Finding meaning in the media we digest
My wife received a thank-you note from someone today. This is not just anyone.
The person she received a thank-you note from has a husband who is dying from cancer right now. He does not have much longer to live. This has been a long battle, he has fought bravely and he has lived much longer than the doctors thought he would. But, his time is coming to an end.
The family has little children as well. In the past few months the wife’s mother died from cancer. Her husband is staying in the hospital because his body is too weak for him to live at home right now. So you can imagine how much time they spend at the hospital.
I can’t imagine the stress and anxiety she is living through right now.
Yet, she found the time to make a handmade card and write a thank-you note for a minor thing that my wife did to help.
Do you know how much this thank you note meant to my wife?
The common courtesy of writing thank-you notes is something that is, unfortunately, a dying thing.
I am horrible at writing thank-you notes.
I am horrible at writing thank-you notes when my life does not include the prospect of a spouse passing away and dealing with how to help young children deal with losing their dad.
I know that I don’t have any excuse for being so lousy at this other than laziness.
How is your track record at writing thank-you notes?
If it is lousy, what’s your excuse?
Writing a thank-you note is a small gesture that means a lot. It does not take much time and the time invested is well worth what it means to the person who receives it.
If you owe someone a thank you, go right now and write them a note. Everyone who reads this can probably think of someones they can say thank you to.
Shut off your browser, don’t email the person, but hand write them a note. Both they and you will be thankful you did.
Image by MoonSoleil via Flickr
My family and I are going to be moving to another country this upcoming year. My wife and I are very excited about this amazing opportunity and cannot wait to live in a new place.
But, this is a little different then moving across town where you keep the same culture and are only adding a new home to your worries (although a new neighborhood is a new culture). Plus, my two kiddos will have to adjust to a brand new way of life that will be different from what they have known. And for kids the familiar is extremely important for the sense of safety.
I recently watched the movie The Karate Kid (2010) and the main character Dre (played by Jaden Smith) suffers from culture shock when his mom moves them to China. He finds out right away that things are very different from where he grew up in the United States. Because he doesn’t understand the culture he is bullied and very soon wants to move back to the States. Slowly he begins to learn the culture, with the help of a mentor, and he is able to better fit in by the end of the movie.
It easy for most people to think, “I am never moving to a new country so this is something I will never have to deal with.” But, all of us experience new cultures very regularly.
You experience a new culture anytime you: get a new job, move neighborhoods, go to a new church, go to a new gym, find a new restaurant you like to frequent, etc.
Here are some ways to help you fit in to a new culture:
Moving into, or experiencing, a new culture is very difficult and can be very frustrating. At the same time it can be one of the richest and rewarding experiences of your life. These suggestions should help alleviate some of the difficulties. But, there will always be bumps in the road. Use the bumps as learning experiences and try not to make the same mistake twice.
Remember, be flexible and have fun with it!
Image by Hardluck Hotel via Flickr
Here is another quick thoughts video. This time the movie is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
This post has a moral:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJwaIuNen-A
If you cannot see the video click here.
Image by Nayara - Oliveira via Flickr
This is my first ever video post. I will be making these a very regular part of the blog.
The idea being that shortly after I finish a movie, book, article, etc. I will share in a quick video my thoughts on that piece of media. At the end of each video I will be sharing a short “The Moral.” This first video does not include a “The Moral” section but the following videos will. I will still be writing posts as well, but check back often for these video posts because I watch and read a lot!
Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section.
Without further ado here is my take on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCL273sa5sw
If you cannot view the video click here.
Image by Got Sarah via Flickr
Recently I was typing an email to my wife on my iPad and the autocorrect function changed a nickname I call her to nag. Thankfully I caught the autocorrect change and made a manual change back to her nickname. I don’t want to imagine what that conversation would have been like had I not corrected it. I probably would not have faired well.
This snafu with the autocorrect function got me thinking about my own life and do I live too much relying on “autocorrect?” What things in my life do I do automatically instead of being aware of what I am doing? This function exists so that you do not have to think about spelling but can just type and mistakes will be corrected for you (there is still a long way to go with this technology correcting things perfectly). Theoretically, it allows your brain to go on autopilot as far as spelling goes and not have to worry about that one aspect of writing.
Obviously there are things in life that are best left to the automatic function: breathing, heart beating, blinking, body gets tired when it needs rest, if something is wrong it hurts, etc. If you constantly had to manually make any of those things happen it would be exhausting and you might forget at some point. Which might make it game over and there is no autocorrect for that.
If you are living life on autocorrect right now, pick one of the areas above to work on and improve.
Also, share in the comment section below ways that you prevent yourself from drifting into autocorrect.
Image via Wikipedia
What are you thankful for? Are you thankful for anything?
When was the last time you took time to think about what you were thankful for? Thanksgiving is a great time to do just that.
I have some friends who are living in the United States but are from a different country. They love Thanksgiving because they think it is such a great idea to have a national holiday with the purpose of giving thanks.
Do you take this for granted like I sometimes do? We have a day off to give thanks.
Being thankful is a choice that you have to make a concerted effort to be. It may get easier after awhile, but it takes time to develop. And sometimes there are certain experiences that will help you to be more thankful.
Years ago, I had the privilege to spend a few days in the Australian Outback in an Aboriginal community. The children there were so happy but had so little. It was humbling to be around people who were living off of so little. I realized I take too many things for granted and was very thankful for all of the blessings that I have, not just material things but also opportunities. I have traveled to over a dozen countries; most, if not all, of the children will never even visit Sydney or any other world famous city in their own country. But even more humbling, I can eat what I want, when I want…they cannot.
I am thankful for these things and more.
Here are some ways that you can give thanks:
Do you notice a similarity in all of the above suggestions?
Time.
Being thankful does not come naturally for most people. You will have to spend time developing the mindset of being thankful.
In Toy Story 3 (Spoiler Alert), Woody realizes how much he values and is thankful for all his friends after he spends time away from them. He is so thankful, he risks his “life” to help them escape a certain situation. Woody then chooses his friends over going away to college to be with his owner Andy. It took him spending time thinking about and reflecting on how much the relationships mattered to him to realize what he would be missing. This time helped his relationship with them mean even more than it already did.
During this holiday season, and every other day of the year, take some time and make it a priority to be thankful.
Everyone else will be thankful you did.
Share with us in the comments below what you are thankful for.
Leadership comes naturally to very few people, especially quality leadership. Most people have to learn and practice how to be a better leader. Whether you are good at it or not, you are a leader in some facet of your life. How do you become the type of person who oozes leadership?
Adrien Brody’s character, Royce, in the movie Predators takes leadership right away. There is no vote, no discussion, and although one person gives him a slight challenge for the role, everyone else cedes to him. He just oozed leadership.
We obviously don’t know his full life story, but we are given hints at his life up till that point and we can observe certain qualities about him.
The things we learn from Brody’s character are:
If you are reading this, you are a leader to someone in your life. You may not realize it, but there is someone who is watching you and looking to your for leadership. If you do some of things mentioned above you will ooze leadership and that person will respect you even more and others will begin to look to you as well. Handle your leadership responsibly.
Click this link if you would like to read my review of Predators.
If you liked this article please retweet it, share it on your Facebook page, or one of many other options by clicking on the share/save button below. I would also love to hear your comments on oozing leadership in the comment section below.
Imagine waking up and you are falling from the sky. You have no idea how you got there, but you know that it can’t be long before you hit the ground. This is the way Predators (starring Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga) begins.
From that very opening scene you know that something is not right. The synopsis of the movie is that a mixed bag of humans are dropped off on another planet to survive being hunted by aliens who are known as Predators. Each person was chosen because of who they are on earth (i.e. military, terrorist, gang member) and the killing skills they possess.
The objective: stay alive. The whole film the group is trying to figure out what is hunting them and how do they survive to get off the planet. The Predators are exceptionally skilled killers who adapt to their prey and learn from them in order to become even more efficient at killing. The odds are highly stacked against the humans surviving.
The film was creative in how each person dies in their own unique way. Most of the characters’ personality leant to how their death was carried out. One of the best scenes was between Hanzo (Louis Ozawa Changchien), a member of the Japanese gang the Yakuza, and one of the Predators. This scenes provides a taste of a good martial arts sword fight.
Before seeing the movie, and during the movie, I was wondering if and how they would acknowledge the original Predator (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger). I won’t ruin how it was done but I thought that it was incorporated in an interesting way.
I went to the movie with four other guys and Predators was the perfect guy movie. It has guns, explosions, killing, and plenty of other action. Surprisingly, the story line was not bad either. The movie did not just consist of random acts of violence and gore. There is also a good twist near the end of the movie.
Adrien Brody did a good job of being the alpha male leader of the group. I wasn’t sure he was going to be able to do it, but I thought he was a convincing lead as a tough mercenary, former military man.
Of course the movie leaves the door wide open for a sequel. I am sure the studio is waiting to see how well this first one does. But, if a group of guys, or gals, are looking to go see a typical guy movie, you will not be disappointed with Predators.
Stay tuned tomorrow for a second look at Predators and a moral that we can learn from it. Tuesdays will now feature a movie review of a movie that was released that weekend before it, followed on Wednesday by a typical moral post of that same movie.
Have you seen the movie The Hangover (starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and Ed Helms) (affiliate link)? In this movie you learn some important lessons about what to do and not to do at a bachelor party.
This is important information for me because I am going to a bachelor party in a couple of days. I thought I would go over some of things I learned from The Hangover (affiliate link) so I don’t repeat their mistakes.
11 things not to do at a bachelor party:
If you follow these eleven pieces of advice you will probably enjoy yourself and live to tell about it. But, that reminds me of a piece of advice I forgot to mention. 12. What happens at the bachelor party, stays at the bachelor party.
