Where's that Exuberant Bunny When You Need Him?

Have you ever watched that energizer bunny commercial and thought... man, do I need those batteries?  How does he just keep going and going and going and..... Well, right now... I could use some new batteries to recharge.

Lately, I've been in a slump.  I am not sure when it happened or how... I just know that I'm having a hard time, getting out of it.   It feels like I'm angry all the time,  feels like I've aged 20 years in less than a month, my body is out of whack and its adapted an entirely new personality.  Who is this person in this body? How did you get in here?   Sorta a cross between alien and the exorcist.   Okay... maybe not that bad, but, honestly, I don't like the way it feels.

Life can be a frenzy and at times, we simply forget to breathe.  (Or I do anyway.)  We get so caught up in the whirlwind of our lives... that we don't realize how stressed we are until we are buried.  

Our routines take up every minute in a 24 hour day.   We get up, either already rushing or we end up that way.  We drive to work spending the time contemplating how we are going to get everything done or making use of the time while driving to get on the phone and make appointments whether doctor, dentist or something for the kids.  (One good thing in my favor, my kids are grown... they can make their own appointments, but somehow, even with that.. the time is used for something.)  We go to work, spend our day on the computer, the phone, dealing with problems or challenges, interacting with people and trying to maintain some semblance of balance.   We go home, cook dinner, text, facebook, help with homework, get our "to-do" list at home done and take care of any extracurricular activities that are on the calendar for the day.   It seems that sometimes we get so caught up in everything that has to be done... that by the time you're supposed to go to bed,  your brain simply won't shut off which leads to sleepless nights.   For me, insomnia has become part of my life for so long... I'm not sure what would happen if it went away.  It seems like a never ending cycle.   After about 6-7 days... I have to break out the sleep assist medications just so I can get some rest.  

Everybody has times in their lives when they simply need to stop and rejuvenate with whatever methods work for them.   I've thought about this a lot lately, so I began to research to come up with a list of things that are suppose to help.  I never realized that recharging your batteries actually has a list of how to do it.   Some things on the list... take a deep breath, go outside for fresh air, take a long hot bath, listen to some inspiring music, pet an animal, have lunch with someone you love, laugh loudly and hard.... and so many more.    How many of these actually work?  I'm not sure, but I intend to try each and every one until I find the right combination.   I guess the reality is we all have moments in our lives when we get worn down and there's only one person who can truly get you out of a slump.  Yourself.   Yes, it helps to have the support of family and friends, but at the end of the day... we all are responsible for our own happiness, our own actions and the end result is because of our ability to find balance in our lives.  

Working your way out of a slump is just like everything else, there will be up's and downs, but with effort and focus, I will find that happy place that sets the world back right again.   Until then, all I can do is keep looking to find what works.  I know that my life has been filled with tons of stress lately, many changes and challenges and times when I just wanted to give up.  Haven't we all felt like that at one time or another?   I know that recently my niece posted on her facebook page that she just wanted to drop out of college.  Obviously, she was having a bad day because that is not an option.   So, she had to get up, dust herself off and get right back in the groove.  

I'm the same way... I know that deep down I'm not a person who gives up even though at the moment, I feel like the scoreboard reads - Life 4 Me 0.  First, I'm much too competitive and secondly, when you give up, you let all the stress and strain in your life win.   They may get ahead and get the best of you, but it's up to you, to stay strong and come out on top.

I guess it leads me back to my own advice.... stop and smell the roses.   I thought I had my life in a good rhythm and I was learning to relax and enjoy.  Seems lately, old habits have crept back and taken over, but now that I have identified my slump, voiced it out loud and come up with a strategy... I am sure to pull myself out of the semi-black hole.

...in the meantime,  I'm on the look-out for that overactive bunny who has boundless energy and never stops.  If you find him, could you send him my way and hopefully by then, all I will need to do is place him in a locked room, turn off his drum and hold him hostage until I need him again.  

"If you neglect to recharge a battery, it dies. And if you run full speed ahead without stopping for water, you lose momentum to finish the race."  Oprah Winfrey

Stand Up for the ARTS and Thank You iSteve!

Well... this week, I'm on a soapbox.  It's not often that I get on one.. but when I do.. WHEW!    Where shall I start... first, I guess the story of "as you grow older, the more like your parents you become is coming true."  I had my first glimpse of realizing I may be more like my mother than I thought or knew.

This past week, controversy began brewing in my hometown.   We are very fortunate to live in a small town (college town) that is known on a national scale for writers (Faulkner, Grisham, Brown to name a few...), painters, potters, artists, and more.  Yes.. the ARTS are alive and well in Oxford, Mississippi.

Yet, this week our local board of supervisors voted 3-2 to revoke a mere $15,000 to one of the groups who supports the community with art programs.  YAC (Yoknapatawpha Arts Council).  The Arts Council is the official arts agency for Oxford and Lafayette County, with one full-time staff member, a twelve member Board of Directors, and volunteers working to transform the creative works of artists, performers, musicians, and writers into programs that create jobs, attract tourists, and enrich our community. How effective is the arts council? In 2009 the arts council working with local artists fostered over 315 days of art programs. These programs ranged from gallery exhibits, live music, performing arts, and special events including free dance lessons for all ages, free arts classes, and a writer’s series that featured nationally recognized authors.

So, as you're reading this, you're probably saying... that's wonderful what the council does for your community.  Well, you're right... it is wonderful, yet our supervisors voted to revoke funding due to mis-information regarding an art show that included partial nudity.   The supervisors did not have all of the information yet, they voted anyway.   They had heard complaints from 1 or 2, maybe 5 or 6 that the art show contained some partial nudity and was going to be held at the Powerhouse, which is home to YAC.   Now... because of the voices of a few... all of a sudden this single show is the reason for every good thing that the art council does to not get funding.  The sad part... is that if the supervisors had TABLED the vote until they could verify their concerns instead of voting without all of the information, they would have found out the following:  No Council funds were used for the art exhibit, which was moved to a nearby location on private property in a tent after a handful of community members expressed concern that the show, “Scratch and Sniff” was too racy to be held at the Powerhouse.  


The community was in an outrage over the vote and groups were formed to help support.  I guess the one good thing that came out of it is that now YAC is planning a fundraiser to help so that they don't have to rely on government funding so much, but even with that said... the funding should not have been revoked in the first place.  


I am sure that the supervisors who voted to revoke the $15,000 had a barrage of emails and phone calls  The voices of many were loud and clear. What really had me upset is that this local board could be influenced by 1 or 2, 5 or 6... instead of reaching out to the entire community that they represent.   How can you vote on something that obviously you don't have all the facts?   


 (Well... long story short.... 2 of the 3 who voted against, will not be returning to office in January and the 3rd one has had a change of heart and has said that he asked for the funding issue to be placed back on the agenda in November and he will change his vote.)   Advice for the newly elected - please get ALL the information you need to make an insightful vote against something that impacts the community.   Do not vote unless you can do so with having all of the facts.   So, for now, it appears that the controversy will be averted by a "re-do" of the vote, but the question that lingers in my mind is how many votes have happened that the local board didn't have all the information and yet... they cast a vote aye or nay.   As an elected official, you have the responsibility to represent your district, community and city with the best interests, therefore, in order to do so... know what it is you are voting for or against.   


So... how does this tale of controversy lead up to the fact that the older I get, the more like my mother... well, those of you who were blessed to know her... know that she loved nothing better than to voice her  opinion against the politicians and debate every issue she disagreed, yet many, called her their friend.   I have had many tell me she helped them more than she would ever know.  Why?  Because she stood up for what she believed in... and fought for what was right.  My single voice might not make a difference, but it makes me proud to know that I voiced it out loud for others to know where my support was on this particular issue.   Maybe.... I will start tuning in to all of the supervisor meetings and see exactly what they are doing in there.   Maybe... we should all do that.  


On another note... The world is feeling quite a loss with the passing of Steve Jobs.  I am trying to get my arms around my own thoughts about the impact that this single man has had on our society.   Even as I sit here typing.... on  yes, an Apple Macbook Pro.... listening to itunes...... answering my iphone..... and knowing that I'll pick up my ipad... at any given moment... it's hard not to try and grasp it.

Jobs will leave a legacy for changing the world when his own beginnings were that of a struggle.  He was born out of wedlock, put up for adoption, bribed in the 4th grade to "learn" with $5 and candy, and used a passion for something he loved - electronics to change the world as we know it.   Jobs shared his passion and intensity with the world, yet at the end of the day, he would have said... I am just a man.   It will be a long time before another CEO, or individual has the impact that he has had on our society.   He's probably up in heaven creating yet another app...God Bless.




"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. 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. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

Steve Jobs, Stanford Commencement Address, June 2005

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Fall has arrived!  Cooler temperatures seem to be just around the corner, leaves will begin changing into bursting hues of orange and red,  providing beauty all around.   I have to say, that it truly is my favorite time of year.  Maybe it's that with Fall, comes football, world series and the holidays that I love the most.  It's hard to believe it's already October and that we'll soon be thinking about Thanksgiving and even Christmas.  (Yes... some stores are already thinking Christmas.)  (Don't get me started on that rant!)  With this blog, I found myself realizing that in a few days, I will have survived another year.   I guess as we all turn another year older, we try to remember where the years have gone and what life lessons we learned along the way.   Seems the older you get, the more like one of your parents you become... or so I have been told recently.    For me, my lessons learned the hard way... are many.   You'd think that along with these new wrinkles I'm discovering,  I wouldn't make the same mistakes twice.    

So... in all my years of wisdom, what lessons have I learned the hard way.  Well, for starters... things always happen for a reason and only you can find a meaning within those things.   It goes back to the whole half empty/half full attitude.   Say... someone loses their job... one person might use that as an opportunity to do something they've always wanted to do with a new career while another might sink into despair and complain about the world doing them wrong.   I've said this many times before... your attitude truly is the foundation to your happiness.   

The grass isn't always greener.   Most of us have envisioned at one time or another when we were in a bad situation whether it was a job or relationship, that if we could only get out... my how different things would be, only to find that the grass wasn't greener on the other side.  

Don't worry about the things we can't control.   I am a worrier.  I worry about everything and as I have gotten older... it has just gotten worse.  Reacting is one of the things that I do best... and not always in a good way.   Trying to remember that the only person that I can control is myself and my reaction to others has helped me to keep my temper down to a low simmer in a lot of situations.    

Pick your battles.  Personal or professional, this is probably my hardest lesson to learn and I am still learning it.   We have all been in situations where we allowed something small to send us over the edge that created a bigger battle than necessary.   In my career, I've learned to set boundaries.   I've learned when to draw the line because people will only treat you the way you allow them to.  In my personal life, I'm still learning the lesson.  I'm hardheaded and one of those that feels you have to fight it out in order for the balance of the universe to get back on its axis.   Right or wrong, it's a hard lesson that I keep learning over and over.  (Surely, one day, I'll learn...).   

Happiness shouldn't be tied to success.   This is another one that really challenges me.   Success equates to a better being, happier person and all around better attitude.  As I've grown professionally, I realize that my failures were just as much a part of helping me become the person I have as my successes.  The failures are more important.   We all need to have the mindset that sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't.  We don't need to let the times they don't dictate our well being.

You don't pick your family or the person you love.  You do pick your friends.   There is nothing that brings me greater joy than my Clampett family and the friendships that I cherish.    "A friend is a gift you give yourself" and "A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out" are two of my favorite quotes.  

Be thankful.  This isn't necessarily a lesson learned the hard way, its one that I think most people forget or take for granted.   I don't take for granted.  I have been extremely blessed.  Even when I feel like my world is crumbling and I'm being sucked into the black hole of darkness, taking a few moments and reminding myself of all the things that I have to be thankful for usually helps put things back into perspective.  

Lessons learned the hard way are never easy especially when they unintentionally or intentionally hurt you or another person.   We've all been through them. We've all learned from them and we've all vowed not to make the same mistakes twice.  In most cases, I'd like to think I've done just that, but I know that there are several areas where my weaknesses come through and I haven't completely learned that life lesson yet.  

So... as Fall continues to approach with all it's glory, I am thankful that I have made it another year.  I'm thankful for all of life's lessons I've learned the hard way.   Somehow, they've helped me become the person I am today.   

As I close out my first post of October... I will leave you to ponder the following.... (see growing older makes you so much wiser, doesn't it?) 

"Age should not have its face lifted, but it should rather teach the world to admire wrinkles as the etchings of experience and the firm line of character."  

"An old fox understands the trap".  - Proverb