Insignificant…Not !

There is no such thing as an “Insignificant Human Being” …it simply doesn’t exist. Out of the billions of people who are living…have lived…or ever will live…there is not now , nor has there ever been an individual exactly like you.  Now that doesn’t make you wierd…it makes you very special. Think about it. You are this powerful, awesome, unlimited human being, and…because of this there are certain things that if you truly tried could only be done to “perfection”  by you. That’s right !   Only you, with your unique combination of skills, approach and talents could truly “ hit the nail on the head” when it comes to doing a particular something.  However… and here’s the rub,..we will never know…nor will you..unless you  try.

So,  if you are the “couch potato” type or ” my life is going nowhere”  type of individual…you are doing a  great dis-service not only to yourself, but to the world.  NOW  is the time to start listening to those inner urgings . They’re coming to you from your higher self for a reason. Sure you might fall down initially, or not reach your mark…initially  but if you persevere…and are true to your inspiration you’re going to surprise yourself at the heights you could reach and the things you could do.

Albert Einstein said “  Everyone is a genious  [ EVERYONE ! ]  But if you judge a fish on it’s ability to climb a tree, it will live it’s life believing that it is stupid”.  So, know this… you came into this world with the ability to do something “unique”   in a way like no other.  Your job is to find it!

To say that you are a gift to this planet is so right on…IF you chose to be all you can be…but unfortunately, to paraphrase Zig Ziglar, ” It’s sad that so many people go to their graves with their song..unsung !”  So don’t sit around, feeling sorry for yourself, thinking the world has passed you by. KNOW  that the world can be made better because of your “Contribution”

Also know, it doesn’t have to be as great as finding a cure for cancer, or designing a flying car. The only requirement being that what ever you do be authentically you !  Then you can’t help but to hit your mark. ( To Thine Own Self Be True ? )

You Are Special

PUTTING THE HUMAN BACK INTO BEING

 In recent years, it seems we, with our infinate wisdom, thanks to ever increasing and advancing technology, have managed to all but eliminate the “human” connection in the workplace. It has become very commonplace now to walk into virtually any major service corporation and find, in some cases hundreds upon hundreds of “cubicles” ….with a person inside… Each cut off from the other by sight, touch taste, smell and to the best of corporate’s ability…sound.  Even though the corporation may have thousands of employees… to the person in the cubicle, he/she is an isolate.

As technology advances at a staggering rapid rate, people are indeed connecting more …electronically, and far LESS  humanistically. No wonder lounges and bars are filling up, and dating services are ever increasing. Individuals are STARVING  for that human connection….to touch… and be touched…to hold, to feel…to share experiences, to laugh together, These are the very things that separate us from machines. Yet, we in our infinate wisdom have managed to eliminate them not only from the workplace but in daily life as well. Heaven forbid you should make direct eye contact with someone at the supermarket, you are either a stalker, pervert or at the very least, someone they need to quickly get away from.  How absolutely sad.

I had the honor of being the legal guardian for an extraordinary man, who was not only my friend, but a mentor. In his last couple of years, fast approaching ninety, he was confined to a “Rest Home” where I would visit him weekly. Paul was a true gentleman and a very decent human being who savored the “human connection” . Even though he was physically confined to a “facility” he was always sure to socialize with the other residents, sharing stories and laughter best he could.  

I remember getting a call in the middle of the night…” Mr. Giampapa ?” after acknowledging and finding out it was the “Home” calling, I asked what the problem was and got the reply….” We found Paul in bed…again, with another lady.” After trying to wipe the smile off my face, positive that the nurse could see it through the phone, I got into a discussion with her about how one by one, as we get older, we seem to get stripped of, not only our possessions, our car, our house, our fancy clothes, but our dignity as well. The very things that make us human. To touch, to feel, to kiss, to hold, to hug. These things are “food for the soul”  without them we become an empty shell.

Evidently I did a pretty good job of explaining, because she said she totally agreed with me…however, the woman he was in bed with was married and they didn’t want to be responsible for the explanation should the woman’s husband walk in on them.  So, long story short, she respectfully asked permission to increase his “medication” to help him become “less amorous”.  It wasn’t long after that, that Paul passed away.

Mark Twain once remarked that “…a person who doesn’t read, is no better off than a person who can’t read.   Bottom Line ?… since   technology advancements do much to make our lives seemingly simpler, they simply cannot do what each of has the power to do and that is put back the human connection  every chance we get. We have that power. Wouldn’t it be a shame if we choose not to use it.

SKIP IT

If you’re an adult ( over 21) reading this, allow me to ask you four simple questions. 

 1.) When was the last time you skipped ?

 2.) When was the last time you jumped ( with both feet together) ?

3.) Were your answers longer than ten years ago ? 

 4.)  WHY ?

Generally, when I ask these questions to a studio audience the overwhelming response to the fourth question is….” Cause now we’re “adults“.   ( As if that is supposed to make it okay.)  When I ask  audience members to give me words associated with, or conjoured up, by the image of “skipping”, I get things like, Happy, Joyful, Energetic, etc. and when I ask them to associate words with “jumping” I usually get things like, Playful, Fun, Carefree, etc.  Now my question is this.  If these two things, “skipping and jumping” are associated with these wonderful attributes why would we, or anyone else for that matter, not want to continue doing them ?!?  Yet, sadly to say, virtually every individual calling himself or herself an “adult” no longer “skips” or “jumps”.  Why ? Because we’d feel foolish ? We’d attract attention ? We’d be looked at as “wierd” ? Probably all the above .  Yet, one of the greatest spontaneous moments I ever experienced was in downtown Chicago.  It was on the sidewalk  of Michigan Avenue, with both sides of the street packed with the hussle and bussle of people each intently focused on his/her point of destination when suddenly, the side I was on, heard a murmur, then it got progressively louder, and as I looked, I saw the crowd parting, and there, about twenty feet away, coming towards me, I saw a young Mom and Dad with their small three or four year old child between them, all holding hands, beaming broad smiles, skipping together while saying,…. ” Excuse us, excuse us please, coming through,  etc.”   It was such a joy to see, like the parting of the Red Sea. The crowd just opened up as this magical trio came skipping through.  Now, who knows what motivated them to do what they did, perhaps a reunion, a birthday celebration whatever, that’s not important. What is important is that they had the courage to be themselves, to ” just be”  to ” be in the moment”  blocking everything and everyone else out. What a beautiful moment in time that was, not just for them, but for the multitudes watching them. As I looked around at the faces, of the watchers virtually every individual had a smile on his/her face, many lost in their own reconnection of what it used to feel like to be comepletely free and happy.    YET, interestingly enough, after the trio had past, and each person had come back to “reality” suddenly I saw people shaking their heads, rolling their eyes, and saying “stereo typical things” such as, ” How silly”  or “You’d think they’d watch where they’re going”  or “Some people never grow up !”  …with others nodding in approval because it seemed that was the acceptable reaction of  “civilized adults”.  Yet, it was that last phrase, the “Some people never grow up” that stayed with me and I thought  “How wonderful” to think that we “have a choice”  to “grow up” or not.

  So, bottom line…. if you were to ask me  “When was the last time I skipped?”  I’d have to answer  “Today”….and I hope tomorrow and the day after that, because I don’t want to “grow up” not entirely anyway. Not if it means  putting away those very things, that by our own admission bring, joy, happiness, playfulness, energy, etc. to my life.  What is even more interesting,  I’ve learned that “skipping” and “jumping” actually revitalize the body, providing of course, you are physically able to do it.  So, stop being the adult you “think” you should be. Start being the adult you know you can be. It’s your life. Live it your way!

Never Give Up

Never Give Up !  (Actually, these words by Winston Churchill  after the war, giving his most powerful and shortest speech ever…said, ” Never, never, never, never, NEVER, give up !”)  and he truly practiced what he preached; constantly on the radio as a cheerleader and coach…empowering his people. During the war there were times when the English fighter planes were out-numbered literally ten to one…or greater…yet the pilots faught unceasingly coming down only to refuel, grab a quick cup of something and go right back up, sometimes days on end, without sleep.Daily, Churchill was spurring them on.  Hitler said of his adversaries, in so many words, I’ve never seen such tenacity in all my life. …and he was right.  I can attest to this. when I was living in England in the late sixties, I often would bring up the subject, just to get first hand feedback from those who “Been there done that!” One guy told me…”No question about it, if we were to run out of bullets, we would have thrown rocks or even our furniture if necessary. We were determined not to let them step foot on our soil”. 

In another time and place, another great leader (and General), Hannibal, never let anything stop him (as was evidenced by him doing the seemingly impossible…taking elephants over the Alps) he said, ” We will either find a way….or make a way!” Such conviction is the stuff of those who succeed.

In essence…attitude is everything!  You have to SEE the end result in your mind’s eye but… most important, you have to KNOW that you will succeed. This knowingness takes practice, and I’ll be talking more about it in later blogs. For now, just know that you cannot succeed in anything until you realize that you can and then “lock on it!” 

Helpful Hint: Eliminate the word “try” from your vocabulary. It  not only weakens you but translates into negative results. ( The word “try” basically translates into “No” or ” Won’t be able to” )

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