When reaching for that tablet or sweater keep your elbows within the frame of your body. Let's not make this Black-Eye Friday!
You're welcome.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
The Thanks Whisperers
The Thanks Whisperers
Paul Peavy, MS. LMHC
We have become a nation of Thanks Whisperers. While we may
shout and yell about everything else like sports and politics and smartphones,
we only like to whisper an after thought of thanks.
I think it is interesting that people say that poor people
in our country somehow feel entitled to food stamps and healthcare, yet it
seems to me I’ve seen a lot of middle and upper classed kids who feel “entitled”
to their Starbucks, designer clothes, and a car. This is not a statement trying
to evoke class warfare. I think we all take so much for granted in America
that we truly have lost touch with being grateful for the basics.
I am not the inventor of the irony that we will pause on
Thanksgiving for “ALL THESE MANY BLESSINGS!”
and then get up at 4:00 am to create a capitalism stampede for what we want
the next morning on Black Friday. Heck, sometimes we can’t wait until Friday
and now have the stores opening Thanksgiving afternoon.
If one were so inclined how would one go from being a Thanks
Whisperer to a Thanks Liver?
(Not thestinky iron rich meat but a person who
lives gratefully.)
- Take inventory. Notice what you really do have. Start at, “Do I have food and shelter?” “Am I safe?” Write these things down and you may be shocked by what all you do have.
- Live
gratefully. Be grateful to your cab driver, barista, secretary, or
waitress. Say “Thank you” to people when they provide you service. ASK ABOUT THEIR LIVES! Learn
something about these other people and then follow up with them each time
you see them.
- Sit on it. Meditating or praying about what you are thankful for can indeed reset your mindset.
- Laugh. Laughter is the ultimate sign that you have what you appreciate what you have.
- Be with friends and family and don’t turn it into a whine festival. Too much time spent with friends and family. If that time usually turns into a negatifestival do something to break the cycle. Play a board game, go to a movie, do something to start a positive cycle.
Happy Thanksliving!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Number 12 Worst Valentine's Gift For Her
I heard on the radio today, "Hoodie Footy Pajamas for her. It will only take you a second to order but she will think you've been thinking of her for weeeeeeks!" Umm... not so sure about the woman feeling really hot dressed in the pajamas of a three year-old but also if you had been thinking of her for weeeeeks and this is the best you could come up with...YIKES!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Number 11
Just found number 11 for worst Valentine's Gifts for Her:
Whataburger, yes, Whataburger is offering a romantic night out from 5-9 on Valentine's night. Yes, buy one Patty Melt Meal and get the second one free. Yes, imagine the look in your woman's eyes as you pull up to the great tin orange and white striped teepee and say, "Surprise!!!" Oh yeah, gooooooood luck with that! The couch oughta sleep real comfy.
Whataburger, yes, Whataburger is offering a romantic night out from 5-9 on Valentine's night. Yes, buy one Patty Melt Meal and get the second one free. Yes, imagine the look in your woman's eyes as you pull up to the great tin orange and white striped teepee and say, "Surprise!!!" Oh yeah, gooooooood luck with that! The couch oughta sleep real comfy.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Top Ten Worst Valentine Gifts For Her
10.
Anything that looks like you won it at the fair. There has never been an article in Better Homes and Garden on how to establish mood in a room decorated around the five-foot tall pink Tweety Bird motif.
9.
Anything that you accidentally left the receipt from The Dollar Store in. Also destroy all receipts if the gift is from Napa, The Snap-On Tool Truck, or Ace Hardware. Remember the answer to the question of , “Where did you get this?” should always be, “The mall.”
8.
Singing Big Mouth Billy Bass. (Even the love song edition)
7.
Monster Truck Rally Tickets. If you even thought this... If you even thought this…If… Never mind.
6.
A football. If she says she loves football she means she likes watching over-sized steroid induced millionaire hunks running around in tight pants.
5.
Anything too small. Your sweetheart is not the same size as the teen-age sales clerk. So quit saying, “Oh she’s about your size,” to every anorexic bee-bop salesperson that smiles at you.
4.
Cooking a romantic dinner made with Spam or Vienna Sausage. Trust me when your huntin’ buddies say, “Hey man, you’re a pretty good cook!” They mean, “Hey man, it’s food and I didn’t have to fix it!”
3.
The Best of The Three Stooges video series. The words, “Best of” and “Three Stooges” are an oxymoron in female language.
2.
Pots, pans, vacuum cleaner, or anything that involves manual labor. This is Valentine’s Day, not MAID’S DAY!
1.
Nothing. Even if she says, “Oh don’t get me anything,” get her something. If you arrive home and realize you have forgotten to get her anything, tear your shirt and bang your head on the car several times. Tell her you had the prettiest diamond bracelet for her but you were mugged by a teen suburban scooter gang in the driveway.* Just a reminder, Valentine’s Day falls on February 14th this year.
Anything that looks like you won it at the fair. There has never been an article in Better Homes and Garden on how to establish mood in a room decorated around the five-foot tall pink Tweety Bird motif.
9.
Anything that you accidentally left the receipt from The Dollar Store in. Also destroy all receipts if the gift is from Napa, The Snap-On Tool Truck, or Ace Hardware. Remember the answer to the question of , “Where did you get this?” should always be, “The mall.”
8.
Singing Big Mouth Billy Bass. (Even the love song edition)
7.
Monster Truck Rally Tickets. If you even thought this... If you even thought this…If… Never mind.
6.
A football. If she says she loves football she means she likes watching over-sized steroid induced millionaire hunks running around in tight pants.
5.
Anything too small. Your sweetheart is not the same size as the teen-age sales clerk. So quit saying, “Oh she’s about your size,” to every anorexic bee-bop salesperson that smiles at you.
4.
Cooking a romantic dinner made with Spam or Vienna Sausage. Trust me when your huntin’ buddies say, “Hey man, you’re a pretty good cook!” They mean, “Hey man, it’s food and I didn’t have to fix it!”
3.
The Best of The Three Stooges video series. The words, “Best of” and “Three Stooges” are an oxymoron in female language.
2.
Pots, pans, vacuum cleaner, or anything that involves manual labor. This is Valentine’s Day, not MAID’S DAY!
1.
Nothing. Even if she says, “Oh don’t get me anything,” get her something. If you arrive home and realize you have forgotten to get her anything, tear your shirt and bang your head on the car several times. Tell her you had the prettiest diamond bracelet for her but you were mugged by a teen suburban scooter gang in the driveway.* Just a reminder, Valentine’s Day falls on February 14th this year.
Top Ten Worst Valentine
The Top Ten Worst Valentine Gifts for Her
10.
Anything that looks like you won it at the fair. There has never been an article in Better Homes and Garden on how to establish mood in a room decorated around the five-foot tall pink Tweety Bird motif.
9.
Anything that you accidentally left the receipt from The Dollar Store in. Also destroy all receipts if the gift is from Napa, The Snap-On Tool Truck, or Ace Hardware. Remember the answer to the question of , “Where did you get this?” should always be, “The mall”
8.
Singing Big Mouth Billy Bass. (Even the love song edition)
7.
Monster Truck Rally Tickets. If you even thought this... If you even thought this…If… Never mind.
6.
A football. If she says she loves football she means she likes watching over-sized steroid induced millionaire hunks running around in tight pants.
5.
Anything too small. Your sweetheart is not the same size as the teen-age sales clerk. So quit saying, “Oh she’s about your size,” to every anorexic bee-bop salesperson that smiles at you.
4.
Cooking a romantic dinner made with Spam or Vienna Sausage. Trust me when your huntin’ buddies say, “Hey man, you’re a pretty good cook!” They mean, “Hey man, it’s food and I didn’t have to fix it!”
3.
The Best of The Three Stooges video series. The words, “Best of” and “Three Stooges” are an oxymoron in female language.
2.
Pots, pans, vacuum cleaner, or anything that involves manual labor. This is Valentine’s Day, not MAID’S DAY!
1.
Nothing. Even if she says, “Oh don’t get me anything,” get her something. If you arrive home and realize you have forgotten to get her anything, tear your shirt and bang your head on the car several times. Tell her you had the prettiest diamond bracelet for her but you were mugged by a teen suburban scooter gang in the driveway.* Just a reminder, Valentine’s Day falls on February 14th this year.
10.
Anything that looks like you won it at the fair. There has never been an article in Better Homes and Garden on how to establish mood in a room decorated around the five-foot tall pink Tweety Bird motif.
9.
Anything that you accidentally left the receipt from The Dollar Store in. Also destroy all receipts if the gift is from Napa, The Snap-On Tool Truck, or Ace Hardware. Remember the answer to the question of , “Where did you get this?” should always be, “The mall”
8.
Singing Big Mouth Billy Bass. (Even the love song edition)
7.
Monster Truck Rally Tickets. If you even thought this... If you even thought this…If… Never mind.
6.
A football. If she says she loves football she means she likes watching over-sized steroid induced millionaire hunks running around in tight pants.
5.
Anything too small. Your sweetheart is not the same size as the teen-age sales clerk. So quit saying, “Oh she’s about your size,” to every anorexic bee-bop salesperson that smiles at you.
4.
Cooking a romantic dinner made with Spam or Vienna Sausage. Trust me when your huntin’ buddies say, “Hey man, you’re a pretty good cook!” They mean, “Hey man, it’s food and I didn’t have to fix it!”
3.
The Best of The Three Stooges video series. The words, “Best of” and “Three Stooges” are an oxymoron in female language.
2.
Pots, pans, vacuum cleaner, or anything that involves manual labor. This is Valentine’s Day, not MAID’S DAY!
1.
Nothing. Even if she says, “Oh don’t get me anything,” get her something. If you arrive home and realize you have forgotten to get her anything, tear your shirt and bang your head on the car several times. Tell her you had the prettiest diamond bracelet for her but you were mugged by a teen suburban scooter gang in the driveway.* Just a reminder, Valentine’s Day falls on February 14th this year.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
The Super Bowl For The Uninterested
Six points (the same amount as for a touchdown, which is what it is called when a player goes into the colored rectangle at the end of the field with the football) for those who end up at a Super Bowl party who have no interest in being there:
Say, “Who let the dogs out?” every time there is more than one player who makes a tackle.
Pass out scorecards (0.0 –10.0) for people to rate the end zone dances.
Pass out rating pads for the really important people, the advertisers. Cumulate the scores and e-mail the scores to sponsors along with a bill of $1,000 per consultant at your party.
Keep a tally of the number of “What a stupid call!”, “What a spaz!”, “I coulda caught that!”, etc… per guest. At the end make a “Whiner of the Year” award and everyone gets to follow this person around work the next day and criticize his or her performance.
Six more points to try if you really want to get into the game and sound knowledgeable; use these phrases or do these actions with the confidence of an old pro:
After the coin toss, pack your things, put your coat and on your way out say, “Wow! That was exciting. All that work, all those pads, and it comes down to one coin flip. That was great! See y’all later.”
When the game is about to start say, “I hope we win the tip-off”.
When the quarterback goes to take the ball from the center say, “See it is OK for guys show their affection in public”.
After a touchdown jump up and actually do a touchdown dance. Don’t be embarrassed if you’re the only one gettin’ down, many parties have a house rule that states the first one up is the only lucky fan that gets to actually celebrate. (Remember these key dances, The Funky Chicken, The Cabbage Patch, The Worm, and, of course, The Robot.)
When the kicker kicks after a touchdown, say, “Well, now that wasn’t very nice. He kicked the ball into the stands so the other team won’t have a turn with the ball.”
Say, “Boy I wish ABC was carrying the game. I miss a good Dennis Miller comparison of the offensive line with the gang from The Iliad and The Odyssey.”
Sneak the remote control into your pocket and change the channel when the ball is in the air.
Say, “Whassup!!! With that Call?” every three minutes.
Say, “Who let the dogs out?” every time there is more than one player who makes a tackle.
Pass out scorecards (0.0 –10.0) for people to rate the end zone dances.
Pass out rating pads for the really important people, the advertisers. Cumulate the scores and e-mail the scores to sponsors along with a bill of $1,000 per consultant at your party.
Keep a tally of the number of “What a stupid call!”, “What a spaz!”, “I coulda caught that!”, etc… per guest. At the end make a “Whiner of the Year” award and everyone gets to follow this person around work the next day and criticize his or her performance.
Six more points to try if you really want to get into the game and sound knowledgeable; use these phrases or do these actions with the confidence of an old pro:
After the coin toss, pack your things, put your coat and on your way out say, “Wow! That was exciting. All that work, all those pads, and it comes down to one coin flip. That was great! See y’all later.”
When the game is about to start say, “I hope we win the tip-off”.
When the quarterback goes to take the ball from the center say, “See it is OK for guys show their affection in public”.
After a touchdown jump up and actually do a touchdown dance. Don’t be embarrassed if you’re the only one gettin’ down, many parties have a house rule that states the first one up is the only lucky fan that gets to actually celebrate. (Remember these key dances, The Funky Chicken, The Cabbage Patch, The Worm, and, of course, The Robot.)
When the kicker kicks after a touchdown, say, “Well, now that wasn’t very nice. He kicked the ball into the stands so the other team won’t have a turn with the ball.”
Say, “Boy I wish ABC was carrying the game. I miss a good Dennis Miller comparison of the offensive line with the gang from The Iliad and The Odyssey.”
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
The Youth of Today Are NOT Our Future
I spoke to the Florida Campus Compact yesterday. That is a group of college students from all over the state of Florida that came to Tallahassee to learn about civic involvement.
With all my work with kids from 3 to 18 (OK I still like the idea of 24 year olds still having a whole lot of kidishness in them, too). Here is the one reason that a lot of people give for working with kids that I do not believe; "The children are our future."
Nope. Don't buy it. Don't believe it. The youth of today are very much our present. They are a physical representation of our current heart, priorities, beliefs and values. How we treat are youth shows how we treat someone who is simply less capable than ourselves.
Yes, if you turn a kid on to education your house is less likely to be vandalized. If you give a kid a good recreation program you might not have thugs scaring you in your neighborhood. If you give a kid a mentor you probably do give yourself a better future. But after all that better future starts with today, doesn't it?
With all my work with kids from 3 to 18 (OK I still like the idea of 24 year olds still having a whole lot of kidishness in them, too). Here is the one reason that a lot of people give for working with kids that I do not believe; "The children are our future."
Nope. Don't buy it. Don't believe it. The youth of today are very much our present. They are a physical representation of our current heart, priorities, beliefs and values. How we treat are youth shows how we treat someone who is simply less capable than ourselves.
Yes, if you turn a kid on to education your house is less likely to be vandalized. If you give a kid a good recreation program you might not have thugs scaring you in your neighborhood. If you give a kid a mentor you probably do give yourself a better future. But after all that better future starts with today, doesn't it?
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