Thursday, September 12, 2013

depression - - just get over it?!?!



A depressed friend told me that a mutual friend of ours told him to "just get over it", his depression, that is. My friend and I both laughed- - if only it were that easy. 

OR IS IT?

I have witnessed depression and been depressed and  I am an expert in nothing, I can only speak from my own personal experience. 

Things in life seem to have a domino effect. 
When things are good they all seem good. May as well play the lottery when things are good, and if you win all the better. Lose, hey. no worries, you tried...right?

Try playing the lottery when you are depressed and looking for light, hope something, anything to live for, and then - - the inevitable, YOU LOSE. Are you kidding me...I can't take another negative/sad/depressing/non-uplifting thing. Kill me already!

But, we do have- - - - - Our State of Mind

There are plenty of endorphins (whatever they really are) and things that fuel said endorphins - 
for me they are
recognition     I love, love, love recognition - it is a fuel for me. An energy. A place I love. I love to make people laugh/smile/cry and experience emotion(s)
music             Music transforms my thoughts, makes me smile, makes me clap and cry. I wish I could truly capture the "what it is" about music. Music is amazing and so is fruit. And I do mean that. 
chili peppers This is cRaZY weird for me. hot, HOT HOT peppers do something to me. They lift me up over normalcy and I love that. I can't explain it, I just love it. 
touch              Not to get weird on anyone, but I love touch. Touch is not always politically correct, but it stimulates my emotions. I love it and crave it. 
love                The most powerful emotion known! Imagine being loved simply and completely for WHO YOU ARE - PERIOD. (and you are) 

When you wake up
Think of the now. Think of what you have and be thankful for it. Yes, there may be pain and even hunger and thirst of the type that I have never know, but you have that moment and that is ALL we ever really need.....the moments. Whatever they may be. However many they may be.  And if we can share them, all the better. 

My favorite words of God are this - "encourage one another daily as long as it is called today" 
A wonderful and beautiful command from God himself. By doing so, everything becomes all that much easier. 

May God bless you. 






Saturday, September 07, 2013

Get Happy!



On Tuesday morn' fresh off the holiday weekend, while listening to the radio; it was said that this was International Enthusiasm Week. Who knew? This information sure made me enthusiastic and excited that we had a week dedicated to enthusiasm. 

But then I wondered while preparing a memo for work; on where and who planned such an exciting week and with a few keystrokes and clicks I found out.

When googling International Enthusiasm Week not much really comes up. But what does come up is a short mantra as follows- 
Sept 1-10 Display genuine enthusiasm to every person, every project, every possibility that comes your way. It will change your week, your month, your year, your life. For info: Carolyn Stein, PO Box 630034, Miami, FL 33163. Phone (877) 771-0772. Fax (305) 682-1416. E-mail: carolyn@carolynstein.com Web: www.carolynstein.com

So....who is Carolyn Stein, and what caused her to do this? 

I mean, we can call her? Which I did, but not at 10:30 PM. I decided to wait till the next morning. 

She answers, "hello"

 "Carolyn?, Carolyn Stein?" I ask. 

"Yes, who's this?" She replies. 

I identify myself and explain my reason for calling. 

Carolyn is an enthusiastic woman. 
She believes the best thing we wear, is on us. 
She liked that I made up Universal Smile As You Walk Day last Tuesday
She took my email. 
We talked. 
We shared enthusiasms of a bigger picture. 
We said good-bye. 

I was enthused. 

Imagine if we greeted each person, project and every single possibility that comes your way with genuine enthusiasm, all year or howabout ALL LIFE, ALL THE TIME. 

ALL_THE_TIME. 
genuine enthusiasm all the time
imagineimagineimagineimagineimagine
genuine enthusiasm all the time
leave it all on the floor
all the time





Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Post KATRINA

 It's been over 8 years since Hurricane Katrina formed and made landfall in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

It was the summer of 2005, as eventful as any summer previous. Sun, heat and fun. Late August brought news of a hurricane forming - Katrina. With the technology and news coverage, what it is, where it is we had the normal abundance of reporters braving "where no man has gone before" and a greater number of "me's" watching from the safety of their living rooms and bedrooms believing we could withstand the winds as well as any news reporter.

It was the morning after landfall. 

The hurricane was declared over. 
Damage was minimal. 

THEN THE SURGE
THE LEVEES

they broke

the water came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and came and kept on coming and coming and coming and coming and coming and coming as if it would never ever stop. 

CHAPTER TWO
There is a girl I know, she goes by the name of "Z", spelled Xiomra, Xi for short.We work for the same company, in the same positions. Me on the east coast and her in New Orleans. 

We, the company, felt a kindred spirit for Xi and her staff during this time. Contact was lost. Voicemails and phone contact was non-existent. 

New Orleans suffered, yes, in many ways New Orleans died. 
Contact was lost. People were lost. People died. 

and yet people survived. PEOPLE LIVED. PEOPLE BECAME STRONGER. 

It was Xi, who during a phone message to the corporate office summed up everything. 

She said - "when we finally make contact with someone and then when we say good-bye, we don't say goodbye, we say I love you for we don't know when or if ever we will see them again. 

I love you