Important Moments in Life
Posted on Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Filed Under Quotes
Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these.
– Susan B. Anthony
I have never been very big on holidays like birthdays, anniversaries or Christmas. They seem like such artificial constructs to me. Years ago I reached a peaceful truce with my family and friends to not exchange gifts at such times. We have all been enjoying stress-free holidays ever since.
I don’t meant to demean the important moments in life. I just think that the important moments aren’t demarcated by the traditional calendar dates. I will never forget the incredible taste of the macaroni and cheese from The Fat Duck or the thrill of bringing home a new car for the first time. I celebrate every house or apartment that becomes my new home with a quiet greeting and a prayer. I say goodbye to each residence in the same way. Staring at a full moon is an opportunity to celebrate the magic of being alive on this amazing celestial ball.
Celebrate the moments that are important to you and the ones you love. They occur much more often than you may realize. And don’t worry so much about the dates that fall on the calendar.
permalinkLife’s Mission
Posted on Monday, January 5, 2009
Filed Under Quotes
Here is a test to find out whether your mission on earth is finished; if you’re alive, it isn’t.
– Richard Back, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
I came to Richard Bach via Neil Diamond’s soundtrack to Jonathan Livingston Seagull. While the metaphors in Jonathan Livingston Seagull are rather obvious now, the wisdom and insights from Illusions remain much more subtle and lasting.
Richard Bach was quite popular in the late 70’s and 80’s. Amazon calls him the Kahil Gibran of the Me! generation. I was in my twenties at the time and, like most people in that decade of their life, I had an overwhelming sense of calling. I had a deep sense that I was placed on this earth to complete a mission, to help people see themselves, and the world, in a fresh way.
Much has transpired since those heady days of youth. I think I have helped many people along the way, albeit never in the grand style I envisioned in my twenties. Nevertheless, on a quite day, I can still hear that voice calling inside. Since I am very much alive again today, it is good to know that my mission is not yet complete.
Magic
Posted on Sunday, January 4, 2009
Filed Under Quotes
Magic is a vanishing art.
– Bumper Sticker
Spelling
Posted on Saturday, January 3, 2009
Filed Under Quotes
People who can’t spell a word in more than one way are dumb.
– W. C. Fields
I stumbled upon this quote early in my career and have had the opportunity to recite it countless times. I taught high school for two years right out of college and the students were merciless. I moved on to teaching at the college level for many more years where the students were more forgiving but no less astute. Then I made the move to corporate America where, as a business professional, there no end to the opportunities to make presentations or take notes at the whiteboard. Despite my passionate commitment to correct spelling and grammar an occasional misspelling in front of the class or a typo in the PowerPoint deck is inevitable.
Here is where our old friend W.C. Fields comes to the rescue. After discovering a spelling mistake in front of a group of people I simply recite his pearl of wisdom, wait for the mild aknowledgement of smiles, and move on. No need to have your confidence shaken or allow the audience to derail your message. Just move on quickly with wit and aplomb.
The aphorism plays equally well from the audience as it does from the podium. It is a great way to help a presenter through a rough spot if they become unnerved by a typo.
Background on the 2009 Quote-A-Day
Man on Wire
Posted on Friday, January 2, 2009
Filed Under Quotes
When I see three oranges, I juggle; when I see two towers, I walk.
– Philippe Petit
I watched the wonderful documentary Man on Wire last night. It is the inspiring story of Philippe Petit and his lifelong passion to walk a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. His dream began even before the towers were built and culminated in a 45 minute walk in the sky on August 7, 1974. The film is especially bittersweet with all of the behind-the-scenes details of the twin towers, knowing their ultimate fate.
Philippe’s quote above was in response to the incessant pleas by the press for an answer to “Why?” There is no why, he insisted. When he sees oranges, he juggles. When he sees two towers, he walks.
Over the summer I was mesmerized by Roz Savage’s amazing feat of rowing from San Francisco to Hawaii. In her thrice weekly podcast with Leo Laporte she was freqently pressed for an answer to Why? Despite her compelling committment to bring attention to the the plight of the environment and her moving stories of abandoning management consulting for the open ocean, I suspect Roz’s real reason for first rowing the Atlantic, and now the Pacific, is closer to Philippe’s answer to Why? When she sees a plastic water bottle, she recycles. But when she sees an open ocean, she rows.
Background on the 2009 Quote-A-Day
Contentment
Posted on Thursday, January 1, 2009
Filed Under Quotes
There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.
– G. K Chesterton
When Linda and I returned from our stint in London, we landed in New Jersey. Within a few weeks of our US re-entry, and for reasons that still escape us, we bought a beautiful, 2,400 square foot house with a large basement on the north side of Princeton. Despite the delightful, well-groomed neighborhood, we quickly began to discover the folly of our ways. The sweeping windows that let in so much light in the spring became a greenhouse in the heat of summer. It seemed cavernous to heat and cool. Finding enough furniture to fill all the rooms took the better part of a year.
We vowed that if we ever had the chance to start again we would limit ourselves to 2,000 square feet and learn to live simpler.
Eighteen months later we found ourselves in Chapel Hill, North Carolina when Linda had an irresistable job opportunity with a global company in the Triangle. By some miracle of the real estate gods we managed to sell the house in New Jersey, despite the early inklings of the real estate crash. This time we took our lessons to heart. We found a cute house on the north side of Chapel Hill which measures in at 1,950 square feet. Our rent is $1,500 / month — less than the interest we were paying on our mortgage in Princeton.
The house is a little snug but it is more than enough room. We laugh at how little it costs to heat and cool the place. We wish the garage was a little wider, so both cars would fit, but leaving one car outside reminds us that our goal is to live with one car anyway. If we owned the place we would make a few small structural changes to make a combined guest room / office. For now we just make notes for our future plans if we ever get to build our dream house.
We have confirmed that we can live in less than 2,000 square feet. We have less stuff and we feel lighter for it. As the economy continues to turn sideways we are glad that we could easily put our few belongings in storage and head off for Chicago, or Abu Dhabi, or Bejing. I believe that 2009 will be a year of living with less . . . and I predict that we will be richer for it at the end of the year.
Background on the 2009 Quote-A-Day.
2009 Quote a Day Calendar
Posted on Thursday, January 1, 2009
Filed Under Quotes
I have always loved to collect intangible things. One of my favorites collections consists of opening lines of great novels. Who can forget “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . . ” Other greats include “Who is John Galt?” Or “Howard Rork laughed.” My all-time favorite opening line comes from Pat Conroy’s Prince of Tides: “My wound is geography.”
But lo, I digress. By far my largest stash of immaterial things are the countless quotes, words of wisdom, poems, and pithy sayings I have collected over the years. I have a library card catalog filled with hand written 3×5 cards with quotes accumulated from the days before computers had entered my life. In the intervening years I have made several vain attempts to catalog my precious to no avail. The first installment came and went in a HyperCard stack that is long gone. A Microsoft Access database of pearls of wisdom sits unused on an old Windows machine somewhere in the house.
Every fall I get the half-baked idea to make one of those “Page-a-Day” calendars filled with my own favorite quotes. I have yet to undertake the arduous task of selecting, formatting, printing and binding 365 of my favorite sayings. However, this year I will avail myself of this space to “catalog” some of my favorite quotes here at It Seems To Me.
Sometimes I will comment on why the quote was important to me or where my head was at the time. Other times the quotes wills stand on their own. Feel free to join in the conversation.
Checks and Balances
Posted on Sunday, December 21, 2008
Filed Under Economy, Politics
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
– Lord Acton
I was born in Canada and came to the US between my sophomore and junior year in high school. One of my first courses in my newly adopted country was high school civics. I learned with a newcomer’s sense of awe about the three branches of government and their important role in each checking the power of the other. It is highly attributed that this system of checks and balances is the genius of the America.
In the intervening years since those wide-eyed high school years I have been a casual observer of the reality that power and money are self preserving. The more you have of each the more you tighten the circle to protect and increase your lot. The fiasco on wall street is evidence of what happens when the self-reinforcing power/money loop runs exponentially out of control.
If there is any hope of reforming this mess, and I have no expectation that it will be reformed, it would seem that some sort of system of checks and balances will have to be devised. Increased (and effective) regulation might help with some of the “checks” that are needed. But are there “balances” that have yet to be devised? Does the final dissolution of trust by Bernard Madoff mean that investors will demand enough clarity and transparency to balance the unhealthy tendencies of money grubbing?
I have never been a strong advocate of regulation but it it seems to me that a more robust system of checks and balances is needed in our financial systems. The “checks” are somewhat obvious (i.e. regulation). The “balances” are yet to be determined.
You know you’re old when . . .
Posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Filed Under General
You know you’re old when you hear a music critic say, “Beyonce is important in the way that Madonna was important to music in the 90’s.”
Huh? Madonna was important? That was music?
</ tongue-in-cheek>
Citi is hiring! . . . or NOT
Posted on Friday, December 5, 2008
Filed Under Business
They're hiring?
Citigroup announced today that they are revising their plans to downsize their workforce. The new plan is to lay off 53,000 employees, or 20% of their workforce.
Driving home to Chapel Hill from Greensboro earlier this week, I noticed this sign on the Citi office building. I wish they would get their story straight.