Birkenstock is for Women

Conversations in passing with people.

As the author was walking down the avenue a young couple was walking up in his direction.  The couple were having a discussion about footwear, specifically about sandals or fliplops for men.  The woman was suggesting it is perfectly okay for men to wear birkenstock sandals.  The man did not agree and believed the style sandal is for women.  They went back and forth about the subject twice before the author and them passed by each other.  In passing the author said "Your right bro, those style sandals are for women."  "Thanks Dude!" the man responed.  His ladyfriend was flabbergasted that her opinion was wrong.

Speaking of flabbergastery

The author was at the library and could hear the music from some source.  He walked in the direction of the source of sound, listening for an increase in decibles.  The author walked.  The decibles increased, then began to fade.  He turned back to the direction of increasing loudness and came upon a woman with earbuds.  "Excuse me," said the author, "would you mind turning the volume down a bit," as he mimed the turning of a potentiometer.  The woman was sitting fifty feet from where the author first heard the noisy pop music.

Flabbergasted the woman said "You can hear that!?"

"I'm sensitive."

She polietley turned down her music.

Opinions

Opinions are incredibly important.  The most important opinion is your own.  Your own opinion can and most often is plural.  A plural opinion is comprised of thoughts which may be contradictory.  People often have inflated or depleated opinions.  The path to enlightenment is balancing our opinions to be clear, concise and coherent.

Other peoples opinions are also incredibly importat.  The opinion of your employer or clients about you is importat, so too is that of your spouse.  If either had a dissenting opinion you might loose your job or spouse.  People are friends with you because it is their opinion they like you.  People express their opinion in the stores they frequent, the products they use.

Some opinions don't matter.  Monday morning quarterbacks or any commentators on sports are a perfect example of meaningless opinions.  Bizzarly many people are of the opinion that those opinions matter - too bad for them.

Some opinions are destructive.  Opinions of township supervisiors and city planners create the sub-urban distopioa we have in the United States.  The once intelligently designed boroughs and towns are becoming sprawls of impersonal dimension.

How can we encourage people to have meaningful opinions?  Our schools and universities are not devoted to creating an enlightened society.  If we are to be the enlightened society our framers imagined we must encourage teaching the wisdom of virtues, liberty and independence.  Otherwise, those who are educated are ignorant.  

Extending Connecting for Commonwealth

At a recent work experience, we discovered our peers want to engage in thoughtful conversation but are inhibited due to the pressures of working.

Given the economic enviornment of our generation, we applaude our peers who are engaged in volunteerism.  We encourage our peers to take the time to breathe and engage in conversation that is positive, healthy and expansive for the benefit of our economic circumstances.

Being Thankful

We are thankful for the people in our world who fully express love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

We are thankful for the people who remind us it is okay to feel however we are feeling.

It's okay to be shameful.  It's okay to be guilty.  It's okay to be apathetic.  It's okay to be in a state of grief.  It's okay to be fearful.  It's okay to have desire.  It's okay to be angry!

As we become more comfortable in shame, guilt, apathy, greif, fear, desire, and anger, we gain access to higher qualities of being, respectively in order, such as pride, courage, neutrality, willingness, acceptance, reason, love, joy, peace - compassion, and finally enlightenment.

We are thankful that a corporation, due only to public opinion, allows people to be in their store without the purchase of any of their products.  While in their store the people are free to: use the store's restrooms; request water that is hot or cold or frozen and not be charged; charge electronic devices with the store's power outlets; bring and eat food not purchased at the store.  

Unfortunatley not all corporations are as accepting of free people.  Small business owners typically request free people to leave if the people are practicing the aforementioned freedoms the other company permits.

5th of July

The author was walking back to his vehicle the day after Independence Day.  As he approached, three young couples with baby strollers and Starbucks coffee cups were passing his sweet ride.  The author notice the lead man was wearing a Yankees hat.  "Are you a Yankees fan," asked the author.

"No," responded the lead man.

"What do you mean no?"

"I'm bandwaggoning, I don't have a choice."

"What do you mean you don't have a choice?  That's not very American."

The Dude and his Set-Up

The Dude imagined how he could blog in an easy and effective way.  His imagination came when he experienced an upset.  The Dude was blogging simply on his phone.  The tiny screen of the phone and his fat fingers did not pair well for blogging.  One day last December the Dude created a stellar post about free writing when the post magically disappeared.  Much grief was experienced by him at that moment.  The Dude began to open and relax his mind for the universe to reveal a solution for how he could blog to share his wisdom with the world in a way that would not cause such grief again.

The Dude imagined having an adapter for connecting a wireless keyboard to a phone or tablet.  He imagined a shoulder harness to hold the keyboard.  He already had a music stand on which to set a tablet.

The Dude researched such adapters and of course, On-The-Go Adapters are easily available.  He researched a shoulder harness and found one already on the market - he was prepared to design his own.

The Dude acquired all those basic items and now blogs and writes and lives so eloquently.  He can write and walk at the same time.  He can sit down if his legs get tired.  He can shift between sitting, standing and walking with ease as he continues to type.

When the Dude brings his set-up in public, people notice the genius.  They say, "I like the set-up."  The dude responds, "That's what I call it!"

Now the Dude is waiting on a sponsorship for a quality phone service to use a cell phone as a WiFi hotspot and blog anywhere with cell service.