Tracks In The Dust

08 Jul 2013

A “Dog Person” or a “Cat Person”

Having become a new owner of a dog for the first time ever in my life, I imagine there are a lot of people who will say “what took you so long?”

For most of my life from early on there were cats in my home. My mother was a “cat person” and we had several cats over my childhood, mostly they were my mom’s (one in particular was certainly hers alone) but I liked them (except for that “one”). It was something I became accustomed to. My dad hated them really. He saw no use for a cat. Once he figured out that one of the cats we had didn’t like the sound of the food blender, he spent a period of time with the base of it plugged in next to his favorite chair, and if the cat came near he would switch it on.

After my wife and I got married, we lived in small apartments where a dog was not very practical. At one point when we finally decided on a cat, we found out that it was not allowed in our apartment area and it factored into a decision to move.

So then…many cats later (and 4 kids)…my wife finally got her dog (did I mention she grew up with dogs?). So she became a dog-owner several years ago, and the dog was perfect for her. Just what she’d always wanted, but for some reason or another we never had gotten to having a dog in our family before.

The last cat I had was a big grey Russian-Blue type of cat, with a bit of tabby in him I am sure. What some may have called a “barn cat” I suppose. He would greet me at the door, follow me around, come hop up on my lap at the end of the day and sit next to my chair when I would be working at the computer. He will always be “my cat.”

Now a DOG. Just a mutt. But a dog that I will call mine. It’s part Border Collie/part Australian Shepard, part goofy. I am told that a mutt owner needs to know the suspected “parts”. I know I am not prepared for the higher maintenance of a dog but everyone says you get used to it. The walking, the cleaning up afterward. He was adopted from a dog pound. Saved one from the possible sad early ending of so many dogs that get neglected or rejected in their lives and end up there.

I know… I know…. There are “cat people” and there are “dog people”. I am trying to convert. Hoping he can teach me ( the old dog) some new tricks. A dog person. Yup. Working on it. Likely a life changer right?

Dog Person or a Cat Person: What Are You? (business2community.com)

02 Jul 2013

The Soundtrack to Capture Summer

I grew up in an American city that sat on the shore of Lake Michigan, America’s largest freshwater lake.

As kids every summer we would get on our bikes or take the bus and head down to the sandy beach called the North Beach. It was connected to another beach that sat just outside the city zoo. We would spend hours in the sun, walking the beach, eating sandwiches and soda.

As we grew up we would cruise down in our parents cars and suck up the sun and suds (beer in Wisconsin is a staple).

During that time we always had music playing. It went from a small “transistor” radio to a boom-box with cassettes. Over time it created a soundtrack for the summer. Some times the laid back sounds of soul music (loved the Motown sound and the Philly sound), sometimes it was just pop rock and other times the latest in jazz.

One thing for sure even now, the music paints a very clear picture in my mind of those times gone by. I can see it in my mind’s eye with clarity with the accompanying smells of the grill and the scent of coconut oil suntan lotion. There are so many songs that dial-up those images.

Whether on a beach in Florida, a local hot bar or hotspot in your town or your own back yard…

Whether it is the Beach Boys, the Temptations, Chicago or Santana…

Whether it was sounds of a Pitbull club mix or Daft Punk jam- you get your inspiration somewhere….

“What artists are in your personal summer soundtrack?”

Posted in Life's Sound Track (Music) and tagged Arts, Beach Boys, Best Songs for Summer, boom box, Daft Punk, Music, Personal Soundtrack, Remembering Summer, Rock music, Summer Jams, Summertime, suntan lotion, transistor radio, Wisconsin

27 Jun 2013

2 Comments

Letting Go

Let go!

There is a lot of comfort in “status-quo”. There are reasons that you like “the way things are”. Being firmly entrenched in the pattern you are in can sometimes feel good.

A lot of people thrive on change. In fact for me when things DON’T change it kind of makes me think that something might be wrong. I know that sounds like I am always waiting for the “other shoe” to drop… which is sort of sad I guess. But change is okay too, it has its ability to provide the kind of variety that keeps life interesting, and makes one be more aware of things along the way.

But for others I guess there is that comfort of keeping things the way they are.

As my kids got older I think my wife and struggled for a long time understanding that our children were looking outward on their lives and not focused on the “family” that made up our history. We realized we could not center everything on them, as we had in their younger days growing up. Not that they didn’t want to be part of our family, just that they were looking for the next-thing and needed to work it on their own. After all that is part of growing up, and although the flexibility to change is more difficult later in life due to so many of the anchors and roots we put on ourselves. There is likely always the “next-thing” around the corner – if we were looking for it.

But those others who are comfortable, they aren’t always looking for the next thing. The needs of the next thing may not be evident, and they may be frightening or mysterious. But that comfort can be constricting. The next-thing may very well come without warning.

A job goes away, health, finances, catastrophe, or just a change in the simple pattern of daily life can be devastating and make that comfortable life seem to slip away so quickly it leaves no time to pause. That alone can be constricting. It can stall out what will need to happen next, it can lead to depression and denial.

So it is important (I think) to get accustomed to “letting go” things and taking courses in life that could be risky or unfamiliar. Letting go can lead to changes that you don’t expect, that you can’t even imagine.

Letting go is hard. No promises, but lots of promising prospects. Is it time to let go of something?

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Behavior, Change, choices, denial, Depression, Doubt, Faith, Letting Go, Memories, mental-health, Postive Thinking, Reality Check, Self-Awareness, Something New, The next thing, waiting for the other shoe to drop

26 Jun 2013

2 Comments

Appreciating Acceptance

Since as early as pre-school it would seem that there is a desire for acceptance. A desire or perhaps a need to be part of the “group” that has some common goal, even if that is just to be the first on the playground or have the same favorite color or game.

Even more later in life I suppose, as we move into our adolescent years, there is a strong desire (maybe part of the hormones) to be accepted. Be part of a team or a clique, be accepted by the person(s) we romantically desire. Even for those anti-society “rebels without a cause” there is a reason to be accepted in a group.

There a likely hundreds upon thousands of academic books about this topic. I am sure that they all wrap things up into some human characteristic that is inherent in our DNA or something. Wonderful that so many pages can be written to draw up a conclusion about the whole thing of acceptance.

For us in the adult world – most of us are always in need of things like friendships, acceptance in our work spaces with our peers and the boss, relating to others on all sorts of levels on topics from crafts to politics.

There is one place that isn’t often part of that equation as it should be in my view: church. A place where all people are seeking acceptance, and looking for others that see that opportunity to be accepted as well. Just talking about the gathering of people- not the building, but the church as a collective of people who believe that the mission is to continue to extend the hope, spirit and faith. Surrounding yourself with people who have the same perspective can become refueling for the soul.

I think that the first step to positively appreciate your acceptance, is to recognize and accept the spiritual guidance that is inside of you, and accepting yourself first.

I tell my kids to focus on knowing what you need and why you think you need it. Learn to be yourself if you want to be accepted by others. If you don’t know who “you” are – how are you going to gain acceptance from others? how can you even to accept others?

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Acceptance, Affirmation, Be Yourself, Doubt, Emotion, Postive Thinking, Reality Check, Religion and Spirituality, Self-Awareness, Spiritual Growth, Who Am I?

24 Jun 2013

“Mad” or “Sad”?

I was in a grocery store over the weekend and I heard a lady exclaim to her husband how “really mad” she was about the fact that a cracker company had discontinued her preferred sized box.

I had to laugh a bit because I couldn’t think of a situation such as that where it would make me be “really” mad. I always thought that “mad” was reserved for horrific things that happened to people or circumstances that became unable to control or ultimately did not turn out the way we expected. Even then there is a fine line I think between mad and sad (or disappointed I suppose).

It seems like more and more people are “mad” at things that really stretch the idea of or being angry. There is room for anger in our lives; applied to those things that may some how stimulate us to a better life, to be more conscientious or be stronger for someone or some cause.

It seems the “madness” I see stems from something else. Perhaps the frustration of the moment or the feeling of helplessness. More than ever before, there seem to be a lot of people who are more angry over things that they cannot change. That is likely because in this “information age” of constant incoming data we are increasingly more exposed to things we can get mad at.

Maybe that is the idea of what someone means when they refer to the past as “simpler times”? Maybe because of ignorance (which I have heard is bliss) or maybe though intentional avoidance, some people just didn’t have to deal with being angry in those simpler times. As time has changed, and war, poverty, hate, disease and the like have come 24/7 into our lives, maybe we have become an angrier society?

Whatever the path, seems like something to be sad about. Perhaps mad; but likely sad…because the ability to turn off that 24/7 input has passed many people by. Unless we ourselves make a choice.

Be mad if you need to, but remember to be sad when you can. Either way you have to find a place where you can move on…. make a difference, change what’s happening, or focus on something else that you can effect. Getting “stuck” in mad is maddening enough.