Positive Vibes
A blog that explores authentic human connection
Spring 2011
02/22/12A song in her heartA true survivor turned eighty yesterday. It was a celebration of my Aunt Jackie’s eight decades on the planet. I bought her a rock. On one side of the rock someone had carved a happy face. The other side of the rock had a face that was a wrinkle-browed frown. What I remember most about visiting her house as a child is chaos. The large three-story monstrosity was centered in a densely populated area of the city. There were Jackie’s nine children, all of their neighborhood friends, two wiener dogs and piles and piles of dirty clothes. I always felt like I was in the ring with a bunch of angry wrestlers fighting to the death, but somehow I was never touched in the fray. At a point the kicking and screaming disappeared into the fabric of the other activities... Posted at 02:09 AM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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02/09/12The crooked and the trueGrowth occurs in our biggest challenges. |
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01/31/12Burn the shipsWe all fall prey to habits and behaviors that keep us from our destiny |
01/31/12A new way to see the worldIn Quentin Tarantino’s seminal film Pulp Fiction one of the key charactors, Jules Winnfield, says something that always stood out to me, “I’m trying, Ringo. I’m trying real hard.” Jules has had a “moment of clarity,” a term he uses earlier in the film. He’s trying to make heads or tails of his past, his role in the present, and how he can adjust for the future. I had such a moment – back in February, specifically in regard to the way I judge people. I judge people every moment of every day- maybe you do. I critique people based on a wide variety of things: how they speak, how they dress, how clearly they express their ideas and emotions, how intelligent they seem to be. And that’s just for the people I don’t... |
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01/31/12Removing the shadow of selfWe came from a hard place. We were clever, witty and smart. That was our currency. We prided ourselves on our ability to see beyond and beneath the obvious. We were smart, products of the best schools in the country. We traded inside jokes and had little truck with anyone outside our circle. We were free of emotion, absent of attachment. We were the best the country had to offer. People knew our names and faces from New York to Los Angeles, from Chicago to San Francisco. We were paid well and treated grandly. People loved us. They hated us. We said we didn’t care. We lied. We reveled in the recognition. We were young. We were full of ourselves. We were good. We knew it, and there was something else. We weren’t very kind. With time, we all came back to earth. One... Posted at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
10/06/11Can’t Stomach CancerStomach cancer diagnosis leads to a change of life and a new beginning. Posted at 06:56 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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05/12/11The Laughing HeartA shining light that shatters darkness |
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05/01/11Kill the mole!My dog continues to dig for moles… although he’s never found one. He can smell them… but he can’t seem to catch up with their current location. Moles are everywhere in our yard. I can’t see them but I can see where they’ve been. The evidence is in the raised tunnels and dying grass that they leave in their wake. They tell me that the reason I have moles is the abundance of grub worms. So it’s really a bunch of little ugly white worms that cause my lawn to be lumpy and brown. (Warning: If you are feeling uneasy… it’s because you are already onto the analogy that lurks in this underground ecosystem) Self defeating behavior is the “mole” in our actions. But it’s those little grub worms of... |
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03/31/11Long hall of memoriesIt’s here again, baseball season, my favorite time of the year, seven months of daily song. It’s not that I’m an avid fan of a particular team, though I do have a certain fondness for the Red Sox and Cardinals. The Yankees and Dodgers always interest me, and, just because it has been so long, I would dearly love to see the Cubs win. In the end, I don’t really care who ends up in the World Series. I just like baseball. Almost any game is good enough for me. I like the pace and peace of the game. It’s like Paul Simon said, “I always get very calm with baseball.” The great bards who have addressed baseball speak of its pastoral nature and perfect symmetry, and I suppose there is truth and... |
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03/08/11An Afternoon with RembrandtGrowing up, art didn’t play a significant role in our home. Oh, mom had a book on the impressionists and the house was sprinkled with small pictures of fruit and flowers. My father’s taste in art was vastly different and – to a young boy – far more interesting. Down at the garage where he and his brothers fixed cars and trucks for nearly everyone in our little town, there were pictures of Marilyn Monroe, Anita Ekberg and Jane Russell on the walls. There were also calendars with Daisy Mae girls holding box wrenches and oil filters. One time I nudged my uncle Orville and asked him why the calendars were old, not up to date. He wiped his hands with a shop rag, smiled and said: “Boy, we know the date. These ain’t about... |
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02/24/11Positive CircumstancesHave you ever taken the time to look at when and why you are positive? Are you positive only when life events are going your way? Can you maintain a positive attitude even when circumstances seem to be working against you? If your positive attitude depends on circumstances that are in your favor, you are ruled by life. When life isn’t working, your positive attitude falls prey to being a victim of circumstances. When you decide to maintain a positive attitude in the face of adversity, you are in command. By maintaining a positive attitude, you see the value in each and every circumstance. You are the victor of circumstances. You may be able to fool the people around you by acting like you have a positive attitude, but you can’t fool you. When you are positive,... Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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02/17/11Positive EnergyHave you ever been around someone who puts out positive energy? Some people just seem to have more positive energy than others. Does that mean they don’t have negative energy? Probably not! What I’ve noticed about really positive people is that they’ve learned to accept who they are. They’ve let go of the judgment tied to “positive” and “negative.” I think that people are a lot like electric running through a wire. Electric wire has three conductors: positive, negative and common. All three are necessary for electric to deliver energy to light a lamp. People are much the same. We all have some things in common, even if we come from different backgrounds. When people are different, their actions may annoy you or seem... |
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01/22/11Allowing happiness to find usWithout question, I am happier today than I have ever been. Through my 5.8 decades of life I have learned that happiness is not a constant state. Rather it is a state of being; a mix of joy, trial, ecstasy, anguish, pleasure, grief, elation, pain, bliss and sorrow smoothly blended inside me by gratitude, humility and acceptance of myself just as I am. To a much lesser extent than ever today, I don’t struggle to be someone other than who I am. Each day I try to grow and be a better version of myself, but I no longer wrestle to be someone else. Gratitude finds me so much easier now. I am certainly grateful for what I perceive as “the good”, but also now see the value of “the bad” that hones and smooths me like river water does a rock. I am filled... Posted at 02:17 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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01/15/11The Unbroken CircleThe last few years have brought me to a conclusion about the effect that our circle of influence has on who we are and who we will be. Who we surround ourselves with absolutely shapes who we are. And unless you’re under eighteen or in prison, you can change that if you want to. In most cases this does not require wholesale change in your family, friends or marital status. The friendship litmus test is a simple one: A) Take a good long look at who you laugh with, who makes you feel good about who you are and who helps you grow (spiritually, emotionally and/or intellectually) when you're with them. (Blue=base) B) Ask yourself who makes you want to crawl into the fetal position when you are in their company. (Red=acid) There is no one in your life... Posted at 02:53 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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01/07/11A step in timeSmall steps become giant leaps over time. Posting one positive thought everyday has taught me more than I would have ever imagined. It just seemed like something to do in November of 2009. One year later I had posted 365 consecutive thoughts of the day and I will forever be changed by that simple daily act. Nearly every one of those quotes or thoughts were discovered the morning of the post. It was the first thing I did every day and would usually take twenty to thirty minutes. That thought process changed how I took on the day and at some point started to change how I looked at my life. We all have at our fingertips, on the internet and in books and magazine, the greatest minds of the ages waiting to give us counsel. Over time those voices became one voice that clearly... Posted at 09:11 AM | Permalink |
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12/29/10The power of consumptionWould you mind if I borrow your eyes and your intellect? One of the lessons I’ve learned in the development of Positive magazine is that it is not good enough to have a great product… you must be able to get the product in front of people who are interested in it. And I’m just not talking about stories in a magazine… I also speak of $30,000 sculptures, five dollar comic books and $75 towel racks (all of which are represented in this issue of positivemagazine.com). -An idea doesn’t have power until it is consumed. There is a group of us that want to connect and grow in our understanding of how to be the best version of ourselves. We know that a great attitude can result in a better life and that the ideas we consume... Posted at 11:14 AM | Permalink |
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