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Daily Ramblings…

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Daily Ramblings…

Monthly Archives: January 2021

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday/Sunday –

31 Sunday Jan 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Spiritual Saturday

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Adapt, change, Covid, Flexibility, habits, Improvise, Overcome, Resistance, viewpoint

I write articles for a newsletter for my religious group that is published every month and was prompted to write about change for the upcoming edition. Today’s post is about change. I hope you enjoy it.

We are still dealing with COVID; we are dealing with a new government, and we are dealing with all the changes these two events will have on our lives. Why do we fight change when it comes?

Change is difficult because we are all “wired” against it. Our brains are very sophisticated and seek efficiency at every turn. When a big change occurs, our brains fight it. Why? Because our brains exhaust a lot of energy when change comes. So the brain minimizes or even resists change because of the energy it requires to literally rewire ourselves to adapt a change.

My sister and wife both made job changes recently. It is interesting to watch both of them go through the changes of learning a new job, the training they are going through, and how each reacts to the changes brought on by these job changes. Think about the changes COVID has brought into your life. Are they easy for you or difficult? For most, the changes are hard.

Changes related to going out to dinner, changes related to staying home, changes related to wearing a mask, and changes related to the normal, mundane things we are all accustomed to. When change comes, we tend to think about what has been taken away, rather than what has been given.

Think about how much reading you’ve gotten done in light of these changes to our lives. Think about the new hobbies or activities you are now doing because of the virus. Think about how much more you interact with your family over the phone or via ZOOM, Skype, or Google Chat.

A wise man once said to me, “Things are not done to us; they are done for us.” Simple, right? Imagine if we looked at life this way. Everything in our life is done for us, not to us. A play on words, perhaps, but still a powerful message and a terrific way to look at life.

I am a person who always looks for the positive things in life. Despite the lockdowns, and all the other changes the virus has brought into our lives, there are many good things that resulted from the changes wrought by this nasty little bug. I read more than I have at any other time in my life. I have learned more in the last year than I did in previous years. I have had to alter my exercise regimen, but the new exercise plan I follow is just as good or better than when I went to the gym all the time. During the winter months I work out at home because our roads aren’t so great during the winter and I don’t like to take unnecessary risks when the snow comes. Not a huge change when you think about it.

COVID has touched my family. My wife, my brother, and my nephew and his girlfriend all got it. Luckily, no one was hospitalized. My parents have been COVID free, mainly because we are all hermits and I only go out to get groceries or run errands. Since retirement, I stay at home most of the time anyway. All of my work is done right on this laptop. I read, write, learn, and entertain myself on this laptop or my Xbox console.

This year will be a great learning year, because there are so many things I need to learn for the new position I hold in ECKANKAR. My role as the State of Michigan’s lead missionary, require knowledge in data science, digital marketing, MS Excel charts, graphic design, and yes, even some programming. Does the role require that I learn these things? Not really. But I’ve always been the person who likes to take a position to a new level. By learning these things, I’ll be better prepared to understand the data we are receiving from our website, Facebook page, and our numerous Meetups that we use to put out the ECKANKAR message in Michigan.

Change is only hard when we fight it. Change is only painful when we only look at what we have lost. Change can be good, if you look at the change in a positive light. Look at what you have gained over the last year. Look at the changes you took to protect yourself and comply with your government guidance. What changes did you make? Were they beneficial? Mine were.

There’s a story I read a long time ago about trees. There was a passage about willow trees and how they “bend” with the wind, instead of trying to fight it. The wind in this case is a metaphor for the changes that come into our lives. Those that are most flexible survive; those that are not tend to “snap”. Be the willow during these changing times. Your flexibility will allow you to survive the changes in these tumultuous times. The weight of these changes will not break you, because you will be flexible enough to let the weight of these changes fall from your limbs.

Life goes on. Regardless of the changes brought on by external events like COVID, governmental elections, or anything else, we also change over time. Change is inevitable. Change will happen. Accept the changes that come and do your best. Be grateful for all the things that change brings into your life. You’ll find a new gratitude for these changes and life will be much easier. Change is only hard when we resist it.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Funny Friday – A woman…

29 Friday Jan 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Funny Friday

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Friday, FriYAY, Funny, Giggle, Happy, Laugh, Relax, Snicker, Weekend

A woman accompanies her husband to a doctor’s visit. After the checkup, the doctor calls only her into his office. “The outlook isn’t good,” he tells her.

“Your husband is under a tremendous amount of stress. If you don’t do exactly what I tell you, he may not survive to see the end of the month. Each morning, make him a nice healthy breakfast. Do the same for lunch and dinner. Always be in a pleasant mood around him and keep his spirits up. Don’t burden him with chores or stress him with the details of your day. At night, if he’s up for it, agree to any request for sexual pleasure. If you do all those things, he’ll live a long life.” On the way home, the husband asks his wife what the doctor said to her in the closed-door meeting.

She replies, “You’re going to die.”

Have a great weekend, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thinking/Thankful Thursdays – Dr. Maurice Hilleman

28 Thursday Jan 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thankful Thursdays, Thinking Thursdays

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Childhood Diseases, Covid, Curiosity Stream, Disease, Hero, Hilleman, Medicine, Vaccines, Vaccinology

Have you ever heard of Dr. Maurice Hilleman? I didn’t until my brother recommended the film Hilleman: A Perilous Quest to Save the World’s Children. It’s a good film and explains a great deal about the many challenges surrounding the creation of vaccines. Since all the talk in the news, social media, and everything else is about President Biden, President Trump, or Corona virus, I figured this would be a good way to get off of politics and really see what creating a vaccine is all about.

Here are a few links if you’d like to learn more about Dr. Maurice Hilleman. If you want to watch the film, I believe it is only being offered on Curiosity Stream, but you may be able to find it elsewhere. If you want to watch it on Curiosity Stream, the annual membership is 20 USD. I don’t know if Curiosity Stream is offered in other countries. You’ll have to check.

Links:

https://app.curiositystream.com/video/3928 (Curiosity Stream, Hilleman Movie)

https://app.curiositystream.com/ (Curiosity Stream’s home page if you’d like to get a year’s subscription)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC557162/ (Article about Dr. Hilleman on the National Institute of Health’s website)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Hilleman (Wikipedia Page)

It’s amazing how many people do not know who this guy is. He is the 20th Century’s most influential vaccinologist, creating over 40 vaccines that are responsible for saving 8 million lives a year, particularly the lives of children. He created vaccines for the Mumps, Measles, Hepatitis A and B, chickenpox, meningitis, pneumonia, and influenza.

I enjoy watching documentaries, particularly those about science and history. If you like these too, Curiosity Stream is a real bargain. I am not an affiliate and get nothing if you join up. My whole family watches this channel, and we find it a real treat.

Happy Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – 5 Quotes

27 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Wisdom Wednesday

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Albert Einstein, Discovery, Exploration, Intellect, Mathematics, Physics, Science, Thought Experiments

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.

Albert Einstein

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.

Albert Einstein

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.

Albert Einstein

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

Albert Einstein

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.

Albert Einstein

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein If you’d like to read about Einstein, click on the link before this sentence.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – Vaccines, New Strains, and Two Masks, Oh My!

26 Tuesday Jan 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Ted Talk

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

close downs, coordination, Covid, masks, Pandemic, quarantine, Small pox, Solutions, vaccination, World Health Organization

2021 is off to a great start (wink, wink). The vaccines are out, new mutations of the virus are appearing, and in the U.S. at least, and they are now recommending wearing two masks, not one. Boy, can it get any more weird? Anyway, here’s a short video discussing the various ways to end a pandemic. I hope you find it as informative as I did. Have a great Tuesday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Why 2% Succeed and the Rest don’t!

25 Monday Jan 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Motivation Monday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

attainable, Get it, Goals, Happy Monday!!, measurable, motivation, move forward, Push, realistic, specific, time limit, YouTube

I hope this inspires you as much as it did me. Have a great week, folks!

Workout Routine:

Full body workouts (exercise bands) Mon – Friday

Get at it, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Funny Friday – Aliens

22 Friday Jan 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Funny Friday

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Chuckle, Friday, FriYAY, Funny, Giggle, Happy, Laughter, Relax, Snicker, Weekend

The president was awakened in the middle of the night by a call from the Pentagon.

“Mr. President,” the four-star general began, “I’ve got good news and bad news.”

“What’s the bad news?” the president asked.

“The country is being taken over by aliens from another planet.”

“My God,” the president said. “What’s the good news?”

“The good news is,” said the general, “they pee oil and they’ve eaten Rush Limbaugh.”

Have a great Friday, folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thinking Thursday – Udemy

21 Thursday Jan 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Thinking Thursdays

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

cheap, easy, fascinating, inexpensive, Learning, Life-long Learning, new courses, new material, Thinking, Udemy

As the future unfolds, many of us will need to retool and learn new things. I decided to pursue the Python programming language. First, it’s a pretty easy language to learn. There are some things that still confuse me, but mostly, particularly with what I want to do with it, the language is very “learnable”.

I’m taking a Python course on Udemy. These courses cost money, but if you are patient, you can get most of them for less than 20 USD. It’s a real bargain when you consider that you have permanent access to the course, the instructors are outstanding in the 4-star rated and above courses, and you get so much content that you’ll be busy for a few months.

I’m enrolled in an NLP course, two Python courses, a graphic design course, two Excel courses, a digital marketing course, and a data science and business analysis course. I’m taking these because my new position in a religious organization requires that I know how to do all these things (excluding python and NLP). My goal is to complete all these courses before the end of 2021. Not a problem. I’ll get there in no time. The key is to do a little each day. By doing a little learning each day, you’ll retain the information more efficiently. To repeat, since you have lifelong access to Udemy courses you purchase, you are free to go back and review anything that you forget or need to refine. It’s a terrific service. I highly recommend it.

Is there something you’d like to learn, just to learn it? Head on over to Udemy. You won’t be disappointed.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – JFK

20 Wednesday Jan 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Wisdom Wednesday

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

First President, inauguration, JFK, John F. Kennedy, president, wisdom, Wisdom Wednesday

Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.

John F. Kennedy

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

John F. Kennedy

My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

John F. Kennedy

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

John F. Kennedy

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

John F. Kennedy

President John F. Kennedy was my first president. I was a month old when he was assassinated. Here’s a wikipedia link describing his life and times. For those of you watching today, enjoy the inauguration! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday – The Executive Branch

19 Tuesday Jan 2021

Posted by Dave Gardner in Ted Talk

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

4-year terms, Article II, Constitution, elections, Framers, inauguration, Presidency, President of the United States

Considering tomorrow’s inauguration, I thought it would be fun to share an educational video, courtesy TEDEd, about how the framers came up with the idea of an Executive Branch of government. They did this in 1787, and the result rested in Article II of the United States Constitution. Watch this short video below. I find these to be very enlightening.

For those of you interested in more, check out this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States

I enjoy these little “intellectual adventures” each day. I have an idea or something prompts me, and I dig in for a bit. It’s fun. I hope you enjoyed today’s posting. Post your comments below.

Happy Tuesday!!

Until next time…

Dave

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