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Some people will tell you, Monday sucks. They have a case of the Mondays as it were. I don’t know about that. Yes sometimes you aren’t quite yet ready for the weekend to end. Sometimes, you have actions and plans that only a work week can bring about.

I just came off of an intense weekend that was focused around a 1/2 marathon. Next weekend I’m going to do the same thing. It’s kind of the way of my world. Running. Of course it isn’t my entire life, but it is something that does help me focus. Like many things, it is as much a force for positive change as much as it is a metaphor for everything else that I aspire to do in my life.

People make goals. I’m going to run a 5K or a marathon or whatever distance. They reach the goal, and then they stop. But athletes do not stop. They keep at it. They use each event as a measurement of performance, and then they go back to do it again, with the hopes of improvement, and doing better.

That’s how life should be, it isn’t a goal, it’s a journey, and adventure. We strive continuously to do our best and be a better version of ourselves each and every-time.

The weekend is over, time to recover. Get your coffee cups at the ready and have a great week.

Hanging out in Costa Rica.
It’s a rainy day and I am on a rainforest tour. Not sure that as a Floridian that I’m as impressed as I should be. The walk was easy and the rain was light. I hate to walk in the rain. One pleasant thing was the expectation of insects was high, and yet, I barely saw a single one.
We went on a boat ride and honestly, having kayaked the Silver River in Ocala, FL showed me more bio diversity that unnoticed here and yet this place is the most bio diverse spot on the planet, as we were told.
I did see a few birds, some spider and howler monkeys, and a 3 toed sloth.
The weather really is nice. Even with a little misty rain it is hard to complain about it, when it could be steamy and hot.
Looking forward to getting some coffee, as it’s a local thing. And next we are off to the banana plantations.
That was the quickest drive by in history. Oh well. What can one expect… the final destination was a tourist trap… but I waited until I returned to the port area where I got a few souvenirs. I think there is much more to explore, but this port didn’t do much for tourism in Costa Rica.

As I travel in Cartegna Columbia I’m reminded as we passed by restaurants and shops that the world is a smaller place than we sometimes imagine. I see a shop for Fish N Chips and then one for Tacos. Every corner is a Juan Valdez, purveyors of fine Colombian coffee, like Starbucks in America.

What makes a city team with life? Do you stop and think about the green space in cities and the things that people demand for their homes?
Looking at sky rise homes with AC units sitting outside buildings that look fairly new is a surprise.
Some streets are flooded due the tides from the ocean and the bus moves on around the perimeter of the peninsula.

It’s another day.

So here is a small track that I created that can be used as a ringtone.

Well Happy Earth Day. I have written something just about every “Earth Day” up until a few years ago, so I’m bring it back… with a vengeance. I think there was a time when we thought that the right forces would look at science and have rational conversations about saving the planet. It would seem that we no longer are in the mind set that we should try to save the planet, conserve natural resources or that clean water or air even matter.

Raping Mother Earth for all that she’s worth, after all, we’ll be dead and things won’t matter. This seems to be the mantra that many governments are choosing to follow. I do believe science, and the use of trends to predict the outcomes of things. Computers are getting better at modeling and while it isn’t perfect, the science is sound. We need to try reverse our footprint on the planet, and we can be more and more successful stewards of the planet.

The population of this planet will continue to grow and out grow our power consumption, and it will be interesting to see where we find the resources to feel 40 Billion people a day, in the not so distant future. We are lucky that technology will help, but it can’t solve all our problems, not if we want to continue to live in harmony on this big blue marble.

So with that, let me segue into my next topic which is Socialism. I am really tired of hearing people confuse communism and socialism. I’ve seen Meme’s out there that claim if the government controls this or that, then they will control the people. I find that this whole line of thinking is ridiculous. The USA is already filled with lots of socialistic ideology.

We have lots of government agencies that provide lots of handouts to small segments of the population, like farm subsidies, tax breaks for companies like Amazon (which is basically corporate welfare), and we could go on and on.

But what do we Americans get to take advantage of from the socialism that our tax dollars provide?

• Roads, like the Interstate Highway.
• The Post Office
• Libraries
• Schools
• The military
• Police
• Fire
• Publicly funded hospitals.
• OSHA (Safety)

I could go on and on, but you get my point. The foundations of societies are built on sharing resources because not one or even a few can pay for some huge undertakings. Healthcare is an excellent example of something that no person can afford to be without. We already have healthcare for seniors called Medicare. Guess what, we pay for it. It isn’t free, it is paid in advance by the recipients over their lifetime, just like social security. I don’t believe that when you take the deep dive look into these things that people will be asked to pay their fair share of, that it will be deemed a government handout. Socialism isn’t about stealing from the government coffers, it’s about ensuring a minimum standard of services available to a society.

We don’t have to go far to see plenty of western democracies that have much more radical social programs, England, France, Sweden, the UK and Canada all do a lot for their people. Minimum standards are great, then employers could supplement what the “Medicare for all” doesn’t cover.

It’s time we recognize the difference between communism and socialism, because our failure to do so will be the economic fall that is looming on the horizon.

Thank Goodness It’s Monday

I only know one person that says that. I’m generally dreading going back to work, but this is going to be a fast week. I have so much to do, and no time to get it all done, but in some way I know it will magically come together. I’m good at the crunch time. I can make the magic happen. So TGIM!

I have noticed more and more, people are losing their ability to engage in critical thinking skills. We talk about how social media has created places where we can stay in our own personal echo chambers to reaffirm the narratives that we believe. Sometimes we need this to help us solidify our thoughts. Our problem is that we can get to a point where we no longer see their are ultimate truths out there.

There are truths, such as racism, sexism exists, ageism and other forms of discrimination continue to plague us and it isn’t right.

No one can possibly believe that Nazis and other right-wing extremists are “good people”. They have policies that advocate the killing of other people based solely on a persons skin color or ethnicity/religion.

Who else agrees? pic.twitter.com/vbBHkvMhVE

— Calvin and Hobbes Fan Account (@Calvinn_Hobbes) December 16, 2018

I am pretty sure that Calvin and Hobbes has nailed it with this one. No one really likes change. Change is super hard. I have always heard, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. But you know, things don’t get better if we aren’t striving to make them better.

One of the most difficult things about change is leaving our comfort zone. Maybe it is changing your relationship status or getting a new job or even changing your routine.

But change is the constant in this world. Look at yourself today and then look back a year, or 5 years, and see how far you’ve come.

Then there is good ol’ January 1st and the New Year’s resolution. We resolve to change. We consciously make an effort to do the one thing we resist. Usually it is a resolution to lose weight, or something to be a better person.

The hardest thing is is letting go to something you are used to. Maybe it’s your favorite restaurant or toxic situations, or the safety of income, because the risk for an opportunity seems too great.

But in the end whether we consciously make a decision to change or have it thrust upon us, change is the one thing that’s guaranteed. Our biggest hurdle is how we choose to deal with it.