I bought an iPhone as a present to myself last Thursday. I don’t really need an iPhone. I’ve never considered myself so important that I can’t be out of touch – and to be truthful, I rather enjoy it when no one knows how to contact me.
Still, I’ve had a cell phone since you needed a backpack to carry it around – for productivity, for emergencies, and as a locator device. (Have you noticed how many cell phone conversations include the question, “Where are you?”) While I don’t think of my phone as oxygen as many people I know seem to, I do recognize it as a useful tool for today’s world.
But an iPhone? Why would a person who hardly needs a phone desire an iPhone? I can give you two reasonable excuses. (At least I can convince myself that they are reasonable!) Reason one: I’ve lusted after the ability for my phone and computer to communicate. I had a pda some years ago, and loved that I could synch two machines and easily look up my schedule, my contacts, and docs when I wasn’t sitting at home. But I didn’t like having to carry my pda and my phone. Ergo reason two: I want it all and I want it in one device.
But still, why an iPhone? Wouldn’t any smart phone do these days? I think you’ve got me there. And in fact, if I hadn’t lost my phone while skiing about two years ago and had to extend my contract in order to replace it, my iPhone lust wouldn’t have been so strong. (I did find the original phone when the snow melted about 6 weeks later. It still worked too, but by then I’d already replaced it. Another story for another time…) I’d have settled for whatever was available then.
But from what I’ve read lately, as good as any of the other smart phones are, none of them can top the iPhone. And I’ve noticed a new trend in my way of looking at the world. I am less and less inclined to settle for less than I really want. So that’s probably reason three. I wanted it. Isn’t that sometimes just enough? It was for me!
And I gotta say that I am LOVING my new toy! I’ve been importing cds like crazy (and while we speak) and listening to the most interesting shuffle (also while we speak) that I rarely would take the time to do on any previous day. It’s remarkable that such a small device can hold so much fun (117 cds so far and there’s still room!) – and all my calendar, schedule, weather, email, and even Google Earth where I can look at aerial views of the whole planet! In the palm of my hand!
So, okay, this isn’t an ad for an iPhone. I know it might sound like one, but really I don’t think you should (necessarily) go out and get one for yourself. Nope. What I think is that I – and you – should not settle! We should seek out, savor, and thrill to all the excitement and adventure that’s available in the world. Maybe an iPhone won’t do it for you. What will? What are you settling for when perhaps a fairly small change would give you a whole new outlook on the possibilities in your life? What would juice you up so you could say, “I am LOVING this new _________________ in my life?” I’ll be asking myself these questions in future weeks, months, and years. I hope you will too!
Hoping you’ll find that zing this week!
Sally
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Monday Moment - Let go of certainty
I had a lot of car time today on a drive to a meeting to Albany and back. Lots of NPR – Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Six plus hours to catch up on what’s going on in the world.
One of the most thought-provoking pieces I heard was one about a book written by Matt Miller titled The Tyranny of Dead Ideas. Miller attacks what he says have become ‘rules for our time’ by suggesting that the times have changed. Those ideas include:
§ our children will earn more than we do
§ free trade is “good” no matter how many people it hurts
§ employers should play a central role in the provision of health coverage
§ taxes hurt the economy
§ “local control” of schools is essential
§ people tend to end up, in economic terms, where they deserve to
Well, aren’t these ideas fodder for deep thinking? In the space of a radio interview, Miller only had the chance to speak about the first three ideas on his list, and regardless of what I’d believed before, he made a darned good case that these were, in fact, dead ideas. And furthermore, Miller suggested, our allegiance to these ideas that we have believed were true – and that we have used to build both policies and ways of seeing the world – are not only no longer true, but are holding us back from real progress.
I’ve not had enough information nor enough time to digest Miller’s arguments to fully establish my own informed opinion about whether these ideas are dead, and if they are, whether our commitment to these ‘dead’ ideas paralyzes us. I confess, though, that I find the contemplation of such challenging notions an intellectually enjoyable process.
Gail Sheehy says that an important step in creativity is to “let go of certainty.” David Roth sings of getting all his “answers questioned.” Hmm… Whatever the result of the exercise, I believe that Sheehy, Roth, and now Miller, are telling me to “THINK!”
And so I will. I encourage you to do likewise. Are you willing to let go of certainty and really examine what you believe about Miller’s ‘dead ideas? Let me know what you conclude.
May it be a thoughtful week.
Sally
One of the most thought-provoking pieces I heard was one about a book written by Matt Miller titled The Tyranny of Dead Ideas. Miller attacks what he says have become ‘rules for our time’ by suggesting that the times have changed. Those ideas include:
§ our children will earn more than we do
§ free trade is “good” no matter how many people it hurts
§ employers should play a central role in the provision of health coverage
§ taxes hurt the economy
§ “local control” of schools is essential
§ people tend to end up, in economic terms, where they deserve to
Well, aren’t these ideas fodder for deep thinking? In the space of a radio interview, Miller only had the chance to speak about the first three ideas on his list, and regardless of what I’d believed before, he made a darned good case that these were, in fact, dead ideas. And furthermore, Miller suggested, our allegiance to these ideas that we have believed were true – and that we have used to build both policies and ways of seeing the world – are not only no longer true, but are holding us back from real progress.
I’ve not had enough information nor enough time to digest Miller’s arguments to fully establish my own informed opinion about whether these ideas are dead, and if they are, whether our commitment to these ‘dead’ ideas paralyzes us. I confess, though, that I find the contemplation of such challenging notions an intellectually enjoyable process.
Gail Sheehy says that an important step in creativity is to “let go of certainty.” David Roth sings of getting all his “answers questioned.” Hmm… Whatever the result of the exercise, I believe that Sheehy, Roth, and now Miller, are telling me to “THINK!”
And so I will. I encourage you to do likewise. Are you willing to let go of certainty and really examine what you believe about Miller’s ‘dead ideas? Let me know what you conclude.
May it be a thoughtful week.
Sally
Monday, February 2, 2009
Monday Moment - Thinking in Colors
For the past few days I’ve been thinking in shapes, colors, and textures. In fact the colors I’m thinking are translucent because last Thursday, I had a private stained glass lesson as part of a goal I set for 2009. What fun to think translucent thoughts!
And what fun to create a stained glass sun-catcher from start to finish in an afternoon! The process was both more and less complicated than I had anticipated. I knew a few of the steps involved – because I got out a book from the library. But each of those steps had steps I didn’t know about and tools I’d never seen before. And yet, because I had competent, patient instruction, the process unfolded before me, one step leading to another.
Since my lesson, I’ve been trying to figure out where and how I proceed. Where in my home? Where the inevitable tiny shards of glass would do no damage? Where I’d have water for the grinding process? Where it would be safe to heat a soldering iron to a temperature approaching 800 degrees? Big questions and I don’t yet know the answers.
And then, what would I choose to create? Oh the shapes and colors! I have an excursion planned to a stained glass supply store I didn’t previously know existed but is very near where I teach child care classes in Rochester. My instructor warned me that to go into such a store without a specific project in mind is dangerous. “You’ll want to bring home lots of pretty glass,” she said as she pulled out sheet after sheet that she hadn’t resisted in her own basement workshop. “It can get expensive.” Hmmm… Warning heeded, and still I can’t wait to get in that store! I’m eager to surround myself with the possibilities even if I don’t yet know where the urge will lead. I’m willing to submit myself to such delicious danger!
Learning something new always has an edge of excitement – that touch of danger – and that’s exactly the feeling I craved when I thought I’d like to learn to create stained glass in 2009. I like it when my brain starts firing off in unexpected ways of thinking. Shapes and colors, new ideas and theories, these are the things that make me feel alive and kicking.
What’s something new you’d like to learn this week – or month or year? Here’s hoping you find something that gives you that rush of excitement – even if it turns out to be expensive!
Sally
And what fun to create a stained glass sun-catcher from start to finish in an afternoon! The process was both more and less complicated than I had anticipated. I knew a few of the steps involved – because I got out a book from the library. But each of those steps had steps I didn’t know about and tools I’d never seen before. And yet, because I had competent, patient instruction, the process unfolded before me, one step leading to another.
Since my lesson, I’ve been trying to figure out where and how I proceed. Where in my home? Where the inevitable tiny shards of glass would do no damage? Where I’d have water for the grinding process? Where it would be safe to heat a soldering iron to a temperature approaching 800 degrees? Big questions and I don’t yet know the answers.
And then, what would I choose to create? Oh the shapes and colors! I have an excursion planned to a stained glass supply store I didn’t previously know existed but is very near where I teach child care classes in Rochester. My instructor warned me that to go into such a store without a specific project in mind is dangerous. “You’ll want to bring home lots of pretty glass,” she said as she pulled out sheet after sheet that she hadn’t resisted in her own basement workshop. “It can get expensive.” Hmmm… Warning heeded, and still I can’t wait to get in that store! I’m eager to surround myself with the possibilities even if I don’t yet know where the urge will lead. I’m willing to submit myself to such delicious danger!
Learning something new always has an edge of excitement – that touch of danger – and that’s exactly the feeling I craved when I thought I’d like to learn to create stained glass in 2009. I like it when my brain starts firing off in unexpected ways of thinking. Shapes and colors, new ideas and theories, these are the things that make me feel alive and kicking.
What’s something new you’d like to learn this week – or month or year? Here’s hoping you find something that gives you that rush of excitement – even if it turns out to be expensive!
Sally
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