Switched-On :: Blog

As I am writing this, these very words, it is 4:12 am on a Sunday (although I guess, more accurately, a Monday.) I haven’t been sleeping more than 2 hours a night for the last 3 weeks. There is a certain rhythm to my life of late, the rhythm of that chintzy tourist trap “mystery spot” type gift of a bird that dips its beak into a glass of water over and over again until it fills up with water, fills up with too much, overwhelms its equilibrium, dumps it all out, snaps its head back, and begins again. This is my sleep schedule. No sleep, no sleep, no sleep, no sleep, no sleep, no sleep, no sleep, CRACK 14 hours and begin again. I am having trouble discerning the difference between waking and reality. I’ve woken up in the midst of conversations. I’ve woken up naked in my living room on top of my couch. I’m not certain if I had woken up or if I’ve actually fallen asleep. Either way, I can’t seem to remember how I got anywhere.
- Chad

Have you thought about someone, “Wow I really wish I could be like them,” or, “What do they think they are doing?”? Have you done the same thing that you despised and wondered, “What does that make me now?”? Well if you said hypocrite, you would be right. Confucius, the founder of most all Chinese philosophy, said, “To know your faults and be able to change is the greatest virtue,” and he said, “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.” If we do to others what we did not like being done to us makes us just as harmful as we felt that person was. Many times why we do these things is because we feel out of control or that we don’t know what else to do to face adversity but spew the same tortures we’ve had done to us unto others. This is particularly detrimental and true in cases of the cycles of abuse. Confucius also said this, “Wisdom is recognizing what you know and what you don’t.” If you do not know how to react to something, sometimes it is best not to react at all and wait for the time when you do. Otherwise, you risk making the situation much worse then it currently is. If you feel that you are not able to currently achieve something it best to find information on what is involved in your goal rather than attempting and failing because of the lack there of.
- Kevin

All too often we have a chance to change ourselves and do not take the opportunity. I personally feel that I have let this become an issue in my life previously. It is our choices in every moment that define us not the choice we had even a moment ago. In a way I am saying live for the moment because there is no other time best suited to pursuing your goals. Careful friends, we cannot pursue all of our interests at once and it is a precarious road to try to do so. Sometimes it is better to go after an achievable goal rather than a more impressive one. Realizing the difference is rather difficult at times however. So first let us ask ourselves if what we want is achievable at the time or if there is another change that we might be able to incur. The very essence of the matter is what can we do now for ourselves or for others? The real stickler is that if we choose to wait too long we may miss a chance to get what we want. I am not saying to act without thinking only to try not to overanalyze the situation to the point of no return. I know it is not always the easiest trick to master but I wish all of you the best of luck in your search to find the things to take action on. The more we practice the easier it becomes.
-Kevin