Time for a new year

OK, apologies for the long absence. I never meant to wait this long to update this. But, as we all have happen - life got me distracted and on to different things. However, this morning, when I noticed it was New Year's Eve, I thought "What a perfect time to get back on track."

So, here I am.

Now that we gather tonight to say farewell to one year and pin our hopes to a new one, I think a call to focus on the positive in life is in order. I was reading Mark Nepo's The Book of Awakening and I found a passage that I think will help with our thoughs for the New Year.

In this one particular passage, he writes of a tradition in a certain section of Africa. There the natives have a verbal greeting they use whenever they see someone on their daily travels. One says - "I see you" - while the other replies - "I am here." Now, on face value, I admit, that sounds a little goofy.  I mean, here's to a grasp of the obvious!

But Nepo discusses the deeper meaning and why it is a traditional greeting. The key to it is recognizing each other and a little bit of validation. How often do you struggle in life and find yourself thinking - it's like I don't exist, no one sees me? I think we all get so caught up in the day-to-day struggles that we don't really see the people and things around us. It's like the person who passes you in the hall, says "How's it going?" and is around the corner before you can respond. Why did you even ask if you weren't going to stick around and listen? We go through the motions.

I like the concept of "I see you." It says I recognize you're there and who you are on this planet. I think it harkens back to a time when we stopped and recognized that we are all caught up in the rat race and need to stop to acknowledge each other. How are you? What's going on?

Invest a little time in your life and your friends' lives. That's the kind of investment that will really pay dividends. Rushing to meet that deadline may get the project out in time. But what if the slight of your friend deprives you the opportunity to help them through a difficult time or moment? Was it really worth it in the end?

"I am here" makes me smile too, because it feels like a personal shout out to the universe. I may be one small speck in the entirety of the universe, but dammit, I'm here. That counts for something. May count for everything on some days.

So, as we venture into 2015 - a year filled with promise and hope - here's a toast to make time to reconnect. To all my friends and family, I see you.

The Ode of the Foot Napkin

The tale began ages before the dawn of man. As we crawled from the primordial ooze to gaze with wonder upon this new land, we were imbued with a sense of instinct and curiosity.

How does this work? What makes it tick? How can I put it back together? Why did I take it apart?And why do I have all these left over parts? Oh well, I'll just throw those away.

OK, maybe it didn't work quite like that. But the tale of the foot napkin was borne from that same sense of discovery. My good friend Bill Heerman was traveling to work one day. He had taken MARTA - the people mover in downtown Atlanta. He parked at the station, driving from his home, and rode MARTA to the Southern Company headquarters at Ivan Allen Plaza.

However on this particular morning, it was raining quite heavily in Atlanta. So much so, that as Bill approached the office, he was faced with what was normally a downtown road in Atlanta - but today it was a small river, as rain water rushed down the avenue. His only choices were to go home, or face the rainwaters and make the final mad dash to the safety and drier conditions of his office.

Summoning his courage, he dashed at first opportunity across the street to the office, never hesitating, until he was safely inside the doors. He ventured from there to his cubicle and took off his rain jacket, set down his satchel and assessed the damage.

Not bad he thought to himself, the only problem were his shoes and socks and the bottom third of his pants - pretty much anything knee-down was soaked. After traveling the elevator and walking to his cubicle, they were still oozing water. Fortunately, there was a heater nearby so he removed his shoes and set them on top to dry. His socks were soaking wet, so he placed them there as well. Barefoot at his desk in a Fortune 500 office, pants rolled up to his knees, Bill set to work - just like any day ... just barefoot.

Unfortunately, this was the holiday season, so the departmental Christmas lunch was approaching. Pressed for time, Bill checked his shoes and socks. The shoes were less wet, still damp, but water wasn't oozing from them at this point. His socks, however, were still sopping wet.

Quickly his brain raced with options, finally settling on wearing the shoes and finding some socks - somewhere ... in about 10 minutes. As he searched for solutions, he remembered he had a bag with athletic clothes for his trip to the gym. Searching through, however he found no socks, just a random white T-shirt. Desperate for a solution, he quickly realized a white T shirt could pass for white socks. Right? It's better than no socks at all, right?

Grabbing scissors from his desk, he quickly cut the T shirt into two squares, big enough to wrap around his feet and disguise themselves as socks. Quickly wrapping each one around his feet and tucking them into his shoes, Bill was ready for the luncheon. No one would know the better.

Later that day, on a telephone call - that started out work-related - we discussed his morning

adventure. As we talked, we realized he had discovered a great new product - comparable with ShamWow or the BeDazzler. He had invented the ... Foot Napkin. You can clothe your foot in it and then later, when needed, you can whip it out of your shoe and use it as a napkin, or perhaps offer to a gentlewoman in need of a hankerchief. It has so many uses. We'd be rich. He would handle production and I would market it.

It's one of my favorite memories of Bill. What started out as a work conversation, turned into about 10 minutes of uninterrupted laughter. My sides and cheeks hurt from laughing so much. I cherish that memory now that he's gone.

Bill reminded me of the power and healing effects of laughter. The need to stop every now and then and relax. Take a breath. Visit with a friend. Talk to a family member. Life will be there when you return to it. Honestly, it never goes away. Life goes on and we all play a part - however grand or small.

But it's those moments of absolute joy, unquenchable laughter. Those are the moments that season our lives. We all become so caught up in the day-to-day grind. Finishing this project, so we can move onto the next. One day blurs into two, then it's a week, a month - half the year has gone by. You have to learn to savor the moment. Because before long, they will be gone.

Bill was taken from us too soon. Cancer took its toll on yet another person. But I learned from Bill to cherish the moments, savor each day and what it brings. Don't get so caught up in the forest that you can't appreciate the trees. Every tree, every moment is beautiful in it's own respect. But how often do we miss it because we're too worried about what's around the corner.

Thank you, Bill ... for that moment. I'll always cherish it.

Napkin, anyone?

All in the attitude

Here's a video I saw on the ted.com website, which if you haven't checked out - it's definitely worth a view. Videos on a variety of topics ranging from technology to human interaction.

I recently saw this video and it was part of the inspiration for this blog. The key to life is focusing on trying to be happy first, success will follow. If you focus on success first, as a requirement to be happy, you'll never get there.

http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work

And don't worry the foot napkin story is next.

Lesser of Two Stevils

Welcome to my blog. I feel I have to start out with an explanation of the title - Lesser of Two Stevils.

A good friend, Bill Heerman, coined the term using my name. We often had word or language discussions and enjoyed a good anagram from time to time. The Lesser of Two Stevils became the way Bill referred to me during our friendship. Bill lost the battle with cancer a few years ago, but I have always held onto this as a reminder of him.

That and foot napkins. But we'll talk about that later.

The Lesser of Two Stevils will be my platform to discuss a issue of importance to me - positive attitude. In my half a century of life I have learned that negative energy and attitude is like a cancer. It consumes people, it spreads like a disease. And if left unabated, it blackens the outlook of people on life.

Media is part of the problem in that it focuses on the negative in life. But we all bear our own responsibility and accountability. We focus on the negative, the sensational - rather than the good, the inspiring.

I believe we are so focused on the negative that we tend to overlook the beautiful, the moments of happiness that make life enjoyable. This blog will be an effort to remind us of that.