Remember this:: At Least You’re Living October 27, 2009

You’re mental state relies on your attitude. If you think positively, you have the power to do anything you want. Your mind is free to create, imagine and enjoy the things around you.  You are able to give your full attention and live in the moment.  When you think negatively; however, it is like a thick metal curtain spiraling down in front of you, blocking your thoughts, your actions, your ability to learn and above all, your ability to enjoy the experience you are in.

Negative thoughts are bound to enter your mind, like weeds in a garden. It’s just part of life.  To keep your garden alive and fruitful, however, one needs to be watchful, attentive and put in some hard work to keep the weeds from seeding and taking over everything you have planted and are trying to grow.  That is the same with your mental state, when negative thoughts pop into your head you need to actively pluck them from where they are before they become rooted in your mind.

Last year during the world trip, Mark, then later Suzanne and I, worked to keep life in perspective. Things didn’t always go correctly.  From missing a train to riding on a bus for 24 hours; from finding our room infested with cockroaches to a pickpocket stealing Suzanne’s wallet—we always tried to keep our problems in perspective. Our trick?  To repeat this little phrase when anything went wrong:  and…we’re not working. Whatever the situation…bring it on, we’d face our problem with a smile on our face because we knew that usually we’d have a good story to tell later on.

But, now that I am back to the real world, what is my little phrase to keep life’s problems from getting me down?  I repeat, this: and…at least I’m living. Regardless of the problems I have, at least I’m alive to have them. We are all going to die in a 100 years or less, so why not just focus on enjoying the days we have, laughing at life’s challenges and just be thankful to being alive to experience them.

Think Like A Kid October 24, 2009

No matter how old you are, how much life you’ve experienced, or how wise you think you are, you can always learn something from children.  One lesson that was reinforced to me the other day was to: stop thinking so much and just start!

What an easy concept but often in our big adult heads we forget about this simple phrase, and instead of doing we get stuck in the mode of merely thinking of doing because we are either too afraid, insecure, busy, unsure or wanting to perfect the task at hand. Thus, consequently, what we should or want to do, doesn’t get done.

Have you ever painted a picture with a child? Have you noticed that while you sit there with the paintbrush in your hand staring at the blank white piece of paper trying to think of the “perfect image to paint”, the child has already begun and is in fact almost half way done by the time you start?  Why is that? Why are children so quick to start things?

The answer: because they don’t worry about being perfect. Children aren’t perfectionists, they are merely themselves.  They are the untucked shirt, snot-nosed, hyper-active mini-monkeys that play, laugh, joke and create. They may be a little messy and rambunctious, but man do they have fun.

As we grow up we tend to upgrade our appearance and sanitary habits for the better; however, we unfortunately lose part of our spunk, our spark.  So, if you feel a little stagnant lately quick thinking so much.  And, instead, simplify things by thinking like a kid and just start.  If you put into action whatever it is that you’ve been thinking about doing, that little spark might just turn into a roaring fire.

Psychological Test October 10, 2009

Between a group of us friends last night we played a type of psychological test just for fun. Now it’s your turn! It will take about 2 minutes and be sure to answer them yourself before reading mine below. And, remember, don’t analayze…just let whatever comes first in your mind be your answer.

1. Think of a cube.What color is it? What size? Shape? etc.

2. Think of a key that you find on the ground. Do you pick it up or leave it? What does it look like? Does it open something?

3. Think about an image of a horse.

4. Imagine you are in the desert riding your horse. You see an oasis in the distance. Do you stop? Do you ride past? What do you do at this oasis?

5. Imagine that a horrible storm comes. What do you do?

6. Imagine a staircase. What does it look like? Where does it lead to?

7. Imagine you find an old house. What does it look like?

These were my answers:

1. Think of a cube.What color is it? What size? Shape? etc.

::A modern white cube, like a chair you find in a sleek lounge.

2. Think of a key that you find on the ground. Do you pick it up or leave it. What does it look like? Does it open something?

::A large old ornate church style key.

3. Think about an image of a horse.

::A white horse that rides on rainbow in the sky, like the horse from Rainbow Bright.

4. Imagine you are in the desert riding your horse. You see an oasis in the distance. Do you stop? Do you ride past? What do you do at this oasis?

::Stop and go for a swim!

5. Imagine that a horrible storm comes. What do you do?

::Spread my arms open wide and let the wind blow my hair, the rain fall on my face, I laugh and I start to twirl and dance.

6. Imagine a staircase. What does it look like? Where does it lead to?

::A glass staircase ascending up towards the sky

7. Imagine you find an old house. What does it look like.

::The house is in crumbles, there are bricks laying everywhere it hardly resembles a house anymore as it is covered by green grass, plants and moss.

::Meaning::For each answer below you’ll find it’s related significance. Although each answer can certainly be interpreted in many different ways, it was interesting after I took the test that many of my answers also support many of my ideas or beliefs.  What about yours? Were they similar to your ideas/beliefs or conflicting? Leave a comment!

1. What you think about yourself.

2. What you think about your opportunities.

3. What kind of partner you imagine.

4. What kind of relationship you want.

5. How you behave when confronted with difficulties.

6. How you feel about the future.

7. How you feel about death.

Living life like a Mayfly October 7, 2009

The average lifespan of a human is eighty years. We are born…we live…then we die. That is the nature of our existence on earth (as for life beyond earth, that is a completely different topic and one I won’t get into here…)

Yet, eighty, this number what does it represent? The answer? Time. This is the average amount of time that most of us will have on this earth baring a premature death caused by nature, disease, accident or an act of violence. So given that we both are alive right now–I am typing this blogpost and you are reading it–we are fortunate to have survived another day and continue living towards that time marker.

Do you think eighty is a large number? Imagine eighty sleek super jets lined up on a runway or eighty warm apple pies stacked on your kitchen table. Eighty is a big number. When we think of these objects, eighty seems like a lot. We have eighty years–many years–so we tend to plan accordingly. We push the things we want to do today down our timeline like one would the tiny white scoreballs on a foosball table. Not today…slide…tomorrow. Not tomorrow…slide…in five years. Not in five years…slide…when I am retired. Before we know it, we have pushed everything we’ve wanted to do to our final years of life because we have a lot. We have eighty by all means!

But, what if the human race was more like our closely related neighbor, the chimpanzee whose lifespan is only forty years. That is half the life expectancy you have now. What things about your life would you do different? What things would you change?

Now, cut that in half again and we are at twenty years, the life expectancy of a penguin. I am 26. I would hypothetically be dead right now. In my first twenty years of my life did I try to do everything I wanted? What would I have changed if I were to relive them all over again? What would I have done differently if that was all that I was given?

Now, let’s talk about the lifespan of a Mayfly. This beautiful little insect experiences our world for 30 minutes to 24 hours, depending on the species. That is their fate. That is there window of opportunity to experience life on earth before they die.

So, what if human life expectancy was the same? What if scientist’s framed our average life expectancy to 30 minutes to 24 hours, instead of 80 years? Would that change the way we think about our time? Would that change the actions we make in life?

What did you do for the last 30 minutes to 24 hours? Are you content with how you passed your time? Or, are there things you would change? Ask yourself this simple question every half hour, or at the end of each day. Imagine that your lifespan is that of a Mayfly and strive to live life with a fiery of passion to experience the day to its fullest, love with intensity and richness and use the time you are given to do the things that mean the most to you, because, right now, these moments are the only secure time you have.