It Ain’t Funny, ‘Til It’s Funny!

It Ain’t Funny, ‘Til It’s Funny!

By Allen Merritt (©2017)

Have you ever heard someone attempt to tell a joke or try to be funny only to discover no one is laughing? Their efforts fall flat or simply aren’t funny? People groan, roll their eyes, stand there stoically with sour looks on their faces or simply walk away?

The phrase “if it was funny then we’d both be laughing” leads me to something I read recently about “it ain’t funny until it’s funny.”

While most folks aren’t stand up comedians, we all have funny life stories we experience and share. Some are funny, some are not. Many of these experiences are not funny you begin with, but years down the road, after the fact they may become funny as we continue to remember and share…with slight embellishments, of course.

To keep things rolling along with humor and infuse positivity into the week I want to share a few “it ain’t funny until its funny” stories as a reminder that what we go through right here and right now may not be funny, but we can look forward to turning it all around later down the road and having something fun to look back on. Hindsight is after all 20/20. Isn’t that what they say?

If it were my mother, she would say something to the effect that it’s so ugly it’s cute. The following memories may fit in this category. I hope it sparks a sense of finding humor in your experiences.

Anyway, here goes!

1) I remember coming home from school one day to the old trailer we called home. It was just off the highway on the outskirts of a very small town in the middle of nowhere. I got off the school bus, trotted into the trailer and found myself alone as I usually did after school. Mother was across the highway working at the tavern she managed. The first thing I recall noticing was a shotgun standing in the corner up against our wood paneled walls.

Let me preface this by saying there were events called turkey shoots which my mother sponsored at the tavern. People would show up with shotguns, shoot at targets set up along the railroad tracks. The one hitting closest to the bulls eye won a turkey.

However, the shotgun standing in the corner was for more than turkey shoots, but I was a kid and didn’t much think about that. However, the rules stated I was never ever to touch the gun unless I wanted to be torn limb by limb and have my hide ripped off. Handling the gun was done only in the presence of an adult and with their permission.

But do you think this stopped me on this particular day standing there all alone in the trailer house facing the invitation of that cold and sweaty looking shotgun in the corner? Noooooo! It didn’t mean a thing.

I picked up that shot gun and quickly discovered what a hair trigger was all about.

“KAPLOOOEWWWWY!” 

Bam! The gun spoke. It blew its top. It threw me backwards across the living room into an opposing wall before falling to the ground. I can picture myself now shaking my head with cartoon sound effects. Needless-to-say, I was scared out of my pants (not literally). When I stood up and surveyed the damage the entire kitchen linoleum floor was blown to smithereens. Long story short, I eventually had to confess to mom about the smoking gun disaster. All I can remember thinking was, “I shot the kitchen floor, but I did not shoot he kitchen sink.”

2) I got a puppy at some point while living in New York City. After going through the turmoil that puppies put you through I remember taken the larger version of the same dog to Central Park for an afternoon walk and romp. Everything was cool until I let him off the leash for a bit and he made a beeline to something a few feet away. He started wallowing in the grass, or so it appeared. Turns out he found a large pile of defecation he was attracted to and started to lather himself up with it. I ran over to him and by the time I realized what was going on my dog was completely covered in doo-doo and stunk to high heaven. I couldn’t believe it. It was disgusting. I somehow walked him back to the street where we lived and found someone hosing down the sidewalk. I knew I couldn’t take the dog inside without cleaning off the crap. I hosed down my little doggie. He hated me for it and never wanted to take a bath again. It was kind of like being sprayed by a skunk and it took several baths to wash out the smell. It was awful in the moment, but it’s a funny memory now!

3) Last but not least. One morning (during college) I woke up late and found myself pressed for time. I grabbed a tee shirt and shorts and threw them on without making time to put on underwear. I ran out the door so I could get to class on time. Luckily the college was only a mile or so away. I ran to my first class and sat there feeling a little chilly. I thought the air conditioning was on full blast. But I survived. I bounced to my next class and as I entered the classroom I felt a draft on my backside. I felt back there and realized the entire backend of my shorts were ripped out and my bare buttkus was hanging out. I was literally embarr-assed. Luckily I had my book bag, so I used it to hide behind until class was over. Whew!

I hope you had a few laughs over my situations. We all have them. I challenge you to find something funny and positive in your life this week. Look back at moments that were not funny when they happened and see if you can find something humorous about them now.

Until next time, keep on trucking and living life on a positive note.

Cheers!

I See You!

I See You!

By Allen Merritt ©2018

One of the radio shows I listen to while in the car tooling around has a segment where the show personalities look for individuals in the news who've went the extra mile, demonstrated compassion and desire to help and who offered any kind of positive contribution toward assisting others in need. These are simple observations about every day people helping whenever they can and are able. Their willingness to engage and participate is amazing and the radio wants to recognize some of them by letting the world know they see them, appreciate them and acknowledge them.

The hosts share the stories and at the end of each one they shout out, “I see you!”

It’s a great way to concede how there are good people out there and how great things are happening. Nothing is ordinary, only extraordinary.

It takes a certain level of consciousness as well as conscientiousness to notice and speak up about such activities.  Since I am all over the place doing all kinds of things my sense of awareness is pretty keen, but also discombobulated and distracted. I guess I would say I notice a lot of things going on around me, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out I miss a lot of things, too. There is only so much we can take in. This makes sense with the overwhelming amount of stimuli we have to contend with just to make it through a single day.

Overall, I feel pretty good about my observatory skills.

This week I ran around like the proverbial chicken with the head cut off attending to conference needs and helping speakers get it together prior to their presentation. My observatory skills discovered many things out of place and I would catch them in a timely manner to correct them and aide in what appeared to be a smooth operation. In fact, it was more like a recovery!

Getting in there and helping the day go as smoothly as possible is the name of the game. No time for whining and complaining. Just get in there and do whatever you can to the best of your ability to work it all out.  This is exactly what I did.

One speaker forgot her PowerPoint and I found a way to have it emailed to me, ran to a computer where I could access internet, download the file onto a thumb drive and then literally ran back to the conference room just in time for her to go on and uploaded to the laptop, pulled it up and off she went giving her talk.  

In another moment, the laptop died at the podium in the middle of a speakers talk. Turns out it was unplugged and the battery died. I plugged it in and got it to start up again so the next speaker could take the ball and run with it. These were a couple of examples of my week which culminated in several of similar events.

The reason I share these events is because later in the conference week two individuals approached me in the hallways and publicly acknowledged me for the aide I provided. They wanted to offer their gratitude. They were in essence saying, “I see you!”

I smiled and graciously accepted their thanks and took a moment to appreciate it and take it in as a positive for the day.

My next question beyond seeing and observing has to do with are we accepting and embracing such kindness given to us by others? Are we returning the same in kind?  Moreover, are we noticing these things in ourselves? Are we comfortable sharing with others what good we see in them? Can we find moments to say, “I see you!” to someone today and every day?

I think it is important to give ourselves and others a boost in spirit. It's uplifting!

It may take practice, but practice helps lead us to perfect practice.

“I see you” says I see what you are doing. I see who you are. I see your love and compassion. I see your hard work. Our observation is a small reward. It is a gift we offer.

“I see myself” is as important as what we see in others.

Let’s be a mirror of ourselves to the world and make notice whenever we see good taking place. Give a shout out.

“I See You!”

“I See ME!”

“Thanks for all you do!”

Let’s not be afraid to verbalize such moments as we journey along living life positively.

Have a great week noticing the wonders of the world.

Cheers!

Try Letting Your Hair Down!

Try Letting Your Hair Down!

By Allen Merritt (©2017)

This is the time of year everyone is busy trying or still thinking on ways to improve their lives. Many people have things they want to attend to and address. You know, the old New Year’s Resolution? The one that often gets dropped like a hot potato only a few weeks in?

I don’t know that I spend a lot of time thinking up resolutions, but I am definitely always looking for improvement opportunities including ways to organize and a means to do so. I try to be self-inspired and motivated to achieve goals. That is because I am an idea person and I am always coming up with projects to work on.

As a Virgo (listed as a perfectionist), I have come to describe myself as a compromised Virgo. That’s because I’ve learned 1) It takes more time than I ever think it will; and 2) I can’t seem to do it all at least not at the same time. Duh!

So I do the best I can.

I feel I work too hard at going nowhere real fast! That’s just personal perception, because there is always something needing to get done.

In the meantime, I generally feel I could do better at letting my hair down, as they say. I will be the first to admit I do not do enough of that, which is interesting because I have allowed myself to become a full blown hippie! Pun intended.

I find it ironic how someone with long hair and beard doesn’t take the time to let his hair down often enough considering how I speak about it all the time. Does this fall into the category of practice what I preach?

Let’s explore both sides of the coin!

The idea of letting ones hair down I believe has something to do with not feeling so formal, but to relax, celebrate and enjoy oneself. There is a sense of freedom in not adhering to convention at all times. No code of conduct or social constraints. It’s as if one can drop their inhibitions and vacate themselves a bit without being offensive. I suppose that is what events such as Burning Man and certain music festivals are about. They provide a safe place for people to step outside of themselves. And yet, when we let our hair down in such environments, does it grant one permission to go hog wild crazy? Does it allow us to hurt ourselves and others by behaving inappropriately? What exactly are acceptable ways to let our hair down without feeling out of place in public situations? Or should we care? Does letting down our hair mean kicking up more dust, inconveniencing others around us or making louder noise? I suppose different people have different ideas of what a party is.

I guess there is a negative connotation surrounding this philosophy when it comes to influence. If you let your hair down to the extent that you go too far with something and endanger your life and the life of others, then it serves no purpose. It if causes you to reveal too much personal information in a world of hackers and identity theft, then it causes great concern. If you cross the line and suddenly find yourself an unexpected parent, then your life is instantly changed. In these ways letting the old hair down may be too extreme.

However, finding ways to relax, chill, have fun, find your good time, to let go of the world as you know it for a bit here and there has some value. Certainly taking a vacation is one of the most common ways to do so. I think that’s a given.

I think allowing yourself to laugh and be silly is always an option. How about a night of dancing? Ever been in a flash mob? Try something new? What if you said “Yes” instead of “No” once in a while to something different? It can be so easy to talk yourself out of things.

I am sure everyone has their own idea of how to have fun and let it all hang out a bit. The important thing is to not be afraid to discover new positive solutions to let your hair down and just “be.” Each person has their own comfort level. In any case, being true to oneself is half the ball game here.

I am not sure what I will do differently to let my hair down, but I will be exploring some options which are true to my spirit and actually freeing to my soul.

All in all, letting your hair down is discerning where your happy is. I mean real happy and not fabricated escapism. I don’t want to drown my sorrows. I want to free my senses and gain a better sense of direction as a result.

With that in mind, here’s to finding new ways to let your hair down!


Cheers!

Destination Impact!

Destination Impact!

By Allen Merritt © 2018

Sometimes it’s the strangest things that stir up our thought processes and wreak havoc on our emotional bloodstreams. It doesn’t take much to set us on an alternative course. If fact, it’s all over the news these days just how one small thing can change everything for better or for worse. People’s lives hang on the brink as a result of one tiny decision, one misstep or one one-hundredth of a point in scoring.

The impact is great and potentially powerful. Ultimately, our destination is to make more of an impact on society. You can see this with social media. How many LIKE's and FOLLOWER's or VIEW's can one person get? More importantly, why does anyone need them?

The reason I bring it up is because I witnessed a bit of an accident the other day while in Los Angeles. I pulled over off the main drag next to a meter and parked. I was in the middle of adding coinage to the meter when all a sudden I heard a loud boom. Three cars were involved. It made me jump, because it was so loud and right next to me. My immediate thoughts were, “Is everyone okay?”, “Whoa, that could have been me! I was just in front of them when I pulled over.”

I stood there and watched for a minute in case there was something I could think of to do. Another pedestrian was already calling 9-1-1. The guy driving the last car who rammed into the back end of the middle car got out and ran to the driver ahead of him to find out if he was okay. Slowly that driver got out and walked around his car. Both were SUVs and the last car was smashed to smithereens (he hit hard – talk about great impact) and leaking all kinds of fluids. I don’t think the middle car was as bad off. The first car was a lady who had been lightly tapped and it wasn’t long before she was driving off. After a few moments I went about my business across the street while keeping a look out. I was hoping the leaking fluids would not catch fire and wondering if the vehicles were shut off. Next came all the emergency responders and care was underway.

All of this brought to mind the significance of impact on any given situation.

I found myself thinking how each of those individuals would now have a change in plan. One guy no longer had a car. What would he do? Did he have someone he could call for help? The other guy had to go to the hospital to verify potential injuries. This impacted their evening. Where were they initially heading to? What were they originally planning to do?

No doubt many people find themselves in moments of re-direction as a result of such an impactful situation, and it can be either positive or negative, which will it be? Do we have a choice on the impact we make?

I am reminded of a teacher who works tirelessly to find ways to pull out the most impactful elements from each student. That is the goal; to be most impactful, to make a great impression and land opportunity.

I am thinking about how powerful sudden impact can be. Also, if we purposefully work toward being impactful, finding ways to make stronger impact toward achievement and seeing that in a positive light, then we can make the most of every chance that comes our way. It takes a certain amount of conscientiousness, to stand out and rise above because first impressions are important, but they are not necessarily indicative of the truth. True impact reaches deeper and considers more than what is apparently on the surface.  You can’t judge a book by its cover, but often people do.  Ever bought a book based on the cover?

Overall, the point of this conversation is to recognize how the idea of making an impact can swing things one way or another, so consider swinging it your way! Look for ways to be more cheerful and bright. Find ways to steer folks into being impressed by your contributions. Discover ways to garner positive attention and create situations whereby others want to be interested in what you have to offer.

The best suggestion I can recommend toward making a greater impact for the good is to focus on the positive and to eliminate the negatives.

Keep that in mind as you continue to live life impact-fully on a positive high note.

Cheers!

Kindness is Power!

Kindness is Power!

By Allen Merritt (©2017)

I don’t remember where I saw it exactly, but I saw it.

It was a declaration and it was/IS powerful.

It was, “Kindness is Power!”

That was it!

I instantly wrote it down. Why? I guess because it hit a chord.  It meant something.

Kindness is powerful. So are many other things, but the ones most powerful and impactful are the ones that aide in helping everyone feel good. Kindness opens up doors and windows to new levels of trust and acceptance. It helps us see possibilities beyond the norm.

I posted a message on social media today that read, “Give yourself a big dose of loving-kindness.” Doesn’t it help to remind ourselves repeatedly and as often as possible the power of positivity? I believe it enhances and enriches life as we know it AND as we don’t know it.

I have certainly read many a bumper stick philosophy honing in on how “mean people suck.” Somehow I get more of a warm fuzzy when someone is kind. Kindess is capable of changing ones outlook toward the better. 

Remember the idea of being nice for the mere sake of being nice? Or, what about if you haven’t got anything good (or nice) to say, then don’t say anything at all? Have these ideas fallen by the wayside altogether?

Sometimes I wonder!

Overall, when it balls right down to it and by the end of the day, being nice and experiencing kindness wins. I don’t know about you, but I would rather experience a little kindness than not.

Have you ever noticed an act of kindness in action? It’s amazing. Everyone stands to gain something from it, participants and observers alike. Ergo, one cannot underestimate its value.

And yet, here’s another thought. Can there be too much kindness and/or can one take advantage of one person’s kindness too much? Here's another phrase that enters my thoughts, “Don’t take my kindness for weakness.” I actually made that statement recently in light of feeling taken advantage of. I guess in giving and receiving kindness one must also respect it.

While kindness is a quality it is also an act given freely and with goodwill. When another person’s kindness is abused then it is less freely given. Extracting kindness leaves us with the opposite such as meanness, selfishness, cruelty, intolerance, indifference, hatred and animosity among many. When I read these words I see nothing good to go on.

If kindness is good, what ideas come to mind that make it so?

How about helpfulness, appreciation, understanding, tenderness, affection, benevolence, courtesy, patience, thoughtfulness and the like?

Maybe kindness is more about giving than receiving, but simultaneously works best when experienced as a two way street? Does that make sense? Does that increase the likelihood of kindness generating the power of positivity?

Practice random acts of kindness because it is a healthy thing to do. It builds, strengthens and fulfills a deep internal need human beings have. If this is true, as research suggests, than defying our own logic as humans only serves to destroy our own humanity.

I hope this week brings loving-kindness your way and provides an opportunity for all of us to return the favor. And .let’s not forget to be kind to ourselves in the process.

Here’s another blog about the power of kindness, which may prove insightful.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pieces-mind/201712/the-importance-kindness

Here’s to you and all the ways to live life on a positive note.

Cheers!

Enjoy Every Little Thing!

Enjoy Every Little Thing!

By Allen Merritt ©2018

Not long ago I took a friend out to a quick dinner at a franchised restaurant/general store on the outskirts of town. I had been to other versions of the same eatery across the country during my travels. It was a simple little travel stop serving up ordinary comfort food typical of the American Midwest.

It’s simple, familiar and recognizable. My Aunt and Uncle love to spend an evening there on dinner dates with one another. I remember visiting several locations including one in Springfield, Missouri, another just outside Memphis in Arkansas, Amarillo, Texas and many more. While the food isn’t exactly to my taste, I get a sense of nostalgia from the place.

Anyway I decided to stop here after an enjoyable evening spent tooling around looking at festive holiday lighting displays.  The evening was a simple celebratory one meant to be nothing but a good time.  I believe we all need that every now and again. In fact, maybe we need it more than ever and more often these days.

In any case, I noticed how the restaurant put their silverware/eating utensils in a tine brown paper bag. Now, some places place the cutlery on top of a white paper napkin to the right hand side of a plate while others wrap them up in a cloth napkin meant to be placed in your lap once the cutlery is removed and being utilized.  However, this place chose to use a miniature version of a brown paper bag, which I guess is a step above fast food restaurants which use plastic utensils in a sealed plastic bag complete with napkin, salt and pepper.

I suppose there is nothing so very unusual about this, but what really caught my eye is the statement printed on the brown paper bag. It was a little message for everyone to take home with them; a reminder pointing us in the direction of what is truly important to our lives. It read, “Enjoy Every Little Thing.”

Wow!

Pretty cool, huh?

I appreciated the positive message. I respected how the company chose to direct its customers toward positive well being with this little ditty printed on their cutlery bags.  If it’s the little things that count and the little things that mean a lot, then here was a fine example demonstrating how true it was.

I love little things from chocolate to a smile to a small gesture of kindness. I never want to forget how these little things greatly impact my life from moment to moment and day to day year after year. We have to observe the little things and never forget them. It may take effort to do so, because it’s easy to see how they can slip right past us. But here it was printed on a brown paper bag!

Ultimately, customers were getting the full treatment! As they stopped for a little R & R and nourishment, they get the opportunity to stop and think about the little things which serve to get them through the day. Sometimes, that is exactly what we have to do – get through the day. Hopefully, for most of us it won’t always be about trying to “get though” anything, but to simply enjoy the day; whatever it offers.

I took my silverware out of the bag and placed the little bag to the side where I could see it throughout the meal and be reminded to take it with me. I wanted to have it on hand later as a continual reminder to contemplate those little things that mean a lot, as well as to relish in them. In fact, I took two little bags in case I want to share one or post them in more than one location.

As I write, I am staring at both of my little baggies, a double dose of “wow” for my day, which happens to be extremely foggy and cloudy outside. No worries though! It’s everything good on the inside as I breathe through a little smile pondering enjoyable little things such as peace, joy, harmony, love, light and laughter among the many other manifestations that pop up in my every day.

May this week bring you a bunch of little things to enjoy!

And, may these little things enhance our positive well-being.

Enjoy Every Little Thing!

Cheers!

LOVE >HATE!

LOVE >HATE!

by Allen Merritt (©2017)

I noticed a posting today on social media that read, “Love changes things.”

I immediately clicked on the “Like” button and scrolled on. However, it stuck with me how polar opposites actually are alike in that they CAN change things. They can change things for the better or for the worse. People can benefit from the positive or destroy by the negative. More specifically, if you use the same format and change the text to read, “Hate changes things”, you’d also be making a true statement. I guess it depends on where ones priorities and/or individual perspectives and differences of opinion are.

Interestingly enough, I watched a film last night where a character wrote a letter to another prior to their passing. In the letter was a vote of confidence and encouragement to the recipient whose image was one of cocky vigilant anger built upon hate. The letter advised them of their potential to be great at their career. What captured my attention was how the letter referred to the idea that “Love” was the key to making their career the best imaginable. It would be the element of their success. This simple letter led to a shift from defiance to one of acceptance of self and others. The bad guy became a good guy.

I believe this to be one hundred percent true as I ponder the current climate we live under today. Bullying, body shaming, political incorrectness, slamming people publically (aka slandering) and throwing shade only serves to prove how bad manners and hatred endorse only one singular purpose and that is to “hurt” someone.

Another line from the movie suggested how anger breeds more anger. There can be no peace in that. Everyone loses in the end. Hurt is exacerbated. Pain is personified.

It wasn’t that long ago I purchased a hat to help aide in fundraising for shooting victims. The campaign promoted the statement, “Love>Hate.”

I love hats and have a number of them in my collection. It is a simple baseball type cap with nothing fancy about it. I like it that way, simple and to the point. I have had a few appreciative comments about it out in public.

When I think about it in my own quirky sort of way, I see a connection between my love for hats and the statement of how love is greater than hate. If I take the verbiage at face value, then I get what I get. If I live up to the phrase and believe in it, I also get what I get. It’s about seeing further and deeper into it as something more than a statement, more than a concept.

Ultimately, I choose to think of the word “hate” as a negative verb in and of itself. It is completely defined by all that is un-constructive or better yet destructive. It seems like a battle between good and evil. However, if I tweak my outlook and see the word “hate” as a noun with a silent “e” at the end, then I give myself a gift of yet another “hat.” And, as I have previously mentioned, I love hats! I wear them all the time. More importantly, I would much rather wear a hat then dwell in hate or wear it on my sleeve. That seems like a more positive approach to thinking on the subject rather than promoting ways to further enrage people as our culture appears to be doing.

Which direction would you rather go in?

Let’s escalate the positive. Let’s embody the Love>Hate phenomena.

Let's put on our thinking caps and think about it!

Cheers! 

Handling POP-UP Activity!

Handling POP-UP Activity!

By Allen Merritt © 2018

Well, here we are!

It’s officially a week into another year that is speeding right on along good, bad or ugly.

I don’t know about you, but I am continuously conscious of finding ways to reconfigure my thoughts and activities to garner the best outcomes toward accomplishing not only aspirations, but also the day to day, no matter what it throws at me.

One thing is for certain; things are definitely thrown or come up at you out of nowhere. It reminds me of those pesky little pop-ups that appear unexpectedly on your computer screen while working or surfing online. Those “pop-ups” require your attention like it or not in order to move forward with whatever tasks you're attempting.

I also think about the trending idea of “pop-up” shops, which are temporarily based businesses that materialize to make the most of a moment or an opportunity until it is no longer viable at that location, which begs to question, am I making the most of those moments and opportunities? Are my eyes and ears open and am I moving forward and taking best advantage to achieve?

The other question for me is how am I doing at addressing these little “pop-ups” as they happen so that I maintain a sense of calm and positive well-being.

• Am I being gracious, courteous, considerate or kind?
• Is my behavior curt, rash, rude or obnoxious?
• Am I reacting without forethought or getting agitated?
• Do I feel stressed, pressured or overwhelmed?
• Am I projecting negativity on other people or making them feel bad?
• Are my personal thoughts taking on a negative outlook either for me or toward the situation?
• Am I griping or complaining without even knowing it?

I believe it helps to revisit such concerns and questions from time to time to keep ourselves in check rather than fly off the roller coaster and crash. So what better time than now (the start of a new year) to take a peek on how we are doing individually from our own personal perspective, as well as taking a realistic approach to such assessments.

Sometimes challenges are based on last minute thoughts, ideas and requests presented on narrow to zero time frames. Maybe the challenge presents itself without preparation time and on the spur of the moment.

Here are a couple of recent examples I experienced at a recent conference I worked.

A last minute decision was made to change the configuration of a room AFTER it had already been set for conference recording. This entailed disconnecting cables and wiring in a limited space of time. It meant jumping into action, going with the flow and covering the bases to make sure it all got put back in order in preparation to start the session on time. It was a scramble. For me, there wasn’t any time to be overly concerned or upset after I had spent a couple hours (wasted time) making sure everything was already ready to go before the change took place. All I could do was work cohesively to get things back on track. Honestly, it was a job!

The next day brought a couple of presenters who wanted to set up a technology based session using several elements including three separate laptops, a go-pro, a separate internet based activity and a cell phone. It was a scattered all over the place kind of set up, not seamless at all. Speakers kept forgetting to use microphones so they could be heard and I was constantly reminding them to pick up and speak directly into the microphones. I interrupted their presentation several times to get them on track. Talk about keeping on your toes!

Both scenarios required tireless effort to produce the best version of the session possible despite these little pop-up situations. This goes to show how in the heat of the moment performance, interest and engagement in the activity will take precedence over anything emotional, if we are actively involved in pursuing it. But our perspective and attitude play a role.

They say to become expert at something or make it second nature you need to repeat it many times. Positive awareness works the same way. Keep working diligently at being the best you can be every day and eventually it will be a natural occurrence.

So the challenge I present is to review recent events and grade yourself. See if you can pick up on the little cues you get on a daily basis which are opportunities to grow and improve the best you YOU can be. Use these as learning activities to pursue your true potentialities.

Keep working at it and before you know it all that pop-up activity will simply come and go without malice aforethought, so to speak.

Enjoy the week living positively!

Cheers!

It’s a Full Moon Out Today!

It’s a Full Moon Out Today!

By Allen Merritt ©2018

Remember when the idea of emoji’s was taking characters on your computer keyboard and creating them into a picture of sorts?

For example, 80) (cartoon face smile); ;) (winking smile); or, :) (regular smile). I am reminded of these today after an incident, which I’ll share in a minute. Those original expressions were very creative and paved a path to the way we use them today. We don’t even have to tilt our heads to know what they mean or represent. Those original images became a positive way of sharing how people feel in the heat of the moment. I think that is a good thing. No sense in keeping everything bottled inside until you implode.

Anyway, sometimes life throws a curve ball that turns that frown upside down even when it’s a vertical one!

Today was one of those days for me.

As I write this, it is only the second day of January, the day after New Years!

I made my way to the coffee house to start my morning and think on what direction I need to take for the day and in the near future, to read, jot down notes and ideas and the like.

Next thing I know is I look up and life smacks me right in the face with a funny moment. The joke was for me (glad it wasn’t ON me this time). This was an instant where I could either laugh at the joke OR be disgusted by it.

Here’s what happened. When I glanced up from my book, reached for my coffee for a sip, I noticed a man about fifty feet away from me at the coffee bar. For some reason the timing was perfect and I do not think anyone else saw this. The man literally bent over and his pants fell below his butt cheeks. He did not have underwear on. There was nothing between him and the world but his birthday suit. This was a rather obvious peek-a-boo occasion. This was beyond butt crack entertainment where we make jokes about plumbers. This was the full moon shining brightly for everyone to see. It was a put on your sunglasses event. And I am not kidding or being cheeky when I say this was not a pair of sweet cheeks you WANT to see.

Needless-to-say, I am laughing internally big time! There was a part of me that almost wanted to snap a picture. This display of nakedness in a public setting was not what I was expecting to start off my morning, but I will admit how it was well worth it for the humor. What a great way to start of the day by finding humor, laughing it off and embracing the situation as a positive experience to keep me laughing all day long and also share with others.

In light of all the naked activities taking place in some reality shows highlighting, naked survival, dating, minimalistic living and what-not, I think sharing such stories with others spreads a little light to help liven up the day and provide some perspective.

I recall a song I enjoyed in my childhood called The Streak by Ray Stevens for which a man in the buff went streaking around town stirring up all kinds of ruckus. This morning was very much the same and I appreciated the privilege of being able to have something to talk about and make my day a bit brighter.

If I haven’t shared this video before, this is as good a time as any to give you a peek (pun intended) of Ray Steven’s streaker on the loose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jWmvtBZSaI

I hope your week provides ample amounts of humorous opportunities to make you laugh and enjoy living on a positive note.

And, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!

Cheers!