Posted by Raul on June 28, 2010
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Long ago it used to be a compliment when someone said: “My father is an encyclopedia”
It was another way to say that the old man is wise, knowledgeable and capable to explain you so many things he learned in his life. He is a wealth of knowledge at the reach of a question.
Today, with the new technologies available a complete encyclopedia can be contained in a single CD ROM,
When I think of an encyclopedia I can’t help it but visualize a set of several heavy books, all of the same color and perfectly aligned, collecting dust in a shelf, and when that image is compared with the one of a CD ROM, is inevitable to get a completely different idea of what the old saying used to present.
“My father is an encyclopedia”
He is squared, heavy and out of date!
Technology changes everything no doubt.
Raul
Posted by Raul on June 25, 2010
I used to have a little sister some 30 years ago, then life presented different paths to the members of the family and just a couple of days ago I found out that my little sister has become a “Conejito Asesino”
Even though she was the daughter of my sister, being I 15 years old by the time, that baby felt more like a little sister to me than a niece; a sweet child that I spent lots of time with playing and laughing and taught me the need of living creatures for connection with one another.
I used to have a little daughter some 25 year ago, then after following my path in life, after a moment to stop, rest and look around, I saw in the distance that my little daughter is no longer a child but a woman and now has her own daughter.
An “oops” from mother that gave birth to a child when I was 20 years old, so the little one felt more like a daughter to me than a sister, and with those big, curious eyes taught me about the fragility of a child and the need of an adult to protect them, not only about safety, feeding and love, but also about continuous observation for proper anticipation to create the guided path they need in those first years of life.
Now is about three strangers and only one with memories from the past.
It is so easy to remember the moments, the time spent with a loved child when he or she is just a couple of years old, when the little one is just a baby and look at one with those confused eyes of a creature just arrived to life.
At the other hand, who remember the experiences, the happenings when we are between zero and 5 years old? At most we have flashes of memories, loose images that come to us after some deep digging but bring us nothing more that a grainy, confused picture of a mostly confusing time.
So we, as adults, remember the moments but the child, being less than five years old will not, and the question that arises in my mind is what happens then when divorces occur and the couple splits when the children are below that tender age? Wouldn’t they forget the parent that walks away if they don’t spend time everyday with him/her?
It is so easy for adults to change paths while preserving the memories, yet children often time forget the previous memories to create new ones…without the adult that were a part of their life once and to become just a name from the past for them.
Then for adults is difficult to comprehend why the child seems to have forgotten all the beautiful memories from the past time together and the love given to them. The adult remembers, the child forgets.
I guess there should be more consideration for that element when adult mistakes from the past are corrected.
Just a thought
Raul
Posted by Raul on June 18, 2010
A somehow isolated, small brick house in the woods, surrounded by flowers and tall trees that provide a gently shade; a rocky access trail to the front door with a full variety of flowers decorating the path to a silent sanctuary; the perfect place to live in complete harmony with nature.
The gentle afternoon breeze will provide the sounds by the beautiful green leaves in the trees that move in waves creating varied shapes made out of color and light with the help of a warm summer sun, while the sounds of birds and several insects will provide the music, filling up the air with the songs of nature.
Pure, clean air coming from the windows will mix with the gentle smell of fresh, homemade cooking that waits at the table for the family to spend precious time together.
Then a walk to the nearby creek for some relaxation and leg stretching while filling up the senses with the beauty of nature: Sounds, smells, and colors will take home in the brain to create the perfect feeling and thoughts to a happily beating heart
All we need to add is a satellite system, internet and email service, digital HD TV, a quiet but powerful generator, a proper 4×4 sport utility parked in the back and a good supply of frozen food that only needs a couple of seconds in the microwave and we are all set.
Oh well, human nature!
Our hidden desire of going back to the origins but always bringing with us the comforts of man made technology.
Raul
Posted by Raul on June 11, 2010
Sometimes it becomes so frustrating! We all know we have to fight ourselves to acquire or remain in the direction we want to go while we attempt to glide throughout the thick atmosphere of society and its currents that divert us in so many different directions.
Then another element show up to make things more complicated. Not only is about dealing with different parallel situations, but the set conditions also change from time to time to create the new grounds from which the elements will be dealt with from then on.
One of those new conditions it’s been bothering me for awhile now and everyday it’s becoming more acute so to remind me of those new grounds that will become the new set of rules pretty soon.
It is the vision capabilities required for activities like reading, writing and working with small objects. My short distance vision is going away.
Fortunately the long distance vision is still working as if never used before (although I do tend to decipher the future J ) When it comes to read a street sign from a block distance I can still feel like a young man and defy with it the reality of years going by without mercy.
Now, for many people this short distance vision failing is an everyday situation that I see they seem to have completely under control, or at least as a fully accepted condition, so they go around with the prescription glasses in a pocket for whenever the activities at hand will require it.
Yet for me, getting just started in this new grounds and seeing (sigh!) how the new set of rules will have to be written as the starting point for whatever direction or activity will be take, it just add an (sometimes) overwhelming point to deal with.
At the other hand it also presents the opportunity to consider the benefits of having the capability to simply shut down the vision to annoying situations without closing the eyes; just removing the reading glasses will do (sweet!)
So far a cheap, general prescription set, with the smallest (1.00) grade will do and can be easily found and bought at many grocery stores, so my hopes are that the new standards of visualizations will remain at the actual point for longer and so to get with it the time to adjust to this newer situation without falling in a forever changing river of self adjustments.
Raul
Posted by Raul on June 4, 2010
Every decision we make for whatever situation we might be in implies two sides; it seems (and it is) so basic, yet I’ve seen so many people struggling with this concept.
We make decisions based on the direction we want to go and the result we want to obtain, yet so many times we forget the other side of the coin, the other result, the consequence.
Let’s say for instance we want to have a friend for all the good things that comes with a friendship: Someone to hang out with; someone to talk to; someone we can trust; someone we can count on when we need a hand, etc. But then it’s easy to forget that it is a two ways situation and we suppose to be there for our friend just the same way we expect our friend will be there for us.
It is easy to say “but I’m doing all that for my friend” when in reality we tend to keep that friendship more as a personal convenience than a two ways relation. We call them when we need to talk or when we need a favor, yet we are busy with our own stuff when they call and need some of our time for their own problems or struggles to deal with.
Shouldn’t we always consider both sides of the coin when making a decision? If we want a friend or a lover that will be there for us whenever we need them, shouldn’t we consider the time and dedication that such situation will require from us and accept it as part of the results for the decision made and be willing to leave our own life in standby for a moment while we jump on to the situation that our friend requires from us?
At the other hand, if we are not willing to give our time and efforts at any given minute-notice, shouldn’t we accept without complains the situation of not having anyone to count on?
Another example: We need to buy a car and very easily get caught in acquiring a luxury one instead of a simple transportation vehicle that will meet our requirements for our daily errands. Then we complain for the high costs of fueling, maintenance and repairs that this luxury car implies, compared to a simple one.
Wouldn’t be smarter to consider (and visualize) not only how good it’ll feel to be driving that luxury vehicle, but also take as part of the final decision the coming expenses that such vehicle implies and how it’ll hit us in our budget when the never expected repairs show up?
We naturally tend to see just the side that interest us with (to often) complete disregard of the other side of the coin, which leads us to complaining later for the results that, in turn, reduces the satisfaction of the decision made, when most of this problems could be avoided just by always keeping in mind that any decision we make will always have two sides of a coin.
The sooner we realize this simple concept, the easier decision making will become and the more satisfaction we’ll have by the results of those decisions with less complaining later.
Simple, basic, yet I’ve seen so many people that seem to have no idea of this concept, or have made a habit of disregarding it in their decision making processes.
Raul
