Thought4Today

February 1, 2019February 1, 2019 Bob McInnisLeave a comment

A compilation of daily thoughts.
When wrestling with a decision, think for yourself, not about yourself. #thoughtfortoday

InTELLegence is recognized in the acquisition and understanding of knowledge, not in the telling to make others look small. #learn #listen #thought4today

Every morning you have two choices, continue to sleep with your dreams or wake up and chase them. #tought4today

Attempt to be radically and unreasonably patient, today, and see what happens. #though4today

If we are unable to fit others into our worldview, do they become invisible or vilified? #thought4today

A bee won’t directly benefit from the honey she makes; instead, it will allow future generations to thrive after she is gone. #thought4today

Being a citizen (someone who is a dweller of the land) should invoke a sense of community, connectivity, and responsibility. #thought4today

The message is magnified when it is shared by hundreds. #makemeaning #becourageous #thought4today

Does avoiding awkward situations or absolving yourself of responsibility fit with the view you have of yourself. #thought4today

Is our collective memory fading after only a few years? Does it matter? #thought4today #JohnLennon

Do you ever wake up wishing you were somewhere else? What is stopping you? #thought4today

Gravity is the most impactful force in our universe and yet we ignore it almost all the time. #thought4today

Gratitude is the second most powerful force in our lives and we ignore and reject it in favor of negativity. #thought4today #begrateful

Economic prosperity and social prosperity need to be synced in order to build diverse and robust communities. #thought4today

Each day I get to choose between words that inspire and words that intimidate. #thought4today

Our belief in ourselves and others impacts the outcome. If you think you can, you are more likely to succeed. #thought4today

Hope isn’t a strategy but no strategy can succeed without hope. #thought4today

My imagination isn’t limited by my circumstances. #thoughtfortoday

In our most awkward moments, we have the opportunity to be the most authentic. #thought4today #askanawkwardquestion

If beauty is in the eye of the beholder where does unattractiveness reside? #thought4today #seebeauty

The first small step is just a first small step, but the second and third and … are what propels movement. #thought4today

It feels good to do good, so make this Feel Good Friday. #fgf #thought4today

Playing an active role in your community makes the nearly impossible idea of democracy possible.

Maybe, sometimes I’m wrong, but I’m wrong sincerely. #thought4today #confession

I find myself increasingly perplexed by Artifical intelligence but even more perplexed by the politic of the world. #thought4today

If we continue to manage social issues, social issues manage to continue. #thought4today #findsolutions

Kind words can dampen the fire of anger. #thought4today

fun · Self Improvement

Magic

June 26, 2018 Leave a comment

I love magic. I love being surprised, and I like not knowing how the illusion is done. I like magicians and their flare and the sense of impossible. I love magic, but I don’t believe in it.

I have seen what appears to be magic happen in my life and the lives of people around me. I have watched folks do the work and achieve the results, and to those who missed the effort, it seems like an overnight mystical success. I have watched friends recover from an illness because they followed the regimen of the medical profession and made a severe lifestyle change. Seven years ago, running a 10k race was an illusion, yet I will run two or three this year.

I have seen more amazing sunsets than I deserve and now understand enough of the science to realize there isn’t a master magician making artwork. My jaw has drooped in surprise when something fortuitous happens because I have a basic understanding of odds and the laws of large numbers.

I have mused about Maslow and the infamous pyramid. I theorized that Maslow and the pyramid are right even if how we use it was never the intention. I frequently intone that the pyramid is upside down and if we achieve self-actualization, the rest fills magically. Here I use it to mean as part of a logical and challenging process. When we realize the fulfillment of our talents and potentialities, we have all the tools necessary to achieve safety, security, health and wealth according to our needs and desires. It may seem magical to those observing from afar, but it is indeed part of intentionality.

Just like a magic trick, all these shifts seem impossible to the audience, but the magician has worked hard to make it happen. Unlike a trick, we can benefit from seeing behind the curtain when people seemingly work magic in their lives.

The Cultural Curiosity Daily will be a hodgepodge on some days and a treatise on others. If you are entertained, provoked, inspired, edified or angered by any of it you can respond with comments and as always you can ‘buy me a coffee.‘

fun · Original Thought · Uncertainty

Left Behind

February 8, 2018 1 Comment

My grandmother left me a world that was better for her having lived her life on it. I suspect that her grandmother had given her the same inheritance. What am I leaving my grandchildren? What will you leave future generations?

Untitled design (6)

( a stock photo courtesy of Canva.com)

I was taught to model my behavior and relationships through her courage, curiosity, and certainty. Grandma had dozens of grandchildren, and at her funeral in 1977, I was a pallbearer. I was also convinced that I was her favorite until I discovered that all my cousins thought the same thing. Realizing that I shared the position with so many didn’t dampen my enthusiasm but rather encouraged me to try to live my life as if the person in front of me was important. I have failed greatly and succeeded meagrely, but her practice still resonates and rings true regardless of my measure.

Gertrude Edith Lavender Holmlund was born in Gillman, Iowa in 1895. She moved to rural Saskatchewan to homestead with her husband Ezra and raised nine children on the small farm. Grandma was a reader and a reciter who performed long poems, stories, and sagas from stages across the prairies. The love of words passed through the stubble and sunshine through my mom down to me. Between my grandmother’s knee to reading to my grandchildren today, there are 50,000 books that changed me and how I see my world. In the 1970’s, she was still reading to learn and was memorizing new pieces to dazzle and entertain an audience. Recently, my mom who is 90, began reciting Kipling’s “If ” around a campfire. The words and verses poured out of her, and she couldn’t recall when she had first learned it. (likely almost 80 years ago).

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

To the end of her life, grandma was certain about many things. She held and lived a life of Christian faith in the Lutheran Church. She held left-leaning political views about government and cooperation. Family, with all its warts, was the most important treasure she had. She saw her world change from breaking land with oxen and pioneering a province and a cooperative movement to international communications and travel. Over the years, she held to tradition where it was relevant and meaningful. She could be stubborn about somethings like God and social action while open to think and adapt to things like music, poetry, and love.

I don’t have nor desire her certainty. I am comfortable living with more ambiguity than should be comfortable. I lean away from tradition even when it might still make sense. I struggle with being compassionate when faced with people and ideas that I abhor. I get to be a provocateur and contrarian because of the life my grandma lived and the world that she left me.

Make Today Remarkable, by leaving today better than it would have been without you,

Bob

fiction · fun · Original Thought · Uncertainty

Future Forecast for Fun

February 7, 2018 Leave a comment

Future Forecast for the Week February 6 to 13, 2018

Odin January 1 to February 5

Odin is the lord of all other gods. You are the most knowledgeable.You draw wisdom from the tree of life, which gives you your power. Your friends and associates come to you for advice.
This week your horse rides above the clouds. You will be called upon to offer the highest level opinion on a very big project. Be bold with your voice. By the end of the week, an opportunity will be lost.

Thor February 6 to March 16

Thor is the grand defender of the realm. With your huge hammer and your strength, you bring calm and peace to conflict. You use your strength to strengthen others.
You will be asked to choose between the efforts of two colleagues. Lift both of their creations up and help them become co-creators. Mediate and moderate the tone of discussions on the weekend.

Loki March 17 to April 29

Loki is essentially the god of pranks and mischief-making. You bring levity and disruption to your relationships. As a shapeshifter, you are very difficult to get to know.
Tuesday isn’t a good time to cause discord. Use your humor to entertain rather than to provoke.In the final hours of the week, the fruits of last weeks interjection will be apparent.

Heimdallr April 30 to June 3

Heimdallr is the bridge between the powerful and the weak. You act as a peacemaker when discord rises above functional tension. You carry the weight of others and need to deliberately step back on occasion for self-care.
Your courage and conviction to bring collaboration from the fire of conflict are needed all week. Offer your reputation to and resources to save the day on Wednesday. Be honest about your willingness to continue without measurable results.

Magni and Modi June 4 to July 16

Thor’s sons are the contradiction of bravery and savagery. You are driven to succeed and can step over the line to get what you want. If you are on my side, you do what is needed to ensure that I am fulfilled.
Many associates are struggling at the beginning of the week with what seems like insurmountable barriers. You can help them knock some down and get around others.

Njord – God Of The Sea July 17 to July 20

Njord is the sea and the net. You represent abundance to many of your friends, but they don’t realize that you are longing for abundance and meaning in your relationships.
Loki and Odin are behind you on Thursday, so it is a great day to take the first step and ask someone that you have been admiring on a date. The weekend will be filled with invitations, accept them all.

Tyr – God Of War July 20 to September 1

Tyr is loyal and sacrifices himself and his desires for those he cares about. You go above and beyond what is expected to your own detriment.
You have been bearing the emotions and scars of your family for the past week so lay low on Tuesday and Wednesday to replenish your own cups.On Monday, you will be asked for a major concession. Consider it carefully.

Baldr – God Of Justice September 2 to October 17

Baldr is the god of justice. You have a strong sense of equity and work unceasingly to balance the scales and bring dignity and honor to the less fortunate.
Before noon on Wednesday, you will become aware of a disparity in your workplace, and you are the only one who has the credibility to speak up and redress it. Your reputation will be intact because of the actions you take not your inactions.
Frigg – Goddess of Family and Love October 18 to November 23

Frigg is one of the foremost goddesses of Norse mythology. You are empathetic and empathic, so you feel the joy and sorrow of others. You carry the sixth sense and can foresee future circumstances.
Caution is required on Saturday and Sunday. Revealing what you see in someone’s life can exacerbate the situation and create unwarranted anxiety and chaos. You recognize that a minor choice on Friday will lead to a big decision on Monday.

Bragi – God of Eloquence November 24 to December 31

Bragi had inspiration carved on his tongue, and he inspires creativity in others. You can persuade and influence with fluency, clarity, and humor.
It is time to express your gifts and change the direction of a small group of people who you care about. The direction they are going needs a different heading. At midday on Friday, be alert to instances where your influence will make the world a better place.

As always these Norse future casts are for entertainment and levity. Use discretion in how you receive and use all advise.

If you were amused or entertained you can always buy me a coffee by clicking the link on the right bottom.

Thanks