kenlassblog

Are you feeling down and depressed? Sometimes the reason we get to feeling sad about our lives is that we set the bar too high for ourselves. It’s easy to do in this age of social media, where everybody else seems to post about how wonderful their lives are. You can fall into thinking that everybody has wonderful friends and exciting experiences except you. What’s wrong with me? Why is my life so routine?

You need to give yourself a break. Your blessings are your blessings. They may not be the same as those of other people, but they are there. Focus on gratitude. Make a list of things you can be thankful for. You have more than you might realize.

It’s not a competition. You don’t have to achieve somebody else’s life to be happy.

It’s funny how the human mind works. I can remember places I went and things I did when I was just a child, but I can’t remember what my wife told me to do this morning. I can name almost all of my high school teachers, but sometimes I can’t recall why I got up and walked into a room. Some memories are burned into your brain and you think about them all the time. Others disappear almost immediately and can’t be retrieved.

Maybe the reason we have difficulty remembering little things is because we weren’t listening closely enough to begin with. Most of us have lots of stuff to think about these days, and it distracts us from focusing on the task at hand. We can’t absorb it because we never took it in.

I’m going to try to do better at really hearing what people tell me. It’s never too late to work at becoming a better listener.

I enjoy sitting in my screened-in porch and watching the wildlife in my backyard. On a typical morning, the yard is alive with a variety of colorful birds, loudly chirping and feeding. Squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits peruse and frolic on the ground. We have had deer and even a blue heron pass through.

The other day, an enormous hawk flew in and landed on top of our birdfeeder pole. I had never seen one that close-up. He looked so majestic and powerful, with that huge curved beak, and long sharp claws. He surveyed the yard looking for prey. I couldn’t help but notice that, suddenly, the entire property was completely vacant and silent. All the other creatures got word the hawk was around, knew they were in danger, and knew to hide and not make a sound. They had the good sense to protect themselves from evil. Finding nothing to attack, the predator flew away. After several minutes, the other wildlife cautiously returned.

I hope we all can be as good at recognizing evil and protecting ourselves from it.

I’m sitting on my screened-in porch watching the birdfeeder pole in the backyard. There is a squirrel on the ground at the base. He desperately wants to find a way up the pole to the birdseed. The easiest way would be to simply climb the pole, which he tries, only to be frustrated by a baffle. He climbs a nearby tree and crawls out on to a limb to see if he can jump to the pole. It’s a little too far. He gets up on his hind legs and leans on the pole, trying to get it to shake so that the feeder will fall to the ground, but the pole is grounded too deeply to waver.

I don’t want him to get into the birdseed, but I can’t help but admire his determination. He’s still out there, plotting his next move. He’s not whining and complaining about his problems. He’s doing something about them. He’s trying stuff. All kinds of stuff. When he fails, he just keeps trying.

We could learn a lot from a squirrel.

Spending time with young grandkids reminds you of some of the fundamentals of human behavior. We are born into this world with a nature of complete self gratification. Watch toddlers play together with toys. They are extremely possessive. They want what they want. They’ll fight others for what they want. Sharing and taking turns does not come naturally to them. It’s only after an authority figure teaches them to share, and then praises them for it, that they will learn the concept.

When you think about it, that process continues throughout life. I have learned so much from observing humble, honest and optimistic people. They just seem happier. More content. It makes me want to be like them. Makes me want to try to set that example for others. Especially for my grandkids.

Who will be watching the example you set today?

I was driving through a little town the other day when I saw a sign advertising a palm reader. Palmistry is a form of divination which claims that the lines in your hand can tell you about your character, personality traits, and even predict your future and the length of your life.

People pay palm readers money to do this. To each his own I guess. I don’t have to read your hand to predict your future. Here is what is going to happen to you: You will reap what you sow. The way you treat others is the way they will treat you. You will live until God decides otherwise, and then you will be accountable to Him for your life.

Really, what else do you need to know?

Don’t be stressed. I know that’s easy to say, harder to do. But chances are you are stressing out about something over which you have no control. When you think about it, it’s kind of pointless to do that. If you can’t control it, whatever is going to happen will happen.

Plan for the possibilities sure. Prepare for the unexpected, absolutely. But try not to stress out about it. Life is like the weather. You can’t make it rain, you can’t cause the temperature outside to rise or fall. You just have to wait and see what happens, and then adjust to it.

You’ll get through this, whatever it is. Meet the challenge. Attack it head on. Do your best. Then relax and be at peace. We know who is really in control.

Why did God create poison ivy? It makes life miserable. I got into contact with it the other day while trimming my hedges. It itches and throbs and spreads like wildfire. I couldn’t imagine what the Almighty had in mind when he invented this plague on humanity.

So I looked it up. Turns out the poison ivy plant produces berries that feed an assortment of birds, and even some mammals, such as deer. The berries are an important part of the food chain in the wild. Who knew? So I guess God knew what He was doing. Goes to show there is a purpose for everything.

I’ll try to keep that in mind while I scratch.

Movies and TV shows like to portray the reality of their program by stating that it is “based on a true story”. As you have no doubt figured out, this really is so ambiguous that it means nothing. It could just indicate they got the idea from a true story. It doesn’t bind them to any commitment to accurately portraying real events. They can enhance, embellish and reinvent the subject matter any way they want to.

Which is okay I guess. As long as you keep in mind it’s just entertainment. It’s not history. It’s important to recognize events that really are true. For example, your faith can be based on a true story. The world has tried to edit it, misrepresent it, vilify it, and deny it. But the story survives in its original form.

And that’s one rerun that never gets old.

Are you having trouble remembering things? It’s probably a normal part of the aging process. Our brains, like the rest of our bodies, perform less efficiently as we get older. It’s interesting to me to read that one of the best ways to maintain your memory is through physical exercise.

It seems a bit counter-intuitive. Wouldn’t you think exercising would make you tired, which would have an adverse effect on your mind. But doctors say a workout increases blood flow to the brain, and that works like oiling up an engine. I have noticed that the folks I know in their 80’s and 90’s who seem to have the sharpest minds are also those who are in great physical shape.

So keep moving. Stay active. Before you forget how to.