Tracks In The Dust

A Father's Advice About Learning the Mission of Life

Archive for the tag “Change”

01 Jan 2014

Just Too Much Noise

Its true. People want to be heard.

There are a lot of ways to get attention, but in the end everyone wants to be heard somehow. Perhaps its the need to want to share a message (these blogs have evidence to that). Perhaps there is more self-serving reasons. Perhaps it is to share in the greatest story ever told.

But everywhere there seems to be a lot of noise drowning out the messages. Noise from the Internet. Noise from the media. Blinding the true messages, being louder than another message can make for a dominant message whether it is true or not.

It seems to be like everyone is trying to say.. “listen to me!” Here’s my opinion. – Then in-turn they receive comments on opinions. leading to even more and more opinions.

Noise.

What is the real message at during the holidays and as we move to 2014 and the new year?

The Good News that there is faith in something bigger. There is a way to make the world better with grace in motion. Find the way to make the message come through.

What do we all need to do to be sure we are heard? Filter out the noise. Recognize it as something that will always be there, but if you are up to it, – you can make the difference.

Posted in Doing Things That Will Change Your Life and tagged Acceptance, Advice, being remembered, Change, Good News, Message, Noise Pollution, Postive Thinking, Reality Check, Religion and Spirituality, Truth

27 Oct 2013

Sleeping

I used to think that sleep was great. I could “sleep in” on a Saturday till noon.

I don’t remember any more what that feels like. I was a young buck when that happened last I think.

I went through my period of thought that “sleep was under-rated” – the old adage that I will “sleep when I am dead.”

But really sleep is obviously something we need to have to recharge. I need to recharge more some days than others. But I have those days. You probably do to. Your mind won’t shut off at the end of the day. You are tired but you can’t sleep. The alarm-clock will not give extra time back. So there you are… Or worse when you finally get to sleep and the alarm goes off and now you are dead tired! Even though you weren’t hours before.

I have my days where the early bed time sounds great, but my head is just going too fast to shut off.

Maybe it’s because I am getting older. Thinking about a million things that I really can’t change, things that could definitely wait till morning. Reviewing what happened, thinking about what could happen tomorrow.

Deep breaths, getting in the zone to drift “miles away” , making warm milk or something. Seems like sleep would be nice.

Have to work on that… how about you?

Your snooze button is probably why you feel cruddy all day (theweek.com)

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Acceptance, Change, Faith, insomnia, Lack of Sleep, Restless Feeling, Self-Awareness, Sleep

07 Oct 2013

Contradiction

We all get them… There are a lot of mixed messages in today’s’ world.

A lot of it is the fact that we live in the “information age” I think. It happens all around us. No matter what we see or hear, there seems to be a question of reality. We read news, we track social networks, we watch media provide up to the minute real-time events in our living room.

What we see can sometime contradict what we believe is true, and still we may tend to deny what our eyes are seeing.There are other times we see or read something, that won’t validate what we want to believe so we will dismiss it. It contradicts our beliefs and then we are not going to accept the evidence.

There are a lot of people who outwardly say sincerely that they care about people and causes. But their actions contradict that. They follow their religious or personal philosophies, but only when it fits in their lives. Like the message of LOVE and the practice of HATE. They may be saying that people “in need” should be helped, but shouldn’t help them in any way even if they are provided many opportunities. I guess almost all of us need to work harder all the time to focus on people in-need.

It is easy to say and do things that don’t make sense to everything else in our lives. It can be the principle of the moment and long-term it doesn’t play out. But there are many times I think I need to stop and review what is “in-coming” in my life and make sure I am convicted to the “outcome” – and not contradict myself. Does that happen in your life, too?

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Change, choices, Contradiction, Definitions, Information Age, Intentions, Kindness, Memories, Philosophy, Postive Thinking, Reality Check

09 Sep 2013

Songs About “Changes”

There are so many songs about changes. This song always reminded me ( along with Bowie’s Changes) that no matter what happens, everything changes except for change itself.

I know for me every time I get comfortable with the routine, cruising on “normal” – then something changes. And I feel silly thinking “why did that happen”? Because in the reality of life, changes are good. Things have to change, and when it feels like it hasn’t you have to wonder. Seasons, time, a purpose to everything (Turn, Turn, Turn by the Byrds).

So if you don’t know it now- “before long you will find out”.

What are songs in your life that signify changes?

It’s a matter of choices
And a matter of time
For you it’s a matter of drive

You will let nothing
Get in your way
You set to conquer
Each single day

Everything Changes
But change itself
You can take out
What you think you know put it
Back on the shelf

And would you believe me
If I’d spoke my mind?
‘Cause nobody gets there they just
Try, try, try

Everything Changes
But change itself
Like a bird you’d sooner fly away
But you’re stuck in yourself
As everything Changes….

We stay the same
But we stay the same
You keep turning
Before long you’re going to find out
What’s in a name

So you look for the answer
Then pull it apart
Tear it up ’til there’s nothing there
‘Cause it hurts your heart

Everything Changes
And for what you lack
You keep turning
Before long you’re going to find out
Everything Changes
It’s not hard to tell
Like a bird you’d sooner fly away

Timing is Everything (karenmulvey.wordpress.com)
“Turn and Face the Stranger” (missbabybrysonthoughts.wordpress.com)
Songs About “Time” from Tracks In The Dust

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life, Life's Sound Track (Music) and tagged Acceptance, Byrds, Change, choices, Doubt, Reality Check, Self-Awareness, Songs About Changes, tracks in the dust, Turn! Turn! Turn!

04 Sep 2013

4 Comments

The Results of a Job Well Done

I have been away from blogging lately because my wife and have been working on a major home remodeling project. The end result will be to make our home more comfortable and attractive of course; more to our liking to make those casual days at home provide more pleasant surroundings.

But we also realized something else when we most recently spent a holiday weekend (3 days) working hard on the project at hand. Working hard for those changes also meant a new change for our environment, but also a great feeling of accomplishment. Sure you can get the reward of accomplishment at work or school, and those too can be satisfying. But also making your “living space” more personal, more “you” – and working hard to do it has its own reward.

There are weekends when we spend the entire weekend being as casual as we can- “at rest” and we know that we have earned it after a long week of work and errands. So we appreciate it and make sure we do those things that are worthy of the casual time we had invested. After-all, after the weekend it will be back to work… back to focusing on earning our keep, taking on the responsibilities we have become accustomed.

But its interesting that the results of the work-filled weekend of projects has some feeling of satisfaction that is equal to (maybe even more than) the casual weekends we have spent. A moment to stand-back and admire the sweat equity of our labor. We have made improvements to our nest, we have increased our comfort. Some long hours of making things better for the sake of “us”- not for the earnings, not for the rewards for recognition from others. Simply for the knowing that we have produced a “job well done” and we get to embrace the rewards we have created … whew.