A Second Cup

Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:29:00 +0000

The other day, a friend of mine who had recently been through a divorce and some bad relationships told me that it was time to, "Rediscover who I am."

That's a necessary part of rebuilding a life, I think. But then I got to wondering, does that process of self-discovery ever get finished?

So I asked my Grandpa, who has the wisdom and experience of age. His response:

The question is not, "Who am I?" but rather, "Who am I today?"

Who we are changes every day, every year. It's not a fixed identity that we discover, but rather something we create, until the day we die. It is a process not only of reflection, but also of forward motion, growth, and action.

Health Care and Education Reform

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:34:00 +0000

I'm a big proponent of both. But.

But.

But it seems like the government is trying to reinvent the wheel, by creating new systems rather than fixing the old.

Regarding education, rather than setting up programs for every student to go to college, why not fix high school so that a diploma is worth something? The system for educating everyone is already there - we've just watered it down so that a college degree is required for most jobs. If everyone goes to college, the same will happen to the bachelor's degree, and a master's will be the norm for the "good" jobs. All these systems do is prolong adolescence. There's no reason a young adult shouldn't graduate from our public schools job-ready.

And as for health care, there are a lot of good programs that already exist! Arkansas has one called the Comprehensive Health Insurance Pool - it's available to anyone who 1) can't get group insurance, 2) would have to pay 2-3 times as much for private insurance, and 3) is a resident of the state. About half of states have some sort of program like this. Why not just expand them?

I worry about the costs associated with growing these programs. Surely it would be better to improve the efficiency and scope of our existing structures (like public schools) than to keep adding costly new programs.

Fed Up with Food Stamp Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:28:00 +0000

I am sick and tired of the "try living on a food stamp budget for a week/month" stories. Yes, it's nice to see that we can get by on much less than we spend, but:

Food stamps are meant to be supplemental! They are not intended to be used alone to purchase food for an individual or family.

That's why it's called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

What if....

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:58:00 +0000

It's becoming clear that the current events of our economy are changing fundamental aspects of how we live and work. It's made me wonder, what if....

... the corporation becomes obsolete, as more people, by choice or necessity, become entrepreneurs?
... colleges and universities become obsolete, with all the information in the world available at our fingertips? They might be replaced by accredited experts, which a student could cobble together or study under.
... people learned to cook again? The health and social implications of that would be astounding!
... paid cable TV gave way to free, advertising-supported internet TV? Combine this idea with community-supported wireless broadband, and you have something really spectacular.

So many possibilities. Hard times foster necessary changes, and maybe these hard times will make us stronger.

Words of Widsom

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:40:00 +0000

A few years ago I gave my Grandpa O. a book called Doubt. It was massive - and apparently summed up by this passage from page 493, which he copied and sent to me.

Devote yourself to wisdom, self-knowledge, friends, family, and give some attention to community, money, politics and pleasure. Know that none of it brings happiness all that consistently. It's best to stay agile, to keep an open mind. Anyway, if you live long enough, you will likely find yourself believing something that you'd never believe today. Or disbelieving. In a funny way, the one thing you can really count on is doubt. Expect change. Accept death. Enjoy life. As Marcus Aurelius explained, the brains that got you through the troubles you have had so far will get you through any troubles yet to come.

Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:20:00 +0000

I've been freaking out about a mouse infestation in my home (exterminator is coming tomorrow!). Then something happened this evening to put everything in perspective, and I feel much calmer.

The news.

Yep. Mice vs. a "living hell" in Gaza or poverty in Cuba.

I think I can survive mice.

My Political Party Wish List

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:28:00 +0000

One of the things that I hope comes out of this election is a redefinition of the platforms of both major political parties. In the unlikely case that anyone with any clout is reading, here's my wish list. I want a party that is...

Fiscally responsible. Maybe even conservative, in terms of not spending money we don't have.
Environmentally responsible. Able to see that long term, we can't afford NOT to have strict regulations that protect the environment.
For personal responsibility. Government programs should help those who are truly unable to help themselves. For those who are able to work, and but can't find jobs, we have a huge mess of an infrastructure that needs rebuilding. Let's get some public works jobs going. While we're at it, let's raise the minimum wage to something a person can actually live on without further assistance.
Pro consumer and pro-small business. Regulate big business to protect consumers, small business, and the Earth, but let the little guy have the freedom to grow.
Globally aware. Recognize that we live in a "small world," and cooperate with other nations.
Fair. Tax the wealthy and corporations fairly, and stop making the rest of us carry their load. It's become clear that profits don't "trickle down." They go into the pockets of the CEO.
Unintrusive. Stay out of my religion, and let me make my own decisions about my health and education.

Could Birth Control Pills be Outlawed?

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:13:00 +0000

OK, that was a shameless attention-getting title, and not quite what a new proposal by the Bush administration aims at, but it's not too far off the mark. Imagine a return to the days when birth control pills were illegal contraband, though... this is a big step in that direction, and we need a public outcry against it.

The proposal applies to hospitals offering contraception to women in need, and defines abortion as

"any of the various procedures that results in the procedures that result in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth whether before or after implantation."

That includes birth control pills and IUDs. Yes, your birth control pills, according to this plan, are a method of abortion. Now extend this idea a bit further - if this definition sticks, parental notification laws, 24-hour waiting period laws, and other laws aimed at preventing abortion could apply to birth control.

What scares me almost as much as this proposal is the lack of news coverage it's receiving. It's on Reuters and ABC, but is conspicuously missing from CNN and other major news outlets.

Reuters says there's a petition at www.hillpac.com to oppose this measure, but I went there and as of 7 am Central Time the website is incomplete, and there's no petition yet.

What Did You Just Call Me??

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:57:00 +0000

Hun. Dear. Babe, even! These words are from men I'm not romantically involved with. And only one, my "Dear" Dan, is a friendship with clear definitions and limits. But for those fuzzier friendships with the opposite sex, what does it mean when these tender endearments begin to crop up?

I live in the south, so I expect to get called "Hun" when I get my hair cut, go to a restaurant, see an accountant. Usually it's by middle-aged mothery women. Sometimes by older gentlemen. Occasionally by a younger guy, which will make me raise an eyebrow, but I'm pretty sure it's usually meant as a friendly, rather than creepy, gesture.

But when these words come, out of the blue, from the mouths of male friends - especially non-southern male friends where it's not clear if "we're just friends and that's all we'll ever be," does it signify anything, and if so, what?

Wishing for more, with no intention of acting on it?
Testing waters to see how I respond?
Affectionate friendship, and nothing more?

I suppose it doesn't really matter -- what I want out of the friendship/relationship is much more important than the suspected meaning behind these possibly meaningless utterances. But in the meantime, I can't help it that those sweet little words make my heart flutter a bit.

Sane Food Challenge - Overview & Initial Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:09:00 +0000

Tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and meats are pulled from store shelves and restaurants.

Girl Scouts are encouraged to sell something besides cookies, which contribute to the obesity epidemic.

Undercooked eggs are dangerous.

The way food is produced and distributed in America, and the publicity that goes along with it, is, I believe, fundamentally flawed, and that obesity and the ills of mega-agribusiness have a common root in the way we've come to think about our food.

Let's look at the veggies first. For what possible reason would possibly-containing-salmonella tomatoes from 1000 miles away be shipped into Arkansas in the middle of summer? The golden lining in the recent recall was that suddenly locally grown 'matoes were proudly and loudly advertised in restaurants and grocery stores. I'd have bought some, if I didn't have my own supply, even closer.

This year I decided to grow my own. Four 12" pots, and a patch of dirt about 18" x 36" gives me a couple tomatoes and peppers each week, and as much leafy green goodness as I want (it grows fast, and can be continually replanted). Two other (slightly larger) pots are giving me more squash and cucumbers that I can handle. An hour spent planting seeds / seedlings, and an occasional watering, has me eating more of these veggies than I ever have. And they taste better, too (and are no doubt more nutritious). Health, +1. Environment, +1. Sanity, +1.

I hadn't thought about avoiding salmonella risks when I planted my little garden, but the disease must be something very severe to warrant such caution.

Salmonella is, essentially, a bad stomachache. 3-5 days of "stomach bug" symptoms with the risks and treatments one would associate with that. Not pleasant, and risky if you're in poor health or a little baby, but maybe not quite as bad as one would believe, considering the societal warnings.

Well, if it's not so terribly severe, it must at least be common, right? Let's look at eggs:

Scientists estimate that, on average across the U.S., only 1 of every 20,000 eggs might contain the bacteria. So, the likelihood that an egg might contain Se ["salmonella"] is extremely small – 0.005% (five one-thousandths of one percent). At this rate, if you’re an average consumer, you might encounter a contaminated egg once every 84 years.

I think I'll take my chances. I'll keep eating sushi, too.

Now, about those Girl Scout Cookies. Apparently they used to be made by the girl scouts! Yes, the actual girls, not the commercial bakeries employed by the organization.

The cookies have been around for 90 years, starting out with scouts baking sugar cookies at home with their mothers, wrapping them in wax paper and selling them door to door, a dozen for 25 cents.

I'm estimating that'd be about about $5.00 per dozen today (a box of thin mints contains 36 cookies - 3 dozen). Somehow, at $15 a box, I just don't see people gorging themselves on those cookies the way they do on the cheap, mass produced ones that are sold now. What if all mass-produced baked goods became unavailable, and we had to make them ourselves or buy them from girl scouts, who baked them themselves? Suddenly this high calorie food has more value, in the same way as a bottle of good wine. They become something to be savored and brought out for special occasions. Hardly an ingredient in an obesity epidemic.

Wrapping my mind around the broad connections between these trends is like a 3 year old trying to hug a beach ball. It's quite a stretch, and hard to hold onto, but it's definitely there. We have become disconnected from food, affecting how we farm, shop, cook, and eat. The system creates disease outbreaks where there should be none, and removes the reality of food from our national psyche. Quality has been replaced by quantity. Some risks have been downplayed (large-scale farming and cheap artificial ingredients) while others have been exaggerated (salmonella in eggs, sweets and treats in even small quantities), creating a sort of culinary schizophrenia.

There's a challenge here, to reclaim some sort of sanity in the way we grow food, shop, cook, and eat. I'll be thinking about exactly what form it should take - suggestions are welcome.

Suicide Answers

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 13:22:00 +0000

For those who have lost loved ones to suicide, and been plagued by questions like, "What was he thinking?" this article has some of the answers that I, at least, never thought I'd know. Answers that give a sense of closure.

It's also a call to action, a notice that thousands of deaths could be prevented every year by higher bridge barriers and locked up guns.

Mixing Oil and Water

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:24:00 +0000

Oil companies want to drill in protected off-shore areas and protected natural areas on land.

Consumers want lower gas prices, and will probably eventually demand that that oil be extracted.

Environmentalists (many of whom are those same consumers) want to protect these areas, and transition to alternative energy sources.

Why not please everybody? Use those protected areas, which will eventually be drilled anyway, as a bargaining chip. Yes, you can drill there. With environmental safeguards in place, and with a percentage of profits being invested in non-petroleum energy.

That's how it'd be if I ran the zoo.

Vacation Time: How Much Is Enough?

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:53:00 +0000

Today is Day 1, back at work from three weeks off. That's a week more than most United States employees get in a year, but I'm choosing a more Euro-style vacation schedule for myself. Allowing myself three weeks off felt like a momentous decision - would people think I was lazy? Would I lose business? Would I be.... bored? But those doubts were unfounded. Taking this time off was one of the best decisions I've made in a long time.

Week One
The first week was a strange combination of guilt and relief. I kept thinking, "I should be working!" but managed to ignore that little voice. I took myself camping to force time away from the computer and phone, which served as a terrific jump-start to the time off. Mostly, I rested. I slept more than usual. I found myself thinking about work quite a lot, especially the first few days, and made lists of things to remember when I returned.

Week Two
During the second week of my time off, I gradually began to think about work less and less. This week has mostly disappeared in my memory into a fog of laziness. I'd intended to clean my house, but that didn't happen. I read a book. Played computer games. Laid on the couch and watched DVDs. In short, during week two of my vacation, I was utterly lazy.

Week Three
I felt centered, introspective and calm as the third week passed. I wrote in my journal. Rode my bike. My house finally began to improve, without much apparent effort. I began to think about routines, changes I need to make in my life. Thoughts of work began to creep into my head again, but more as possibilities and "want to's" than "have to's."

After this experience, I believe more than ever that the two weeks' vacation allotted to most Americans is simply not enough. For most of those people, the days off come a few at a time, because companies don't allow more than one week off consecutively. But for me, two weeks was barely enough to decompress, and the third week gave me a little time to move forward with positive changes. After two weeks, I'd have dreaded returning to work. After three, I am energized, even looking forward to it.

This sort of time off is a policy I intend to implement in my own work life. Three weeks off, a couple times a year, with a few more days here and there as needed. After this experience, I believe without a doubt that if more people were allowed this sort of vacation schedule, we would be happier, healthier, and more creative and productive as a nation. Marriages would be stronger, crime rates lower. We'd lose weight and have lower rates of mental illness.

Sadly, most people don't have the freedom to choose their own vacation days. But maybe the trend toward flexible work hours will begin to include more vacation time, and those who hold the reins on our time off will realize the benefit of a relaxed, creative work force.

Making More Work Out of Free Time

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:21:00 +0000

This strikes me as absolutely insane:

...TimeBanks USA, a nonprofit group that treats time as money, to put the brakes on people's high-velocity lifestyles. TimeBanks members barter blocks of time known as "time dollars." One member may, for example, buy groceries for a stranger in exchange for someone else walking their dog.

So they're trading their time - in the form of doing work for someone else - to have other jobs done for them. Why not just get a second job and hire a personal assistant or dog walker? How is it any different?

After all, isn't employed work just a formalized way of trading your time (and expertise) for money?

How, by any stretch of the imagination, is this "slowing down?"

Let's Get Negative, But Stay Real

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:59:00 +0000

I'm a little disgusted with the Democratic party, after reading this article from CNN. Apparently the Dems are attacking each other for being too negative, which would be fine and dandy - a valid criticism - if said negativity were limited to the slinging of irrelevant mud. But this really, really bothers me: Clinton, complaining about one of Obama's "negative" ads, said,

I just heard that my opponent has put out an ad attacking my health care plan...

Wait a minute, isn't that what they're supposed to be attacking, criticizing, and debating? How can we, the voters, possibly make an educated choice about a candidate if an attack on one of the most relevant issues of this election is viewed as taboo "negative campaigning?"

Take your 5-Year Plan And...

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:35:00 +0000

You can try to control your life, and plan it out as meticulously as you do a Power Point presentation, or you can simply let life present itself to you, and you make the decisions as they come.

I ran across those words this morning, and it struck me that we're conditioned to believe that planning is better, in spite of the fact that plans inevitably go awry, and Plan A becomes Plan B becomes Plan C. Result? We feel like we failed because life steered us away from Plan A.

I've never been one for 5-year plans. I sometimes make 2-year plans, but even those end up being rearranged quite a bit. Two years ago, I thought I'd have a lot more freelance work coming my way, by now, than I actually do. My two-year plan said that if I wasn't making a good salary by now, I'd go back to a "regular" job. According to that plan, I have failed. But it doesn't make any sense at all to throw in the towel. I've learned a lot, and am still learning. I'm more hire-able than I was, in fields I'm interested in. I'm a better artist, a better programmer, and (I think) a better friend than I was. I know more people. I've seen and done more. My bank account is still in the black.

How, by any definition, can that be considered failure? If anything, it is the plan that failed.

Goals are helpful. Plans, not so much. I have goals to learn ActionScript, enjoy life, not go broke, and most recently, learn to play the cello. Two years ago, I'd have said that ActionScript would be a waste of time, because people don't like plugins and Flash isn't search-engine friendly. I hadn't even imagined that I'd want to play the cello, nor that I could live comfortably on less than $20,000 a year.

Everything changes.

What's around the corner? Who knows! Do I want to pour time and energy into plans that no longer apply, when circumstances change? Absolutely not. I'd much rather just make my decisions as they come, with a rational long-term view in mind. Goals like don't go broke, keep learning, get to know people - those will help in any situation. Today, I'll solve today's problems, and make today's decisions.

Sufficient unto today is the evil thereof.

The One Thing Everybody Wants

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:00:00 +0000

We all want to be happy.

I'd read this, but it didn't really sink in until Saturday evening. There's a woman, in a group I was playing a game with, who I really don't like much. I won't go into why - there are a number of reasons, some petty, some not. As I was lying in bed that night, falling asleep, I realized something:

She just wants to be happy. That's all she's trying to do.

Suddenly, I couldn't dislike her anymore. Her ways of pursuing happiness may not be effective for her - they certainly wouldn't be effective for me - but it doesn't change what they are. I'm not condoning meanness or cruelty, just recognizing that each of us is different. We each learn that different types of actions bring different types of rewards, and sometimes even if those beliefs no longer hold true, we cling to them. We're all just doing our best.

I challenge you to try thinking of someone you dislike, and re-framing their actions as their own pursuit of happiness. I'd love to hear what happens.

What You Want, You Already Have

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:14:00 +0000

I hit a pretty low spot this weekend, both personally (my relationship with myself and the universe) and in my relationship with the man I'm seeing ("boyfriend" sounds so sixth-grade). That darkness had me seeking out ways to retreat, to find wholeness again, and I came across the website of a local monastery. I'm not Christian, never mind Catholic, but feeling lost, this way of life appealed to me, and I woke up this morning and decided to spend some time before breakfast with a Buddhist book I've been meaning to read, and some time for contemplation and meditation.

I was not disappointed.

I feel better than I have in a long time, and realized a few important things that I'd forgotten.

What I wanted, I had. I just couldn't see it because I was looking so hard. In my relentless pursuit of more "together" time, to try to feel more connected, I prevented the very thing I was seeking from happening. He, too, had needed some personal space, but had been trying to give me what I wanted, and neglected himself. So neither of us had anything to give the other, but we kept on doggedly trying. My relationship with a lesser man would have ended this weekend. I'm glad this one didn't.

I need daily meditations. Even though I'm not religious, a spiritual discipline (taking time to reflect and learn from various philosophical and religious teachings) has always made me feel grounded and centered. It gives me a reason to be healthy, to work, to live. When I ignore this part of my life for too long, I start to feel lost in the universe. Now I feel found again.

So I think I'll adopt "morning prayers" (prayer, meditation, reading, etc) as part of my daily routine. I feel a peace and clarity today that I know will only grow over time.

Failing Schools? Or Failing Society?

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:38:00 +0000

I am sick of reading about America's "failing schools," as though the school system were to blame for anti-intellectualism in this country.

I studied to be a teacher. My mom is a teacher in a rural school district. I did my internship in a wealthy suburban school. Then I taught in an underfunded inner-city urban school. In each of those systems, the majority of teachers are dedicated, capable professionals. Teachers and schools are not the cause of under-achievement in American students.

American hubris and over-busy-ness are.

Parents (and students!) think they know better than teachers, how to teach. Government thinks it knows better than a teacher who interacts with students every day. And... here's the biggie ... as a nation, we have lost faith in experts of all kinds, and think the individual, however uneducated, knows best. We see no reason to work hard and learn. No reason to listen. We refuse to put aside our own self-importance to hear what someone with more experience than ourselves has to say.

Even for those who value education, how many people (adults) actually take the time to read, think, and discuss intellectual issues, whether in the realm of science, politics, or philosophy? No, we'd much rather sit back and watch American Idol. Our jobs, commutes, and general pursuit of the American Dream leaves us without energy to pursue artistic or intellectual growth. We model this passive, anti-learning behavior every day for our children, yet we expect our children to be intellectual giants.

Then we blame schools and teachers when they fail to live up to our expectations.

Let's stop blaming schools, and start taking personal responsibility for becoming an intellectually curious society. With a dose of humility, and slowing down enough to learn from and discuss the vast accumulation of knowledge available to us, we can, indeed, raise a generation well-prepared to compete in a global economy.

Love is Not a Feeling

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:37:00 +0000

I read that somewhere, once, though I'm not sure where.

What is love, then? Love is perinneal and enduring. Feelings are fleeting and can change in a moment. If you're in a relationship, and your feelings for your "love" change because your needs are not being met, do you really love that person? I'm not advocating staying in a relationship where you're unhappy - sometimes you can love someone but know that staying with them would mean sacrificing your own happiness, which brings up another question:

Does love have anything to do with happiness?

I don't know.

But here's what I do know. I have friends who I love regardless of how often they call, or how often we see each other. My happiness in our friendship has nothing to do with how much time we spend together. But in dating relationships, our hormones go nuts, we "fall in love" (a feeling), but it's a selfish love that fades when the object of our love doesn't give us the attention we want, or what we think we should receive.

True love is unconditional, and is only one part of what's needed for a good relationship. My mom once confided to me, "I'm very glad I fell in love with a man I can live with, and that I can live with the man I love."

And that's what I wish for, for all of us, on Valentine's Day.

I Finally Decided to Cancel Cable

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:57:00 +0000

I'd been thinking about doing it for a while, worried that I'd miss it, that maybe I should keep it for social reasons. But I can get rabbit ears for if I just want to zone-out with TV for a while, and most of the shows I'd want to watch are available either online, or on DVD. So what, exactly, was I paying for?

I'm not sure.

Which is probably why it felt so good to cancel it.

I'll now pay only $41/month to the cable company, for my internet service. Maybe I'll use the savings to go on a vacation, which is a much better use of money than to fill a box that's rarely on with shows I mostly don't want to watch.

What I Learned Today from World of Warcraft

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:46:00 +0000

Maybe it should be called World of Warcrack, it's so addictive. But there are things to be learned from the game, I'm sure.

I've been thinking about what it is that makes the game so addictive, and how those things can be created or applied to "Real Life" to help me get more done, and be happier doing it. At first I thought it was the quest-reward mechanic, where you have specific goals and get immediate rewards. But that, I discovered, is only a small part of what makes the game so enticing.

It's meditative, in a weird kind of way. You go out, you do your thing that you've done a million times, to kill a bigger and tougher enemy. It really doesn't require much thought - just enough decision-making to keep it from being boring.

... and now for what appears to be unrelated ....

I've started washing the dishes by hand, rather than using the dishwasher. I'd let them pile up a bit, and had a full sink-full this today. I was listening to music that to me, goes well with the "hearth and home" theme of washing dishes or other housework. And something hit me.

Washing dishes felt like questing.

What?!?!

Yep. It had the same not-too-difficult and not-too-boring flow as doing a "green" (easy-ish) World of Warcraft quest! After some thought, I realized it felt that way because 1) I was fully engaged in what I was doing, and 2) I had attributed emotional meaning to the task (warm homey feelings).

I wonder if part of the appeal of games like WoW is that they are a needed respite from information overload and decision making. Or if maybe I'm part of a generation that somehow didn't learn to be fully engaged and emotionally connected to "work." (Or if any generation before has, either?)

Surely life can become as addictive and appealing as a rather repetitive game.

Mortality and Mattering

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:43:00 +0000

I read yesterday that the great Sheldon Brown passed away last weekend. As I was reading the comments of people on bikeforums, I kept thinking, "Wow, this is a man who really left his mark on the world." I've also been thinking of my grandparents - 3 still living and nearing 90 years old, who are beginning the process of wrapping up their lives. They too, have left their mark, each in a different way.

But the thing I see in common among these four people, is that when you devote yourself to something you're passionate about, and share that passion with others - whether through your writing, music, art, knowledge, or simple caring and conversation - you leave a substantial mark on the world that will last long after you're gone.

It makes me want to really search my soul for what I can contribute. To stop chasing after all the things I could do, but only by faking it. In ten years, will I have produced anything real? Or will I have nothing but a half-hearted pile of "good enough" garbage?

Leaving your mark on the world doesn't require fame. It only requires you to be honest with yourself, and then reaching out, and giving what you can to those you touch.

Listen to Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:11:00 +0000

There's a quiet voice that tells you exactly what, at any given moment, you need to do to be happy and satisfied.

The only hard part is learning to listen to it.

Five Ways to Be More Productive in Less Time

noreply@blogger.com (Becky) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:48:00 +0000

Know what you're working on. Don't let your work time feel aimless. Know what you're doing, and if you find yourself wandering, take a break, or decide what's important that you should be doing. Always have a task and a goal.
Make short to-do lists. Ideally, choose no more than three big things to accomplish today. Make them the most important things you can do, that will have the most impact on your goals. You may want to capture all the other things that you may want to do someday on a separate list. I maintain three lists: All the things I could do today, Three things I will do today, and a "Maybe" list for ideas and things I'm not sure I want to do at all, but haven't decided about yet.
Take breaks. You'll be much more focused and productive if you stay fresh and energized.
Be organized. Don't waste time having to search for things you need to do your job.
Reduce or eliminate interruptions. As much as possible, turn off IMs and email during your work time. Checking email twice a day - mid morning and mid afternoon - is sufficient for most people.