blast from the past

I was talking with a gentleman today who waxed nostalgic for the days when neighbors knew one another, when families gathered in the breezeways for their daily meal and sat on the porch rocking and greeting the neighbors as they walked by in the idyllic Norman Rockwell summer evening.

I wondered, does he know his neighbors? Does he want to sit and chat with them? The world is different than it used to be, different than the illusion the boomers were fed. I think of the movie "Blast from the Past" where the 50's dad played by Christopher Walken is shocked after emerging from his bomb shelter in the mid-nineties and describes the street he walks as populated with mutants. It would be shocking to see it all at once (and it was a rough neighborhood) but still, I wonder...

blank slate

I wonder if ancient writers faced a blank tablet of stone and froze in terror. That first dent in the virgin stone would forever spoil its smooth visage. From that first strike, information was recorded for posterity. Even now I follow that same cycle, pressing keys and depositing information in the written history of civilization. Will there come a time when my words are as incomprehensible to the 'people' of that age as the cuneiform is to me? Yes. Examine Beowulf, written just over a thousand years ago and the language is nearly foreign. The alphabet is similar, but the very rules by which words were constructed are different. English speakers have about an even chance of comprehension reading modern French versus old English. Gentle reader, enjoy this moment, the brief spot in which you and I touch and my words pass your eyes and into your mind. They will remain on hard drives and print outs for as long as those tool exist, but the idea will also travel in the minds of the reader. Perhaps one day I will have an idea that resonates strongly with many people in many places and they like it so much that they teach it to their children. Someday maybe I can create a meme.

Purpose

What gives us purpose? Human beings seem to need it but we always have nothing or a million things that drive us. Purpose is also the key to understanding human interaction. It is in the motivations and drives of our co-workers, bosses, friends, family and loved ones that we can understand how to achieve win-win situations where ever possible.

Tonight I was reading from a book by 'the world's greatest salesman'. I'm mixed on reaction to the work, not sure if he is simply following the old fashioned 'think and it becomes true' or if there are some nuggets of wisdom which can be used to realize more of an individual's potential.

That's the ultimate point of all of this isn't it? Realizing more of our potential. I know I am obsessed with efficiency and effectiveness. If these guiding principles are not being realized all I can focus on are the obstacles and I dream of overcoming those barriers and flying forward into a life more real, more authentic, more efficient and effective at achieving my dreams.

this is only a test

were this a real post, you would be intellectually stimulated. Sorry to
get you excited. It won't happen again.

the gauntlet is cast

I invited my brother to the blogosphere this evening. He's really an interesting guy, you'll love him if he shows up. I think he and I could wear out a couple of keyboards a piece if we put our minds to it. I'll keep you informed...

dust to dust...

I have spent most of my life on the great plains of North America, living near the Mississippi River. I have spent most of that time disliking this place, cursing its isolation, its rural nature, its 'flatness'.

But as I have matured and developed, I have found myself drawn to lines. I love long, low, sloping lines, like the ones found in the Prairie style of architecture. Upon realizing this fact, my long standing distaste for the prairie evaporated and was replaced with the realization that I am formed and shaped by the land in which I was raised. We are dust.