2012 Blues ( Don’t Worry, Keep Praying )

Posted on January 2, 2012 by jc

2012 Blues (Don’t Worry, Keep Praying)

Sung to tune of ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ by Bobby McFerrin

Here’s a little thought I had,
That might help you out when you’re feeling bad

Don’t worry, Keep praying

If you’re looking for advice that’s sound,
That’ll help you out when you’re feeling down

Don’t worry, Keep praying, Don’t worry, Keep praying

(CHORUS)

Who—ever told you, you were in control of things,
That your brain is king of kings,
Didn’t have a clue

Who—ever told you that your will could set you free,
Make the world a lot less crazy
Didn’t tell you true

Here’s a little help I’ve found,
That keeps the blues from hanging around

Don’t worry, Keep praying

The news is bad, looks like hope’s a lie
Just people being people is the reason why

Don’t worry, Keep praying, Don’t worry, Keep praying

(CHORUS)

Who—ever told you, you were in control of things
That your brain is king of kings,
Didn’t have a clue

Who—ever told you that your will could set you free,
Make the world a lot less crazy
Didn’t tell you true

Years and tears ago I wish I understood,
Put the weight on God, it feels so good

Don’t worry, Keep praying

Since the beginning of time, trying to make sense of it all,
But peace only comes when you realize your mind’s too small

Don’t worry, Keep praying, Don’t worry, Keep praying

(CHORUS)

Who—ever told you, you were in control of things
That your brain is king of kings,
Didn’t have a clue

Who—ever told you that your will could set you free,
Make the world a lot less crazy
Didn’t tell you true

Don’t worry. Keep praying. About everything.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

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7 Life Lessons (So Far)

Posted on July 25, 2011 by jc

7 Life Lessons (So Far)

1. Give Yourself Credit.
There will always be plenty of other people only too happy to beat you down and tell you that you suck.When you are trying your best to just make it through each day in this crazy world, recognize that and give yourself a pat on the back. Every little step forward is a step forward.

2. Don’t Get Sad.Get Mad.
If living through how our politicians and their moneyed-string pullers have destroyed so many lives and so much hope doesn’t make you pissed off, then you either don’t have a pulse or a soul. Debt-ceiling debate??It should be Masses Getting Irate!

Now’s not the time for whimpering and feeling sorry for yourself. Billions of us are being played for fools.Don’t believe the lie. Life doesn’t HAVE TO be so unpleasant. Stand up and speak out for yourself and others, and hold those who cause needless suffering accountable.

3. Rules are for Fair Games.
The unemployment lines are packed with lots of people who played by “The Rules”: Study Hard, Get Good Grades, Get a Degree, Put Work Ahead of Family, Invest for The Long Run, Be Loyal, Respect Authority, Yadda, yadda, yadda. Madoff, Enron, BP, Wall Street, politicians and countless other crooks have left their tire tracks over the backs of rule players.

You can only win playing by the rules if the game is fair.If the game is not rigged. Many people are realizing that the life casino they’ve been playing in has been rigged to let the house win most of the time, and they are not the house. The house is cheating. The house is crooked.

Work hard. Study hard. Be honest. Be caring. But don’t be a sucker and just abdicate the outcomes in your life to “the authorities” or ” the government” or “the experts” or “the company”, or anyone else for that matter. Take responsibility for watching out for yourself and your family. Be respectful but be skeptical. As Reagan supposedly said, “Trust but verify”.

4.It’s What You Tell Yourself.
It’s not what you are going through. It’s what YOU TELL YOURSELF about what you are going through that matters. There are millions of ‘poor’ people laughing at something right now. What, are they stupid? Or not?

5.If You Are Bored It’s Your Fault.
There are just too many scary, sad, wonderful, terrible, magical, interesting, awe-inspiring, puzzling, breath-taking, heart-breaking, mysterious, life-affirming things in this world to be bored. The clock is ticking.

6. Remember the Three Things.
We can control:
(1) What we put in our bodies- our Diet
(2) How much we move – how much we Exercise
(3) Our Attitude
Other than that we just fool ourselves when we think we have control. Take care of the three things, do your best, and don’t worry about the rest.

7. It’s Not The Fall That Kills You, It’s The Stopping.
Don’t Stop. That’s called Being Dead. :)

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What Do You Get To Do Today?

Posted on May 19, 2011 by jc

I just picked up this fantastic book called  ‘God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life’s Little Detours’ by Regina Brett and I couldn’t recommend it more highly, even though I’ve only read the introduction and the first chapter! Why would I endorse a book when I have only read very little of it? Have you ever read something, a quotation, a poem, a passage, or watched a movie scene, or heard a piece of music, or saw a painting or work of art, and just been taken aback, stopped in your tracks, filled with the knowing that you are a witness to what can only be described as TRUTH, the truth of the divinity in all of us? This feeling empowers you, humbles you, fills you with serenity and with fear at the same time, a fear that you probably have been sleepwalking for most of your life, going through the motions of life in a fog of ignorance? What you’ve just been witness to also makes you angry, angry at your parents, your teachers, your government, your friends, at yourself. “Why didn’t anyone tell me this TRUTH existed years ago, I wouldn’t have wasted so much time and life, living in fear, wandering in the darkness?”, you ask yourself.

What is this truth that so affected me that I had to stop reading God Never Blinks after only a few pages and reevaluate my entire life? Lesson 1 in GNB is titled ‘Life Isn’t Fair, But It’s Still Good’, and Regina tells the story of how she got cancer in her early forties, and how she started wearing a baseball cap after she began losing her hair because of the chemotherapy treatments. But this was no ordinary cap. She saw a man wearing one and she wanted one too, because of the message on it. It said, ‘Life Is Good‘ . The man, whose name is Frank, gave her one as a gift and after Regina recovered from cancer, she began to give it to other cancer patients to wear, with the stipulation that they pass it on to other cancer patients once they recovered. She calls it the Chemo Cap and thus far everyone who has worn it has recovered from cancer.

As inspiring and life-affirming as the story of the Chemo Cap is, that is not the part of the lesson that stopped me in my reading tracks. The guy who gave Regina the Life is Good cap, Frank, shared something else with her. It is his philosophy, his mental model of life, and it is summed up in two words: get to.

Frank lives his life not telling himself, “I have to go to work”, or “I have to exercise”, or “I have to take the kids to soccer practice”, or “I have to study for an exam”, or “I have to get up in the early in the morning”.  He tells himself’, “I get to wake up early in the morning”, “I get to go to work”, “I get to drive the kids to soccer practice”, “I get to go to the gym and work out”, “I get to go to chemotherapy and fight another day”.

What a difference a word makes. I read that and I felt like the scales fell from my eyes, the clouds parted and the sun illuminated the darkness. I didn’t have to read any more. I didn’t need to read any more.I couldn’t read any more. I got up from my seat in the bookstore, walked up to the cashier, bought ‘God Never Blinks‘ and drove home, filled with excitement and gratitude, regret and relief. I realized that although I thought of myself as an introspective thinker who viewed the world and life with a healthy and positive perspective, most of my lifeview had been clouded by the wrong two words, have to. By thinking, saying, feeling those words, everyday, all my life,  I had lived my life looking through the lenses of obligation, compulsion, sacrifice, unfairness, victimhood, self-pity, and resentment. Reading Frank’s philosophy was a humbling indictment of my mental model of the world. Was I so unaware, so self-absorbed, so shallow? A lifetime of ‘I have to’s’ and how those words shaped everything, my career, my relationships, my happiness, ran through my mind. “I have to go to school”, “I have to study”, “I have to get a job”, “I have to take a vacation”, on and on, a life taken for granted rather than a life lived in gratitude.

So, my goal is to eliminate the words ‘I have to’ from my mind, from my speech, from my heart.I’ve been doing this for a few days now, replacing ‘have to’ with ‘get to‘ in my mental model of life and I already feel a lot more positive, more excited, and more empowered. It’s not easy changing a lifetime of automatic disempowering and disabling thinking, especially when your self-image was based on seeing yourself as unselfish, grateful and kind of wise, but changing is necessary to really enjoying life. From what I’ve read so far of God Never Blinks, Regina Brett seems to be one of those special people who has the ability and gift to deeply empathize about the human condition, and communicate that empathy in ways that make us feel kinship with each other, and to make us feel we will be alright. I see a kindred spirit in her and I think many others will also when they read her book.

Well, I have to (oops!), get to go now. I get to take the trash out. Then I get to pay some bills. Woohoo!

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Content Over Clicks, Truth Over Traffic, Value Over Visitors

Posted on May 18, 2011 by jc

I write this blog, The Power Of PAO, because it gives me opportunity to get some of the things rattling around in my head out. If these thoughts, musings, and observations help someone else feel better or more empowered, then that is a bonus. I’d love to make some money from any writing I do, and I’ve done some research on how some people have made money blogging. Most of the advice says to do market research, focus on a narrow niche, do keyword analysis, use search engine optimization, use Facebook, Twitter and other social networking tools to promote your blog. I’m sure that if I started doing these things the number of clicks, amount of traffic, and number of visitors to TPOP would all increase, probably significantly, which would give me the opportunity to make some money writing this blog, which would be great. I’m always for making more moolah.

But I wonder if focusing on making your writing as search engine friendly as possible means sacrificing truth for traffic. It’s great to be popular, to be appreciated, to connect with a lot of other people through something you write. But how deep is that connection, how deep can it be, when a lot of it is based on calculation, on market research, on trying to appeal to as many people as possible? I doubt that when writing ‘Hamlet‘ or ‘Romeo or Juliet‘ that Shakespeare went around asking people what their preferred character names were or if they liked their leading ladies to be blond or brunette. I don’t think that when he was working on  ‘A Love Supreme’ John Coltrane did a survey to see if  people preferred minor or major chords to begin a song. I doubt Michelangelo brought in a test group while he was painting the Sistine Chapel at the end of each day to critique his work in progress

Now don’t get confused, I am in NO WAY comparing my musings on this blog with great art. That’s just silly (and hilarious!). But what is true is that any creative endeavor can only be enduring, valuable, and impactful when the creator is trying to be as true, faithful, and honest to WHAT THEY FEEL as possible. If you are not expressing your Self, if you are only trying to be accommodating, popular, pleasing to others, and uncontroversial, then the relationships you develop can only be superficial, shallow, and temporary, and that applies to any relationship, online or in-person.

I’m not espousing being a self-centered, egomaniac who cares only about what they feel. You have to reach out,to care about the feelings, wants, and desires of other people if you want to have good, supportive and productive relationships. But happiness, and creating  good relationships ultimately means being who you are, not being afraid to show the world who you are; and if you are yourself, if you put yourself out there, and people respond to you, then you know that response is real and not based on dishonesty or SEO or web analytics. It’s because they like you, they really like you!:)

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Guaranteed Success: Three P’s and Some G.O.D.

Posted on April 18, 2011 by jc

As we near the end of another school year, most graduates are looking for the answer to a simple question: How do I pay off all these damned student loans?!?

Well, I can’t help you there but another question these new graduates and most of us are asking is, What do I need to do to be successful? The answer to this question is actually really simple and well-known. But like many things in life, the hard part is not knowing what to do but having the courage and discipline to do it.

To be a success we need to be Persistent, have Passion, and have the right Perspective. That’s it, folks, thanks for coming and get drive home safely :) . Like I said, it’s not rocket science, but most of us struggle because we fail to implement all three and we need to have them all to be truly successful. Let me explain.

Persistence simply means not giving up when we face obstacles, suffer setbacks, encounter uncertainty, or just get bored. All these things are certain to happen, especially when we are pursuing our goals, But, how do we do this, how do we find or develop the persistence we need?

Persistence comes from the second P, Passion. When we have a goal that is important TO US, that is meaningful TO US, that WE are Passionate about, then when the road to that goal becomes rough, treacherous, difficult, or seemingly endless, we have the will to keep at it, to persist. So, identify what’s important TO YOU, what makes your heart fuller, happier, beat faster, and make that your goal.

But, you may say, sometimes what we are passionate about doesn’t pay much, isn’t well-regarded or respected, or doesn’t seem to be in-demand or popular where we live. Then what? What if I persistently pursue my passion but no one’s paying?

That’s where the third P, Perspective, comes in.. First, recognize that if when things get hard, you are ready to stop your pursuit of something, then either that thing isn’t really a passion or you are giving other things more importance than your passion. Those other things may be money, comfort, the opinions of others, the demands of family, or something else, This is perfectly okay. As long as you recognize that you are making a choice to pursue these other things rather than your goal, that’s fine. Just don’t fall into the trap of blaming things outside yourself (the world, society, family, circumstances, etc.,) for YOUR choice. This only leads to regrets, anger, resentment and self-hate. Keep the perspective that you control your choices and you’ll be fine.

Also, keep the perspective that when we pursue our passions, our purpose, the goal isn’t some imagined,idealized endpoint, i.e., a certain amount of money, prestige, a title, accolades, awards, etc. The pursuit IS the thing, that journey of going after what we value and what makes us feel valuable, every day, step-by-step, learning, growing, grasping, falling, getting back up, struggling, overcoming,succeeding, THAT is the goal.

If we Persistently pursue our Passions while keeping the right Perspective, we will succeed. Guaranteed. Because success is measured not in money, or things, or grades, or Facebook friends, but in how much happiness we bring into the world. And you can’t make the world happier if you are not happy. And you won’t be truly happy if you aren’t pursuing your passions. Thoreau wrote ,“The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation.”. Why live in quiet desperation when it so much more fun and interesting to try every day to live a life of loud celebration? (Or at least, raised voice indignation. Why, I never!?! :) )

Oh yeah, as to the some G.O.D. part in the title. Being successful  and being self-absorbed don’t go well together, so as you pursue your dreams remember that Giving Opens Doors. Just giving a fellow traveler on this journey we all share a little of your time and attention means a lot, to them and to you, ‘cause what you give you get back. In ways and at times we can’t appreciate or imagine, it does come back.

So, Here’s to All the Graduates, Congratulations and God Bless, and Remember the Three P’s, and Just Do Your Best!

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Loving the Pain: Divine Resilience

Posted on March 11, 2011 by jc

 

“I’m the one that is going to have to die when its time  for me
to die. So, let me live, my life, the way, I want to.”
James Marshall Hendrix

Loving the Pain: Divine Resilience

Pain doesn’t harm us. Suffering doesn’t harm us. What harms us is our belief in our weakness, our fragility, our in-competence. When we believe that “problems” and challenges will break us, then what we believe is true.

But, if we believe in our strength, if we believe in our resilience, if we believe in ourselves, if we believe in what God has given us, nothing can stop us. When we believe we
are weak, we ARE weak, and we suffer. If we believe we are eternally resilient, we never stop growing, moving forward.

Believe in your dreams. Believe in your goals. Even if you don’t reach them (We never really do-the goal line keeps moving each time we cross it ), just the pursuit, the journey, is the most FUN you can have, the most satisfaction you can achieve, the best school you can ever attend. The Pursuit is the Prize.

The trap Is when the Approval / Acceptance / Confirmation of others is more important than our heart-goals. The trap is when we see ourselves as weak. The trap is when we believe that we are just our physical bodies. You are not weak. You are not help-less. You will not dissolve.You will not crumble. Stand up for yourself. Stand up for your dreams. Stand up for what is right. Stand up for what you believe. You will not break. You will blossom, and grow, and thrive in the ways you were meant to.

What are you afraid of trying, of doing? Try it anyway. Do it anyway, You will not break. You will grow. Believe in your strength. Believe in your gifts. Believe in your dreams. Believe in your divine resilience.

The Point isn’t to Achieve Your Goals. The Point is to Pursue Them.The Point isn’t to cross the finish line. The Point is to Be in the Race. As long as you are in the game, you have a chance.If you stay on the sideline, you’ll never have any fun. Scores are useless.
Grades are useless. They don’t tell you if you are having fun.

Life is supposed to be interesting.If you are bored, you are living life wrong.

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PAO and The Delusionist’s Mantra

Posted on February 21, 2011 by jc

PAO and the Delusionist’s Mantra

After the cleansing rain, comes the rainbow of clarity.

It’s amazing. How we, from the moment we open our eyes in the morning, worry ourselves. To death. In our minds, we create, imagine troubles, situations, scenarios, that have not ever and most times never occur. We imagine confrontations, failures, slights, embarrassments, being laughed at, talked about, deserted, betrayed. All in our mind.

We have been brain stuffed with so much dirt, clutter, that we can’t see anything, opportunity, reality. You can’t think clearly. Your brain needs to be cleaned, flushed, washed, reformatted, rebooted.

Brain Washing is good. It clears all the prejudices, the misconceptions, the assumptions, the fears out.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

It is inevitable. One day back at your job, or with a negative partner or family member, or faced with some adversity, and all your hopes, dreams, plans, they will all go up in smoke!
All that talk about embracing trouble/problems will shrivel up like a male member in cold water.

Was it all just BS, just words, just whistling past the graveyard of reality?? Huh? What the hell happened?!?

This is that predictable (inevitable) time in every growth/change/discovery/breakthrough where boredom, fear, negativity, fatigue, (D)evil, doubt, comes in and puts its hands on your shoulder and sits there like an anvil, whispering, no nagging at you all day until you finally say “No Mas! , No Mas!”

And you go back to doing (thinking) the same things that got you in this current situation (mess). And you (they) tell yourself “It’s not that bad, AT LEAST  I’ve got (fill in the blanks- a job, a home, my health, a nice car, etc) or “AT LEAST I’m not (fill in blank- some poor son of a bitch)”.
The problem is we get so weary of fighting just to make it through each day that we just say “No Mas, No Mas” . And lower the bar, pack away our dreams, and start preparing for the end. Then we utter the DELUSIONISTS’ MANTRA ,”At least… At least… “. “At least I can go on a nice vacation every year”, “At least I was able to send my kids to college”, “At least I have health insurance”, “At least I’m healthy”.

AT LEAST. Think about those words when you say them. What you are telling yourself is, “I don’t think I’ll get what I really want, so I will focus on what I have or what I think I will have to settle for”.

Now, there is nothing wrong with being grateful for what you have. In fact, I think being aware of and grateful for your blessings is healthy and wise. I have a problem with the AT LEASTERS because they are not really grateful for their blessings. What the AT LEASTERS are is scared. They are scared of trying something new, they are scared of going after their dreams, they are scared off being laughed at and talked about, they are scared of struggling, they are scared of not being tough enough or smart enough. The AT LEASTERS are chickens.

It’s okay to be cautious, to be deliberate, to take baby steps, to have some kind of backup plan. The problem occurs when the backup plan becomes the permanent plan, the life plan, and you look around and five, 10, 20, 30, 50 years have gone by and you are still in the backup plan. You are still waiting to see if the coast is clear so you can chase your dream again. You say to yourself “As soon as I get everything in order and everything is prepared, I’m leaving this backup plan and going to go for it!” Of course, after all this time working in the backup plan, it’s a lot harder to go after your dream. You are rusty , you are older, you have got more obligations, you are in a comfortable rut. ‘Maybe, in a couple of years, when the house is paid off, the kids are out of school, the….’

So, how do you fight that inevitable urge to lay back down on the nail (bed of nails)? Because, although it is painful, and uncomfortable, and is slowly but surely killing you, you are still laying down, aren’t you?

(1)Stop minimizing your mind your thoughts, your feelings.
If you don’t respect and value your own thoughts and feelings, why would you expect anyone else to??
(2)You have to start UN-BORING yourself.
How?

By embracing the uncomfortable.

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Do You Wake Up Worrying or Wake Up in Wonder?

Posted on January 24, 2011 by jc

Because we humans have done and continue to do so much to make our lives more difficult and unpleasant than they have to be, a lot of us wake up each day worrying. Add to our self-inflicted problems the threats from natural disasters and accidents, and it is no wonder so many are anxious and fearful. I think the reason so many of us worry so much is because we take a lot for granted. We wake up in the morning and even before we get out of bed the worrying starts.’ Will I be late for work?’; ‘ How will I do at the big meeting?’; ‘Do I have enough time to work out?’; ‘Will the kids be ready in time to catch the school bus?’; ‘Are they doing okay in school?’; ‘How are we going to pay for their college costs?’; ‘Will this weak economy lead to more layoffs at my job? ‘; ‘Is that mole I found on my back cancerous?’; ‘Is the neighborhood getting more dangerous?; ”Do we have enough saved for retirement?’. And on and on and on.

Do you know what a miracle it is just to be able to wake up from being asleep? I can’t explain it, comprehend it, and none of us can. Yeah sure, scientists have their theories about what happens when we sleep, how we wake from sleep, but they don’t KNOW how or why it works. They just have theories and educated guesses. We just close our eyes, enter another state of being, and after a period of time, we reopen our eyes and we are ‘awake’. It really IS miraculous.

And yet the first thing most of us do upon experiencing a miracle is begin worrying about things that may or may not occur. We take a breath, another Miracle, and we start worrying about money. We see the sun rising, another Miracle, and we start worrying about our relationship. We hear birds chirping outside our window, another Miracle,and we start worrying about our family. We hear the music playing or announcer speaking on our clock radios, more Miracles, and we start worrying about the trade deficit or gas prices.

We wake up worrying instead of waking up in wonder to the miracle that
is waking up to life. That sense of wonder is something we are all born with, but years of being surrounded by negativity and cynicism have diminished that sense. Only when we stop taking for granted the miracles of being alive will that sense of wonder and appreciation of how blessed we are give us the strength to persevere. We will face difficulties and challenges, some real and some worried into existence, each day we wake up, but when we realize that the most important thing is waking up, is being alive to have those difficulties and challenges, then those challenges don’t seem so big. Not compared to a genuine miracle.

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SH*T Happens. D.E.A.L. with it.

Posted on January 17, 2011 by jc

Sh*t Happens. D. E.A. L. with it.

No matter how much we pray, plan, prepare or hope, Sh*t will happen. That is what life is: Sh*t happening. Usually at the worst, most inconvenient, inopportune times. You’ve got a very important interview, and your car won’t start. Sh*t. You’ve got a hot date in an hour, and you get a big, fat pimple on your face. Sh*t. You’re getting ready to retire after a long career, and the economy collapses and your savings are wiped out. Sh*t. You are planning to move to your dream island, and a close relative gets sick and you’re the only one they can count on to help them. Sh*t happens. Usually at the worst times.

So, what to do? You can worry, get angry, feel sorry for yourself, curse the world.Go ahead.

Feel better? Probably not. Just worried, angry, pitiful and resentful, I bet.

Part of growing up and being a mature adult is learning to accept the fact that sh*t will happen. It may be big sh*t, it may be medium-sized sh*t, it may be small sh*t, it may be good sh*t, it may be bad sh*t, but it is coming. I wrote in an earlier post, The Three Things in Life We can Control: The D.E.A. Triad, that if we focus on those three things, Diet, Exercise, and Attitude, we will feel better about our lives and life and general. Since that post, a lot of sh*t has happened, personally in my life and in the world at large. That’s life. Sh*t happening. At the worst times. And I’m coming to the realization that despite watching my diet, exercising and trying to keep a positive attitude, sometimes sh*t can overwhelm attitude.

So, now I’m thinking that perhaps a new approach, a new strategy, is best when we are faced with the unexpected but inevitable adversities of life. Now I think, when Sh*t happens, we need to D.E.A.L.  with it. I still believe a healthy Diet and regular Exercise play crucial roles in how well we cope with adversity. If you don’t feel healthy it’s easier to get depressed and want to give up when adversity occurs. But, in addition, there are two other strategies we should use to help us and those two things are the other half of the D.E.A.L..They are Acceptance and Learning. As I pointed out earlier, no matter how much we wish, pray, or plan, sh*t will happen, and when we can maturely Accept that Fact, we are better able to cope with whatever adversity there is. Now accepting that sh*t happens doesn’t mean feeling powerless, it just means accepting that we can’t control everything. Wishing, and Hoping, and Thinking, and Praying is for kids waiting for Santa Claus on Christmas. Acceptance is for adults, and after acceptance we must Learn from the sh*t that happens, because if we aren’t learning from the sh*t that happens, what good is sh*t for? All adversity teaches us something, humility, mercy, patience, persistence, perspective, forgiveness, appreciation, gratitude, the lessons are endless.But we learn best when we are not being immaturely emotional about whatever adversity, small or large, we are faced with, and we can learn to control our reactions to adversity by accepting our lack of control over some things, We gain control by accepting we can not control everything, just ourselves.

So, when Sh*t Happens, D.E.A.L. with it.

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Angry Birds or Roosting Chickens? The Whole World is in Our Hands

Posted on December 26, 2010 by jc

ANGRY BIRDS or ROOSTING CHICKENS: The World in the Palm of your Hand

I was at a Christmas gathering the other day and the conversation turned to Angry Birds, you know the mobile phone game that everyone is addicted to playing. Only I had to make a shocking confession and admit that I had never played Angry Birds.

I know, just like most of the people at the party you’re probably gasping in horror, “Oh, my God, what kind of detached misfit are you!?Everyone MUST play Angry Birds!”. Yes, I do have an iPhone and yes, I do know how to use the iTunes store. In fact, I had a smartphone back when they were grayscale, non-color screen devices that didn’t have web browsers, so I’m a bit of an early adopter of technology products. But not just because I wanted to be one of the first to have ‘it’, whatever ‘it’ might be that particular week, but because I thought a particular product would be useful and make my life a little easier. Still, why no ‘Angry Birds’?

I think because I’ve experienced the evolution from PDA’s (personal digital assistants), cell phones, to smartphones, and now have the iPhone, I can really appreciate just how amazing and revolutionary these devices are. Although I have an iPhone, I’m sure that the other smartphones made by other manufacturers are probably just as incredible. I just happened to be with AT&T when the iPhone come out, I got a discount, so I got an iPhone.

But back to Angry Birds. Like I said,  many people have raved about Birds to me and said that it’s a fantastic, addictive,fun game, and I have no doubt that’s true.The reason I don’t play it, or any of the popular mobile games is because to me having this revolutionary,world-changing, life-altering piece of technology in the palm of your hand and spending lots of time using it to play games is crazy. It’s kind of like if, after Gutenberg invented the printing press, the main thing that is was used for was printing comic books. I love comic books, I spent a lot of my time as a youth reading them, but I’m certain that I learned a lot more from reading Shakespeare, Vonnegut or history and math textbooks, than I did reading Spiderman or Archie comic books.I still find it somewhat awe-inspiring and humbling to realize that with just the press of a couple of buttons on my phone keypad, I have practically the entire output of human knowledge, in the palm of my hand. Wow. Just think about it. Practically anything and everything you ever wanted to know and learn about, at your fingertips. Books on any subject, video lectures from the best universities in the world taught by the best teachers, directions to anywhere, expert advice  on any problem or subject, apps that tune your guitar, scan barcodes, diagnose
illnesses, keep you healthy.AND you call can call anyone in the world. AND play Angry Birds.

Don’t get me wrong, we all need to relax, have fun, and not be so goal-focused all the time, and if playing games on your smartphone helps you do this, more power to you. I just think that we are truly in the Information Age and our smartphones give us never before imagined access to information,knowledge that is NECESSARY if we want to compete globally, improve or even maintain our standard of living, and remain innovative and viable. We really do have the whole world in our hands. Angry Birds may help us pass the time, but Roosting Chickens are nothing you want to mess with. And they’re coming home.

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