Selling with words

"Writers write" ~ Thom Hartmann

I just finished reading this short piece on The Middle Finger Project. At times I'd like to think of myself as somewhat of a wordsmith but this girl nailed it. I don't think I'm going to look at a mirror quite the same way again.

Every 10 minutes, someone dies

Fate? I'm not sure. I don't really believe in fate.

I met with a potential client Monday looking for insight with a social media campaign to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Two days prior at 1:12 a.m. I received an email from a friend about someone close who had just passed away from Leukemia. His battle lasted less than a year. He was told his cancer had gone into remission. In November that was prognosis changed.

I believe things happen for a reason. I also believe I may not understand those reasons. (This is the bit that drives me a little batty.)

I guess you could say I'm on board with this campaign. If I pay attention to signs, and sometimes I do, I have to help. It was meant to be. Yeah, I know I don't believe in fate.

"Every four minutes another person is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies."

Boost your mood

I really enjoyed this piece from pickthebrain.com and wanted to share. 

7 Simple Ways to Boost Your Mood, Right Now

It says 'simple' and they are! Give it a shot anyhow. I dare you.

Solving problems or just patching them

I read this question a few hours after I learned about the Connecticut elementary school shooting.

There are so many things wrong in our country, how can we ever fix it?

Here is my two cents.

How can we ever fix it? We fix it by building stronger communities. We fix it by getting to know our neighbors, our neighborhoods. We fix it by not just looking out for our individual children but everyone’s children. We fix it by taking care of each other, by being supportive instead of combative. We fix it by not just looking out for me but looking out for we. This is something much of this country lost a long time ago.

Tragedies are easy to blame on a crazy person, or guns, or terrorists, or poor laws. Our country, our cities, our individual communities need to not place blame, but rather remember how to build a caring community. Build the type of communities that see the fragile human being in each of us. It doesn’t help anyone to become a group of hard asses. In the long run it doesn’t even help the hard ass.

In our quest to be the best, to have the most, to keep up with the Jones’s and yes to try to one up them, we forget some fundamental truths. Fundamental truths like, we are all in this together.

The missing sense of a strong, compassionate family/community is the problem. This is why modern day gangs exist. The primal need to belong to a group, a group that looks out for you, is the driving force. Much of America has lost that strong family unit. There are so many of us that are “on our own”.

It is so easy to blame the incident. It is hard to look at the root cause and fix it.

In fact, this is why our health care system is broken. It tries patch ailments instead of determining causes to the problems. This is what is wrong with the education system. Throwing more money at it isn’t the solution. Finding why, as a community, we aren’t more engaged in educating our youth is the problem. Trumpeting athletic achievements over actual education and innovative thinking is the problem.

So many times when tragedies strike, whether on a personal or community level, we want to blame. We want to "fix" the problem. The real fix is finding out why these situations happen to begin with. The real fix is at a base level that many people don't want to look at. It is much easier to say let's ban guns, or make everyone go through naked body scanners when they travel, or give the group more money. These are band-aids that in the long run won't give the desired result.

Getting involved in other people's live from a compassionate perspective. This is where we begin to fix the country.

What do I desire?

I'm feeling this Alan Watts piece this Saturday afternoon. Thanks to Christina Perri for linking to this via twitter.

What if money was no object?

Plutarch & Tolle

This was posted on the Eckhart Tolle facebook page a couple of months ago. I thought it was a great thought to consider as we head into the weekend.

Dear Friends,
Almost two thousand years ago, the philosopher Plutarch wrote:
"Most people bypass what is good and refreshing in their lives, and habitually focus on the unpleasant, bad elements."
How easily all our attention can get absorbed by our "problems". Thinking and talking about them strengthens a false sense of self. And so we miss the good in our lives. Where's the good? It's where Life is: in the present moment. It's in the clouds and vast spaciousness of the sky, the air you breathe, the life-giving light and warmth of the sun, the silence of the night. It's in a small act of kindness given or received. It's in the sound of the rain, the intense aliveness of a flower....the same aliveness that you can also feel inside your body.
Another word for acknowledging the good in your life is - gratitude.
And: what you focus your attention on, grows.
With love, 
Eckhart

A potential stop smoking aid

Looking for help to kick the cigarette habit? Check this out from India's Daily News & Analysis: Drink green tea, kick the butt

Drink green tea to get over the nicotine urge, say Chinese researchers — and this is a finding that medical professionals in Kerala have reacted positively to. The oral intake of the amino acid L-Theanine, uniquely found in green tea, is known to have anti-stress effects and acts as a relaxing agent.

Your thoughts create your reality

I wonder if this is in part a demonstration of mind over matter. From The Telegraph: Believing you are fat could lead to weight gain

Researchers noticed that the young men and women who in their teens had described themselves as "chubby" or "very fat" were more likely to have become overweight or obese.

Can baldness be a business advantage?

An interesting article from the Wall Street Journal.

Men with shaved heads are perceived to be more masculine, dominant and, in some cases, to have greater leadership potential than those with longer locks or with thinning hair, according to a recent study out of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Whenever I read "according to a recent study out of..." I always look to see who paid for the study. More times than not, the actual underwriters are not revealed. This is the case in the Journal with this article too.

40 ways to create peace of mind

Pick one, try it. If that doesn't work for you, there are 39 other options to try. From my fine friends at TinyBuddha: 40 ways to create peace of mind