Saturday, March 15, 2008
tuned in - Saturday Mar. 15, 2008
today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park
walk report: -4C/26F, overcast, light sleet (snowflakes trying to grow up) falling, everything covered by a film - as thick as and looking like a dryer-sheet; Gusta looking every way but up for those honking geese; we had a good stretch around the neighborhood; there is surely a connection between a rash on my scalp and that new shampoo, between my daughter coming through the door last night and my big smile, or between Gusta’s whining - slumped in a lump at the door waiting for Carla’s return from a run
complex connect-the-dots relationships in individual and collective lives bear watching, but no analysts write columns on it Saturday mornings so I’ll take a stab, trying to decipher relationships where none appear to exist
understanding, or illusion of it, is possible when looking in the rear-view mirror to see what we just passed through - I try hard to decipher relationships between events – not to paint a path of what to do next, but to get smart about what just happened; did I choose the most appropriate ones, did I miss the boat on others – did I make a colossal blunder or lay the groundwork for a glorious unfolding? . . will my choices bring a future filled only with joy, absence of pain, a full belly, a full smile, a full mind?
I understand how radio waves and TV signals behave – hundreds, perhaps thousands of them, flying around but if I am not tuned in I miss them all; when I tune in I hear or see only one at a time (males are more developed in this regard – we perfected the technique of rapid channel clicking so as to give us the illusion we are tuned in to many at once)
when I tune in to signals sent me by events, opportunities, friends, families, animals, the outdoors, nature, the weather and the actions of others I am receiving many signals at once (maybe Cisco could invent a router for that) - but what connects wishes, hopes, dreams, ideals, values with adventure, spunk and ideas; does it all happen by accident?
consequences rarely relate logically to plans because incidents, coincidence and opportunity are swirling always; some opportunities came my way this week which I acted on, others I didn’t . . . and I wonder why; writing on an issue or idea or a problem is my way of scribbling on a blackboard – using the brush to swish away chalk in wide swinging motions often – then I can start over and over, looking for a logical plausible result – trying to be tuned in to that which connects us
[I paused before finishing this - fried egg sandwiches needed to be cooked]
now, a day half-planned will soon be half-over so there is not time to waste . . signals to be received, things to watch for . . stay tuned; more important still are the signals we send – we have no idea who will receive them but, like radio and TV stations, no one will if we are not broadcasting; I have nothing sappy to say about ‘sending your message to the world’ or anything spiritual to add on the subject – just a recognition that thoughts tossed out in conversation or over the airwaves have thousands of permutations of consequences just waiting to happen
at this time 5 years ago Carla came to Calgary for a few days – in a conversation about exercising and writing I was smug, arrogant and pushy; that was the impetus for Musings which began on March 21, 2003; I’m still smug, arrogant and pushy but along the way some really interesting and life-altering signals have been sent and received – from a conversation of 2, to a circulation of 8, to an audience of tens of thousands
the lesson is this: when my daughter is around, I have my receiver set to ‘all channels’ because I know there will be interesting conversation; experience has taught me that I don’t get to know in advance which signals will just float by and which ones will alter my path but I do trust that some of them will and I want to see where they lead
Mark Kolke
339,472
198.5
... with your voice, teach in order to learn
What do you think? Join the discussion - comments are welcomed - please write.
To subscribe to Mark's Musings daily email distribution, write to mark@markmusing.com
©2008 MaxComm Communications
walk report: -4C/26F, overcast, light sleet (snowflakes trying to grow up) falling, everything covered by a film - as thick as and looking like a dryer-sheet; Gusta looking every way but up for those honking geese; we had a good stretch around the neighborhood; there is surely a connection between a rash on my scalp and that new shampoo, between my daughter coming through the door last night and my big smile, or between Gusta’s whining - slumped in a lump at the door waiting for Carla’s return from a run
complex connect-the-dots relationships in individual and collective lives bear watching, but no analysts write columns on it Saturday mornings so I’ll take a stab, trying to decipher relationships where none appear to exist
understanding, or illusion of it, is possible when looking in the rear-view mirror to see what we just passed through - I try hard to decipher relationships between events – not to paint a path of what to do next, but to get smart about what just happened; did I choose the most appropriate ones, did I miss the boat on others – did I make a colossal blunder or lay the groundwork for a glorious unfolding? . . will my choices bring a future filled only with joy, absence of pain, a full belly, a full smile, a full mind?
I understand how radio waves and TV signals behave – hundreds, perhaps thousands of them, flying around but if I am not tuned in I miss them all; when I tune in I hear or see only one at a time (males are more developed in this regard – we perfected the technique of rapid channel clicking so as to give us the illusion we are tuned in to many at once)
when I tune in to signals sent me by events, opportunities, friends, families, animals, the outdoors, nature, the weather and the actions of others I am receiving many signals at once (maybe Cisco could invent a router for that) - but what connects wishes, hopes, dreams, ideals, values with adventure, spunk and ideas; does it all happen by accident?
consequences rarely relate logically to plans because incidents, coincidence and opportunity are swirling always; some opportunities came my way this week which I acted on, others I didn’t . . . and I wonder why; writing on an issue or idea or a problem is my way of scribbling on a blackboard – using the brush to swish away chalk in wide swinging motions often – then I can start over and over, looking for a logical plausible result – trying to be tuned in to that which connects us
[I paused before finishing this - fried egg sandwiches needed to be cooked]
now, a day half-planned will soon be half-over so there is not time to waste . . signals to be received, things to watch for . . stay tuned; more important still are the signals we send – we have no idea who will receive them but, like radio and TV stations, no one will if we are not broadcasting; I have nothing sappy to say about ‘sending your message to the world’ or anything spiritual to add on the subject – just a recognition that thoughts tossed out in conversation or over the airwaves have thousands of permutations of consequences just waiting to happen
at this time 5 years ago Carla came to Calgary for a few days – in a conversation about exercising and writing I was smug, arrogant and pushy; that was the impetus for Musings which began on March 21, 2003; I’m still smug, arrogant and pushy but along the way some really interesting and life-altering signals have been sent and received – from a conversation of 2, to a circulation of 8, to an audience of tens of thousands
the lesson is this: when my daughter is around, I have my receiver set to ‘all channels’ because I know there will be interesting conversation; experience has taught me that I don’t get to know in advance which signals will just float by and which ones will alter my path but I do trust that some of them will and I want to see where they lead
Mark Kolke
339,472
198.5
... with your voice, teach in order to learn
What do you think? Join the discussion - comments are welcomed - please write.
To subscribe to Mark's Musings daily email distribution, write to mark@markmusing.com
©2008 MaxComm Communications
