Erich Stauffer

Tag: Actions

  • The Gristmill at Spring Mill State Park: Mirror Matter Moon

    I always looked up to Zac at college.  He was cool and people liked him.  I can only remember talking to him once my freshman year.  He and I were both standing in line to make our own omelets.  I was wearing a Plank Eye shirt at the time and somehow we started talking about the band.  Plankeye - SparkI was amazed to find out that he was best friends with the drummer, who had quit the band to go to college.  I had seen the band for the first time, sans-drummer, in Chicago with The Prayer Chain during a reunion tour.  That is where I got the t-shirt.   I don’t remember ever talking to him again, but I do remember his role in John Mann’s play our sophomore year.  It started with Zac tilting his head all the way back in class as if he was asleep or bored.  Mann had the play start in a freeze-frame.  I later went on to study film with Mann at Milligan, but that is another story.  This one is about the Gristmill at Spring Mill State Park.

    In June of 2008, our friend Brian Reid, was killed in an automobile accident along with his wife, Jenna.  I and some friends had posted some video of Brian Reid on Youtube, which is actually how we found out he died.  People who went to church with Brian started writing comments about how much they would miss him and how they were glad “they went together.”  One of those to comment was Zac and I ended up striking up a conversation with Zac really for the first time.  Zac was actually in one of the Brian Reid videos, entitled Never Let You Go (which audio has been removed from for copyright infringement).  I don’t know if I ever told Zac this, but I was really upset to find out that Brian had been living less than an hour from my house and I didn’t even know it.  Brian and I had lost contact over the years.  The last time we spoke was in 2001.  It had been seven years.

    The Mirror Matter Moon theory is one of the most prominent theories on LOST to explain what the island is and why it might behave like it does.  Essentially, the island is a moon made of mirror matter.  There are two types of matter, the matter we know and love, and the opposite.  We can exist in either habitat, but one can not see the other.  This is why the island can not be seen until you cross into area around the island – into the mirror matter moon.  This website does a much more extensive job explaining it, but I wanted to use it and LOST as an allegory for my relationships with both Zac and Brian.  At college, Brian and I were best friends, and then I left to go to Milligan.  Zac and Brian stayed and graduated at Kentucky.  8 years later, Brian dies and Zac and I become friends when we had never really been friends before.   Brian’s car wreck – the “plane crash” – separated the world in which Zac and I lived in before the crash and the one we lived in afterward.  Prior to the crash, I couldn’t see Zac, nor did I know he existed, but after the crash, we were in a mirror world where Zac and I could both see each other and that’s when things started getting weird.

    The day I found out about Brian’s death I was contemplating running away.  I was going to drive to a farm house in rural Missouri, leaving my house, my job, and my lifestyle behind.  I was furiously hoeing my garden when my wife came out to talk to me.  She calmed me down and I went inside.  Upon checking my email, I saw the message from my friend about the comments.  By the end of the month I would have hernia surgery and a new job working as a business analyst.  I would be working with my best friend from that same college in Kentucky.  I would also begin communicating with Zac who was going through his own set of changes.  A set of changes that would eventually lead him back to someone he too met while at college in Kentucky.  What was it about this “island” in Kentucky that would not let us go?  Was Third Eye Blind speaking from Brian to Jenna in the video, from us to Brian, or from the college to us?

    The bigger story is how we all descended upon Kentucky in the first place.  Each person has their own unique story about what drew them to that place.  Just as in LOST, the characters both had a series of events that lead them together and a string of influence.  In me and Zac’s case, it was Eric Barnes.  Barnes made an impression on not just Zac and I, but on my friends who also attended Kentucky.  I remember Zac speaking to the entire campus during chapel saying how Eric impressed him so much by flying out to Arizona to meet him.  My friends and I would actually drive down to Kentucky on weekends during our senior year in high school just to hang out with Eric and eat in the cafeteria with Brad Green for free.  Eric was a critical “cog” to the systematic recruitment of students to the college, but the biggest factor was probably their summer program, which brought droves of high school students to the college each summer.  It was so influential that the dean of student life made it a point to tell us on day 1 that student life there was nothing like summer camp.  This should have been my first clue.  There are good cogs like Barnes and there are bad cogs like this dean.  And there were many bad cogs at this college, which is part of why I left, but this post is about the Gristmill at Spring Mill State Park.

    The Gristmill at Spring Mill State Park stands among several houses and other log buildings in a cleared plain in the middle of a large wooded area.  The terrain is crossed by a babbling brook (which cleared up within a couple of days after the rain turned the water a chocolaty brown).  This brook powers the mill, given the lever is pushed to allow it – and the cog is in place to accept it.  A lot of things have to come together for the whole system to work.  And one day, one of those things stopped working.  Why is it that this mill and these buildings are still in the same fashion they were in the early 1800’s?  Because the village was a failure.  The reason? The person who ran the mill died – taking with him the knowledge of how to run it.  Without food or a way to process their crops, the villagers left, leaving the log buildings as they were.  If the village had continued, the log houses would have been torn down and replaced in the name of progress long ago.  The park partly exists, and is named after a failed startup, but we wouldn’t have had the park unless the startup failed.  If it were successful it may have looked something like Gatlinburg, which has less log cabins, but more “cogs”.

  • First Days of Summer Spent at Spring Mill State Park

    Vacation; The Art of Disengaging

    For the last few nights, when I go to sleep at night, I have been dreaming about my day job.  I’ve been helping out with business continuity planning for the last couple of weeks and it’s taken up more time outside of normal business hours than I realized.  It wasn’t until I looked back over the last two weeks to see where the time had gone that I saw how the business continuity planning and events had affected my life.

    During the day I am a business analyst.  This means I review, recommend, and maintain various systems.  At night I work as a business consultant providing business solutions to various customers.  When the two jobs start to occupy the same time, two things happen.  One, my stress level goes up and two, a lot less normal activity gets done e.g. mowing the yard, folding laundry, putting away the dishes.

    A while back my wife asked if I would accompany her on a business trip to Spring Mill State Park where she would be attending a training seminar.  I was to help her take care of our youngest child of three, who is still breast feeding. What this would mean for me would be watching him at night while she goes and studies in the lobby with her classmates and again during the test on the last day.  The rest of the time would be up to me.

    I asked my best friend, who happens to also be my boss, if I could get those three days off.  He said I could, but because of Federal laws I’d actually have to take five days off instead.  I agreed and so starting yesterday, I was officially on vacation.

    At first it was hard to disconnect.  I kept thinking about things I had to do at work as a business analyst.  For example, I realized I forgot to set my email and voicemail away messages.  And there were people I had talked to at the business continuity event that I said I would email, but did not have the chance to.  I decided to actively change my thoughts and chose to think about other things, thereby beginning the disengagement from work.

    Gaining Control of My Thoughts

    It wasn’t until we started driving down to Spring Mill State Park this morning that I started analyzing my thought patterns, only to find that I was focusing on what I didn’t want instead of what I did.  I was creating scenarios in my mind whereby people didn’t like what I was trying to do, did not approve of it, and were actively working against it.  I was looking for ways to spend less time and hide more from those I thought were my enemies only to realize that they were only enemies in my mind – and if I could change my mind, I could change my reality.

    In addition, my wife and I decided the night before that I would use the time alone walking the trails to be a one-on-one prayer time with God.  We want prosperity for ourselves, our families, our friends, and our neighbors.  We want to see others succeed.  We wanted to be thankful for all that we had been given: the children, the love we had for each other, the roof over our heads, and the incomes we are blessed to recieve.  We realize that wealth is part of prosperity and actively ask for God to overflow us with the abundance he has created.

    This morning, after arriving at the park, I set off on trail 3, which goes by three caves in a loop to and from the Spring Mill Inn.  I would love to be in better shape than what I currently am, but as it is, I was huffing and puffing from step 1 of the trail.  My body learned to adjust and I would say things to myself like, “I am healthy and I am strong,” in order to keep going.  The biting flies were out and so Erich Stauffer, Fly Killa, was brought out of retirement.  Then I remembered what my wife and I had spoke about the night before and I began to pray.

    I didn’t close my eyes.  I just walked and talked with God.  When I focused on Him, the flies weren’t around, but when I thought about the flies, the flies came back.  I had an incentive in this regard to keep my eyes on Jesus during my walk.  There was one point early on, about a quarter of the way through when I felt God say to me, “Run! Run as fast as you can!” I ran for about 20 feet then went back to walking and although it was later in the morning, the sky was not brighter.

    At the half-way point I was near exhaustion, but there was no turning back now.  I had to go on.  I began singing praise songs, just making something up or singing “Hallelujah” over and over. I was still having trouble controlling my thoughts.  It seemed I could not even take attendance of them as they were jumbling into a ball as dust gathers under a bed.  I could not tell if it was my physical condition causing my lack of thought control or my lack of thought control causing my physical condition.  I decided there was only one that I could change, so I began working on changing my thoughts.

    About 3/4ths of the way through I decided to ‘clear the mechanism’ and focus on one thing.  I decided I wanted to see a deer.  I figured this was a reasonable goal/request since it was early morning, I was in the woods, and with one clear thought, it should be easy to attract.  The woods were now getting darker, not lighter.  I remember saying, “Isn’t the morning supposed to get lighter, not darker?”

    I continued to walk, looking down at my path, making sure to not trip or misplace my step – and that’s when I had my aha moment.  How could I see a deer when I am not looking for one? I can’t ask to see something, then not look for it, can I? No rational person asks for help, then keeps no lookout for help, do they?  I am reminded, just now, of the story of the man in sinking boat who asks God to save him.  A boat comes by and a sailor asks the man if he needs help, which the man replies, “No, I am waiting on God to save me. This happens two more times until the man finally drowns.  In heaven the man asks God why he didn’t save him and God replies, “I sent three boats!”

    So I began to keep my head up, actively looking for the deer I had asked to see, noticing only how dark the forest now seemed. And that’s when I saw it – and heard it – and began to run.

    It was a wall of white mist moving through the forest like a smoke monster, but instead of sounding like a New York City cab receipt printer, it was a mix of snapping limbs, heavy rain, and thunder.  I ran as far as I thought I could and finding myself at the top of a ridge with no foliage cover, I ran until I reached cover again, but it was no use.  Even under the trees, the rain was too much and I was drenched.  I began to walk.  Limbs were falling all around me and I remembered what God had told me earlier.  I didn’t run and now I was stuck in a storm.

    How I Met Your Mother

    By the time I made it to the parking garage, I was soaked.  In two and a half hours Zac would be there.  I felt defeated.  I sat, dripping, in the back of my Vibe with the hatch back open. I wasn’t sure exactly what to do, but over the course of the next 45 minutes I ended up telling the rain to stop, completely changing my clothes, and walked in to eat an all you can eat buffet.  Like Jim Gaffigan says, the bacon tray was at the end and I said to myself, “If I knew you were down here, I would have waited!”

    I did wait on my wife – or at least intended to.  After breakfast I was zonked, but we were not yet able to check into the hotel so I went out to the car to sleep.  My wife ended up knocking on the window about a half hour later.  I couldn’t sleep after that so I went to visit the Gus Grissom museum until Zac was to arrive.  I have this thing where I know when to move in order to arrive on time or to meet someone so when I got the feeling, I acted on it.  I was to meet Zac in front of the Spring Mill Inn.  On my way back, I decided to guess what vehicle Zac drove.  I decided it was silver and probably a Jeep.

    I parked my car, walked to the front of the Inn, sat down in a rocking chair, and watched as a silver Rendevue pulled into the parking lot and Zac got out (at least I got the color right).  At the same time, my wife stepped out the front door with the keys to our room and together we met Zac by the flag pole.

    [NOTE: There is little to no cell phone reception at Spring Mill park, except in one location, around the flag pole.  They call it “flag-pole reception”.  I wondered why so I began to think about why this was.  I looked around and as you can see in this overhead photo, the entrance to the inn is like a parabola with the flag pole being the focus, thereby magnifying any signals enough to talk around the flag pole.]spring-mill-in

    Zac, my wife, and I sat down for lunch.  One of the things we talked about was how I met my wife.  Last week, a coworker at my day job asked if I watched, “How I Met Your Mother.” I said I never had and he highly recommended it.  This afternoon, Zac also recommended the show.  I feel that this was a show I should be watching so I will be recording it to do DVR when I get home and might even catch up online if possible.

    We hiked almost every trail in the park, including the one I had already walked that morning with God.  We talked about thoughts, love, and joy.  By the time we got back to the inn, we were both thirsty.  I had a Mountain Dew and Zac had Cherry Coke.  We watched Amazing Kreskin videos on Youtube until my wife got out of her class.  She handed me the baby and I handed Zac four quarters to play a pinball game.  With the extra lives he was able to play one pinball game for over 15 minutes.  Once my wife got back we went back up to the room and watched more Youtube videos and talked until Zac took off.

    It was a good way to spend my birthday.  I now realize that one of my love languages is time spent with people.  That is why I cherish time playing Settlers of Catan or eating a meal with friends or family.  I hope that even if those reading this are in a normal scenario this week that you can still look for God in everyday life.  Be careful what you think and ask for what you want.

  • LOST: How Providence Affects Jack’s Actions

    [6:45:06 PM] Zac: no pink elephants
    [6:45:30 PM] Erich: I would define greatness as character (being the same at home and work for ex.) and legacy (leaving the world better than you found it)
    [6:45:52 PM] Zac: that’s largely as i see it as well.
    [6:46:05 PM] Zac: my spirituality is shifting like crazy
    [6:46:13 PM] Erich: Knowledge, Mind, and the Given
    [6:46:31 PM] Zac: Where is that from?
    [6:46:42 PM] Erich: http://books.google.com/books?id=PpI9qRXf57UC&pg=PA164&lpg=PA164&dq=%22no+pink+elephants%22&source=bl&ots=GQL5RcGgDu&sig=1W8KxPlvm6ysO68yzqZ7usp4yv8&hl=en&ei=omQDSse7K52ctgPpgsXjAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPP1,M1
    [6:46:56 PM] Erich: I did a google search for “no pink elephants” its the first hit or so
    [6:47:09 PM] Zac: holy crap!
    [6:47:17 PM] Zac: where do you think of this stuff?
    [6:47:29 PM] Zac: it’s the whole book
    [6:50:40 PM] Zac: the whole concept of good and evil challenges me
    [6:51:00 PM] Zac: like darkness is not the opposite of light, but the absence of it
    [6:51:15 PM] Zac: is evil the absence of goodness?
    [6:51:25 PM] Zac: is “satan” the absence of God?
    [6:51:48 PM] Zac: maybe we should blog about this
    [6:52:02 PM] Erich: yeah, and after watching LOST with the whole time travel thing, it makes me think about the sunday school teachers who used to tell me, every new sin you commit hurts Jesus more in the past when he had to take on all of your sin at the cross – by reducing sin NOW you can reduce His sin THEN – like time travel backwards
    [6:52:34 PM] Zac: LOST was so crazy good last night
    [6:52:38 PM] Erich: like there is no such thing as cold, just absence of heat
    [6:52:39 PM] Zac: i love Jack’s evolution
    [6:52:44 PM] Zac: exactly
    [6:53:04 PM] Zac: how can their be providence from God and providence from Satan?
    [6:53:21 PM] Zac: or is satan’s work just a lack of providence running its course?
    [6:53:46 PM] Erich: I’ve started to not like Jack this season, but last night was the first night he seemed to be an actual player this season – second from the last show no less – well I take that back – in the beginning when he was getting people to come, that was okay, I just didn’t like him on the island at the beginning – he had a bad attitude
    [6:54:18 PM] Erich: I think Satan wanted to do his own thing, so he does things, they are just not Godly
    [6:54:20 PM] Zac: yeah, he was resigned to fate, and didn’t “manage his actions”
    [6:54:25 PM] Erich: haha, yeah
    [6:54:32 PM] Zac: i feel a post coming on
    [6:55:01 PM] Erich: satan is like the guy who didn’t want to work for the boss any more and wanted to go off on his own, but there was no non-compete agreement signed, just banishment
    [6:55:30 PM] Zac: how should we go about it?
    [6:55:49 PM] Erich: defining a post?
    [6:56:21 PM] Zac: no, the mission statment
    [6:56:23 PM] Zac: or vision
    [6:56:31 PM] Zac: what do we value
    [6:56:33 PM] Zac: ?
    [6:56:37 PM] Zac: changing lives?
    [6:56:46 PM] Zac: being a source of information?
    [6:56:54 PM] Erich: oh, well…
    [6:57:07 PM] Zac: creating dialoge?
    [6:57:12 PM] Erich: what I do at work when I have to define mission statements is I do a kind of keyword query
    [6:57:34 PM] Erich: then I form sentences or a sentence from the keywords
    [6:58:09 PM] Erich: so if we had one of those keyword maps or word counters on our blog, what would it say, or more importantly, what would we want it to say
    [6:58:28 PM] Zac: right
    [6:58:49 PM] Zac: growth
    [6:59:03 PM] Erich: life
    [6:59:07 PM] Erich: managing
    [6:59:10 PM] Erich: actions
    [6:59:11 PM] Zac: self awareness
    [6:59:46 PM] Erich: purpose
    [6:59:58 PM] Erich: faith
    [6:59:59 PM] Erich: love
    [7:00:15 PM] Zac: should we mention how movies, literature, and music affect us?
    [7:00:18 PM] Zac: culture?
    [7:00:19 PM] Erich: tired sleep sleepy awake
    [7:00:22 PM] Zac: pop culture?
    [7:00:34 PM] Erich: thought subconcious concious
    [7:00:43 PM] Zac: love that
    [7:01:07 PM] Erich: yes, we we are influenced heavily by Goonies, LOST, the Matrix
    [7:01:22 PM] Erich: timing is a big one too
    [7:01:34 PM] Erich: but not sure how that fits in with our mission
    [7:01:50 PM] Erich: time
    [7:01:57 PM] Erich: legacy
    [7:02:06 PM] Erich: desire
    [7:02:23 PM] Erich: growth
    [7:02:25 PM] Erich: roi
    [7:02:36 PM] Zac: we exist to discuss the relationship between our thoughts and actions, and how by managing them we can enjoy lives filled with purpose, growth, love, and legacy.
    [7:02:42 PM] Erich: attitude
    [7:02:56 PM] Zac: tweak away
    [7:03:07 PM] Erich: okay, I’m going to hack on the verbs first
    [7:03:19 PM] Zac: please do
    [7:03:41 PM] Erich: I like to drop off the first three words at the begining too while planning.  they are always just filler.
    [7:03:54 PM] Zac: ok
    [7:04:16 PM] Zac: what do you think about “discuss”?
    [7:04:33 PM] Erich: that’s what I’m hacking off , sorry
    [7:04:43 PM] Erich: I’m thinking of replacing it with “making”
    [7:04:58 PM] Erich: or finding
    [7:04:59 PM] Zac: ok, keep going
    [7:05:04 PM] Zac: seeking?
    [7:05:07 PM] Erich: yes
    [7:05:17 PM] Erich: seeking sounds more philosophical so lets use that for now
    [7:05:23 PM] Zac: like it
    [7:06:43 PM] Erich: …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this relationship can allow us to live a great life.
    [7:07:05 PM] Zac: oddly, my only beef would be with “great life”
    [7:07:14 PM] Erich: yeah, that was my filler line
    [7:07:18 PM] Erich: I didn’t know how to close it
    [7:07:29 PM] Zac: can we find a similar word for relationship the second time around?
    [7:07:36 PM] Erich: yeah, you’re righ
    [7:07:44 PM] Erich: hmm…connection?
    [7:07:49 PM] Zac: amalgamation sounds so pretentious
    [7:07:52 PM] Erich: partnership?
    [7:08:04 PM] Erich: don’t know what that word amalgamous is
    [7:08:19 PM] Zac: exactly, neither do i really
    [7:08:28 PM] Zac: it’s just to make myself feel good
    [7:09:06 PM] Erich: I think it means a random allotment of stuff thats placed in a lot together, but that is what google is for, our exteriour brain
    [7:09:14 PM] Zac: yeah, partnership seems like it should apply to people more than….
    [7:09:37 PM] Erich: …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this relationship can allow us to live a great life.
    [7:09:41 PM] Zac: are you looking up synonms?
    [7:09:59 PM] Erich: no, but try the visual synonm generator
    [7:10:16 PM] Erich: http://www.visualthesaurus.com/
    [7:10:51 PM] Zac: alliance?
    [7:10:54 PM] Erich: state
    [7:11:16 PM] Erich: connectedness
    [7:11:26 PM] Zac: like that
    [7:11:29 PM] Zac: link?
    [7:11:38 PM] Erich: to what
    [7:11:43 PM] Zac: a zelda reference
    [7:11:47 PM] Zac: and encino man
    [7:11:57 PM] Erich: oh
    [7:12:01 PM] Zac: …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this link can allow us to live a great life.
    [7:12:02 PM] Erich: legend of zelda link
    [7:12:11 PM] Erich: I see, sory, forgot what we were talking about
    [7:12:17 PM] Erich: yeah, duh, link, good one.
    [7:12:30 PM] Zac: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gokttuXJME&feature=channel_page
    [7:13:00 PM] Zac: they are great.
    [7:13:06 PM] Zac: 2 and ahalf minutes
    [7:13:11 PM] Erich: I guess we do then
    [7:13:12 PM] Zac: have you seen that one?
    [7:13:22 PM] Erich: no, not this one, but that satan guy is hilarious!
    [7:13:27 PM] Zac: he really is
    [7:13:31 PM] Zac: i want him as a friend
    [7:13:47 PM] Erich: he does seem like he’d be a good friend, you’re right
    [7:14:26 PM] Zac: ok, i’m liking our statement so far
    [7:14:30 PM] Erich: “definitely for it” its hilarious that he thanks God for it
    [7:14:57 PM] Zac: let me find another one
    [7:15:03 PM] Erich: okay
    [7:16:06 PM] Zac: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDqRheBu2cg
    [7:17:40 PM] Erich: so, what is it now, …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this link can allow us to live a great life.
    [7:17:58 PM] Zac: how about “fulfilling life”?
    [7:18:20 PM] Erich: hmm, how about some of those adjectives we used before instead
    [7:18:34 PM] Erich: how we defined life – character, legacy
    [7:18:53 PM] Zac: life of character?
    [7:19:05 PM] Zac: life worthy of a legacy
    [7:19:10 PM] Erich: …allow us to live a life of character.
    [7:19:19 PM] Zac: yep
    [7:19:19 PM] Erich: it seems like we can’t use both though.
    [7:19:37 PM] Zac: now, the begninning
    [7:19:58 PM] Erich: …allow us to leave a legacy by living a life of character.
    [7:20:20 PM] Zac: now, that’s some poetry erich!
    [7:21:35 PM] Erich: thanks, but its almost too powerful – it overwhelms the initial purpose of the mission statement in the begining – but maybe not
    [7:22:02 PM] Erich: unless you view it like the five w’s, who what when where why how
    [7:22:14 PM] Zac: put it all together
    [7:22:17 PM] Erich: who: we are…
    [7:22:19 PM] Zac: what have we got?
    [7:22:34 PM] Erich: what: seeking to define the relationship between our thoughs and our actions
    [7:23:10 PM] Erich: why: to learn and share how
    [7:23:35 PM] Erich: how: managing this link
    [7:23:58 PM] Erich: where: in our lives.
    [7:24:40 PM] Zac: i’m pretty happy with that, although it doesn’t necessarily touch on God or providence
    [7:24:42 PM] Erich: …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this link can allow us to live a great life allow us to live a life of character.
    [7:24:59 PM] Zac: do we want that?
    [7:25:13 PM] Erich: …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this link can allow us to live a life of character.
    [7:25:15 PM] Zac: …seeking to define the relationship between our thoughts and our actions to learn and share how managing this link can allow us to live a life of character.
    [7:25:20 PM] Zac: jinx
    [7:25:21 PM] Erich: sorry, messedup the first time
    [7:25:25 PM] Erich: haha
    [7:25:33 PM] Erich: chat jinx, not sure if that counts
    [7:25:39 PM] Erich: all though its got to count for something
    [7:25:45 PM] Zac: what do you think about providence?
    [7:25:49 PM] Zac: or God?
    [7:25:55 PM] Zac: or the unexplainable?
    [7:25:55 PM] Erich: pre determination
    [7:26:03 PM] Erich: I think God exists because he does stuff
    [7:26:18 PM] Zac: i mean, in our statement
    [7:26:39 PM] Erich: when you believe he does stuff, but I guess a disbeliever would say, “you’re attributing things to God when you have previously asked God for these things”
    [7:26:45 PM] Erich: oh
    [7:27:02 PM] Zac: would a post about jack’s transformation be about his response to destiny “proving” itself?
    [7:27:08 PM] Erich: I’m not sure how providence would fit in the mission statement
    [7:27:18 PM] Zac: or would it just be about his thoughts and his new behaviours that have sprung from that?
    [7:27:27 PM] Zac: i think i may have just answered my own question
    [7:27:40 PM] Zac: if it affects our thoughts and/or actions, it is relevent
    [7:27:44 PM] Zac: we are pretty golden there
    [7:27:51 PM] Zac: like bea arthur
    [7:27:54 PM] Zac: rip
    [7:28:13 PM] Erich: well from the beginning the show has been a mirror, 180 days on the island, halway through the season, light, dark, ying yang, jack on one side, locke on the other
    [7:28:35 PM] Erich: jack is more like locke now and locke is more like jack now in the second half
    [7:29:01 PM] Zac: i know.  lock is the “leader” and jack is the “believer”
    [7:29:09 PM] Zac: it’s a beautiful, beautiful thing
    [7:29:24 PM] Zac: i am so impressed that a show of this quality exists
    [7:29:33 PM] Zac: that could be a weekly feature for the next season
    [7:29:39 PM] Erich: huh, I didn’t notice that, you’re right though.  I wonder who Jacob is.  Jacob might be a kind of metaphor for God in this conversation
    [7:29:44 PM] Zac: you and i remarking on our thoughts of an episode
    [7:29:57 PM] Zac: he is either God or the pope
    [7:29:59 PM] Zac: i think
    [7:30:12 PM] Erich: the scientist wants to kill “God” the one who unanswered things get thought by
    [7:31:48 PM] Zac: looking forward seems to be the best medicine, but wisdom comes frorm not making the same mistakes twice
    [7:32:00 PM] Zac: i think that i’m going to tweet that
    [7:32:20 PM] Erich: yeah, you done good with that tweet, son
    [7:36:03 PM] Zac: i’m so very much like john locke (first few seasons).  signs of the right path.  the island talking to him
    [7:36:45 PM] Erich: Who or what is “the island” to you? <–sounds like a blog post title
    [7:37:16 PM] Erich: and Locke has crazy woman troubles, not sure how that relates
    [7:37:18 PM] Zac: providence/God
    [7:37:28 PM] Zac: very true
    [7:37:34 PM] Zac: jack as well
    [7:37:37 PM] Zac: and sawyer
    [7:37:46 PM] Zac: and charlie
    [7:37:47 PM] Erich: that’s true too, they all have woman troubles and daddy issues
    [7:38:01 PM] Zac: i vascilate between jack and locke a lot
    [7:38:05 PM] Zac: also desmond and charlie
    [7:38:14 PM] Zac: who do you relate to?
    [7:38:28 PM] Erich: hurley’s dad, the chinese dude’s dad, jack’s dad, locke’s dad, kate’s dad
    [7:38:50 PM] Erich: who do I relate too? hurley kind of – laid back
    [7:39:21 PM] Zac: hurley is like the everyman
    [7:39:21 PM] Erich: I wish I was as cool as sawyer – Jack’s kind of a nerd – he wasn’t in season 1, but he is kind of now to me – not sure why
    [7:39:25 PM] Zac: like the audience
    [7:39:32 PM] Erich: yeah, you’re exactly right
    [7:39:50 PM] Zac: jack just got thrown out of wack and is trying to find something to hold onto
    [7:40:01 PM] Erich: that was hilarious last night when he said, “Okay, we’re from the future” since he didn’t know the president. I was cracking up, dude.
    [7:40:15 PM] Zac: man, we need to have a lost post fest
    [7:40:47 PM] Zac: ok, is our mission statement 99% done?
    [7:40:48 PM] Erich: yeah, Jack likes to fix things – for a while, the providence made fixing impossible…but now…providence has lead him to be ABLE to fix something
    [7:41:01 PM] Zac: that is a great thought!
    [7:41:13 PM] Zac: I would love to read more of your thoughts on this.
    [7:41:16 PM] Erich: yeah, that one was for free
    [7:41:53 PM] Erich: hahaha, I figured you’re going to write at least one post on Jack and the role of providence in his life, how it affects his actions.
    [7:42:27 PM] Erich: Or we could just copy this thread and post it.  It’s our blog, we can do what we want with it.
    [7:42:27 PM] Zac: i think that sounds perfect.  it can be a recurring theme in our blog
    [7:42:37 PM] Zac: hmmm
    [7:43:21 PM] Zac: yeah, do you want to edit it down and we can put it up now, with a tease for more lost related thoughts to come?
    [7:44:06 PM] Erich: Definitely a theme though.  Our primary keyword is “actions”.  How does roadblocks affect our actions – what do we do when things get in the way of our goals. How does providence affect our actions – if everything is predetermined, then why does anything matter? just two examples there.
    [7:44:19 PM] Erich: Yeah, I can post it sure.

  • Top 10 Ways to Live a Purpose-Filled Life

    [Edit: I wrote this post before I heard about Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. Shortly afterward I found out about it and so I wanted to share a link to his book here. I’ve been listening to it on CD in the car. It’s a great book and it may change your life. 09/13/2009]

    1. Don’t Assume

    I wasn’t being very purposeful when I went to open a door that didn’t budge and ran right into it or when I went to push a shovel down into the ground and hurt my foot when it hit a rock. In both cases I was assuming the door and the shovel would act as they always had. The door would open with little effort and the shovel would slide neatly into the earth. It made me wonder, “What else am I assuming about my life?” This leads us to number 2.

    2. Ask Why

    Ask yourself why you’re doing the things you are doing. Why do you live where you live and work where you work? Why are you friends with your friends? There may be good reason, but there may also not be. If you haven’t asked yourself “Why,” before, start asking and start living a purpose-filled life. There should be a reason for everything you do. This leads us to number 3.

    3. Give Reasons

    What is the reason you are doing what you are doing? This is different then asking yourself, “Why.” For example, if you answered the question above about why you live where you live, the answer may have been, “Because it’s near where I work, there are good schools here, and it’s where I’ve always lived.” Those are all reasons, which then need analyzed, kind of like playing the 5 Why’s Game. If you’ve never played it, its simply the act of asking yourself, “Why,” four more times after the initial first, “Why.” In this way, you can find out the reason you are doing things. Lets use the response to the question as the first answer in the 5 Why’s Game.

    1. Why do you live where you live? Because it’s near where I work, there are good schools here, and it’s where I’ve always lived.
    2. Why? I don’t like a long commute, I have kids, and my family is here.
    3. Why? I have never had to drive very far to work, because I wanted them, because that is where they moved to.
    4. Why? I have never looked for jobs farther away, because my parents had them, because they found a better job here.
    5. Why? Because I’m comfortable with the job I have, because their parents had them, because this place used to be growing.

    The game doesn’t have to have three threads in it like this one did, but it gives us a glimpse into how you might then ask yourself a new question, “My relatives left their relatives and came here when this place was growing. Is there any value in staying or should I keep looking outside of where I am comfortable for my children’s sake?” This is the kind of dialogue that knowing the reasons behind something can generate.

    4. Take Ownership

    Have someone or something to tie you to this earth. This is a reason for your being. For some it is a job. For others it is their children or partner. It could be all of these things, but if you don’t have anything to build, fix, keep, protect, or improve, then you will find yourself drifting far from living a purpose-filled life. Have you ever left a job or wanted to leave your job because you felt like you weren’t needed or because you had no stake in the outcome of the business? Either you didn’t take ownership or you were not allowed to take ownership and so you withered or are withering.

    5. Exact Standards

    Set thresholds to avoid slippery slopes and compromises that you might make along the way. If you decide that you want to live a certain way, and you start to slip away from that life, what are the consequences of that? Draw a line in the sand and declare in writing what you stand for. Create a mission statement if you have to. This can guide your life just as it guides businesses everyday.

    6. Create Procedures

    A purposeful life is predictable, but has the ability to change. You may expect one thing, but if it doesn’t happen, you implement the contingency plan. You know the procedure because you created it. You are prepared. This is the difference between assuming and predicting. Predictions contain contingencies whereas assuming does not. If I go to open a door by pushing on it and assume it will open, but it doesn’t – I may hurt myself when I run into it. If I go to open a door expecting it to open, but with the contingency that it might not, I will be prepared for it not opening and be able to protect myself.

    7. Have Faith

    Believe in something greater than yourself. The universe is too big, never mind the relative enormity of the Earth, for our brains to live purposefully if we truly believe that there is no more to this life than what we can see and feel with our own eyes and ears. Your spirit, whether you believe you have one or not, will be crushed over time.

    8. Love Some

    Love someone or something. Be passionate. This is like ownership, but you can’t own another human being or the acts like gardening, playing in a band, or eating chocolate. Nothing drives the human spirit like the power of love. It is cliché to say, but true nonetheless.

    9. Leave Behind

    Live your life so as to leave something behind. In 100 years will anyone know you had ever existed? Some people write books. Some people’s legacy is their children. This is a matter of faith and procedure as you will not know what lies ahead after you are gone, but you are preparing for it. Pass on knowledge, help the downtrodden, pay it forward. These are the things that lead to a purpose-filled life.

    10. Be Purposeful

    Be intentional, exacting, reasonable, or whatever words you can think of that relate to being purposeful. If you want your life to have a purpose, if you want to leave a legacy, if you want to love more, learn more, and live more, be purposeful in all that you do. Live a purpose-filled life.

  • 7 Steps to Turn Desires into Reality

    A method by which desire can be transmuted into reality in seven steps.
    1. Fix in your mind the exactly what you desire. It is not sufficient merely to say in general what you want. Be definite and specific.
    2. Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for what you desire. (There is no such reality as “something for nothing.”)
    3. Establish a definite date when you intend to have what you desire.
    4. Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire. Write out your steps, the smaller the better.
    5. Write out a clear, concise statement of exactly what you want (Step 1), what you intend to give in return (Step 2), a time limit for its acquisition (Step 3), and describe
    clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it (Step 4). SEE below.
    6. Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before retiring at night, and once after arising in the morning. As you read—see and feel and believe yourself already
    in possession of what you desire.
    7. Begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put these steps into action. Otherwise, you never will be “ready”.
    It is important that you follow the instructions described in these seven steps. It is especially important that you observe, and follow the instructions in step six. You may complain that it is impossible for you to, “see yourself in possession of what you desire,” before you actually have it. Here is where a burning desire will come to your aid. If you truly desire something so keenly that your desire is an obsession, you will have no difficulty in convincing yourself and others that you will acquire it. The object is to want it, and to become so determined to have it that you convince yourself you will have it.
    I desire _________________________________________________________________ and am willing to give ____________________________________________________ in order to get it. I will have it by _______________________ using the following plan:

  • How to Have a Happy New Year

    How to have a happy new year:

    1. Tell yourself you are going to have a good year.  Give up on the thinking that for every good thing that happens there will be something bad.  It doesn’t have to work that way, but will if you want it to.  Say you are going to have a good year and that it doesn’t have to be offset by bad.  Then write it down and speak it out loud.

    2. Ask yourself what you want.  Be specific.  Narrow it down by using actions and places.  What do you want to accomplish at home? What do you want to accomplish in your business life? What things would you like to own? Where might you want to go to see or show someone?  Write down your answers, then speak them out loud.

    3. Take inventory of your assets and liabilities.  Surround yourself with family and team member who share your positive outlook on life and eliminate or narrow your exposure to those who are constantly negative.  Cut out things in your life that are busy work or that are uncessary.  Ask yourself why you are doing something.  If you don’t know the answer, stop.

    4. Take a step towards one of your goals each day.  Action cures fear.  A goal like debt reduction or quitting your job can be scary and seem insurmountable.  It is probably impossible to do in one step so don’t.  Figure out the next action, then write it down.  Speak the action out loud and set a deadline of accomplishing this action within the next 8 hours.

    5. Develop a system to manage your thoughts or ideas.  If you’ve followed these steps you have been writing things down.  They may be on the back of an envelope, on a receipt in your car, or in an email or text message.  USe whatever you feel comfortable with to collect these musings into one cohesive place.  Only use a calendar for hard and fast dates, not for action items.  Try to avoid using email as your method of choice if possible.

    6. Relax. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Take time to smell the roses and the aftershave.  Unplug.  Check your email less often. Read the news less.  Take more walks.  Lay down outside.  Feel the ground. Decompress.  Take a deep breath at least once a day.  Laugh. Forgive. Love. Visit your mother wherever she is.  Don’t make lists, take actions. Conquer fear.

  • 5 Ways to Stay Alert and Focused

    How to Avoid the Afternoon Loss of Energy

    If you’re like me, you get tired in the afternoon just after lunch and just want to lay down.  Most employers discourage this (although some encourage it) and for those who want to fight off this feeling and get more done, here are five things I have found to help me keep going longer.

    Change what you eat.

    Drink more water, which fights fatigue and helps keep you fuller, longer.  When you do eat, choose foods high in protein, which slows the absorption of carbohydrates which can cause fatigue when they wear off, but in all things moderation.  Foods high in protein are usually also high in tryptophan which can cause sleepiness.  One way to combat this seeming contradiction is to eat a high protein breakfast when you are most rested, then eat less protein at each meal throughout the day, eating the least amount at supper.

    Learn your circadian rhythm.

    Every living creature has its own circadian rhythm, but each person also has their own intricacies which can be learned and used to your advantage.  Start by going to bed at the same time each day and waking up at the same time each day for a week.  If you’re not getting enough rest, move one of the times so that you get more sleep.  If you’re waking up too early, move the going-to-sleep time back until you find your optimal sleep time.  But here’s the key – when you find your optimal sleep time, its only effective if you stick to it.  Your body will know that it can run full steam all day long if it “knows” its going to bed at a certain time no matter what.  Otherwise, its just protecting itself from your erratic behavior.

    Cut back on caffeine.

    This sounds counter intuitive, I know, but caffeine only speeds up your heart temporarily, leaving you more tired afterward.  I sometimes even drink coffee at night timing the crash for when I want to fall asleep.  If you use a lot of sugar in your coffee or drink sugared colas, the crash is double as your heart slows down and your body crashes from the sugar drop.  If you can’t give up caffeine completely, try switching to a green tea, which has less caffeine or saving your caffeinated drink as a “secret weapon” for when you need it the most.  It takes about a half hour to kick in so if you have to, drink it at your desk a half hour after lunch to propel you through the afternoon.

    Change up your environment.

    Sometimes its nothing to do with the chemicals inside your body, sometimes its your surroundings that are lulling you to sleep.  Take a break to get some perspective on life.  Step outside and take a deep breath.  If you can’t get outside, find a window.  If you don’t have a window, close your eyes, lean your head back and take a deep breath.  Force yourself to smile.  The muscle movement will elect a feeling on your body forcefully.  If you’re a scrooge, you might not like this feeling so use with caution.  Also, if music is allowed where you work, it can both pump you up and take you to another place, giving you perspective on your current activities.

    Rest when you can.

    On the seventh day, God rested.  This was a good example for us humans, but we seldom do it.  If you can find the time during a weekend to rest, take a nap.  Yes, you are allowed.  If you work seven days a week, a power nap can work wonders, just don’t fall into too deep of a sleep or you will feel worse after waking up.  Limit yourself to less than twenty minutes.  This ensures you won’t fall into REM sleep, but your body will still feel rested.  If you can get out to your car, go and set an alarm or find a coworker you trust to wake you up.  I have found that I can put a “request ticket” out to my subconscious that asks to be woken up when slipping between stage 1 and 2 of sleep.  Not everyone can do this though.

    Give yourself something to look forward to.

    In life and everything else, we all need incentives.  Its how the world works.  You’re probably not working for someone else for free and you shouldn’t have to.  We just need to harness that same mentality to help us get through the day.  Create mini-goals and rewards throughout the day.  Everyone is working for the weekend, but that happens once a week and starts on Friday.  What do we do on Monday to stay motivated?  This might be the hardest task of all, but if you can master it, you’re well on your way to being more productive and alert during the afternoon – and time may just fly by a little faster.

    Summary

    Above all, use common sense.  If you’re too tired to stay awake during the day, you probably need more sleep at night.  Before taking any advice you read here or anywhere else, see your doctor to make sure these things are right for you.  I’d love to hear how you stay alert during the day in the comments below. Need more advice? Here is a complete website on how to stay alert.