Calm After The Storm
Forever & AlwaysWe often think of the 'calm before the storm', but rarely do we recognize or even witness the 'calm after the storm'. This sunset occurred less than an hour after a severe storm, near Otter Falls, MB, that brought down a hundred trees near a cabin we had rented. The clouds became soft like cotton balls (mammatus clouds) and the sky was at peace.
With the sand sliding between our toes, and walking hand in hand, there was no thoughts of #tweets, #likes or #snapchats.
Slow Dance
by David Weatherford http://www.davidlweatherford.com/
Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
or listened to rain slapping the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight,
or gazed at the sun fading into the night?
You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.
Do you run through each day on the fly,
when you ask “How are you?”, do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
with the next hundred chores running through your head?
You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.
Ever told your child, we’ll do it tomorrow,
and in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, let a friendship die,
’cause you never had time to call and say hi?
You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere,
you miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
it’s like an unopened gift thrown away.
Life isn’t a race, so take it slower,
hear the music before your song is over.
Back in 2009, I was introduced to this poem by author Timothy Ferriss and I felt compelled to share its profoundness with you. I hope that it affects you positively as it has me ( If so, please pass it on). Thank you to David Weatherford for not only writing Slow Dance, but as well for granting me permission to post it here.
Is the dress black and blue or gold and white?
This question blew up the internet this past few days. My daughters brought the image to my attention last night, making the rounds on Twitter under various hashtags #TheDress, #blackandblue, etc. Everyone, and I mean everyone, including my family, @justinbieber, and @talyorswift saw different colours, or both, at different times of the day, or saw it change colors before their eyes. I have seen both, but at first glance was black & blue.
First thought would be that it is one of those animated pictures, called GIFS, but it is not. You can screen shot the image, and it will still appear differently to various people. Scientists are weighing in. Late night talk shows will be weighing in tonight. People are arguing in the streets, and fighting in school hallways across the planet!
Fact: The source which originally got the controversy to go viral, via Tumblr, eventually determined the dress to be Black & Blue. In fact, other sources indicate the dress is ONLY sold in that color.
Mystery Solved:
Human eyes are imperfect, and can be easily tricked to see one color and interpret as another. Our eyes are all different by so many factors, and the reality is that geometric shapes, angles, lighting, clever placement, and a thousand other things can mess up our brains ability to properly distinguish color. These illusions have been studied for years.
Example: How many different color circles do you see in the box below?
The answer: Only Two (Blue & Green)
Reality: The dress is black and blue, but sometimes your brain is telling you it is gold & white, and that’s OK! You are human. Booyaaa… mystery solved 🙂 Unless, of course, you wanna argue about it?
It's been a crazy year. It's time for some good changes! Which means, getting back to 'making time' for creativity. Stay tuned as I update my site, and try to rediscover the passion for prose.
