I have been thinking about the subject of TIME recently. A lot. For one thing, I am about to interview and discuss this subject with a very interesting former New Yorker who now lives in England, Martin Boroson, author of The One Moment Meditation. He has thought a lot about TIME and our relationship to it, as I have since I recorded a segment of my first Moneylove tape album thirty years ago and called that segment, Take Your Time! What I meant by that title, which I was also considering using for a book, was that we need to take charge of our time, that we needed to own our time instead of merely managing it.
I just listened to that 21 minute audio segment for the first time in years, and find that Martin Boroson and I agree that we can be much more in charge of this human construct known as TIME.
And here's where I may offend or upset some of my dog-owning, dog-loving friends. Cats are great role models in the quest to master time. Dogs are time wastrels. I know it is hard for fans of either species to be objective, but consider this:
A cat knows exactly how much time it wants to spend in almost every activity, while a dog doesn't seem to have a clue. Cats choose to eat, sleep, play, sleep some more, eat some more, play some more. When a cat eats or gets some affectionate scratching from its owner (a dubious title to say the least), it has a point where its appetite for either is satisfied and it will walk away and go on to the next activity. A dog will keep eating until it gets sick or until the food runs out. A dog will lie there and let you rub its belly until you rub it raw. The concept of "enough" doesn't exist for dogs, nor does the concept, "It's time for something else."
A dog is perpetually restless, while a cat is infinitely patient. When you return home to a cat after an absence of several hours, it might come up to give you a look of disdain, as if to say, "You fool, you missed seeing all the interesting and adorable things I was doing while you were gone." A dog will rush over in frenetic delight, as if to say, "Oh master, I thought you were never coming home, I was bored out of my skull without you. I want you to pet me, I want you to feed me, I want to go out for a walk!" Let's face it, dogs are high maintenance compared to cats.
Yes dogs can be great companions, and are more loyal than cats, even if their owners ignore or abuse them. Dogs do not have discriminating taste. If a dog loves you, no one is surprised, especially if you feed it. If a cat loves you, it feels like more of an honor, as if you earned something. Oh, cats can be warm and affectionate--as long as it doesn't take too much time away from more interesting activities.
Jerry
Don't forget to check out my other blog, on prosperity. http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Friday, September 28, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
SHINY NEW THINGS
It isn't only babies, puppies and kittens who like shiny new things. We all do all our lives. There are often jokes made about men and women and their new toys obtained during a mid-life crisis. Men going out and buying a new sports car, women buying new breasts.
But beyond the humor, there is something serious going on here, and as I look back on those things that keep me going, keep me creatively productive, keep me growing and changing with zest and vitality--and keep friends and strangers amazed at how alive and youthful and adventurous I am in my so-called senior years--I realize that a lot of it has to do with my intention and commitment to keep my life filled with shiny new things.
In 2012, these include my first stand-up comedy performance at San Francisco's famed Purple Onion, after a course at San Francisco Comedy College; and my upcoming visit to Panama next month, which is really an advance scouting expedition preparatory to my relocating to that Central American nation early next year. And my first prosperity workshop in over twenty years later this month at Unity San Francisco, which will serve as a model for a series I will be presenting around the world.
What keeps my consciousness filled with joy and passion and robust expectations is the fact I keep my mind and my life filled with shiny new things. This is so much easier to do than at any time in human history. We have the Internet now, that provides us with instant access to every new thing happening on the entire planet.
In fact, if anything, we have to be careful not to become inundated with these shiny new things. Sometimes I find myself beating them off with a stick, metaphorically speaking. Personal editorial discretion is more necessary than ever.
In the past 48 hours, I have added several of these shiny new things that keep me young and excited about life. In my bi-monthly trip to Trader Joe's amazing technicolor world of foodstuffs largely unobtainable anywhere else, as always, I decided to explore some new items, which I tasted and tested the very day I got them. And now I have two new food addictions, dark-chocolate covered Powerberries and Thai Lime Chili Cashews. I also made the online acquaintance of a fan of my Moneylove book and tapes overseas, and we've had some fun email exchanges in the past few days, which could lead to some collaboration on future projects.
Here's the point. If we have the intention to keep a steady flow of newness that we embrace flowing into our lives, we maintain a certain level of excitement and anticipation that I believe generates hormonal and neurological regeneration. On the other hand, as pleasant as it may be, if we only stick to paths and experiences already known so as to maintain a high comfort level, we risk the danger of falling by the wayside in terms of youthful aliveness and a productive, creative mind. It is up to you how up you want you to be and feel.
Jerry
Something shiny and new worth exploring, if you haven't done so yet, is my other blog, focused on prosperity in all its glory.
http://MoneyloveBlog.com
But beyond the humor, there is something serious going on here, and as I look back on those things that keep me going, keep me creatively productive, keep me growing and changing with zest and vitality--and keep friends and strangers amazed at how alive and youthful and adventurous I am in my so-called senior years--I realize that a lot of it has to do with my intention and commitment to keep my life filled with shiny new things.
In 2012, these include my first stand-up comedy performance at San Francisco's famed Purple Onion, after a course at San Francisco Comedy College; and my upcoming visit to Panama next month, which is really an advance scouting expedition preparatory to my relocating to that Central American nation early next year. And my first prosperity workshop in over twenty years later this month at Unity San Francisco, which will serve as a model for a series I will be presenting around the world.
What keeps my consciousness filled with joy and passion and robust expectations is the fact I keep my mind and my life filled with shiny new things. This is so much easier to do than at any time in human history. We have the Internet now, that provides us with instant access to every new thing happening on the entire planet.
In fact, if anything, we have to be careful not to become inundated with these shiny new things. Sometimes I find myself beating them off with a stick, metaphorically speaking. Personal editorial discretion is more necessary than ever.
In the past 48 hours, I have added several of these shiny new things that keep me young and excited about life. In my bi-monthly trip to Trader Joe's amazing technicolor world of foodstuffs largely unobtainable anywhere else, as always, I decided to explore some new items, which I tasted and tested the very day I got them. And now I have two new food addictions, dark-chocolate covered Powerberries and Thai Lime Chili Cashews. I also made the online acquaintance of a fan of my Moneylove book and tapes overseas, and we've had some fun email exchanges in the past few days, which could lead to some collaboration on future projects.
Here's the point. If we have the intention to keep a steady flow of newness that we embrace flowing into our lives, we maintain a certain level of excitement and anticipation that I believe generates hormonal and neurological regeneration. On the other hand, as pleasant as it may be, if we only stick to paths and experiences already known so as to maintain a high comfort level, we risk the danger of falling by the wayside in terms of youthful aliveness and a productive, creative mind. It is up to you how up you want you to be and feel.
Jerry
Something shiny and new worth exploring, if you haven't done so yet, is my other blog, focused on prosperity in all its glory.
http://MoneyloveBlog.com
Saturday, September 1, 2012
PCD--POST CONVENTION DEPRESSION
Okay, I admit it. When it comes to politics, I am somewhat naive. I expect even politicians running for the highest office in the land to stick to facts and the truth, not make it up as they go along. When I was a child, just getting interested in politics, I remember Adlai Stevenson and Dwight D. Eisenhower. They had some very strong opposing views, but both had the respect of Americans as decent, honest men who told the truth--even when it wasn't politically convenient. Sixty years later, what a difference.
It isn't so much that they lied a lot at this week's Republican National Convention, but rather that they did it with big smiles on their faces, and with lies that could easily be discovered. It used to be that lying and other indiscretions--like taking money to do things the person giving you the money wants you to do--were frowned upon in American political life. Now they seem to be celebrated.
When the candidate for the second highest office, Paul Ryan, looks America straight in the eye and tells a huge whopper about President Obama promising a GM plant in Ryan's hometown that it would be around for a hundred years, only to have it close the following year, it sounds like a fair-minded counter-argument to Obama's taking credit for saving the auto industry. But even the most basic fact-checking turns up the information that the plant was closed while George W. Bush was still president, so Obama could never have made such a promise. The decision was made, the workers let go, before he was even sworn in.
How could Paul Ryan, whose very reputation is built on the idea that he tells the hard truth and is a detail guy, make this mistake? The only conclusion is that it is not a mistake at all, but a deliberate effort to convince the American electorate of something that isn't true. In a deeply condescending way, he has to think most of us are idiots who won't even check out what he is saying in this era of instant fact-checking via Google and such organizations as Politifact and FactCheck.org. Or maybe he just thinks we don't care. Some have suggested that conservatives hate Obama so much that they will vote for anyone who opposes him no matter what their qualifications or level of integrity.
I thought Mitt Romney might elevate his discourse, but then he chose Clint Eastwood to take up a quarter of the prime-time hour he got to introduce himself to the American people.
However, I remain a cockeyed optimist. I believe we may hear truth told at the Democratic convention in Charlotte. So I may still be naive, though also a realist--so I won't be betting on it.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog at: http://MoneyloveBlog.com
It isn't so much that they lied a lot at this week's Republican National Convention, but rather that they did it with big smiles on their faces, and with lies that could easily be discovered. It used to be that lying and other indiscretions--like taking money to do things the person giving you the money wants you to do--were frowned upon in American political life. Now they seem to be celebrated.
When the candidate for the second highest office, Paul Ryan, looks America straight in the eye and tells a huge whopper about President Obama promising a GM plant in Ryan's hometown that it would be around for a hundred years, only to have it close the following year, it sounds like a fair-minded counter-argument to Obama's taking credit for saving the auto industry. But even the most basic fact-checking turns up the information that the plant was closed while George W. Bush was still president, so Obama could never have made such a promise. The decision was made, the workers let go, before he was even sworn in.
How could Paul Ryan, whose very reputation is built on the idea that he tells the hard truth and is a detail guy, make this mistake? The only conclusion is that it is not a mistake at all, but a deliberate effort to convince the American electorate of something that isn't true. In a deeply condescending way, he has to think most of us are idiots who won't even check out what he is saying in this era of instant fact-checking via Google and such organizations as Politifact and FactCheck.org. Or maybe he just thinks we don't care. Some have suggested that conservatives hate Obama so much that they will vote for anyone who opposes him no matter what their qualifications or level of integrity.
I thought Mitt Romney might elevate his discourse, but then he chose Clint Eastwood to take up a quarter of the prime-time hour he got to introduce himself to the American people.
However, I remain a cockeyed optimist. I believe we may hear truth told at the Democratic convention in Charlotte. So I may still be naive, though also a realist--so I won't be betting on it.
Jerry
Check out my prosperity blog at: http://MoneyloveBlog.com
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