I’m a Mad Men Fan. Often it is I regret that I didn’t just sell off what I had when I finished my days at Auburn and head to NYC to make it or break it. But alas, with that mental fool’s errand I come to the reality that I’d not have my three biological girls and my lovely 6-year-old daughter who thinks of me as her dad. I would not have had the rich, rewarding experiences, nor would I have endured 2010 as it has been going. Maybe the lessons I’ve learned this year would have manifested themselves earlier, but each day I thank God more and more for the way things are and the delicious air I deeply breathe.
One of the best lines I got from season IV of Mad Men, (and as I’ve so noted, there was a lot in Season IV that I related to) was the message Don Draper (John Hamm) gave to the swimsuit company fearful in 1965 of showing the girl in the bikini top with the slogan–“Built so well, we can’t show you the second floor!” As the men were balking, Draper gave them this solid words of advice: “You have two choices: Be comfortable and dead, or risky and possibly rich.”
So today’s thing to thing about is simple. I’m in the midst of wrapping up my seven-day Treatise on Life in 2010. How will it end? Well, I need you to read three more days of material to answer that. But here’s what to ponder:
In your present day life, are you being too comfortable? Are you taking ANY risks? Is your idea of life still all about working in a job and hoping some day for a gold watch? What bold actions have you taken today? Yesterday? The past week? Okay, the past month?
It’s not a deep muse to spend hours pondering, but I thought this was brilliant the moment I read it one of the sections of Readers Digest back in December 1982. Now, almost 30 years later, the concept is just as relaxing. Quite simply, there are few things better.
The other day we received a kind letter in the mail from Domain Registry of America. They’re sending us a courtesy letter to let us know that in the NEXT FEW MONTHS our domain registry of MyBlogToGod.com, and .org are going to expire. Try May, 2011. It’s the last of December, but hey, they’ve also so nicely asked for a response to them by Jan. 13, 2011. Oh, it gets better. If we want to buy the domain MyBlogToGod.net, we can pay them a cool $50 for two years! If we stick with our present provider it’ll cost $18.
Do we need to mention here that the domains are going to renew in May on their own without this deceitful letter that looks like the bill that might come from our ISP, except for the fact that they don’t send us bills in the mail.
Though in the third paragraph they emphasize, “This is not a bill,” by that time most unsuspecting readers are likely ready to send off their money to make sure something they’re already signed up for will cost more and make them switch to another ISP. To those who know better, the letter goes in the garbage or gets scanned to be used in a blog post to inform others this is a scam.
DO NOT SEND DOMAIN REGISTRY OF AMERICA a penny. To boot, apparently their not even located IN America. Others report they’re out of Canada. BEWARE.
The book cover of Jonathan Livingston Seagull a 1970s novel and film by Richard Bach.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull; the “Who Moved My Cheese” of the 1970s
I scarcely remember the book or even seeing the movie Jonathan Livingston Seagull from the 1970s, (I saw the movie at the Base Theater on KI Sawyer AFB), but Dad had the Neil Diamond soundtrack for the film, (I’ll confess, I have it, too–Flight of the Gull is one of my favorites still–reminds me of seeing the USAF Thunderbirds–the last time I saw them they still played it while flying over crowds) and so the concept of it all remains familiar.
My assumption is that this was the Who Moved My Cheese book of the 1970s. But here’s today’s quote to think about:
The gull sees farthest who flies highest.—Jonathan Livingston Seagull
These magical word applies to more than seagulls.
There are so many things in modern life that can serve to weigh us down and if we let them, they hold us back.
Dad used to also have a figurine with a quote: “It’s hard to soar like an eagle when you fly with a bunch of turkeys.”
Who in your life is a role model who is seeking to fly the highest?
Do you know anyone whose wings need a little lift so they might rise up?
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