SIREN’S FATAL SONG Societal walls Like prison feel Shackled tight Against my will. Mountain tops Prairies wild Explore I must My inner child. Bolting forth Wings now free Nothing bars What I can be. Rivers carry I need not oars My soul is light Freedom soars. Faster, stronger To the ledge My body flies Past the edge. I leap to escape My freedom to find Universal laws Will not bind. Soaring high Flying free Nothing stopping What I shall be….
My mother came to mind over the weekend as I remembered a tree we planted the year she passed away. We called it Grandma’s Tree. It was a little tree, barely as tall as my six feet, and not that thick. Unfortunately, it only survived a couple of years before a windstorm sheared it in half. The half-size shard of a tree remained in our yard for a season before we were able to totally remove it. The empty spot always seemed more…
I love the many great photos of the Monday’s solar eclipse. But after awhile they all tend to blur together. Even the really, really good ones! I appreciate the skill, talent and time of those who find a way to present this incredible event in a creative and fresh light. Or, in this case, a creative and fresh darkness! Greg Westbrook’s presentation does this. He shows all the phases of the eclipse in one shot, as many have done. But…
I lowered my American flag to half-mast the morning after Utah National Guard Soldier Staff Sergeant Aaron Butler was killed in Afghanistan. Butler was killed leading a 12 man team clearing a building when it exploded. The booby trap also wounded the other 11 team members, each one also a soldier with the Utah National Guard. I spent nearly 24 years with the Utah Army National Guard. Serving my country in uniform will always be one of the greatest honors…
Perspective, thoughtfully viewed with refreshed eyes after a season of toil and labor, will help us Gain the Red Edge by opening our mind and heart to the endless possibilities waiting to be gleaned and harvested.
In June of 1964, three civil rights workers were murdered by the KKK in Neshoba County, Mississippi, during the Civil Rights Movement. The three young men, Andrew Goodman and Michael “Mickey” Schwerner from New York City, and James Chaney from Meridian, Mississippi, had been working with the “Freedom Summer Campaign” attempting to register African Americans in Mississippi to vote. Forty-one years later, in 2005, Edgar Ray Killen was charged and eventually convicted for his part in the crimes. “MISSISSIPPI BURNING”…
HYPOTHESIS Recovering from a botched introduction is very difficult to do. This week I put that theory to test. RUNNING LATE The first Tuesday morning of each month is BizLink, the monthly networking group of the Cache Chamber of Commerce. I helped to start this group several years ago, along with Cam McCullough. I was the second chairman, and now I am the designated trainer. Last Tuesday morning I slept through my alarm. I woke up at 7:30 a.m., the exact…
A friend of mine challenged my labeling mowing my lawn as an “outdoor sport.” “Mowing the lawn is a chore,” they said. Continuing to validate their case, they said outdoor sports were things like mountain biking, canoeing, snowboarding, fishing, and hunting. “It’s all about perspective,” I countered. Mowing my lawn is never a chore. It’s a time to let my mind relax by doing something I totally love and connecting with nature in a very small way. It’s an incredible…
I sat in the dirt asking a mother detailed personal questions why she was homeless. Her answers touched me deeply. While not uncommon nor unique for those living in the throes of homelessness, they were raw, real, and very personal. It’s one of the most humbling things I’ve ever done. POINT-IN-TIME COUNT The humbling occasion happened on a recent Saturday when I participated in the annual Point-in-Time Count with the Cache Valley Veterans Association. This is a survey to literally count the number of…
Here are three very simple and easy tools you can use to Gain the Red Edge when you’re feeling anxious, stressed, or feeling down. 1) Use the 5 to 1 Technique. The 5 to 1 technique is counting backwards… 5-4-3-2-1. This technique allows your brain to catch up and do a mental reset. This is a simple mental strategy we can use to focus our thoughts in a healthy direction. It’s incredibly intuitive, as you’ll see, and it has the power to…