Today’s Path – Karma: Give a little to get a little

Over the weekend, I had the privilege of attending the Alliance for a Media Literate America conference. About 250 professionals from the media field were in attendance. Everyone I met was very friendly. As I was volunteering at the registration table, one of the many people I met was Mark Tomizawa, President of SMASH Advertising.

Here is where the Karma starts come into play.

I have never really believed in Karma, but I do believe that good things happen to good people, most of the time. When I was speaking with Mr. Tomizawa, he asked where he could find a necklace similar to the one I was wearing. I knew I had bought it in Texas but I couldn’t remember where. So I took my necklace off and gave it to Tomizawa for his daughter.

On Saturday, after I met Mr. Tomizawa, I went to the Cardinal’s game. (We won, by the way.) At the game they were selling scratch-off tickets to benefit Cardinal Care. We bought 25 scratch-off tickets. Out of the 25 tickets we won 14 tickets to Cardinal games.

Then on Monday, we had a silent auction to raise money for our YMCA. My friend Shannon and I place a bid on a 10 day trip to Florida. And guess what, WE WON.

Thinking back on the weekend, after meeting Mr. Tomizawa I started feeling happier even before I became lucky. If you do something just out of the goodness of your heart you feel much better.

Putting Off To Tomorrow

"The eyes are the only organ that doesn't take oxygen from the blood. They take it straight from the air."

So today I went to the eye doctor. I decided that since I had been wearing my disposable contacts for three months it was time to go to the doctor and get more.

When I was at the doctor's I found out that if you wear your disposable contacts longer than they are suppose to be worn then you can damage your eyes and your prescription will become worse. That would have been nice if the previous doctor would have told me that when I told him I had been wearing my contacts for 2 months!!!

If you are wearing your contacts and it has been two months, GO GET NEW ONES!!!

Hopefully I am not the only crazy person out there who has put off doing something because of convenience. If you need to do something, do it because if you wait there might be irreversible damage done. Even if it is small do it the same day.

There is the shed at work that I have to clean out. I don't even know what all is in it. If I wait too long to clean it out, who knows what new things I will find. I know now that there is a lot of sports equipment and some items from one other department. But if I wait a month or so I might not be able to get to my sports equipment.

This One Star

In my backyard, I have a trampoline. I have had it about a year now, and I don’t jump on it much anymore. But this week even though I haven’t jumped on it I have found a new use for it.

I was reading one of my professor’s, Kammie Kobyleski, blogs the other day. Kammie was talking about taking time for yourself and just relaxing. So I decided to do just that, take some “me” time and relax. I booked a massage with a good friend from work. It was relaxing while I was there, but not long after I left I faced the realities of having a little brother and was once again stressed out.

This is where the trampoline came in. As it was getting dark a few nights ago, I went out back and was going to jump, but the sound of crickets in the night distracted me. Instead of jumping I laid on my back and just looked up into the sky. I watched as one by one the stars became brighter and brighter until they lit up the sky. I encourage each little star to grow brighter and brighter. But this one star. It kept catching my attention. Every time I would go to find a new star I would stop at this one.
I know that it is the North star therefore making it the brightest in the sky but there was something about it.
Maybe it was that at that moment I could call any of my friends and tell them to find the brightest star in the sky and know they would be looking at the same star as me.
But that night what was the most relaxing was just laying there on the trampoline. I was suspended between the ground and the sky, becoming one with nature. The deafening music of the crickets as the sky became my television.

If you ever get the chance, take a few moments before you go to bed and just sit outside and listen, watch and relax.

Service that can Change a Life

After taking my pen pal to work the other day, I stopped by the Bread Co. for breakfast. I went in armed with my iPod to have a little “me” time. I was planning on going in getting my ice tea and bagel and then sitting in the corner trying to relax away from reality for a few moments before work.
What happened next impacted the rest of my day.
I walked in, thinking it was going to be like any other restaurant, you walk in, order, sit down eat and not really have very much interaction with anyone, but it was different.
Once I walked in, the lady behind the counter greeted me with a huge smile and a peppy “Good Morning. I can take your order when your are ready.” So I placed my order, and she handed me my cup and said to meet her back at the counter after I had my tea to get my bagel. To my surprise, when I was sweetening my tea, she brought my bagel to me to save me the trip to the other side of the restaurant. I couldn’t believe someone would take the time at 9 o’clock in the morning to do that.
I work at a public service facility where you are suppose to be greeted with a smile and a warm hello, but, honestly, I have never felt the warmth that I did that morning at the Bread Co.
Instead of sinking out of reality with my iPod, like I was planning, I sat there wondering how I could bring warmth into someone’s day like the lady had to mine. I wish I would have caught her name, but I didn’t.
If you are having a down day or week, go to the Bread Co. on Hwy K Wednesday morning around 9 A.M.
Remember that a smile and a warm greeting can change the day of someone and possibly even a week, month, year or life.

Dirty, Clean or Polished?

Yesterday, during church services one of the teachers was telling a story when he said, This made me think about how many different things this could apply to. For example, it could apply to work or house keeping, but what about relationships and attitudes.

Your attitude effects everything and everyone around you. If you have a dirty attitude, it is only going to cause a negative effect. If you have a clean attitude, it will only have a positive effect. But what if we keep are attitudes polished? Are we going to attract people or repel them? Naturally, we are going to attract people.
With a polished attitude, friendships and other relationships will grow.

Take a minute now and evaluate your attitude.
Is it dirty?
Is it clean?
Or is it polished?
Is your attitude effecting your relationships?

For the most part my attitude is clean. I need to polish it in most parts. However, in a few I need to clean it. My attitude toward my brother most of the time needs to be cleaned.

Let me know about your attitude.

Radio Contest

It is the chance of a life time. Winning a full-time on-air radio position. I need your help, though, to do it. Please go and vote for my video on Monday at The Bull. I need as many people as possible to vote. Thank you for your help in this endeavor!!