Why we Need a New Voice of America

On a beautiful summer day I felt inspired to visit the Voice of America Park in Butler County, Ohio.  Rather than going to the new main building of the recreation area, I went to a place I had never been before.  I discovered the foundations of the old radio towers of VOA Bethany Relay Station which had been torn down in 1997.  The radio station WLW was a major influence of broadcasting during the cold war and during WWII into Europe and beyond the Iron Curtain.  I remember that when we first moved to this part of Ohio that the towers (photo shows the remaing foundation of one of the towers) were still up; in fact the radio station continued to broadcast until 1995.

WLW was considered “theNation’s Station.”

Today the old building houses the National Voice Of America Museum of Broadcasting  and Bethany Relay Station.  (White building in the back of the photo)

In a time where we have wireless transmission, television, the internet, and can talk ourselves to anyone at the other end of the world, one cannot be moved by the efforts of the bygone generations of radio amateurs and engineers who depended on radio and short wave transmission and build this historical place at a time when the world needed it most.

In light of what is going on in this country I feel that we need a new Voice of America.  Not government censored, not sided by one or the other political party; rather a strong voice which reminds us every day of our founding principles.  I believe that our government is getting too powerful.  I like to share in this blog a warning which was given by one of the broadcasters of WLW, Paul Harvey (1918-2009):

This speech was broadcasted by legendary ABC Radio commentator Paul Harvey on April 3, 1965:

If I were the Devil . . . I mean, if I were the Prince of Darkness, I would of course, want to engulf the whole earth in darkness. I would have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I would not be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree, so I should set about however necessary to take over the United States. I would begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: “Do as you please.” “Do as you please.” To the young, I would whisper, “The Bible is a myth.” I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what is bad is good, and what is good is “square”. In the ears of the young marrieds, I would whisper that work is debasing, that cocktail parties are good for you. I would caution them not to be extreme in religion, in patriotism, in moral conduct. And the old, I would teach to pray. I would teach them to say after me: “Our Father, which art in Washington” . . .

If I were the devil, I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull an uninteresting. I’d threaten T.V. with dirtier movies and vice versa. And then, if I were the devil, I’d get organized. I’d infiltrate unions and urge more loafing and less work, because idle hands usually work for me. I’d peddle narcotics to whom I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. And I’d tranquilize the rest with pills. If I were the devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellects but neglect to discipline emotions . . . let those run wild. I would designate an atheist to front for me before the highest courts in the land and I would get preachers to say “she’s right.” With flattery and promises of power, I could get the courts to rule what I construe as against God and in favor of pornography, and thus, I would evict God from the courthouse, and then from the school house, and then from the houses of Congress and then, in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and I would deify science because that way men would become smart enough to create super weapons but not wise enough to control them.

If I were Satan, I’d make the symbol of Easter an egg, and the symbol of Christmas, a bottle. If I were the devil, I would take from those who have and I would give to those who wanted, until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. And then, my police state would force everybody back to work. Then, I could separate families, putting children in uniform, women in coal mines, and objectors in slave camps. In other words, if I were Satan, I’d just keep on doing what he’s doing.

Paul Harvey, Good Day.

This speech was broadcasted in 1965.  WLW continued to carry Harvey's commentaries through all the changes, although after extended absences, Harvey was dropped by WLW in April 2008.  He died one year later.

There was another voice which just recently was published.  Its content was too controversial when it was first written more than 70 years ago.  Napoleon Hill wrote his script to “Outwitting the Devil” in the 1930s.  I just recently finished reading the now published book and was amazed by his insights.  According to the Napoleon Hill Foundation, Mr. Hill’s wife was too much involved in certain social circles, and she requested the manuscript not to be published because of its “hot” content.  It is most appropriate today as it was then, where we need to face certain truth about our society.

America was founded on righteous ideas and principles.  If we ever want to realize them we need to know who our enemy is.

Just a few weeks ago another message was given, most appropriate to our time.  It is called “Freedom Society.” The lecture was presented by the son of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Mr. Kook Jin Moon.  Mr. Moon Jr. has a very deep insight into the teachings of his father and showed in his presentation the true nature of government and what role it has been playing throughout history.  Once we understand some very simple principles of who is who and what role they are playing it becomes clear to see where the dangers are coming from and how we can protect and empower ourselves.

This is the age where we all have to become responsible citizens, not play the blame game and put our heads in the sand, but rather remind ourselves of our responsibilities given to us by God.  God gave us free choice and the rights to pursue LIBERTY, FREEDOM, and JUSTICE FOR ALL.  With that freedom comes responsibility, which mature adults are more than willing to take.  We don’t need any government to take that responsibility from us.  That's why we love America and that’s what made this country great, and that’s why people from all over the world want to come to this country to pursue the American Dream.

Do we need a New Voice of America? – you bet.  It can come from each individual citizen, taking responsibility for his own life, taking ownership and determining his own destiny.

In this day and age of the internet everybody has a voice.  With our freedom of choice we can direct our voice all over the world to wake people up from their “hypnotic rhythm” of indifference.  This is the time where we can be empowered by knowledge and truth which can only come from God himself.  We all have a direct line to Infinite Intelligence; it’s free of any charge.  

What is the Purpose of Time?

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to tear down, and a time to build up.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing.
A time to search, and a time to give up as lost;

A time to keep, and a time to throw away.
A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together;

A time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;

A time for war, and a time for peace.”

~ Ecclesiastes 3:1–8

I chose the words from the Bible to start my blog for today.  In today’s world we cannot imagine to live without clocks, calendars, time zones, daylight savings time, time management, etc.  Some say time is another dimension others suggest that we can time travel.  We know that we live in a world of three dimensions.  As scientists have recently proven and religious people have known for ages we are not just living in this physical world but rather there is a spiritual world, unseen world all around us.  We cannot perceive it with our physical senses; that’s why it has been hidden, or at least for some of us who don’t believe in a sixth sense or intuition. 

In literature we talk about time in two ways, chronos and kairos.  One deals with the chronology of time, a continuation which moves forward and is quantitative while kairos means holy or God-given time, which has a more qualitative nature.  As we read in Ecclesiastes God’s time table has a deeper meaning and can signal a time of crisis and meaning.  

Here is another view from another blog I found:

No Time At All

In a world without time I will count experiences not minutes.
In a world without time a clock is a tool to coordinate with others.
In a world without time the moments with the Rompot will be enough.
In a world without time actions will take as long as they need to.
In a world without time I will never feel rushed or bored.
In a world without time a clock won't control me.

The Divine Principle

I like to introduce here another insight which I learned at a recent Original Substance of the Divine Principle seminar.  Our local presenter Wayne shared an interesting point on the purpose of time which inspired me to write this article. 

He was teaching on the meaning of growth and the time it takes for all creation to develop. All creatures and plants have to grow through the three ordered stages of formation, growth, and completion stage.  When created beings are in the growing period, God has regard only for the fruits of their growth which is based on the Principle (man needs to fulfill his portion of responsibility).  We call this growing period the realm of God's indirect dominion or the realm of dominion based on the accomplishments through the Principle. 

All things reach perfection after passing through the growing period by virtue of the autonomy and governance given by God's Principle.

Human beings, however, pass through the growing period and reach perfection by fulfilling their own portion of responsibility, in addition to the guidance provided by the Principle. Man’s physical body grows automatically, given that it has food, water, sunlight and life elements.  Since man is the only created being who lives in both worlds: the physical and the spiritual world, God gave man freedom and responsibility to grow by his own efforts toward maturity.  That time period here on earth gives us our true value as human beings where by our own choices we can take as long as it takes to reach oneness with God. This value gives us divine, unique and cosmic value. Therefore, man is an eternal being, and becomes a co-creator. It takes time for man to reach his true value.

http://www.unification.net/dp96/dp96-1-1.html 5.2.1 The Three Ordered Stages of the Growing Period

To me that was a real eye-opener in regards to the purpose of time.  For our physical life we need measured time as a tool, but for our spiritual life which will continue on for eternity once we transition after death, it is more important to measure events, experiences, adventure, true joy and purpose.  It is our experience in relationship with others, especially in the family that helps us grow, and mature our hearts to integrate all kinds of people and personalities. In the family we learn all different stages of relationships (child, brother & sister, husband & wife and parents) in order to create long term intimacy, security and connection.

Here are few other options on the purpose of time

“More powerful than all the armies of the world, is an idea whose time has come.”

~ Victor Hugo

“Time makes us uniquely human.”

~ Michio Kaku

“Time is a factor which will bring perfection.”

~ page 229 – Outwitting the Devil  by Napoleon Hill

"From the Buddhist perspective, time is the experience of being present right now, in this very moment. We in the West, however, like to measure things. In this way, clock time gives us a sense of coherence and stability. But in terms of our inner lives, no time exists except for what is happening in the present moment."

~ Deepak Chopra

“I’m trying to understand how time works. And that’s a huge question that has lots of different aspects to it. A lot of them go back to Einstein and space-time and how we measure time using clocks. But the particular aspect of time that I’m interested in is the arrow of time: the fact that the past is different from the future. We remember the past but we don’t remember the future. There are irreversible processes. There are things that happen, like you turn an egg into an omelet, but you can’t turn an omelet into an egg.”

~ Sean Carroll

 “Time drives every second of our lives in ways we can scarcely imagine. But what is time? This is the quest to understand time and our place within it. It’s a journey that starts with cutting-edge discoveries into what makes us tick and ends with the mind-boggling implications of cosmological time. It’s a journey that reveals something extraordinary: The more we understand time, the more we find that it is time that makes us uniquely human.”

~ Joan Halifax Roshi

Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time (the kairos)?”
~ Luke 12:54, 56

We can conclude that time is necessary to create value, for man to mature and become wise and most of all to learn to love.  As Sean Caroll suggested, time only goes forward.  We cannot change yesterday we can on learn the lessons and create a better tomorrow.  Why do we value time?  Is time money?  Yes – in this physical world we get compensated for our work and sell our talents and time for a paycheck.  On the level of experiences time is priceless.

“Time is free, but it’s priceless. 

You can’t own it, but you can use it. 

You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. 

Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.”

~ HarveyMcKay

To learn more about the Unification Church teachings, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwCgIo7OU68&feature=related

http://vimeo.com/31006375 3 kind of human value

http://vimeo.com/11177645 Becoming a Divine Spirit

http://vimeo.com/10490974 The 2 realms: Growing and Perfection

http://vimeo.com/10763294 The Physical and Spiritual Self (Nourishment)

XXX – Olympic Games - London 2012

While watching jeopardy this week, one of the questions asked was which sport was recently added to the sports performed at the Olympic Games.  I was surprised to learn that it was trampolining.  That made me aware that I really didn’t know much about the many different disciplines of the Olympics and their history.

In the tradition of the Olympic Games the flame was relayed to the designated location in London from Olympia, Greece, where the first games were taking place in 776 B.C.  8,000 English men and women participated in the relay alone in Great Britain to take the torch through the various communities. The London games started on July 27, 2012 and go until August 12, 2012.  Here is the link to the official website: http://www.london2012.com  

In modern times the games were revived by a French educator Baron Pierre deCoubertin, (1914-1920) in 1894. Ever since, every four years summer games were held, with some exception for war times or boycotts. The winter games are held also every four years, alternating two years after each summer event.  The Olympic motto is:

"Citius, Altius, Fortius" (faster, higher, stronger). 

Every participating athlete has to agree to the Olympic creed:

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

Reading this one has to wonder about the various politics going on regarding the sport events, as well as the abuse of drugs.  Is there still fairness and true competition in the Games?  Important is the focus on the standard and the experience itself for the athletes to excel and to find an arena for high performance.  I believe that it is important to follow one’s own standard and compete to get better for the sake of improving one’s skills rather than battle for competitions sake.  In the contest of athletes from 204 different countries from all 5 continents of the world often new records are broken.  I hope we can see this time also some new records be reached and truly enjoy beautiful sports performances.

Here are some interesting facts for the Olympics in 2012:

26sports for 2012

archery, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball,  boxing, canoe / kayak, cycling, diving,  equestrian,  fencing, field hockey, gymnastics handball, judo,  modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, soccer / football, swimming, synchronized swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, track and field, trampoline, triathlon (swimming, biking, running), volleyball, water polo, weightlifting, wrestling.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has voted out baseball and softball for games in London.

Here are some historical photos of Olympic’s past.

Women were allowed for the first time in the 1900’s Olympic Games in Paris, France, 4 years after the games were revived. An 47 art student, Margaret I. Abbott, won an Olympic gold medal in a golf tournament.

Here are some facts from the About.com website:

·         1894 – Modern Olympic started and the marathon was introduced to commemorate the historical Olympics. The International Olympic Committee was founded at that time.

·         1900 – Women are allowed to compete for the first time in the Olympics.

·         1908 – Olympic Oath

·         1912 - Olympic medals are bronze, silver and gold-plated silver (not real gold as before.

·         1914 - Olympic flag was created representing all five continents.

·         1921 - Olympic motto

·         1928 - Olympic flame

·         1957 - Olympic hymn – became official, even though it had been played ever since the beginning of the modern games.

In the spirit of the Olympic cooperation and athletic fairness, may the 2012 Olympics in London truly bring us closer as international community until we meet again in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

What I am learning from my Grand-daughter Jaya

Our second grand-daughter, Jaya, was born May 26, 2012.  Two hours later we were at the hospital and marveled at the beautiful little girl with dark hair and blue (?) eyes. 

She developed quickly and was very strong, maybe because she was born one week later than her due date.  As the days went on she learned to latch on to her mother’s breasts and was nursing very well.  Sometimes, the parents had to supplement some formula, either because there was not enough breast milk or just to give mom a break.

I can say that Jaya is a very different baby than the two I had nursed and raised.  She is what one would call a “high maintenance baby.”  She cries a lot, either because of tummy aches, or being hungry very quickly again (less than 2 hours after a feeding), or just to be held.  Since we live in the same house as the young couple, I am always ready to give a hand or arms to hold the precious little girl or “our little princess” as my husband calls her.

Over the last couple of months we learned a lot from this little baby and also how to cope better with her needs.  She is by now 2 months old and has already her own personality.  In order to deal with her crying spells we learned from searching the internet about Priscilla Dunston and her ways in which one can understand baby’s cries.  Ms. Dunston discovered that there are 5 universal cries:

DunstonBaby Language

“Neh” Hungry

“Owh” Sleepy

“Heh” discomfort

“Eair” Lower gas (may put up legs)

“Eh” needs burping to let out air

Here is the link to an interview of Priscilla with Oprah about the language of babies:

Understanding these cries helped a lot for this colicky baby.  We also learned that most babies outgrow these crying spells by about 3-4 months.  Most babies cry about 30 minutes per day.  If your baby cries longer, you may have a colicky baby and want to investigate into gripe water which has been traditionally made by mothers at home; or a product which helped our little one called ColicCalm.

What else has our little Jaya been teaching us in her young life?

·         This baby is all feelings and not at all afraid to express them.  I believe that is why we are naturally drawn to babies; they are totally themselves, helpless and open.

·         This baby breathes deeply into her abdomen; I watch her belly go up and down, especially when she sleeps.

·         This baby moves all the time, even in her sleep. 

·         This baby trusts us completely and is totally depending on our care.

·         This baby engages us with her smiles and funny faces.  Watch her eyes getting bigger when she sees or hears something interesting; or when something exciting or unexpected happens like blowing in her face; or you put her in front of a flower or even a mirror.

·         This baby likes to be touched and held a lot.  It is the easiest way to put her to sleep by walking around with her and/or rocking her to sleep.

·         This baby likes to be swaddled and/or held tight when preparing her for sleeping.

Now, you probably say, she is just a normal baby.  Maybe I am just a little prejudiced; I am making these comments for those who think: oh, it’s just a baby what can I learn from her? - I have to teach her everything. 

That’s my wisdom as a grandmother; you can’t spoil a baby.  If we attend this little one with all of our love and full attention, she will be the best daughter for her parents, the greatest older sister, the most excellent mother’s helper, and the finest future wife and companion to any husband in the future. 

Here are some websites I visited to get some of the feedback:

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4199/4-Things-We-Can-All-Learn-From-Babies.html

http://purposepowercoaching.com/site/2009/01/22/4-lessons-babies-can-teach-us-about-productivity/

http://theparentingpassageway.com/2009/01/19/when-babies-cry-and-what-we-can-all-learn-from-the-high-needs-baby-and-child/

Bed and Breakfast Adventure

My husband and I are celebrating our 30th Anniversary this year.  For weeks we were thinking about how we could best commemorate this particular day.  Since we wanted to connect the special day with a trip to Minnesota visiting his family, we decided to take a little detour to visit beautiful Michigan.  Instead of taking the usual route we headed north on interstate 75.  We were hoping to escape the heat wave but it followed us all the way though Michigan.

Our first destination was Frankenmuth – the Christmas town.  After a stroll through Bronner’s biggest Christmas store  in the world (?) we visited the more quiet chapel which is a replica of the church in which the German Christmas song “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht (Holy night)” originated.

During this part of our trip we stayed in “Bed and Breakfast Homes.”  Our first sleepover would be in Bay City at the Historical Midland Street Bed & Breakfast.  We found the house in a quiet part of town and enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs.  Joyce Loomis.  Since we were the only guests in the house we had the whole upper floor for ourselves.  The couple advised us that there was good eating at the Atrium restaurant in the downtown area of Bay City.  We weren’t too crazy about the food, that’s why we quickly moved to the river site to watch the sunset where we were serenaded from a close by bar. 

The next morning we were served breakfast in the very cozy dining room which was beautifully decorated and the table was set just for us.  We had delicious French toast with fresh fruits, coffee and juice.  After saying good bye to our hosts we headed to Mackinaw City and admired the impressive bridge which is the official divider between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.   We couldn’t have asked for better weather with plenty of sunshine and as further north as we drove, the lower the temperatures went.     On the way to our next sleepover we enjoyed first the drive over the magnificent Mackinaw Bridge and then the south shore of the Upper Peninsula.  We saw white sand beaches and a very calm Lake Michigan.  The water seemed a little slimy with algae and I didn’t feel like swimming in it, even though many people did.

We had booked a room at the Blaney Park Lodge and found it a little run down.  But the owners Howard and Lorene were very friendly and many other guests seemed regular visitors, enjoying the historical lodge.  In its heydays the lodge was part of the Blaney Park Resort which was an example of lumber towns that survived in transmuted form  where people came by car, horse carriage and plane to discover the peaceful nature surrounding the resort.  After a hardy breakfast with oatmeal and blueberry muffins we went on our way.

It was one of my observations while on the Upper Peninsula seeing many little towns as well as, hotels and properties abandoned like ghost towns.  As we made our way toward Munising, we decided to take a boat ride to see the majestic rock formations of “Pictured Rocks.”

The boat tour took over two hours as we passed ancient rock formations colored by mineral dripping and seeping from higher places into lower layers and creating the most beautiful colors only nature can paint.  Our tour guide explained about the different rock formations and what they represent.  With a lot of imagination we saw “marine fleet”, “Indian head”, and many others.  During the trip a picture book was passed around and the captain announced that a lucky winner would be announced at the sales desk.  Guess what, we were the winners.

That night we found our way to the “Big Bay Lighthouse.”  The B&B was housed in the historic lighthouse which was still functioning with its blinker at night.  It was a beautiful full moon night and the light house was even more magical.  The inside was completely modern beautifully decorated with the light house theme everywhere.  We had a very tasty breakfast with other guests and exchanged traveling stories with the light house inn owner, Linda Gamble.

Then it was time to leave the Upper Peninsula and pass through Duluth to find our last B&B at the Superior Gateway Lodge in Two Harbors.  The sky became very dark as we drove through town, and we hastened to find the location of our lodging.  It was hidden in a big forest outside of town.  We finally found the beautiful new log cabin.  The owners were not there to advise us but had given us a nicer room to accommodate another family needing an extra room.  We met Joe and Pat the next morning.  We were surprised that breakfast was not included in the rate.  Since we were hungry, we paid the extra fee and were served a lovely breakfast along with the other lodging family.

I like very much the hospitality at Bed &Breakfast lodgings and meeting other travelers at the breakfast table.  The hosts have everybody assemble around the same table, serving them homemade fresh baked goods and fruits.  I had a very good experience with my four sleep-overs at B&Bs and can promote them warmly.  It makes it easier to travel off the beaten path and find remote places in natural surroundings.

The Journey of the Hare and the Tortoise

Most people are familiar with the morale of the traditional story of the Hare and the Tortoise.  The story goes like this according to the Aesop’s Fables: 

One day a hare was bragging about how fast he could run. He bragged and bragged and even laughed at the tortoise who was so slow. The tortoise stretched out his long neck and challenged the hare to a race, which, of course, made the hare laugh. 

"My, my, what a joke!" thought the hare.
"A race, indeed; a race. Oh!  What fun!  My, my!  A race, of course, Mr. Tortoise, we shall race!" said the hare. 

The forest animals met and mapped out the course. The race begun, and the hare, being such a swift runner, soon left the tortoise far behind. About halfway through the course, it occurred to the hare that he had plenty of time to beat the slow trodden tortoise.

"Oh, my!" thought the hare, "I have plenty of time to play in the meadow here."
And so he did.

After the hare finished playing, he decided that he had time to take a little nap.
"I have plenty of time to beat that tortoise," he thought. And he cuddled up against a tree and dozed.

The tortoise, in the meantime, continued to plod on, albeit, it ever so slowly. He never stopped, but took one good step after another.

The hare finally woke from his nap. "Time to get going," he thought. And off he went faster than he had ever run before! He dashed as quickly as anyone ever could up to the finish line, where he met the tortoise, who was patiently awaiting his arrival.

Morale: Plodding wins the race.

“Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.”

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

There are many other ways to look at this story and find a morale in it:

Morale: Success depends on using your talents, not just having them.

Morale: Never give up when faced with failure.

Morale: Over-confidence, careless and lax; took winning for granted.

Morale: Slow and steady versus fast and reliable.

Morale: Arrogance and being a douche bag with a big ego.

Morale: Working with your strength will get you noticed; and bring advancement and growth.

Morale: With cooperation, they both can win; and face all kinds of challenges, like the hare carrying the tortoise over land while the tortoise was carrying the hare while swimming across the river.

Morale: Life is not only competition against others; compete against the circumstance or against yourself (trying to better yourself) to increase your performance.

I like you to consider a completely different viewpoint on this story.  Let’s consider the hare and the tortoise stand for two different personalities.  One races through life, never looking left or right; never stopping long enough to learn and to enjoy. He arrives at the goal, only to find out that he missed out on life itself.  While the tortoise goes slowly, smelling the flowers, learning lessons and overcoming setbacks, arriving at the goal with a great satisfaction.

The second example could be compared to the healing journey where we can restore our mind, body and soul.  Winning can have a whole different meaning in this context.  It is the one who arrives at the goal relaxed and peaceful who is the true victor.  In the end it is not important how fast we get to the goal but rather that we reach it with all the accomplishment of a rich and vibrant life.  Obviously, this has a different meaning for all of us.  None-the-less, we want to learn the lessons of life and grow and develop our full potential.  Life often asks us to stand back and listen.  Most importantly, we don’t want to compare ourselves with others, since each one has a different course based on our personal history.

Note that I am putting a lot of symbolic meaning in my observation.  The idea of going slow to go fast has its origin in the Martial Arts.  The meaning there is that we need to be relaxed to go faster.  It is certainly helpful to have a plan of action and think things through rather than just running and then run out of steam or motivation.

With vacation time approaching I hope that we all can take some time to slow down and enjoy ‘the art of vacationing' which is to slow down enough to make room for something new.