The Only Way Out

 

_{photo by menchaca17}

LIFE IS ALWAYS MORE TROUBLE THAN YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE...

As we near the end of yet another year, so arrives the inevitable impulse to engage in reflection. We grade each passing year – assigning words like good, worst, best - as if the preceding twelve months have somehow earned a rating, a pass or fail on some celestial report card. We hand out wishes for a happy new year like so much confetti at a parade. We stack last year alongside previous years and compare, judge, rate; we reflect. We make lists chronicling the year: the best of, the worst of, my favorite, my least favorite. Again – reflection, grading, rating.

When we finish dissecting the year past, we start on the year to come. Now our reflection turns to speculation. We wonder at what the New Year holds, we set goals, strike bargains with ourselves, hope, wish, and dream. More confetti wishes sprinkle our conversations with each other. It’s not that our words aren’t sincere, for indeed they are. We certainly hope for better times, both for ourselves and for our loved ones. It’s the human condition to seek improvement, to long for more or better.

Given all this reflection and wishing and hoping, the question begs asking: do we stop there; or are we moved to action? There is a choice to be made on every level, be it personal, professional, relational, and even on a grander scale all the way to global. Do we make the choice or do we settle for wishing and hoping?

On a personal level, I am forced to admit that I have become a voyeur of my own life. I have allowed myself to become so overwhelmed by the capricious nature of life that I have settled for letting my life take its own course, instead of grabbing the reins myself. The state of malaise I have wallowed in has led me to a place of deep discontent. The bad news is that I’ve reached a dead-end. The good news is that the only way out is up.

All of my reflection has led me to understand that I’ve been waiting, waiting, waiting for my life to take a turn for the better. I have graded the past six years and found them wanting. Yes, those years were filled with knock-out punches, but that is nothing novel. Who among us hasn’t faced some of the worst life has to offer and still come back swinging? I simply stopped swinging back. It’s as if I sat down in the rubble and refused to get back up. Then the tide of life easily carried me to that proverbial dead-end.

I don’t like this dank, dark dead-end I find myself in. I haven’t liked it for years, but it became familiar enough that I was willing to stay there. For whatever reason – providence, divine intervention, the encouragement of family and dear friends (yes, you, dear ones) – I finally remembered to look up. Yes, indeed, the only way out is up. I’m headed in that direction.

It’s a beginning…

 

Amy's Birthday by Kimberly Ashby

Amy's Birthday by Kimberly Ashby

Shared via AddThis

Flame Throwers – A Handy Household Item?

In keeping with my philosophy that one cannot be oh-so-serious about life all the time, I would like to have a discussion about flame throwers. Yes. You read that right. Flame throwers. Not a subject that comes up too often in daily conversation, you say? Well, that's all the more reason to talk about it now, wouldn't you think? Let us proceed.

In the words of the inimitable George Carlin (man! I miss that guy!) "The very existence of flame throwers is proof that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, You know, I'd really like to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done."

Here's a picture of your basic flame thrower, just in case you've never seen one:

I have occasionally encountered folks that I might like to throw a little fire onto. But purchasing a conventional flame thrower isn't as easy as just waltzing into Wal-Mart, plunking your money down on the counter and walking out with your brand-spankin'-new, state-of-the-art flame thrower. Believe me, I've looked, and there is no flame thrower section in Wal-Mart, Target or even Academy. What's an angry woman to do in this case?

Well, never underestimate the ingenuity/stupidity of your basic, bored, inebriated 20-something hardy partier.

"Fire breathers" turn their own bodies into flamethrowers by pouring fuel (typically kerosene) into their mouth and holding an ignition system (typically a torch) in front of them. When they spit out the kerosene, the torch ignites it, creating a dazzling stream of fire (only professionals should attempt this -- it is extremely dangerous). The technique is definitely low-tech, but the operating principle is exactly the same as in the most expensive military flamethrowers!

Courtesy of howstuffworks.com

Seems like problem solved, doesn't it? Should be, but experienced "Fire breathers" never seem to be around when you need them. Dammit.

HOPE

Kids grow up so fast. It seems as if my grandkids change almost overnight. I couldn't resist posting these adorable photos. Happy children doing what kids are supposed to do - just being kids - no worries, no fear, simply innocence. Watching these little ones grow up with their innocence intact in loving homes is the best feeling in the world. It makes me believe there is still hope for this crazy world we live in.

Planned Obsolescence

I was reading a friend's blog entry a few days ago, in which she discussed the issues she's having with her car and the difficulty of getting it repaired. As I read, something clicked in my memory and a phrase I first heard almost thirty years ago popped into my mind. Planned Obsolescence. Think about that for a minute.

Way back in 1980, I heard a very successful businessman from the local community lecture on an insidious trend in the American economy. He used the phrase "Planned Obsolescence" to describe an economy built on the foundation that every product we buy has a pre-determined "shelf life" of short duration. His premise was this: rather than using quality components to build everything from toasters to cars, manufacturers had begun a shift toward producing products of lesser quality and considerably less durability, believing that American consumers tended to prefer new and improved products over the tried and true. With this mind-set as a foundation, it was easy for manufacturers to push consumers toward the belief that "buying up" was preferable to repairing something broken. Accordingly, consumers performed true to those predictions and the result was a move toward a "throw-away society." Combining that shift in thinking with a marketing campaign that constantly touted "new and improved" products = a better, more satisfying life, consumers could conceivably be pushed toward making more purchases, more often. Consequently, instead of building a quality product that would not only last, but could also be repaired, thereby lengthening the "shelf life" of said product; there has indeed been a shift toward turning out "throw-away" products. The trend started with small household products - toasters, coffee makers, can openers, for example - and was so successful that it has now permeated every strata of the manufacturing industry, from electronics to furniture and even up to, and including, automobiles.

The American public, with its constant hunger for the newest, biggest, and best, has wholeheartedly embraced the concept of the "throw-away" society. If the toaster breaks, we don't repair it; We throw it out and go buy a new one. If a lamp quits working, it's time for new lamps. Two issues are at work here. Number one: the toaster and the lamp are designed and manufactured to wear out after a predetermined amount of time, having not been originally constructed to be durable or worth being repaired. And number two: have not small appliance repair shops met their demise, having been made obsolete by our obsession for newer and better "stuff" and by the impracticability of repairing a product that was manufactured to wear out in the first place?

Surely, there are still manufacturers that build a quality product with premium materials - products that are indeed made to last. But these products are in a class all their own now with a price tag that is inaccessible to the vast majority of the general public. As the concept of "throw-away" products has invaded the thinking of the American public, the phrase a quality product at a reasonable price has become as obsolete as have our two-year-old toasters and four-year-old computers.

In a society that assigns little value to the concept of permanence, newer is always better, old is obsolete and rampant consumerism is guaranteed, even in times of economic downturn. The throw-away society has created a vicious cycle that the American consumer is stuck in. We are caught inside a trap of our own making. If we were to even recognize the extent of our folly, how would we begin to turn the clock back? How does a country, a society, an economy turn back from the planned obsolescence train of thought and once again embrace the virtues of quality, craftsmanship and permanence? Is it even possible?

Before and After - the First Flip

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Blueberry Eyes

Is that not the cutest little face you ever saw? Little Isaiah with the big blue eyes that just melt your heart. Grandchildren have this amazing ability to turn the world right-side-up again.

I have four grandkids - three boys and a girl. Their energy is unbelievable. I often wonder how I managed when my kids were growing up. I had four at one time - two girls and two boys. When I went to the grocery store, invariably someone would ask me, "Are ALL those kids yours?" Then the next question would be, "Do they all have the same father?" I can't tell you how many times I got asked that question. I was always flabbergasted that anyone could be so crass. People are weird. They just open their mouths and say whatever pops into their minds. Can you imagine ever asking a complete stranger such a personal question? Sheesh!

And because I was young and always thought I had to be so polite, I would answer them. "Yes," I would say, with a shocked look on my face, "they all have the same father." Too bad I was so polite back then. Or maybe not. Probably wouldn't have been a good thing for my kids to see me acting all pissy to complete strangers.

And now they're all grown up. My mother used to say that the older you get, the faster time flies. I was a total smart-ass and I always said, "Mom, that's ridiculous. Time is time. It always goes the same speed. An hour is an hour, a day is 24 hours whether you're 9 or 90." She would just look at me with this placating smile on her face. Turns out she knew what she was talking about. Time really does go faster as you age. It's not a logical thing, it just IS.

And so it goes. Time marches on....