Monday, Monday ...

The Mamas And The Papas, right?

I love Mondays. Many people don't. Sometimes it is draining to think about the drudgery of another week of work. But when you look at the positive side of Monday, you'll see it can be a good day of the week.

Monday is a good day to start doing something such as a diet or a new exercise program.

Monday is also a good day to stop doing something such as a bad habit or having a bad attitude.

But the reason I like Mondays -- it is garbage day in my neighborhood. I know, you think I'm a little kooky now, right? Let me explain.

Every Monday morning I see two different garbage trucks go through my neighborhood. One empties the blue cart which is regular garbage and one empties the brown cart which is recycling. So I started thinking about the details of this. I can live my normal life all week long and then throw all my yucky stuff away. Once per week, on Mondays, some nice men come along in big trucks and haul it off. For up to 32 gallons of garbage I pay less than $3.60 per week.  Included in this fee is a once-per-week street cleaning service that keeps my neighborhood streets looking nice. And for less than $1.30 per week all the recycling gets removed and by recycling I mean anything recyclable -- glass, tin, paper, plastic ... All I have to do is put the garbage and recyclables in their respective containers, put the containers at the curb and Wa La it call gets carried away. Wow! That is pretty cool!

After traveling around the world, trust me, this is a valuable service. Not every country has such benefits. I've been to countries where the garbage just piles up in the streets - the city, and the countryside. In places that do have refuse service, the amount you can discard is quite small while the cost is quite high. Not many of us think about the benefits of having someone physically come to each of our homes and pick up our garbage. It just is what it is. It is a service we have come to expect.

Don't get me wrong, I expect this service because I pay for it. I'm merely pointing out the fact that I like this service, I appreciate this service and I'm grateful every Monday to see the smiling faces of those nice men in the big trucks driving through my neighborhood.

What do you like about Mondays?

MARVELING AT THE LITTLE THINGS

As I was walking this morning, I had a surge of happiness. It never ceases to amaze me at how wonderful our world and life can truly be. We are such a smart and inventive people. I won't discuss putting a man on the moon since that has almost become a cliche -- wow! we put a man on the moon. While I am not negating the importance or crazy accomplishment of that feat, it is not the only thing we can be proud of. We can be proud of and talk about so many other things - so many huge accomplishments. Actually, I personally believe that even what some would consider small accomplishments are something to marvel.

A few weeks ago my neighbor was having some work done on her house. We live in a cul-de-sac - this neighbor lives directly across from me so I was able to watch all the activity. She ordered two replacement columns for her front porch. The original two had dry rot damage and needed to be replaced. I did not see the truck arrive so I missed the beginning of the process and by the time I realized the columns had arrived, the forklift carrying them was already in motion. The driver was manuevering around in order to place them on the floor of my neighbor's garage. I watched with some amazement as it appeared he was doing his job with little effort. He gently placed the columns on the ground but was unable to push them entirely into the garage (there was some other stuff in the way). Once the obstacle was removed, he continued placing the items in the right place in order for my neighbor's contractor to be able to do his work. When the driver was finished with this, he proceeded to place the forklift back where it came from. He drove the forklift across the street and parked it directly behind the big truck (which carried the materials the driver was delivering). He then went to the bed of the truck and started pushing buttons. Some arms came out from the big truck and grabbed hold of the forklift. These arms then lifted the forklift off the ground and pulled the small piece of equipment close to its bumper. One could hear a few clicks and clangs while the connections were made between big truck and little forklift. After approximately 5 minutes, the process was complete and the forklift was fully secured in place. The driver then got into the truck and pulled away. Job complete!

It may sound odd but this whole process totally intrigued me. I stood in wonder at how easily one person was able to accomplish this task. The columns were 7 x 7 and 10 feet tall. I can only imagine how heavy they were. The driver was delivering two huge, heavy and cumbersome columns at the same time, he was alone, he was working an invaluable piece of equipment, he did all this with ease.

Isn't it incredible that we are able to accomplish these types of tasks? We are able to create and build and do and be! This particular task only needed one person to get it done. The two machines he needed to do the job - the truck and the forklift - both came in very handy and enabled him to deliver a product to the customer of the company with little effort.

I am often intrigued by what we have invented and I am eager to see what we'll invent in the future. There is so much possibility!

STORAGE WARS

For as long as I can remember, I've not been a fan of storage units. To be honest, I never quite understood the need to pay for storage, unless it was of course for something like an RV or a boat. Certainly you'd need to store one of those items since it is not like you can tuck either of them into your kitchen junk drawer. But other stuff? Well, I just didn't get it. And my husband felt the same way. He has always been opposed to paying for additional storage, beyond what we have available in our home and garage. Once, several years ago I merely suggested that we tuck a few things that we don't regularly use into a storage facility so that our garage wouldn't be so cluttered. Let's just say hubby's answer was a resounding 'No!'

Since then, I'd reverted back to my original opinion that storage was silly, a waste of money. To store things you've purchased, for example scrapbooking/craft goodies seemed particularly wasteful. I mean really, why buy so much that you don't have room for it? Let's face it, if I shop and buy so much that I need to store the spoils, then clearly I'm shopping too much. I should say, for the record, that I'm a shopper from way back. I can shop nearly anywhere, anytime, with anyone for any reason. At times this has gotten me in trouble from a storage space point of view but I've always somehow managed to handle it. I find nooks and crannies and tuck away here and there. The day I discovered storage bags was a good day! You mean I can put LOTS of items in one little bag, suck the air out and then hide the bag in a small space under my bed? Well, what are we waiting for, let's buy two bags!

Last year, for the first time in my life, I actually cleaned out my closet for the season. I packed away, in my newly purchased storage bags, all my summer clothing and my summer shoes. Wow! Would you look at all that space in my closet. Hmmm ... I may need to go shopping because clearly I don't have enough clothes to get me through the winter. There is extra space in my closet and I don't believe that has happened since around 1984 so I must need to go shopping.

Scrapbooking is one of my favorite hobbies and I also love making my own greeting cards. We travel a lot, I have a large family with lots of nieces and nephews participating in a variety of activities -- scouts, music, cheer, scholastic -- so I need a variety of scrapbooking supplies. So I shopped. And since I have a diverse group of friends from all walks of life I obviously need many options for papers, stamps, ribbons, and do-dads when card making. Guess what? I shopped. I somehow over the years managed to accumulate such a large supply of scrapbooking and card-making supplies that I ran out of space for all of it.

Can you see what's coming? Yep, yesterday I became the proud lessee of one 5 x 10 storage unit. Gasp! What have I done? I've gone against the very grain of my person and caused some tension in my house. My husband got strangely quiet which means he's not particularly happy with what I've done. Then he reminded me that I'd at some point in my past vowed to never pay for storage. But you know what? I am strangely exhilarated, dare I say even inspired. I see this rental as an opportunity to remove all the stuff (some might even say junk) to an off site location so that I can actually see the floor of my craft room for a while (my craft room also doubles as our guest bedroom). I now have the opportunity to weed through my purchases with time on my side to determine what, if anything, needs to be donated. I now have the time to be less overwhelmed since these items will not be staring me in the face every time I walk by the craft room. I find myself excited about the possibilities of all this new space. Uh oh ... a familiar sensation is coming on ...

See you at Hobby Lobby! (Ah, just kidding.)

GAZING AT A CLOSED DOOR

“True to his nature, he did not stand wistfully gazing at a closed door. Instead, he moved passed it.” This quote came from a book I recently read and it shocked me when I realized it was not a true statement about me. I wonder how many closed doors I have stood in front of hoping that somehow, some way, they’d reopen? How much precious time have I wasted chasing a dream that I gave up on too quickly? Will I live in Oklahoma again, close to my family? Will I have children of my own? Will I create traditions in my home that will be recreated year after year? Will I be a great singer? Dancer? Piano player? These are all things I desperately wanted at some point in my life but for a variety of reasons, they did not come to fruition. What about becoming a marathon runner? A highly compensated executive? A writer?

Some of these dreams may seem foolish or irrational to you but each time I had my sights on a goal and yet did not accomplish it, was not successful in completing it, it knocked me down just a little bit. It took the wind from my sail, it removed a bit of hope from my heart.

Each time I shared a dream or goal with someone, that person would be excited for me as well. However, if I couldn’t/didn’t continue with the goal as planned, I would be asked about it. “Are you still taking piano lessons?” “What about your singing class?” "Have you finished that book you were working on?" When I would share that I’d stopped for whatever lame excuse came to mind the conversation would end. There was no follow-up, no pursuit, no calling me on the carpet for my lame excuse. I am by no means blaming my friends and family for my lack of follow-through but I do think it is interesting that I was let off the hook so easily. Why was I not questioned more? Why did these folks let me give up? Why was I not held accountable to my claimed dreams? It was almost as if they were saying to me, “Oh well. No big deal. Now let's go get a pizza.”

In hindsight, I wish that person would have been willing to hold me accountable. I wish they would have put my feet to the fire and riddled me with questions. I wish they would have told me that quitting was not an option, that in order to ever do anything great, I had to keep at it, I had to keep trying. Instead, I was basically ‘allowed’ to quit the many things I'd started.

As I ponder this situation, years later, with many broken dreams and incomplete goals, I wonder why this was the case. Did my friends not feel comfortable holding me accountable? Did they not know how? Did they not care? And, as an added question, did I do the same to my friends? Did I not push them to be their best, to accomplish their goals and dreams? Have I let people off the hook in the pursuit of a dream? Was I a good enough friend to push them to accomplish? Or do we all just walk around giving one another a free pass to take the path of least resistance?

How do I know when a goal I’ve set for myself is truly real? How do I decide what activities I really want to pursue? How do I make it so that the folks in my life can hold me accountable?

Learning to discern between a truly closed door and a door that only seems closed because an obstacle is in front of it is of paramount importance. Overcoming obstacles and pressing on are critical to success - not just for me but for all of us.

What would it look like if we rose to the occasion of holding one another accountable to a stated dream or a goal? We need to help each other sing the song in our heart, live a life fully realized, let our lights fully shine. We must pursue. We must persevere. We must utilize the blessings given to their full and awesome extent. And we must do this, not just for ourselves but also for those around us.

I believe our world would look very different if we stopped staring at closed doors, but walked through them, hand in hand with another.

ARE YOU A CRITICAL THINKER

So many issues are causing challenges in our society today and I think it would be beneficial if we could talk about them, while thinking about them from a critical perspective rather than an emotional one. There are gender wars, race wars, class wars ... the list goes on. If we sat down in a room full of unlabeled people, would we find that we aren't really that far apart. The polarization of our society is growing at alarming rates and it is very harmful.

What do I mean by polarization? The simple definition of polarize is to cause people to separate into sharply contrasting groups on opinions or beliefs. For example, if I told you I was caucasian, female and conservative, you would most likely assume you knew what I thought or how I felt about topics such as abortion, size of government, public services and welfare programs. By the same token, if I told you I was originally from a middle eastern country and moved here for the safety of myself and my family, a whole different idea of me would form in your mind. That is okay, it is human nature to form ideas and opinions based on a certain set of criteria. The danger comes in when we are unwilling to truly listen to one another and find out what/how we really think and feel. We cannot lump folks into groups simply because of their obvious characteristics.

I recently researched the differences between the conservatives and liberal label. Wow! It is scary to see what is in the written form. Depending on who is writing the column will depend on the slant it takes. For example, if you consult the website townhall.com, you'll see a slant toward making the conservative look very good and the liberal look like an idiot. Let me just share one example from that site.

"Conservatives believe in pursuing policies because they're pragmatic and because they work. Liberals believe in pursuing policies because they're "nice" and make them feel good. Whether the policies they're advocating actually work or not is of secondary importance to them." Would the liberals who believe this please stand up? I have a very hard time believing this statement in its entirety. Yes, conservatives want to pursue policies that work but I'm pretty sure liberals want that same thing. Why would we put any kind of policy or program in place if it wasn't going to work? Let me share one more example of this. For some reason, in general, liberals have a dislike and distrust toward corporate America. I do not believe this is a natural opinion. I think the idea was planted in their heads and they didn't really question it. Let's look at a short list of historical corporations: IBM, GE, Ford, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Eastman Kodak, Boeing. What is conjured up in your mind when you hear these corporate names? Bleh? Yuck? Bad for America and the average Joe? What about these: Google, SalesForce, Apple, Costco, Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, Oracle? What do you think would have happened to the growth and prosperity of America if it weren't for corporations? They employ millions of people - around the globe no less - and provide us with so many of the niceties of life -- gas, electricity, phone lines, cars, airplanes, personal care products, technology. The Internet. We would be a far cry from where we are without corporations. I find it hard to imagine that your average liberal thinks that we should do away with corporations.

I live in a very small community in northern California. I personally know the owners of two of our local restaurants. They are my friends. They own the sports bar serving burgers, dogs and beer where the kids can roam free and be safe. They also own the chophouse serving steak, fish and wine. While they are wonderful people, provide an amazing service to our small community and support about 50 families (between the two restaurants), they cannot, no matter how hard they try, provide me with gas and electricity. The restaurants are not there to provide tech support or build me a new car. While I truly believe in supporting my friends and my community through supporting small business, I know that I need both this small business AND a corporation to provide me with the things I need in life. I hold no grudge against either and wish no ill will on either. I support small business when I am able but I harbor no animosity toward corporate America.

Perhaps our concern with corporate America is not that it should or should not exist but that there are problems within the system which need to be addressed. For example, the certain disparity of pay among the workers of the business. In the 80s, CEO compensation became this thing, it was so overwhelming, so mind-boggling, how one person in a corporation could make so much money. Not only did most have a massive regular salary, they got bonuses and incentives that increased their pay into the millions of dollars annually, while the janitor continued making a reasonable salary. When the topic comes up, many will try to explain the phenomenon away but our common sense knows that there is still something out of balance. What do we do with this piece of information that we cannot properly process in our mind? How is it possible that ONE person can make millions of dollars per year? Why is that necessary? That can't lead to anything healthy, right? Some things in life are just too outside our understanding that it hinders us from being able to look at it from a healthy point of view.

I would encourage you to consider that this disparity in pay may be the cause of frustration we feel toward corporations, at least in part.

Something to ponder ...

http://brucecrobertson.com/2010/10/07/why-do-liberals-hate-corporate-america/

Welcome!

Hello friends. Welcome to my new and improved blog!

Over the past few years my blog has gone through several iterations. I've created more than one with different titles and different themes. I've posted both private and public. I've built it up and let it flounder.

This new and improved blog is one I have spent many months considering. Even it has gone through some changes and I'm happy to say that I think I've got a really good beginning to something I'll be excited to continue working on. I have called it The Happy Eclectic because I feel like that is truly who I am. I am happy and I am also all over the board when it comes to picking and choosing ideas, thoughts, philosophies, etc. I don't just pull from one spot, I like to look around to see what the options are. I engage in many different activities. This used to be something that bothered me about myself but I've come to realize that it is just who I am and that it is okay. So now I'm happy and content with my eclecticism (yes that is a real word) and I intend to embrace it and share it with others rather than try to change it.  This blog will encompass most of the big aspects of my life and perhaps some trivial aspects too.

As you can see by the Home page, I have created other pages that I will fill as the days and weeks go by. I will explain what types of stories each page will hold when I do a first time post for that particular page. I will share life stories with you, travel experiences, and I will talk about some controversial issues that I hope will create some critical thinking/lively discussions regarding topics that affect us all. In all matters, I will do my utmost to be kind, considerate and compassionate toward other's opinions. I hope you will do the same for me.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. I look forward to continuing a relationship with you if we already have one and creating a new relationship with folks I don't yet know.