Sometimes Your Freedom Is Found In Forgiveness…

One of the easiest things to do is ignore or neglect a relationship in which you need to demonstrate forgiveness.  I can think of one immediately that I’m kind of doing this.

Forgiving someone can be easy if the person has not perpetrated something devious and if the person has a long track record with you.  But if someone does something awful or spiteful, then forgiving them can be really difficult.  And forgiveness doesn’t always happen if the offender does not apologize.  So there we are, offended, hurt, angry, upset, sad.  No one says “I’m sorry” and no one says “I forgive you”.  Now life moves on and the offender might not think twice about the occurrence.  You, however, think about it for a while and eventually kind of move on; so you think.

But every time you see said person you instantly recall what they did and you instantly relive the event with all the emotional side dishes.

Here’s the crazy thing…most of us have tons of these types of occurrences happen to us over the course of our life.  We relive a lot of happenings like the one I described.  It makes me wonder what the long-term impact is of holding all these events inside instead of exorcising these demons and letting them go?

Why do we hold on to these things?  Family disagreements that result in estrangement for years and years.  Lost friendships over an argument  that we cannot recall the original reason we started arguing.

Anyway, my point is to say it might be time to forgive; even if the other person hasn’t asked for forgiveness.  Why hold on to the emotions?  Why should you be the one to carry the emotional baggage?  It doesn’t make sense to me that most of us do this.

Forgiveness is a two-way street and is not contingent on an apology.

Danny

Rainy Days Make Me Contemplate Life…

It is interesting that rainy days force me into deep introspection.  Maybe it is the changing of seasons from winter to spring?  I’m not sure, but today it is rainy and I can’t get my brain to shut down.

I have a lot of change going on right now.  I am about to begin a new MS medication.  I have an upcoming procedure for an on-going medical issue.  My role in my job is changing.  I am in month 3 of therapy which brings its own challenges.  And the combination of all these things happening at the same time has my head spinning.

Rain feels refreshing.  It washes away the dirt and the pollen and brings about growth and life.  Rain represents new beginnings and a chance for a fresh start.

Sometimes I would like the option to hit pause.  I’d like to be able to stop life from happening so quickly and take a moment to breathe; collect my thoughts before other events cause new thoughts and worries.  But, alas, it isn’t an option.  Regardless of how overwhelming things can seem, this rock keeps on spinning and I have to find a way to work through problems while maintaining my composure.

Maybe I could clone myself and use my clone like a stuntman in a movie?!  Every time I need a break I just call in the clone to take my place for a day while I relax on the couch?

Now that is a solution I could get behind.

Danny

You Don’t Get Big Bucks For What You Do, But What You Know…

I might be late to the table, but I had some recent thoughts on the fast food workers versus $15 per hour wage debate.  For those of you who might not be familiar with the debate, the fast food workers in the United States have been demanding a pay increase to $15 per hour.  My thoughts began when Evelina and I went on our New York road trip and a McDonald’s location had a ton of self-serve kiosks.

Listening to the fast workers argue for more money reminded me of something a friend of mine told me many years ago.  He said, “You don’t get paid big bucks for what you do, but what you know.”  At that time he was a pilot and I was a golf pro.  He made a great salary and I made an average salary.  His point was that he got paid big dollars not to fly a plane, but to keep it from crashing.  He had knowledge that the common person didn’t have; that being how to fly and land a jumbo jet full of passengers.

I on the other hand was a golf pro and golf pros are a dime-a-dozen.  There was no particular knowledge that I possessed that any other golf pro didn’t possess.  And when you work a job which isn’t based on specialized knowledge, you put yourself in a position to have your pay limited.  And you shouldn’t be surprised when it is.

Most jobs have a pay ceiling.  If I walked into my bosses office tomorrow and asked for twice the going rate for my position I better be one heck of a sales person or get prepared to have my request denied.

Once I recognized the value of specialized knowledge I dedicated myself to developing specific skills in my current role and voila, an opportunity presented itself.

I have recognized that if I want to make 4, 5 or even 10 times what I make now, that I must know something that others don’t know; especially something my company wants that I possess particular knowledge about.

No offense to fast food workers, but there is no particular, specialized skill set needed to perform their duties.  And because of this fact, their pay will always be capped.  Even if they get a raise to $15 per hour, how long will it be until they demand $18 or $20 per hour?  At this point we are talking simple economics; the pay will eventually exceed the value of the job.

Don’t make the same mistake, make sure what you know is incredibly desirable and sought after, not ordinary and commonplace.

Danny