Icewind's Ramblings

Life Observation # 173 – Feeling Bad  When feeling bad can feel really good . . . for someone. Sometimes we don't feel good . . . it could be from sickness or just feeling lousy in general but within that yucky feeling there may sometimes be something else going on where you find it within yourself to change it up a bit and it's pleasant what can happen, both in your mind and body. Is a little TLC in order or is it something like feeling bad sometimes is like getting to scratch an itch that you've been trying to ignore for a while.  Like a mosquito bite. If you scratch it though, it keeps on itching, and then you scratch it again, and again, until it becomes an open sore.  Keep picking at it and it gets worse. I know it gives a very temporary feeling of relief to scratch, but only prolongs the itch. My advice?   Just like the mosquito bite, don't give in to the urge to scratch it, and it starts to go away much faster.  Get a ...

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 ...

It’s getting to be that time again . . . Wacky Winter . . . when Chicken Little’s prediction finally comes true: “The sky is falling.”   Winter has long been here in Alaska , and the darkness with it.  As we once again approach summer and finally moved into “Springtime” in Anchorage we are gaining approximately 5 minutes and 44 seconds of daylight every day until Summer Solstice on June 20 th @ 9:04 PM Alaska time. For most people it may seem strange to hear “springtime” as barely having temperatures just above freezing still in the thirties or if we are lucky reaching the low 40’s for a few days.  Anything to help melting commence and get breakup out of the way is desired by everyone it seems. How one handles this time of year makes or breaks many people who live here.  It is a wondrous place to live . . . most of the time but it does wear on you in the late stages of winter when you want the snow gone, light to return, and the “heat” of summer to on...

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...

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

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...

One Hundred Twenty Five Hours that changed my Life - Part Three - The Hospital ER & OR I warmed my rig up and started for the hospital.  The winter time here in Alaska gives us a little different ambiance than that found in the Lower 48.  We are in our cold dark period and on this day it was minus 10 degrees outside and at seven o’clock in the morning it would be over three more hours before the sun would rise over the mountains to the east of Anchorage .  We are approaching the winter Solstice where we only get about five and a half hours of daylight.  The sun is up around 10:30 in the morning and sets just before 4 in the afternoon.  The rest of the time we are in darkness making for long cold nights here during the winter. On this morning traffic from my house to the hospital was extremely light with only a few cars making there way along my route.  I had seen a moose eating beside the road as I approached the Hospital by the University o...

One Hundred Twenty Five Hours that changed my Life Part Two  - The Time Line of Events This is the second part of sharing my recent heart attack and the lifestyle and possible events leading up to it.  Sometimes we are so busy living life that we fail to see or recognize things that may be in plain sight in front of you.  I recently had one of those experiences that oddly through the mental pain, the physical pain and suffering found a way to change some things modify my lifestyle a little bit.  It is from these changes and those events that probably saved my life.  We are getting older and need to be aware of our habits both in eating, exercise, and our mental state, not sweating the small stuff. What I am talking about is a heart attack. Friday, 11-30-12    11:00 am      Pick up Friend & go to Fred Meyer before lunch She had returned home from a flight late the night before and wanted me to give he...

Part One Sometimes we are so busy living life that we fail to see or recognize things that may be in plain sight in front of you.  I recently had one of those experiences that oddly through the mental pain, the physical pain and suffering found a way that surprised me and probably saved and changed my life. What I am talking about is a heart attack. Through my blunders and somewhat set ways I came through this and survived but as my cardiologist told me I could have easily died as most people do that have the type of heart attack that I did.  I had what is often called the “widow maker” is a nickname used to describe a highly stenotic left main coronary artery or proximal left anterior descending coronary artery of the heart.  Mine was the LAD type and the widow maker term is used because if the artery gets abruptly and completely occluded it will cause a massive heart attack that will likely lead to a sudden death. Mine was als...

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...

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” Soren Kierkegaard My emotional baggage is in storage most of the time. I'm not afraid of it, but I don't think it helps me to be dragging it out and laboring over it all the time. It's a part of who I am but it doesn't define me. I do the defining. Working towards being the person I want to be when I finally get things right is what I focus on . . . not the baggage that might have gotten me off track. I look ahead, not back. I travel light. Ice

Life is what it is, and you have the immense good fortune of being here, right now, to live it. Have a great weekend everyone! Ice