Inspiration and the importance of supporting people who are trying to something good in life

A quick honest chat about the project….

There have been a lot of great questions lately regarding the project and the intentions of it. I know that there will be people who don't take the time to understand what I am doing, or who judge it with whatever opinion they have from the little they know about me or take the time to understand the project. I need those people. I need to be questioned and put to the test and reminded that I believe in this. I don't have it all figured out yet, and I don't want to. I really am betting that the journey, the changes and the adaptations the relationships and the side projects are going to be the greatest part of the whole thing. I'll put myself on a course for space, and get a whole lifetime of experience because of the first right minded change in direction.

I appreciate that people will have their opinions and I appreciate that they will take the time to voice them. I also appreciate the people, who come to the defense of the whole thing and the chatter that ensues, the fact that people are taking positions and defending their views, getting in the mix, that is a great thing. Our lives are easily drummed to sleep by the fast paced beating of the economic machine. We don't take enough time to sit and think, talk, argue about what we believe, concede to someone else's views, take a new view point or allow ourselves to be convinced of something good and true. There are many sub goals for this project of mine, and this increase in awareness is one of the major ones. When Obama was inaugurated, I felt this wonderful tingling inside of me. It was hope and inspiration and it was really wonderful, I loved it and I want to feel it more often. I would love to help other people to feel like that.

My niece is going to do a project on me for her school, we are going to do some video interviews and have some fun. We are going to try and do some new tech long distance communication. I am pumped that I can be an inspiration to my niece an I hope that she can be an inspiration to other kids. It is very contagious. What she suggested is actually something I had planned for the future. As a part of the awareness aspect of my project I am intending on "Skype-ing" into classrooms to get the discussion going with children, get them thinking about their dreams and goals and how to stay on track and not underestimate their abilities to reach them.

I love that people are passionate; it is one of the defining characteristics that make us human. When we lose that and subsequently drone away at life, stop pursuing our goals and dreams, our lives turn into the movie Groundhog Day. The days just keep repeating themselves until we figure out the meaning and the important stuff. It might be cliché but life is too short; people are dying around us, text messaging drivers running over babies, earthquakes in Haiti, 911, airplane underwear bombs. If there was ever a time to support the people who are trying to do more with their life, people who are trying to lead us into change, it is now. That might sound self-serving but I really believe it.

In earthquake lingo, I had a minor tremor last September, when the Guillain Barre hit. In fact, as I sit here right now the bottoms of my feet are still tingling and my big toe is completely numb. One day my 7.2 quake will hit and if I am trapped under the rubble of my own life, when all of the construct collapses down on me, I hope as I lay there and wait for help, I can say that I was awake, I breathed in life, I took chances, I got people talking and thinking, I inspired people. If I can do that, when my time comes, I'll have done something right.

Thanks for your continued interest and support in my journey through Guillain Barre, life, and my trip to space.

JM

Let It Be

Be Like an Air Balloon…

Be Like an Air Balloon…

I was sitting in my office this morning (yes that office), doing my morning reading, and I came across a great little segment from some unnamed person's grandfather.

    "In almost every case of adapting to life's unexpected changes, you can advance more freely if first you let go of something."

It then proceeds to outline a fill in the blank exercise:

    To __________ more, ___________ less

Example:     To climb more, carry less

        To hear more, talk less

        To create more, think less (this was mine)

 

I thought this was a very interesting concept. I have to admit I hadn't thought in this manner before and it occurred to me that this was living more like an air balloon. For an air balloon to take flight it has to drop some weight. I thought this was a pertinent metaphor to life. Not that you necessarily have to drop all of the weights but as the saying goes… lose the dead weight. Once again it requires us to stop and think about what is and isn't healthy in our lives and then act in a motion towards the more healthy.

 

For me my trip to space is my "more healthy". I am not expecting the trip itself to be the best part, instead I am looking most forward to the process, the journey towards earning it. Hopefully I'll go up a little faster than a hot air balloon, but maybe a nice slow balloon ride wouldn't be so bad either? Sounds like something worth adding to the journey.

JM

testing video upload!

New Year’s resolutions and the 5lbs that my butt got for Christmas

It has been a busy couple of weeks but now it is time to get back to a routine that will keep me getting healthier. It seems that major holidays like Christmas, have a habit of taking you out of your routine. You replace some of your good habits with some less productive ones i.e. drinking and eating too much. Then, enter stage left – New Years and the New Year's resolution, and right on the heels of all of the frolic and fancy of Christmas; when you're feeling guilty about the 5-10 LBS that your ass got for Christmas, and you liver density has increased from medium soft to firm. That is the perfect time to make promises to yourself that you really aren't going to keep, but man do they sound great.

This year I am keeping it simple; focus on getting and being healthier. Whether I like it or not, it will be a transition year. We had originally planned on moving home to Canada this year, but when I got sick we kind of put all plans on hold and we are now just getting back around to redefining what those plans are. Additionally, we had the stork drop off a little bundle for us and new babies have a tendency to throw the old paradigm a shifty curveball. In past blogs I have listed some of the things that have been keeping me healthy; writing, reading, my space project, walking and meditating. Also hopefully I can get back to more rigorous workouts but that is a lower priority. I have ADHD (no big surprise to those of you that know me) and so I need to stay busy, but also I am a little bit limited as to what I can do. I am around the house more of the time because we are now parents of two children. As a result I have been making little projects around the house to keep me occupied and they work for the most part. Recently I built a brand new computer from scratch and totally loved doing it. I also find I really need to get out of the house. I am a people person and I thrive off of the energy of other people.

I have also really been enjoying the blogging and I am going to expand into some other writing as well. I have two blogs going right now, this one, and Imgoingtospace.blogspot.com. I am starting up a third one, where I can be fun and a little more edgy, show more of the dark side of my humor for those that know me, crazyunclejim.blogspot.com. It will be a little bit more of a catch all, for videos, jokes, movie reviews etc. more input and media from other people like a Facebook page.

Let me know if there is any topics or other things that you'd like to hear about, what you do and don't like, and… please comment with yours or any other crazy New Year's resolutions that you have heard this year?

Thanks for the continued support,

JM