The Storytellers

Once upon a time and long ago there was this magic box that stood in our living rooms.
Some of these boxes came in different sizes, many looked like fine furniture with
numbered dials and lighted back grounds while others were not as fine and a little smaller,
and to us, they were magical transportation devices, known as radios. Oh, I know we
still have radios today, but the different between them was the element that the listener
would have to provide, and that was called imagination. For imagination was the key to
the great stories that were being told, that took us from the living rooms to places that did
or didn't exist. In just seconds you could be transported anywhere in the world and even
places out of this world and back, by the use of your imagination, radio became a visual
medium seeing pictures in your minds eye, you might say it was a kind of time machine.
Albert Einstein said "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming
attractions." Remembering that imagination can make the impossible, possible.
Carl Sagan said "Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were, but without it
we go nowhere." And so from the days before the written word, to the days of the digital
word, it seems that storytelling and imagination still live on at Sirius XM, Classic shows
from the golden age of radio, but on a much smaller scale. You would think by now that
radio would be just a memory from the past, but here it is, still hang on. Kind of like the
sandal, Roman armies wore them to conquer the known world, and we still wear them
today, to conquer the nearest mall.

 

When The Game Was Pure

The American pass time, played by the boys of summer, its been an American treasure
for over 150 years and now played in many countries around the world. Today baseball
is facing some hard times with many players being suspended for drug use as the game
try's to take back its heritage. But the truth is the game as always had players that would
cheat to get an advantage on the other team, all the players know it, the teams know it
and we the fans know it. From pitchers who would doctor the balls to batters who would
doctor the bats. Somehow we the fans have excepted it as part of the game.

But I remember when the game was pure, where there were no doctored bats or balls
there were no performance enhancing drugs and their were know adults in sight to screw
things up. All across America on sand lots, parks and places big enough to play a game
we loved. It was summer time and school was out, we would get up eat some breakfast
and we were out the door heading for our local ballfield on foot or on your bike with
your glove a bat and ball if you had one.

I grew up in a small town in New Jersey named Dunellen, and this was a lot of my
summer time from about 9 years old to about 12 or 13. There were a couple of places
in town where you could play baseball and I would go to a field we called weed
stadium. When I was about 9 it had a chain link back stop and some base lines, later
the town put up a little league field with fences and dugouts and the hole 9 yards.
We would meet at the field and pick teams, we rarely had enough kids for 9 players
on each side, so we would adapt. Sometimes we would only have four players on a
side so two players in the outfield center and left and two infielders third and short
stop. Each team would pitch to themselves sometimes we would run bases and
sometime not depending on how many players there were. With just 4 players on
a each side, we could not hit the ball to right field, on the fly or on the ground. If
you ever played like this, well you no the rules you made up for the amount of
players you had.

I also remember a player who was always there a girl by the name of Evelyn
Charmer, she could play ball as good or better then any of the guys. Yea, that
was a time when baseball was pure, it was played for the love of the game. Now
I wonder if I was to go back to my old home town if there were kids still doing
that, still playing for the love of the game with know adults in site. Well I kind
of dough it, it was a different time when life was much simpler.






 
                 

The Awakening

                                                                  The Awakening

                                                              (  Author Unknown )

                        
 

A time comes in your life when you finally get…when, in the midst of all your fears and insanity, you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out…ENOUGH1 Enough fighting and crying and blaming and struggling to hold on. Then, like a child quieting down after a tantrum, you blink back your tears and begin to look at the world through new eyes. This is your awakening. You realize it’s time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change, or for happiness, safety and security to magically appear over the next horizon. You realize that in the real world there aren’t always fairy tale endings, and that any guarantee of “happily ever after” must begin with you…and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance. You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are…and that’s OK. They are entitled to their own views and opinions. You learn the importance of loving and championing yourself…and in the process a sense of new found confidence is born of self-approval. Your stop complaining and blaming other people for the things they did to you – or didn’t do for you – and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected. You learn that people don’t always say what they mean or mean what they say and that not everyone will always be there for you and everything isn’t always about you. So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself…and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self-reliance. You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties…and in the process a sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness. You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view. You begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for. You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you’ve outgrown, or should never have bought into to begin with. You learn that there is power and glory in creating and contributing and you stop maneuvering through life merely as a “consumer” looking for you next fix. You learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era, but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life. You learn that you don’t know everything, it’s not you job to save the world and that you can’t teach a pig to sing. You learn the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake. Then you learn about love. You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be. You learn that alone does not mean lonely. You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to say NO. You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring your needs. You learn that your body really is your temple. You begin to care for it and treat it with respect. You begin to eat a balanced diet, drinking more water, and take more time to exercise. You learn that being tired fuels doubt, fear, and uncertainty and so you take more time to rest. And, just food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul. So you take more time to laugh and to play. You learn that, for the most part, you get in life what you deserve, and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen is different than working toward making it happen. More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You learn that no one can do it all alone, and that it’s OK to risk asking for help. You learn the only thing you must truly fear is fear itself. You learn to step right into and through your fears because you know that whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your own terms. You learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom. You learn that life isn’t always fair, you don’t always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting, good people…and you lean not to always take it personally. You learn that nobody’s punishing you and everything isn’t always somebody’s fault. It’s just life happening. You learn to admit when you are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls. You lean that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you. You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower. Then, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never, ever settle for less than you heart’s desire. You make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility. You hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind. Finally, with courage in you heart, you take a stand, you take a deep breath, and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.

Worth Living

What makes life worth living for you? I'm sure we all have different answers to
that question. As I pondered the question to myself the other day, and after
eliminating  a lot of very good answers, I came up with this one. What makes life
worth living is not being able to answer all the questions. If we new all the answers,
then life would have no meaning. As said in a quote "Life is a journey, not a
destination." and so the journey is the question and the destination is the answer.
I love finally getting the answer, but the question was the journey, on its away to
an answer.

      Bruce Knipp
 

Being Yourself

Their are people who think their lives are not exciting, mundane, or just plain boring.
Which leads some to make-up stories about themselves, of exploits and deeds never
done, except in the corner of there minds where the imagination resides, the Walter Mitty
affect. It's hard to know just why some people do this, it's like living a life they never had,
or wish they had by taking short cuts. Not doing the work it takes to be what you want to
be, kind of like cheating on a test in school.
In the military they have a name for this, it's called "stolen valor" stealing valor from those
who really deserve it, taking glory from those who do not seek it. The people who tell lies
about who and what they are, are really stealing from themselves. Life is unique, their
are no boring lives, each life has its own story to tell, its own failures and victories, its own
place in the world, its own path to follow. Some years ago I coined this quote.
"Don't claim to be what your not, Just be who you are, that should be more then enough".

People will like and respect you for who you are, not for what you think would empress

them.

Bruce Knipp

Rules I Try to Live By:

some rules i try to live by:

by Cherie Carter-Scott

1. don't panic. don't take anything, not even these words (and especially not yourself), too seriously.
2. never stop thinking.. if someone ever says to you ‘you need to stop thinking so much' just ignore them and keep thinking deeper... your mind is the most important tool you have, if you stop using it, it will atrophy. FACT.
3. daydream as much as possible, even if it's only for a few seconds at a time. stare into space blankly and don’t ever punish yourself for doing it. there's no such thing as wasting time.
4. don’t be afraid to talk about anything. ask questions, and demand answers.
5. everyone is original. every life experience is case sensitive and unique. every thing you do makes you more YOU than anyone else has ever been.
6. stop rushing. take your time and enjoy every moment.
7. don't let anyone tell you what to believe. discover 'religion' for yourself.. it should never be taught, only found.
8. talking to yourself is healthy. who else do you have more in common with?
9. we will always be in a transitional phase. look around you and know that everything will be replaced at some point.. this existence is only temporary.
10. if someone else has already said it better, don't be afraid to quote them.
11. there is no such thing as time. there is only your life- earlier today you were born and death is predicted later in the evening.
12. every now and then take something that you see everyday and try to see it in a different light. renew its existence.
13. be happy... but don’t force it. that defeats the purpose. discover what is making you unhappy, and change it.
14. you will always succeed in trying.
15. we are all crazy. every person you read about in the history books, already know, or will maybe meet on the street, has or had some kind of ‘disorder’...you just have to learn how to use yours.
16. we are all about as similar as we are different.
17. ideas are just as valuable as people. why do you think we keep making people? we hope new people will have new ideas to share- so don't let everyone down by keeping yours to yourself.
18. words will always be just words. only the feelings are real
19. ask a child for advice, and never speak down to them. they may not know much, but they know what is important.
20. prove you’re alive. remind the world you are still here.

METAMORPOSIS

METAMORPOSIS

Having just emerged from its cocoon, a butterfly sit on
a leaf, its wings spread wide so the sun can dry them.
In a few minutes it will fly for the very frist time.

Not to long ago it was a caterpillar eating its weight
in leaves. Do you think the caterpillar new it was going
to be a butterfly when it closed itself up in its cocoon,
did it know a metamorposis would take place.

Does the butterfly now sitting on the leaf remember it
was a caterpillar. Or does it now, have no memory of its
former life, and this is like a birth, the only one it
remembers.

When our time comes to leave this world, will a
metamorposis take place. Will we come out the other side
changed, will we remember the life we left behind. And
like the butterfly, will we also fly for the very first time.

 

Ten Rules for Being Human

Ten Rules for Being Human

by Cherie Carter-Scott

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	"There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.