Thoughts About Life – Page 7

Tour Guide to a Parrot

When I was living at a small municipal airport and volunteering at the local, privately owned flight museum, we had a very unusual visitor one day. A man came in with an African Gray Parrot in a cage. He asked to have a tour of the museum. It was a quiet day, and I didn’t have any more grease spots to clean up, so I agreed to do the tour.

This fellow told me his parrot was very intelligent and was afraid of airplanes when they flew overhead. He wanted the bird to see what airplanes were, so he could point to one up in the sky and the bird would know what it was like up close, and hopefully not be so afraid. I had heard of Alex, the famous African Gray who was able to speak cognitively and even do some basic reading and spelling, so I was willing to give it a go.

So I took these two people through the museum, both human and avian. As I would to a young but bright child, I patiently explained what the airplanes were, what they were used for, how people rode in them, and pointed out various details to them. I even had them come up into a helicopter we had on display so I could show the bird what flight controls look like. I showed the bird how some of the old warbirds had folding wings, like he did, and how the landing gear came up inside, sort of like how his legs came up when he flew.

During the whole tour the parrot was calm, interested, looked at what I was pointing to. He didn’t squawk or fuss. When I talked about the airplane wings, I saw him stretch his own wing a bit, looking very thoughtful as he did so. The parrot’s person was thankful to me for giving the tour, and I came away from it with a story I’ll never forget.

Your Momma wears Army boots!

Thoughts About Life

Well, your Mom might not, but mine did, and I’m proud of it. I wear them too, every time I’m going to be on rough terrain, and in the winter when my sandals just won’t cut it. When my Mom wore Army boots, they were still solid leather construction, black in color. She has wide feet, and at the time they fit her better than shoes available in normal stores. They also lasted for years, unlike other junk shoes. They looked just about like this. She doesn’t wear them anymore…

…now I do! My Army boots are desert configuration, with vents on the side, leather and cloth. More comfortable in Arizona, for sure, and very good boots. I buy them now the same reason why my folks bought them then – because good shoes can be found at military surplus stores, cheaper than most other places, and they last a long time. A really long time. I’ve had my pair for about seven years now and they are still in great condition.

I have a funny story about that. When I was little, another kid tried to taunt me by saying “your Mom wears combat boots!”

The problem was, I didn’t even know about the insult! Since I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it, I fired back with “well yeah? your mom wears high heels!”

Actually I doubt the other kid’s mom did, it wasn’t exactly a high class neighborhood and she probably wore ratty sneakers like everybody else. But MY Mom wore boots, and so did my Dad, actually. She could hike up a mountain with the best of them.

Rekindle your Passions

Thoughts About Life

Sometimes, when a person is being dragged down by nearly every aspect of life, they have to stop and really think about what they love. At that moment, they have the opportunity to reconnect with the passions that used to drive them. Not long ago, I found myself giving up on and turning away from nearly everything I ever loved, and nearly forgetting HOW to love at all. Sure, I could like things, but it was always transitory and a little hollow. There was no incentive to try or do anything because the reward for success was so small.

One of the things I used to love, and am learning to love again, was flying. I did quite a bit of it, but then my fear and social anxiety raised their ugly heads. I wasn’t successful in getting my license, and later financial troubles took me away from flying altogether. This hurt a LOT. Eventually I got tired of it hurting and started caring about it less. When we give in to fear and pain as I did, we die inside. Sure enough, I started caring less about other things too, like art. Art is the one thing I’ve loved since babyhood. Then various disasters struck and I started running from my fear and pain there too… it was a decline that ate away at my joy. Only now, coming out on the other side of it, can I see just how much.

I once started a flight diary. I lovingly described every detail of my aviation experience. I stopped when I quit flying. The question now remains, how do I want my story to end? In defeat, or victory? A famous aviatrix once believed that success lay mostly in tenacity, in not giving up. I was very good at giving up. How about giving that up? When I started this process, I wondered “do I have what it takes to say ‘from where the sun now stands, I will give up no more, forever?’ I wasn’t sure if I did or not.

I started rereading some of my old favorite authors, did art about flight again, read AirNav to get a look at what’s in my area. I felt tension build inside me, fear mixed with happiness. It was rocky and I still don’t have it down perfectly. I have setbacks. Still, overall, I felt more passion and joy reenter my life. In essence, I re-found myself.

You can do this too. Is there something you’ve given up because of fear or loss of hope? You can have it back again. Let’s feed the joy and let it outshine the fear.

Unexpexted Lion Dance

Jokes and Humor, Thoughts About Life

There I was, shopping in my favorite international supermarket.

I was just getting out of the frozen foods section, laden with tasty gyoza and chicken breast. I was checking out the tea section and heading to the front when I heard the most tremendous sound – it was like ten people firing belt fed machine guns at once! The sound went on and on, and it was deafening.

So I stopped where I was, made sure I was near cover, oriented, saw no no one panicking and put two and two together. So that’s what the odd red rope had been! I’d seen it coiled up in a shopping cart and attached to the outside sign of the store as I’d entered. It was a rope of fireworks, for Chinese New Year!

Much comforted, but ears still ringing, I made my way to the front. I wished the nice cashier a happy new year over the noise, paid, and headed toward the entrance–only to find a lion dance starting at the front door!

What’s a baffled Westerner to do? Stop, get my cart out of the way, smile and enjoy it! So I did! They had drums, cymbals or something that sounded like them, a red lion and a gold lion both worked by people dancing underneath the costume, a whole group of youths to take over when they teams got tired, and two guys with masks who were fanning at the lions and chasing the bad luck away. Caught up in it all, I had an amazing time.

When I came home a little late I had a really good excuse: “delayed by lion dance.” What an amazing experience. I’m going back next year.

These pictures were taken of this years event, like the one at the beginning of the post.

Here’s one of two ropes of fireworks!

Here’s the drummer, preparing to be really loud.

Two lions, one red, one gold…

The aftermath, showing all the firecrackers that went off.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Nothing any government gives you is free

Thoughts About Life

Recently, I read a sentence that included the words “a free gift from the state.”

This is impossible!

It cannot happen, it cannot be done. There IS no such thing. It’s like expecting the sky to turn purple with yellow polka dots at high noon.

Why is that?

Any government that gives anything to anyone had to get those resources from somewhere. So even if there is no apparent cost to an individual, it had to be paid for in some way. “Free” education is paid for by tax revenue. “Free” healthcare is paid for by more taxes and fees. “Free” welfare is also paid for by more taxes and more fees. Consider also that anything run by any government requires bureaucracy and oversight and is usually full of waste, and therefore is much less efficient than something in the private sector. So it’s ultimately more expensive than a private charity, for example.

I’m not making a statement about the value of programs, I am just making the point that there is no such thing as free when it comes to government.

I mention this because I have seen some people have the simplistic idea that the president of the United States, for example, is like a king who “gives” people things out of his personal money. That does not happen.

Simply remember, whenever any government “gives” anyone anything, the money had to come from somewhere, and usually at a higher cost because of all the bureaucracy.

When did feeling become more important than thinking?

Science and Techology, Thoughts About Life

As I go about my daily life, I constantly hear people talking about their feelings. Only, they are doing this when they are making decisions that ought to be made with their minds, not their feelings.

“I feel this would be the right job to take.” “I feel this is a good deal.” “I feel this scientist has made a mistake.”

Sure, it could be brushed off as a figure of speech. But what we say betrays how we think. If we really were talking about thinking, we wouldn’t say “feel” all the time, would we?

Not only that, but I see that the result of people listening to their feelings instead of their logic is a whole host of problems, not limited to abusive behavior, mental unstability, belief based science, and the desire to control what everyone else does instead of controlling oneself. It can even lead to financial ruin for everyone from families on up to nations.

I am certainly not exempt. This is something I struggle with on a daily basis.

I have nothing against feelings. I just think that they need to be listened to only when they are appropriate. Just as you wouldn’t necessarily think and analyze why a kitten is so cute when she’s purring and enjoying her fuzzy mouse toy, you shouldn’t just feel when it’s time to decide what mix of proteins and vitamins to feed her for optimal health. Yet people do that all the time when they look at the cute picture on the bag instead of reading the ingredients list.

Which one would you choose? Would you choose to be storm-tossed, at the mercy of your feelings, and making decisions based on what feels good? Or would you choose to be informed by your emotions, but ultimately have reason at the tiller?

“The Doctors are going to be so angry”

Thoughts About Life

I heard this heartbreaking statement recently, delivered between sobs, from a patient who was faced with possibly being without her antirejection medication. “They don’t just hand out livers,” she said.

In a very gentle voice that was filled with conviction, I told her “let’s not worry about what the doctors feel. Let’s worry about how YOU feel. What’s important here is your health, and your safety. I want to make sure you get the medication you need and one way or the other I’m going to do it.”

I wanted to cry. It was her life at stake and she was only thinking of her doctors’ opinions. It reminded me of the horrific fire that happened in Bellingham more than a decade ago, where two boys sparked an inferno by unknowingly lighting fireworks when there had been a fuel spill. One boy, in the intensive care unit and covered in burns, didn’t care about himself. He only wanted to know that his mom wouldn’t be mad.

When do the opinions of others become more important than our own safety and well being?

My own story had a happy ending, by the way. The patient got her medication, and I stayed on the line till it was confirmed that she’d gotten her next month’s supply and could pick it up today.

“Stay Beautiful”

Thoughts About Life

While I was working my day job, which is taking and tracking orders in an online pharmacy, just talked with a charming old-timer. He started out frustrated but ended up satisfied when I found a solution for his problem. At the end of the call he asked me where I was. I told him “Arizona,” and we talked about the weather for a bit. The last thing he said to me was “Stay beautiful, young lady.”

That made me pause at first, then made me really think. I am many things but am definitely not beautiful! I’m not really ugly, either, or deformed, or anything like that. I’m just normal looking, rather plain, definitely carrying too much weight. When I thought about it further though I realized that I could still be beautiful in my actions, in my thoughts, in my dreams. After all, beauty is about more than just looks. Everyone has the capacity to be beautiful.

You can be beautiful by being kind, by being patient, by making beautiful things, by making the world a more beautiful place. You can be beautiful by being brave, by being direct, by seeing beauty and by supporting it. To the tired cashier who wants to get off their feet and is tired of looking at impatient shoppers, your understanding smile is beautiful. You can also put your best foot forward, stand tall, be proud of who you are… and if you aren’t proud of who you are, improve yourself till you have something to be proud of. Try to be a person you’d admire. That last is what I’m working on.

Be beautiful!

Life – as Art

Thoughts About Life, Tips for Artists

“You tell your own life’s story. What kind of story do you want to tell?”

I heard words similar to this from my rather wise partner, and I’ve been pondering them. In thinking about how to make my story a better one, I most especially think of the quality of my acts.

Art implies a certain amount of quality and care that goes beyond the norm. The words of a poem are carefully chosen, calligraphy is meticulously done, a painting can have care put into every stroke. Therefore, to make my life into art, to tell my life’s story eloquently and well, I should take more care with my actions.

I can enjoy the artistry with which I drive to work, for example. I can try to avoid sloppiness in what I do. When I speak, I can try to remove clumsy word choices. I can spend a bit more time practicing my handwriting so that it is more elegant. I can cook well, and take an extra moment to plate things appealingly. I can also be intentional about how I spend my time. There are so many ways my life, and yours too, can become art.

What are some of the ways you can imagine this being possible? I welcome your comments.

Polymathy

Thoughts About Life

A polymath is a person who is good at many subjects and skills. They have a lifelong love of learning and they consider all knowledge to be of use to them. Sometimes a polymath will have multiple talents, such as in music, art, architecture, and mathematics, or sometimes their only talent is in persistance.

I am not yet a polymath but I certainly wish to be one. Three examples of famous polymaths are Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Charles Lindbergh. I have known a few true polymaths. They are fun to be around! Unfortunately, I think the modern world doesn’t value these people as much as it once did. That’s too bad because polymaths, not specialists, drive progress.

In his book, “Time Enough for love,” Robert Heinlein said it well.

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

What do you think? Have you met a polymath? Are you one? If not, do you want to be one? If not, why not?