Jimmy Carter...

A great example for me. He seems to have a strength that builds on what he is experiencing in the moment  rather that ignoring or  denying it.

Just in Case...

Imagining My Self v2.0

I've discovered that I'm struggling to have a consistent convincing wholistic image of my self since I learned I have cancer. The medical profession has a way of dissecting and objectifying me with an emphasis on what is wrong without respect to the whole of me.  I find I am less content looking at myself in the mirror than before. I feel this is something vital I need to work on.

Good Design...

requires 

1 part rational thinking 

1 part emotional sensing

2 parts intuition and

1 part inspiration

Illuminating Inspirations

Anything Humorous to Share?

Please post it here...nowadays we can't get enough of things that bring a smile to our lips :-)

On life, entropy, design and living

Life and entropy are yin and yang.

Life builds order,  

Entropy creates chaos,

Life's design principle:  Make it

Entropy's design principle: Destroy it

What remains is good design - form AND  function

Living is about giving meaning to each act of life.

Framing to be In the Moment

One of the ways I've used for years to be fully in the moment, to create that snapshot for my mind, has been to imagine that the situation I am in will be the last time I experience it, then see what I perceive and appreciate. This mind experiment might be getting too close (a contributing factor?) to what I really face.

Maybe I should shift to a more positive framing like "imagine you are an alien experiencing thi situation for the first time..."

Zombies Within

After playing a shoot 'em up video game with Dixie the other night, I found it strangely cathartic to recall blasting zombies with a shotgun. 

It occurred to me that cancer cells are a a lot like zombies - they are slow yet persistent, uncontrollably spread and you can't reason with them. So this is my uninvited guest!

Amazing Clouds at Sunset

Looking out back.,,

Diamonds in the Rough - May 31st

The Rough

Someone counting off months on their fingers and saying "maybe I'll see you then?"

Receiving the latest CT scans and report yet the soonest my treatment can start is on June 12th

The Diamonds

. Sweet burst of fresh strawberry flavor on that first bite

. Birds singing in a wooded river valley

. Firm hugs from my each of my brothers

. Smell of a campfire

. The steady peaceful puffs and cute snores Jude and Breeze make when they sleep

, Sharing an antique school desk seat with Dixie in the shade of a storefront

Days are So Long...

and so rich, now that I make every minute count

Coming Home

I felt happy and content while driving up to our house after dark this evening and seeing the light pour out of the garage doors and my brothers working on installing a hitch on our van. It is so good to have family here!!

Realized that each day....

 ...no matter how rough, has its diamonds.

A Hug and then Some

Framing My Challenge - your thoughts?

From business consulting I know that how I frame my challenge can determine my success from the start. 

I believe that the phrase "fighting" or "battling" cancer like a metaphor for war, bestows cancer with too much power. Instead I am framing cancer as an unwanted guest that has made itself too much at home in me, trying to take it over. It's a guest that I no longer want to host and will do everything possible practically give my life, to make my body inhospitable enough for it to leave.

What are your thoughts about this framing?

Friends and Family Make the World Go Round

I never knew until now...

That the door was always open.

Keb Mo

Hug Bombed

While sitting at the coffee shop with Dixie today, a little girl ran up behind me and hugged me. It was a touching, kind gesture from a total stranger.

Please pass it on -I will!

The Beauty I See in Everyday Life-In Photos

Hi All, here's a link to my photos in a Flickr gallery I call EMiT: Extraordinary Moments in Time...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sts8o/

Thanks for taking a peek.

Tulips Beautiful to the End

Moments & Choosing

We choose some moments and other times moments choose us

Loretta Lynch 83rd US Attorney General

Rainbows in the most unexpected places

Who's controlling what here?

I have little control of what I feel.

I have total control of my attitude.

What I feel should not control my attitude.

Happened for a reason? Really?

From a dear friend, Debra Cash, that I love because she is so filled with passion!

Singing in the rain

First light today is cold and grey,
It's overcast, and rain steadily hisses against the skylight,
Yet a bird sings its heart out, like its a sunny day

My Attitude: How I will Live My Life From Now On...

Life can be surprisingly short
Live it large
Like it out loud
Live it with passion and compassion

I Share Insights and Inspirations That Arise from Seeing the Horizon of My Life Ahead

And like any horizon, its hard to judge how close or far away it is - it's clearly there though.