Icewind's Ramblings

Life Observation # 169 - Patience  "Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a false messiah."           - Illusions by Richard Bach - Sometimes in our life we go through something and while in the middle of it may not understand why things are the way they are.  What I have learned is that you must trust yourself and stay true to your values even when the outcome and costs to yourself are on the line. I think it is about the value of a man or woman holding onto what they believe and having the understanding that it is not always in our hands or timetable to change the outcome. Patience was a hard thing for me to learn but after 7 months I think I have a pretty good grasp of it. Great things are on the horizon and I am spreading my wings to soar up to new heights to see it come to fruition! H...

Life Observation # 168 "Holding on to anything is like holding on to your breath. You will suffocate.” Sometimes we need to remember we cannot do it all on our own and need to look up and ask for help.  It still amazes me how that works and the capacity of what happens when you do. Ice

Boston Marathon Tragedy – 04-15-13 Once again I find myself looking at the news in real time of another needless tragedy on so many levels of American society. Our hearts and prayers go out to those families affected by this tragedy and the effects it will have on this country in our efforts to secure our safety and well being. "More than any time in recent history, America 's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek, nor did we provoke, an assault on our freedom and our way of life.  We did not expect, nor did we invite, a confrontation with evil.  Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive. 2 people were killed and over a hundred maimed and injured a couple of hours ago at the Boston Marathon finish line in Massachusetts .  This is another needless act of violence in this country.  Police were on scene as this tragedy unfolded and you could easily see that they ran towards the tw...

Several months ago I watched the movie, “Moneyball” with Brad Pitt.  It is a baseball story on the Oakland A’s rebuilding their baseball team using on base statistics as opposed to high dollar ball players.  There was a song that Pitt’s daughter in the story played that has kind of stuck with me since and at different times kept going off in my head. Major league baseball slang for playing in the big leagues is called being in “The Show” which the name of the song is written by Lenka.  It is a catchy little tune but it kept going over in my mind how much like Life it applies for many of us.   “I'm just a little bit caught in the middle, Life is a maze and love is a riddle, I don't know where to go, can't do it alone, I've tried and I don't know why. Slow it down, make it stop or else my heart is going to pop', Cause it's too much, yeah it's a lot to be something I'm not, I'm a fool out of love 'cause I just can't get ...

I think sometimes as we live our lives we get wrapped up in all that is going on and forget what is truly meaningful within our existence.  I have stated over and over that we need to live in the “Now” moment as that is the only thing that really exists in our lives.  The past is just that, gone forever and the future is not yet arrived and is still in the fantasy state of our minds. There’s no way to get around the fact that life is here and now with our entire being a whole entity and indivisible from ourselves.  How you choose to think, feel, and be is going to be what you get back out of life in the experiences you have and create.  Create positive thoughts and for the most part you will experience positive things and people back in return.  If you wake up and choose to be negative then there is a great chance that you will have a negative day or experience the not so good things coming back your way.  It all stands to reason just as common sense ...

Life Observation # 165 . . . Challenges  Several of my friends are going through challenges right now in their lives and it once again reminds us that life is precious so get on with living so not to become stagnant in our daily existences. Dale Carnegie once said: “About 90% of the things in our life are right.  Make sure you don’t overlook the 90% that is right because you are focusing on the 10% that isn’t.” For most people that is a true statement but sometimes we want to focus on that 10% because that is what bothers us the most at the time.  Those challenges we face want to beat us down in our lives and we need to make that effort to choose a different path.  It doesn’t take much to make the day better . . . but it does take intent.  Even if there are challenges, obstacles and other craziness going on in our life, we always get to choose how we are going to tackle the day and the type of energy that runs through our body.  Is it e...

Many of us get wrapped up in things and continually have issues with time and our management of it in our lives.  There are so many different items to be sorted and dealt with as one walks along our timeline in this life. Is it easy, probably not, and how you deal with things will make you either totally stressed or worked up or as things become a little clearer in our thought process we may start seeing that calm that comes with a Zen-like living or lifestyle. Everyone has stresses and sometimes it seems like the waves of Life keep crashing in on you but do not be dismayed . . . you have the power to change things. “You can’t control the waves, but you can learn to surf” Challenges are going to come . . . but we’re not supposed to get sucked in.  We shouldn’t let them be too “heavy” and weigh us down because we have been given the amazing ability to surf.  We just have to choose to do it. Osho teaches us, once you have tasted the juice of the present,...

We all seem to have it lately . . . I guess it is that time of year when everyone has so many things going on in their lives that things build up for everyone.  Maybe it is that Late Winter/Early Spring time of year that we are all starting to go crazy waiting for the snow to melt and get breakup over with here in the far north. I saw this story on Peter Kovacs wall and wanted to pass it on as it shows us that many times we look at something from the obvious perspective but it we change our focus or gaze just a little bit it opens up a whole other thought process which can give us new insight or attitudes about things going on in our lives. A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience.  As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question.  Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?” Answers called out from the class r...

Words of Encouragement I saw this picture the other day and many of us go about our days trying to be upbeat and have positive thoughts.  Even on a crappy day it seems to make it go quickly so we can get back to a place where the positive takes over again. You never know the power of encouragement as you can see from the picture that early in life we received it and it started us on the mobile paths that we take each day as we go through our lives. Take the time to encourage those around you so that they can reach their individual potential and over time maybe there will be enough energy that we can have a Zen like transformation of our piece of the world making it a better place to live.  It starts off small but can grow to improbable things if we put in the effort. It started off with baby steps, went to a wobbly walk, and now we have the ability to run! Enjoy the moment as that is all that is real, and be positive to align yourself with a rewardi...

I am sure there are times in everyone’s life that it seems like the hard times are the ones that keep finding there way into our lives which create stress within that person’s being. Every one of us needs to find that center where we can rid ourselves of those things which we may not be able to change or fix.  Lose those feelings of helplessness and pain. Next time you are stressed; Take a step back, inhale deeply and laugh. Laughter will ease muscle tension and allow your thoughts to flow into calmness all around you.  Laughter releases endorphin's that help you feel better and maintain a positive attitude. Remember who you are and why you are here. You're never given anything in this world that you can't handle. Prepare yourself for the unexpected. Be strong . . . be flexible . . . love yourself and love others. Life changes and you do not want to waste opportunities in your life. Always remember, just keep moving forward. Neve...

Anyone can achieve their fullest potential, who we are might be pre-determined, but the path we follow is always of our own choosing. We should never allow our fears, or the expectations of others to set the frontiers of our destiny. Your destiny can't be changed but, it can be challenged.   Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one. How is your own endgame of Life? Live fully and be prepared for the unexpected! Ice

You have the power to change someone’s life tonight . . . a call . . . an encouraging email . . . an idea . . . a contact . . . a positive post . . . or even a smile. And the funny thing is . . . when you do . . . your own life changes too! Ice

The sun will rise and set today . . . regardless of what is going on in your life. You will go on today . . . regardless of what is happening to your, for you or around you. You can go through your day on autopilot or you can choose to appreciate your life experience. What will you choose today? Today I'm choosing to be grateful . . . for every moment and every person in my life. Everyday we have the opportunity to make this “Now” moment in our lives the best possible time as it is always fleeting and we can never get it back again. I'm blessed because you are here with me . . . on my journey.  Ice

It seems like this happens more and more these days as I received the call yesterday afternoon from an Old Friend that news of a family member having inoperable lung cancer was texted me so I would know what was happening.  Several phone calls later and with much anxiety details and some form of plan was put together on how best to prepare for things. It is never easy for anyone finding out news that affect your circle of family and friends but one which everyone needs to prepare so you can be the shoulder if needed or the foundation to give them your support and a pool from which to pull from your strength as needed while dealing with things. It is a bittersweet feeling that you are honored to be one of those who is trusted to give your thoughts on things but also the futility of not being able to “fix it” or make things immediately better.  All anyone of us can do is place things in “Others” hands to help everyone see things through as that is all anyone ...

We change the world a little bit each day with our kindness. It seems to start slowly but with time it gains momentum and spreads to others who are also kind extending the aura around you. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Never miss an opportunity to make others happy, even if you have to leave them alone in order to do it. Ice

Since my heart attack it has been hard for me to get back into my groove of writing each day so I wanted to make some changes to things hoping it may shake up my subconscious to jumpstart again. I have always believed that being positive in your thoughts and actions each day is a choice we make when we wake up each morning and that it will affect how your day will generally go.  Not always, but it stands to reason that if you are positive you will be sought out by other positive people and negative people will have other negative folks drawn to them. Over the last months I have been sending positive messages to someone who has been struggling with the past and seeking changes to their life.  Sending these each morning has made me feel great in giving of myself the time and effort to put positive energy out in my realm of the universe each day.   I want to start sharing some of these with you to hopefully brighten your day and help you be reminded how li...

It has been a little strange for me that since my heart attack that my being able to sit down and write just seemed to be stalled.  There was much to say and many notes to gain topics from which to write but it has been hard for me to sit down at the computer to write it down. I have tried many times in these last few weeks where I would sit and start and just as quickly stop not able to make my fingers hit the key strokes like they have so many times before.  It is strange in some ways as I could sit and write things on a notepad but could not bring myself to transfer the words from paper to word process.  I have wondered why that has been that way or what did not motivate me to sit and write during this time I have been in a state of convalesce since my hospital stay. It has only been two days now that I can seem to sit here and contemplate this state and start to put things down on what I would like to say again.  I have been editing my book getting it r...

It is such a needless tragedy on so many levels of American society and politics. Our hearts and prayers go out to those families affected by this tragedy and the effects it will have on this country in our efforts to secure our children’s safety and well being. "More than any time in recent history, America 's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek, nor did we provoke, an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect, nor did we invite, a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive. 26 people were killed a couple of hours ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut .  20 children from the school were killed and 6 adults in this needless act of violence.  Police were alerted after having been notified, they ran into the building to help get people out and protect others still inside and in harms way.  Ran into the building to help...

Life Observation # 160 . . .    Trust is the invisible bond that holds all of human interaction together. Without it, we are all alone and dysfunctional.   Ice

(This was written for my blog Icewind’s Ramblings on 9/11/2006 on the fifth anniversary of that terrible day in our country)   I re-read it again this morning and thought I would re-post it again with a couple of minor changes. In my generation, which was a generation ago, the question was repeatedly asked, "Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?" For my generation, there are too many questions with fewer answers. The United States changed directions and suddenly we were in a war called Viet Nam and the loss of this country’s young men’s innocence.   Tragedies and calamities abounded in our collective memories.   But as with the saying “time heals all wounds” and we proceeded for many years along a course with unclear direction.   Within this generation the final innocence was taken on September 11, 2001, but seems to have been somewhat faded now as the one question that will be asked again and again is, "Where were you on 9/11?" At this time ...