tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23334300808200431762024-03-14T06:01:12.906-05:00Being FrankWorking to make the world a happier place. One person at a time.Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.comBlogger166125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-71912074415869157452016-11-27T11:51:00.002-06:002016-11-27T11:58:13.731-06:00The Power of Purple<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dear America,</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As we’ve jerked and swerved through the drama of this election season, a map of the United States chopped into red and blue bits has come to define our national state of being. It would appear that this house is impossibly divided. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our social media feeds only further corroborate this idea. The echo chamber created by Facebook’s algorithms help create a feeling of us versus them. Inflammatory articles populate our walls, angry posts rile us up, our preferred news sites spin us around and around.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/27/politics/cnn-poll-division-donald-trump/index.html" target="_blank">I read an article on CNN today examining results of a recent poll</a>. 85% of Americans feel the nation is sharply divided. I agree with the feeling. However, I disagree with the severity or with the apocalyptic gravitas applied to the divide. Here’s why. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Recently, a map floated across my Facebook that floored me. It was not a patchwork of antagonizing red and blue counties set starkly against each other in perpetual battle. Are you a red state or a blue state? Are you Democrat or Republican? Are you Conservative or Liberal? It is none of these because it is mostly purple. (</span><a href="http://emmiemears.com/these-purple-states-of-america/" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;" target="_blank">The creator of this map has a great blog article on it</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">).</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyECpocwnSNdAndf1dVk0HDzXDTxZYYXprFqfHvGLqthzQVVvwXWZR5HR-5DX4O3KJ6uhCO9ql1a6oodBOKoqZ3R-_yB9lBQF58qhp4g_fK3LBZZNJKlWSeCQtyFiuAT26RaBe46BnpU/s1600/Purple+Map.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyECpocwnSNdAndf1dVk0HDzXDTxZYYXprFqfHvGLqthzQVVvwXWZR5HR-5DX4O3KJ6uhCO9ql1a6oodBOKoqZ3R-_yB9lBQF58qhp4g_fK3LBZZNJKlWSeCQtyFiuAT26RaBe46BnpU/s640/Purple+Map.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I live in a purple house. My wife Samantha and I stand on opposite ends of some issues. Most of the time our votes cancel each other out. But, we, like most of America, live in harmony. Unlike our Facebook feeds, where one group just lambasts the other, we have dialogue. Sure, there are issues we don’t agree on, but we seek to understand each other and understand the why behind our positions. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFi7eobB1qdqvKObSbyudXUnvpF0vEk84jLRmVicF-plDWNIL8oMRDn_CKxXglKc5D639AT5_qQ0_Nn_XnqGBBden7VZz4M4hVPMZ9dE7FzBJODWv_ka50-UHeOhpUh3bCZJBkzlNB5JA/s1600/Purple+Thanksgiving.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFi7eobB1qdqvKObSbyudXUnvpF0vEk84jLRmVicF-plDWNIL8oMRDn_CKxXglKc5D639AT5_qQ0_Nn_XnqGBBden7VZz4M4hVPMZ9dE7FzBJODWv_ka50-UHeOhpUh3bCZJBkzlNB5JA/s320/Purple+Thanksgiving.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our Purple Thanksgiving.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We engage, which is the most important part of this process. Facebook allows us to disengage, or semi-anonymously attack. We unfriend or unfollow people with different positions than ours. Instead, we should seek to get out there, find people who stand on the opposite side of the aisle, and make some purple. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Game theory defines the outcome of any competition as being either Zero-Sum (one winner and one loser, or a 1 or a 0) or Non-Zero-Sum (aggregate gains across all parties can be positive or minus). Our current feelings on this election can be summed up in the Zero-Sum category. Red won, blue lost. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think this simplification is as far from the truth as we can get. In fact, that kind of thinking is dangerous and goes precisely to the heart of the concept that a house divided can not stand. If we continue to see ourselves as Zero-Sum, only winners or losers, than we risk destroying this American experiment.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A better solution is to abandon the strictly partisan rhetoric we’ve been forced to swallow through news media and social media. Do not look at your friends, family, and work associates as only Red or Blue. In conglomerate, they are purple. Most likely, if you delved into the issues with them, you would find most people are <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx" target="_blank">purple</a>. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Proceed with the idea that our population is Non-Zero-Sum. We have common ground: find it. Our differences are opportunities to learn about each other. Try to understand how someone came to the decisions they’ve made. They are more than their ideas, they are the experiences that led to them. Android's "Be Together. Not the Same" ad campaign captures this idea perfectly. Personally, I've always had a soft spot for this commercial because it sums up my thoughts.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UYxpX3N20qU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UYxpX3N20qU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This country is a spectrum, a sliding scale, it is not binary. Of course we feel like everything is us versus them when that is how we perceive the world. Shift your thinking. Shift your perspective. Only then will you discover the power of purple.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hopefully,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">FXC IV</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: large;">p.s. As always, if you like my blog, I invite you to share it. Thanks!</span></div>
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-89732858598755822072016-11-13T10:29:00.000-06:002016-11-13T10:36:45.201-06:00It Takes a Village<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Dear America,</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIKhSl6fKon1P-vcH5QdMI54SI1qTIaFbmTJGBQFBIxakpvhI6tqWeG7FhyphenhyphenylIzmbtxKNSihMvpd0fdyFL9_HS2f0vAaDU5tefK2CizvrmGziA3YYXdku2GrRniYrzRw6t7eSlNkw0Ec/s1600/14mwjx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyIKhSl6fKon1P-vcH5QdMI54SI1qTIaFbmTJGBQFBIxakpvhI6tqWeG7FhyphenhyphenylIzmbtxKNSihMvpd0fdyFL9_HS2f0vAaDU5tefK2CizvrmGziA3YYXdku2GrRniYrzRw6t7eSlNkw0Ec/s320/14mwjx.jpg" width="259" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">As many of you have probably noticed this week, social media has become a wasteland of emotional discord. I think we all assumed the conclusion of the election would bring about an age of polite happiness and proliferated cat memes. While my feed continues to be rife with felines, very few people have been holding hands and singing Kumbaya. One of the most disturbing elements we’ve seen this week are the news stories on the increase in hate speech. The most heartbreaking are when it is perpetuated by children. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now, before you stop reading, deciding that this is one of THOSE blogs, I implore you to continue. This blog is not about Hillary or Trump. It is not about politics. It is about our future.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Children are sponges. They absorb what they see and hear and then they repeat it. When young, they are immensely trusting and so assume what they hear from people in their community must be okay. They have not yet developed the means to filter, sort, and evaluate. It is ultimately our responsibility to expose them to the right elements (and again I am not talking politics).</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The aphorism “It Takes a Village” is a true one. Parents are not the only people influencing their children. Extended family plays a part. Church, school, athletic organizations, Boy and Girl scouts, etc. all fill a role. So to does exposure to television, books, radio, and media in any form. All of these elements combine to form their belief structure, and much of it happens unintentionally. The news is on in the background while a child is playing in their room but loud enough for them to hear. Adult discussion conducted when children are nearby contribute (think about this as Thanksgiving approaches). They hear and absorb all of it.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RfYwXeNa2BhefFhToCbVVRpcf84LtjC1_t0Fuflgr5f1evXSAsk55a3gjve1eL1LZOB8HzrXC9UgHWhfckxIvz9UO-n8cYQVLKbF3XEOcG2WwA-gno8JNwhhEGZnRLW1dLXsFNWYgOc/s1600/Jon_Kill_the_Boy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2RfYwXeNa2BhefFhToCbVVRpcf84LtjC1_t0Fuflgr5f1evXSAsk55a3gjve1eL1LZOB8HzrXC9UgHWhfckxIvz9UO-n8cYQVLKbF3XEOcG2WwA-gno8JNwhhEGZnRLW1dLXsFNWYgOc/s320/Jon_Kill_the_Boy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrong Bastard. He knows nothing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">I remember the first time I used the word “bastard.” I was nine or ten and some older kids down the street wouldn’t let me play basketball with them. I was not happy. I went in the house and complained to my mom, who was making dinner in the kitchen. My summation of the entire experience: “They are bastards.”</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">You can imagine my mom's shock. She quickly explained why it was inappropriate for me to use a word like that. I remember not using it again until I was out of earshot of an adult. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">A more poignant example might be the time I asked my mom about oral sex. I was about the same age and heard a news report regarding sexual assault. I didn’t understand why kissing was a bad thing so I asked. She quickly put me straight on all elements of the story and I learned both that kissing and oral sex did not equate, and what sexual assault was.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">On a side note--it was always my poor mom when it came to this stuff, although I have a zinger of a story when at four years old I announced to a dinner party in clinical detail how my mom and dad had come to make me; it's a miracle I made it out alive.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">So, all of this to say, we don’t know what the children around us pick up. We don’t know what they hear on the TV playing in the restaurant when we are out to lunch. We don’t know what they overhear the neighbors say when playing in the yard. We don’t know what some other kid tells them during the endless hours they are away from home and involved in their own life.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But, we are responsible for it all the same, and I am not just speaking to parents. Yes, parents have the greatest influence over their children’s lives, but we are the village. We have a responsibility to shape these children in a way that brings a positive impact into the lives of others. We have a responsibility to alter their course when they begin to drift. If we don’t, we are just as responsible for the village idiot as we are for the village angel.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It’s like the song 'Carefully Taught' from South Pacific says (<a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/05/19/308296815/six-words-youve-got-to-be-taught-intolerance" target="_blank">click here for a great article on the song</a>):</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OAZ8yOFFbAc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OAZ8yOFFbAc?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: right; float: right;" width="320"></iframe><span style="font-size: large;"><i>You've got to be taught</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>To hate and fear,</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>You've got to be taught</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>From year to year,</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>It's got to be drummed</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>In your dear little ear</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>You've got to be carefully taught.</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>You've got to be taught to be afraid</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Of people whose eyes are oddly made,</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>You've got to be carefully taught.</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>You've got to be taught before it's too late,</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Before you are six or seven or eight,</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>To hate all the people your relatives hate,</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>You've got to be carefully taught!</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">First, we have to accept responsibility. We should step into the void when we see a lack of direction in a kid’s moral compass. Nudge them in the right direction. Show them why chanting “Build a Wall” at every brown person is not right. Show them why the n-word has no place in their mouth or their thoughts. Show them that tearing down a member of the LGBT community only demeans themselves as a person. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9v69xOy7wzbc5cC5Xymfu-IPyUIgH4kDtaI9NshwKGdjsonQGKduDVMguYtjHbb7E2nD6CiVUe56r-8aJhjehd1JKhLiehlFg4gM5I0rmJYIXsMBAeu3J8xGZyhsEhnsDvj_j6dJUyxk/s1600/first+grade+letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9v69xOy7wzbc5cC5Xymfu-IPyUIgH4kDtaI9NshwKGdjsonQGKduDVMguYtjHbb7E2nD6CiVUe56r-8aJhjehd1JKhLiehlFg4gM5I0rmJYIXsMBAeu3J8xGZyhsEhnsDvj_j6dJUyxk/s320/first+grade+letter.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A great example.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">If they are only shown at home that someone who looks different than they do is less than they are, then show them different. Be the model for empathy and teach them to see people as people. Teach them that differences between people and cultures are beautiful. And be willing to stand up and fight for it.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Our village can be a place where everyone is welcomed and celebrated for who they are and what they look like. Or it can be a place of distrust and hate. Our actions and words around those who are the most susceptible are the brick and mortar that build our village. Ultimately, it falls on our shoulders to decide where we want to live. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Hopefully,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">FXC IV</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-64687681093097013802016-11-09T09:32:00.004-06:002016-11-09T09:32:23.620-06:00Transition<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Dear America,</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">On this first day of Transition, please remember a few things. The sun comes up. The wind still blows. Our world spins and revolves and we ride with it. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">While to many it feels as if everything has changed for the worse, and to others for the better, change in America has always come slow. This is the beauty of our Constitution. The Framers constructed the document in such a way that wild swings of emotional discord would not tear the country apart in a day. The march toward the Civil War began the moment the Constitution was ratified and took seven long decades of fermentation before exploding. We will not explode tomorrow unless we allow it.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To those struggling to understand why people chose to vote for the candidate with whom you disagree, my suggestion is to look at it from their perspective. If you’ve only ever chosen to believe the smear pieces rooted in false propaganda and perpetuated on social media, then you are the root of our divisiveness. People who outright supported either candidate without any qualms are few. This nation will only move forward if we are able to see the ‘why’ of someone’s vote. Then, together, we can find a middle ground on which to rebuild the crumbling facade of our Republic’s social construct. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To those wondering how someone who looks like they do can fit into this kind of America, I say this: be strong, stand proud. Move the nation with your words and with your peaceful actions. There are those who would argue with this sentiment, and all I have to say to them is that violence begets violence. That cycle never ends. There is power in looking your antagonizer in the face and knowing your presence in numbers and in faith and in courage are enough to overcome him. Jesus knew this as he was scourged. Ghandi knew this as he was beaten and jailed. Congressman John Lewis knew this as he was nearly killed in Selma. Stand strong enough and like minded individuals will join and stand with you. Be the example that stands against everything they falsely believe about you.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">To those still yearning for change, it begins at the local level. Do not be passive and expect others to do the work for you, otherwise you will long be disappointed. Reach out within your community: volunteer, connect, and teach others your beliefs through your actions. Read and discover the mechanism for change. Find your voice. Use it to positively motivate others. Change is good, but do not resort to the biting rhetoric of our current political climate to achieve it. Do not lose the heart of your movement, for even if you succeed, the body will soon wither and die.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Our nation will survive the turmoil of the 2016 election. Since our founding, we always have. There have been dark times, but we always climb from the muck stronger, more inclusive, and renewed in our faith in this American Experiment. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Do not give up. Be refreshed and reinvigorated. We are now a nation in Transition. What transition will you make in order to serve the better Good?</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Hopefully,</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;">FXC IV</span></div>
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-14145353340777647622014-04-13T10:13:00.001-05:002014-04-13T10:13:51.005-05:00Put in my Place<br />
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<a href="http://thewrittenreference.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/ego.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="219" src="http://thewrittenreference.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/ego.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I have never suffered from a deficiency in ego. Ever. As far back as I can remember, if I tried my hand at something, I was the best at it. In fact, this blog is the best blog anyone has ever written (at least, in my mind). I have been called pretentious before, and it’s probably not that far off the mark, but my response is simple: someone has to think we are good at what we do - why not think that about ourselves? Anyway, today’s post isn’t about how good I am. It is about how good someone else is.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As a bassoonist in middle and high school, I always believed I was the best. People beat me in competitions from time to time, but I had a rule: they could only beat me once. If someone beat me, I would beat them every time afterwards. Only a few people managed to break this rule, and I always carried a grudging respect for their talents (one who didn’t break the rule is now the Principal bassoonist in the Houston Symphony, so I think we know which of us ultimately won the war, even if I did win a few battles).</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/6749838592/hE7A11DA7/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/6749838592/hE7A11DA7/" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I carried the same intensity into college and worked to place myself at the top of the bassoon hierarchy on campus. I felt comfortable being the best. Unfortunately, I lacked the vision to see the bigger picture. My short-sightedness refused to recognize talent beyond my own borders and it held me back. I lost some local orchestra auditions and didn’t understand how the audition committees failed to recognize my skills. At the end of my undergrad, I auditioned for grad school and wasn’t offered the fellowship I wanted - again, I blamed it on the lack of vision in other people. I refused to see the problem was me.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Fast forward to now. I am playing a Palm Sunday gig on contrabassoon this weekend with two other bassoonists. In the past, I have always compared myself to the others with whom I’m playing. Of course, I always feel my skills match or better those around me, whether true or not. Until this week. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Amanda Swain - the first bassoonist - plays amazing. This is the first time I can remember not even trying to compare myself - because I can’t. Her total mastery of the instrument is remarkable. She sings through the horn, and though the contrabassoon part is 95% rests, I sit and listen happily in the best seat the house offers.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I haven’t felt put in my place in a long time and I am glad it happened. It needs to happen more.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.semissourian.com/photos/14/06/75/1406757-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="http://www.semissourian.com/photos/14/06/75/1406757-L.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So far, I have gleaned two lessons from my experience this week. The first I wish I had learned at an earlier age (though it is never too late to learn a lesson like this). Surround yourself with people better than you and learn from them. They provide a fire to your passion, they offer vast learning experiences, and, as long as you keep the right frame of reference (not the one I had in college), they will lift you higher than you can lift yourself.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Trying to always feel like the best is exhausting. The second lesson: recognize your skills and be honest about them. Feel good about what you do well, but don’t let yourself become blind to areas needing improvement. Only play the comparison game as a means to better yourself. Don’t manufacture a fake throne on which to place your misguided behind.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I feel relieved at my discovery. I’m now allowed to put down the burden I unknowingly carried all these years and enjoy myself. I have freed myself to improve if I choose to do so. Finding the path has become so much clearer.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; min-height: 13px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-7367914817762856592014-02-09T10:28:00.000-06:002014-02-09T10:28:59.750-06:00Knowing Yourself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZqZx9NtVq7NmW3AJFpYSpm1ObU19chQOw6Ttnl2vCgzvQj-Ugief1azm0LiNk9qa2zvT_XrTQWfEF7rH4wWJGrNcFznwPyFTgbpthxe4l3TmlEzB7gkoFe8rp6l56s7l905UvgsPtbY/s1600/mirror_homer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZqZx9NtVq7NmW3AJFpYSpm1ObU19chQOw6Ttnl2vCgzvQj-Ugief1azm0LiNk9qa2zvT_XrTQWfEF7rH4wWJGrNcFznwPyFTgbpthxe4l3TmlEzB7gkoFe8rp6l56s7l905UvgsPtbY/s320/mirror_homer.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Given a mirror, most of us could do a fantastic job describing ourselves to someone else. We could sit down at a sketch pad and ink out a fair approximation of our physical likeness. Our faces have floated across the sink day in and day out for years, and though our features wear more wrinkles than in our youth, we always know our face.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am not so sure we could describe our personalities as well.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Years ago, Samantha introduced me to the DISC personality model. DISC uses four distinct personality aspects driven by different motivations, and helps leaders identify how to communicate with and motivate their people. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">D stands for Decisive. D personalities focus on quick problem solving with the highest payoff. Assertive and direct, they accept risks.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">I stands for Interactive. I personalities focus on people to people skills. An I personality has never met a stranger commands a room with their outgoing presence. They are impulsive and open with anyone.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">S stands for Stabilizing. This personality type places importance on environmental pacing. The S prefers a controlled, deliberate, and predictable work/social environment. Security and and disciplined behavior motivate them. They demonstrate loyalty and patience and dislike change.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0px;">C stands for Cautious. C personalities appreciate protocol, standards, and rules. They are perfectionists, neat, balanced, and analytical. They respond well to respected authority and adhered to the adage “rules are made to be followed.”</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://creatingwhatmatters.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ediscprofile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://creatingwhatmatters.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ediscprofile.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none;" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For the longest time, I thought our personalities had an all or none approach. Based on quick testing, I connected more with the S personality. I appreciate stability in my life, abhor extreme change (unless instituted with extended deliberation), and want success to provide a safe and steady environment for my family.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Recently, I took a more comprehensive personality test on Tony Robbin’s website (it's free, </span><a href="http://www.tonyrobbins.com/disc-profile/" target="_blank">click</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><a href="http://www.tonyrobbins.com/disc-profile/" target="_blank"> here</a> to try for yourself). I discovered we are all combinations of each one, sometimes balanced, often dominated by one or two with the others operating in the periphery. We reflect facets of each one and demonstrate different elements depending on our circumstance.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Discovering personality is a spectrum, rather than a pigeonhole, has become remarkably freeing. My results gave me the opportunity to see myself differently, appreciate elements of my personality I had ignored. It felt like discovering the mirror I used every morning to see my face had been warped all this time. Now, I am able to truly see, and appreciate, my full personality.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGE6xUh92yjE4O1Wxq_KF_zEaAemm_frypVmt97qRyPEPyjdKq1mFzG4vKsCJwy6d98-Q5B-_Duxk8iUrPgwWc-Y6fTdYCIFKrChuxPKWRCy4oVsTnxNP4-U3ps2icOglpVfEuPMzBoMw/s1600/DISC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGE6xUh92yjE4O1Wxq_KF_zEaAemm_frypVmt97qRyPEPyjdKq1mFzG4vKsCJwy6d98-Q5B-_Duxk8iUrPgwWc-Y6fTdYCIFKrChuxPKWRCy4oVsTnxNP4-U3ps2icOglpVfEuPMzBoMw/s1600/DISC.jpg" height="315" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My test results confirmed my S personality - 99%. I had guessed I would also be a high D based on my drive to succeed, but I wasn’t - 14%. My drive comes from different motivations. My I personality score registered where I expected - 53%. The big surprise, and the most liberating result, came from the C quadrant - 99%.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For some reason, I had long viewed the C personality as bad, though I had no reason to. I viewed C as controlling and too interested in perfection. Rules seemed boring. After reading the results and the analysis, I can see where this aspect of my personality has struggled to assert itself - and where I have always squashed it. Knowing I am a C personality has given me permission to accept and create order in my life.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I trimmed my crepe myrtles yesterday and understood why I like it so much - I create order from chaos. I know why I hate looking in my pantry - it is a mess and I don’t have time to fix it. I frown on people who whistle and catcall at orchestra concerts. I respect symmetry and balance in art. I like doing my taxes.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I feel like I can now explore aspects of my personality I have previously eschewed simply because I didn’t know about them. Looking back, I see where they have struggled to emerge and I have ignored them. Now, I can recognize my own personality and create an environment around myself aimed at success and happiness.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is nice to know who I am. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-27015506117566530842013-12-08T10:46:00.000-06:002013-12-08T10:46:21.378-06:0050,000<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://rlv.zcache.com/dreamers_of_dreams_square_stickers-r3d1a3bf9f1a94f0cacb07b9b5d198916_v9wf3_8byvr_324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://rlv.zcache.com/dreamers_of_dreams_square_stickers-r3d1a3bf9f1a94f0cacb07b9b5d198916_v9wf3_8byvr_324.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://rlv.zcache.com/dreamers_of_dreams_square_stickers-r3d1a3bf9f1a94f0cacb07b9b5d198916_v9wf3_8byvr_324.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We make the world possible through dreaming.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Without persistent dreamers, the kind who fall down and get back up, the kind who others kick to the curb with doubtful feet only to emerge stronger than before, this world would have long ago become stagnant.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Some dreamers revolutionize the entire world, some only small clusters, but regardless of their impact, they share one quality I constantly respect and envy - the ability to push through the inevitable challenges the universe offers, resilient and strong.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I haven’t logged a blog entry in quite a while. I have dedicated my fingers towards a different goal the last two months - that of working towards my own dreams. November is National Novel Writing Month - or NaNoWriMo for short - and for years, as the writer bug tickled my insides, I have wanted to tackle the elephant sized goal of writing 50,000 words during the month. Despite my best intentions, I had allowed those curious and unfortunate scourges every dreamer recognizes - doubt, procrastination, poor planning - to derail my plans. Without ever beginning the challenge, November became a month wrought with personal frustration. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This year, however, I approached the challenge with a renewed spirit. In March, I finished the first draft on my first novel <i>The Selection</i>, and though it needs more work than I care to imagine, the act of accomplishment launched my brain into overdrive. Story ideas pummeled my insides. I saw new characters at every turn. The world opened up before me as I found the first glimmers of belief in myself.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://mrkatzoff.org/wp-content/uploads/desks_compressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://mrkatzoff.org/wp-content/uploads/desks_compressed.jpg" border="0" class="shrinkToFit decoded" height="240" src="http://mrkatzoff.org/wp-content/uploads/desks_compressed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I have no formal creative writing education, and while many authors over the years have made a go of publishing without a shred of instruction, my own psyche has always defaulted to the classroom when considering the unfamiliar. I couldn’t feel comfortable without one attempt at finding a teacher who could tell me everything I do well and poorly. So, I signed up for a writing workshop. I learned a lot. But what I learned most of all didn’t originate from the class itself. I learned that the best way to learn how to do something is to do it. Many times. Many, many times.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thinking back, I had heard that same exact lesson from my college bassoon instructor - Jeff Robinson. He taught me two important lessons that strangely have more to do with life than bassoon performance. The first regarded reed making - you haven’t made one reed until you have made one thousand. The second - if you want to make it as a professional musician, you need to spend two straight years practicing four hours a day.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://www.dianehanson.net/Painting%20Images/Painting%20Images%202000-02/L-bassoonreeds00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.dianehanson.net/Painting%20Images/Painting%20Images%202000-02/L-bassoonreeds00.jpg" border="0" class="shrinkToFit decoded" height="320" src="http://www.dianehanson.net/Painting%20Images/Painting%20Images%202000-02/L-bassoonreeds00.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The first lesson was my least favorite, and not just because I loathe making reeds. Knowing one thousand mistakes lie ahead absolutely bruises the ego. Once the one thousand and first reed sits on the </span>vocal<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> making brilliantly sounds, the previous one thousand become worth it. Those mistakes allow you to fail forwards.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I have recently encountered the second lesson in one of Macklemore’s raps, <i>Ten Thousand Hours</i>. The lyrics are ripe with inspiration, but my favorite lyrics speak to the meaning of the title:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The greats weren’t great because at birth they could paint</span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The greats were great cause they paint a lot </span></span></blockquote>
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Spending 10,000 hours working through the process, through the craft, eventually leads to the right kind of product. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So, with these thoughts it mind, and with the specter of November failures hanging over my shoulder, I dove in. I had to fight the internal editor who wanted to go back and fix. I had to fight the persistent desire to check facebook, to see what drivel the TV had to offer, to read the news. I occasionally succumbed to creative avoidance, but twenty eight days in, on Thanksgiving day, I had more than 50,000 words down and a nearly completed novel.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">I sit here, eager to return to work and finish the first draft. I write my blog today not for a pat on the back, but to remind you to never abandon your dreams. No matter how old you are, how long you have put them off or hidden from them, your dreams are alive. Embrace them. Let them live. You will never feel so alive as when you let them free. I know. 50,000 words taught me.</span></div>
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-58584813418535572032013-10-27T11:00:00.002-05:002013-10-27T11:00:33.881-05:00Just Breathe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://themodelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/breathe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://themodelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/breathe.jpg" border="0" class="shrinkToFit decoded" height="240" src="http://themodelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/breathe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Many of my students come to me with breathing problems. Not asthma, or allergies, or anything like that, but with an inability to take a breath the correct way while holding an instrument. I watch them ratchet their shoulders to their ears, expand their chest upwards as high as it can go, constrict their throat muscles until their tendons stand out against their skin. I would be in pain if I took a breath like that. They are trying to hard. They are forcing it.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now, please don’t get me wrong, their band directors deliver the correct information. I just seem to be a magnet for students who ignore it or don’t understand how to put the information into practice. Even after one on one instruction, students still have trouble doing it correctly. They can recite the breathing process, can explain to me how their body works when they breathe, but then when they try, they still force the air into their lungs the wrong way.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecVuBf_PfKkWnCRW0CKVo4SAXs3G-p8lO4g95XOgVVTlsD-8njj966ge32cQ50F0mjMYWA52dCVWCh8hSOnil-dEHKmBwLcbGez0sjsjw4VDBjy2Y1FRF42wtb5BCHbBlzXyfB0oJu58/s1600/40-Extreme+Yoga+Poses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecVuBf_PfKkWnCRW0CKVo4SAXs3G-p8lO4g95XOgVVTlsD-8njj966ge32cQ50F0mjMYWA52dCVWCh8hSOnil-dEHKmBwLcbGez0sjsjw4VDBjy2Y1FRF42wtb5BCHbBlzXyfB0oJu58/s1600/40-Extreme+Yoga+Poses.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecVuBf_PfKkWnCRW0CKVo4SAXs3G-p8lO4g95XOgVVTlsD-8njj966ge32cQ50F0mjMYWA52dCVWCh8hSOnil-dEHKmBwLcbGez0sjsjw4VDBjy2Y1FRF42wtb5BCHbBlzXyfB0oJu58/s320/40-Extreme+Yoga+Poses.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do that with your muscles flexed!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When forcing something, tension arises. Our bodies work better when relaxed. Ever stretched before? Do tense muscles make stretching easier or harder? Do you run with all your muscles flexed, or do you relax and let only the muscles work when they need to?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ever tried to make someone else do something they didn’t want to do? Teachers know about this. Parents know about this. I am sure everyone has experienced the same thing in their life. The other person pushes back. Our bodies do the same thing, resisting as we try to force them to do something.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">To circumvent the problem of forcing, I will change the subject. I ask them about their classes, or vacation, or their weekend, or whatever. I get them talking and they take a break from thinking. Then, after a minute or two, I ask them to pay attention to how the air moves into their body while they sit there. I don’t ask them to breathe, I just ask them to notice.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cpveBrSuhx6zANckGkX0T7wZR7im77UlfND6FQCaBsG41SbvJg1mmkv9iE8kAQTlp7uUOn8THNVK0cJO1nfe8kJtdXl67M6FwXev90rgVf8LP0wxWel9NLLuktagwWbWmfKp8Pd20WsJ/s1600/breathing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cpveBrSuhx6zANckGkX0T7wZR7im77UlfND6FQCaBsG41SbvJg1mmkv9iE8kAQTlp7uUOn8THNVK0cJO1nfe8kJtdXl67M6FwXev90rgVf8LP0wxWel9NLLuktagwWbWmfKp8Pd20WsJ/s1600/breathing.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9cpveBrSuhx6zANckGkX0T7wZR7im77UlfND6FQCaBsG41SbvJg1mmkv9iE8kAQTlp7uUOn8THNVK0cJO1nfe8kJtdXl67M6FwXev90rgVf8LP0wxWel9NLLuktagwWbWmfKp8Pd20WsJ/s320/breathing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It always works. They discover that their body knows how to breathe on its own. The air flows into our body, through our trachea and into our lungs. The stomach moves as our diaphragm displaces our internal organs. The chest only moves at the end of a full breath as a result of the lungs lifting against the rib cage. Our shoulders never move because they are not attached to our lungs in any way. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now that they see how it works, they just have to allow their body to breathe the same way with an instrument in their hands. They have to take advantage of what the body already knows and not force it to do something different.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I have seen this same lesson work in my own life. Whether interacting with other people or trying to change habits in myself, forcing is never the answer. Letting go, releasing the tension, and allowing change to happen has always worked better for me. Think about Star Wars. How does Luke Skywalker finally use the force (an ironic name for something that requires the absence of force)? He stops trying. He lets it work.</span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blastr.com/sites/blastr/files/styles/blog_post_media/public/kidvader.jpg?itok=wDVunglD" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://www.blastr.com/sites/blastr/files/styles/blog_post_media/public/kidvader.jpg?itok=wDVunglD" border="0" class="decoded" height="179" src="http://www.blastr.com/sites/blastr/files/styles/blog_post_media/public/kidvader.jpg?itok=wDVunglD" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know. That is Darth Vader. He is relaxed, too.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">My kids always become better players when they learn this important lesson. They learn that it applies to their fingers and technique - tense muscles don’t move as quickly or smoothly as relaxed ones; their tongues - a thick tongue resists nimble motion; and embouchure - we can never force the reed to vibrate, but we can support it while it does. </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Learning to allow things to happen instead of forcing them develops them as musicians. The same lesson lesson can help us to be better people.</span></span>Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-86485649919807445702013-09-29T12:04:00.000-05:002013-09-29T12:04:50.455-05:00Smile!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://leadingpersonality.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/smile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="http://leadingpersonality.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/smile.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="213" src="http://leadingpersonality.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/smile.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">How many times have you smiled today? Five? Ten? One hundred? Zero? Did your smile stretch the corners of your mouth, bunch up your cheeks, and spread around the room. Did you smile with your whole body or just your face? Did your smile alter the organic chemistry inside your brain? Was it fake or real? While the act of smiling seems so automatic and absent of importance, I recently learned the power contained in a smile is anything but ordinary.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ron Gutman spoke to the TEDxSiliconValley Conference in 2011 on the topic of smiles. His short talk contained everything we need to make our days happier and our lives longer. Please allow me to share a summary of the studies he presented. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">People who smile are viewed as more likable, courteous, and competent. The brain activity created through a single smile is equivalent to eating 2,000 bars of chocolate or receiving $25,000 in cash and lacks the caloric consequences or tax penalties. Smiling cleanses the blood stream of stress enhancing hormones and increases mood enhancing endorphins. Smiles are evolutionarily contagious. We are programmed to smile when others are smiling. Children smile up to 400 times a day while nearly 50% of the adult population smiles around or less than 20 times a day.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwAzFp9n5ahKSvRzSxV6XHqpLG4q0fhTXwPSAFL3UjsIJgtbWWSm9yEqC0yynX73oY8YC543n416uEJH-pVKQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The summary: find more time to spend around children as they will help you live a longer and happier life.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Smiles are also predictors of our marital success and our longevity. A study of baseball cards suggested that people who pose with a beaming smile will live seven years longer than people who don’t. </span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/25/article-2193399-14AEF6B6000005DC-744_634x721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/25/article-2193399-14AEF6B6000005DC-744_634x721.jpg" border="0" class="shrinkToFit decoded" height="320" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/25/article-2193399-14AEF6B6000005DC-744_634x721.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Too bad hair size isn't an indicator of <br />longevity and happiness.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Flip back through your yearbooks and take a look at your smiles. How long are you going to live? Please don’t think you are condemned to live the life dictated by a high school or college yearbook. You can right your ship if you feel it is headed in the wrong direction. Just smile more. Studies have shown that if you fake a smile, your body will actually adopt the feeling associated with the action, altering your mood and your outlook. Fake it until it is real.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Smile as much as you can. Smile for yourself. Smile for other people. Smile for no reason at all. Smile because you can. </span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/M6bubOSDHf8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-53969949744629102502013-09-15T10:20:00.001-05:002013-09-15T10:20:44.930-05:00Thirty Four<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2309/2175593755_9804c9da44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2309/2175593755_9804c9da44.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="213" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2309/2175593755_9804c9da44.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As we near our birthdays, I imagine most adults perform some sort of year end review, a progress report of sorts, just to see where we fit into the scheme of our own life. We evaluate how close we are to accomplishing life goals. We chastise ourselves for missing opportunities and not being where we should. We congratulate ourselves for the life we managed to craft out of the various opportunities the world has thrown our way.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I turn 34 this coming Tuesday, and while I know I am still a spring chicken to many and a wise elder to the rest, I was curious how I fit into the world age dynamic. So I turned to the interwebs to give give myself some perspective on how I should feel about my impending age.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">At the ripe old age of 34, I pass into the latter half of my life. According to the average world life expectancy, 67 years and 25 days, I have begun my descent. Anyone looking ahead to some sort of surprise birthday party at 40 complete with black streamers and compliment of black helium balloons has missed the boat. I am officially over the hill. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Compared to men the world over, I am in worse shape. Little did I know that I surpassed the middle of my life a year and a half ago. Whoops. Apparently, women have it much better than men, outlasting us by four years. Good to know Samantha won’t be over the hill for a number of years yet.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-f6aM7_bwmMSAd4MuQOR12vn0pS25scYxKbhdDGbJq8i9KXF4IVYJzMECuWBF6VdvMU33dz3rWj3uvB-ZOtUdvBRJs7alo0zUAf1PUgTfjn8pzgdqhCU-Rjn4wQk0oKAPLEvlqL3h9Xw/s1600/offthelawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-f6aM7_bwmMSAd4MuQOR12vn0pS25scYxKbhdDGbJq8i9KXF4IVYJzMECuWBF6VdvMU33dz3rWj3uvB-ZOtUdvBRJs7alo0zUAf1PUgTfjn8pzgdqhCU-Rjn4wQk0oKAPLEvlqL3h9Xw/s1600/offthelawn.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Apparently, I am also in the older half of the population as well with over 50% of the population aged under 30 years. I guess it is time to hang out on the front porch with a water hose and yell at the kids who walk in my lawn.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So, I will say thank God I live in the United States where I still have another five years until I officially pass over the hill at the age of 39. Too bad I don’t live in Japan where I can postpone that party until 41 and a half, or any of the other 32 countries whose populations live longer than us. I am definitely not looking a gift horse in the mouth though, since I would have been over the hill in Sierra Leone ten years ago and would be looking forward to only 13 more years.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">From the more personal side, if I were my Dad, I would have three kids - the oldest a handsome devil aged 13, the youngest just entering his terrible twos.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If I were Oprah, a whole lot more people would read this blog. Other than that, I would have been the host of my own show for only two years. This would be the year I launch my own production company, purchase the rights to my show, and move it to ABC.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If I were J.K. Rowling, I would have just published the third Harry Potter novel, but I wouldn’t have seen young Harry on the silver screen. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://splitsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/hansolo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://splitsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/hansolo.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="239" src="http://splitsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/hansolo.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If I were Daniel Radcliffe, I wouldn’t have played Harry Potter. In fact, I wouldn’t have been born. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If I were Harrison Ford, the world wouldn’t yet know me as Han Solo.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">If I were Beethoven, I would be midway through my transition into deafness. If I were Mozart, 93% of my life’s work would already have been published and the Oscar award winning movie about my life would still be 194 years in the future (the year 2207 for those of you not wanting to do the math). If I were Franz Schubert, I would have already succumbed to </span>syphilis<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If I were Jesus, I would be sitting at the right hand.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But, I am not any of those people. Take it or leave it, I am who I am. Two days from age 34. I am not worried about how many more days I have left on this planet, or what I have done or not done up to this point. I plan on living each day to the fullest and letting tomorrow take care of itself.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Happy Birthday to me. Thanks for coming along on the ride.</span></span><br />
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-37088439992031922322013-09-08T09:26:00.000-05:002013-09-08T09:27:25.884-05:00Paradoxical Commandment #10<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Glass_Half_Full_bw_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Glass_Half_Full_bw_1.JPG" border="0" class="shrinkToFit decoded" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Glass_Half_Full_bw_1.JPG" width="133" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">The summary message contained in the </span><a href="http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/" style="letter-spacing: 0px;" target="_blank">Dr. Kent M. Keith’s Paradoxical Commandments</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> resonates with an appropriate measure of cynical optimism. In some ways, it seems as if he implores us to do our best while expecting the worst. After only a surface reading, I would agree, but when taken as a whole, the commandments reveal a deeper truth rooted solely in optimism. Paradoxical Commandment number ten continues in the same vein:</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dr. Keith’s commandments seek to weaken pessimistic arguments against them by including the very arguments in the commandments. This best of/worst of pairing creates the paradoxical nature the commandments embody. Dr. Keith acknowledges humanity’s own tendency towards the negative, the trend we feel to pull others down, and he tells us not to worry about it. Our own nature combats this very same paradox on a daily basis.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Imagine the commandments without the negatives:</span></span><br />
<ol>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Love</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Do good</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Succeed</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Do good</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Be Honest and Frank</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Think big</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Fight for the underdogs</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Build</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Help People</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Give the world your best</span></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.china-mike.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/great-wall-jiayuguan-pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img alt="http://www.china-mike.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/great-wall-jiayuguan-pass.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="225" src="http://www.china-mike.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/great-wall-jiayuguan-pass.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Without the negatives, the commandments ignore our own nature, losing much of their power to connect with us. We know these are actions we should take, but our weak egos immediately throw up defensive fortifications based on previous experience:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<ol>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">People will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You will win false friends and true enemies</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Good is forgotten quickly</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You will be vulnerable</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Small men and women with small minds will shoot you down</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">People only follow top dogs</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What you build will be destroyed</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">People may attack you</span></span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> You will get kicked in the teeth.</span></span></li>
</ol>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">These are our ego’s defenses. By splashing them on the page paired with our desired attributes, we eviscerate the ego’s defense. We know these are all possibilities, but we don’t care. We give the world our best anyway.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As your daily life unfolds in front of you, ignore the negative possibilities swirling around your every action. Focus instead on the power of your good, on the vast love you hold for your fellow man, and on the possibility of success in your life. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You are strong and you are powerful. No matter what the world throws at you, be and do your best. Do it anyway.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px;">-
I first encountered an adapted version of the “Paradoxical
Commandments,” titled “The Final Analysis,” while listening to a Wayne
Dyer audio CD in my early twenties. The meaning and message struck me
as true, helping guide my thoughts and actions as I developed from a big
kid into a real adult. Later, I discovered the poem was not actually
written by Mother Theresa at all, but adapted, framed, and hung on the
wall in her Calcutta orphanage. She cared about its message enough to
use it to empower the weak and marginalized children to whom she gave
her life.</span><br style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;">The Paradoxical Commandments are reprinted with permission. </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001</span></span></span><br />
<br />Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-58874262508798076572013-07-07T10:44:00.000-05:002013-07-07T10:44:13.739-05:00Paradoxical Commandment #9<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://wisdomvoices.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/helping-hand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://wisdomvoices.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/helping-hand.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="213" src="http://wisdomvoices.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/helping-hand.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Some of the worse arguments I have ever had took place in high school. My girlfriend at the time struggled in calculus. Blessed with a math brain, I offered tutorial services. We would sit at her dining room table, pencils and practice problems at the ready, and do with battle integrals and complicated exponential functions. The sessions always began tense, growing worse from there. Eventually, one or both of us ended up yelling; our math related arguments always turned into personal attacks. It wasn’t pretty. Dr. Kent highlighted this scenario in <a href="http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/" target="_blank">Paradoxical Commandment </a>#9:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our arguments had nothing to do with math. The angry seeds for our yell-fests had already rooted deep within our own personalities before we ever sat down amongst the angsty theorems. </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.gmor.org/home/140004676/140004676/armor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.gmor.org/home/140004676/140004676/armor.jpg" border="0" class="shrinkToFit decoded" height="320" src="http://www.gmor.org/home/140004676/140004676/armor.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Pride hides within us all. We carry it with us where we go. No matter our thoughts, how we feel, or what we say, pride remains a part of us. Some manage it better than others, putting it to the side when necessary. Others wear it like a badge or a suit of armor. Pride puts all of us at risk for both sides of Commandment #9.</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">My girlfriend needed help. Everyone involved understood, including her. My help seemed reasonable in the beginning: I was accessible, eager to spend more time with her, and good at the subject. No one considered how we would work in a tutorial situation. Her pride prevented her from seeing me as more than her beau; it’s hard to take a hormonal teenage boy seriously as a teacher. My own pride elevated my internal status above her. I treated her with less respect as my “student” than I offered to her as my girlfriend.</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s easy to see how friction between the two of us lead to some spectacular fireworks. She attacked me out of anger at herself that she didn’t understand and out of frustration that I spoke down to her. I responded, thinking “how dare she speak to her teacher that way.”</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://mypinkvisions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/emotional-baggage.jpg?84cd58" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://mypinkvisions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/emotional-baggage.jpg?84cd58" border="0" class="decoded" height="256" src="http://mypinkvisions.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/emotional-baggage.jpg?84cd58" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Have you heard the phrase “hurting people hurt people?” People carry emotional baggage. When put into a situation in which they feel vulnerable, they lash out, trying to protect themselves. The more pain they feel, the quicker and more fiercely they strike. </span></div>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We were not the perfect couple and some poor relationship decisions on both of our parts fermented feelings of guilt, insecurity, and mistrust. Though neither of us knew of the other’s issues at the time, our personal reflections bubbled up during our study sessions. I couldn’t tell you which was the fuel and which was the accelerant for our angry clashes, but I know they both played a part.</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Helping people, whether on a direct personal level, or through a more wide spread distribution, creates a better world. Understanding how to approach those we help, knowing we need to set aside our own personal issues before hand, and realizing sparks may fly, sets us up to generate more success through our efforts.</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px;">-
I first encountered an adapted version of the “Paradoxical
Commandments,” titled “The Final Analysis,” while listening to a Wayne
Dyer audio CD in my early twenties. The meaning and message struck me
as true, helping guide my thoughts and actions as I developed from a big
kid into a real adult. Later, I discovered the poem was not actually
written by Mother Theresa at all, but adapted, framed, and hung on the
wall in her Calcutta orphanage. She cared about its message enough to
use it to empower the weak and marginalized children to whom she gave
her life.</span><br style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The Paradoxical Commandments are reprinted with permission. </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001</span></span></div>
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-28879176135932666072013-06-30T08:47:00.000-05:002013-06-30T08:47:31.421-05:00Paradoxical Commandment #8<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium/sand-castle-eszra-tanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium/sand-castle-eszra-tanner.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="218" src="http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium/sand-castle-eszra-tanner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Have you ever built a sandcastle, only to watch it disintegrate beneath the power of the ocean? Did it stop you? Probably not. The most innovative children work around the problem, digging ditches, moats, and levies to disburse the water’s power outside of the central castle area. The more elaborate the defenses, the longer the castle stands. No matter what, come morning, only the clean face of the beach remains, unblemished by even the most sophisticated architecture. If only we can capture the youthful belief in the permanence of our structures. Thus, Dr. Kent’s eighth <a href="http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/" target="_blank">Paradoxical Commandment</a>:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UeGE89qCnPnROHSZXV8heQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NQ--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/thelookout/freedom-tower-ap-nyc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UeGE89qCnPnROHSZXV8heQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NQ--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/thelookout/freedom-tower-ap-nyc.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UeGE89qCnPnROHSZXV8heQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NQ--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/thelookout/freedom-tower-ap-nyc.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The recently completed One World Trade Center, or Freedom Tower, in New York City stands as a tribute to this commandment. Positioned on the sixteen acre World Trade Center site, the Western Hemisphere’s tallest building’s footprint stands where Six World Trade Center used to. In true American spirit, the new tower surpasses the height of the two fallen towers by more than 400 feet at a symbolic 1776 feet tall.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our own personal efforts will always come under attack. At some point, someone will take aim. We should never let the fear of this rule our lives. Instead, we should feel encouraged to build as strong as we can. In the event Dr. Kent’s commandment comes true and our efforts are torn down, build again.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/US-HENRY-FORD-MODEL-T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/US-HENRY-FORD-MODEL-T.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="235" src="http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/US-HENRY-FORD-MODEL-T.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Henry Ford filed for bankruptcy twice before finally founding the Ford Motor Company. R. H. Macy failed seven different times before founding Macy’s. Harland David Sanders’ secret recipe was rejected 1,009 times before finally being accepted by a restaurant. Now, we know him as the found of Kentucky Fried Chicken.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The building process is never easy. Many times, we rebuild ourselves and our futures on top of the rubble left over from our past. Never stop. Build your success one step at a time. Craft your future as you go. Eventually, you will find your head scraping the heavens. </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px;">-
I first encountered an adapted version of the “Paradoxical
Commandments,” titled “The Final Analysis,” while listening to a Wayne
Dyer audio CD in my early twenties. The meaning and message struck me
as true, helping guide my thoughts and actions as I developed from a big
kid into a real adult. Later, I discovered the poem was not actually
written by Mother Theresa at all, but adapted, framed, and hung on the
wall in her Calcutta orphanage. She cared about its message enough to
use it to empower the weak and marginalized children to whom she gave
her life.</span><br style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The Paradoxical Commandments are reprinted with permission. </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001</span></span><br />
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-45268340405140480082013-06-02T10:36:00.000-05:002013-06-02T10:36:34.908-05:00Paradoxical Commandment #7<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.metrolic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/081028-t-rex-skeleton-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.metrolic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/081028-t-rex-skeleton-02.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="212" src="http://www.metrolic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/081028-t-rex-skeleton-02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Imagine this setting. 100 million years ago or so. Dinosaurs rule the world. Mammals have spread out around the globe, but despite the fact they have been around for 100 millions years already, their small size and relative “newness” keeps them from ruling the Earth on their own. Who would you root for in this scenario? Would your twitter feed fill with trends like #dinosrule or #mammalsaregoingdown? Whose facebook page would have more likes? 100 million years ago, I would have to say the inaccurately named “terrible lizards” take the cake, leading us to Dr. Kent’s <a href="http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/" target="_blank">paradoxical commandment</a> number seven:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Have you ever rooted for an underdog? Honestly, every time I root for the San Antonio Spurs, the sports media makes me feel like my team of choice is the underdog. Every time. No matter who they play. Getting off my soapbox now before I hijack my own blog post. Go Spurs Go! Ok, now I'm done. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://sherpacoach.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/dick-vitale-cinderella1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://sherpacoach.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/dick-vitale-cinderella1.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://sherpacoach.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/dick-vitale-cinderella1.jpg" width="250" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Rooting for the underdog carries a thrill. The NCAA basketball tournament holds a special energy anytime a Cinderella team makes it through the first couple of rounds. The country seems to collectively exhale when they finally lose, though. At some point, our culture became programed to trust completely in the hierarchy of value rankings. Though we might root for the underdog, when the team “supposed” to win does, the tension dissipates and everything returns to normal.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If asked to place a bet on who wins a war between the globe’s preeminent political power with the world’s strongest military and a small agrarian society whose army primarily consists of conscripted militiamen, who would you bet on? Exactly. George Washington might take offense at your bet. Twitter hashtags #HappyBirthdayUSA and #thanksforthehelp @France @Spain @Netherlands.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGSWUl_UEN_xDCWkntv1DJJkyo4KJbUmm-3sy47P1mgqpWf1ZdmqRW4T99Pgh8ogC3QT7QE_7DDN-4F1fqYL-k4wi2vFfFT6qj7gw0qWfvu3RxtANW4hbnEOPCwUWRb-LjbhL3JhvqsK1/s1600/fear+change.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGSWUl_UEN_xDCWkntv1DJJkyo4KJbUmm-3sy47P1mgqpWf1ZdmqRW4T99Pgh8ogC3QT7QE_7DDN-4F1fqYL-k4wi2vFfFT6qj7gw0qWfvu3RxtANW4hbnEOPCwUWRb-LjbhL3JhvqsK1/s400/fear+change.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGSWUl_UEN_xDCWkntv1DJJkyo4KJbUmm-3sy47P1mgqpWf1ZdmqRW4T99Pgh8ogC3QT7QE_7DDN-4F1fqYL-k4wi2vFfFT6qj7gw0qWfvu3RxtANW4hbnEOPCwUWRb-LjbhL3JhvqsK1/s320/fear+change.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Humans have a general fear of change. We prefer routine. We like normal. We crave stasis and dislike situations which challenge our world view. When an upstart crawls towards the top, whether in sports, business, politics, or social situations, our skin crawls along with them. Without underdogs, without change, our world fails to evolve.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Finding the right underdog to support might take difficulty, but given the right foresight, and the right level of support, an underdog can rise to change the world for the better. Rooting for an underdog, while possibly requiring personal sacrifice, should never feel reluctant. Reward rarely comes without risk.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.history.com/images/media/slideshow/george-washington/george-washington-delaware.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://www.history.com/images/media/slideshow/george-washington/george-washington-delaware.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="217" src="http://www.history.com/images/media/slideshow/george-washington/george-washington-delaware.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bet against me, did you? Coming for you, I am.<br />Talk like Yoda, I do.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The fledgling underdog founded in 1776 would not have succeeded in throwing off the oppressive mantle of the British monarchy without support from European allies. They saw the value in the American revolution and sought to gain assets of their own against the world’s superpower. After all, doesn’t the world love to watch as those at the top get knocked down a couple rungs #TigerWoods. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66548000/jpg/_66548984_e6700084-cretaceous-tertiary_impact,_artwork-spl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66548000/jpg/_66548984_e6700084-cretaceous-tertiary_impact,_artwork-spl.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="166" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/66548000/jpg/_66548984_e6700084-cretaceous-tertiary_impact,_artwork-spl.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Thanks for the help Chicxulub!" said the mammals.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Fan love for the dinos seems easy 100 million years ago. Their size dominated. Their ferocity frightened. They ruled. But circumstances change, giving underdogs a chance. 65 million years ago, something happened to give the small, mostly underground dwelling mammals the edge. They rapidly filled in the ecological void left by the absent dinosaurs, leading to their current dominance the world over.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Never count an underdog out. Follow paradoxical commandment seven and get behind them instead. You never know what they might achieve with just a little help.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px;">-
I first encountered an adapted version of the “Paradoxical
Commandments,” titled “The Final Analysis,” while listening to a Wayne
Dyer audio CD in my early twenties. The meaning and message struck me
as true, helping guide my thoughts and actions as I developed from a big
kid into a real adult. Later, I discovered the poem was not actually
written by Mother Theresa at all, but adapted, framed, and hung on the
wall in her Calcutta orphanage. She cared about its message enough to
use it to empower the weak and marginalized children to whom she gave
her life.</span><br style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The Paradoxical Commandments are reprinted with permission. </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001</span></span><br />
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-48704224423696553092013-05-26T10:48:00.000-05:002013-05-26T10:52:50.673-05:00Paradoxical Commandment #6<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://api.ning.com/files/Fd0Hyt-VB-mLJyE6xLYZ**QLu2VVQfvnaIEzyxSO11rwdkqRti2q4ra1ES1p8jr1BpSEJSaRTmqdCOv-6CXzMGxmhyl-gUex/applelogo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://api.ning.com/files/Fd0Hyt-VB-mLJyE6xLYZ**QLu2VVQfvnaIEzyxSO11rwdkqRti2q4ra1ES1p8jr1BpSEJSaRTmqdCOv-6CXzMGxmhyl-gUex/applelogo.gif" border="0" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://api.ning.com/files/Fd0Hyt-VB-mLJyE6xLYZ**QLu2VVQfvnaIEzyxSO11rwdkqRti2q4ra1ES1p8jr1BpSEJSaRTmqdCOv-6CXzMGxmhyl-gUex/applelogo.gif" width="260" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Steve Jobs is one of the world’s best known innovators. His work ethic, imaginative drive, and creative impetus pushed Apple Computers from a marginalized, niche oriented computer company into one of the world’s most well known brands in just a decade’s time. He initiated the steps that lead to the overhaul the music industry, the way we view telecommunication devices, and how we compute. Only, all of this happened after he was essentially fired from Apple in 1985, nine years after founding the company. Thus, <a href="http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/" target="_blank">paradoxical commandment</a> number six:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thinking big extends beyond creating the thought and holding on to it. Thinking big takes action. The first steps towards enacting any idea can feel terrifying, filling our minds with worries of failure and loss. Take the first steps anyway. Most of us have an easy time imagining failure; we have a harder time wrapping our minds around the enormity of success. Focus on the possibility of success. Take the first steps knowing success lies at the end of the journey.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-ved="0CAUQjRw" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&docid=yeWYJ61tpMpZZM&tbnid=VClJTC_Q0O_jWM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmemecrunch.com%2Fgenerator%2Ftemplate%2F194940%2Fcat-in-box%2F&ei=7yyiUbDHJ4Lq8wSN2IHQBA&bvm=bv.47008514,d.dmQ&psig=AFQjCNEfaR-Gr5flVMS8t0tupLDNekLePA&ust=1369669197852067" id="irc_mil" style="border: 0px none; clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img height="239" id="irc_mi" src="http://memecrunch.com/image/50d22abfafa96f1ce1000001.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It isn't comfortable in there is it? Come on out!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I push this idea with my private students. Too often, their young psyches choose safety over the possibility of performing musically. They hide in their box, worried they might mess up. I encourage them to accept any and all errors; by knowing errors occur, we prepare ourselves for stepping past them. As my college bassoon professor, Jeff Robinson, used to tell us - you haven’t made a reed until you have made 1000. Knowing what doesn’t work holds as much importance as knowing what does.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I also hold my students to a rule about musicality - if you feel like you are doing enough, you aren’t; if you feel like you are doing too much, you are doing enough. I think this rule fits well with paradoxical commandment number six. Go big, or go home. No pain, no gain. No risk, no reward.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.148apps.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/2010-iphone-ipod-ipad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://www.148apps.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/2010-iphone-ipod-ipad.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="239" src="http://www.148apps.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/2010-iphone-ipod-ipad.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of these products has probably affected your<br />
life in one way or another. Thank Steve Jobs.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In 1996, Apple Computer purchased NeXT, a company founded by Steve Jobs after he left Apple. Steve had come home. One year later he held the position of CEO. Then came the iMac, the iBook, the PowerBook, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. Jobs has said getting fired was the best thing to ever happen to him. Without it, he would never have reinvented our lives.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When we fail to act on our big thinking, we only guarantee one thing - failure. Get that beautiful idea out of your head and put it on paper. Put it into action. Lead it to fruition. If some small minded person shoots it down, so what, keep thinking big. We believe in you. Now you should, too.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px;">- I first encountered an adapted version of the “Paradoxical Commandments,” titled “The Final Analysis,” while listening to a Wayne Dyer audio CD in my early twenties. The meaning and message struck me as true, helping guide my thoughts and actions as I developed from a big kid into a real adult. Later, I discovered the poem was not actually written by Mother Theresa at all, but adapted, framed, and hung on the wall in her Calcutta orphanage. She cared about its message enough to use it to empower the weak and marginalized children to whom she gave her life.</span><br style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The Paradoxical Commandments are reprinted with permission. </span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001</span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-6940597191596841102013-05-19T09:58:00.000-05:002013-05-19T10:00:39.416-05:00Paradoxical Commandement #5<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7WYFSCyQ_YypKaFrBsrt3or_301_Mi7KIPM7MMhZyP3b8UfTVk4GO63PvQ4wgnHsY84utF5MjiEMuXYXtM7sLQzSVLVlTSujQEe3J-PUpSx3IUJ2WqanRwy1AeOlk-JRUcj56t00X65d/s1600/pinocchio1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7WYFSCyQ_YypKaFrBsrt3or_301_Mi7KIPM7MMhZyP3b8UfTVk4GO63PvQ4wgnHsY84utF5MjiEMuXYXtM7sLQzSVLVlTSujQEe3J-PUpSx3IUJ2WqanRwy1AeOlk-JRUcj56t00X65d/s1600/pinocchio1.gif" border="0" class="decoded" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO7WYFSCyQ_YypKaFrBsrt3or_301_Mi7KIPM7MMhZyP3b8UfTVk4GO63PvQ4wgnHsY84utF5MjiEMuXYXtM7sLQzSVLVlTSujQEe3J-PUpSx3IUJ2WqanRwy1AeOlk-JRUcj56t00X65d/s1600/pinocchio1.gif" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Telling a little while lie can be so easy. Most have little significant impact on our lives and remain inconsequential to our experiences. They slip from between our lips quickly, flitting into the world with unmentionable effect. At least, we tell ourselves they do. But, as many of us have discovered, white lies grow, effecting our lives the same way proverbial butterfly wings can cause a hurricane. <a href="http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/" target="_blank">Paradoxical commandment number</a> five hits close to home for me:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Surely you see how I relate to this commandment. My blog title - <a href="http://www.frankchambers.com/" target="_blank">Being Frank</a> - is more than just a clever use of my name. Rather, it reminds me of the important message contained in commandment five. I began blogging for two reasons - to hone my writing skills (which are better) and to throw my musings out into the world. I learned quickly how vulnerable any of us can feel when offering an opinion to others. They day I received my first negative comments opened my eyes in a huge way (<a href="http://www.frankchambers.com/2011/04/thorny-issue.html" target="_blank">on this post</a>). I kept at it, although with a more fervent awareness of my new vulnerability.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://theoddcoupleblog.com/wp-content/uploads//little-white-lies-post.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://theoddcoupleblog.com/wp-content/uploads//little-white-lies-post.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" src="http://theoddcoupleblog.com/wp-content/uploads//little-white-lies-post.jpg" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We tell untruths to protect ourselves or others. As children, we learn to avoid consequence; lying helps accomplish this. Our lies have the potential to explode in our face. They also grow. The first lie might be small, but by taking that first step, each successive lie has permission to expand, growing beyond our ability to manage them.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Our actions can also reflect dishonest intentions. Small infractions might seem minor, but can lead us down a dangerous path. My girlfriend during senior year in high school had trouble with calculus. Tutoring didn’t help, so I “helped” during tests. I finished quickly and held onto my paper, waiting for the inevitable shoulder tap. She wrote the questions she didn’t understand on a scrap of paper and slid it under my desk. I filled in the answers and slipped it back to her. I hated it, but did it anyway. My calculus teacher must have wondered why I always looked mad when I turned in my tests. </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Getting caught would probably have meant a zero on our tests and maybe a trip to the Assistant Principal. I knew this. It didn’t stop me from elevating my dishonesty, though. Towards the end of the year, a few days before finals, I stopped by the calculus classroom for something after school. I noticed a stack of finals on the teacher’s desk, and since no one else was in the room, I took one and gave it to my girlfriend. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I never looked at it. That helped me feel better. A little. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Few people know that story, as I have kept it close to the vest for fifteen years, but according to commandment five, I should have no problem admitting my failures. Or, at the very least, I should find the strength to admit to them. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5kGpqJ0BhUptfCoymULhuOOuV6YrFGZGw1lETNxYujL3Pcfac7ntxB7OK2PrO5jhZvlA9QS6raFbAruKOe58_6hEl7ZW_oKXSilrawIel2MX6AB-vkQXoQbIEoPpiHYCcTDKP0uiD4U/s1600/honesty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5kGpqJ0BhUptfCoymULhuOOuV6YrFGZGw1lETNxYujL3Pcfac7ntxB7OK2PrO5jhZvlA9QS6raFbAruKOe58_6hEl7ZW_oKXSilrawIel2MX6AB-vkQXoQbIEoPpiHYCcTDKP0uiD4U/s320/honesty.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Commandment five encourages a daily vigilance towards honesty and frankness. Admitting to past errors helps us heal old wound, but living an honest life prevents new ones. Both are important as we move forwards through life.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Dr. Keith wrote this commandment as a directive to young leaders. While you may not think you play the role of leader in your life, you do. Somewhere, whether in your career, your family, your community, someone looks up to you. Living an honest and frank life builds your credibility. Open yourself up. Let others in. Live the example you want to set.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">-
I first encountered an adapted version of the “Paradoxical
Commandments,” titled “The Final Analysis,” while listening to a Wayne
Dyer audio CD in my early twenties. The meaning and message struck me
as true, helping guide my thoughts and actions as I developed from a big
kid into a real adult. Later, I discovered the poem was not actually
written by Mother Theresa at all, but adapted, framed, and hung on the
wall in her Calcutta orphanage. She cared about its message enough to
use it to empower the weak and marginalized children to whom she gave
her life.</span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
The Paradoxical Commandments are reprinted with permission. <span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: center;">© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001</span></span>Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-4184915957283942622013-05-05T10:01:00.000-05:002013-05-05T10:01:03.268-05:00Paradoxical Commandment #4<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQkX_vNEROFchyphenhyphengjC1zf2m4eMet8HXZoBnYB4by94fIsrA_4sXx78e83x6q89-XgQNW8LHV_Tv7tk55xtxeCfZeYRMMRD3w15bvl3OILyTN5rVwwjPmbXA16htRrjG7NXE9_ONY0NiBFE/s1600/whats+in+it+for+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQkX_vNEROFchyphenhyphengjC1zf2m4eMet8HXZoBnYB4by94fIsrA_4sXx78e83x6q89-XgQNW8LHV_Tv7tk55xtxeCfZeYRMMRD3w15bvl3OILyTN5rVwwjPmbXA16htRrjG7NXE9_ONY0NiBFE/s1600/whats+in+it+for+me.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQkX_vNEROFchyphenhyphengjC1zf2m4eMet8HXZoBnYB4by94fIsrA_4sXx78e83x6q89-XgQNW8LHV_Tv7tk55xtxeCfZeYRMMRD3w15bvl3OILyTN5rVwwjPmbXA16htRrjG7NXE9_ONY0NiBFE/s200/whats+in+it+for+me.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What’s in it for me? I have asked that question before; I imagine many of us have. We often look for the personal benefit in our lives, maneuvering ourselves into positions of gain. After all, we are capitalists. Our society functions on risk vs. reward, on pain and gain, on me-first principals. </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Are these principals our best option? <a href="http:/" target="_blank">Paradoxical commandment</a> number four suggests a better one:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Living in a society where investment pays off in future dividends, the concept of doing good for good’s sake might seem alien. Often, even when we don’t ask the question externally, silently, “what’s in it for me” haunts the back of our minds. Should I help out because people will see me helping? Should I do this because someone will owe me a favor? Should I do this to add it to my resume?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Why not do good for goodness sake?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://topicagnostic.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/just_be_good_for_goodness_sake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://topicagnostic.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/just_be_good_for_goodness_sake.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="118" src="http://topicagnostic.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/just_be_good_for_goodness_sake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Unfortunately, the modern battle between atheist and theists have hijacked this particular discussion. Somehow, the two sides believe they have immanent domain over goodness (this does not include all atheists or theists). The atheist argues that goodness is enough - God becomes unnecessary. The theist argues that doing good enacts the love of Jesus Christ in the world.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Personally, I don’t believe doing good belongs to either camp exclusively. Where you stand dictates your feelings. The commandment negates the reason for even having an argument in the first place. Do good. That is enough. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We should do good absent a reason. Our actions should seek to create good simply for it to exist. C.S. Lewis sums up our fourth commandment perfectly:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I think the commandment speaks to the longevity of the effects as well. Even as the results of your good act vanish, the goodness itself does not. As another famous man suggests, leave tomorrow for tomorrow. Do good now. Don't worry about anything else.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">-
I first encountered an adapted version of the “Paradoxical
Commandments,” titled “The Final Analysis,” while listening to a Wayne
Dyer audio CD in my early twenties. The meaning and message struck me
as true, helping guide my thoughts and actions as I developed from a big
kid into a real adult. Later, I discovered the poem was not actually
written by Mother Theresa at all, but adapted, framed, and hung on the
wall in her Calcutta orphanage. She cared about its message enough to
use it to empower the weak and marginalized children to whom she gave
her life.</span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
The Paradoxical Commandments are reprinted with permission. <span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: center;">© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001</span></span><br />
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-67449931057779244942013-04-28T21:42:00.001-05:002013-04-28T21:42:05.505-05:00Paradoxical Commandment #3<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://atlantablackstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/san-antonio-spurs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://atlantablackstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/san-antonio-spurs.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="180" src="http://atlantablackstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/san-antonio-spurs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am a Spurs fan. Always have been. Though I have made my home in another city for the past 15 years, my hear still beats for the black and silver. I have always appreciated their poise and character, and have dedicated <a href="http://www.frankchambers.com/2012/05/pounding-rock.html" target="_blank">my basketball fandom</a> to the Spurs for all time.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are those who hate the Spurs as much as I love them. They see the organization as an upstart, broadcasting their team-first mentality in a sport full of me-first players. The decry the lack of heroics, they complain about the lack of a flashy superstar, and they loathe the absence of drama surrounding the humble Spurs.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, we arrive at the third <a href="http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/" target="_blank">Paradoxical Commandment</a>:</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://www.sportsmemes.net/pics/4752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.sportsmemes.net/pics/4752.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="240" src="http://www.sportsmemes.net/pics/4752.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Spurs have found plenty of true enemies, though I have not encountered many I would describe as false friends (fans); I am sure they are out there. Plenty of other successful NBA organizations have gathered false friends (I can visualize the flood of fans fleeing the Lakers bandwagon at the moment), and I count myself among the true enemies of such teams as the Lakers, the Mavericks, and the Jazz (I am shaking my fist at you, Karl Malone).</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Have the complaints about the Spurs’ style stopped them from pursuing excellence on their terms? No. They believe in their formula and execute it to the best of their abilities, turning deaf ears towards their critics. Their success has lead the Spurs organization to consistently rank at the top of the four major sports in the US.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdrwyreZgN1qici24o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdrwyreZgN1qici24o1_500.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdrwyreZgN1qici24o1_500.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, this is Teen Wolf. The original. They<br />wanted the wolf. He gave them a win.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We have all seen the movie where the hero stumbles as success goes to their head. The false friends abandon them and the true enemies revel in their failure. The story never ends there, though. The hero gets back up, believing in the possibility of success, and tries again, achieving their goal no matter what it takes. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We all have the choice. Succumb to those around us or go out and find your success. Find it no matter who follows in your wake. Success is worth it.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">-
I first encountered an adapted version of the “Paradoxical
Commandments,” titled “The Final Analysis,” while listening to a Wayne
Dyer audio CD in my early twenties. The meaning and message struck me
as true, helping guide my thoughts and actions as I developed from a big
kid into a real adult. Later, I discovered the poem was not actually
written by Mother Theresa at all, but adapted, framed, and hung on the
wall in her Calcutta orphanage. She cared about its message enough to
use it to empower the weak and marginalized children to whom she gave
her life.</span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
The Paradoxical Commandments are reprinted with permission. <span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: center;">© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001</span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-48800824357222791052013-04-21T10:40:00.000-05:002013-04-21T10:40:08.516-05:00Paradoxical Commandment #2<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.visionmissions.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/ten_commandments_leadership-425x230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://www.visionmissions.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/ten_commandments_leadership-425x230.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="173" src="https://www.visionmissions.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/ten_commandments_leadership-425x230.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">People often assume the worst of others.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">We <a href="http://www.frankchambers.com/2012/04/reserving-judgement.html" target="_blank">judge too quickly</a>, assigning motive to actions with little to no information.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Then, when true facts arrive, the unfortunate strength contained within <a href="http://www.frankchambers.com/2011/05/fake-it-till-its-real.html" target="_blank">first impressions</a> cements our original impressions despite evidence to the contrary.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Conversely, the same actions affect other people’s view towards us.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dr. Kent M. Keith’s second <a href="http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/" target="_blank">Paradoxical Commandment</a> stands to battle the reality of the above paragraph.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.addictinginfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Republicans-vs-Democrats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.addictinginfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Republicans-vs-Democrats.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://www.addictinginfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Republicans-vs-Democrats.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The definition of “good” fluctuates based on perspective. What I perceive as good may not be the same as you. People with shared cultural values tend to believe in similar “good,” but not always. Just take a look at the political landscape of the last few years. Though Republicans and Democrats claim to work towards the highest good for our country, they quickly decry anything the other party presents as “good” for the country, accusing each other of selfish and ulterior motives.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The same can be seen on platforms as immense as the geopolitical landscape or as tiny as inter-office politics. The human inclination towards distrust clouds our judgement. Dr. Keith suggests ignoring negative opinion, or at the very least acknowledging and summarily dismissing its existence, continuing with actions in which we find inherent goodness.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This commandment contains two powerful suggestions - <a href="http://www.frankchambers.com/2011/12/when-necessary-use-words.html" target="_blank">do good no matter what</a>, and <a href="http://www.frankchambers.com/2011/05/free-from-judgement.html" target="_blank">don't worry about what other people think</a>. Acting in this spirit helps to move you forward on solid footing.</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6k1glZ2aA1rw3tv8o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6k1glZ2aA1rw3tv8o1_500.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6k1glZ2aA1rw3tv8o1_500.jpg" width="260" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I believe in the contagion of good actions. Good breeds good. One good turn deserves another. Pay it forward. No matter the collection of words, the intent and meaning carries truth and power. Despite how others may view your actions, and no matter the size, the inherent truth and goodness contained within infects others. Soon, through consistent good action, your life changes. You become contagious. You infect others. Goodness spreads. The disease others decried as self-serving becomes the norm instead of the oddity.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Remember, it is none of your business what other people think about you. All it takes is one action to kickstart it all.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">-
I first encountered an adapted version of the “Paradoxical
Commandments,” titled “The Final Analysis,” while listening to a Wayne
Dyer audio CD in my early twenties. The meaning and message struck me
as true, helping guide my thoughts and actions as I developed from a big
kid into a real adult. Later, I discovered the poem was not actually
written by Mother Theresa at all, but adapted, framed, and hung on the
wall in her Calcutta orphanage. She cared about its message enough to
use it to empower the weak and marginalized children to whom she gave
her life.</span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>
The Paradoxical Commandments are reprinted with permission. <span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: center;">© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001</span></span><br />
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-16589021927612644622013-04-14T11:33:00.001-05:002013-04-14T11:33:55.176-05:00Paradoxical Commandment #1<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://api.ning.com/files/Dz3XGZp187-0*tWyZZN5vJr9XMtQh-nK0yYjqgiI1zAz60IdTQATXFRfIRBhNYCXIMTmZOdPzKuOtGwvA4Kbplr9LzljZfRG/words.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://api.ning.com/files/Dz3XGZp187-0*tWyZZN5vJr9XMtQh-nK0yYjqgiI1zAz60IdTQATXFRfIRBhNYCXIMTmZOdPzKuOtGwvA4Kbplr9LzljZfRG/words.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="212" src="http://api.ning.com/files/Dz3XGZp187-0*tWyZZN5vJr9XMtQh-nK0yYjqgiI1zAz60IdTQATXFRfIRBhNYCXIMTmZOdPzKuOtGwvA4Kbplr9LzljZfRG/words.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Words have always had power over me. Crafted correctly, hammered together in creative ways, they illuminate this experience we call life. Written or spoken, powerful words have always moved the human race. Over the next weeks, I will explore a collection of words that have guided me for the past decade.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Pentagon_vietnam_protests.jpg/300px-Pentagon_vietnam_protests.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Pentagon_vietnam_protests.jpg/300px-Pentagon_vietnam_protests.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="283" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Pentagon_vietnam_protests.jpg/300px-Pentagon_vietnam_protests.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Dr. Kent M. Keith penned “<a href="http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/index.html" target="_blank">The Paradoxical Commandments</a>” in 1968 as part of </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">a pamphlet titled </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council</i></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">. Dr. Keith, at the time a 19 year old sophomore at Harvard, sought to empower the rebellious youth of the ‘60s by offering an alternative to violence by creating change within the system. He echoes the sentiment found in the paraphrased words often attributed to Mohandas Gandhi - “<a href="http://www.frankchambers.com/2011/01/courage-to-change.html" target="_blank">Be the change you want to see in the world.</a>”</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This week, I dwell on the first commandment, quite possibly the most frustrating of the ten for me.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. <i>Love them anyway.</i></span></span></blockquote>
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Right away, the difficulty stands out. I encountered this problem more as a public school teacher than I have at any other point in my life. Each student arrives carrying their own baggage, every parent their own perceptions, and every colleague their own agenda. Schools lie at the epicenter of our culture, sending wave after wave of students into the world, reflections of the people they encountered in their youth. Those waves have the power to destroy. They also have the power build.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4U_8s4xiUHU7PicD9JsYkgKqIrLpUGLFJw0mrfJOw3pyBwhoPDCqXDiYtKFPjNFCsSQPwlVWmMDjrIcgk29VaRw8YglSA9-whyphenhyphenWCy-9csDcSUjEnJXIQP9lee9tdtzQJa5DBbB63z10/s1600/angry-woman-driver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4U_8s4xiUHU7PicD9JsYkgKqIrLpUGLFJw0mrfJOw3pyBwhoPDCqXDiYtKFPjNFCsSQPwlVWmMDjrIcgk29VaRw8YglSA9-whyphenhyphenWCy-9csDcSUjEnJXIQP9lee9tdtzQJa5DBbB63z10/s1600/angry-woman-driver.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4U_8s4xiUHU7PicD9JsYkgKqIrLpUGLFJw0mrfJOw3pyBwhoPDCqXDiYtKFPjNFCsSQPwlVWmMDjrIcgk29VaRw8YglSA9-whyphenhyphenWCy-9csDcSUjEnJXIQP9lee9tdtzQJa5DBbB63z10/s320/angry-woman-driver.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not me. I am not that pretty.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I live in an auto-centric city; we drive everywhere. Of course I have cursed other drivers for their illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered decisions while behind the wheel. The road offers a great education in the first commandment. Finding the patience, the resolve, and the commitment to allow others to drive how they will, without growing angry, breeds a sense of peace in the rest of our lives. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.freegreatpicture.com/files/26/16464-blue-sky-and-white-clouds-high-definition-picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://www.freegreatpicture.com/files/26/16464-blue-sky-and-white-clouds-high-definition-picture.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="213" src="http://www.freegreatpicture.com/files/26/16464-blue-sky-and-white-clouds-high-definition-picture.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does this make you mad? Does it surprise you?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Are you surprised when the sky is blue? You know what to expect when you step from your home and look up, so why be surprised? The same is true for people. Why do we allow what we already know about other people to affect us?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ultimately, the most profound aspect of the first commandment lies within its simplicity. We know people are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. We KNOW it. So, why do we respond with anything other than love?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Accept what you already know to be true. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Why give them the power to dictate your moods, your feelings, and your actions? Reserve the power for yourself. Follow the first commandment and choose to love them instead.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don’t always consider myself successful in my attempts to live by the first commandment. Certain people press buttons more than others. Driving always offers opportunities to practice love. Strangers who leave shopping carts in the middle of parking lots test my strength. But, despite every temptation towards an angry, negative response, I strive to hold tightly to the spirit of the first paradoxical commandment. I am a person who loves first, no matter the situation. Every day in which I practice this belief leads me closer to living a life in which it is absolutely and <a href="http://www.frankchambers.com/2011/03/practice-makes-permanent.html" target="_blank">permanently</a> true.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 17px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">- I first encountered an adapted version of the “Paradoxical Commandments,” titled “The Final Analysis,” while listening to a Wayne Dyer audio CD in my early twenties. The meaning and message struck me as true, helping guide my thoughts and actions as I developed from a big kid into a real adult. Later, I discovered the poem was not actually written by Mother Theresa at all, but adapted, framed, and hung on the wall in her Calcutta orphanage. She cared about its message enough to use it to empower the weak and marginalized children to whom she gave her life.</span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Paradoxical Commandments are reprinted with permission. <span style="letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: center;">© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001</span></span>Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-49679286116345201672013-04-07T11:16:00.000-05:002013-04-07T11:16:02.120-05:00Step One<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">You might have noticed my absence from the blogosphere for the last few weeks.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">As March rolled on, I made a decision to actually finish first draft of the novel.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Instead of using my morning time to blog the last few weeks, I used it to write my novel.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">On Easter Sunday, I finally completed one of the first steps of a project that has stretched eight years now.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">With 92,418 words spread over 476 double-spaced pages, the first draft is complete.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I will make content edits next, then move to proofing.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I am excited to move on in the project and start a few more.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I plan on completing two more novels this year while submitting this work to agents and publishers.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Wish me luck!</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">If you are interested in reading the opening chapter, <a href="http://www.frankchambersmusic.com/Chambers_Music/Chapter_1.html" target="_blank">I have posted it here</a>.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Enjoy!</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Now, on to today’s blog.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.lesscakemorefrosting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/OpenBook800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.lesscakemorefrosting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/OpenBook800.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="162" src="http://www.lesscakemorefrosting.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/OpenBook800.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sometimes in our lives, we fail to believe in something until we have proof. Though many of our lives our built on some sort of faith in larger ideals, when it comes to smaller, personal ideas, skepticism rules the day. As a writer, I have experienced this sort of faith challenge for a long time.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have always held the idea of “Frank Chambers - author” close to my heart. In High School and college, I channeled my words through poetry, usually the tortured heart type as I struggled to understand both the pain and joy of finding love. Interestingly enough, my painful poetry dried up not long after I met my wife, leaving my writing </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">whimsically descriptive and metaphysically introspective (<a href="http://www.frankchambersmusic.com/Chambers_Music/Poetry_Example.html" target="_blank">click for some less tortured examples</a>).</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://www.the-iss.com/2009/06/30/img/diploma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.the-iss.com/2009/06/30/img/diploma.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="246" src="http://www.the-iss.com/2009/06/30/img/diploma.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 2004, after returning from performing in London for a time, I faced a decision about my future. Writing remained my passion, though I did not write at the time. So, in order to fuel the fire, I enrolled in post-baccalaureate English classes. I figured an English degree would help me feel like a writer. </span></span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Unfortunately, during my first semester back, I faced the first of many internal hurdles. Instead of following through with that path, I chose to fall back on what I knew I did well - music. I reasoned that I could earn my teaching certificate, teach band for money, and write at the same time. Since my certificate would take two years of classes to earn, I might as well get my Masters in Performance at the same time.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Where is the time to write in all of that? Exactly. I succumbed to my own personal skepticism, failing to trust in myself and my dreams.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, fast forward to 2005. I got married. I scratched down some notes on a story idea called the Lone Procession, but didn’t do much with it. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 2006 I graduated with my Masters and teaching certificate and started teaching high school band. The plan commenced. The writing did not. Those readers who teach band understand the lack of free time, or energy to write when free time occurs.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dqug6rXCfgk/TuDW2-UMkSI/AAAAAAAAAHg/IBXe04h1feg/s1600/procrastinating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dqug6rXCfgk/TuDW2-UMkSI/AAAAAAAAAHg/IBXe04h1feg/s320/procrastinating.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dqug6rXCfgk/TuDW2-UMkSI/AAAAAAAAAHg/IBXe04h1feg/s320/procrastinating.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 2008, I realized four years had passed. I hadn’t done a thing. Writer? Nope. Unless I planned on abandoning my supposed passion, I had better get moving. I resumed making notes on the Lone Procession. I spent many a night in <a href="http://www.frankchambers.com/2012/11/today-not-tomorrow.html" target="_blank">creative avoidance</a>, performing “research” on how to write. Finally, I wrote a chapter that is now the prologue.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So in 2010, again realizing how much time had passed since I decided to write, I came across a very simple statement. The first step to being a writer is to write. Duh! Without active writing, I am just a dreamer, an idea factory sitting idle. The universe smacked me in the face, placed the paddles on my chest, yelled “Clear!” and shocked me back to life. I began my blog. I wrote. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In 2011, I changed my career to free up time to write, taking faith steps I should have been strong enough to take in 2004. I started transforming The Lone Procession into a novel.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://www.foodbloggersofcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Writing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.foodbloggersofcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Writing.jpg" border="0" height="240" src="http://www.foodbloggersofcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Writing.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The question of when to refer to myself as a writer still plagues me. I am not a published author yet, but does being published grant me the title? Is there a graduation from amateur to professional? No. I am a writer because I write. It remains as simple as that. I write a blog. I have completed a novel. Despite knowing this, the internal skeptic still cringes when Samantha refers to me as an author.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now, I sit here writing, still doubtful, still scared, still mildly skeptical. My belief barrier has taken some blows; it leans a little crookedly, the light hiding behind it shining through new cracks. I have taken step one though, and while I still find embracing full belief challenging, step two looks much easier than it did before. All it took was one step.</span></span>Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-91999219681343257072013-03-17T10:15:00.001-05:002013-03-17T10:15:49.496-05:00Taken out of Context<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e8/Grisgris.jpg/220px-Grisgris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e8/Grisgris.jpg/220px-Grisgris.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e8/Grisgris.jpg/220px-Grisgris.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Samantha and I had the pleasure of visiting the great city of New Orleans over this spring break.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Despite battling through a sinus infection (Samantha) and some sort of throat nastiness (me), and being the least partying people in the French Quarter (in bed by 10:30), we had a great time experiencing the sights and sounds of the Crescent City. </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the unexpected gems during our brief vacation was the Voodoo Tour. We made reservations with Tree (yes, his name) of <a href="http://www.racontoursinnola.com/" target="_blank">Racontours</a>, billed on <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60864-d2041893-Reviews-Racontours-New_Orleans_Louisiana.html" target="_blank">Tripadvisor</a> as the number one tour in the French Quarter. While occasionally a bit of a rogue, Tree’s colorful character danced our small group through the French Quarter, delighting us with the rich history of the former French and Spanish colonial periods.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I expected a New Orleans Voodoo Tour to aggrandize the stereotypes associated with the practice. I anticipated bloody stories of animal and human sacrifices, of voodoo dolls and their unassuming victims, of black magic and demons. I was wrong. So many of my assumptions fell flat, no more than uninformed drivel handed to me by pop culture.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.neworleansvoodoocrossroads.com/historyandvoodoo.html" target="_blank">Voodoo</a> at its roots worships ancestral spirits. Certain spirits have gained a reputation for answering particular prayers, and those have gained more of a following than others. Voodoo dolls are a way of inviting healing powers and luck into your life. They can also be used as a way to extrinsically work out personal grudges without bringing actual harm to others. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1.hubimg.com/u/710604_f520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://s1.hubimg.com/u/710604_f520.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://s1.hubimg.com/u/710604_f520.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Louisiana Voodoo adopted many Catholic elements in the 1800s through the teachings of Voodoo Queen Marie </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Laveau.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">A devout Catholic herself, Laveau drew her Voodoo followers into the church by drawing comparisons between the Voodoo’s spirits and the Cult of the Saints.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">The Voodoo spirit of Legba fulfilled the same role as St. Peter - holding the keys to heaven.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Aida Wedo and the Blessed Virgin, Ghèdè and St. Expeditè, Ogun and St. Jude, all merged.</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Marie Laveau taught that they were expressions of the same forces, the same spirits, and praying to one would mean praying to the other.</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Taken out of context, glorified for entertainment value, Voodoo makes for good horror. At its core, practiced in its intended form, Voodoo expresses an adapted version of an ancient tradition passed down by word-of-mouth through many generations by people struggling to live through more hardship than you or I could imagine. Essentially, Voodoo helps people to find spiritual healing through prayer and meditation. While its practices may appear foreign, its goals strike me as similar to every major religion I know.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.oevm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/communion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.oevm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/communion.jpg" border="0" height="213" src="http://www.oevm.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/communion.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Christianity taken out of context could look equally as ridiculous as Voodoo’s pop culture portrayal. Masses of people who once a week grow hungry for the blood and flesh of their creator, who incidentally is now undead. Zombies and Vampires? Believe me, I don’t make this point to ridicule anyone’s beliefs, but I think the point is valid. When taken out of context, just about anything can sound malevolent.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/7a/b2/2a/filename-nawlinsl-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/7a/b2/2a/filename-nawlinsl-2012.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="239" src="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/7a/b2/2a/filename-nawlinsl-2012.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you find yourself in New Orleans with four or five hours to spare, jump on the Voodoo Tour with Tree. Besides a good time with an entertaining guide, the history of the Voodoo world will unfold before your eyes in a very enlightening way.</span></span><br />
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-48067761267522986802013-03-10T10:36:00.001-05:002013-03-10T10:36:23.045-05:00Suffer the Children a Robotic Rhino<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://giraffopia.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/jesus-riding-a-giraffe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://giraffopia.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/jesus-riding-a-giraffe.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://giraffopia.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/jesus-riding-a-giraffe.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At this time of year, it is not hard to recall the message of Jesus Christ. While the overly commercialized Christmas season fades in our rearview mirror, Easter rapidly approaches, still mostly safe from the industrial gift-giving machine (mostly). Yet, in some corners, the everyday commercialization of the Word commences with seemingly unabashed fervor.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.sacornerstone.org/" target="_blank">Cornerstone Church</a> in San Antonio recently opened its newest building - a $5 million children’s center called the Ark. Designed after the story of Noah and the Ark, the new building is meant to attract young people to the church. You can read the news story <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Cornerstone-Church-to-open-5-million-ark-for-4342098.php" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Church members expect their leaders to responsibly spend their donations. Appropriate stewardship should lead to church growth, spreading Christ’s message of love, sacrifice, and redemption. An innovative pastorate crafts a message that resonates in the hearts and souls of its flock. Children come to Christ through the Word and His calling.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/20/33/22/4306052/3/628x471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/20/33/22/4306052/3/628x471.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="212" src="http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/20/33/22/4306052/3/628x471.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">While the design for the Ark is innovative and intended to capture the minds of children, and I do respect their creativity, I question the decision to aim for over the top extravagance. Included in the building are sixteen life-size Ark passengers - nine of which are animatronics built by Hollywood company <a href="http://animalmakers.com/" target="_blank">Animal Makers</a>. The rhino actually appeared in the movie “2012.” </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">When asked whether or not the animatronics were too extravagant, Executive Pastor Matthew Hagee’s answer raised my eyebrows: “If casinos can build opulent buildings to incentivize gamblers to want to come and enjoy their weekend, how then can you justify not building something that would incentivize people to come and hear about the Word of God?”</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.cc-ea.org/youth/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/vegas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.cc-ea.org/youth/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/vegas.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="220" src="http://www.cc-ea.org/youth/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/vegas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am sure Jesus would appreciate the comparison between Sin City and a house of God. In fact, by returning to the source and consulting the Son of Man himself, it would seem that I missed the animatronic Giraffe standing behind Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount; I lost it in the small print. Oh, and a corrected translation of the New Testament reveals that it wasn’t Jesus who over turned the money changers’ tables at the temple - it was an animatronic Rhino.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Humor aside, my point is this. Given the right collection of messages, a pastorate who teaches parents how to lead their homes, and an appropriate learning environment, there should be no problem guiding children to Christ. Rather than spending money on unnecessary expenditures, raise money to help people who need it.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mr. Hagee even acknowledged the extravagance: “I don’t have any problem with somebody saying it’s over the top.” </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You know who might agree with Mr. Hagee? The more than <a href="http://tpr.org/post/overcoming-homelessness-2012-san-antonio-homeless-population" target="_blank">500 homeless children</a> in the San Antonio area documented as of November 2012 by <a href="http://www.samm.org/" target="_blank">SAMMinistries</a>. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What would make a larger Christ-like impact on a child’s life? Knowing animatronics wait for you at church? Or, knowing that a Christian organization gave you a home out of the goodness of their heart. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think I know which one Jesus would choose.</span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-57329335703294584432013-03-03T10:44:00.000-06:002013-03-03T10:44:20.068-06:00Grill on Fire<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://mpbonline.org/news_images/grill_fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://mpbonline.org/news_images/grill_fire.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="240" src="http://mpbonline.org/news_images/grill_fire.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I love to cook.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I hate to clean.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I will grudgingly clean my messes after I make them, and have recently learned to clean as I cook, which saves time in the end, but I still hate it.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Needless to say, aside from the grate, I have not cleaned my gas grill in more than a year.</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Unfortunately, after all that time, the greasy build up is volatile, waiting for the right moment to ignite.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Have you ever looked down into the guts of your grill and seen the nastiness waiting below? I use my grill frequently, and so I had more than a year of melted fat, carbonized grease, and mildly burnt meat parts, all built into a thick layer of detritus coating the bottom. The way my grill is built, I would have to mildly exert myself to see the bottom - very mildly; the grates and the heat diffusers partially block the view. And, I would have to be motivated to acknowledge how disgusting it is. The grossness just gathers, fuel for a future fire.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://blog.gasgrillsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/dirty-grill-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://blog.gasgrillsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/dirty-grill-2.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="212" src="http://blog.gasgrillsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/dirty-grill-2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think the same can be said about ourselves. If we looked deep inside, would we see the leavings of arguments unresolved, family and friend drama, social opinions we aren’t sure we really believe anymore? These are all the elements of yesterday’s version of us. As we grow and move towards who we are, we leave the remnants of who we were behind. Sometimes, these little bits are just as flammable as the nast collected at the bottom of my grill. The longer we ignore them, the more potent they become.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://newtoveggieworld.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/img_4267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://newtoveggieworld.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/img_4267.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="213" src="http://newtoveggieworld.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/img_4267.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of my menu items for this week was Teriyaki Chicken. I use a recipe from my Dad, picked up from when we lived in Hawaii. The recipe is simple. Combine soy sauce, a homemade weak simple syrup, white onion, ginger, and garlic into a marinade. Marinate chicken thighs and drumsticks overnight. Grill. Be prepared for flareups from melting chicken fat and dripping juice (the sugar).</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was ready to go. I had my tongs for turning the chicken after eight minutes. I had my timer. I had my spray bottle for squirting the flareups. I put the chicken on.</span></div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We are usually ready for personal flareups. We know how to put out small fires and handle small dramas life throws at us. Every once in a while a larger piece of our past catches on fire, but we deal with these as they come. We don’t think about everything else lining the bottom, waiting for the big explosion.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpmSuJ0QZZjG2xT0r3E2HK2ZnHnSvU7yuKVx_zFRr33vIejrugOldoJOTJCZRO3nH_XVSGnsUTapN4YjPxKdpkLLX3ti-qhX2XA4kRH3qRyEh-U3nwM5Os2NjLS8QcHfLYNd8uCzsZiM/s1600/chicken+grill+flare+up.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpmSuJ0QZZjG2xT0r3E2HK2ZnHnSvU7yuKVx_zFRr33vIejrugOldoJOTJCZRO3nH_XVSGnsUTapN4YjPxKdpkLLX3ti-qhX2XA4kRH3qRyEh-U3nwM5Os2NjLS8QcHfLYNd8uCzsZiM/s1600/chicken+grill+flare+up.JPG" border="0" class="decoded" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpmSuJ0QZZjG2xT0r3E2HK2ZnHnSvU7yuKVx_zFRr33vIejrugOldoJOTJCZRO3nH_XVSGnsUTapN4YjPxKdpkLLX3ti-qhX2XA4kRH3qRyEh-U3nwM5Os2NjLS8QcHfLYNd8uCzsZiM/s320/chicken+grill+flare+up.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The small flames are expected and manageable. With a squirt here or a squirt there, I put out the fires quickly. If they flare up too much, I move the piece of chicken. This particular batch seemed to flare up quite vigorously, so I moved the chicken into the open spots between heat diffusers. The grease and fat still dripped, but it fell in the depths of the grill instead of onto the diffusers right below. Any flareups would be away from the chicken and wouldn’t lead to charred meat. Smart right?</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, this plan, while seeming intelligent at the time, didn’t end up that way. See, the chicken still dripped. And there were still some flareup on the grate and on the diffusers, just not as many. And I still sprayed them with the squirt bottle. And the water from the squirt bottle would scatter the flaming grease, knocking it to the bottom. Where it would land on freshly dripped grease. Where it would flare. And ignite a year’s worth of fuel.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1195/812061351_c3bc1da893_z.jpg?zz=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1195/812061351_c3bc1da893_z.jpg?zz=1" border="0" class="decoded" height="240" src="http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1195/812061351_c3bc1da893_z.jpg?zz=1" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Have you ever seen a grease fire? It is quite magnificent. The way it ignores water as if it isn’t even there. The way it just bigger as it finds more fuel, burning through a year of my laziness.</span><br />
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have seen some spectacular meltdowns in my life and participated in a few. People who haven’t dealt with their own issues, burying them deep below the surface, hoping they won’t ever ignite again. I can remember doing the same thing beforehand. Leaving them there, ignoring the need for a resolution, creates a flammable situation, sure to explode some point down the road. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<br /></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After emptying my squirt bottle to no effect, I ran inside and grabbed the baking soda and dumped it on the flames. It wasn’t enough. Thankfully, we had a second box and I doused the remaining flames with the white powder. My hand has now been forced. If I plan to use my grill again, I have to clean it. </span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We can never plan for the explosion, preparing before hand to manage it. All we can do is deal with it when it arrives. Avoid burying issues; deal with them instead. Look deep, clean out the garbage, take care of yourself. Avoid the fire before it happens.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">About my meal? Don’t worry. I took the chicken off before putting out the fire. It was delicious</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></div>
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-73118290040944873052013-02-24T10:23:00.000-06:002013-02-24T10:23:07.718-06:00Growing Musicians<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cl.jroo.me/z3/k/B/8/d/a.baa-Musical-plant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://cl.jroo.me/z3/k/B/8/d/a.baa-Musical-plant.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://cl.jroo.me/z3/k/B/8/d/a.baa-Musical-plant.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">I love this time of year. Region Band auditions are over. Solo and Ensemble is over. Band Auditions and Benchmarks are still somewhere over the horizon. The possibilities are endless. This is the time of year I can once again mold my students into powerful musicians and not just chasers of notes and rhythms. And it is Spring (well, maybe not officially yet, but </span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><i>Punxsutawney</i></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> Phil did say it would be early this year).</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The competitive focus in my bassoon and saxophone studio thrums with intensity during the fall. Focus on region etudes and scales drives most practice sessions, many times stifling technical and musical growth because of the kids’ one-track focus . Lessons attempt to balance fundamental musicianship with cramming notes and rhythms. All in all, the fall is hyper-intensive, super-focused, and driven. It wrings me out like a sponge - hearing the same music every day eventually begs questions of sanity.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://www.the-ridges.net/images/bare_trees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.the-ridges.net/images/bare_trees.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="240" src="http://www.the-ridges.net/images/bare_trees.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At the same time, the local foliage goes through a transition into dormancy - much like my students’ musical development. With a fiery burst, trees abandon their leaves, littering the ground with the past year’s greenery. We are left with bare branches and skeletal woodlands.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Winter arrives. Again, my students have a singular focus - solo contest. While their efforts are more individual, their pieces catered to their own specific skill level, and I regain a measure of sanity from the variety of music, the students still have a short period of time in which to learn a complex piece of music. Their attention has a little more flexibility, and just like in the fall, lessons work to balance good musical skills along with the solos, but they still prefer the solo to fundamental practice.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://carolwingert.typepad.com/be_yourself_live_with_pas/images/spring_buds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://carolwingert.typepad.com/be_yourself_live_with_pas/images/spring_buds.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://carolwingert.typepad.com/be_yourself_live_with_pas/images/spring_buds.jpg" width="263" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now, Spring approaches. The Spring season is my favorite and <a href="http://www.frankchambers.com/2012/03/best-time-of-year.html" target="_blank">write I about it every year</a>. I love the newness in the air, the fresh balance of a chilly morning and a warm afternoon. I can’t wait to get outside and plunge my hands into the soil, to take winter’s leavings and craft them into something extraordinary. I look forward to the explosive emergence of greens, reds, blues, yellows, and every other imaginable hue and shade this beautiful planet offers.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In the same way that the planet emerges from the slumber of winter dormancy and explodes in growth and life, so do my students. Now that individual competition sits behind us for the moment, I relish the opportunity to develop the personal strengths of each student, to tackle individual weaknesses, to foster a strong understanding of music theory and how to apply that knowledge to creating a beautiful phrase. I cherish this time of year because I get to grow musicians.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://www.wallpapersbuzz.com/image/649/b_plantation-of-spring-flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.wallpapersbuzz.com/image/649/b_plantation-of-spring-flowers.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="240" src="http://www.wallpapersbuzz.com/image/649/b_plantation-of-spring-flowers.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The cyclical nature of our planet means I get to experience this feeling again and again. If it always remained Spring, I wouldn’t appreciate its arrival. In a way, I love the anticipation as much as I do the release. In fact, I think I will focus on that particular aspect of making a phrase this week. Because I can.</span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333430080820043176.post-18346811127716930292013-02-17T10:56:00.000-06:002013-02-17T10:56:04.258-06:00Burrito Gigante<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2777/4350908233_e24a374c81.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2777/4350908233_e24a374c81.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="257" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2777/4350908233_e24a374c81.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">I grew up in San Antonio.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">To us, the Riverwalk area was a nice place to take out of town visitors, and as I grew older, a fun place to hang out during the All-State Convention.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">By my young rationale, simply due to location, the food on the River was majestic, high brow, and unarguably upper-class.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0px;">Now that I am an adult, I have quickly learned that a fancy location does not mean fancy food.</span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Burrito Gigante is a humongous dish. It is a flour tortilla practically stuffed with an entire tex-mex buffet, smothered in a curious chile sauce. It is a harbinger of future heartburn, a muddled mix of tastes, textures, and aromas, and, as its name states explicitly, too large for the average person to eat.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RgN5KoOKuak/TUAMFra95nI/AAAAAAAADDI/vgcjCGOrI-c/s1600/tacobell1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RgN5KoOKuak/TUAMFra95nI/AAAAAAAADDI/vgcjCGOrI-c/s1600/tacobell1.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="250" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RgN5KoOKuak/TUAMFra95nI/AAAAAAAADDI/vgcjCGOrI-c/s320/tacobell1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I have been better pleased eating a Taco Bell 7-layer Burrito drenched in Fire hot sauce.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now, had I paid the same price for this smorgasbord of mediocrity as I might at my local tex-mex eatery, I would not be sitting here typing this out. But, with a couple of drinks, two burritos, and an appetizer (which was the best thing about the entire meal), I spent as much as I might for delightful dinner date at a decent steak place.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It might be the ambiance of the place that helps drive the price upwards. Nope. I felt like I was dining in the back end of a mess hall occasionally used for storage. Then maybe it was because of the high quality service. Again, no. Service was not poor, but I did not feel well taken care of. Or maybe it was the claim that this kitchen served only the the most authentic of foods, after all, it was the Original Mexican Restaurant. Again, and this time in Spanish - no.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ok, ok. It must be the River then. In fact, I am sure the location is the only, the ONLY reason for the prices.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/files/2012/10/lakers-mavs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/files/2012/10/lakers-mavs.jpg" border="0" class="decoded" height="234" src="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/files/2012/10/lakers-mavs.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But does that explain the low quality meal? Does the NY Phil phone it in just because they are in one of the most culturally vibrant cities in the world? Does the Louvre hang bad art on its wall - they have the location, why do they need quality? Do the Los Angeles Lakers only strive for a .500 winning percentage - oh, oops, this one is true.</span></span><br />
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Just because you have the draw and you know people will show up to eat, doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice quality. I can stomach the price if the food is right, but not when you can’t really even stomach the food.</span></span><br />
Frank Chambershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967162554697646318noreply@blogger.com0