Only God

September 6, 2022 John Corrigan

I remember growing up and seeing a key chain. The key chain belonged to my maternal grandmother and I think it said something like “only God can make a Tomato”. I think I am really not sure what the vegetable was, I know it had to do with the sovereignty of god and faith. My grandmother and mom were huge proselytizers for the Christian faith, my mother still is.

I remember hating tomato’s growing up I have come around to tomato’s and enjoy salsa and tacos however you will not catch me eating a BLT.

Last weekend was a holiday weekend here in the United States and my wife, 2 dogs and three kids all left the city and spent time in our camper near the river. While swimming in the river and walking the dog I thought about how foolish we humans are and I thought about that keychain. Humans have been given almost everything they need to survive and thrive from God, nature, mother earth or providence depending on your belief system and humans have paved it over.

The tomato key chain and our weekend enjoying the natural world also makes me think about the poem trees by Joyce Kilmer

Trees

BY JOYCE KILMER

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

Don’t get me wrong humans are capable of many amazing things even creation, but all of humanity’s acts of creation pale in comparison to what has already been created and perhaps the best thing humanity can do is participate not in destructive creation but disruptive innovation and environmental conservationism.

Disruptive innovation and environmental conservationism focus on being a responsible citizen of the earth and understanding that we were given everything we need to not only survive but thrive.

Altogether now

September 2, 2022 John Corrigan

Yesterdays wordle answer was fungi. This got me to thinking about how amazing trees are. Did you know that the trees use fungi to communicate with each other sort of like a world wide web? Scientists are calling it a wood wide web. There is an amazing article in the Smithsonian magazine all about some research into trees. I think the more we learn about trees the more we will respect them. I am a firm believer in the power of education. Education provides an understanding and respect for what we study.

If you ever begin to feel like you are becoming apathetic or even cynical educate yourself. Learn as much as you can about everything and you will discover that education is like a sympathy machine.

Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family
Kofi Annan

One thing that seems to always be present in everything I have learned is that.. everything is connected and when those connections are broken society breaks down. Education informs, creates sympathy and connects us to each other. beings working together to learn more and become more, helping each other in person on line and in life. Just like the trees that send messages through the fungi humans do the same. We let others know about the changes in the weather and traffic patterns. We encourage each other and we learn from and about each other.

Imagine where society would be today if, we focused on connections through education opposed to division through polarization of beliefs.

Watches

September 1, 2022 John Corrigan

When my wife and I started dating I was a huge fan of watches. I have all kinds of watches and time pieces different styles colors and brands. I went for two months once and never wore the same watch two days in a row. When Apple released the Apple watch I bought the first generation and last year for my anniversary my wife bought me the newest Apple watch (best anniversary gift ever). My wife has joked with me on more than one occasion about the watches, not about my obsessive nature but because I have never believed in time. I am not alone in this believe that time does not exist and it is not a crackpot theory like the flat earth one either. Think about time and try to define it…. Impossible right?

Time may not exist however we can run out of it and I am always wishing that I had more of it in my day.

Time is a created thing. To say “I don’t have time” is to say “I don’t want to”

Lao Tzu

I have a list of things I want to do and I often find that I have issues with getting everything done that I want to do. I know I am not alone in this predicament. Instead of time management I beleive I need to focus more on priority management. If I can place the correct priorities in the correct order chance are high that I will be able to reach my goals.

The great athletes never focus on the clock when they are competing. Ignoring the clock can help us fool our brains.

You can accomplish anything I really believe that I believe that more than I believe that time is real.

What did you do???

August 29, 2022 John Corrigan

My wife was helping my step daughter write a resume. A good resume will show your education, experience and what you have been able to provide to the companies you have worked for as far as value.

Basically the resume will show what you have done. Let’s say that you implemented a new training program and that program has been used by all trainees you would put something like; “Created and implemented training program responsible for 80 + new managers and supervisors”.

Work and life can become a sort of hamster wheel. We wake up and go through the motions nothing seems to change and we seem to be in the same place we where yesterday. Building or updating resumes gives us a chance to take stock of what we have done professionally and that is important because, even if we do not see it we have done some things.

It is important that you know that your work matters and makes a difference.

No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence
Martin Luther King Jr.

All work should help others, the only work that would not matter then would be work that hurts other. Let us call work that hurts others bad work. So it is good works that matter and if you do good work you will make a difference for others.

Never stop doing the good work you are doing. Godspeed and good luck

Friday afternoon

July 25, 2022 John Corrigan

Last Friday I had to work late. A class was graduating from their training and getting promoted from recruits to fire fighters. My role was to ensure all the technical work for the graduation went off without a a hitch and it did. Curtains opened closed on que, sound was perfect and video flawless.

In the control room I heard the whole presentation and later that night while speaking with my wife I mentioned how graduations are important. It is important to celebrate accomplishments and finishing fire fighter training is a big one! I have noticed that a big part of a few graduations involves the mindset of being better when you get through adversity. I asked my wife though if she thought adversity ever ended? I am not sure that it does. Let me explain, if life is a game than it is an infinite one. Games have a beginning and an end and our lives while they have an end in death and a beginning in birth their really isn’t a point in time when we stop and take stock of our “points” and determine a winner. Life is a gift really more so than a game. We have a chance to learn and experience the sensation of being a sentient being in our universe and that is pretty cool. Part of living is adversity, it could be health woes, financial woes, or relationship ones and we will learn to live with and mitigate this adversity however we will always have to deal with health, finances and relationships. As long as you are living you will have to deal with life and life can be great or hell. You never really get through adversity you are more likely to rise above adversity and again mitigate the adversity as best you can. In the corporate world goals are often called “Big Rocks”. The concept behind “Big Rocks” is that the corporation find a way to sail around or above the BIG Rocks in the river they are traveling in. I know this can seem like a matter of semantics getting through or rising above but I think that when we approach a situation as a obstacle we must get through we become a destructive force doing harm to others and ourselves. If we approach a situation as a rock opposed to an adversary I cant help but think that we will have a better world view and mental state.

“You have to accept whatever comes, and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

One of the most important things

July 22, 2022 John Corrigan

I have had many different positions in my short career one of these positions was a manager for a development team. The team was a rather large group of computer programmers all of them were quite young too. I think the average age of my teams was 24 years old. The developers were pretty smart and had a good grasp on the programming tools and languages we used however they lacked some of the skills involved in effectively interacting with colleagues’. After realizing this I took time every Monday to motivate the teams with a meeting that involved going over one life skill. I still remember one meeting in particular in which I told the team that no matter what job and where they worked the most important skill they could posses and use was going to always be a positive attitude. That was true then and is still true today. With a positive attitude nearly anything is possible. The inverse is also true a negative attitude will make the smallest task a chore and bring progress to a staggering halt. The only attitude we can ever control is our own so I encourage you to accentuate the positive today>

“You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude.”
Eleanor Roosevelt

Your dreams are…

June 15, 2022 John Corrigan

What are your dreams? Dreams can be thoughts and imagines in our minds when we are asleep, and or, cherished aspirations, ambitions or ideas. In Max Barry’s book syrup the protagonist mentions that every adult has at least 3 million dollar ideas a year. A million dollars is truly life changing. Their idea is a dream. Only five percent of the United States is inhabited by millionaires. What happened to all the ideas or dreams?

Some people pursued and reached their dreams, some pursued and failed and others didn’t even start. Why not start? Lots of reasons, no opportunity, bad timing, and worst of all, lack of faith.

I encourage everyone to try and fail. You will have the experience and maybe when you try you will not fail and then you will have the money. Try often too, the analysis of experience is the best teacher. You may do something bigger than earn a million dollars your idea or dream could change the world.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dream
Eleanor Roosevelt

I should’ve done ….

June 14, 2022 John Corrigan

We have all been there, a situation comes up and we want to do one thing but allow our selves to be convinced to do another and then we regret the not going with what we originally thought we should have done.

There is nothing wrong with stopping and taking stock of a situation and making a decision. The average person will make about 35,000 decisions a day. Most of the decisions will be small and the outcomes of the decision will seem inconsequential however there will be some big ones that you will need to make and the outcomes will make a huge difference in your life. For those decisions you should make a sound judgement in your heart and then go with it. If possible always do the good or moral thing. Never let criticism or judgement of others be your guide find the truth and do that.

Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

When you wake up and the morning and go to bed at night you are left with yourself and that is the person that you must make sure is ok with whatever decision you have made. It seems like people have strong opinions about the actions of others and will always be critical no matter what happens.

The best thing you and I can do for ourselves is find the good decisions and make them at least 35000 times a day

Just get there

May 31, 2022 John Corrigan

At its’ height the Roman Empire had one of the most sophisticated road systems in the world. With new evidence however it seems that the Mayans may have also had one of the most sophisticated road systems as well. Researchers are still learning about the Mayan road system.

A lot is known about and documented concerning the Roman road system, One interesting aspect of the Roman road system was that, all the roads lead out of and into Rome. Rome was the center of the Roman empire. so it made sense to build all roads in this manner. The idiom “all roads lead to Rome” dates back to the 11th century and was first recorded by Alian de Lille a theologian and poet.

All roads lead to Rome, means that there are many ways to get the same result. Often we here people tell us that results matter. I don’t care how you do it I just want it done. It is a trap that is baited with simplicity, the concept that results matter.

Results are not all that matter. Goals are important and results do matter however, results have to be meet in a certain fashion or way. See the thinking that all roads lead to Rome is short term thinking and that is dangerous.

Long term thinking is more concerned with how we navigate the roads. Life is a long term infinite goal game and often so are our careers. When you are doing something the best that you should results will come. You will get to Rome, you will meet your bosses quota. Your travels to and from Rome will be most likely smooth and almost event free if you are doing it right. Your 8 hour work day will not give you back pains and bad knees if you are lifting boxes correctly or sitting at your desk with the right posture.

You will get to your goals eventually that is never the question. Who do you want to be when you make it? That question is probably the most important one ever.

An absent parent or spouse more concerned with career than family life? A slacker always arriving late at work putting in minimal effort and leaving early? Every day at home or work you are gaining or loosing capital. The capital is not the result of the work it is the result of how the work is done.

It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it.
Cheri Huber, Suffering Is Optional: Three Keys to Freedom and Joy

Today let’s get out there and be awesome at everything we do.

Photo by Aleksejs Bergmanis on Pexels.com

What if we treated it as a gift

May 19, 2022 John Corrigan

Giving and receiving gifts dates back to the days of cave men. The gifts given by cave men were mostly teeth and stone. The teeth and stone were highly appreciated and not given lightly.

My wife gives the greatest gifts and that’s because she loves me. When you love the person you are giving a gift to it shows and the gifts tend to be more treasured than a gift given out of obligation or reluctantly.

Giving gifts is something humans have done since the beginning of time. The ancient Egyptians were the first to give gifts on birthdays, The Greeks and Native Americans gave gifts during religious celebrations.

One of the greatest gifts ever given to any man or woman alive today is their life. The odds of you being born are 1 in 400 trillion. A lot of things had to happen to make you happen and a lot of people were involved. The easy way out is to say that you were gifted life by a creator or the universe and I am not here to argue against that concept however consider this your life is a gift from your mother and father. Their lives from their mother and father. If you think about it the reason you are here is because of everything everyone in the world did prior to your life so your life is a result of the whole world. Are you treating your life as a special unique gift from your ancestors? Imagine if we did do that…

What would a life lived as if it were a gift from previous generations look like? I think that life would be less rushed’

Life is not a race, it is a gift. Enjoy it, don’t rush through it.
Daniella Kessler

A few weeks back my wife and I went to a restaurant with our dog to eat. We were but on the list because the restaurant was full and the three of us waited out on the restaurants patio. Maybe it was the company of two of my favorite souls, the drinks’ or the beautiful weather but I was not in a hurry to go eat. I loved every moment the three of us spent waiting.

I think the life would be more grateful.

If you’re awake, you are blessed/ Life is a priceless gift, appreciate every minute of it(:
Unknown

8 Years ago I did participated in a grateful exercise. I bought 50 blank cards and envelopes from the store and wrote out to 50 people in 50 days why I was grateful that they were in my life then I mailed out the cards. Time passed months even and I was at the park on a jogging trail I was waved down by the someone he stopped me and let me know that my letter to his wife made her so happy. Being grateful takes practice and it is worth it! Being grateful changes our perspective and can change our situations and even if it doesn’t change the situation it will change the affect that the situation has on your life.

I think the life would be more giving.

Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.
Tony Robbins

You have talents, passions, maybe even some wealth. If you are not giving that back to people the talents, passions, and wealth is wasted. Becoming more is only accomplished by charity.

Next time you feel the urge to hurry, complain, or be selfish consider how great and rare a gift you were given (1 in 400 trillion!).