When Push Shoves

It has been one hard day. I'm alone in a hotel room. I am tired. I am writing to decompress. So what will I write about tonight? I think I will tell you some of my favorite sayings. I like colloquialisms. I like to look up the origin. What made someone, somewhere, at sometime say these words.

The first one is a Biblical reference. It comes from the Book of Matthew, chapter 7, verse 4. To sum it up, don't be taking splinters out of another's eye when you have a board sticking out of your own. I use this to help me remember that it is so easy to find fault in other people when I need to clean up my own act. Perfect at this, I am not (Sorry, Yoda took over there for a minute).

The second saying is one that I shorten all the time. You may hear me say "Pots and Kettles". The saying is "That's like the pot calling the kettle black." One website says that they origin of this saying is the 1600's and refers to hypocrisy. One person saying that another is something, usually not a nice something, when they are the same. An example is when someone points out that a co-worker is always late for work when they are late everyday too. "Pots and kettles."

The last one I heard on my guilty pleasure, "Supernatural". On an episode one brother says to the other "When push shoves, you will do the right thing." Love it. This saying is "When push comes to shove,...". The best I can find is this is an American idiom and first came about in the 1950's. Basically it means when things come to a certain point, a decision or action will occur. I hadn't used this before, but I really like it. I think I will add it to my repertoire.

Anyway, these are a few of the things I find interesting and it has kept me occupied for a few minutes. Take a few minutes to think about the words or saying you use each day. Why do you use them? Where did you first hear them? Where do they come from? It can be an exercise in self-discovery. Maybe I will share some more later.

Inspirations of the week

I have decided that we all need some inspiration. We get bogged down in our problems, our concerns, our fears, the darkness of our lives and we forget the light that surrounds us if we look around. Here are three stories I found inspirational this past week.

1. I subscribe to the Disney Park Blogs (are you really surprised?) and they reported on a gentleman, John Schmitz, who celebrated his 100th birthday at the Magic Kingdom. The blog reported that Mr. Schmitz wished to ride "it's a small world" for his birthday and that he did. That's what I want to do on my 100th birthday. Not ride "it's a small world" necessarily, but to be in Disney World. This is certainly a reason to live, well for me it is.

2. I was listening to NPR and heard the story of 70 year old woman, Eluid Haliday,when faced with someone carjacking her van, jumped in the sliding door and forthwith put a chock hold on the thief. She told the interviewer that she was attached to the van and it was hers. She said he had no right to take it. The thief wrecked the van and ran away. Ms. Haliday said that her husband, who had passed, gave her the van and she was attached to it. To have the conviction to protect what you love, person, object, beliefs, whatever it may be, is a great thing. I hope I can live up to this inspiration in what I do each day.

3. This story is a personal story. I have actually been in contact with this lady, Carol Graham. In trying to secure a speaking engagement for an upcoming conference, I came into contact with Mrs. Graham. Her husband, Major General Mark Graham, is a career military man. They had three children, two boys and one girl. When I say had, it is because one son was killed in Iraq and the other son took his own life after struggling with depression. Mrs. Graham and her husband have turned the loss of thier son to suicide into a crusade helping surviving families and those who may be struggling with thoughts of suicide. This is inspirational in itself, but not what is an inspiration to me at this moment. The fact was that during our conversation, Mrs. Graham took to the time to mention how I had inspired her. I have a tag line on my e-mail that says "Keep moving forward." She said that she thought this was wonderful and that she had found herself using the term in her daily life. Her words that I had inspired her had the same message to me. Part of our daily lives should be to tell people how they inspire us.

So many times we get lost in the darkness. I think it is important that we look for light to keep us going and then share that light in return.

Lesson of the Coal Mines

I listen to NPR most mornings and afternoon, coming to and from work. This afternoon I heard a report from Youth Radio about a young Kentuckian who grew up in coal country. She has grow up to be a vocal opponent of coal mining industry and has lost contact with her older brother because of it. But one thing she says is that no matter which side of mining you fall on, when there is a tragedy like what happened at the Upper Big Branch mine brings people together. She commented that her Facebook page contained message of sorrow and prayers for the miners, their families, and rescuers.

What I take away from is this. Whatever cause you choose, take your side. Decide if you are going to be on the side of the mining company, the miner unions, or the environmentalists. People should stand for something. But whatever your stand, don't lose sight of the people at the heart of the cause. No matter which side you are on, don't put it above the people, don't put it above your family.

I don't claim to know a thing about the mining issues...just what I have heard on sporatic news reports...I do know that I am sad for the loss of the family of this young lady not to the mine, but because the cause became greater than family.