Misc
Merry Christmas 2012
Here we are once again, it’s Christmas. This year I don’t plan on setting any resolutions, but will think about desired goals for 2013, I’ll share them with you after the holidays. This year we are doing the minimalist thing, no big expenditures, just Lisa & our two boys, and we have a student from Mexico with us. Hoping for snow in the morning, and then it can go away : ) Until then….
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
A Tribute To The Loss Of A Dear Friend – Tucker Nelson
Tucker & Sandi Nelson
Many years ago, around 1997, I met a man, I mean a real man. His name is Tucker Nelson. Tucker was a real man for many reason’s, but mostly for his courage, strength, and zest for life. You see, back in 1981, Tucker was in a trucking accident, yep, he was a truck driver. Tucker was seriously injured, and was confined to a wheel chair for the rest of his life. But Tucker was the most able person I know, he wouldn’t let the accident and the chair beat him. Sure he had times of frustration and depression, that made him normal to me, but he lived regardless of his situation.
When I met Tucker, he was a broker for the company I worked for, I would call him and he would provide trucking / transportation for our products being shipped all over North America. After many years of calling him, he hired me to help him build his business, business development. A few short years later, Tucker sold the business, and we stayed close friends, and I continued to support his technology needs. I used to drive into Burnaby to fix his computer problems, it made for long days, but he was worth it, and I enjoyed being with Tucker.
Yesterday (Nov 30th, 2012), I got the news from one of his daughter’s, that he had died from a massive heart attack. I have to admit, I am devastated, I have lost my Father, I have lost my Father-In-Law, I’ve lost other close friends, but today I find myself struggling with losing Tucker. I’m not looking for sympathy, that’s not why I write this tribute. I want you to know about Tucker, he was my friend, he was an over comer, a warrior, and he also was very compassionate. I will miss him, I feel bad that I didn’t spend more time with him, but I do have the comfort of knowing one thing. When he called, I always went to him, I never said no…I always said, I’ll be there as quickly as I can, and that was usually immediately. I am truly sad right now.
The picture above was taken a few years ago, around 2002. His wife Sandi passed away to cancer just few short years ago, she looked after and loved Tucker like no one else could, or has in the past. We talked of her often, he was grateful for the years he had with Sandi, and that she no longer suffers.
Thank you for indulging me as I pay tribute to a dear friend, I will miss him.
We are not promised tomorrow, please spend time with those you love and care for, make the world a better place with your kindness and love.
Many Blessings to you all.
Today On My Birthday
Let’s see, I woke up at 8:30AM, that’s unusual by itself as I’m normally up much earlier. I obviously had to clean up because I was about to venture out among the people. I have to admit though, I was dang tired and I didn’t really want to go anywhere, but was very happy I did.
My first stop was at a great little coffee shop, Clayburn Gourmet Gallery, had a London Fog and a nice visit with Kimberly (she owns the business). I then paid a visit to my church, said Hi and visited a short while. From there I made my way to a local restaurant called the Greek Island, I met a long time friend for lunch, Richard Lindfield. He had the lamb and I had schnitzel, well something like it. I had to eat and run, I felt bad because I really wanted to spend more time with Richard, but a funeral was next on my agenda.
Here I am at Central Heights Church for a memorial service, or funeral, for Leslie Buhler. Leslie (a man) spend his youth in the mission fields of India, he was born in 1924. You’re asking yourself how I know him, a story then….
In 1993 Lisa & I moved our family to Abbotsford from Penticton, B.C, we were taken to a church by our Pastor at the time, the church is called Central Heights. One of the very first few people we met were the Buhler’s, Leslie’s oldest son Tim became my very first Bible Study leader. And with all good bible study groups, you get taken in, looked after, and cared for. We were immediately grafted into the Buhler family, we attend all the Buhler family functions, Leslie was a fun man to be around, his stories were amazing. I have met many great men in my life, Leslie I am proud to say is one of the greatest. He was a man if integrity, I can’t say that about many people, but if you look up the word in the dictionary, you’ll see his picture. Oh and he wrote a book of his life in India, can’t wait to read it.
That’s the short version of the story, of we came to know Leslie Buhler. Attending his memorial was more like a family reunion, we knew almost everyone there, the place was packed….it should be, it’s a big family now! The food was interesting, yep….India….everywhere you saw food from India. I’m not huge fan, but there was fruit : )
After visiting with the family and sharing stories, Lisa & I headed home. Once we got home, and it’s normal for us, she goes upstairs and I head to my office : ) After checking mail, voice mail, and so on….there were lots of Happy Birthday wishes for me on all the Social Networks, and I’m grateful. Lisa informed me there is a Birthday present for me on the kitchen table, I was curious and surprised actually. I went upstairs to find a bag filled with the usual stuffing, in it was season 1 & 2 of Downton Abby! First I laughed out loud, then I asked, are sure this is for me? You see, just the night before we were talking about the show and how we could never find on any channel, I suggested we should buy the DVD for Christmas. Obviously a last minute shopper : )
It’s 5PM now, Lisa is teaching piano to 5 or 6 kids, then at 7:30PM we’ll figure out what’s for supper…maybe after supper we’ll watch Downton Abbey : ) We are planning an evening out later in the week to celebrate in a more formal way, but good just lying low at home with my Lisa.
So that’s been my day, one I won’t forget because Leslie Buhler & I are celebrating a day of victory!
What I Believe
What I believe. Has anyone asked you that question before? Have you struggled to answer it? This blog post is my attempt at answering the question of what I believe. This is not an exhaustive list but here is my list anyway:
1.) I believe there is a God
2.) I believe Jesus is Lord & Saviour
3.) I believe the Bible is the inherit word of God
4.) I believe we all were created
5.) I believe we were designed for a purpose here on earth
6.) I believe you are special
7.) I believe you have something to offer…always
8.) I believe we are all sinners
9.) I believe its harder to do the right thing and it’s never convenient
10.) I believe human evil comes from humans
11.) I believe hunger can be a thing of the past
12.) I believe we don’t treat one another very well, we kill each other, come on!
13.) I believe marriage should be between a man & a woman
14.) I believe we give money too much power over our lives
15.) I believe that when you do what you were meant & designed to do, you make the world a better place
16.) I believe the future does not belong to us
17.) I believe we lie to protect ourselves from the truth
18.) I believe we are stewart’s of the planet, not owners of it
19.) I believe Baseball is the greatest sport in the world
20.) I believe chocolate is over rated 😉
21.) I believe we are to serve on another
22.) I believe we should treat each other the same way in which you wish to be treated
23.) I believe we should respect each other
24.) I believe we don’t have to like each other, but we should care enough to love each other
25.) I believe we should always help each other
26.) I believe in the 90/10 rule – give away 90% and charge for 10%
27.) I believe in the Open & Free Business Model
28.) I believe the Internet is the door way to the future of business
29.) I believe in honesty
30.) I believe in love
31.) I believe we should keep life simple, because simple is hard enough
32.) I believe life was never meant to be easy, it was meant to challenge us
33.) I believe we can always learn from each other
34.) I believe in the value of a human life
35.) I believe the world needs more and better leaders, so step up
36.) I believe technology is driving us indoors and away from each others face-to-face moments
37.) I believe technology is leading us to an unhealthy place
38.) I believe technology can also be used for good
39.) I believe swearing is rude and degrading
40.) I believe porn is a lie and unhealthy, it makes us believe that’s how sex should be…NOT!
41.) I believe the Cloud will only serve large corporations (those providing the Cloud)
42.) I believe Silicon Valley is a trap and does not live in the real world
43.) I believe failure is the best thing that can happen to you
44.) I believe a closed mind never learns anything
45.) I believe an open mind can change the world
46.) I believe I love my wife & two sons more than I love myself
47.) I believe I have yet to be used by God, I’m being prepared
48.) I believe the Church is over-rated
49.) I believe in YOU the people, you are awesome
50.) I believe in spending less than you earn
51.) I believe we will endure a global water shortage
52.) I believe you & I will give an accounting of our actions one day
53.) I believe in steak & potatoes : )
54.) I believe High Definition TV is the best
55.) I believe we spend too much money on shoes and clothes
56.) I believe if we didn’t have clothes to wear, and we were all naked, the crime rate would not exist
57.) I believe you are loved by God, all of you
58.) I believe we can all make the world a better place by simply loving each other
59.) I believe in WordPress & Headway Themes
60.) I believe we don’t value human life
61.) I believe this list is long enough, what does your list look like?
Searching, Seeking And Belonging
We all have this in common, we all are searching for something but we don’t know what it is. We all are seeking something, and we don’t know what that is either. And in the end, we all want to belong to something. Does this sound like you?
SEARCHING
We are never really clear on what it is we are searching for, we give it a name though, we call it happiness. Some of us will go for days, months, years, and even a lifetime searching for this unknown feeling we have. This feeling is like a call to nowhere, we hear a howling wind calling us, so we follow the howling wind only to find ourselves right where we were when we heard it. We go in circles.
Some of us think this search is about our jobs, our homes, our cars, our friends, and even our spouses. The truth is, when you make those changes, you are usually exchanging one set of problems for another. But that’s the way life is right? We have this emptiness inside each one of us, you describe it differently each time, but it’s the same void we keep trying to fill with things that make us feel good. That’s one of the gravities of human behaviour, we like to feel good all the time, so we search for that which gives us that emotion.
We are searching for the wrong thing, we all are spiritual beings, we are searching to fill a spiritual void! There is nothing you and I can buy that will fill that void, I know, I’ve tried. We do the same thing with our businesses, we think we can buy, trick and cheat our way into making huge sums of money just to be called a success. That’s not going to fill the void you feel every waking minute of your life.
SEEKING
Seeking is not much different than searching, except it’s deeply personal. Here you feel your searching has failed you, and now you are seeking because you are hurting at a much deeper level. The void feels even more empty, and bigger, to the point at times, you feel actual depression. This seeking takes on many looks, it shows up when you unexpectedly lose your job, your spouse, a child, and even your home or business, it runs deep.
We continue to live like we can buy our way out of it, you can’t, you have to work your way through it. You truly have to look in the mirror and admit you are out of control, you really don’t have a clue, a clue of the big picture, why you are here, and what your purpose is for living. You do have a purpose, you do have a role to play, you do matter, and your voice needs to be heard. But more importantly, you have to listen, and that’s where we as people get it wrong.
There is a spiritual voice calling to you, talking to you, but you can’t hear it, because you don’t know how to listen for it. You see, each one of us was created and designed for a purpose, a plan was designed for us, but the only way to understand what those are, you have to listen and admit your destiny is not in your hands. We all ask the same question to, what am I supposed to do with my life? I can’t tell you what that is, but this I can tell you, when you do what you were created and designed to do, you make the world a better place. You don’t make the world a better place because you made money from it, you make money because you helped other people. if you help enough people get what they want, you’ll probably be OK.
Your business has the same problem, who decides if your business is successful financially? You? If your product or service truly solves a problem, your customers will decide for you, after all, they are the ones with the money. You can follow a system like a franchise, but in the end, the product or service has to useful, it has to solve a problem, or that system fails. Your business has to help people, not always sell people something.
We all seek to be liked, loved, and important. We tend to seek it from other people, therefore, we need to be validated, given permission, or wait to be picked. That system is why we hurt more often than we don’t. What we seek doesn’t come from people, we just think it does.
BELONGING
Another gravity of human behaviour, we crave to be accepted, to belong. I don’t have to say much here because we all like to be a part of something larger than our selves, to be in a tribe if you will. We want to be where people are, do what they do, and feel useful within that environment. We sometimes think we will find what we are searching and seeking for in these groups or tribes. You might find something, but you won’t fill the void here either, unless you all understand that you are seeking something spiritually, and not physically, something way bigger than you & I.
If you need more evidence that we need to belong to something, just look at the industrial age system, why do we have a Chamber Of Commerce, or hundreds of thousands of non-profit organisations. They all have something in common, they all try to build tribes, pull like-minded people together for a cause. So admit that you are in these groups, but not for them, for you! You need it, those organisations will and can survive without you. I’m not saying you shouldn’t belong to any of these groups, I’m saying, admit the truth as to why you are involved. The truth shall set you free, it always has.
Searching, seeking and belonging feels different for each one of us, but yet it’s the same for all of us. We all want the same things, we just go about it differently. I’m no different than you, I have to admit the truth, the truth about my motives, how I feel, and why I do what I do, even if I don’t make money from it. Money is not the answer, it’s a tool, we all need it, but our purpose, our role, and our happiness does not come from having lots of it. If money is your motivation, you will eventually tell an untruth, you will eventually stop caring about people, you will only end up caring about yourself.
So, amongst all the searching, the seeking, and the belonging, listen to your spiritual voice, it will tell you what to do, and where to go. I challenge you to join me on this journey together, one where we together make the world a better place, we will go on a faith walk to figure out what we were meant to do with our lives. The future of business, no, the future of your business is at stake, are you up for it?
Get started by signing up for my updates (on the right side bar), you’ll be able to download my 1st attempt at writing a book, and you will be the first to hear about my new venture, one where you may discover how to be free and make a living.
Related articles
- Freedom At 50! (owengreaves.com)
