One Day

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Ken Thompson in Lifestyle and tagged biblical, Earth, heavens, holidays, Jesus, One day, Poem, Week.

One day of the week you can sing & shout,

One day of the week you can cry & pout.

One day of the week feel the highs & lows,

One day of the week you can stop or go.

One day of the week do whatever you wish,

Because you’re on your way, game winner, you swish.

“For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
—Exodus 20:11

“If” Inspirational Poem by Rudyard Kipling

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Ken Thompson in Motivation and tagged “If” Inspirational Poem by Rudyard Kipling, Dream, Friends, Inspiration, Kings, Life, Love, patience, Peace, Philosophy, Poem, Rudyard Kipling, Think, triumph, Trust, Truth, WIsdom.

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!

Stop Waiting. Start Doing.

Posted on August 15, 2019 by Ken Thompson in Lifestyle, Self-Help, Successful People and tagged Alan Watts, Art, Artist, Ask Questions, Brain, Dr. Suess, Einstein, Focus, innovative, Life, Lifestyle, Mentality, Perspective, Poem, Poetry, problem-solving, Retirement, Solve problems, Subconscious, The Waiting Place, Waiting.

Dr. Seuss’s poem on “The Waiting Place” accurately describes the mentality of many people, including myself as I often live with anticipation, ‘waiting’ for something…

“You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…

…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a sting of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You’ll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing…”

Can you relate to the poem?
How often do you find yourself waiting?

You CAN find bright places by shifting your focus, but it’s easier said than done.

ASKING QUESTIONS is a way of shifting your mentality and can be helpful in getting out of “The Waiting Place.”

“Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.”
Alan Watts

One of the most practical series of questions, with an example, you can ask yourself to wait less, be more productive, and enjoy life more is:

1) “What am I waiting for?”

Example – “Retirement so that I can enjoy life.”

Then Ask:

2) “What can I do instead of waiting?”

“Instead of waiting for retirement to begin enjoying life I can pursue interests and hobbies in my free time and who knows, maybe I’ll get paid to do something I love.”

Or Ask:

3) “What can I do while I wait?”

“While I wait for retirement I can begin thinking and planning things I want to do when I retire. Maybe I can even add some of these activities throughout the work week now.”

This series of questions can be used to relieve your waiting in any situation.

Asking yourself the right questions helps shift your perspective.

When you ask yourself negative questions you get negative answers, like “Why do bad things keep happening to me?” Even if you involuntarily ask that question your brain will subconsciously look for answers.

When you ask yourself questions that focus more on solving problems you have you will solve your problems and/or at least cultivate a forward-thinking perspective.

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!