A Little Help from My Friends

“Correction does much. But encouragement does more.” -Goethe

I have blogitis again.

The origins of which are complicated, but the clinical presentation is always the same: an absence of compelling blog posts. But from last week up until just an hour ago, three people sparked me to blog right now about, well, what’s compelling me to write. Perhaps the reason it was so touching to me is b/c I’m just struggling to make time for this among all the other priorities.

But then it hit me, from three different people, during the course of last week. And it wasn’t logic. No money involved. No carrot. No guilt. No publicity. It was quite simple. There is just one thing that changed my outlook on my blog, and also my general perspective for my life today:

Encouragement:

I’ve spent too much of my life correcting and not enough encouraging. And I’m not talking about the slapdash stuff that we sometimes deliver people, like an impromptu “hey hey, what’s happening…love that shirt, hair looks great, you’re amazing!” whilst making a wink and a nod and a click click noise coming from your mouth with your fingers pointed at the person like you’re holding two revolvers.

For the record, I have never ever done that. Ever. At least not the winking part.

It costs us nothing. It takes practically no time. Yet we don’t do it very often, we treat it like it’s this scarce resource, when we should be offering it up freely–especially to those who need it. So, there it is. I could add 5,000 words, but I don’t think the reminder would be any more compelling.

Today I’ve got a packed day of activities out in Jersey, which is everything from working with a painter and separate carpet installers to going to the post office to Home Depot to the hot tub store to doing lots of yardwork to shopping at Healthy Habit (touching story about the guy who used to own this, someday blog material) and a myriad of other projects.

And of all the things I have to do today is to give someone else the gift that someone gave me today. Something that might either be as simple as brightening their moment, or changing their outlook on their life. Encouragement.

Special thanks to Robin, Louise, and Dr. Coldcall.
(see Dr, I told you you’d make the blog someday :))

No doubts, take Lasix only as prescribed by your doc. Levitra is one of the best-known medications of all day. What is the most significant information you must study about levitra vs cialis? Most doctors say the effectiveness of Levitra is well documented. Absolutely, a sexual problem refers to a problem during any phase of the sexual response cycle that prevents the individual from experiencing satisfaction from the sexual life. Whilst sex is not vital for good health, it’s doubtless important for anyone. Why it happen? What kinds of professionals treat sexual diseases in men? A common class of antidepressants, which include Zoloft — can kill the mood in bedroom.

Fedora Wearing Poetry Guy

Amongst the longest of all hiatuses, it’s finally time to resume writing.

Lots has changed in my life in the last few months, though I’ll save my personal update and whereabouts for another blog entry. But as a result it’s put me majorly behind my writing eight-ball. Because I’ve been traveling all day and the night is still young w/ lots to do, yet I’m not going to bed tonight until I get a post uploaded to break my streak, I’m going to post a rather simple one from the weekend.

So Saturday I’m at the Farmers Market in Oly with Erica, it’s a cool kitschy place to go and spend a cold and damp summer morning (ahhhhh, the late summer starts in the NW!) and one of my favorites is to sit outside and listen to some fold band while eating “The Skillet” from Dingy’s along the food market portion (BTW, have them ease up on the meats, load it up w/ veggies, a little light on the cheese–and the thing is amazing!) of the Farmers Market.

Anyways, I’m walking along and I see a guy in the distance standing freely, wearing a Fedora-style hat and a white guitar case by his side. And literally I watch waves of people walk by him, and it’s almost as if there’s a vector that as people are getting closer to him they speed up and walk by much more briskly than they approached him. I was really intrigued as I sat and watched this from 150 feet away, but determined to check it out.

So as I slowly walked towards him, trying to listen to what he was saying to passerby’s, I finally made out the dialogue, which went like this:

Fedora-wearing man: “Do you like Poetry?”

Passerby: No. (whilst proceeding to bundle their small children and walk every more quickly)

This happened maybe ten times as I was watching, and I couldn’t help but chuckle–I was intrigued. But Fedora-man remained unfazed. Completely, unabashedly, and unflappably unfazed.

Then, every approximately 5th to 7th passerby the convo went like this:

Fedora-wearing man: “Do you like Poetry?”

Passerby: Yeah.

Fedora-wearing man: “May I read you a poem I wrote?”

Passerby: No.  (proceeding to walk much more quickly)

Still unfazed, he kept going. So then about every 4th person that answered the affirmative to the question about liking poetry (if you’re keeping track, that’s about every 20-28 no’s) someone would stop and say yes, he could read to them. And he did.

So at first I really thought this bizarre. And maybe it is. I sure as heck didn’t answer the question “Yeah” when he posed to me. But then I started thinking about Juan Mann, I did a post about him a while back that you can read here. But, as I thought about it, I was intrigued. Here’s a guy that loves poetry. Apparently he likes people. And he must even not have too great an aversion to hearing the word “No” repeatedly. Like every minute. Great salesman material. But what he loved was what he was doing.

So, there it is. A quick tribute to:

a) Fedora-wearing-poetry-guy-at-the-Olympia-Farmers-Market.

b) Being able to hear no and keep on keepin’ on.

c) And following your purpose and passion. However oddly structured to guys like me that may seem. 🙂

P.S. And on a very serious note–a belated thanks to all those who have or currently serve this Country to protect our freedom and liberty. I have such reverence for those who have provided our Country, and people like me and my family, such faithful service. I am deeply indebted.

No doubts, take Lasix only as prescribed by your doctor. Levitra is one of the best-known medications of all time. What is the most significant information you must study about levitra vs cialis? Most doctors say the effectiveness of Levitra is well documented. Absolutely, a sexual problem refers to a problem during any phase of the sexual response cycle that prevents the individual from experiencing satisfaction from the sexual life. Whilst sex is not vital for good health, it’s doubtless great for anyone. Why it happen? What kinds of professionals treat sexual diseases in men? A common class of antidepressants, which include Zoloft — can kill the mood in bedroom.