Dec
15
I believe being open minded is a good thing. I use to believe there was a reason behind being open minded. It was so you could find the truth. Once you found the truth, whether in science, religion, relationships, etc. then you didn’t need to have that part of your mind open any longer. You could close that door while continuing to be open minded in other areas. And I still believe there is some truth to that at times. I just no longer believe it is THE reason. It’s just one of many reasons.
Another great reason to be open minded is so you can experience joy and wonder. No other reason is necessary in that case. You don’t have to have a plan or a purpose or an agenda to exploit the joy and wonder into the future. You can just experience it.
What reasons do you have for being open minded? What have been the results for you, both good and bad?
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, the most talented left-handed man he knows.
Quote by Gerry Spence, 1929-not dead yet, American attorney and writer
Nov
18
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As some of you know, I am a runner. I started a few years ago and am now about to run my second marathon.
I was not destined to be a runner. I was a swimmer growing up, we lived at the beach and I body surfed constantly, we had pools and I swam on a team when I was in elementary school. I wasn’t good but I could swim. Swimming was my thing.
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| This is the beach where I was raised. |
When I went away for my freshman year of college my roommate turned out to be a runner. A crazy, long distance runner. I didn’t have one iota of interest in running. I was not a runner. I couldn’t do that, even if I wanted to.
When I went to my next college (I went to many) I had a roommate who was a runner (and a cocaine fiend). I had not one iota of interest in running. I was not a runner. I couldn’t do that, even if I wanted to.
When I went to my next college I saw a lot of runners (the college was on the beach). I was not a runner. I couldn’t do that, even if I wanted to.
Then for the next 20 some odd years I continued to be not a runner.
Then I got a divorce and went to the gym. I lost weight, got fit. I saw people run on the track. I tried once or twice. But I was still not a runner.
Then I had an office mate at work who wanted to get some exercise, she was a runner. I joined her, for the first 100 yards. Then I walked. I was not a runner, after all. I ran a longer distance a few times, I got a little better. But I still wasn’t a runner.
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| My first running buddies, leaving me in the dust. |
pan class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Then my wife thought it would be fun for the family to join a running training group. It was starting very slow; run 1 minute, walk 3. I could do that since it wasn’t really running, just jogging a little bit. I knew I wouldn’t be able to run any distance, and I was right.
Then the training led to a race. A 3.1 mile race, a 5k. That is running. But since I couldn’t do it, even if I wanted to, one of two things was no longer true. My belief about what I could do had changed, or…well, there was no second thing. My belief changed. I could run. I did run. I ran that race.
Then I trained some more and ran twice that distance. Then I ran 3 times that distance. Then I ran 4+ times that distance. Then I ran 8.4517 times that distance and I had run a marathon, 26.2 miles.
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| Some of my running buddies and myself. |
It took me 2 years. I am now a runner. I used to believe I couldn’t and I didn’t. Now I believe I can and I do. What changed? Believing I could do it.
Who do you believe you are? Who do you believe you are not? The not is what is holding you back, not the are. Untie that NOT.
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Drawing and photos by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Henry Ford, 1863-1947, American business man, inventor of the modern assembly line, founder of Ford Motor Company.
Nov
15
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People believe stupid things. Why is that?
- People kill themselves so they can meet up with a UFO behind a comet.
- People send money to a Kenyan who has $50 million bucks to give them.
- People believe Hitler and the final solution will lead to a thousand year reign of peace.
- People think anti-aging creams really work.
- People believe the world will end in 2012.
- People believe that a tortilla with an image of a face on it has spiritual powers.
- People send money to religious leaders who will pray over a cloth swatch and send it to them.
What other stupid things do people believe, and why? Leave a comment!
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Aleksander Fredro, 1793-1876, Polish writer
Nov
13
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A vintage napkin from 2004 that went into my youngest daughter’s lunch during her final year of high school.
One thing I tried to teach my children as they grew older is to recognize what they desire and how that can create a belief within them. If, for example, you need to believe you will see a favorite grandparent in the afterlife, chances are you will believe in an afterlife. It doesn’t make your belief true or untrue. It just means your inclination to believe something comes, in part, from your desires and needs.
Another example could be your need for things to be fair. If you have been treated unfairly or had seen injustice as a child, you could easily have fairness as an overriding theme of your life. That desire could be part of the reason you believe in a God of justice, that vengeance will prevail against people who have been unfair to others. Once again, it may or may not be true that God is like that.
The point is to be aware of how this happens in your life and, in turn, be able to have understanding and compassion for others and what they believe.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Marcel Proust (full name Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust), 1871-1922, French writer
