Today at work, Gus decided it would be fun to chew on my space heater cord shocking himself thusly. I guess that'll teach him.
But isn't that how most people learn? We don't believe that something will hurt us until we feel the pain for ourselves. We don't believe that someone else might be right until we're feeling the effects of our bad decision.
It's almost like we've lost faith in other people. We've lost faith that someone might know better than we do or have more experience than we do. Or maybe we're just too damn stubborn and set in our ways to think that someone else might be right.
I'm going to go with the latter. We're a generation of do'ers. I will speak for myself and say, I'm headstrong and I "know" everything. At least I think I do, and it literally takes all my energy to shut my stupid mouth sometimes. I want to be right. I want to know everything.
The beauty is, is that I don't have to know everything. No expects to me have all the answers. What they do expect is for me to shut up and listen and learn. Because you can't learn if you're talking. And you're not listening if you're always trying to prove you're right. If you can do that a little bit everyday...learn something, that is...then eventually you'll be the one that everyone is listening to.
It was hard to learn that charging ahead, doing things my way, was like biting into a electrical cord. But that quick shock of failure is always enough to snap me back to reality. Live and learn.
And Gus...stop chewing on damn cords. Please.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Awkward or Authored
So I'm a writer (note: I didn't say editor. We'll go into the difference later). Words have come pretty easily to me my whole life. I admit that I take it for granted. I do. Lately I have realized it is a gift that not all people have. Granted, I don't ALWAYS know what to say or how to say it but usually, given some thought I can come up with something worthwhile.
Not everyone can do this. Which is why the angry dude on the Today Show this morning pissed me off. Apparently, Hallmark has come out with a new line of cards that address very specific and somewhat tragic situations (i.e. cancer, miscarriages, divorce, etc.). Angry dude got snippy on this poor woman from Hallmark who supported the cards. In her eyes, they gave people, who didn't know what to say, an avenue to express their sympathy and care.
Captain sunshine rallied back saying that if you can't come up with the words yourself, then awkward and broken sentiments are better than a canned card from a stranger.
Now we're not debating whether the cards are appropriate or not. But even as a writer, Hallmark has saved my ass a time or two. We've all experienced how exhausting it is to sit down and stare at a blank card. You feel like you'll be there for days because the right words will never come.
I mean, those card writers are some deep folks. (I've always secretly wanted to be one.) They've got some good, valuable, appropriate and insightful things to say. And sure, they might not be talking about your situation specifically, but their vague sentiments are usually enough to get the juices of our own creativeness flowing.
No one ever questions the president for having a speech writer or a PR twisted celebrity who says the absolutely right thing at the absolutely right time because he's been coached. "Canned" cards are the poor mans version of having a snappy, quirky and/or insanely sentimental writer on retainer. Canned doesn't mean it isn't meaningful. You are taking the time to buy the damn card...aren't you?
I would rather have a lovely "canned" card from Hallmark, than an ill conceived awkward salutation that's going to make both of us (giver and receiver) uncomfortable. (Unless that's your thing. Then I, of course, would applaud the effort.) Not everyone has the words to express what they're thinking or feeling. Sometimes a little bit of professional help at the bargin price of $3.75 is just what the doctor ordered.
Not everyone can do this. Which is why the angry dude on the Today Show this morning pissed me off. Apparently, Hallmark has come out with a new line of cards that address very specific and somewhat tragic situations (i.e. cancer, miscarriages, divorce, etc.). Angry dude got snippy on this poor woman from Hallmark who supported the cards. In her eyes, they gave people, who didn't know what to say, an avenue to express their sympathy and care.
Captain sunshine rallied back saying that if you can't come up with the words yourself, then awkward and broken sentiments are better than a canned card from a stranger.
Now we're not debating whether the cards are appropriate or not. But even as a writer, Hallmark has saved my ass a time or two. We've all experienced how exhausting it is to sit down and stare at a blank card. You feel like you'll be there for days because the right words will never come.
I mean, those card writers are some deep folks. (I've always secretly wanted to be one.) They've got some good, valuable, appropriate and insightful things to say. And sure, they might not be talking about your situation specifically, but their vague sentiments are usually enough to get the juices of our own creativeness flowing.
No one ever questions the president for having a speech writer or a PR twisted celebrity who says the absolutely right thing at the absolutely right time because he's been coached. "Canned" cards are the poor mans version of having a snappy, quirky and/or insanely sentimental writer on retainer. Canned doesn't mean it isn't meaningful. You are taking the time to buy the damn card...aren't you?
I would rather have a lovely "canned" card from Hallmark, than an ill conceived awkward salutation that's going to make both of us (giver and receiver) uncomfortable. (Unless that's your thing. Then I, of course, would applaud the effort.) Not everyone has the words to express what they're thinking or feeling. Sometimes a little bit of professional help at the bargin price of $3.75 is just what the doctor ordered.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
I got nothing
I feel like a ton of things are going on in my life right now. It's overwhelming to keep track of at times so yesterday I started making lists. I think I made 10. I had a list for just about everything a list could and should be made for. I felt better after my giant data dump of information. I felt like all those things I was trying to juggle in my head were out, and I stopped stressing trying to remember them all at once.
I heard some where that Albert Einstein didn't know his home phone number. When someone would ask what his number was, he would tell them to go look in the phone book. That's what a phone book was made for. He said he didn't want to waste valuable space on something so trivial. I guess that whole theory of relativity thing was taking up a little bit of space.
When I sat down to write my next entry I really has nothing to say. And I'm pretty sure it's because all my brain power was being monopolized by things like oil changes, dry cleaning and who I needed to buy a wedding present for next. I realized there were all just things – important things – but not worth the brain power it was taking to remember them. So I put them out of my head and put them on a list.
Hopefully, I've dumped enough meaningless data out of my head to think about something a little more worthwhile. Not that the number of vacation days I have left isn't worthwhile. But I'm positive I can use that space for something more valuable.
Spring is a time to clean out the old. Freshen your life. Dust the cobwebs. Organize and revitalize. Don't forget your brain. It might just need good spring cleaning, too.
I heard some where that Albert Einstein didn't know his home phone number. When someone would ask what his number was, he would tell them to go look in the phone book. That's what a phone book was made for. He said he didn't want to waste valuable space on something so trivial. I guess that whole theory of relativity thing was taking up a little bit of space.
When I sat down to write my next entry I really has nothing to say. And I'm pretty sure it's because all my brain power was being monopolized by things like oil changes, dry cleaning and who I needed to buy a wedding present for next. I realized there were all just things – important things – but not worth the brain power it was taking to remember them. So I put them out of my head and put them on a list.
Hopefully, I've dumped enough meaningless data out of my head to think about something a little more worthwhile. Not that the number of vacation days I have left isn't worthwhile. But I'm positive I can use that space for something more valuable.
Spring is a time to clean out the old. Freshen your life. Dust the cobwebs. Organize and revitalize. Don't forget your brain. It might just need good spring cleaning, too.
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