it exists within a structure or plan. That is, life brings us opportunities, question, and problems to solve, and we respond in real time, trying to make sense out of each challenge or offer. How we live our lives within the structure of our day is an eternal improvisation.
The invitation to improvise is not a prescription for a careless approach to life. True improvisation is always an act of responsibility; it implies a conscious morality. We may know individuals who flaunt spontaneity as the supreme virtue and excuse thoughtless or selfish behavior in the name of "going with the flow." I am reminded of an inscription on a gold-lettered plaque over an oak bar in a Welsh bar: Pisces Mortui Solum Cum Flumine Natant. ("Only dead fish go with the flow.") Failure to plan can have real consequences. Scheduling medical checkups is important. It is important to buy airline tickets in advance, fill up the gas tank before the fuel gauge signals empty, and pay a parking ticket the day you receive it. [...]
You are always the one steering the canoe, however. Sometimes on the white-water-rapids course it is both relaxing and exhilarating to be swept along by the swells, oars at rest, watching the scenery and marveling at the ease of it all. And sometimes we must paddle [...] against the current in order to take a fork in the river.
In 1982 I took a year off from teaching to circumnavigate the globe. I bought a one-way around-the-world airline ticket. I was allowed to make as many stops as I liked, in the line of direction, but couldn't backtrack or go too far north or south of my last stop, and I had to complete my journey within twelve months. Buying the ticket gave me a sense of stability (planning); experiencing all the places was the great adventure. Planning provided a platform for me to improvise. Taking an improvised step always leads you somewhere.
Notice where you are going.
--Patricia Ryan Madson, From "Improv Wisdom"
Journal Jottings...
As ironic as it may seem, I was inspired to begin this blog by mean and rude people. Through people I've met, both good and bad, it continues to blow me away how some people can be to others without knowing them or never even meeting them before. Sometimes my mind asks, "What have I ever done to you? I don't even know you!" I'll be the first to admit to some pretty bad days, and I'm sure there will be much opportuntiy for more, but that is still no reason to treat people crappy. I just so badly wanted to take the negetivity from myself, and those around me and turn that energy into goodness, happiness, love and inspiration. It is so easy to get caught up in the financial stress, work worries, and just too much stuff going on in our lives, but we can still be good and happy people. That goodness has seemed to have been lost among much of society, especially through kids...and they are the source. I truely believe kids are what, when all is said and donewill change the world, will change all of us. We must be the examples, but more importantly we must be willing for these little people to teach us, and for us to actually learn from them. I get the biggest kick out of people who are so annoyed by kids and crying babies, like they never were one...get over yourself, and try to use a little patience. Have some fun. If you do good, good will come to you.
-2005
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