Good Day Everyone,
Instant replay has now infiltrated our lives to a point where we feel we can’t do without it. Time and time again, I have seen a family out enjoying a day of activities and video taping the activities. It amazes me how many fathers see their world through a lens, and not through their own eyes. By recording events, we are supposedly preserving them for the future, and that is true, however there are obstacles to the value of posterity.
Betty, the boys and I once took a trip out west to see the wonders of our country and we were able to borrow a then, state of the art Video Cassette Recorder to capture the trip. The “Cam-Corder” we borrowed must have weighed 8 pounds including the battery, this doesn’t sound like a lot until you start carrying it around for a few hours.
We took the trip in 1993 and have yet to watch even one of those tapes. Now the VCR tape format is going the way of the 8-track tape and soon we won’t have the ability to view it, and will have to have it converted to be able to pass it on to the newer technology of DVD. Maybe then we will watch it.
On the Brighter Side
It is true that the peripheral is eliminated through the camera lens and the ability to laser in on the details and dissect each movement, comments and gestures over and over again allows us to live the moment like never before. But it is also important to every so often, put down the camera and join in the moment and let your own memories be played in your minds eye whenever you wish.
This quote reminds me that it is memories job to preserve certain aspects of our lives and it was designed to be the perfect medium for the content as we need to see it.
Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.
~From the television show The Wonder Years
Of course I am certain that when I finally get around to converting the tapes to DVD and settle in to watch the images of our family, that the weight of that old Cam-Corder will not even be remembered (unless I was caught grumbling in the background). The pleasure of seeing the way we were will be more than rewarding, it will be delightful. I am sure we will make even more memories as we gather to watch those years gone by. So get the popcorn and let your memories roll, and remember to…..always look on the bright side of life.
Robert
Sunday, January 20, 2008
On the Bright Side
Good Day Everyone,
Recently one of the great explorers of all time passed away. Sir Edmund Hillary greatest achievement was conquering the highest peak in the world. There is certain sadness to reaching an unreachable height. First of all the challenge is gone, even though a new and great challenge may be out there, that milestone has been reached. Sort of like after Neil Armstrong landed on the moon (By the way, Neil Armstrong accompanied Hillary on a trip to the north pole making him the first man to have stood at the top of Everest and at both north and south poles).
Yes, others still see it as a challenge, and most of us won’t reach the moon, or visit the summit of Mount Everest, or visit either poles, but we have our own challenges and milestones to strive for. We still have many planets, and galaxies to explore, and we still have the depths of the ocean that remain undiscovered.
The second sadness is from not being able to really relive the experience and the feeling at that precise moment of achievement. As soon as someone reaches their goal, they begin to move away from the moment. Their elation begins to live only in memories.
But to me the biggest sadness in a challenge is at the hands of those that do not accept it and instead choose to leave them to others to try and conquer. It is about challenging yourself to conquer the unconquerable. To push the known limits beyond where individuals believe they can reach. Of course everyone has the desire be remembered when it is time to leave this world.
On the Brighter Side
Sir Hillary lived a life that most of us only dream about. Although he stood on the peak of Mount Everest for only a few heartbeats of time, fifteen minutes in fact. He captured the milestone in his mind and the hearts of the world by standing there for a moment and realizing where he was, how he got there, and he spent the rest of his life conquering new challenges and helping others conquer their own private challenges.
Notice that no one ever talks about how large challenges have to be to in order for them to hold importance, but instead, as the following quote conveys it is the acceptance and overcoming the challenge that makes it worthy.
“Having a dream is what keeps you alive. Overcoming the challenges make life worth living.”
Mary Tyler Moore (1936 - )
So, when you have accomplished a goal please take a moment and recognize it for what it is. Realize when you are on the top of your game, when things are going great. I think we should look for those peaks and stop and look around to appreciate the view. Look backwards to appreciate the struggle to the top, and recognize what got you there, and who helped. Say silent thanks or yell it out for all to hear. Recognize the moment of your conquest, remember it and move forward with time. Look for the next challenge and remember to…….. Always look on the bright side of life.
Have a wonderful time at the summit,
Robert
Recently one of the great explorers of all time passed away. Sir Edmund Hillary greatest achievement was conquering the highest peak in the world. There is certain sadness to reaching an unreachable height. First of all the challenge is gone, even though a new and great challenge may be out there, that milestone has been reached. Sort of like after Neil Armstrong landed on the moon (By the way, Neil Armstrong accompanied Hillary on a trip to the north pole making him the first man to have stood at the top of Everest and at both north and south poles).
Yes, others still see it as a challenge, and most of us won’t reach the moon, or visit the summit of Mount Everest, or visit either poles, but we have our own challenges and milestones to strive for. We still have many planets, and galaxies to explore, and we still have the depths of the ocean that remain undiscovered.
The second sadness is from not being able to really relive the experience and the feeling at that precise moment of achievement. As soon as someone reaches their goal, they begin to move away from the moment. Their elation begins to live only in memories.
But to me the biggest sadness in a challenge is at the hands of those that do not accept it and instead choose to leave them to others to try and conquer. It is about challenging yourself to conquer the unconquerable. To push the known limits beyond where individuals believe they can reach. Of course everyone has the desire be remembered when it is time to leave this world.
On the Brighter Side
Sir Hillary lived a life that most of us only dream about. Although he stood on the peak of Mount Everest for only a few heartbeats of time, fifteen minutes in fact. He captured the milestone in his mind and the hearts of the world by standing there for a moment and realizing where he was, how he got there, and he spent the rest of his life conquering new challenges and helping others conquer their own private challenges.
Notice that no one ever talks about how large challenges have to be to in order for them to hold importance, but instead, as the following quote conveys it is the acceptance and overcoming the challenge that makes it worthy.
“Having a dream is what keeps you alive. Overcoming the challenges make life worth living.”
Mary Tyler Moore (1936 - )
So, when you have accomplished a goal please take a moment and recognize it for what it is. Realize when you are on the top of your game, when things are going great. I think we should look for those peaks and stop and look around to appreciate the view. Look backwards to appreciate the struggle to the top, and recognize what got you there, and who helped. Say silent thanks or yell it out for all to hear. Recognize the moment of your conquest, remember it and move forward with time. Look for the next challenge and remember to…….. Always look on the bright side of life.
Have a wonderful time at the summit,
Robert
On the Bright Side
Greetings Everyone,
I was listening to National Public Radio the other day on my way home. A sure sign of my age, I know. There was a story that really caught my attention about the controversy surrounding people convicted of heinous crimes and sentenced to death. The story wasn’t about whether there should be a death penalty or not, it was about whether or not it was cruel to execute someone through means of lethal injection or not.
For those of us who didn’t have a clear understanding of the process there was a detailed technical description of the three drugs that were injected. The first one was an anesthesia, designed to render the person unconscious. The second is to paralyze the prisoner to eliminate the twitching and jerking that the prisoner’s body goes through when the last drug is injected. This last drug is the one that actually kills the prisoner by attacking their nervous system.
Of course this immediately sounded ridiculous to me. Why would any one care if someone who had killed others felt anything when they were being executed. After all, wasn’t the point of Capital Punishment that it would deter people from committing the crime? Shouldn’t we hope that they feel the pain that they have inflicted on others?
On the Brighter Side
This is what makes a civilization. The fact that the citizens hold themselves to the image of what they would like others to see them as, not lower their behavior to that they are trying to change, says a lot about our society.
Just the mere fact that there was a controversy brought to mind this quote about our civilization and its progression.
The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself.
Robert Ingersoll (1833 - 1899)
This question will not be resolved easily, not many questions posed to a civilization are. The number of citizens often equals the number of opinions on any given subject. Thanks to our constitution we can all speak our thoughts and join in any controversy we see value in resolving for ourselves, our neighbors, and our children, in the promise of a civilization that caters to the rights of the individual, and the betterment of the people as a whole.
There are a lot of lower issues that society has to answer, but isn’t it wonderful that there are people that stand-up for the noble causes? Isn’t it wonderful that we can all look to the future as a place of hope for a better society? A place where we can all be able to…….always look on the bright side of life.
Robert
I was listening to National Public Radio the other day on my way home. A sure sign of my age, I know. There was a story that really caught my attention about the controversy surrounding people convicted of heinous crimes and sentenced to death. The story wasn’t about whether there should be a death penalty or not, it was about whether or not it was cruel to execute someone through means of lethal injection or not.
For those of us who didn’t have a clear understanding of the process there was a detailed technical description of the three drugs that were injected. The first one was an anesthesia, designed to render the person unconscious. The second is to paralyze the prisoner to eliminate the twitching and jerking that the prisoner’s body goes through when the last drug is injected. This last drug is the one that actually kills the prisoner by attacking their nervous system.
Of course this immediately sounded ridiculous to me. Why would any one care if someone who had killed others felt anything when they were being executed. After all, wasn’t the point of Capital Punishment that it would deter people from committing the crime? Shouldn’t we hope that they feel the pain that they have inflicted on others?
On the Brighter Side
This is what makes a civilization. The fact that the citizens hold themselves to the image of what they would like others to see them as, not lower their behavior to that they are trying to change, says a lot about our society.
Just the mere fact that there was a controversy brought to mind this quote about our civilization and its progression.
The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself.
Robert Ingersoll (1833 - 1899)
This question will not be resolved easily, not many questions posed to a civilization are. The number of citizens often equals the number of opinions on any given subject. Thanks to our constitution we can all speak our thoughts and join in any controversy we see value in resolving for ourselves, our neighbors, and our children, in the promise of a civilization that caters to the rights of the individual, and the betterment of the people as a whole.
There are a lot of lower issues that society has to answer, but isn’t it wonderful that there are people that stand-up for the noble causes? Isn’t it wonderful that we can all look to the future as a place of hope for a better society? A place where we can all be able to…….always look on the bright side of life.
Robert
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