Middle Age – Lead.Learn.Live.

4:03 am. And Inspired.

May 22, 2013 By David Kanigan 20 Comments

Good Wednesday morning. Inspiring posts were gushing over the dam this week. Here we go on my ride of inspiring posts of the week:

Sun Dog kicks us off with a photograph of a sunrise over the Black Sea.
LaDona @ LaDona’s Music Studio with her post titled This One Hurts. Short. Picture is worth 1000 words. Yes. I was moved.
Ivon @ Teacher as Transformer with his post I Walked a Mile with Pleasure: “…Leave nothing behind and look back only at the good that came of it. Know you served well those you met on the path. Hold your head high…” Hit this link.
Serenity Spell with her post titled A Heavenly Hardwood Swamp: “Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees takes off his shoes. — Elizabeth Barrett Browning” Beautiful post. A daily stop for me. Read more at this link.
Misifusa @ Misifusa’s Blog with her post titled Rest in the Clouds. My Rachel shared this with me last night and encouraged me to watch. You are going to say, you don’t have time to watch. Yes you do. Yes you do. Hit this link. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art, Grow, Inspire, Lead, Life, Nature, Quotes Tagged With: Bloggers, Blogging, Butterfly, Eiffel Tower, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Inspirational, inspirations, memories, Middle Age, Photography, Poem, Poetry, Rain, Writer, Writing

Moments. Hold them.

May 19, 2013 By David Kanigan 31 Comments

Zeke’s paws are scratching. He’s dreaming. His body twitching. I steal a glance at the clock. 1:15 am. I smile. You go from refusing a dog for 20 years, to the animal taking center stage on your bed. Every night. What a tough guy.

He knows. Dogs have a second sense. Even when he’s sleeping, he hears.

Car door shuts. It’s Rachel. Rolling in from her evening out.

I lumber down to her room. Bathroom door is closed. Water is running. I lie down on her bed. Stare at the ceiling. And wait.

Mind whirs back to a moment during the week. I’m driving into Manhattan. Rush hour. Traffic stalled. GPS flashes a 3-mile backup to the Triboro bridge. Beach Avenue and Bruckner. Young girl is holding her Dad’s hand. They are crossing the walkway over I-278. Her passion pink backpack sharply contrasting with the streaks of graffiti. The pair offering up a burst of illumination against the grey of the housing projects and the trash lining the freeway. Their hands and arms sway in unison. Dad smiling. She’s skipping to keep up.

That day, Mind was crocheting stitches of a majestic tapestry. One of family. Of warm spring days. Of light breezes. All storm clouds pushed way south. And the Moment hovered. All week.

Why this moment? This was not an impressionist by Monet. Not a intricate passage by Joyce or a dreamy segue by Murakami. No deep existential words here by Kierkegaard. Not a big win at Work. A Father. A daughter. A pink backpack. Walking over a dilapidated bridge in the Projects.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Inspire, Life Tagged With: awareness, Baby, Children, Family, Home, Middle Age, moments, Parenting, Parents, Photography, present, Story

5:27 am. And Inspired.

May 15, 2013 By David Kanigan 15 Comments

Good Wednesday morning. I’ve been on a siesta the last few weeks with my inspiring posts of the week. We’re back.

Kurt Harden @ Cultural Offering with his post titled You Sir at Pump 16…. I watched this clip three times. Susan watched it. The kids watched it. We all loved it. Do yourself a favor and start your day with a smile. Hit this link.

Rian @ Truth and Cake with her post Forget The Blueprint, Ride the Mechanical Bull: “…Often, we’re so hellbent on getting it right that we miss the point entirely. The right career, the right school, the right spouse, the right restaurant, the movie with the good reviews, wearing the right outfit and snagging that just right opportunity and hopefully doing something really meaningful and perfect with our lives: these things obsess us. I can look back on a (very large) handful of times in my life when I was given an amazing opportunity or experiencing something really great that, in retrospect, I stressed way too much over. Will I blow this? Will it work out? Where’s the next opportunity going to come from? What if people think I’m crazy?…Read more of this great post from a Freshly Pressed Blogger @ this link.

Seventhvoice with her post A Childless Mother, Is still A Mother. Though her arms may be empty… her heart never will: “Mother’s Day has always been an incredibly difficult day for me. Filled as it is with mixed emotions but not for the reasons you might think. It’s not a difficult day for me because I have a son with Autism or a daughter on the spectrum. In many ways their presence here helps to counteract the whirlpool of emotions that this day normally stirs up in me. Mother’s day is hard for me because I am, or at least I would have been, had everything gone to plan, the mother of seven children. You see, four of my lovely ones never made it kicking and screaming into the light of this world…” Read more of this moving post @ this link.

Family: A Postcard from 1952

May 12, 2013 By David Kanigan 10 Comments

Loved this…back in a “simpler” time.

“Postcard From 1952″ – Explosions in The Sky from peter simonite on Vimeo.

Filed Under: Art, Inspire, Life, Music Tagged With: Children, explosions in the sky, Family, Happiness, Happy, Inspirational, Inspire, joy, memories, Middle Age, Mom, Mother, Mothers Day, Postcard, Vimeo, vintage, YouTube

She’s coming home…

May 9, 2013 By David Kanigan 29 Comments

The image has been
a counterweight to darkness.
Pitch Black.
Every Father’s nightmare.
I call it up. The image.
To block. To deflect.
Her sinewy silhouette shimmering against the moonlight.
Waves lapping her toes on the shore line.
Her eyes closed.
Wind gently rustling her hair.
A need to believe.
No.
A longing to feel.
Her at Peace.
That she is safe.
Today.
She’s coming home.

“Parental love, I think, is infinite…Not infinitely good, or infinitely ennobling, or infinitely beautiful. Just infinite…”
~ Adam Gopnik

Image Source: Thank you Sundoginthesky. Illustration by moonlight by ~sirauo.
Adam Gopnik Quote: BBC.uk.co – The Pain When Children Fly the Nest
Related Post: She’s Home

Filed Under: Inspire, Life, Quotes Tagged With: Adam Gopnik, daughter, Father, fear, illustration, Love, Middle Age, nightmare, Parent, prose poetry, Story

What the h*ll was that?

May 5, 2013 By David Kanigan 14 Comments

Steve Layman posted this cartoon last week. It activated an immediate reaction. I laughed. Then said: “TRUE.” Then said “THAT’S ME.” Then psychoanalysis rolled in like a thick soupy fog in the Bay Area. And hangs low and hovers on the “why.” And went on lingering on the 11-hour ride to pick-up Eric from college. Didn’t we just take this emotional empty nester ride a few months back? Time. Whoosh.

Autonoman

May 4, 2013 By David Kanigan 24 Comments

4am bell. I work till 1pm. Late jump to beat Friday afternoon traffic. We’re rumbling down I-95. I rub my eyes. Not looking forward to a grueling 11-hour marathon. Eye lids are heavy and the horse ain’t out of the gate.

Two stop-and-go hours to get to New Jersey. Two hours to traverse 45 miles. Ominous start. I grit my teeth. Ten hours to go. Still ahead – - more construction zones. Friday rush hour through the Baltimore-D.C. corridor. Dodging testosterone-fired teens, drunks and white tail deer seeking warmth on the highway. Yes, rumbling down the Road to Perdition.

Pilot is Autonoman. Actions speak the Autonoman, not words.

Co-pilot (aka Susan) is governed by Words. Words. Words.

“I had the best poached eggs for breakfast.” I catch something about sliced avocados. Dash of salt and pepper.

“I spoke to Julia….” I catch words on Dinner. Next weekend. And apparently missed the follow-on question.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“You’d drive 11 hours without saying a word.”

Autonoman feels the glare to his right…the heat emanating from Words.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Art, Life, Quotes Tagged With: Black and White, introvert, Middle Age, Peace, Photography, quiet, Quotes, solitude, Story

Just for a little while

May 4, 2013 By David Kanigan 8 Comments

Just for a little while, stop thinking about all the problems, crises, tasks. everything that’s pulling and pushing on us. Be in that quiet space. After all these years, some of us still need permission to let go.

~ Melody Beattie

Image Credit: Nowandthan

Filed Under: Grow, Inspire, Life, Quotes Tagged With: Anxiety, chill, crises, let go, meditate, Melody Beattie, Middle Age, More Language of Letting Go: 366 New Daily Meditations (Hazelden Meditation Series), Peace, Problems, quiet, quiet space, Quotes, Relax, solitude, Stress, tasks, Work, Worry, Zen

60 about 60

April 30, 2013 By David Kanigan 23 Comments

Ian Martin is a British author, writer for Oscar-nominated film In the Loop, major contributor to The Thick of It and has written for radio and newspapers. He shares his thoughts about turning 60. A few excerpts:

1. People who “hate getting old” are idiots. Every year is a privilege. Let me tell you, callow miserabilists: getting to 60 feels like a triumph. I have no idea how I made it this far, but I am very grateful…

4. For instance. It was 1968. Early summer evening, a Saturday. My mate and I were hitching home in the Essex countryside. We got a lift from a happy couple in a boaty car that smelled of leather and engine oil. We were 15, they were proper old, 20-ish. Relaxed and so very much in love. They treated us as equals, laughed at our jokes, we smoked their cigarettes. Walk Away Renee by the Four Tops came on the radio. We all sang along to the chorus. I felt a blissful certainty that life as an adult might genuinely be a laugh. The entire encounter lasted no more than 10 minutes. I have thought about that couple every day since. Every day, for 45 years. Imagine that. A Belisha Beacon of kindness pulsing through the murk of a whole life.

10. …You have kids, you know you will never experience that feeling of unconditional love for anyone else, ever, and then it happens all over again. A heart-stoppingly beautiful miracle.

Read More @ The Guardian – 60 Thoughts About Turning Sixty

Filed Under: Inspire, Life, Quotes Tagged With: Aging, Children, Gratitude, Ian Martin, memories, Middle Age, old, Quotes, Retirement, The Guardian

By the Creek Bank

April 28, 2013 By David Kanigan 8 Comments

There is some secret that water holds that we need to know. I edge up close to the creek and peer into it for a revelation of some kind, an explanation of the world. Some things I think I know: that the sun rises, that the darkness heals, that animals are intelligent, that rocks are aware, that the earth has a sense of humor. The spring wind is blowing hard. The aspens along the bank make sounds of wood rubbing together, dry boards of an old house in a storm. Fair-weather clouds break loose on the bottom of the western horizon and drift one by one across the blue sky. Below me in the creek there is a clear pool full of minnows. I get down on my belly and carefully put my hand in the water among the small fishes. The minnows jerk past my numb fingers, swift as black seconds ticking. I cannot catch even one.

~ Tom Hennen

Tom Hennen was born in Morris, Minnesota and grew up in a farming family. His poetry was informed by a lifelong and intimate relationship with the prairie. He lives in Minnesota.

Related Posts: The Life of a Day by Tom Hennen
Poem Source: Tom Hennen – Darkness Sticks to Everything (Cooper Canyon Press, 2013, p.96).
Image Source: Thank you Ms. Simms

Filed Under: Art, Inspire, Nature Tagged With: Black and White, child, childhood, creek, grass, Inspirational, memories, Middle Age, minnows, Nature, Photography, Poem, Poetry, Spring, Tom Hennen

Tug-o-War

April 26, 2013 By David Kanigan 13 Comments

4:00am.
Each day?
Every day.
Every day?
+ Saturday. Sunday morning.
Insomnia?
No.
On. Always On.
Not sustainable he says.
It’s been sustained.
For what?
Family.
Really?
OK. Maybe Not.
But, I’m in fine company.
Really?
Sure.
Edison. Rogoff. Lombardi. Waters. King.
Who? What? Need more.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Life, Nature, Quotes Tagged With: achievement, Balance, bear cub, bears, India.Arie, Middle Age, Peace, Photography, polar bear, Quotes, Story, Success, tug of war, tug-o-war, Work

5:02 am. And Inspired.

April 24, 2013 By David Kanigan 16 Comments

Good Wednesday morning. Here are my selections of the inspiring posts of the week:

Jon-Mark Davey, South Florida Wildlife Photography kicks us off with his photograph of a orange butterfly shot at Rock Springs Park, Apopka, Florida. Check out one amazing shot after another at Jon-Mark’s site at this link.

Annabel Ruffell @ Journey For Earth with her post titled I am Enough: “But…Often in my life I have felt that I am not enough. I am not being a good enough mother, a good enough friend, a good enough person…I am not doing enough, being enough, am just not enough…” Beautiful post. Read more at this link.

Bonnie @ Pagekeeper with a letter to her her son titled Not All At Once: “…You, growing up, is a long game and even though you and I both want it to all be ok for you right now, let’s both try to remember that you need to take your own time with things. I want you to know that everything I do is for you – so that things are better for you. So that your easy laugh and smiling eyes are always what people see first when they meet you...” Moved. Inspired by this post. Read more at this link.

Coach Bill Moore with his share in a To Run – A Prayer for Boston: “I will take you…on in the street…Every breath of mine…I will consume your hate…I will run straight into you…as if you were a finish line of joy…picking up the fallen…along the way…you will never stop me.” Wonderful. Read full poem by Scott Poole at this link.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Art, Grow, Inspire, Lead, Life, Nature, Quotes Tagged With: Bloggers, Blogging, Butterfly, Inspirational, inspirations, memories, Middle Age, Photography, Rain, Writer, Writing

Running. Besting 100-year Old Men.

April 14, 2013 By David Kanigan 22 Comments

5:50 am. I’m off. 100-year old men running marathons and I’ve been filling the couch. Now there’s inspiration.

45F according to Weather Channel. Walk outside. Feels like 60F. Strip off running jacket. Fat man goin’ to fly.

Feeling HEAVY. Thanks to my enabler friend Lori. She sent a can’t miss recipe after last week’s Spaghetti Bolognese post. Zeke (dog) and I were sniffing around like crack addicts for 10 hours while the bolognese simmered in the slow cooker…with the aroma from the meat sauce oozing into every pore of the house. When the 6pm dinner bell rang, I was at the table with fork, salt shaker, large plate. Salad? NO. Bread? NO. Vegetables? NO. Keep all distractions out of the way. I told Zeke to stand back, I needed room to feed. Four plates later (at least I stopped counting at 4), I was licking my plate…and telling myself, maybe it’s time to stop. Bliss. Peace. 10 years from today, new FDA research will find that eating Spaghetti Bolognese extends life. And you’re going to think back and say that crazy man was right. You read it here first.

Back to the run. So, here we are. The day after. A DIRIGIBLE. LARGE AND BLOATED. On the road again trying to knock out some lbs. 100-year old running man drifting in an out. I’m half his age and can’t get the pistons firing. Wonder if he lied about his age. (That’s not nice. But something seems off. He looks better than 100. Hell, he looks better than I do.)

On February 23, 2013, 101 year-old Fauja Singh finished the Hong Kong 10km (6.25 mile) event in one hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds. (That’s it! I’m going to kick his a** today. I’m sick of being embarrassed by 100 year old men. It’s sad. Really it is.) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grow, Inspire, Life, Nature, Quotes Tagged With: bolognese, Bolognese sauce, diet, Exercise, Fauja Singh, fit, Fitness, healthy-living, Middle Age, pasta, Run, Running, spaghetti, spaghetti bolognese, Story, walk, Walking, Weight Loss, weight reduction program, Work-out

That is when time begins to pick up speed

April 14, 2013 By David Kanigan 11 Comments

“As your perspective of the world increases not only is the pain it inflicts on you less but also its meaning. Understanding the world requires you to take a certain distance from it. Things that are too small to see with the naked eye, such as molecules and atoms, we magnify. Things that are too large, such as cloud formations, river deltas, constellations, we reduce. At length we bring it within the scope of our senses and we stabilize it with fixer. When it has been fixed we call it knowledge. Throughout our childhood and teenage years, we strive to attain the correct distance to objects and phenomena. We read, we learn, we experience, we make adjustments. Then one day we reach the point where all the necessary distances have been set, all the necessary systems have been put in place. That is when time begins to pick up speed. It no longer meets any obstacles, everything is set, time races through our lives, the days pass by in a flash and before we know what is happening we are forty, fifty, fifty…Meaning requires content, content requires time, time requires resistance. Knowledge is distance, knowledge is status and the enemy of meaning.”

~ Karl Ove Knausgaard, My Struggle: Book One (p.14-15)

Karl Ove Knausgård (born 6 December 1968) is a Norwegian author, most known for six autobiographical books, called Min Kamp. While Knausgård´s two first books were well-received, it was with the “Min Kamp”-books that Knausgård became a household name in Norway, due to the books large success, as well as the controversy they raised. In 2009, Knausgård published My Struggle – First Book, the first volume of a total of six autobiographical novels, which were published in 2009, 2010, and 2011. The six books total well over 3500 pages. The “Min Kamp”-books caused massive controversy when they were released, and whether Knausgård goes too far in exposing the private lives of his friends and family, including his ex-wife, has been much debated in Norway. The books have nevertheless received almost universally favourable reviews and were, even before the final book’s publication, one of the greatest publishing phenomena in Norway ever. (Source: Wiki)

James Wood at the The New Yorker titled his book review “Total Recall“: “There is something ceaselessly compelling about Knausgaard’s book: even when I was bored, I was interested.” Wood nails it. I’m 50 pages in and I find myself spellbound by his life story.

Credits: Quote Source: My Struggle: Book One @ amazon.com. Bio Source: Wiki. Image Source: dagsavisen

Filed Under: Books, Life Tagged With: Book, Book Review, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Karl Ove Knausgård, Knausgaard, Knausgård, knowledge, Middle Age, Min Kamp, New Yorker, Norway, time

4:14 am. And Inspired.

April 10, 2013 By David Kanigan 11 Comments

Good Wednesday morning. Here are my selections of the inspiring posts of the week:

Anneli @ Words From Anneli kicks us off with her post La Conner Tulip Festival. That’s her shot above. Check out more great shots at this link.

Luggage Lady with her post titled We Can Never Go Back: “…Every summer growing up, my family journeyed from Chicago suburbia to my grandparent’s farm in southern Illinois. They called us “city kids,” and we couldn’t wait to indulge in the expansive freedoms of country life…Woven into the daily demands were simple pleasures, like piling onto the front porch swing at the end of the long day. Grandparents first, followed by a layer of grandchildren, and topped off with the latest litter of purring kittens. The swing’s chains creaked in time with chirping male crickets claiming their conquests. An occasional freight train rumbled down nearby tracks as we kids marveled at stars not visible back home. Sometimes, a puff of cool air bored through the wall of humidity, teasing us with anticipation of a brewing storm…“

Kurt @ Cultural Offering. with his post titled Friendly Advice where he shares excerpts from a Peggy Noonan interview with the “founder” of Singapore: U.S. is still ‘a frontier society.’ ‘The American culture . . . is that we start from scratch and beat you.’ They would settle an empty area, call it a town, and say, ‘You be the sheriff, I am the judge, you are the policeman, and you are the banker, let us start.” And then Kurt shares a wonderful story about Margaret Thatcher leading from the front among a group of men. This post is titled: Margaret Thatcher R.I.P.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Art, Grow, Inspire, Lead, Life, Nature, Quotes Tagged With: Baby, Bloggers, Blogging, flowers, Inspirational, inspirations, memories, Middle Age, Peggy Noonan, Photography, tulips

Running. Like a Hippo.

April 6, 2013 By David Kanigan 43 Comments

6 am. I’m off. No slackin’ today.
32F. Feels like 27F according to Weather Channel.
Spring? Laughable.

Snarky Man is on the move.
Black wind breaker. Blue sweat pants. Red shoes. Black Chargers Tuk.
(How do you spell C-L-A-S-H?)

Reach for draw string to synch up sweats. Only find one end. The other end is buried in hole about an inch back. Are you kidding me? Paused for 1 second – - no chance I’m going back to change. Veer way wide of the Man today. He going gangster. Let his sweatpants hang off his a**.

THE MOOD.

It all started yesterday. 3 am.

Morning ritual of stepping on the scale. Followed by Morning Delusion. LED flashing. Flashing. Flashing. (Think 10 pm on Christmas Eve as a Child .)

And then BAM.

Followed by SHOCK.

The scale reports a new 5-year high.

“Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.” — Augustine of Hippo

I don’t know who Mr. Augustine is. But I’m looking like a Hippo. I have one daughter and not two. And her name is Anger.

I get off the scale. Inhale. Exhale.

Technology! Has to be that I jumped on the scale too quickly. It didn’t find its equilibrium. It needs to set itself.

I gently step back on. (Like, if I treat it more kindly, I might get a better outcome.)

Flashing. Flashing. Flashing. Flashing. Flashing.

DAMN IT!

Enough. We enter Day 1 of my new weight reduction program.

And as I reach Post Road on my run this morning, I recall my first day…

5:00 am. And Inspired.

April 3, 2013 By David Kanigan 13 Comments

Good Wednesday morning. Here are my selections of the inspiring posts of the week:

Olive @ Olivethepeople with her post titled The Subway Samaritan: “…He was crazy. At least I thought so. At least at first. You see…“

Tina @ Practical Practice Management with her post titled Who Made an Impact on You. I’ve read similar iterations of this thought but it never seems to get old and always seems to leave me in wonder. “Name three friends who helped you through a difficult time…“

Sedone @ Getting Better, Man. with his post titled Giving Happiness a Helping Hand aka Beware the Silent H*. “I’m dedicated to giving happiness a helping hand, although sometimes I want to give it the finger…And don’t miss the short video.

Running. In Confessional.

March 30, 2013 By David Kanigan 26 Comments

I’m off. 35F. Feeling good.
It’s the day after Good Friday.
The title of LaDona’s post banging around in my head like a 50 Cent Rap song – - the tricked up Chevy heaving up and down to the beat:

This Place Was Made By God.
This Place Was Made By God.
This Place Was Made By God.

I look around. Trees reflecting on the still waters of the Long Island Sound. Sun’s up in its full magnificence. Sky is a brilliant blue. Who else could have made this?

She goes on. This place was made by God, a priceless sacrament; it is without reproach.
(She’s so d*mn sure.)

And on. The most sacred day in the Christian calendar, and indeed, in Christianity itself. Inspiration for stunning, poignant music across the centuries. Even if you don’t believe, or if you do and God seems far away, the music speaks. And touches. And heals.
(I’m right there with you Sister on the far away part. And right there with you that the music speaks, touches and heals)

Then the mind, faster than a switchback on a BC mountain highway, turns to a conversation with a colleague on Thursday: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grow, Inspire, Life, Nature, Quotes Tagged With: atheist, Atlantic Ocean, church, Confessional, diet, Divine presence, Easter, Easter Sunday, Exercise, fit, Fitness, God, Good Friday, healthy-living, Middle Age, mortality, Nature, Outdoors, Quotes, Religion, Run, Running, spirit wrestlers, spirituality, Story, walk, Walking, Weight Loss, Work-out

Driving. With Mellencamp.

March 28, 2013 By David Kanigan 21 Comments

Shut down PC.
Stuff my briefcase with weekend reading. I Smile.
Another form of Exercise in futility.
I won’t get to it.
Slump into car. Spent.
4-day week. Felt like six.
Pre Good Friday weekend traffic backed up on 95.
Stealing glances at blackberry.
Flicking through iTunes list.
Land on Mellencamp. John Mellencamp.

Hurts So Good.

When I was a young boy
Said put away those young boy ways
Now that I’m gettin’ older
So much older
I love all those young boy days

Memories flood. Awed.
How? How a mere few bars can take you back.
To a moment. In 1982. A technicolor and edited version. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Inspire, Life, Music Tagged With: Balance, British Columbia, Hurts so good, John Mellencamp, Mellencamp, memories, memory, Middle Age, Music, Music video, Story, Stress, Work-Life Balance, YouTube

5:06 am. And Inspired.

March 27, 2013 By David Kanigan 8 Comments

Good Wednesday morning. All of my inspiring posts of the week come from a single source. Thank you Sandy Sue for pointing me to Peg-o-leg’s Ramblings who has started a series of guest posts called “Should Have Been Freshly Pressed.” Peg awards the bloggers a “Freshly Pegged Award.” Here’s some samplings:

Life In The Boomer Lane with her guest post titled Why I’d Rather Be 65 Than 5, 15, 25, 35, 45, or 55: I hate that my body moves more slowly than it used to, that when I roll over in bed, my back hurts, that sex is accomplished in mostly one position, that photos of myself scare me, that I can no longer run up and down the stairs or sit in a pretzel position on the floor or reach way under the bed to grab something. I hate that reaching way down into the crib to pick up my grandson must be planned like a military operation . I hate that my memory fails at the oddest times, that I am beginning to lose a grip on pop culture, that I think a lot about being home in bed with a book when I am out in the evening. I hate that people in charge can look younger than my children…” Great post. Read more here.’

Misty @ Misty’s Laws with her guest post titled The Last Straw…To My Heart. “I have an admirer. I am being wooed on a daily basis. I see him almost every day and he gives me what I so desperately need. He satisfies my cravings and soothes the beast within. He gives me the ability to face the day. He provides me with the fix that I need before I can function every morning. He is . . . the drive-thru guy at my Dunkin Donuts...” Read more here. [Read more...]

4:26 am. And Inspired.

March 20, 2013 By David Kanigan 18 Comments

Good Wednesday morning. Here’s my selection of inspiring posts of the week.

Thank you Megan @ Make Something Mondays for her post More Than Photographs where she shares the photo above and a collection of similar inspiring shots. See more here.
Russ Towne @ A Grateful Man with his post: There is Greatness in Goodness. “ I just flashed back to a scene in the movie where a man with many flaws who has wanted his whole life to be great and failed over and over again finally does something that is indeed great. The woman he is with says something to him that is profound. It went something like this: Yes, you were great. “But you were also something much better than that…Read more here.
Julie @ jmgoyder with her post Gutsy9′s Growth: I look forward to each post (pictures and updates) on G9′s development. G9 is a orphaned baby peacock which Julie has adopted. And there has been an exciting new development. ”But guess what? I think he might…Read more here.
Renplus @ for her post titled Cocoon Breaks Open. “The enormity of Monday’s layoff didn’t sink in until yesterday, and I allowed myself to grieve finally. It needed to happen, and I was proud that I could experience it, release the pain, and move forward. Some beautiful things that I never expected really touched me, though…” Read more here. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art, Grow, Inspire, Lead, Life, Nature, Quotes Tagged With: babies, Baby, Blog, blogger, Blogging, Business, cute, Dog, friend, Future, Gratitude, Grow, Happy, Hope, Hump Day Inspiring Image, inspiration, Inspire, kitten, Lead, Leaders, Leadership, Learning, Life, Lifestyle, Management, Mental health, Middle Age, Narvik, Nature, Personal Development, Philosophy, Photo, photograph, Photography, Picture, Psychology, Quotations, Quotes, Self-help, soldier, Sun, sunrise, Wednesday, write, Writing

Saturday Morning Work-Out Inspiration: Our Killer

March 16, 2013 By David Kanigan 22 Comments

I share exercise inspirations on Saturday mornings to get me off the couch and out the door. This share by Steve Layman may be the most powerful story and research that I’ve read on this topic. A few excerpts…

The story starts with a Phil Bruno “super-sizing again…He was only a mile from his house, where his wife, Susan, was cooking the usual big Italian dinner for their family of five, but he was hungry now. The urge was automatic…Ten minutes later, with a bag of burgers steaming on the seat beside him, he pulled into a McDonald’s and ordered a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, an apple pie, and a chocolate shake to wash it all down…Phil had always loved food, which was part of the fabric of his tight-knit Sicilian-American family: Grandma and her lasagna were right down the street. But he’d been athletic in his youth, playing high school football and carrying a robust but reasonable 215 pounds on a six-foot-three-inch frame. Then, in his mid-twenties, he’d stopped working out, as many of us do when life starts to chew up our time. Over the years, his regular meals and high-calorie bingeing had turned him into a physical and emotional wreck. His joints ached whenever he used the stairs, his heart hammered, and he was possessed by a strange, burning thirst that no amount of ice water could quench. “I was 47 years old,” he says, “but I felt like I was 80.” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Inspire, Life, Quotes Tagged With: Biking, Cycling, diet, disease, eating, Exercise, fat, fit, Fitness, Food, Gym, Health, heart disease, Middle Age, Outside Magazine, Run, Running, Story, walk, Walking, Work-out

When it comes, I’ll be fine, calm.

March 14, 2013 By David Kanigan 15 Comments

“My doctor told me that I’m old, fat, and ugly, but none of those things is going to kill me immediately,” he told me shortly before his 72nd birthday. “The actuaries say I have six to eight years. The best tables give me 10. Three thousand days, more or less.” I asked if he is afraid to die. “Because of my hemophilia, I’ve been prepared to face death all of my life. As a boy I spent a lot of time in hospitals. My parents had to leave at the end of visiting hours, and I spent a lot of time just lying there in the dark, thinking about the fact that any accident could be dangerous or even fatal. So I’m ready. Everybody fears the unknown. But I have a strong feeling there’s something bigger than us. I don’t think all this exists because some rocks happened to collide. I’m at peace. When it comes, I’ll be fine, calm. I’ll miss life, though. Especially my family.”

~ Roger Ailles, 72, Founder and Head of Fox News, in Vanity Fair

Whether one is far right, passionate left or in the center, we are not so different at our core. We face our daily struggles. We love our family. We’d give anything for another ten years…Life is good. Have a good day…

Image Credit: EveryThing All Around Me

Filed Under: Inspire, Life, Quotes Tagged With: calm, Conditions and Diseases, Death, Fox News, God, Health, Life, living, Middle Age, Peace, Quotes, Religion, Roger Ailes, Vanity Fair

SuperFoods?

March 14, 2013 By David Kanigan 26 Comments

Steve Layman’s post on this book published in 2006 peaked my interest. (NY Times Bestseller. Where have I been? How could I have missed this?)

Here’s an excerpt from Steve’s post: ”The foods you eat every day, from the fast food you mindlessly consume to the best meals you savor in a top restaurant, are doing much more than making you fat or thin. Their effects on your body are making the difference between the development of chronic disease and a vigorous extended life. They can prevent or greatly reduce your risk of vision problems, stroke, heart disease, diabetes and a host of killers. These are not just vague promises; they are facts that are now supported by an impressive and irrefutable body of research.”

What are the 14 “Superfoods”? Hit this link to see the complete list. (You have to question the veracity of this story given the omission of chocolate chip cookies, pistachio ice cream and smoked & salted almonds.)

Filed Under: Life, Quotes Tagged With: 14 superfoods, Cardiovascular disease, chocolate chip cookies, Chronic (medicine), Conditions and Diseases, diet, Endocrine Disorders, Fast food, Fitness, Food, Health, heart disease, Kathy Matthews, Middle Age, nutrition, pistachio ice cream, restaurants, Steven Pratt, Superfood

4:58 am. And Inspired.

March 13, 2013 By David Kanigan 22 Comments

Good Wednesday morning. Here’s my selection of inspiring posts of the week.

Thank you olavstubburd for the photo which was shot in Narvik, in Northern Norway, inside the Arctic Circle.
Colleen @ The Chatter Blog with her post When You’re Not Good Enough: “What do you tell yourself when you start facing the realization you are not good enough for something? Not that you can’t do something. But that you can’t do something well enough to excel, continue and progress. What Do You Do?…Without a doubt I am not good enough to test for master level…Can I accept that I cannot move ahead, test, progress…Can I do that? Is accepting that I have done “enough” a manner of growing?…
Kurt @ Cultural Offering with his post A Life Well Lived. In Praise of Ramsey. “Everyone has stories of the best dog in the world and we have ours – the story of Ramsey…Ramsey grew up with our children. He played with them, watched after them, slept on and at their beds. He was an incredibly good natured dog, friendly to most everyone…He never wandered or got in much trouble; instead he was content accompany anyone who might be going on a walk, playing or working in the yard. His idea of excitement was running laps as fast as he could around the yard in a frenzied fit of joy. He was that kind of dog…” Heartwarming story. Read more… [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art, Grow, Inspire, Lead, Life, Nature, Quotes Tagged With: Arctic Circle, Blog, blogger, Blogging, Business, friend, Future, Gratitude, Grow, Haiku, Happy, Hope, Hump Day Inspiring Image, inspiration, Inspire, kitten, Lead, Leaders, Leadership, Learning, Life, Lifestyle, Management, Mental health, Middle Age, Narvik, Nature, Northern Norway, Personal Development, Philosophy, Photo, photograph, Photography, Picture, Psychology, Quotations, Quotes, Self-help, Sun, sunrise, Wednesday, write, Writing

Running. With Galileo.

March 10, 2013 By David Kanigan 29 Comments

Late (LATE) start. Galileo’s Sun is up. I look up and bask in its warmth. I start my run into a cold headwind. Fingertips tingling. My eyes, fill with water. Like mist on cold air over warm waters. This will clear.

Run by the corner of Noroton and Post Roads. Church Corner. Ascension Episcopal. Noroton Presbyterian. Christ Scientist. Churchgoers are filing in. Man cradling baby in a papoose. Families striding briskly, holding hands with their children. Lady holding kerchief in place from wind gusts. Elderly couple shifts right to let me pass. Community. Peace be with you too.

I usually run too early to see churchgoers. Not today. Guilt washes over me. Eric joined his friends in attending a eulogy yesterday. “Weird,” he described it. “Awkward not having been to church in years.” He lights my fuse using less than 10 words. Jung scolds: “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” Then Robert Fulghum piles on: “Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.” How quickly this has escalated. Yes, “my” Son – - he’s been watching. And now I’m irritated, here on Galileo’s beautiful Sunday. NO, gentlemen. Not today. You won’t get under my skin today. No sir.

Saturday Morning Work-Out Inspiration: I Got My Tight Pants On

March 9, 2013 By David Kanigan 30 Comments

Some clips need no introduction…

I’m bringing sexy back…(Workout inspiration!)

Filed Under: Inspire, Life, Music, Uncategorized Tagged With: diet, Exercise, Fitness, Funny, healthy-living, Humor, Jimmy Fallon, jogging, laugh, Middle Age, Run, Running, Video, walk, Weight Loss, Will Ferrell, YouTube

Three Drops*

March 6, 2013 By David Kanigan 19 Comments

Three drops.*
Fall asleep wondering if this is the solve. (Please.)
Amygdala firing up on ailment. (See.)
Doc said there may be issues later in life because of trauma. (Has it arrived?)
One month of angst. (Eradicated. With three drops.)
One could ask why did you wait so long. (Or, one could avoid asking.)
And one wouldn’t have a good answer.

* Disclosure: Turn your eyelids inside out? Heresy. Wear contacts? Nothing touches my eyes. LASIK surgery to correct nearsightedness? Don’t come near me with your surgery solution. Apply your own eyedrops? Can’t do it. Keep eye open so drops can be applied for you? Impossible. Squeal like a baby when drop splashes on eye? Absolutely.

Image Source: LetsBeConnor

Filed Under: Art, Inspire, Life Tagged With: Contact lens, eye, Eye drop, eye drops, eye pain, fear, Funny, Health, Human, Humor, injury, LASIK, laugh, Medicine, Mental health, Middle Age, Ophthalmology, quirks, Story

5:16 am. And Inspired.

March 6, 2013 By David Kanigan 14 Comments

Good Wednesday morning. Here’s my selection of inspiring posts of the week.

The photo above was taken by Luca Setti. Check out Luca’s other shots at Luca Setti Fine Art Photographer. (See Galleries section.) Awesome and Inspiring.
Elena @ Live Simply, Travel Lightly, Love Passionately & Don’t Forget To Breathe with her post: Old-Fashioned. “In a town, that has so many healthy, but plastic-looking women, with ridiculous hair extensions, it’s truly empowering to be walking it, my way…knowing, that family of a sick child has to pay for a wig, according to that family’s income level, is more than enough reason for me, to donate my hair to an organization that gives it for free. The family is going through enough pain and trauma as it is. I know, because I lost my father to cancer. Authentic and inspiring Elena.
Rob Biesenbach @ Act Like You Mean Business with his post Fewer Inspirational Quotes, More Original Thinking, Please. “The Internet has ruined quotations for me. I love inspirational quotes as much as the next guy…But enough is enough…Now some people may feel they’ve got no special wisdom or insights to share. Bull. You’re just not looking hard enough…” Excellent wake-up call and post Rob.
Steve Aitchison @ Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life with his post What on Earth is Stopping you? “Times are changing fast and more and more of us are realizing it’s possible to create a life for ourselves instead of life creating us. There is something more you should be doing. There is something waiting for you. There is a spark inside of you waiting to be lit. There is craving, a feeling, of something more important you should be doing. There has never been a better time to start…So, tell me this. What is stopping you?” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art, Grow, Inspire, Lead, Life, Nature, Quotes Tagged With: Blog, blogger, Blogging, Business, friend, Future, Gratitude, Grow, Happy, Hope, Hump Day Inspiring Image, inspiration, Inspire, Lead, Leaders, Leadership, Learning, Life, Lifestyle, Management, Mental health, Middle Age, Nature, Personal Development, Philosophy, Photo, photograph, Photography, Picture, Psychology, Quotations, Quotes, Self-help, Sun, sunrise, Turtle, Wednesday, write, Writing

Happy Birthday Eric!

March 4, 2013 By David Kanigan 57 Comments

Happy 19th Birthday Son.

Your Mother and I were looking at your baby pictures last night. We came across the shot below. You were two months old.

You and I have debated this point. (On Head Size.) Yet, the truth is now inconvertible upon reflection.

Despite your impressive academic achievements, your head size remains disproportionately large compared to your body. (Yes, the photo is shocking. Your Mother had to sit down as she looked at the photo – I saw her shudder as she recalled the memories of the birthing process. BTW, I checked out Einstein’s head, it was normal size.)
See the position of your head in the shot. Your neck was straining to support your head. All of your photos have you in the same profile: leaning and tilting. (Again, the cranium cargo load is daunting.)
All 10 lbs 3 oz of you were delivered via c-section – - because you wouldn’t come out the traditional way. (Resisting parental guidance starting early – at birth. And Head size. Simply Massive. And yet your Mother still coddles you even after that trauma.)

Have a great day Eric. Big Head and All…We love you.

Baby pictures, baby

You’ve Still Got A Friend

March 1, 2013 By David Kanigan 47 Comments

Thursday. He was running late for lunch. My college roommate. Just like him to be late. My mind whirring back to college…

Short (very) and stocky build. Permanently attired in University of Minnesota Gopher sweatpants and an oversized sweat shirt with hoody. Everything hung large. Everything rumpled. “Unkempt, having an untidy or disheveled appearance.” Webster’s should have added his name. He was the magnetic center – the beating heart – of every college party. Quarter-bounce champ into Pabst Blue Ribbon at the Alibi. Ringleader for late night games of Hearts. Out late. (Very) Up late. (Very) Blessed with a quick wit and quicker on the ice. Selected easiest path to graduation: Art. Sculpture. Sociology. Physical Education. And even this was a struggle. Yet, he was never late for hockey practice. Vote never taken, but most likely to end up next to the curb.

He walked in. Hair salt and peppered grey. Blazer. Blue open collar shirt. Tropical skin tone. (He’s got it together.)

4:15 am. And Inspired.

February 27, 2013 By David Kanigan 25 Comments

Good Wednesday morning. Here’s my selection of inspiring posts of the week.

The photo above was taken by Lee Rentz @ Lee Rentz Photography Weblog. Check out Lee’s other shots in Washington State at a post titled When We Walked Through the Forests of Gold. Inspiring.
Sheri @ The Other Side of Ugly with her post No Small Thing. “Existence is no small thing. To be alive and made up of the very particles of the universe that you live in is no small thing. To have eyes to see, hands to feel, ears to hear, mouths to taste, minds to think and hearts to love is no small thing”…Terrific.
Ofe @ Tropical Spice Living with her post What Every Boy Should Know where she shares 20 lessons that Mothers should impart with their sons. On point and heartwarming…I won’t be a spoiler. Check out her post.
Ed Batista with his post The Meaning of Life. I’ve been thinking about this post all week. Haunting. Eye-opening. Here’s an excerpt: “…The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day. That is real freedom. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default-setting, the “rat race” — the constant gnawing sense of having had and lost some infinite thing…” Check out Ed’s post. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art, Grow, Inspire, Lead, Life, Nature, Quotes Tagged With: Blog, blogger, Blogging, Business, friend, Future, Gratitude, Grow, Happy, Hope, Hump Day Inspiring Image, inspiration, Inspire, Lead, Leaders, Leadership, Learning, Life, Lifestyle, Management, Mental health, Middle Age, Nature, Personal Development, Philosophy, Photo, photograph, Photography, Picture, Psychology, Quotations, Quotes, Sun, sunrise, Turtle, Washington, Wednesday, write, Writing

Running. With Shirley MacLaine.

February 23, 2013 By David Kanigan 36 Comments

Late start. (LATE) Aspirational intentions at 5:23 a.m. not converted into action until late morning. Chopping through a mountain of Emails. Tumbling. Reading. Cat videos. (How many of these can I watch?) Find myself in workmanlike mode. Stress notched up a few clicks. And racing again – like mid-day on a workday treadmill at the office.

And then, I come across Terry’s post and Yellow lights are flashing…

I’m in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life’s no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I’m in a hurry and don’t know why
~Alabama, I’m in a hurry

Oddly enough, my immediate concern is not why I am in such a rush on a Saturday morning. But, synchronicity. Why is Country Music around every turn. (Now Country music, this is something to be concerned about. Then the mind goes back to HURRY. What’s the Rush?) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grow, Inspire, Life, Nature, Quotes Tagged With: diet, Exercise, fit, Fitness, Funny, healthy-living, Johnny Cash, Kootenay River, Middle Age, Nature, Outdoors, reincarnation, Run, Running, Shirley MacLaine, Story, Trumpeter Swan, walk, Walking, Weight Loss, Work-out

Is that a path or a rut?

February 22, 2013 By David Kanigan 28 Comments

“What we don’t know chains us, leaves us sitting in the valley with a stupid smile. We discover our ignorance as we go. After a lifetime, if we’ve been attentive, we should fall to our knees before the vastness, the ungraspable minutiae of our world. We should suspect that it constitutes our God. And we so-called experts of this or that, could we have done more than play our one chord? Wisdom is to know, at best, that we make only a little good noise, a few small dents. It’s why the wise laugh a lot, why the laughter of metaphysicians echoes in the spaces they probe. We walk out of our houses into the enormity of our task. What kind of ant is that? Who named the phlox? Is that a path or a rut?”

~ Stephen Dunn, Ignorance - Riffs & Reciprocities

Stephen Dunn (born 1939) is an American poet. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his 2001 collection, Different Hours. He was born in Forest Hills, Queens in New York. Dunn completed his B.A. in English at Hofstra University and his M.A. in creative writing at Syracuse. He has taught at Wichita State, University of Washington, Columbia University, University of Michigan and Princeton University. Dunn lives in Ocean City New Jersey.

Sources: Quote - whiskeyriver.blogspot.com. Image: Jakupwashere

Filed Under: Grow, Inspire, Life, Quotes, Uncategorized Tagged With: God, Humor, Intelligence, laugh, Life, lifetime, living, Middle Age, path, Poem, Poetry, Princeton University, prose poetry, Quotes, rut, Stephen Dunn, Syracuse University, Wichita State University, wisdom

As it should be…

February 21, 2013 By David Kanigan 13 Comments

My daughter Rachel’s response when I shared this with her: “hahahahhahahahahahhaa so so true!!!!”

Source: themetapicture.com

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: call home, Children, dad, daughter, discipline, Funny, laugh, Middle Age, Mom, Parents, Son, Steve Carell, The Office

Clarke’s Pool

February 20, 2013 By David Kanigan 31 Comments

The photographs of Clarke’s Pool are described as a walk down memory lane for “three generations of Castlegar kids who learned how to swim.” Well he’s partially right. It was also the training ground for the suburban kids like my brother Rich and me who hailed from Ootischenia (pop. 856).

Rich’s recollection of the pool was that it was “one of the scariest places he’d ever seen.” Ominous. Large. Deep. Dark. Intimidating. With a “giant” slide coming down high above from the rooftop. My memories were frighteningly similar. Yet, the picture today certainly doesn’t align with the Stephen King-like depiction of the darkness banging around our heads. The pool was smaller. And shallower. And brighter. With a kiddy slide jutting off the side of the garage.

The prize? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: Castlegar, childhood, fear, junior swimming, Lessons, memories, Middle Age, red cross, Story, swim, Swimming, swimming pool, three generations, walk down memory lane, Youth

Just take it. Do it. Take the next step.

February 20, 2013 By David Kanigan 38 Comments

“All great masters are chiefly distinguished by the power of adding a second, a third, and perhaps a fourth step in a continuous line. Many a man has taken the first step. With every additional step you enhance immensely the value of your first.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Image: Laura B. Fernandez photograph titled “The Next Step Will Lead Our Lives.” Quote: whiskeyriver.blogspot.com

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: achieve, Black and White, Emerson, Excellence, forward, Life, masters, mastery, Middle Age, Photography, Plan, Quotes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, step, Success, value, Work

5:23 am. And Inspired.

February 20, 2013 By David Kanigan 18 Comments

Good Wednesday morning. (Wednesday seemed to come in a hurry this week.) Here’s my selection of inspiring posts of the week.

The photo above was shared by Canadian Art Junkie in a post titled Paul Nicklen’s World Press Photo Winning Shot of penguins in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. Be sure to check out Nicklen’s other nature shots in the post at this link. (Very inspired.)

And here’s more Paul Nicklen inspiration. DK at Lead.Learn.Live with his December 2012 share of Nicklen’s Ted Talk on The Fear Leopard Seal. Yes, shameless self-promotion of my own share. But come on people – not 1 like? This is one of the most inspiring nature talks/videos you will ever see. It’s a longish 18-minute clip and you need to hang in until the end. It will be worth your time.

S.L. Hoffman at Eagle-Eyed Editor with the post Top 10 books you don’t want to miss in your lifetime. Tell me it ain’t so. I haven’t read one book on this list. And no, I haven’t read To Kill a Mockingbird. Check out the link to see how many you’ve read.

Running. With Wolf Pack.

February 17, 2013 By David Kanigan 48 Comments

dog, running, vizsla,rescue,winter, exercise

Here’s my Wolf Pack. Our Zeke on the left. Anya, the neighbor’s dog on the right. Zeke, a pure bred Hungarian bird hunting Vizsla. Anya, a rescue mix with herding in her DNA.

Zeke was acquired five years ago for hundreds (many) of dollars. (The King’s list of demands in dog selection included a sporting/running breed. It didn’t include acquiring someone else’s problems.) Anya was acquired from a shelter with no cash outlay. (*Hold this thought on dog profile differences.)

Trail running (and all running outside) has largely been suspended this winter season. Weekend exercise has taken the form of intermittent stabs on the elliptical machine in the attic…remote control in the right cup holder and water bottle in the left. Air temperature constant at 67F. No snow. No slush. No uneven surfaces. (And No Running Posts. Zero inspiration running on an elliptical.)

Weather warming this weekend. It was time to GET OUTSIDE. So, I prep. Ugg’s on. Strap Garmin on wrist. Grab iPhone. Earphones. Doggie treats. Two Dog leashes. Dog tags. Poop bags. Car keys. And stuff it all into a fanny pack. (Black manly style fanny pack.) Put on down coat. Pull on hat. (38F. Hat not needed but run will be arduous. No need to display thinning/receding and matted hair.) Jam running gloves in pocket. Grab Driver’s license and wallet and head out the door. (With the exception of dry food, ropes, crampons and ice axes, I’d be ready for climb up McKinley. Heavy load for a trail run in snow. Pulse quickens and I haven’t even left the car.) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Dogs, Exercise, fit, Fitness, Funny, Middle Age, Music, Run, Running, Story, trails, walk, Walking

The long roll of heavens artillery

February 17, 2013 By David Kanigan 12 Comments

“Nature has many tricks wherewith she convinces man of his infinity, – the ceaseless flow of the tides, the fury of storm, the shock of the earthquake, the long roll of heavens artillery, – but the most tremendous, the most stupefying of all, is the passive phase of the White Silence. All movement ceases, the sky clears, the heavens are as brass; the slightest whisper seems sacrilege, and man becomes timid, affrighted at the sound of his own voice. Sole speck of life journeying across the ghostly wastes of a dead world, he trembles at his audacity, realizes that his is a maggots life, nothing more. Strange thoughts arise unsummoned, and the mystery of all things strives for utterance. And the fear of death, of God, of the universe, comes over him, – the hope of the Resurrection and the life, the yearning for immortality, the vain striving of the imprisoned essence, – it is then, if ever, man walks alone with God.”

~ Jack London

This share was inspired by the 10 ton meteorite falling out of the heavens in Siberia on Friday. (The long rolls of heavens artillery…The sky clears, the heavens are as brass…)

Jack London (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916) was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone.

Sources: Quote – thank you makebelieveboutique.com. Photo: midnightmartinis - “Portugal” – by Hélène Desplechin

Filed Under: Inspire, Life, Nature Tagged With: Black and White, Death, God, heaven, infinity, Jack London, meteorite, Middle Age, mortality, Nature, Ocean, Photography, Poetry, prose poetry, Quotes, Religion, Retirement, silence, storm, Waves

Rain. Yes.

February 16, 2013 By David Kanigan 29 Comments

Woke up this morning with
a terrific urge to lie in bed all day
and read. Fought against it for a minute.

Then looked out the window at the rain.
And gave over. Put myself entirely
in the keep of this rainy morning.

Would I live my life over again?
Make the same unforgiveable mistakes?
Yes, given half a chance. Yes.

~ Raymond Carver, “Rain“

Sources: Poem - larmoyante. Photo: weheartit.com

What if a demon were to…

Filed Under: Inspire, Life, Quotes Tagged With: Inspirational, Life, living, memories, Middle Age, Mistakes, mortality, Poem, Poetry, prose poetry, Quotes, Rain, rainy morning, Raymond Carver

4:01 am. And Inspired.

February 14, 2013 By David Kanigan 17 Comments

Good Thursday morning. (Yes, we’re mixing it up a bit. Slept in yesterday.) Here’s my selection of inspiring posts of the week.

That’s Patrick Latter‘s photograph above of Canmore Mountains in Alberta. Be sure to check out Patrick’s blog, Canadian Hiking Photography, where every post is an inspiration.

John E. Smith @ The Strategic Learner with his post: Why We Have Social Media. John’s post reminded me of the incredible virtual friendships that I have made on this blogging journey. Thank you all for reading, following, commenting, sharing and joining me for the ride. I’m grateful. Check out John’s short post at this link. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art, Grow, Inspire, Lead, Life, Nature, Quotes Tagged With: Blog, blogger, Blogging, Business, friend, Future, Gratitude, Grow, Happy, Hope, inspiration, Inspire, Lead, Leaders, Leadership, Learning, Life, Lifestyle, Management, Mental health, Middle Age, Nature, Personal Development, Philosophy, Photo, photograph, Photography, Picture, Psychology, Quotations, Quotes, Sun, sunrise, write, Writing

Running. Against the Wind.

February 11, 2013 By David Kanigan 27 Comments

Out the door. 6:30am.
Driving to a team meeting in Manhattan.
Freezing rain. Tap tap tapping on hood of car.
Passenger side wiper banging on an ice chunk. Curse. In a hurry. Again.
Fwap. Fwap. Tap. Tap. Fwap. (You could stop and clear it pal. You could. Or you could keep watching and listening to this show. Show plays on.)
I fan through playlist.
Dreary day. Fog. Rain. Icy conditions.
Feels like, looks like, Detroit. I rifle through playlist hunting for Bob Seger.
And, land on “Against the Wind“

Traffic slowing. Yellow caution lights frenetically flashing.
Salt truck scattering its melting magic on I-95.
I turn my attention to the lyrics.

↓ click for audio (Bob Seger – “Against the Wind”)

It seems like yesterday
But it was long ago…
We were young and strong, we were runnin’
Against the Wind

Running. To get on travel teams. To get grades. To get out of high school. To get the girl. (No one would have me!) To get to college. To get to adulthood. To get. To acquire. To, To, To, something else… [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Grow, Lead, Life Tagged With: Bob Seger, Business, busy, Career, hurry, Leadership, Life, Management, Middle Age, Music, rock, Running, rush, Story, Work

Seneca Speaks from 49 A.D.

February 10, 2013 By David Kanigan 25 Comments

Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman philosopher. He wrote the essay “On The Shortness of Life” in 49 A.D. That is, over 1900 years ago. Seneca figured out busyness and multi-tasking thousands of years ago. Clanking through my head – - the more things change, the more…

Here are two excerpts from Ed Batista’s excellent post titled “On The Shortness of Life“:

3. …No one is to be found who is willing to distribute his money, yet among how many does each one of us distribute his life! In guarding their fortune men are often closefisted, yet, when it comes to the matter of wasting time, in the case of the one thing in which it is right to be miserly, they show themselves most prodigal… What, then, is the reason of this? You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head, of how much time has already gone by you take no heed. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, though all the while that day which you bestow on some person or thing is perhaps your last… You will hear many men saying: “After my fiftieth year I shall retire into leisure, my sixtieth year shall release me from public duties.” And what guarantee, pray, have you that your life will last longer? Who will suffer your course to be just as you plan it? Are you not ashamed to reserve for yourself only the remnant of life, and to set apart for wisdom only that time which cannot be devoted to any business? How late it is to begin to live just when we must cease to live! What foolish forgetfulness of mortality to postpone wholesome plans to the fiftieth and sixtieth year, and to intend to begin life at a point to which few have attained!… [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grow, Inspire, Life, Quotes Tagged With: busy, Essay, hurry, Life, Live, living, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Middle Age, mortality, multitasking, Philosophy, Quotes, Retirement, Seneca, wealth

Going South to Go North

February 8, 2013 By David Kanigan 45 Comments

February 8, 2013. 6:15am
Orlando international Airport

A mere 22,000 miles away from 2,000,000 miles and Lifetime Platinum status on American. Delta could have taken me home non-stop. Instead, here I am. Going South to go North. Trying to claw over the top of the mileage fence. I will arrive in NY via Miami four hours later. And, I’ve been told, squarely into the teeth of a winter blast. USA Today’s Headline: TRAVEL ADVISORY: REBOOK. TRAVEL NIGHTMARE AS BLIZZARD HITS THE NORTHEAST.

REBOOK? Not a chance.

The security line is snaking around the corner. And I’m in the PRIORITY LINE. (Snaking. Snake. 2013. Chinese New Year of the Snake. The Snake. The Snake is keen and cunning, quite intelligent and wise. Not this snake. What a Putz.) [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grow, Inspire, Life, Quotes Tagged With: Aging, air travel, airport, airport screening, flying, Funny, laugh, Margaret Mead, Middle Age, Quotes, Story

5:14 am. And Inspired.

February 6, 2013 By David Kanigan 16 Comments

Good Wednesday morning. Here’s my selections for the inspiring posts of the week:

Alex Jones @ The Liberated Way with his post titled The Little Butterfly: An hour ago an Admiral butterfly emerged out of nowhere fluttering about my head. In this cold season it is amazing to come across a butterfly let alone in my own home. In wonder I blinked at this amazing beautiful creature fluttering around the light, apparently it must have been hibernating and had awoken…Read more at this link.

New blood. John Zimmer @ Manner of Speaking with his post: A Truly Heroic Speech. Six year-old Benjamin Wheeler was one of the victims of the 14 December 2012 shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Recently, Benjamin’s father, David Wheeler, gave testimony at a public hearing before the Connecticut State Legislature’s Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety... Read more at this link and be sure to watch the video clip.

Back for an encore. Ray Visotski @ A Simple, Village Undertaker with his post titled “That Was Us“… Oh, the simple life we lived…still seems like so much fun, how can you explain a game, just kick the can and run?…Read more at this link.

More new blood. Let’s hear it for candor and a few laughs. Lily Reed @ We All Shine On with her post “Failure“…The past two days, I’ve seen the internet full of FAILURE talk. I don’t mean cutesy memes…Hang on. Failure means that you LEARNED something, right? I mean, if you look at something and say, ‘Wow, that was @#$%%^ up!’ What was your next step? I’m thinking you inhaled. BAM! Another chance. Read more at this link…And, if you liked this, be sure to check out Now I’m Complaining and Almost 4, Bobby’s Learning How to Ride.

And the Hump Day Inspiring Image of the Week comes to us from Bodhisattvaintraining who takes us to Umbria, Italy – with olive trees, pencil pines, sunflower fields and Lake Trasimeno. SIGH. Another bucket list destination…

Image Source: Desert via Schmackebaetzchen. And, thank you Stephen Edwards at LifeRevelation for pointing me to Lily.

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Hanging it up after 45 years…

February 3, 2013 By David Kanigan 59 Comments

Here’s my Aunt Olga.

She grew up as the only girl among four brothers. Tall. A striking blond. Remarkable blue eyes. A warm and infectious smile.

She left our rural home town more than 45 years ago to strike it out on her own. The Rebel. A young, single woman. Moving to the big city. Leaving behind a Mother who worried about her welfare. A Mother who took every opportunity to remind her daughter about her angst.

As a professional stylist, she built a deep and loyal roster of clients. Several times over. Her practice supported her love of travel. We’d know because she’d bring back gifts. A “Babuska doll” from Moscow. Maracas from Mexico. A flaming red scarf from Spain. A miniature Statue of Liberty or Eiffel Tower.

She’d come back home to a three generation pile-up of freeloading customers. We’d move a kitchen chair into the garage and she would mow down the Kanigan mullets one by one. Never a complaint. The line stretching around the corner. Yep, Olga came home for a few days of R&R.

My Auntie. Independent. Industrious. A positive spirit. A generous, big-hearted soul. And, a lady who has suffered through some of life’s deepest disappointments. Yet, those sparkling blue eyes and hearty smile keep it all rooted deep down, with no evidence of flotsam bubbling to the surface. She’s since found happiness. And a good Man. And no one deserves it more.

Here was her email to clients and friends on her last day of work yesterday: [Read more...]

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6:53 am. And inspired.

January 30, 2013 By David Kanigan 27 Comments

Here’s my picks for the inspiring posts of the week.

Thank you Canadian Art Junkie for sharing the photo above in her post Shaun Lowe: Canola, Sunshine & The Sea. See her post for more wonderful photographs of eastern Canada.

Steve Gutzler with his post titled 7 Keys to Building Irresistible Energy:“I’ll be honest, one of my favorite compliments is when people take note of my energy and passion. But having such energy has been a life struggle of mine. When I was a young man in my early 20′s, I was diagnosed with a blood disorder. For over three years I woke up every day with a low grade temperature and lacking energy. I’d drag through my days. My attitude was good but my immune system was ravaged…Well, fast forward to today. I’m healthy with no hint of fatigue. I train 4-5 days a week and I eat like an athlete. I strive to get seven hours of sleep and I’m working most days by 5 AM. What I like most about where I am at is how grateful I am for what I have. I am fearfully and wonderfully made, not perfect but I’m sure grateful for what I have!”…Read entire post for Steve’s 7 Keys to Building Energy at this link.

Maybe It’s Just Me who describes herself and her blog as “The life of a middle aged hippie on Maui, eating raw and vegan and staying healthy. I walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain in fall 2012 with my husband and son“…do we need more inspiration than this?!! Her beautiful post shares her sensations as she returns home to the various places she’s lived. The post is titled: As We Relive Our Lives In What We Tell You and this excerpt is returning home to Maui: …there is no better feeling than coming home to a place that I love. I went up onto the roof deck today to look at the clouds, the palm trees, and the volcano rising above, and again later on, to watch a glorious sunset over the ocean. I was content to just sit and feel the warmth of the island air on my skin. Skin that desperately cries out for sunshine and humidity, and that whispers “mahalo” every time I return home to Maui.” Read her entire post at this link.

5:28 am. And inspired.

January 23, 2013 By David Kanigan 11 Comments

Thank you David Tribby for the inspiring panoramic shot of the City of Chicago. And, now, on to the inspiring posts of the week:

James Altucher, pro blogger, @ The Altucher Confidential with his post on his morning ritual titled The Six People You Must Find Today: …Once you do this, oxytocin will explode through your body, lighting up all of your pleasure centers. (1) Someone to love. Write the name and why you love this person. (2) Someone to thank. You must call them and thank them. If you can’t call them, just write their name down. (3) Someone to be grateful for…Read entire post at this link.

Judy @ petit4chocolatier with her post: Chocolate Cupcakes with Soft Blue Butter-Cream Icing with Little Chocolate Sprinkles. She had me at her post title. And then she stole my stomach with wave upon wave of delectable cupcake photos. I wanted to come through the screen to get at these. Pan through Judy’s other posts. Amazing.

4:02 am. And inspired.

January 16, 2013 By David Kanigan 27 Comments

Thank you Sandy @ Another Lovely Day for the amazing photo share of the Egyptian sunrise over the Red Sea.

And, now, on to the inspiring posts of the week:

Julie @ jmgoyder – Wings & Things from a retired dairy farm in Western Australia…with her series of posts on Gutsy9, an abandoned baby peacock that was adopted by Julie. Start at this post: Tips on Raising a Baby Peacock and then pan forward to the photos and updates. I look forward with anticipation to Julie’s updates on Gutsy9. Here’s an excerpt: So I have been raising Gutsy9 myself and he and I are totally imprinted on each other now. He is a pied, so half white and half blue so it will be interesting to watch him grow up. At night he sleeps in a box in the veranda and during the day he sits on my shoulder. Read on for the 6 tips at this link. And, don’t miss Julie’s Bio/About page. You won’t be disappointed.

Linda Petersen @ Raising 5 Kids With Disabilities And Remaining Sane Blog rings the bell again with a wonderful post titled Life Is Like A Tiny Bag of Jelly Bellies. Linda shares a number of little events that give “her a boost and make her happy.” Here’s a few of her Jelly Bellies…”(1) seeing a grandfather walking along, holding the hand of his joyous granddaughter, all dressed up with coat and fancy hat, skipping happily along, ribbons trailing, (2) hanging a picture on the wall and having it come out straight the first time, (3) finding a $10 bill in the pocket of a coat I haven’t worn in a long time, (4) a hug from a child, especially if it is accompanied by and “I love you.” Hit this link to read more.

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