09/13/2021 Making Headway

He lay still, relaxed, calmly happy. Then his mind seemed to turn over suddenly and take hold--and there it was, starting to make plans, thinking. After a minute, a slight sense of irritation came over him. "You think too  much!" he said to himself. Why did not his mind, like other people's minds, allow him to rest and be happy without any planning ahead into the future, whether of the next twenty-four hours or the next twenty-four years? Why could he not lie quiet for as long as sixty seconds? No, something took over with a rush and a whir, and even though his body lay still, his mind turned over and started, and there it was running on, like an idling engine. EARTH ABIDES   ~George R. Stewart   As I was sitting out on the deck this morning, enjoying the cool morning air and the birds twittering in the trees, relishing that little bit

09/22/2020 Sometimes You Have to Make Your Own Opportunities

I was supposed to be at an ASCA stock trial this past weekend. Like so many other events this year, it had to be cancelled. Instead of kicking the ground and going into woe-is-me mode, I created my own opportunity by taking the trip anyhow, meeting up with some friends, and turning it into a training weekend. Dreams and goals take work. It's work you need to make yourself responsible for. Blaming your failures or lack of success on others is giving them an awful lot of power over your life. True, not everyone has the same resources, but if you want something bad enough, you'll find a way. Apologies for the tirade, but it needed to get said. "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for