Look around. Is this how you want to live your life? Are things untidy? Perhaps they are even out of kilter.
Spend two hours today tidying an area up completely. Make it happen in a drawer or on a counter, in a bathroom or the spare room.
Don’t leave it to slowly, almost imperceptibly, get worse. Take a small area and make it ideal. Then find another area and do the same. Keep doing small but noticeable beautifying projects.
Look at where you want to go. Think about the options to get there. Then read an article, watch a YouTube video, listen to a podcast and ask a few people for other options. Then calmly consider your options.
At that point you can make your informed decision.
Phone, Dashcam or doorbell camera footage are what our local police ask for to help resolve situations in our community.
30 years ago, none of these were an option. They were not even an idea.
Now they are quite common place. Hopefully they encourage people to be better citizens, take their time and be patient with others.
Your favourite movie may provide some insight into your personality. Or it might just indicate your current mood. Either way, picking a movie to watch in a group can be challenging at times.
There are so many movies to choose from today. From all the classics, the award winners and the unique, to the avant-garde, and truly poor. Although there is something for everyone, it is not always easy to agree on one to watch.
The genre you enjoy determines what you get more of in your life. If you like to watch comedy or comedies, you may find more laughter in your life. Your perspective may tend to the lighter and brighter side of things too.
Though you could also be wanting comedy because you aren’t getting enough of it in your own life. Sometimes we choose what we lack. Other times we choose what we have and want more of. At other moments we choose the genre so we can try to figure something out or get ideas from it for our own life.
It’s always good to understand why you are selecting the movie you are. It can give you some good insight into your thoughts and ideas.
Picking a movie can be a beneficial exercise, not just entertainment.
Have you noticed how things in certain movies become things in life? Remember the swish swish of doors in Star Trek? Life is like a movie, though only certain ones at certain times.
So when I was growing up, the swish swish of the doors on the Starship Enterprise seemed so futuristic. However, now most metro centres have thousands of these doors.
Then things started to unfold like the Schwarzenegger film Total Recall. The whole idea of virtual reality. We are getting there with Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence. We certainly have driverless cars on the near term radar. And trips to Mars being scheduled.
Then we have seen some elements of Tom Cruise’s Minority Report. People are being condemned for even thinking of an activity with a criminal element. It doesn’t matter if a crime has happened. The fact that it could have happened is enough for you to be removed from society.
Now things are moving on with skins in Fortnite and a virtual world in Clubhouse. This and the VR makes me think that the Ready Player One reality is not that far off from our current life.
Finally, we have Terminator. Well, that melting man business and pulling yourself back together is quite impressive. But happy for it to be a few more years before that.
Life is like a movie. Go get the popcorn ?.
There is something wonderful about keepsakes from our past. Equally it is nice to keep tapes and videos. Although a recorded history obsession seems to be getting a foothold in modern culture.
I suppose it started with chiselling into some clay tablets. Then things moved to the printing press and recorded music. That was a nice time. Not too many newspapers, books, or musicians traipsed about. So not much was recorded.
Then we moved to making films. And then tv shows. Some started live. Then some shows did pre-recordings.
After that came VHS, Mixed tapes, CD’s, DVD’s, digital photography, books, ebooks, audio books, box sets, etc. Things were further complicated by CCTV, social media and email. Everything we did was being recorded. Even our ring doorbell footage needed to be stored in the cloud.
I have so many photo and video clips, that I am not sure I would ever look at them all again. It would take days if not weeks. We are so awfully busy capturing moments of our life, that we lose our life reliving those moments.
Memories are wonderful. But do we need to remember everything via recordings? Will we ever have enough time to watch it all? Or only when we are very old and the information no longer useful.
This recorded history obsession may need to slow down to preserve mental health.
That feels so good. That moment when you have completed the task. You cannot control it anymore. It is out of your hands. It is done!
It is an exciting and glorious feeling. When all the tension and build up can drain calmly from you, it is a tremendous feeling. Some feelings will be of relief and some will be of pride, confidence or joy.
Think back to when you have completed a big project. Or even think of a little one that you felt was important and worthy of your time. Maybe it was after completing an exam, driver’s licence test, or first overseas trip. For many, the feeling of relief is large after a public speech.
There is often an adrenaline rush and then a calming moment of satisfaction. In addition, you know you do not have to do it again soon, so there is peace in your heart.
I felt the calm satisfaction on Wednesday evening when I completed my first YouTube Short. Thanks to Alex, Roxane and Jaime for guidance on technical aspects. Thanks also to the many people in the YouTube and social media rooms in Clubhouse who gave great information. Also, a thank you to the How To content creators on YouTube. In particular, Sean Cannell’s comments in Clubhouse and his videos at Think Media. Naturalvita Tutorials also had a good tutorial.
It is done!
Most things are a passing fancy. We talk about our wants and all those nice to haves. The question is though, “How bad do you want it?”.
I know when I want something bad enough now. I watch what I do. And that is how you know if someone else has an item as their #1 priority. Do not listen to what they say. Simply watch what they do. Success leaves clues and a trail of debris – like sawdust.
There may be emotional or logical reasons why you aren’t doing what you say you want. But they are still reasons and not results. You choose to get distracted. The person accountable for your life is that person staring back at you in the mirror.
I am grateful that my friend Eric sent me the attached video about 5 years ago. Since then, I have watched it many times. I get very pumped up when I see it. It has some hard hitting truths in it. It reminds me whether I want something bad enough. Am I making the effort of a champion? Can I do better than this if I played my A game?
If you think you’re trying and not getting the results you want, watch this video. In less than 15 minutes, you will have the answer to the question, “How bad do you want it?”.
We all have stories. Stories of our youth and everything since then. For instance, we could recount how the world impacted us and how we impacted the world. Keeping your stories alive is a fun part of the process of re-living those halcyon days.
Before bed, I was telling the boys a few stories from my farming days in Canada. It struck me how few stories people probably know about others. It also made me think how the art of, and need for, storytelling are changing.
Imagine how many stories Captain Tom Moore has from his 100 year life. He was born in 1920. Consequently he would have had his formative years during the Great Depression. After that, he would have spent his early 20’s caught up in a World War.
His impression of the airplane, radio, tv, car, internet, medicine, political changes and mobile phones would be fascinating.
Unfortunately, many people’s stories will have faded into the fabric of the universe. The challenge was that there weren’t many ways to record them, keep them safe and pass them along.
Quite the opposite is happening now. Teens and tweens of today are able to capture so much on video, audio and by written word given the technology available at the moment. In the meantime, people are becoming more forthcoming with content. In addition, the ability to capture it has become easier and cheaper.
Consequently, more people are adding more content to the universe. As a result, their children could spend their lifetime immersed in video, and other medium, learning about their family history.
Keeping your stories alive may no longer be the challenge it once was. The new challenge may become that people won’t have or take the time, or have the inclination, to hear many of them.
Stories may no longer fade into the fabric of the universe but rather they might fade into the fabric of The Cloud.
Remember we have the power to change our minds, our views and our destiny. Remember The Titans is a brilliant family movie that does a great job delivering on that theme.
Friday night is movie night in our family. With five opinions, it can be challenging to get consensus on what we are going to watch. However, after several other trailers, a debate and a vote, we then watched this trailer and it was a unanimous winner. Although I had seen it before, I was keen to see it again. This time I would get to see the kids’ reactions too.
Well the kids loved it. We did too. It is a very inspiring movie. In addition, it really makes you think. Tough choices are made, different viewpoints are explored. The idea of tough love and long term personal development are key elements. Although set only 50 years ago, it seems like such a different time.
While we are experiencing extra family time, if you are looking for a great, feel good, family movie, then Remember The Titans is certainly worth watching.
Common Sense media suggests it is a 10+ age group movie (but was fine for our almost 9 year old). Rotten Tomatoes audience score is 93% from 578k ratings.
We are always looking for great movies for the whole family to watch. If you have any family favourites that you would be happy to share, please do. Tap the title of this post, scroll to the bottom of it and begin writing in the Start Discussion box.
