Category: Thoughts (page 5 of 14)

Tony Hall via Compfight

If drawing is really about seeing, as Betty Edwards says in Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, then surely writing is really about reading, music is really about listening, and teaching is really about learning.

Jeffrey via Compfight

That awkward, not so awesome morning when you wake up and realize you have nothing to show for 53 years of walking around on this planet…

Linus Ekenstam via Compfight

This is the third day (I think!) of our second major winter weather shutdown in three weeks (I think!).

It’s all running together. But I digress…

I’m not a fan of winter. I’m especially not a fan of winter weather shutdowns.  However, this winter weather shutdown has reminded me to be grateful for some things I usually take for granted.

Today, on Day 3, I’m grateful that we cooked on the grill on Monday, because we have dinner to last all week.

I’m grateful for free time. Even though I haven’t accomplished anything significant – and at times, felt guilty about it – a few days without any pressing obligations has been therapeutic. OK, maybe not really therapeutic, but it sounds good, and it has been good to be lazy.

I’m grateful for heat. I’m grateful for plenty of food and other assorted necessities.  I’m grateful for coffee, even though it’s on a rationed status now. I’m grateful for hot water. I’m grateful for this computer and that iPhone.

Most of all, I’m grateful that we have not lost power. I mentioned I’m not a fan of winter. I’m really glad and grateful we haven’t had to be holed up with no power,  no heat, no TV, no food, no coffee, and no Internet!

Power gives us something to do. It keeps us from going stir-crazy. It lets us keep up with the weather conditions and the condition of our friends and family in the weather.

I can deal with being stuck inside. I can appreciate not having to drive on icy streets. I can do all that a lot better with electricity.

Craig Ballantyne wrote a piece about the five steps to using a gratitude journal, and he lists Step One as listing your gratitude for “one big thing in your life.”

Today, on Day 3, my one big thing is uninterrupted power in the middle of a brutal winter.

What’s yours?

(Image via flickr.com/Fricke_K)

Just some Saturday randomness…

• I love finding new stuff! Call it serendipity. New songs, new books, new ideas, new friends…all make the start of a new day worthwhile!
• By all accounts, I should be a liberal. I like so many people who claim to be. I love hanging out with “creative” folks, who of course, by definition, have to be liberals. 🙂
• Except I’m rather fond of the ideas of liberty, freedom, order, and personal responsibility. Which seem to me to be the kinds of ideals creative folks ought to espouse. I’m just thinking out loud here…your mileage may vary.
• The difference between liberals and conservatives, at least as I see it, is that conservatives think liberals are wrong, not stupid.
• If I base whether or not to include people on my social media lists on what I think they’ll think about what I tweet or post, then maybe I shouldn’t include them. Or maybe I should rethink what I post or tweet.
• More and more, I think I may have blown it when I moved away from the city. I didn’t appreciate living in the city when I actually lived there. And once upon a time, when I had the chance to immerse myself in the city, I opted for the “safety” of the suburbs.
• On a related note, I’ve never been to the great cities of our country. I need to go to Washington, D.C. and New York City some time before I leave this planet for good.
• In case it’s a shocker to you, I’m 52 years old, and I’ve lived a pretty sheltered life. I’ve never been to Washington, D.C. or New York City or Boston. I’ve never seen the Pacific Ocean or the Grand Canyon. I’ve also never been on a cruise or traveled outside the United States.
• I’ve read a lot. And I just may the Barney Fife of my generation, knowing just enough about a lot of things to be dangerous. And completely useless. 🙂