The Personal Side of Life

From Strength to Strength, by Authur C. Brooks

I read the first chapter and was excited to read the next. With the intro out of the way and setting the stage for the rest of the book, I was looking forward to the rest of the book.

It's been a while since I read the book so I don't remember if it was the second or third chapter that got me a little upset or let's say uncomfortable. First I'm reading how great that a person reaches the age of retirement, I'm happy! And then things take a twist, a list of all the issues that will crop up, namely cognitive decline and the feeling of worthlessness. Honestly, I put the book down and there it sat for the next few weeks. It wasn't that I was busy, it was that I was getting depressed about the future, my very present future. Panic time!

When I made the decision to pick it back up and start the next chapter I became disappointed in myself for "giving up" too soon. I found it interesting that the author listed the type of person that was more likely to embrace aging better than others, a Teacher of all people.

I strongly recommend this book to readers in the category of Middle age to Retirement age.

STOLEN FOCUS, by Johann Hari.

This is an excellent book ! It was a fast read, inspiring all the way from beginning to end. I know that the internet is "rigged" for the most part. It is designed to "suck you in" to accept what is considered to be the "Norm" of today. Commercialism has been around forever, nothing new and with the growth of the internet it has gotten worse and a lot smarter. While I think this should be required reading for schools, I'm sure it would be blocked by the advertising gurus, the likes of Facebook and Cable companies, where their profit margins demand that the consumer remain ignorant.

While reading this book I began incorporating the steps that the author suggested as well as had implemented in this own life. I have become more disgusted with cell phones specifically. At dinner the other night while we were together for family time the wife's phone rang and suddenly family time, quality time, was hijacked. While walking around Christmas shopping everyone has their phones in front of their faces, evidently more important than the person they are with, or the experience of being in the moment, being part of the human race, or seeing the water puddle they just stepped in. When I see parents spending time with their kids all of them are looking at their phones and not a moment is spent in deep conversations, or showing any sign of enjoyment from being together.

Johann gives many examples of how the internet has purposely stolen our focus in an effort to convince the consumer to buy things that aren't wanted or needed, make snap decisions that have no logic behind them, and make us all hunger for more of everything. One of the examples he gave was the speed of which we now read, faster than ever, because we are scanning, NOT reading. And when a person scans on a limited space such as a cell phone it is proven the retention rate drops to zero. Our retention rate is at an all time low and getting worse!

Thanks to Johan I removed the Facebook tab on my browser, installed a usage monitor on my cell phone, and request that everyone that is spending time with me to put away their phones. At first this is taken as a rude request, but as an end result the quality of the conversation has increased.

Enough is enough. Phones are great tools. But only when they are used properly. I wouldn't use a screw driver and a hammer to drill a hole! (well sometimes, maybe....)

Think Like A Monk
A great book by a very inspirational podcaster. It is a quick and easy read and I highly recommend it.

A Life of Being, Having, and Doing Enough
In this book, Wayne Muller, makes a point regarding realities of life. He points out through a compilation of short stories; life experiences, how we tend to become so involved in the rat race of life that we fail to take the time to see the beauty of things and how we make assumptions, knee-jerk reactions which with a little more "deep thought," end results can end in peace, rather that the seemingly endless chaos that we have become numb to.
One of the experiences he tells about was how he was frustrated with he and his son's constant battle with school and grades, something that hit home with me. Wayne tells of when he finally realized that he was destroying his relationship with his son and that the true job of a father and parent is to offer love and guidance. He told his son that he no longer cared if his son passed his classes or even graduated from high school. What was important was the love and care for his son. As it turned out his son got a GED and was successful, and that was all that mattered.
I struggled through school and it took an emotional toll on me and our family. All of which didn't matter in the long run. I don't know if the battle over grades was really worth the pain and frustration. As it has turned out, even though a bumpy road, here I am a teacher at a Community College, teaching to CTE (Career Technical Education) students whom will graduate and enter the job force doing what hopefully they love.

Happiness Is an Inside Job, Sylvia Boorstien
I am currently reading this one, almost done, fast read and very insightful. She is a Jewish Buddhist, how's that for a description? Is Buddhism and religion? Good question. Most of all it is a belief, theory or philosophy, more than a Religion. Considering that Buddha was around long before Jesus and their words and ideals are very much aligned does it really matter who said what and when? So far what I like about this book is that Sylvia fills the it with stories which are examples of situations which instill the benefit of Mindfulness in daily life. Her repeated point is the mind is full of chatter and activity, so much so that we miss the good stuff. Or we make those snap assumptions and decisions of which we regret afterwards.