Someone very wise once told me, “Tess, you have an opinion,” then added , “however, sometimes you need to learn when to keep your mouth shut”. I haven’t learned that last part very well over the years, even though I still hear it upteen years later. If I have an opinion, damn it, you’re going to hear about it whether it’s relevant or not, or invited, or necessary, or makes sense…. Yeah, I haven’t learned the part about tact yet either. So blogging or allowing my inner “I-Should-Really-Keep-My-Mouth-Shut” voice to be stifled.

*The main reasons I’m even doing this is to counterpoint how I felt about blogging a few weeks ago. All of which is relevant under certain circumstances and I love to digress.

5. Everyone should have a way of expressing themselves without offending everyone in the room,  bus, meeting, dentist waiting room,  [fill in the blank here.] Blogging allows you to pretty well say what you want with impunity. And, as a bonus,  allows you to only offend the people who read your posts as opposed to those who don’t or give up after the first two lines. Any more than two lines and they/you run the risk of offense.

4. I love to talk. And listen to the sound of my own voice. It’s a nice voice when I hear it recorded I like it although I think I’m too much of an alto.

3. I’m interested in so much shit it fills my brain and has to leak out somewhere and somehow and blathering on about something on a web page sounds like a great way to blather. Blathering in person has its down points (you know people looking at their watches, saying they have to go bath their cat, or staring at you in disbelief that you don’t even breath when you talk, yeah you get the picture. ) Whilst blathering online is so much easier.

2. It’s so much easier to just start your thoughts, come back later to finish them after they’ve jelled for awhile and it’s kind of like writing a book only you don’t have to peddle the manuscript around to publishers or be one of the thousands of books I see on the bookshelves these days extolling the benefits of what? Life. Ach!! 140 characters or blogs I don’t need chapters.

1. I’m a very important person to myself and deserve to be able to add my voice to the chanting millions about stuff. Even if you don’t care about it.

… and not one of them will be lack of time.
photo credit: dimnikolov

10. It’s not so cool to be associated with all the dreck out there in the blogosphere or whatever you want to call it. Some are very good and I like them but most are just trying to make money…as if that would ever change.

9. I have a real job. And its not my job to blog. I don’t even want to make it a job or a hobby or an interest.

8. My interests are mine I share them in person with people I know. I don’t need pen pals , fellow bloggers or twits at Tweetups to justify my interests.

7. All that is being said about whatever I say will be countered by another 10,000 monkeys on keyboards saying otherwise and maybe even saying it better too. Go for it!

6. Life’s too short to waste in front a keyboard.  I’m sure even the monkeys would be better off eating a few bananas, playing in the tree tops, and throwing fruit at the naked monkeys every now and then

5. Topics of the day are very well and good and people should add their opinion about it whenever they can or they can focus on discussing blogging or record album art collections whatever they think is interesting and they’ll have fans. Sounds great I wish it mattered to me enough to comment any more on.

4. Blogging isn’t even on my radar anymore I don’t go to other people’s blogs, I don’t look for them, and when I find them I rarely if ever go back no matter how entertaining they are. I’ve been on the internet for 15 plus years for me its a useful tool certainly not a social medium – social for me means being part of society not a drone living in my house “socializing” with my all my peeps. Maybe I’ll tweet about that later.

3. I’ve run out of things to write about – not really (ha!) but I’m just not one of those people who have a team of writers doing product reviews and (usually there is an  “and”) trying to sell their [fill in the blank] and then writing a book about it  (10 Things to Make you a Better Blogger than a Monkey) puh-leeze no more…!

2. It’s just not something that makes me want to work at or get worked up about heck it’s taken me forever to even finish this post.

1. I don’t want to anymore.

As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don’t know
We don’t know.
Donald Rumsfeld, U. S. Department of Defense news briefing Feb. 12, 2002.

I get the feeling around this time of year that people search for something tangible to enjoy or maybe they hunt. Food is always a fav so is companionship as is a good deal.
I’m always looking for a good way to take the edge off a desirable food item. Drink water (boooring) or (my favourite) substitue. Yeah baked potato chips for real Miss Vickies - not – a – chance! How about this one: eat less of what you want. That works for me for the most part.

So tell me, how do you avoid buying that big screen LCD TV because it will make you happy? Buy a smaller one? Buy a whole bunch of good books instead? Invite yourself over to your neighbour’s house offer to bring your blu-rays and the popcorn (he’s got a huge screen projection job its like an IMAX in his basement).

My point is (and there is one I think) is that we are never quite happy, we always seem to want something. Which is too bad, conspicuous consumption is more about keeping our sense of fullness and completeness, not about satiation and satisfaction. Being mindful of so much in this world: food, breathing, loving, appreciating, caring, thankfulness, everything….

If we had less food or even just simpler food, if we read books and invited people over for card games and laughter, would that help us see that all the consumer goods in the world really don’t matter. As I sit here in the relative comfort of my recliner, the hypocrisy of my words spill forth from my Dell laptop, while I sip coffee with a great, fantastic, “I-made-this” ginger snap.

I get it and I don’t. I’ve fallen victim to this as well. Get out the hard hats people, this recession is going to be a tough one! Happy 2009!

Okay let’s try this.

I find somewhere where I can sit quietly. Then I let my mind wander a bit to the noises around me until finally I calm my inner voice. I eliminate thinking about comfort or re-living a recent moment or thinking of a future action. Each time I bring myself back to the present. I can do this but it really is quite challenging at times.  Finally I calm my thoughts and just sort of drift in and out with my breath. Then I start to relax and take deep breaths.  Okay, then I try not to fall asleep. Okay, I take a nap.

I think naps help too.

The point of mindfulness.

When I first heard the word “mindfulness” it sounded like the opposite of “mindlessness” but that’s not it at all. No matter what the label, I feel connected with everything around me and on a different level from only having thought. It’s like joining the human race on a conscious level rather than just existing. Single cell animals exist; humans know their immortality.

Mediation has been around for so long I suspect we have always had it in our lives in some form or another. Although it sounds simply like having a heightened sense of awareness it is very hard to maintain on a continuous basis unless you are very well disciplined. Mediation though also brings a certain amount of contentment when done well.

People are often encouraged to try it when they need to relax from stress or to try to make it part of their lives along with a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. Like everything in our lives it takes practice and persistence and the willingness to try.

I recently took a class on Change Management and one of the many books mentioned in the class to read was called The Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block. I read this and it started me thinking back along the lines of quiet reflective meditation:

• Know yourself.
• Think about what your buttons are that sets you off.
• Learn to recognize it when your values are being challenged.

It’s not really what the book is all about but it helped me focus more on what I truly wanted to do to facilitate change. It really is all in your mind. Unfortunately unless you come to this realization sooner rather than later, you will undoubtedly spend a lot of time reading about what you should do.

The other thing I learned and this is from several sources, was to find a passion. Something that really and truly makes you want to do it. Don’t just obsess of it, instead find a meaning and a focus for that passion. Use the energy in research to guide you.

Meditation guides your mind and a personal reflection on who we are and what we stand for. Mindfulness keeps you focused by keeping your interest in the journey itself.

Enjoy