Musing

today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: -7C/19F; images of tall grass growing out of clear water float in my mind like an early start on a golf course, where night’s dewy remains coat everything, song birds show up for work early to wake everyone . . but it seems we need just a little more winter to bring moisture to this land; overcast, temperature rising as light snow falling cannot decide to melt or accumulate; not enough to shovel, just enough to slip on which meant nothing to Gusta but the melting dimples (like the holes that appear in pancake batter just before you flip them over) in the snow kept her amused while I navigated, I kept wondering what those bubble holes in pancakes might be called

pennies a day pays that poor guy, the grunt laborer in the 3rd world who sews sneakers, harvests shrimp or solders cell phone parts – we don’t much mind, because we are more focused on high gas pump prices, taxes and making ends meet when everything decision seems to end in ‘,000.00’

I’ve struggled with week over week fluctuations in work and reward; my focus in helping others achieve their aims usually helps me achieve a fair living along the way; some people reap excess as reward for taking enormous risk but most of us make a fair living in a fair country from a fair day’s work – we come home to a full fridge, a full cupboard or we stop by a full store or full restaurant – our days focused on playoff hockey schedules, family dynamics, clubs and communities doing their things - but no one in my world worries about starving; I’ve had my share of scrapes, financial ups and downs over the years, but I’ve never missed a meal

headlines bring to our face the plight of the guy who works all day to buy a bowl of rice only to find the price tripled – he can’t start working 3 times the 10 hours a day he already works; he can’t reach into a rice savings account he doesn’t have; he hits our headlines because he riots or marches or starves - not because he is bad or weak or dumb but because no matter how hard he works he cannot catch up to that which is racing away from him

he does not chase luxury or excess, but merely a full bowl of rice at the end of the day; we have it very wrong in this world where countless examples of waste are everywhere; I don’t profess to understand the minutia of the global economy but I understand the helplessness of feeling there is nothing that can be done to solve a problem, the frustration of slipping further from a solution every day

I had a good day yesterday; I closed a deal, got another one under contract, moved a couple more along the continuum - today I’ll move a few more pieces on the board game called work just a little closer to the finish line; I won’t laugh all the way to the bank, but I’ll smile and have a full belly; it is hard to be euphoric when some poor guy can’t feed himself and his family with a day’s labor while a commodity trader half-way round the world reaps plenty; I know these ebbs and flows are part of an efficient marketplace and a working economy, but I feel for the poor guy

there is so much dignity in work, but there is no dignity in not knowing where your next meal is coming from of if you can afford it – which is not just a 3rd world country problem, we have it in every city and town in this country too; I can't help but wonder, of all that money spent by corporations and governments promoting Earth Day, how many bags of rice that might have bought?

I suggested to PB that we go out for dinner this weekend to celebrate my good week – she suggested that she’d rather have me cook her fish, which I will, but I don’t think I’ll serve rice

Mark Kolke
338,512
199.3


... with your voice, teach in order to learn


What do you think? Join the discussion - comments are welcomed - please write.

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©2008 MaxComm Communications

re: they know - Morning Mark. I will be leaving this place of employment next week so I am going to remove this email address from your list. You still have my home email though so I will still receive your musing. All the best to you, MS, Calgary

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re: they know - Who knows whether the earth will continue to spin for billions of years more? I believe our sun is expected to go nova at some time then, so that would be the end absolutely. Yes, we 6 billion are in much more immediate peril, but I don't think our destruction is inevitable. Alvin Toffler was far ahead of his time, as was, say, Leonardo Da Vinci, but no one can see farther than so far. It only takes one error, one success, one turn, one unexpected invention to turn the course of history on its ear, EG,Calgary

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re: they know - Hope things are going well, I love WestJet. I’m going to London, ON this weekend to visit my best girlfriend. She was gardening last weekend, so I’m looking forward to some warmer weather. Take care, DL, Calgary

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Hi...I haven't been getting your musings....everything OK?, KN, Camrose, AB

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Mark: can you kindly get me back on the dailies - somehow they stopped after a couple of years. All the best., JC, Toronto, ON

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today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: -5C/22F, overcast, quiet, lights are on but few people were moving; sidewalks nearly all bare, the path clear – that gave me confident footing, Gusta found interesting things to nibble where rabbits had been

things show up when least expected while the most anticipated things seem to take forever; that call out of the blue or someone doing something I wanted but did not expect – days lately seem filled with these moments; I heard a promo on CNN yesterday for an upcoming show ‘Earth In Peril’; I don’t think the earth will do anything but spin for many more billions of years, while what might be in peril is the lifestyle of its inhabitants so it might be better stated as ‘6 billion people in peril’

I’m not a squatter on the leading edge, but I have a notion where it is; I’m not geeky or ‘out there’ but part of me wants to try; each time I read about some cool new thing or clever twist on an old theme driven by new technology I am fascinated by the wayfinding exercise as much as what is at the end of that new path; in the 60s Alvin Tofler wrote about exponential increases in knowledge accumulation in his seminal book Future Shock but he made no mention of the internet so it seems we’ve gone way beyond his worst fears

a world gets smarter and smaller through speed (really though, it’s the same world, same size); speed of information flow, idea proliferation, movement of an economy, flowing waves of sentiment are like never before in history; in practical terms, the speed of information and ideas flying my way is incredibly fast; someone clicks somewhere on the planet and (except on days when internet service is down) it shows up in real time – I’m not sure if that is the speed of light or the slightly slower speed of its cousin electricity; a path examined or one not taken - metaphor for so many things Frost could never have imagined; but what of the path I did take; along the way the failures get dissected, but what about the wins, what about the successes; is there software to track that?

I wonder about further acceleration; it seems incomprehensible that we could get things happening ahead of when they actually happen – not that science can’t find a way to do that too, but think of all the forecasters who would be out of work because we could see the future; maybe that is what spyware is all about - some program to analyze my needs and anticipate provided to me before I’ve thought of or asked for it; websense ads is the Google methodology of having things I might be interested in pop up on my screen when I visit a website because software knows who I am; they know what I surf for, my demographic profile and keeps statistics on my online activities (hello big brother)

speaking of that CNN piece - I went to their website but got sidetracked by a video of a six legged kitten (CNN is not the circus, but with stories like that I have to wonder); before the video started a recruiting commercial for the CIA came on my screen; how do they know that as a teenager I secretly wanted to be a spy – was that me or just a byproduct of Bond movies and the Man From U.N.C.L.E. ?

Mark Kolke
338,536
200.1

... 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

re: one earth and one me - I basically agree with your musings today. We are certainly becoming more concerned with the fate of the planet, and hence our own. However, in the brief research I have done, I'm impressed with the climatic cycles that the earth has undergone in its history, ranging from Ice Ages lasting many millennia to warm periods lasting an equal amount of time with no ice anywhere on the planet. What caused these cycles? The thinking is that it had to do with changes in Earth's orbit, declination and precession, and solar radiation, but no one is sure. I am heartened however by an article on environment in the latest Macleans, showing many instances of evolving technology for harnessing sun, wind and garbage. Human ingenuity and the will to survive may yet prevail, EG, Calgary.

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re: I hardly ever buy tuna - Hi Mark, PS is not only a Chinese but a mixed between Thai & Chinese, hold the Swiss passport, lives and works in CH more than half of her life now. Have a great day all my best wishes. PS, China

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today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: -9C/16F, light snow again – just enough to shovel, just enough to cause falls – Gusta strained to meet a tall dark hued Border Collie who was much better behaved (perhaps neutered) than my rambunctious blonde exhibiting primary urges

on the schoolyard, at work or in a family we learn early on that we have to pick our battles; sometimes that is about timing, sometimes it is about the issue, sometimes we are too early, sometimes too late, sometimes we misread the situation

innovation does not usually come from a place like the office of an obscure U.S. Senator, but that is where the germs of the idea for an Earth Day began; but I am sure there are countless people the world over who had the same thoughts in the sixties but most of them were too stoned to do much beyond admiring the buzz they got saying ‘save the planet man!’ or something to that affect

on many fronts, simultaneously, the cleverest of minds have dedicated themselves to gauging which way the parade is going, then sprint to get out in front of it so they might pretend to lead the way because greed and green are so similar these days; information pools are everywhere – sliced, diced, sorted, re-sorted – trends measured like markets and polls that do not accurately measure anything but someone’s guess of what might happen if a set of facts were true at one moment; we swim, perhaps drown, in this ocean of compelling data, rhetoric and marketing that comes in only one flavor - green

the enemy is not P&G (pick your favorite corporate foe), those greedy opportunistic marketers driven by shareholders who want profits; the enemy is not main street or Wall Street because these terms all relate to a struggle against a foe, a battle against and enemy which is being fought without an exit strategy from the war (sorry George W, I couldn’t pass up the analogy) or a definition of what success looks like

so many sell us something better, new, improved, dynamic and – today at least – green, sustainable, bio-degradable and conserving something but we’ll not change the world; whether global warming is real, whether humans caused it or can reverse it, or ought to try, is a fundamental discussion that does not happen across breakfast tables or airwaves; VHS beat Beta – not because it was better or right but because powerful marketers convinced us it was better; VHS is history now, Beta still has its vital places; Al Gore has his Nobel Prize but he’s no more (or less) a prize than anyone else wrapping themselves in green; Earth day = the politics of distraction

Walt Kelly, cartoonist who created Pogo said it: ‘We have met the enemy and he is us.”

a definition found online rings beautifully true: green - hue, portion of visible spectrum between yellow and blue, evoked in the human observer by radiant energy with wavelengths of approximately 490 to 570 nanometers; any of a group of colors that may vary in lightness and saturation whose hue is that of the emerald or somewhat less yellow than that of growing grass; one of the additive or light primaries; one of the psychological primary hues

if we collectively think green, turn off a light, or ‘waste one less’ of anything we CAN stop the price of anything from going up or down or the number of particles per million in our air; the making of green, the saving of green - growing greener every day - soon we’ll all be green, factory smoke-stacks will spill sunshine, tailpipes extinct, water plentiful, air sweet, oceans full of fish, plates piled high with safe food, 6 billion happy non-warring healthy people – sure; OK, time to wake up, that was a fantastic dream

changing the world ‘one earth day at a time’ won’t work one day a year; tides and winds and the spinning of the earth don’t take an hour off let alone a day; sustainability, sustained effort, continuous unrelenting effort is what is needed to make change; a day, a decade, a century - don’t mean much measured against forces at work for thousands of millions of years of water wearing holes in rock, mountains rising up - that sort of thing - if it had a brain would think of earthlings (us) as short term visitors who don’t clean up after themselves, skip without paying and steal the towels to boot

the world’s population is neither passive or ignorant – we’re just busy with other things, like eating, fighting, fleeing or stretching to make ends meet; a world of change will not happen because any one person wants it to be or wills it so; the European Union can’t do it, the United States cannot do it, Bill Gates cannot do it, the hapless United Nations cannot do it and neither can any one of us acting alone but that is all we can do

a silver bullet would be nice, grass greener on the other side of a great breakthrough; I’ve considered political parties called GREEN, considered the Sierra Club, Greenpeace and others where one can join a group, get a newsletter, make a donation and contribute to a group that purports to foster change as if a few thousand good people are battling 6 billion bad people; that does not frame the issue or a strategy for solution in my view

for me there seems to be a clearer, albeit smaller, picture of whether 6 billion can win any battle with the planet – I doubt we can wage any such war that collectively would equal any force of nature or which could reverse it; we’ve only been camping here a short while and, to listen to all the talking heads, it seems we’ve nearly wrecked the place

I don’t think it is too late, I don’t think the battle is very well defined; on Earth Day or any other day the rhetoric is about politics and commerce, about a battle waged by a collective ‘those’ who care against ‘those who pollute and harm the environment’ (sounds like self destructive self-loathing to me) who struggle against those whose actions change the weather as if there is some evil bully we should confront in the alley after school

whether or not I pollute or conserve, waste or desecrate, there is but one earth and one me; I’m overmatched if I consider it a battle with it or with anyone; but, if I consider joining the earth like I am its friend, not so much as a squatter but as a tenant with a life-estate to be here, then I’ll have a better chance of making any difference worth noting or leaving behind; every day can be the ‘first day of_____’ so why can’t this be the first day of that?

Mark Kolke
338,560
199.4


... 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

re: I hardly ever buy tuna - We must each take "green" responsibility and accountability personally; to wait for governments to do anything is ludicrous. On the other hand, there is so much "green" being touted in all forms of advertising for products, services, etc., who is to know what is real and what is lip-service? That's why individual accountability is critical - one person/one step at a time, AK,. Calgary

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re: I hardly ever buy tuna - I never buy tuna either, prefer salmon. It is indeed interesting to speculate what the world will look like in 300 years. I doubt that we'd recognize it, if present trends in the explosion of knowledge and technology continue, and if or not cataclysms occur in the meantime. The likelihood of that is debatable, of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if, among many other things, our present political boundaries and patterns of commerce will have changed. The earth is changed by ideas initiated by individuals, more so than by overlords, who are swept away by those ideas, and naturally occurring shortages, surfeits, climate changes, etc. The 125 is not out of the question, if we can feed and water and not poison ourselves, EG, Calgary

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today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report:-11C/13F, overcast, a trickle of snow dust settling, Gusta pulling hard, I pulled a little harder to maintain the illusion of who is boss

I sort the recycling, I drive it to the depot because PB encourages me, I buy dolphin friendly tuna because my children taught me that long ago but, really, I hardly ever buy tuna; I waste a little less, take a little more care and as I deal with reality of high gas and food prices I do it all because I have no choice; I spend (maybe you do too) some time pondering how to tread more lightly, how to carve out a smaller footprint of space and consumption but not enough time because I (and most people) have not become convinced and active as if it is critical even though there are so many pieces of evidence that we are moved to strong action which is not odd really; we’ve have Darfur, China’s human rights record, smoking and George Bush for quite some time – we’ve not collectively changed any of that so why should we expect to get the world to think green for one day, let alone all year

futility day might be a better name; it’s earth day tomorrow (not today, so no need to think green or turn off a light); thinking people know that it is, yet most of us choose instead to manage our situation by selective listening, modest activism and token initiatives while corporation and government pander to this trend in our thinking with products, green power, conservation initiatives, treaties and protocols; it is easy to argue whether humankind will exist and thrive 300 years from now; harder to guess at what things will be like in 50 or 75

“You forget that the fruit belongs to all and the land belongs to no one.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau

in Roman mythology, Fortuna, the goddess of fortune, was the personification of luck and also the goddess of fate

every year since 1970, Earth Day, just 1 day of 365.25; perhaps that reflects the ratio of attention the world’s population and its governments have given it; government folks here and in many countries would argue that they are so progressively changing things we ought not worry (in fact, our Government here in Alberta recently recognized Dr. David Schindler as the world class water scientist he is but that rings hollow after they denied every warning he offered for 25 yrs); I have little confidence in established democracies paying more than lip-service to environmental issues and far less confidence in that fuzzy category called ‘3rd world’ or ‘developing countries’

it has been a while since Rousseau shopped for groceries, or real estate; in the 1700’s the world was for the taking and colonialism gave rise to it all being taken; a few generations later there is little on the planet claimed by no one, our material world taking but one day each year (tomorrow is Earth Day) to recognize the fruit and the land won’t be worth having in another 300 years but, if humans are still here, one has to wonder who will own it all, who will control it and what events will lead to real change in how the story unfolds

we can’t do much as an individual or as a group that will make much of a difference; change that makes a difference happens when a lot of unorganized individuals start thinking a new way such that their collective efforts will establish an army of like minded folks who will change the world – I think we need it because we cannot wait for speedy government action (if there is such a thing)

I am not blithely wishing for the days of Rousseau but rather a future day when his words might be true again; sadly I think we risk sporting green skin while breathing through devices installed in our necks (I’ll take the mango flavored one) before that happens; as much as it would be nice to celebrate earth day it seems we treat our planet like a land fill, a nuisance ground, a sewer and a junk yard – rather than celebrating we could mourn what’s been lost forever and take a stab at really changing things so we don’t lose the rest

I wonder if we’ll take better care of the planet when we are 12 billion, when cancer is cured, when oil is back to $60/barrel, when life expectancy grows to 125; I intend to be around so I’ll let you know; today, if I shop for tuna how many cans should I buy in order to save one dolphin? or two?

Mark Kolke
338,584
199.0


... with your voice, teach in order to learn


What do you think? Join the discussion - comments are welcomed - please write.

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©2008 MaxComm Communications

re: a breeze or inclination - Hey there Mark; When passing by one idea for another always note the first idea. A lesson I learned when I first picked up the quill, Its like backing up the object your weary eyes are glued to at this moment in time... Here at Home, "T", WT, Calgary

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re: a breeze or inclination - Wrong date - on purpose? Hope you didn’t do it on purpose!, today’s date is Sun. 20th April 2008. I would rather drop you some lines now as I don’t want to have time pass by too quickly as long as I still appreciate reading all your “Master piece” daily musing. I am one of your great fan. Take best care and all the best plus have a good start of the next coming week, PS, China

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To subscribe to Mark's Musings daily email distribution, write to mark@markmusing.com
©2008 MaxComm Communications

today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: -12C/10F, blowing snow, just a little more needed for blizzard conditions; Gusta felt it was a day for demonstrating acceleration, so did the rabbits

wishing and hoping won’t make it nice; often we travel to a place we’ve been or know about with some understanding of what the destination will be like; sometimes we’ve been there before but want a different experience

my next chapter will be different; different than the last, different than what I imagine; any truly exciting venture exists first in my head, sometimes that boat never leaves the dock – because it gave way to a better one or because the courage to pursue it existed only in that fantasy place between my ears

abandon need not be reckless; abandon need not be wanton; abandon is more than slipping away from the dock or leaving the known path; it implies willingness to float where a breeze or inclination take me; the mere thought of breeze on a day like today has me visualizing a windswept beach ( http://www.mauiwindcam.com ) in morning calm

leaping off the precipice is no riskier than sitting at the bus stop on a day the buses don’t run; waiting for a journey that will never start is like talking about one without serious intent - each will fail to lead anywhere pleasant; with butterfly on my shoulder, how can I expect that to continue unless there is venturing, adventuring and freedom to explore the unexplored; untried is not the same as untrue

Mark Kolke
338,608
197.4


... 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

re: better every time - We can get very close to knowing what love is, and I believe that it can be worked at, and if the spark is there, can burst forth like a fire, and we can then keep on fueling it for life, as long as both parties participate. The nuances of that are as close to "loving smart" as we can get, I think, EG, Calgary

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re: better every time - How did I know that you would incorporate the "jungle" comment into your musing? I guess I just knew.....what I really meant to say.....it was a much too hasty message.....was that if you venture out looking (in the jungle) and try too hard, you will not meet the person you are destined to meet for that person will cross paths with you when you least expect it and only by chance. I've seen it happen to friends of mine. It's more karma than anything. For I believe there is no such thing as "coincidence" Things always happen for a reason. It is our destiny ........ Always enjoy your stories and your wisdom, JP, Surry, BC

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To subscribe to Mark's Musings daily email distribution, write to mark@markmusing.com
©2008 MaxComm Communications

today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: -11C/12F, morning silence, gray/brown rabbits stand out, snow still falling and more to come atop yesterday’s big dump; spring in Canada often a calendar delusion – we found best traction on the alley route where gravel-muck barely froze; Gusta’s snow coated coat keeps her warm and happy

maybe e-speed trade and commerce contain real-life lessons for running our emotional lives; surely what is efficient in one area of our lives can be transferred to another; it works when technologies are applied to new facts, new fields, new problems, so why not apply the world of work, the world of commerce to the world of love?

working smart implies tactics, pre-meditation, a plan and a strategy for execution; working smart, to me, involves thinking through low-value things for elimination, involves considering results and the best way to get them, avoiding pitfalls wherever possible

working hard is not always working smart; working smart is better, more efficient, progressive, contributes to good, making things better, every time - right?

examples show up at work every day - carried to another area, that could become ‘loving hard is not always loving smart’, making things better, every time but, whoa - just a minute

I’m not so sure the metaphor or analogy fit; every time we blink it seems someone is marketing a scheme, method, program, way of doing business or making money (or saving it) that invites us all to ‘click here to join’ or ‘click to buy now’

so many organizations in the world of commerce, legitimate and shady, prey upon our desire to have things easy, make it smooth, simple and painless to make a decision, buy or invest, get the world delivered to our door by UPS or to our computer screen in a nano-second

whatever we want is a click or download away; it’s a jungle out there where the fittest survive, efficient markets and competition improves life - that’s good, right ?

if we apply business practice to make our love life better - instead of loving hard, lets love smart, instead of loving wholly, completely and effortlessly with little thought, we could develop a plan; instead of a business plan or business model, a love-plan or love model

if ‘loving smart’ is the way to go, what would it look like as a tactic or strategy? if I did something, said something or tried to make something happen – how giving or caring might that be?

having to think about it somehow might devalue it, while strategizing might help me avoid pitfalls, but how real would that be?

self serving - yes, safe – likely, but would it be real?

someone I met two years ago inquired if I was still hunting (for a mate), lamenting it’s a jungle out there; whether it is or is not a jungle is not the question in my mind as much as how could we possibly make something work with anyone if we see it only that way?

I’ve watched, listened and read lots of self-help ‘peel-my-onion’ relationship books and I’m thinking seriously about writing one; most illustrate new ways of approaching issues with strategy, learning, ‘working smart’ to get it that much better, every time as if there is some end point of having learned enough to get it right; I’ve come to the happy conclusion that love works or it doesn’t; while I think tactics and strategies are great for adversarial sports like business, sales, athletics and board games – competitive and combative – but relationships, love and the pursuit of love – are filled with too much of that and not enough ease, not enough simple, not enough generosity of spirit and of self

the structure could be tactical, the diagrams would look like a football telecast drawing of what happened on the last play or, better yet, we could watch films the next day or have a team meeting to review how badly we did, where we missed closing the sale or scoring the touchdown – so we could go out and do better the next time or the time after that until we get it better, every time; what then? . . do we get a ‘working smart at love’ merit badge, do we pick that person, or do we THEN figure we are prepared to pick the right person?

with our without jungle-think, whatever we want will show up substantially as ordered, complete with an owner’s manual; that’s fine if I want an appliance, but I would never want that in a butterfly, because not knowing what nuances will unfold or when or why makes each day better, every time

Mark Kolke
338,632
197.8


... 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

Re: footprints - Hafiz's poem is indeed beautiful! I think that things do not make me happy per se, but they are necessary for my comfort. And there is something uplifting about living in a beautiful house and driving a great car (neither of which apply to me.), EG, Calgary

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RE: never stop trying - Thank you for putting me up to bat. It's past time I started swinging again, more publicly now, TF, Calgary

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today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: -1C/30F, overcast, runny nose (mine not Gusta’s) and brisk NE wind contributed to lots of hustle on a short walk, Gusta traded hellos with a Scottie, Schnauzer and Newfoundland while witnessing a daily conference of rabbits ringing the soccer fields

I don’t know much about chicken/egg scenarios, but we certainly live in a world where we are conditioned by society, if not by Madison Avenue, to believe that things are the source of happiness, things are needed, we all need those things and we cannot survive without them or the economy that provides them

Hafiz, the Rumi poet of 13th century ancient Persia wrote this which somehow is so beautiful in English the mind boggles at how something poetic in one language could be poetic and beautiful in another but it is:

‘I can think of no greater devotion
Than to be shore to your ocean.’

walking beaches, our footprints of any depth quickly vanish in the surf of life, as if we were never there – but then, in a way, we’ve left no scar or evidence of being there if we tread gently on the earth

I could probably survive on a deserted island without much; I could find a way to do the things I need to do, to make do with what I had at my disposal – but doing them without a purpose would be empty; survival of course, but beyond survival, what do I need?

recent months have been time for thinking over choices - consolidation time, preparing for change, eliminating duplication - seeing many things in my pool of possession as ‘no longer required’, obsolete or redundant; so many accumulations that are just not no longer important, many never were; the best treasures have been saved or given away to a good home so someone else can benefit from them as much as I have

I’ve wondered how many spatulas I need, how many PB needs – surely we need many, but how many; how many plates or spoons or chairs or gardening gloves do we need?

I sat yesterday in my dad’s condo/apartment, looking around at the remains of his lifetime of consumerism, his keepsakes, his critical necessities – I realize we are going through exactly the same processes as different points on the continuum; just as doing his tax return gets simpler every year, so does his footprint in terms of needs for things, needs for a place to put them – his place needs a purge too

I’m aware of ‘reducing carbon footprint’ issues – recycling, burning less fuel, wasting less, making different purchase choices – but most of my thinking has been focused more on ‘my physical footprint’, my amount of required space for my things; I like things, I like comfort - but what do I really need beyond internet access, a computer, shorts, t-shirts, golf clubs and a place in Maui to cook?

cleaning – yard, closet or purging our system – common thread of ridding unwanted debris, leftover and worn out goods, cleansing ourselves of choices gone wrong – the thing we bought but never wore, gadget we never used, trendy things long gone out of fashion; for me it is more than spring cleaning - reducing my baggage, lessening the footprint

spring yard clean up debris greets the garbage truck this morning; like me, moving a little slow – it has been a busy week for both of us - each street and cul-de-sac laneway rife with green bags bulging with leaves and clippings as crews have been aerating, fertilizing and sprucing up in hopes warm soil rebirthing of spring greenery will make it all worthwhile – it overwhelms routine household garbage and kitty litter dispositions, it swamps the norm in a large dump – no doubt this will continue for weeks as the garage cleanings, basement purges and closet routings take place

I imagine creating shelter from weather, making some paths, finding a good place to write with a view to the world around me; I imagine t-shirts and shorts will keep me warm enough, something to cover my head and companions, a dog and butterfly, to walk the beach with; some people leave their footprints on the sand, some leave them on our hearts; I like footprints, imprints, shores and oceans

Mark Kolke
338,656
198.0

... with your voice, teach in order to learn


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re: never stop trying - I'm not a Boomer, born too early. I do agree however, that one has to be one's own number one fan, but that doesn't exclude all of the other people for whom I can be one. I don't think I will ever reach the stage where I've seen enough; I will savor my last glimpse. And I will keep on swinging, EG, Calgary

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Hey Mark..........I have been in the middle of moving and just realized that I have not gotten one musing from you since the 3rd of April. What's up with that?? Did you take me off your list? Could you reinstate me? Thanks! , AS, Oklahoma City, OK

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re: never stop trying - I'm not a Boomer, born too early. I do agree however, that one has to be one's own number one fan, but that doesn't exclude all of the other people for whom I can be one. I don't think I will ever reach the stage where I've seen enough; I will savor my last glimpse. And I will keep on swinging, EG, Calgary

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Hey Mark..........I have been in the middle of moving and just realized that I have not gotten one musing from you since the 3rd of April. What's up with that?? Did you take me off your list? Could you reinstate me? Thanks! , AS, Oklahoma City, OK

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today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: 5C/40F, calm, clear, our path to the soccer fields punctuated by bursts of speed and sound; cars, birds, rabbit filled yards – Gusta taunts the rabbits too which is perverse because she’ll never catch one even if she isn’t leashed – frustration she’ll learn to live with but never enjoy – but she’ll never stop trying

here we are, me + those others who are, at the same place, or maybe many different places with a common experience; this place, this point in time, this place on the roadmap of existence, where crossroads navigate like a crossword puzzle when cross words show us forks in the road, paths diverging in the yellow wood shed light on this spot, this malaise, this rage point

aging, a spectacular period for enlightenment, satisfaction, accomplishment or, we boom-agers reconciling misspent youth and the young adult life, the fast life, the good life – that passed us by, that slipped through our fingers, that evaporated, that has been used up, empty, exhausted

I need to stick up for me; you for you, the other guy for the other guy – we can each be supportive and often collectively strong speaking with a united voice – but most of the time we do our best advocacy by speaking clearly, speak strongly to the right party at the right time, making the obscure point clear – and never stop trying

if aging is a process of viewing the scenery, at what point have we seen enough, at what point do we change the scenery, change our view, start saying words like STOP, WHOA or hey, whadyamean I have to do it your way?

most organizations, society, government – their dictates - not so much protection of status quo, as ease with which ‘this is the way we do it’ keeps them comfortably not examining how they do it unless there is an articulate and forceful complaint from someone they are willing to listen to – otherwise, ‘that’s our process, policy, procedure . . etc.’ is all we get; if we sit silent, it is what we deserve, what we get and nothing will change

I got angry yesterday; angry with someone about something, some indignity of how that company made up of those people do something that impacts me; they are good people, nice people, people I like, company I respect – but like most companies they do things their way without a lot of regard for anyone who is not powerful, with regard for themselves, with regard for their bottom line; but they pay slowly and arduously – they don’t lie, they don’t cheat; they are fair, fair minded, have great product and I like to do business with them – but, like most large organizations they see things from only their side, their way, their perspective

was it rude of me? . . without doubt; will it hurt me? . . maybe, maybe I’ll lose a relationship, maybe I’ll muddy the water for future dealings – I doubt it

will it change anything?

that’s the better question; will my complaint, my speaking up, speaking out – will it change the world, that company, that person I complained to, will it change them or how they deal with me or anyone else? will it change me?

my rant/vent did two things - I vented some frustration to someone who might listen, I recognized how little affect that action may have for anyone else but also how important it was for me; my action/inaction ratio is something only I am accountable for; I’m not talking about road-rage antics applied to life, but taking it upon myself (our ourselves) to take a step, take a stand, do something and never stop trying

why that issue, why that company, why yesterday, why indeed?

as I questioned the nurse at the cardiac clinic (another great check-up for my dad) about the tenuous relationship between heart-kidneys-meds-everything else for my dad’s frail old body I was watching him, watching his body language – and saw myself (Dickens would love my ‘future vision’), my future of being old and vulnerable, without control over ‘the system’, how things are done - unable to articulate concerns that ought to be raised, needing someone to stick up for me, someone to advocate for me – knowing full well that my right to expect a system or a family member or a caregiver is not a right any of us have, or an expectation any of us should expect to count on; for our generation, more than ever before simply because of numbers, we need to stick up for ourselves

that rant with a landlord over some process issues of how/when I get paid on a transaction was real and serious, but I recognize it was largely symbolic in terms of recognizing each time I let something go by it is like a baseball player letting one more pitch come across the plate without swinging; the chance of hitting a pitch he doesn’t swing at is zero so he will never stop trying

Mark Kolke
338,680
196.7

Thanks so much for remembering my birthday... How are you?? Sorry, I haven't written back sooner but you know, sometimes life gets in the way.. I couldn't possibly be that busy.(this seems to be a bit of a disconnected narrative) . I did notice you took me off your musing list a long time ago. I'll try to catch you up. About a 18 months ago I was over visiting my Daughter in the Seattle area and was changing the baby (18 months old) She has 4 kids now (3 adopted) I pulled off the baby's wet shirt handed it to his sister (4) She was helpfully standing right next to me observing. "Ashley, honey, please put this in the laundry". She looked me straight in the eyes and in her high pitched little 4 year old voice, said "No". Well I was floored (she had no idea, who she was talking too, I used to spank her Mother after all). I explained to her that if she didn't do it she would get a "time out" and if that didn't work I would spank her. She immediately complied. Well about 3 hours later (same scenario) I was changing the Baby again and called on her older brother ( 8 ) to do the laundry run (that baby is always wet it seems). "Xavier, please run this to the laundry". He looks me full in the face and says "No". I am once again stunned. These small people have no idea who I am. With Xavier, I skip over the "time out" part and go immediately to the larger threat of ‘do this, or I will spank you’. He complied immediately. What this made me realize was that if I wanted to have any kind of relationship with these kids, I needed to be closer.. I couldn't be just "the bossy lady that visits a couple of times a year" So last summer my spousal equivalent and I (we've been together 3 years now) started looking at property over here. After 18 years in Idaho, we bought a house jointly and moved last November. So we now live in Rockport Washington, in the foothills of the Cascade mountains. We're about an hour from my daughter (just the right distance). All my kids except the youngest (he's finishing up some college) are over here. They're all doing well. I'm really enjoying getting to see the kids more. It's wonderful. So enough about me - how are you and the kids?? Your Dad?? Your Love life? Gusta?? I know I could go back through the blog but this is more personal. Looking forward to hearing back from you , IA, Rockport, WA

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re: discovery - Wow! What a feast! First of all, in my view the human learning curve is not asymptotic, where we are approaching the limits of human understanding, but exponential; the more answers we reach the many more questions arise, but answers to some of these are also found. For example, after Newton's Principia, it was thought that nothing new was left to discover in physics; and after Einstein's General Theory of Relativity punched major holes into Newton's Laws, and quantum mechanics became known, we were faced with a barrage of questions that have not yet been answered. And certainly the above holds true in the medical field, with which I am more familiar. I disagree with you; the journey IS all it's about. Many people will not agree with me on this I'm sure. Good luck in your passion for discovery. I share it, EG,Calgary

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Reply to EG - Sure there are lots of blogs and email responses. But as Mark noted, actions are few. Somehow in the past people were able to form a critical mass of support for change and heroes emerged and/or politicians were forced to listen etc. Or sometimes a group learned that too many people disagreed with them and they could not get the change that they wanted. There are many opinions about why a critical mass of support so seldom happens today. But whatever the reason(s), my point was that the critical mass of support for change is not emerging in today's culture, LHE, Calgary

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©2008 MaxComm Communications

today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: -4C/24F, bird songs roused me before the alarm; sunny, calm; lawns decorated with white frosting afford footprint art opportunities for Gusta, I stuck to the bare sidewalks; my pace is quickened these last few days in part because my ankle is getting so much better, in part because I am trying to walk more distance (illusion of exercise) in a shorter time (so much to do); my blood is moving faster, my body is moving faster, my head is racing and my waist line is steady-as-it-goes

citizens of the world, we swagger in collective arrogance that we know it all, have it all, need and want it all – yet, consider that we are civilization still in the starting gate, 50,000 years of learning got us to this moment; the next 50 just another split-second in time which, depending on your view, makes life wholly insignificant or the most powerful force

clichés dot our vernacular describing JOL not being destination - the journey is what is all about – poppycock; as surely as Wal-mart’s ‘reducing prices every day’ will never get them to zero, we (the collective 6 billion) will never know it all or reach a point of all knowing

looking around at a world of technology, medical breakthroughs and the leading edge of so many leading edges, one must wonder what’s left to discover, what’s left to be learned about reality or about dreams when we think we know so much; sadly, I think we know so little but sit complacent that ‘so much is known’ that we each can only contribute our collective insignificance, like a grain of sand in the Sahara; each year’s exponential increase in the world’s body of knowledge must surely be getting us to some penultimate level beyond which we cannot go, soon the increases will be in minute increments of learning some nuance or beating a world record by 1/100th of a second, eventually there must be a maximum, right?

most JOL are littered with unplanned, unexpected and often unfulfilling side trips to destinations never imagined or known about before landing there; before you roll your eyes and speculate I’ve ingested too much caffeine this morning, consider that the JOL is not from Calgary to Vancouver or London to Frankfurt; consider that the JOL is from birth to death or from ignorance to enlightenment

the JOL could last a second of epiphany or a lifetime of hum drum; things that change the world and life on this planet fall into two groups (doesn’t everything?) the first being things about the planet’s behavior (like spinning every 24 hours, revolving around the sun every 364.25 years, wobbling to create seasons, grinding away a new mountain range every few million years) and our behavior, our JOL

our JOL is full of discoveries; these fall into two groups, those we were looking (chemists in a lab trying till something works) for and those of us who look up now and then to say ‘ah+ha, look what I found!’

I am sure many great things have been discovered by people who were not looking for anything, but I suspect the overwhelming statistic would be that anything worthy of making life more valuable for our world, anything worth knowing that improves the human condition and the development of civilization was discovered by someone or some group of people who were looking for something, open to discovering anything that showed up wherever it showed up

loving discovery, I sit on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what happens next – my journey of life (JOL) is neither destination or trip; it takes place in many destinations and along the pathways between them, but for me the discovery of something new on purpose or by accident, is the beverage I thirst for, crave and chase every day; some days it involves learning new things about a butterfly, some days it involves learning something about the world – every day it involves learning something about myself

Mark Kolke
338,704
197.8

... with your voice, teach in order to learn


What do you think? Join the discussion - comments are welcomed - please write.

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©2008 MaxComm Communications

Re: doing it anyway - This morning in your rambling of words you use the phrase, "not me"
Out of five children my mother could never find her child, "not me" For whenever the question of "Who did it?" she would hear five answer "Not me" If she ever found that child it was going to get a good lickin'. "T", WT, Calgary

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RE: on a hillside somewhere - I loved this line – “whichever way wind blows, governments tout consolidating or restructuring or de-centralizing as key to better service delivery, economy for tax payers and better democracy for all; this equates to that which exits the north end of southbound male cattle as my provincial government goes back into session today”. The use of language here is magical! So many wonderful words to so eloquently describe BS!!! I love it. Thanks for the chuckle!, Cheers, KDK, Calgary

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Re: doing it anyway - Where is LHE coming from? Doesn't he/she read blogs and email responses involving various important and timely topics? Certainly most express a lot of daring thinking. If we have something to say, let's say it....Only in that way can eaningful communication evolve, and new ways of living together develop, EG, Calgary

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today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: 1C/34F, clearing, steady north breeze; ‘early light’ delivered by daylight saving allows me to walk earlier each week without fear of tripping in the shadows; bird songs filled the pre-dawn void, Gusta seems restless (to say nothing of her walk/bathroom demands at midnight and 1AM) this morning

I’ve considered the question of whether I am ‘fully developed’, a term I first heard as a teenage boy when it was used to describe teenage girls I wanted to make time with, but now it seems to have taken on new meaning

researching ‘adulthood and maturity’, I found them defined as ‘the period of time in your life after your physical growth has stopped and you are fully developed’

I hope not

if I write an idea I might be seen the fool to those who don’t agree, the idiot to those who don’t know me but I will be doing it anyway and don’t care whether it is fully developed because throwing pixels, bits and bytes of ideas around sounds like a food fight I want to be in, after which I don’t have to clean up debris of dangling participles and spelling errors that were deleted or ‘sent to trash’ . . . come to think of it, where do deleted words go?

like energy, maybe they never disappear, reincarnated as a text book somewhere else in the world or shipped via RSS feed to some far away planet’s landfill site

I can’t make time – on a good day I scarcely manage to think about managing it – so it often appears to manage me; yesterday a new project took 5 hours (I was robbed at mouse-point), then Gusta took an hour I’d not counted on losing as time taken must come from the same 24 I was given – no borrowing past wasted time or leveraging my future waste; of course each choice is mine but when choices build on choices built on a choice foundation it gets me doing auto-responses to things that appear urgent, hopefully, without losing track of what is truly important

if, for arguments sake, the smartest thing (lets pretend there is indisputable proof) was to do something or to not do something, would we all do the smart thing? . . or, if it was a danger, would we all avoid it?

that seems so easy, we should all be the school kid with arm stretched high begging to be called on because we know ALL know the answer to that one; to say nothing of the dangers, just imagine the volume of time we waste on these destructive activities

smoking, living in an earthquake zone, taking drugs, drunk driving, hang-gliding, appearing on a reality show, eating fries with gravy - to name but a few; these seem to be unquestioned dangers yet we (not me, but lots of you) do these crazy things in crazy numbers which is just crazy, which seems to help prove that living leads to death, but we go on doing it anyway

thinking is dangerous but not so dangerous as not thinking, living is dangerous too but not so dangerous as not living

I’ve no time to think about this more right now so I am done

Mark Kolke
338,728
199.2

... with your voice, teach in order to learn


What do you think? Join the discussion - comments are welcomed - please write.

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©2008 MaxComm Communications

re: on a hillside somewhere - I have been on your mailing list for about a year. I have reminisced over many of your writings because I spent my honeymoon in Alberta thirty one years ago. Living in South Florida, Alberta was an unusual place to choosefor a honeymoon but it could not have worked out better for my wife and for me. Sometimes your writings are inspiring, sometimes they are thought-provokingand sometimes they are a bit boring. Today's writing was exceptional. Anyone who reads your article with an open mind will inevitably have to give some thought to what you have written. If that is not what every writer strives to do, then I do not know what it is that they are attempting to accomplish. Unfortunately, like you, I don't have an answer but like you, I am also aware that nothing that exists today is working. Something else needs to come along to change these erroneous mindframes that have been created over the years. As you said, in the United States only Barack Obama offers the hope of something different. We can only hope and pray that he will get elected and that he will be able to make changes that will bebeneficial for the greater good. Thank you for sharing your mind with us. Like many others I look forward to hearing from you every day. Best regards, AS, Miami, FL

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re: on a hillside somewhere - Where I share your pessimism is that so few people today care to even try. Some people were also greedy when the heroes did their work. In past times Ghandi was supported by a political movement, Martin Luther King by churches and the civil right movement, and Mother Teresa by the Catholic church. I'm sure that today potential heroes exist. From your comments I see that today there are forward thinking people, the present day version of the past US civil rights workers and the Baptists who hired Tommy Douglas' while he was developing political support. The question is where today is the groundswell of public support for changes? Where is the public that is prepared to tell the environmental lobby that food comes before biofuel from corn (note that other biofuels don't threaten food supply). Where is the public that is prepared to tell the civil service that the services the public wants are important and to transfer nurses into the hospitals and out of hand holding programs in doctors offices? In the past days of the heroes you mention, people felt enough freedom of speech and thought to allow them to protest and to campaign for change. Today there seems to be a pervasive fear of thinking and/or saying that seems to paralyze most people. Possibly the best that we can do now is to protect freedom of speech and thought. Then maybe people will feel free to be the groundswell of public support that provided a deciding factor in the past. Until then, any protest may be too much to ask, LHE, Calgary
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©2008 MaxComm Communications

today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: -1C/31F, light clouds, generous sunshine, nippy air sharp contrast with last evening’s balmy – Gusta found too many squirrels, too many magpies, too many robins and a duck on a roof collectively too distracting for woofs/barks

governments of the world virtually ignore the Darfurs yet endorse live-aid concerts, send troops to hunt down terror when food would go further, support despots only to have those dogs bite back with the very teeth they’ve been given; people riot in 3rd world countries because food costs leapt 75% in 2 months; outrage is too mild a word

I cannot imagine the outrage of starving people who work hard for a pittance sewing the goods we buy whose pittance no longer buys enough rice to sustain a meager existence; it would be such a breath of fresh air, billions blown daily, if keepers of our collective purse who shore up Wall Street or Bay Street or who are so often telling us they’ll fix it (subprime crisis, recession, healthcare costs, crisis du jour) would admit ‘the system’s beyond fixing so lets invent a new system’

while steps for saving banks, corporations and industries may have widespread implications I’d be loath to be without, I can’t help wondering about the other day - when those IMF and World Bank leaders met with G-7 finance ministers to address the economy and the price of rice – I wonder what they ate, if they all had dessert, about the price and who paid?

as a teen I was neither activist or anarchist, in my twenties neither fascist or socialist – but I wondered about so many angry people who were – they believed that leaders lie as they lead , that we want it that way, that we’d rather hear promises of a fix for a problem that won’t fix than to hear realistic dialogue about why this or that gets this or that

as youngster I was told, ‘you’ll understand better when you grow up’; as a student, told some things were very complicated, I should get an education in ways of the world and experience before criticizing; as novice politico I was told to work hard, gain experience and learn how things are done, how shakers shake and movers move

whichever way wind blows, governments tout consolidating or restructuring or de-centralizing as key to better service delivery, economy for tax payers and better democracy for all; this equates to that which exits the north end of southbound male cattle as my provincial government goes back into session today; their role and my cynicism are local, my mood is not; leaders who won votes tell us that what is wrong with our health care service delivery system is administrative in nature and can be solved by streamlining authority and moving money around - shell-game decisions made by people without first clue experience on giving or receiving care in its various watered down forms – I thought we elected these people for wisdom and judgment; why didn’t we elect smarter people?

at a meeting last week a question of ‘most admired leader’ produced answers around the table like Mother Theresa, Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King and sport heroes; oddly, no one mentioned a President, Prime Minister, corporate icon, great writer or restaurant chain; icons long dead, few glimpses of their mantle on the horizon; little wonder Obama causes such a stir - the notion of an inspired leadership/charisma combo is so exciting

my best learning, over dinner one night with someone who had Policy in their job description, taught me nothing in the world happens unless there is a policy (often not written anywhere) that permits it, nothing changes unless there is a change in policy and everything bad in the world happens because there is a policy permitting it

I’m grown up, I get it and I’m outraged that we citizens of the world cannot set aside greed for money, territory and power to safely feed our hungry, care for our sick; it seems we have not been able to do it with socialism, fascism, communism, democracy or anarchy – maybe it is time someone sat on a hillside somewhere to devise something that works for everyone; now, go have a good week and think about what you can do about it

Mark Kolke
338,752
198.0

... with your voice, teach in order to learn


What do you think? Join the discussion - comments are welcomed - please write.

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©2008 MaxComm Communications

Re: write some more - There are serious researchers who believe we are on the verge of extending life spans to 150 years or longer this century. Think for a moment what this means in terms of education, work, retirement and general health of the nation and world. Today with even a life span of 80-100 years we have the following stages 1. growth to maturity and education, 2. find work and establishing a family unit, 3. Maturity and perhaps management style work, 4. retirement and leisure pursuits and 5. declining health and death. Researchers tell us we do not have to age and decay that we can create exercises that keep our bodies and minds alert. If I told you this morning you could live to be 150 years of age or more would you take it? How would you spend these new years? After all we do not want standing room only on planet Earth. Many of us make false steps in the various stages of life as it is today, FW, Stafford, VA

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RE: egg might have come first - No, No you silly duck – the rooster always comes first!, kk, Calgary

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Re: write some more - Yes, we all get to dream for ourselves, and then to pursue the dream if we so desire. Henry Ford said, "The man who thinks he can do it and the one who thinks he can't are both usually right." The one right we have had throughout human history is the right to dream, EG, Calgary

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today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: 4C/40F, light overcast being pushed away by a monster Chinook arch, it was zoo like this morning on Lake Mead Green as rabbits held the island and a Mallard pair patrolled the alley, a Magpie perched on the highest point of a weeping willow tree – Gusta paid them no heed, preferring instead to stroll to the soccer fields and back, the lone critter getting all my attention

if I don’t like the day, I can make one up – make a better one, a longer one, a day full of laughs or tears or both; a day of work and play 31 hours long – all I have to do is think it and it is so; so I will, so I can, so can anyone; that may sound bizarre to some, but given the world today will not look anything like the world 100 years from now, I think by taking off on some new path my chance of flourishing is not so bad because sitting still has zero chance of being anywhere I’d want to be in the future

many times I’ve thought I must be missing something – an ability to figure out what I need to figure out, the skill to make everything I want to happen, for dreams to come true and fantasies too – what could it be?

I read a piece by someone (a writer) lamenting he had to get a real job because writing wasn’t paying much; he expressed in very poor taste (no wonder no one hired him) that he really didn’t want to work and couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t want him

I grew up in the world of my parent’s generation when most people most often had only one career, often only one employer their whole life; today expectations of employment on a full time basis - a career path with one employer – is unheard of; it seems the notion of wanting anything has evolved to where it is generally available in whatever slice, place or terms we might want it provided we want it badly enough to do what needs to be done

its not the time or who it’s spent with, the trick is to think like mad, and imagine madness so no one knows the moments when I think I’m quite mad – or completely bonkers – to imagine what I imagine, to live this charmed lucky life; I fantasize about idleness, but not long, I can’t do idle well, or wild; instead I work at dreams and dream at work and write and work some more so one day I can just write and write and write some more

I’ve figured out that no one has it figured out; each time I write some more I seem to figure out a little more – might be mad - I prefer to let it make me glad that I can think and write and work and play and no one has to give me permission, no one has to hire me, no one has to do anything at all; I do, I’m the one, I’m the guy who has to think for me, dream for me, write for me – not you; you get to do for you, you get to dream for you – not me

Mark Kolke
338,776
197.6

... with your voice, teach in order to learn


What do you think? Join the discussion - comments are welcomed - please write.

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©2008 MaxComm Communications

re: egg might have come first - Your subject title titillates me, many doctors and friends/family have asked me that all too often. The scariest part if that I do know of which you speak!! Of course though the egg came first, guess for all of us the egg came first!! I do know however why the chicken crossed the road - answer to follow!, WR, Calgary

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today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: 0C/32F, sunny and calm; Gusta saw a retriever on the other side of the soccer field and nearly ripped my shoulder apart pulling – I gather he was a handsome dude sporting just the right scent; morning calm along lawn rows still framed in receding snow cover

what is the prerequisite of thought?

is it feeling, or does thought just need a good breakfast to start the day?

preparation – breakfast for the day, clean slate for the week or clear head for a meeting – are all pre-start activities; prerequisites for doing something; clearly the chicken came before the egg, but does the thought always precede the action – in other words, does the physical activity trigger demonstrative thought or does thought just splurge forth in its own right, unconnected to any event or action?

yesterday thoughts/actions; consolidation, spring cleaning and re-ordering priorities going on and this question bounces around my head: before the chicken crossed the road, did he/she have thoughts or feelings about taking such a bold step?

in this regard I think the egg might have come first because there had to be some gestation period of thought or of chicken going on

if we search for meaning, should we first begin with an absence of it or will looking blankly out a window on a quiet day do the trick, or, if we can’t see ourselves clearly, should we always have a mirror (or two) standing by?

I’ve been pondering starts; a venture, a project, a new chapter - wondering what works best, what is proven, what is proven wrong; I wouldn’t think of planting something without first preparing the soil, I wouldn’t think of placing freshly cooked food on a soiled or ill chosen plate, I would not consider finishing wood that had not been sanded smooth first or doing a presentation without planning or rehearsal not unlike children playing house is a rehearsal for life followed by a sufficient gestation period

smoked salmon cream cheese on a bagel, poached eggs, steaming coffee was the meal – but sleeping in, reading papers with PB – that made it breakfast; sometimes we talk a lot, sometimes scarcely at all, but sleep-in mornings wouldn’t start right without breakfast

as I embark on a new chapter in the story of the butterfly and the grasshopper, my grasshopper brain can only conclude that eating eggs prevents chicken

Mark Kolke
338,800
197.4

... with your voice, teach in order to learn


What do you think? Join the discussion - comments are welcomed - please write.

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©2008 MaxComm Communications

Re: obsessed or merely determined - Obsessed or determined, eccentric or weird, what does it matter? You are who you are and today’s musing rocked! And don’t ever lower your expectations! Here is a quote that I read over twenty years ago and have never forgotten: “Far better it is, to dare mighty things, than to take rank with those poor, timid spirits who never know victory, nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt, SF, Calgary

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Re: obsessed or merely determined - I have three thoughts on Obsession or determination. #1 Obsessed is what the lazy call the dedicated –don’t know who said it but I like it #2 In life you get what you want. Otherwise you never really wanted it, you just liked it. I said it and totally agree. #3 is a story about a man called Dan Gable arguably one of the best wrestlers in American history his High School and College record combined was 182 wins with just 1 loss. That loss came in the last match of his senior year of college in the NCAA Division 1 National Championship Finals, ouch! Dan, with whom I have met personally described to me that he was devastated by the loss, but in fact he detailed it was one of the best things that ever happened to him. According to him it made him “refocus” (by the way this is one focused man, to begin with). So, Dan takes that loss and soon after begins to train for the 1972 Olympics in which through the entire trial process and the entire Olympic tournament only one opponent score one point on him and he goes on to win the gold medal utterly dominating the competition. The next day in the Olympic village Dan Gable’s roommate Ben Peterson awakes early that morning to find Dan gone. Around 7:45 am Dan comes in dripping in sweat and Ben says to Dan “hey where the heck have you been”. Dan replies oh “I got up early and ran 6 miles”. Ben says “wow, Dan you just won the Olympic Gold Medal last night why don’t you give yourself a break.” “Nah nah, I can’t”, replies Gable “I have to start training for world games!” Dan Gable never made it to world games because of an injury, but instead went on to Coach Iowa and become the greatest coach in college history. Winning 15 Division 1 National Championships in 20 years. I am sure everyone called him a mad man and when you meet him he is quite mild mannered. Personally, I think one is mad not to want that type of level of success in their life regardless of their pursuit. Lastly, it is often said that the sane man appears to be twice as insane in the insane society. Take for example Copernicus and that whole the sun is the center of the universe theory - has to be out of his mind let’s kill him. Only took 600 years for everyone else to catch up, but eventually the sheep always do. Best wishes always, AN, Largo, FL

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Re: obsessed or merely determined - Hi Mark - It might help if you defined "obsession" as being concerned with "it" to the exclusion of all else. There, now you don't have to worry anymore. ch, Chimacum, WA

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Re: obsessed or merely determined - The terms "passion" and "obsession" illustrate the complexities and fine nuances of the English language (although they may have exact equivalences in others). That this subject has been laid on my doorstep today arouses my response, since my experience as a physician gives me a little insight into clinical psychology. I think in the truest sense, the only difference between what the two terms describe is one of degree only, unless one wants to go on to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Another distinction is that passion can be momentary, while obsession is more permanent. As for me, I have experienced both. I have been passionate about chess, my vocation and other things. I continue to be obsessed about whether my debit card is in my wallet (I've lost it twice), and keep checking. Madness? Not quite, in my case at least. Henry Moore seems to have been a fortunate man indeed, EG, Calgary

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today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: -7C/20F, overcast, Gusta loved that ‘break through the crunch’ feel romping through remnants of yesterday’s big dump/thaw (23 centimetres); popcorn snow and mini-rivers of ice artfully decorate every street; yesterday’s chaos to traffic was simply a case of ease, grace, beauty and determination to this water in so many forms

I believe we too often attribute obsession to out-of-kilter folk whose passion runs too far, too hot or too late into night dominating their entire life; yet, I am certain the likes of Einstein, Churchill or Magellan, the sorts like Newton, Galileo, Van Gogh and Mozart, the Babe, Kareem, Keno, Fisher or Brooks Robinson or Henry Ford or Thomas Edison – in minds of many they were simply and positively obsessed mad men, but perhaps in their own minds, not quite mad enough

obsession, joy, torment – burning pre-occupation, disease, addiction, fascination, absurdity, fate - at moment’s notice a thought fuels its flame or douses it to rubble; to get it right – obsessing, trying everything that might work in order to find what would not only work, or work best but, rather, to work like nothing has ever worked before is no doubt an unfamiliar driving force to many, but it was clearly standard operating procedure to their genius of discovery and achievement

“The creative habit is like a drug. The particular obsession changes, but the excitement, the thrill of your creation lasts.” – Henry Moore

in considering things/issues/people where I deposit passionate (and sometimes obsessive) effort, do I give too much to the unworthy, too little to the most deserving?

I expect many people go their whole life without strong or lasting obsessions; I am blessed/cursed with several examples of determination gone over the dotted line and they seem to be getting a little bit better and worse every day; clarity does not equal quality, nor strong equate to smart or worthy; sorting healthy vs. unhealthy pursuits is a time wasting debate my brain feels too full to address

I feel the way I feel about something – some things more strongly than I could imagine, others I don’t care at all, a chasm between them littered with things that got too little attention and, obviously, they got what they deserved; recent experiences (56 yrs worth) cause me to question whether things I say I want are desires, passions or obsessions; do I want them badly enough, do I desire/crave them beyond all other things or do I want them enough to sacrifice greatly?

too often I know I’ve done a project, written something or done a task where I said ‘I care about this a lot and have done my best’ only to reflect later that it was not my best effort, I didn’t give it the time it deserved – my frail excuse being that it was competing for attention with too many other items draining energy and attention

Henry Moore was right, reading his words (maybe he was a madman) give me comfort and a degree of validation; obsession and passion are surely kissin’ cousins; we praise passion as a feeling, admire people who passionately pursue a cause, a career, a talent or pursuit of a goal while obsession is something you ‘seek professional help’ for; I am not sure I understand the difference or agree with either premise

I’m not sure if I am obsessed or merely determined; perhaps too many dreams and desires for one person to have or reconcile - perhaps I should lower my expectations; I think the better course of action, for me, is to raise them higher - then higher still - until there can be no topping them, and then, try to top them anyway

Mark Kolke
338,824
196.6

... with your voice, teach in order to learn


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RE: separation point - Hello there! A good morning read that touched very close to home. Those tenuous moments with father and decisions to be made are tough, I know. Trust, that when the moment comes you will know the right decision. Life, seemingly endless, some days/ months, others so quick, you wonder, what, did I miss it? Love him, talk with him and cherish every moment, but know in your heart, he will always be there. Some days, it’s a melody that brings forth a spectacular smile or perhaps a tear that reminds me not only of him but the important moments in my life. I still talk with my Pop, wear his cufflinks when I have a very important meeting (perhaps his guidance and self assurance) and cry, when I hear a certain song. Take care my friend, and know I am always hear(here), if you need to talk, kk, Calgary

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Re: separation point - Sounds more like the "tipping point"- its a good read from Malcolm Gladwell, KK, Calgary

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Re: separation point - Surely Pythagorus was referring to our observations here on earth, since on many planets there is no warmth or fluid, only cold and solid, and in the stars only hot gases, and on the dark side of the moon, only darkness, but I get his drift. I presently am looking at the possibilities of running eBay auctions, so was asked for homework to list 10 things in my home to sell. Most were books, but a couple of articles also for which I have no further use. You're right, our priorities do change, and will continue to change, as our lives evolve. No doubt Pythagorus was not immune from this. but his famous theorem will endure forever, EG, Calgary

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today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: 0C/32F, but for a degree or two, would be a steady rain shower; instead, on the fine line of freeze/thaw, deluge of sticky-white; Gusta chased rabbit tracks and came back wearing a thick white carpet – she, like me, found extremely good traction in what could easily be treachery; a glimpse of beauty I’d not seen before as streetlight cast a shadow of branches with buds, now snow coated, the shadow dancing on the fresh white ground, light breeze moving it slightly - what was a dull, dirty and bare branch starkly wishing for leaves yesterday, coated white this morning, casts a spectacular shadow

this snow, this wet snow, offers winter grunge a spring cleaning and fresh moisture for parched soil, but it brings calm too

‘If there be light, then there is darkness; if cold, heat; if height, depth; if solid, fluid; if hard, soft; if rough, smooth; if calm, tempest; if prosperity, adversity; if life, death.” – Pythagoras

day ahead an errand, task and purging blur – day behind, resolved that I need more than spring cleaning and culling (ah, the by-product joy of tax season) of things not fit for keeping, selling or giving away; thoughts roll in my head about the notion of not starting anything new unless I first end two things; I am starting something new which deserves an investment of new-time – the challenge then, is what two things will I discard from my attention, omit from routine or purge in a green trash bag?

of all things I do, a good portion matter a lot, some matter less, some far far less – but, as I review the ones that matter far less, nixing them seems easy; with each file tossed, each ‘once upon a time great purchase’ discarded, there seems to be some ponder time; in some cases, it is just an instant – quick mix logic/nostalgia collision - I debate whether an old shirt or rarely worn tie deserve the same or less deliberation than a 2 inch thick file I’ve not done anything with for over a year; sometimes just recognition of wasted decision, sometimes reflection on opportunity squandered

like this morning’s weather, many things in my life rest a moment on the cusp of the separation point - rain/snow, keep/throw, do/avoid, spend/save, work/play, wake/sleep, save/delete, forward/back . .

I sat yesterday with my dad meeting with his physician, discussion and paperwork of choices (and what to do if circumstance leaves one unconscious in need of a decision) I saw a picture of how delicate is that cusp, separation point between well/unwell, breathe/DNR; I wonder, when Pythagoras wrote his brilliant words if he was watching the fragile health of his father, I wonder if he was having a good day or a bad one, I wonder if he was keeping treasures or throwing out wasted trash, I wonder if he was looking back on what he’d done with contempt for some stupid moves or optimism about brilliant ones just ahead – I am certain the answer is ‘all of the above’

Mark Kolke
338,848
196.2

... with your voice, teach in order to learn


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Re: seem to be
What a feast for discussion you have prepared today! The wheels of history grind slowly as a rule, but occasionally catastrophic events do occur, or threaten. Giant tsunamis, Hiroshima and Krakatoa have occurred. Nuclear annihilation has been a threat for 50 years, but is hardly ever mentioned any more.....The threat of global warming has now taken over as our chief preoccupation, with it's possibility of snuffing out hundreds of millions of us. But happenings quiet at the time, like Gutenburg's printing press circa 1439, and more recently Tomlinson's email in 1972, and capped off by Berners-Lee and Cailliau's World Wide Web in 1990, have and will make the biggest differences in human history in my estimation. They are the developments which give the best chance to mankind for adapting world-wide democracy. Communication is what it's all about. EG, Calgary

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I've been a subscriber to Mark Kolke's Daily Musings for some time now, but haven't been receiving them lately--say for the past two weeks. I just tried to re-subscribe and was prompted that I am already a subscriber. Any ideas as to what may serve as a remedy? Thanks, DT, ?

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today’s Musing written and published from south Calgary, near Fish Creek Park

walk report: -5C/23F, fresh, clear, quiet, trees seem to be proudly bud-ready yet leafing out is still weeks off; Mallard drake meeting in middle of a street – Gusta’s invitation to play was declined in favor his flight to a higher point, stoic head high as if to answer ‘we’ll see’

separating dreams from delusion is difficult for dogs, ducks and most of us; world changes - plate moving against plate, occasional earthquakes, some tidal waves and volcanic eruptions dot geology – evidence of inexorable slow pace of change, every epoch, epoch in and epoch out over thousands of millennia with little large scale drama in the shorter term

most of us, I believe, hold to the notion we can defy this natural order; chief among these seem to be the pace of societal behavior; we push information/ideas through glass, air or space so fast it seem instantaneous or even faster with scant (we’ll see) evidence ubiquitous information flow changes anything on a grand scale in this world very quickly

whether China’s democratization is inevitable is debatable; I see Olympic Torch Relay protests as a much less galvanizing moment of change than they seem to be a a footnote on a slow turning page of a long old book (Tiananmen Square is on that page and, a few pages before, there were dynasties and a long wall construction project) which, sadly, will soon pass from our daily thoughts as mass attention shifts to some other cause du jour; in a year or ten Tibet will sit where it always has been where mountains move millimeters each millennia

two quotes from Mao Tse-Tung seem appropriate to recall:

“The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history.”

“In waking a tiger, use a long stick.”

I remember a story about when Charles de Gualle asked Mao what he thought of France three hundred years after its revolution; Mao answered, ‘we’ll see’

seasons change – varying by a day or two but generally they arrive and leave on time, each year, every year throughout the years no different than that tree wanting to leaf-out or the drake wanting to pounce on a great hen after she chooses him (for idle-time fun, do some research on mating habits of ducks; the literature suggests ducks have a process we humans would reject because males seem to be brutes and ultimately female choice would seem to be what wins the day – clearly, no correlation to humans)

we mix what is real and what we wish for leaving ourselves as confused as Ponce de Leon searching for gold and power – not youth as lore indicates; driven by news of water that would give more pounce to his ounce (if you know what I mean) he explored and developed Florida in a fruitless search for the fountain of youth (he should have Googled Bimini) but then maybe he got to visit with some wintering Mallards instead

change takes time – its pace is something we crave to control, accelerate and impact in terms of direction but there seem to be a set of lessons found in nature to suggest that just won’t happen quickly because we want it to or because we become better at searching for it or better communicating with each other

we’ll see

Mark Kolke
338,872
196.4

... with your voice, teach in order to learn


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