Jun
24
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I heard a report yesterday that with the turn down in the economy and more people unemployed a survey company thought it would be interesting to find out what people are doing with this new extra time they have. Guess what the survey showed? I’ll be back at the end with the answer.
Ever remember being in the middle of this dialog as a kid or an adult? “I am bored, there’s nothing to do.” the kid says. The adult responds: “Well, quit sittin’ around pickin’ your nose and go find something to do!”
Basically that is what this world famous literary giant (Jose Ortega y Gasset) is saying. It isn’t about being unemployed at a job. It’s about being unemployed in life, job or not. If your entire life was employed, what would it’s job be? Is it employed on behalf of something or? Your family, charities, friends, causes or? Is it employed in the pursuit of beauty, or truth, or the meaning of life, or the meaning of death, or the meaning of meaning or? Is it employed in creating art or science or a beautiful back yard or a great neighborhood park or?
The survey showed Americans are spending this new ‘extra’ time watching TV more and sleeping more. In other words, picking their noses. Don’t let that be you.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Jose Ortega y Gasset, 1883-1955, Spanish writer and philosopher
Jun
23
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Another simple this = that statement. It’s akin to ‘you are what you eat’ and ‘you become what you think’.
It comes down to this. What do you pay attention to? Would you rather go get another 6pack of beer for the cookout or play in the pool with your kids? Would you rather work overtime non-stop or forego a bit of extra cash so you can have a date with your boyfriend or girlfriend? Would you rather watch mean spirited people act like they are real on TV or do some needed project around your house?
You will rise only as far as that to which you pay attention. Where is your attention today?
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Johann Georg Ritter Von Zimmerman, 1728-1795, Swiss physician. Author of ‘On Loneliness’.
Apr
29
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One of the most important things we can do for our kids is to expose them to the larger world. Whether that is as simple as going to a museum, watching a show on TV about an unfamiliar topic or as complex as a vacation abroad, letting your children see a world beyond their own daily life is essential to helping them make sense of their place in the world.
The goal isn’t to have them be disappointed with their daily life and the ‘lesser’ things that inhabit it. The goal is to understand how those lesser things connect to the larger world. Maybe they will understand how the TV show they watch actually has it’s roots in Shakespeare. Maybe they will realize the graphic design and photography they love in the windows at the mall had it’s roots in the museums of Europe or the pyramids in Mexico’s Yucatan, who knows.
The point is that no one’s world, no one’s things are truly ‘lesser’ if they know how to connect them to the large forces of culture, art, science and history.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1803-1873, English author. He wrote the famous line ‘It was a dark and stormy night’. San Jose State University (one of my Alma Maters) has an annual writing contest to find the worst original opening sentence for a novel. The contest is named after Bulwer-Lytton.
