It is a Small World After All
Hey there. It’s been quite a while since my last post. Yes, I know, I am not the typical blogger. I wonder if I could create a new trend for us folks who write longer pieces only once in a while. Perhaps, we could call it the “back 9 nugget file”. I welcome your suggestions, so please bring them on. I’m quite sure there are many aspiring writers who can’t seem to get their message across by pounding out piece after piece, day after day. For me, I can only seem to write when I get inspired to do so, and only when I really have something to say. I’ve never been one to journal, jot down short notes, etc... Nor do I have the time to write each day, due to the abundance of pressing items that occupy my time. Someday, I plan on carving out more time to write, and I very much look forward to those moments. I can see it now, sitting on my porch overlooking the golf course and the ocean, sipping my beverage, and knocking out line after line of my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th books. OK, I’m dreaming a bit, but the dream feels good. Try carving out those little gems for yourself, you won’t regret it.
The spark that is fueling my literary prowess today is a message I received today from a friend on Facebook. You see, today is my birthday, and I was just perusing through the plethora of birthday wishes I received. If Facebook does nothing else, I would still keep it in my arsenal just for days like today. Most of you experience this, and you must admit, it’s a great feeling. How can I possibly respond to all of these fantastic people who are sending their personal wishes my way to help me celebrate the day? I know, I’ll write a short piece, and hopefully they will read it and feel my gratitude. Just reading these Facebook messages from people across the world (I now have peeps in India, Italy, Canada, and the Philippines) is cause for celebration in my book. By the way, I can actually and literally say this because the premise of celebrating friendships and relationship is laced throughout my actual book, My Back Nine (shameless plug). Like I said, I received tons of birthday wishes and they are still piling in to my profile page, message center, hotmail account, LinkedIN account, and my cell phone. The messages are all special in their own way, but one in particular stood out to me. One of my former colleagues turned good friend sent this;
“The world shrinks and the people you have affected come out on such a great day to say they love you”
For those of you who know me well, you know how emotional I get over things like this. For those of you don’t know me well, let’s change that. You see, relationships that you build over the course of your life are so precious that it’s important that you do your best to hold on to them. It’s important that you do your best to rekindle old relationships, stay focused on current relationships (most critical), and spend time forging new relationships. Many people say they don’t have the time, or that it’s really not important to them. I beg to differ. Regardless of the type of life that you have or the type of personality that you have, relationship building should be a part of your everyday life. This really isn’t hard work my friends. Heck, it’s not work at all. It just boils down to time management, and carving out the time to stay connected. Right now, I am sitting here on my birthday (9:30 PM) writing this piece that I plan on sharing with YOU. Sounds’ boring maybe, but this is what I choose to do. I did celebrate a little this weekend with some friends, played some golf, and will celebrate a bit more when I bring my kids to the beach next weekend to see my family. Had to throw that in, so none of you would think that I had nothing better to do on my birthday. The point is that the relationships in my life are really that important to me. How about you?
You may be thinking that my thought process is unrealistic, and that there is only so much time for a certain amount of relationships. I would venture to guess that this looks different to everyone, but deep down, I know that relationships are important to ALL of you. After all, what is it that you will leave behind when you are gone? The people that you touch along your journey make up the tapestry of your life. Don’t you think that is important? I have been pondering this notion for a few weeks now, due to the fact that my dad has been very ill. He’s doing much better now, but we had some tense touch and go moments there for a while. However, in every situation, you can usually find a silver lining. Sometimes, you get a chance for what I refer to as “opportunities in disguise”. You see, all of my brothers and sisters were there visiting my dad, and it was the first time we were all together in quite some time. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but I believe we all made the best of it, had some laughs, and reconnected just a bit. The point here is that we actually had a few precious moments; my dad was pleased that we were all there, and it seemed to me that both conscious and subconscious bonding occurred. The conscious bonding is fairly easy to identify, but the subconscious bonding is what resonates deeper. The feelings that marinate and don’t hit you for a while. Those are the real relationship builders. You see, family relationships (although more important than others to most) have the same functional components than other relationships. The same connection points that you use with family members can be used to rebuild, solidify, and forge all the relationships in your life. Go ahead, pontificate on that one for a while. You’ll be glad you did.
I will conclude my post on my 48 birthday (ouch!!) with an attempt at a poem. I have recently been dabbling with poetry, so be patience as I do my best to tie this message together in prose. My hope, as always, is that each of you can pick up just a little “nugget” that will have meaning for you and your life.
WHO YOU HAVE
The world gets small and your heart gets large:
When you realize that you are the one in charge
Of connecting with those important to you:
Family, friends, and others; you know that it’s true
That this life is precious and short, and time is so valuable;
So you do your best, to ensure that it’s malleable
And you press on, enjoying each and every day:
With the people you love; the one’s you wish to stay
With you on your journey, but you know it’s up to you:
To keep them very close, without using glue
And the harder you try to forge these cherished bonds:
The bigger your boat gets to navigate the ponds
Of life my dear friends, and as I bring this to close:
With these kinds words for all, tossed out in prose
Because in the end it’s not what you have it’s WHO YOU HAVE
The spark that is fueling my literary prowess today is a message I received today from a friend on Facebook. You see, today is my birthday, and I was just perusing through the plethora of birthday wishes I received. If Facebook does nothing else, I would still keep it in my arsenal just for days like today. Most of you experience this, and you must admit, it’s a great feeling. How can I possibly respond to all of these fantastic people who are sending their personal wishes my way to help me celebrate the day? I know, I’ll write a short piece, and hopefully they will read it and feel my gratitude. Just reading these Facebook messages from people across the world (I now have peeps in India, Italy, Canada, and the Philippines) is cause for celebration in my book. By the way, I can actually and literally say this because the premise of celebrating friendships and relationship is laced throughout my actual book, My Back Nine (shameless plug). Like I said, I received tons of birthday wishes and they are still piling in to my profile page, message center, hotmail account, LinkedIN account, and my cell phone. The messages are all special in their own way, but one in particular stood out to me. One of my former colleagues turned good friend sent this;
“The world shrinks and the people you have affected come out on such a great day to say they love you”
For those of you who know me well, you know how emotional I get over things like this. For those of you don’t know me well, let’s change that. You see, relationships that you build over the course of your life are so precious that it’s important that you do your best to hold on to them. It’s important that you do your best to rekindle old relationships, stay focused on current relationships (most critical), and spend time forging new relationships. Many people say they don’t have the time, or that it’s really not important to them. I beg to differ. Regardless of the type of life that you have or the type of personality that you have, relationship building should be a part of your everyday life. This really isn’t hard work my friends. Heck, it’s not work at all. It just boils down to time management, and carving out the time to stay connected. Right now, I am sitting here on my birthday (9:30 PM) writing this piece that I plan on sharing with YOU. Sounds’ boring maybe, but this is what I choose to do. I did celebrate a little this weekend with some friends, played some golf, and will celebrate a bit more when I bring my kids to the beach next weekend to see my family. Had to throw that in, so none of you would think that I had nothing better to do on my birthday. The point is that the relationships in my life are really that important to me. How about you?
You may be thinking that my thought process is unrealistic, and that there is only so much time for a certain amount of relationships. I would venture to guess that this looks different to everyone, but deep down, I know that relationships are important to ALL of you. After all, what is it that you will leave behind when you are gone? The people that you touch along your journey make up the tapestry of your life. Don’t you think that is important? I have been pondering this notion for a few weeks now, due to the fact that my dad has been very ill. He’s doing much better now, but we had some tense touch and go moments there for a while. However, in every situation, you can usually find a silver lining. Sometimes, you get a chance for what I refer to as “opportunities in disguise”. You see, all of my brothers and sisters were there visiting my dad, and it was the first time we were all together in quite some time. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but I believe we all made the best of it, had some laughs, and reconnected just a bit. The point here is that we actually had a few precious moments; my dad was pleased that we were all there, and it seemed to me that both conscious and subconscious bonding occurred. The conscious bonding is fairly easy to identify, but the subconscious bonding is what resonates deeper. The feelings that marinate and don’t hit you for a while. Those are the real relationship builders. You see, family relationships (although more important than others to most) have the same functional components than other relationships. The same connection points that you use with family members can be used to rebuild, solidify, and forge all the relationships in your life. Go ahead, pontificate on that one for a while. You’ll be glad you did.
I will conclude my post on my 48 birthday (ouch!!) with an attempt at a poem. I have recently been dabbling with poetry, so be patience as I do my best to tie this message together in prose. My hope, as always, is that each of you can pick up just a little “nugget” that will have meaning for you and your life.
WHO YOU HAVE
The world gets small and your heart gets large:
When you realize that you are the one in charge
Of connecting with those important to you:
Family, friends, and others; you know that it’s true
That this life is precious and short, and time is so valuable;
So you do your best, to ensure that it’s malleable
And you press on, enjoying each and every day:
With the people you love; the one’s you wish to stay
With you on your journey, but you know it’s up to you:
To keep them very close, without using glue
And the harder you try to forge these cherished bonds:
The bigger your boat gets to navigate the ponds
Of life my dear friends, and as I bring this to close:
With these kinds words for all, tossed out in prose
Because in the end it’s not what you have it’s WHO YOU HAVE
I like what you say here. I think I'll read your book when I can carve out some time:) I'm not really sure what brought me here to read this post before 7 a.m. on my day off?!
ReplyDeleteI like picking out the little nuggets from you my friend :) The birthday wishes on Facebook are without a doubt a big ego boosts for a person. It's always a good feeling to know we're loved and cared about.
ReplyDeleteI hear you loud and clear about wishing you had more time to write. I'm right there with you. Hopefully in the near future things will be more calmed and settled and we'll both have more of that precious gift called time. Let's hope we're able to fill it with serene and happy things.