Reflections of a Freaking Genius

  For many, what is intended to be a very positive, joyful, and spiritually fulfilling time of year ends up being everything BUT that.  Many times it can be wrapped up in our expectations.  Frequently, we get an idealized picture in our heads of how our holiday experience will turn out. Many times it's because our expectations aren't very realistic. In December I cringe because I know that Hallmark has expanded the number of their channels and they run back-to-back Christmas movies, 24/7 for 25 days at minimum.  It's as if their mission is to force people, if they choose to watch television or streaming services, to watch Hallmark Christmas Movies.  Not once, not twice, but multiple times. The issue I have is, and the reason I cringe is, IF you're going to watch Hallmark Christmas movies, you really only need to watch one of them and you're good for the season.  If you've seen one, almost literally, you've seen every single last one of them.  It's virtua

  What do you want people to see when they look at you or notice when they're around you?  It seems we all present who we want others to see.  We want people to see a confident person, a happy person, funny person, an interesting person, a successful person, an attractive and fit person, a person with wonderful and happy kids, and loving and happy relationships. What do you want potential employers to see when they look at your resume to get you in the door?  It has been reported based on surveys that 70% of Americans have lied on a job resume, on paper.  Interestingly enough, even more, 80% lie during the face to face interview, directly to the potential employers face!  Why?  If HR sees who I really am, they won't hire me! (But they'd be more satisfied with a fraud??)  I saw an article on the job search site 'Indeed' called, "How to Brand Yourself in 9 Simple Steps".  What is branding?  They explain it this way, "Branding refers to the ways in which

 As with most of us, when I was a child and given a coloring book, I was always told, "You need to color inside the lines!".  I mean, it makes sense.  Part of the beauty of art is seen in a certain amount of order and symmetry.  In order for some things to be recognizable the way we tend to see things, the colors stay within the applicable borders.  Puffy clouds in the blue sky are recognizable because the white is in the clouds and the sky remains blue.  In the spring, greens stay within the lines of the shapes of "leaf" in order for the leaf to maintain it's 'leafness' and be seen as leaf.  The Designer and artist seems to have been intentional with such things. When the boys were small, they were allowed to play in the back yard as long as they stayed inside the fence.  They could play in the front yard as long a they didn't go past the sidewalk.  My oldest compliant child didn't get close to the edge of the sidewalk.  My unique middle child w

  Stress: Love it or Leave it? Stressed out?  It's nothing new.  Stress is a very real part of life.  Most research has indicated since 2020, stress has nearly reached it's own pandemic with people being more stressed than ever before.  When dealing with stress many people medicate with food, alcohol, drugs, sex, shopping, and many other things thinking those activities help us manage our stress.  These tend to create their own issues.  There are numerous articles about the increase in obesity during 2020-2021.  Addiction increased as well with alcohol and drug use.  Relationships are broken, financial problems due to overspending due to the ease of online shopping.  The problems created by medicating stress creates a whole new level of stress. The assumption is that we should seek to find a life that is stress free.  "If only I could live on an island somewhere in the Caribbean and find a job and live on less, that would be ideal!" was my mantra for a long time.  I c

  Battle Fatigue I started out thinking the title "Political Fatigue" would be attached to this piece.  But upon reflection, this genius came to the conclusion that it's not politics that has me worn to a frazzle, rather it's what politics has become.  It's become extremely factional. For the longest time believed that politics was much calmer and more domesticated when I was younger.  I think that because of living through the eras of JFK and Ronald Reagan, I romanticized it at least in part.   However, it didn't really end well for Kennedy, and I still remember where I was when Reagan was shot. It seems, though, that in the last few years there has been a what seems to be a very steep downward spiral into sheer frustration and fatigue.  Throughout the years I somewhat paid attention to what was going on nationally, and  statewide and a little less what was happening locally.  As I have gotten older and watch my children's families grow, I have become mor

DO You?? Do you want to get past that habit? Do you want to get healthy? Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to get past the hurt? Do you want to be free? Do you want to  have peace? Do you want to experience positive change? Do you want to your marriage/family/home/job/relationships/life to be different, to be healthy? Most normal, well adjusted individuals would answer "Well of course, what a dumb question!" to that question at first glance. I knew a man once who was incredibly healthy, at least physically, who seemed to be a 'job hopper'.  He had had a half dozen jobs in the 4 or so years I had known him.  The last job I knew he had was for the natural gas company.  With each job, he complained about how difficult the job was.  Of course, 'difficult' is a relative term.  What is tough for one person may not be for another.  Along with his complaints was a fairly regular workers compensation claim for some alleged injury. The problem was that the medical

  It's the Little Things One of my wife's recurring phrases has been "It's the little things that matter most."  While I'm sure her full 4 foot something stature is a part of what she means by it, her intended meaning is the little things that are done in a relationship that make all the difference in the world.  I wish I would have kept that in mind before some of the expensive gifts I've purchased, but I digress.   She has a knack for thinking of the little things.  She's very generous and giving, and seems to think along those lines frequently.  When she does the grocery shopping she'll bring me something special she knows I like.  Sometimes she'll bring me something cold to drink while I'm working outside. And the list goes on.  I have my moments, but she's the pro. Sometimes I'll bring her a $4 bouquet of flowers from the grocery store.  Sometimes I'll take one of the chores she typically does, or make her coffee in the mor

Amazing Grace and Stinky Fish Sometimes you can be so stubborn that you even make a fish sick.  The account of Jonah in the Bible is a Sunday school favorite and one many children are familiar with.  If you don't know the full historical story, you can find it in the Old Testament of the Bible.  Or watch the Veggie Tales movie featuring some of my favorites, the famous "pirates who don't do anything".   Jonah is told by God to go to a large city to the EAST of the coastal land in which he lived.  Being the courageous and compliant fella he was, he promptly jumped on a ship to go as far WEST as he possibly could.  Perhaps he may have been reluctant to do what God was wanting him to do.  Jonah's plan was flawless until a very nasty storm threatening to sink the ship he was on, and he asked to be thrown overboard thinking that would stop the storm and save the sailors.  Promptly a big fish Ubered him back to his point of departure ('Rerouting!") and vomited