RichardHarlos.com

Is it possible to live every day as gratitude-aware as we are on Thanksgiving Day?

I think it is, and that it’s personally — as well as socially — beneficial to do so; here’s why:

There’s an old adage that says, “You are what you think.” In other words, the attitude that a person holds most often in their awareness is likely to be the governing perspective both for how they view the world as well as how they respond to it. When we look around at life and notice — or give our attention and focus to — the things around us that aren’t perfect, we tend to see our glass as half-empty. That focus on what we lack, or on what’s not right, helps us interpret life as unpleasant, unfair, etc.

Life isn’t anything of the sort, dear Reader. Life is nothing at all, in fact. It’s our experience that’s something, and it’s our interpretation of our experience — born of what we give attention to, what we focus on — that determines how we see, feel and think about life.

I’m not suggesting that we pretend that the world is something entirely beautiful and without flaws; that would be denial. Instead, what I’m suggesting is that we each have a choice about where we focus.

What is your life experience right now? Have you had a good day so far? Perhaps more important: what will your next moment be like? Ask yourself one simple, attention-directing question: What are you choosing to focus on right now?

Imagine that you’re walking down the street when suddenly a very warm liquid smacks you in the face! After the shock of that moment subsides you realize that you’ve been doused by coffee that was carelessly tossed out of a passing car. By the time you realize what’s happened, the car has travelled too far even to read the license plate.

How do you feel about what’s just happened to you? Shocked? Pissed? Ok, hold that thought and follow me a little farther into this scenario…

Later that day (after you’ve cleaned yourself up) you mention to a friend that people who toss their coffee carelessly out of their car windows are really selfish and your friend responds with some irritation, “Well aren’t YOU the judgmental one! I toss my coffee out the window all the time; does that make me a ‘bad’ person?”

You decide to ask them how they’d feel if they happened to be walking down the street one day and suddenly got hit with someone else’s coffee and they go silent. After a moment, you ask them if they’re going to answer the question and they reply, “I’m not going to answer because you’re just looking for a reason to argue; I got nothin’.”

So how do you feel about THIS encounter with your ‘friend’? Frustrated? Angry? Ok, hold onto that thought, too, because there’s one more scenario I’d like for you to consider…

Later that night (after your stalled conversation with your friend) you decide to share your feelings about the day’s events (both the coffee and the friend conversation) with a trusted family member. In describing both situations you’re hoping for some sliver of empathy but instead you’re told, “You know, sometimes people just don’t want to analyze things all the time. You can be overbearing sometimes and unless people see things your way, you just won’t let an issue go. I think the problem is that your technique for talking to people isn’t effective.”

I give up. Just for today, I totally surrender to the mindless, selfish reality that so many people–too many for my taste–are self-centered and inconsiderate when it comes to seeing, let alone considering, how their selfishness and thoughtlessness affect others.

Hello, dear Readers. It’s been a while since I’ve posted here and no doubt I’ve betrayed some readers’ expectations. Mea culpa. I hope, once again, you will forgive me for this extended silence and, once again, it’s my intention to NOT let so much time pass between posts. Thank you, dear Readers!

As if that weren’t bad enough, I’m breaking that extended silence for a completely self-indulgent reason: my birthday is coming up and I’m hoping for some “Happy Birthday!” wishes from my readers.

Lest I bore your with whining and pity-poor-me statements, I’ll just say that this year has been an extraordinarily challenging one for me but that it’s all working itself out for my good because…

The Universe LOVES Me!

So for those of you who are inclined to leave me a happy-birthday comment: Thank you!

I believe this new year of my life is already showing promise and I expect it will only improve with each passing day… hour… moment!

Thank you, dear Readers, for visiting this humble blog time and again… for sharing your comments… for being a part of the experience that has helped this blog make an appearance in more than 130 countries and to be seen by more than 33,000 visitors!

When I began this blog 2 years ago my hope was to make a difference in the world by sharing my individual viewpoint on a variety of topics that, to me, seemed important for people to know. My hope extended to the idea that people, if they just knew some of the shenanigans that were occurring, would be outraged… incensed… but more than that, that they would unite around the motives of justice and freedom and, in grass roots style, get mad as hell and decide, once and for all, that they weren’t going to take it anymore!

Yes, it was a bit naive of me to think that my humble blog would be sufficient for this kind of reaction but I am, after all, an idealistic guy. Truth be told, this is still largely my vision for this blog. I don’t think I’ve ever shared my motivation like this before so let this be an extended invitation for you to share your thoughts, comments, questions and criticisms regarding my blog and/or my motives for writing here.

I sincerely hope you’ll leave me a comment in this post, even if it’s nothing more than “Happy Birthday, Richard!”

The Real News network is a relative newcomer on the network news scene. Its mission is simple to understand but, sadly, not very common among American mainstream media in the year 2007. The video, below, explains The Real News network quite well so rather than paraphrase it, I’ll just invite you to watch it for yourself. [Read more →]

This is a verbatim excerpt from a letter that I wrote to a friend earlier today. I’ve changed the name for the sake of anonymity but otherwise, it is exactly as I wrote it to my friend.

As for the title of this post, it comes from 2 sources:

1. “Resistance is futile” comes from Star Trek’s “Borg”. For those not familiar, Wikipedia says this: “The Borg are a fictional race of cyborgs in the Star Trek universe, first introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series. They are characterized by relentless pursuit of targets for assimilation, their collective consciousness that enables rapid adaptability to almost any defense, and the ability to continue functioning properly despite seemingly devastating blows. They have become a powerful symbol in popular culture for any juggernaut against whom ‘resistance is futile.’“
2. “Pass it on” is just a word-of-mouth idea that’s been with me since childhood. You know, it’s where one kid whispers to another, “Hey! Jack’s got cooties! Pass it on!” That idea gets developed in this letter to my friend, who seems to see current circustances in a very hopeless, helpless way, as if the Borg itself had taken over America (I know, I know… don’t EVEN get me started - LOL!).

Since you’re not one to talk about things like this, I won’t ask you to reply to me. What I will ask from you, as a friend, is that you give yourself 5 minutes of uninterrupted time and read what follows… read it in such a way that you actually take it in… that you actually think about it.

Jack, whether you realize it or not, your part in this situation is critically important. You, my friend, are critically important.

Please read with an open mind and heart…

I understand your feelings about not wanting to talk about politics, especially when you have friends whose lives are being put at risk in the midst of all this. [Read more →]