Steve Jobs has died and surprisingly, I cried.


RIP Steve Jobs. I remember the excitement in the 80s–technologies were going to change our lives. We knew that but really didn’t have to vision to see how it could be. These are quotes for a Commencement speech Jobs gave at Stanford in 2005. Click here to read it in it’s entirety.

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked; there is no reason not to follow your heart.”

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future,” Steve Jobs told Stanford University graduates during a commencement speech in 2005.

“You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” Continue reading

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“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Gandhi


“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”  This is one of my all-time favorite quotes. When you read it, it seems big–the change, the world.  You think of people helping the starving in Africa, Mitch Albom building a school for orphans in quake-devasted Haiti.  If you are like me, the closest you will ever get to this is by donating to the Red Cross.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”  I found a way to make this small, but with huge impact.  I didn’t really think too much about it or plan it–it just happened.  I refuse to raise my son to participate in this racist, xenophobic world.  He is 13 years old and as you know, it is not an easy task.  Since he was very young, when he would hear something or an issue would come up, we would stop and I would take him to a quiet place and explain how a prejudice was wrong.  As he has gotten older it has been more difficult with TV, movies, Middle School, but I still take him in my room for the talk.

He watched “Bad Boys II” at his Daddy’s house and came home with a new word–the N word.  I was so upset I cried trying to explain to him that people have died over that word.  He was confused because Continue reading

Life’s Journey

Quote


“The path to our destination is not always a straight one. We go down the wrong road, we get lost, we turn back. Maybe it doesn’t matter which road we embark on. Maybe what matters is that we embark.” – Barbara Hall

 

Captcha Mimics Life


I once saw a t-shirt in a catalog that had “I never metaphor I didn’t like.” printed on it.  I got a big smile on my face–that was me.  Metaphors are constantly flying around in my brain, waiting to find their way into a story, poem or blog post.  The ironic part is that when I was in 7th grade English, I was baffled by metaphor and simile.  I remember the day clearly. That puzzlement continued until I was in my early thirties, on the verge of a nervous breakdown–metaphor became very clear to me.

Anytime I share a blog post, I have to read the Captcha and enter what I see in the box.  The other day I found myself leaning from side to side, moving forward at an angle, trying to figure out this one particular Captcha.  Okay, that one looks an “o” but it could be an “a” with a serif font.  Leaning forward to examine it closer doesn’t make it any clearer; neither does going at it from the side.  The next one looked like a somewhat flighty “L” but it was just a lazy “J.”

I like it when they make the second “word” a real word, easily readable.  After the  uncertainty and confusion of the first word, it’s a relief to see that sometimes a word is what it says it is.

Nothing is Original


I posted a graphic of this quote on my other blog, but thought the words were perfect for this one too.

“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination.  Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows.  Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul.  If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic.  Authenticity is invaluable; originality is not-existent.  And don’t bother concealing your thievery–celebrate it if you feel like it.  In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said:  “It’s not where you take things from–it’s where you take them to.”

~Jim Jarmusch

Quotes


I have been “collecting” quote for a very long time.  Some have been lost in old notebooks and outdated computers.  I like to share quotes that inspire me or ones that help make life make sense.  I have posted a lot of quotes on Facebook because I know certain ‘friends’ will read them; I like to, indirectly, direct them to those who I feel may need some encouragement or enlightenment.  Here’s one I found recently:

“Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”  ~ Mark Twain

We are all imperfect


“One of the most important things we can do for the people we love is love them as a package, conflicting opinions and all. That means trusting the relationship to be bigger than their dissent.” ~ Carolyn Hax

I started reading Carolyn Hax’s column in the Washington Post a few months ago.  I really like how she is honest with her advice, even when it is not what the writer wants to hear.  Her responses are well thought out and every so often, something she writes hits home, like the quote above.  We all have people in our lives who sometimes make us cringe with their ideas and opinions, but we love them anyway.