In Memoriam

On Sundays ABC airs a political show called “This Week”.  At the end of each show, before the Sunday funnies, there is a segment called “In Memoriam.”  During this segment people who have died during the week, who have made an impact on our society in some way, are honored. I mention this because since our invasion of Iraq after 9/11, George Stephanopolous (host until January 2010) started the segment by saying (don’t know what previous hosts said) “This week, the pentagon released the names of # service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan…” Music played in the background (“Adagio For Strings "The Village"”), and there was a listing of the names, rank and ages of the service men and women who were killed that week.  Christiane Amanpour has continued the segment after a brief period of not airing it.

I mention this segment because depth of the human sacrifice is crystal clear every week.  It is a sobering reality check that all of us should remember.   We may read or hear about numbers of the lives that are lost, but the names, the people, the flesh and blood, the REAL men and women who risked and are risking their lives every day need to be in our thoughts. 

Today, I honor those individuals who lost their lives in wars and battles and I pray for the families and loved ones they left behind.  The greatest sacrifice of any one person is to give their life for their country, a cause, a person, an ideology or a belief. 

THANK YOU for your choice to serve.  We are, as a nation, indebted to you and your family for the sacrifice that you’ve made.

Get off of Facebook…!

As I watched the news this week the “fun” reports included a piece on graduation ceremonies and the commencement speeches for Spring 2011.  Two of the sound bites stuck with me and one I will share with you.  One of the speakers (I cannot remember his name) told graduates to “get off of Facebook and get into someone’s face!”

While this may make you smile, the truth of his statement resounded with me.  While there are a “gazillion” benefits of social media and virtual networking, some of the millennium generation is losing the art of basic face-to-face communication.  They do not have the strongest skills in actually shaking someone’s hand, looking a person in the eye, and communicating with words beyond “LOL”, “BRB” and “TTYL.”  There are subtleties in body language, voice intonation and eye contact (or lack thereof) that you cannot read between the lines and convey or receive in the same way while emailing, texting, IM’ing, chatting, tweeting and “Face booking.”

In today’s economy with 75% of jobs being found via networking, it may be good to make the first contact online, but at some point, you have to talk to someone, and it is that conversation that may make the difference between getting the job or referral or not. We have to know how to talk about the weather, the world and our value-add to the company or institution.  We must remember how to give our elevator speech.  

You know, it’s the 1 minute (ok maybe a little longer, but very short) spiel about ourselves that we should be able to give to anyone on the spot (or perhaps in an elevator!).  It should entail who we are, what we can do, what we add, and what we want or are looking for.  This is something that is ideally done live, in person (cara a cara) or on the phone or video conferencing only if absolutely necessary.  It’s something that you can type, but it really isn’t the same as the passion that would be coming out of your mouth when you talk about yourself to a person - not a computer screen.

You can’t do that on Facebook!  I concur with the commencement speaker.  Get off of Facebook!  Get in someone’s face and make LIVE connections with the real world.  There are people behind the computers and phones who are just waiting to meet you! .. Facebook them later! :^)

Pop Culture Sound Bite

While pop culture is simply NOT the most important thing in the world, it is worth noting and being in the KNOW with what is going on every now and then.  This week was definitely a noteworthy week of “goings on”.  We’ll begin with the queen of daytime talk, and arguably one the biggest entertainment influences of the last quarter of a century, OPRAH!

She has been on television on her own show for 25 years and many of us cannot remember a day in our lives when we could not see her on The Oprah Show.  She started her own book club with an international following.  She has “aha” moments and her favorite things.  She has told stories, touched lives and honored legends.  She’s gone through her moments of personal struggle, and shared her pains with us.  She has opened her own school, helped countless others fulfill their wildest dreams and set an example for the world on what it means to give to strangers in the global collective.  Whether you are a fan of hers or not, unequivocally she has been a force in our lives either directly or indirectly, and no one will be able to say again each and every day, “Did you see Oprah?”

…. On another note, Scotty McCreery is the 2^nd winner of American Idol from North Carolina.  I must confess that I did not watch this season, but there must be something in NC water that births singers...  

Another reality show that ended this week was Dancing with the Stars.  Hines Ward of the Pittsburg Steelers won the trophy in season 12.  While I have not watched dancing with the stars every season, Hines has been a joy to watch and was consistent throughout the season.  While Chelsea Kane was arguably the best dancer and Kirstie Alley the most endearing, Hines’ charm oozed out of every dance.  I’m glad his fans voted so that he could win the Mirror Ball Trophy.

Cheers to Oprah, Scotty & Hines! 

Girls (and guys) just want to have fun…

“Work hard, play hard” this mantra I remember hearing as I started the world of work, but I never understood or got around to the playing hard because there was always so much work to do!  When I finally got some time off, it took up to a good 3 days to “come down” off of the work schedule, deprogram, and then attempt to have fun.  Sometimes it took longer.  It seems like by the time I’m having fun, it’s time to go back to work!  The weekends needed to be three days instead of two.  It’s CRAZY!

Part of this is cultural.  Here in the U.S., time is money, and if you’re not multitasking, then you’re not productive.  Ultimately, due to your lack of work-ethic, you’ll never reach your goals or get anywhere in life.  You’ve heard this, right?  Who has time to have fun?  And if you are relaxing, you could check email or something, right?  Don’t just sit there doing.. wait for it.. gasp... nothing!

On the flip side, we work ourselves so much that we don’t know how to relax, our diets are less than stellar, we spend time away from family and friends, and we’re all work and no play.  We never really have fun and enjoy life.  There are some people who have found balance, and you are probably a little healthier (mentally & emotionally) than you were when you weren’t balanced.  Please pray for those of us who haven’t gotten it, yet!

The solution?  Work hard for your money, AND enjoy your life as an everyday part of your life.  Find something to enjoy each day instead of saying that you’ll relax “when…”  When what?  “When” never seems to come, and we’re always in the rat-race.  You know, the race where you get up, take a shower, get dressed, go to work, work really hard doing something, eat some, get gas, buy food, clean the house, wash clothes, spend 15 minutes with your significant other/kids go to sleep, and get up again…  When are you going to play hard?

Starting today, create 15 minutes in your schedule that you are doing something that YOU like to do.  This may mean taking out 15 minutes of stuff that you don’t need to do anyway.  Take 15 minutes for you.  Read a book, ride a bike, go to the park with your kids, take a nap.  Whatever you do, DON’T WORK or even think about work!  From here, slowly work your way up to more time to “chillax” and enjoy life.  You work hard, and you deserve to enjoy yourself.  Don’t wait for “when”.  When is NOW!

"When the working day is done…."

Metamorphosis

Lent is over, Easter has passed, and a new season has begun.  Faith without works is dead so I am on a journey to put some action behind my faith.  After we have placed God in the center of our lives, we should get to work. 

A spiritual leader with a large global audience says that if we do what we can do, then God will do what we can’t do.  I’m getting real about what I can really do in my life… and this blog!

A reader commented that some variety in my blog would add some spice to my current blog, and another said that this space could be a place for healing for participants in this journey.  I concur, and hope to add diversity.  When we find our voices, sometimes it changes as we grow.  I’m experiencing a growth spurt right now.

As I make decisions about my life, I’m hoping that I’m taking the best possible route towards my destination.  At the same time I realize that even if I make a mistake that all things will work together towards my good and God’s purpose.

Today, I still write about God (it’s hard for me not to).  However, stay tuned to some sugar, spice, salt… and salsa.  My voice is in transition and it is AWESOME!

What’s going on?

Where were you?  Yesterday marked another defining moment for those of us who call ourselves “Americans” and for all of those who are citizens of the world.  Almost ten years ago on 9/11 over 3,000 people lost their lives on an attack lead by Osama Bin Laden on U.S. soil.  The U.S. government vowed that he would be captured or killed, and justice would be served.  Yesterday, under the leadership of Barak Obama, the U.S. fulfilled its promise and U.S. special forces troops killed the human symbol of terrorism in the world.  Where were you when you heard the news?  In tandem did you immediately remember where you were on 9/11/2001?

Where are we now?  These have been defining moments since this new millennium started over a decade ago.  So much has happened that have been acts of humankind as well as Mother Nature.  We have witnessed tsunamis in Sri Lanka & Japan, Hurricane Katrina, earthquakes in Haiti & Japan, relentless tornadoes that have claimed over 300 lives in 2011, minors trapped & rescued in Chile, the worst winter in recent memory in the U.S., oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, domestic terrorists who shot a congresswoman on U.S. soil, bombings in the subways of Madrid and countless other random acts of violence around the world, the wedding of the eldest son of the late Princess Diana of England, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the overturning of the Egyptian government, civil war in Libya, the U.S. economy in extreme debt, recession and on the brink of a second Great Depression and the election of the first Black president of the U.S.A. just to name a few.  Where were you?

Do you remember where you were during these events and how they have impacted your life?  Is anything different for you now?  Are you more connected or disconnected to the world around you?  Someone said to me once that things in general don’t change much.  People still get up, go to work and live their everyday lives in spite of the goings on that happen around them.  Are we as a world not changing at all?  Are things worse or better than they were ten years ago?  Are we more connected or disconnected to each other and the world at large?

An entire generation has been marked by the devastation that occurred in 2001 and all of the other events that followed.  They only know as their reality a world with terrorism, extreme natural occurrences and an America that has military presence in multiple regions in the Middle East (Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Pakistan).  What’s going on?

We have closed a chapter with Bin Laden defeated.  However, we must be aware that there are still lives that are in pieces because of the devastation I just mentioned.  We cannot forget the need of our brothers and sisters in the world.  Where were you when you heard the news?  Where are you now?  Are you connected?  What’s going on?...

Such a Time as This

Are you pleased with yourself?  Are you pleased with the creation that God made on the inside and outside of YOU? Before answering, consider that the Creator only creates perfection... gasp!

Yes, that means you are PERFECT.  Now, our choices and what we do are not always perfect, nor do they always align with God’s character, nature and desire for us, BUT, He made us perfectly.  He makes no mistakes.  He doesn’t look at YOU and think – “boy, what have I done?”  God knew you in your mother’s womb, and He knows you now.  Do you think you’re too much for God?

He created you for such a time as this.  You are here – exactly when and where you are supposed to be.  You may be side-tracked from your goal or purpose, but you being here right now, is not a mistake or an error in timing on God’s part.  Stop thinking something is wrong with you.

Think positively about yourself and who you are.  Embrace yourself and where you are in your life right now.  If there is something about yourself (a habit or wrong thinking) that you believe you would be better off without, then start changing it, but don’t question the God who created you.  Love yourself and accept yourself as the divine creation that you are.  You are here for such a time as this!