Yesteday while I was having my own Father’s day celebration, I thought about my dad a lot. By the time I called to tell him that I loved him, he had already gone to bed. I was bumbed out a bit because of missing him so I thought I would write a little post about what my dad means to me.
My dad is that absolute most kindest man in the world. He would never hurt anyone intentionally and would give the shirt off his back in an instant. This made me reflect on a story about 28 years ago.
My dad was a used car salesman and owned his own car lot and body shop on several occasions. Every Thursday night, he would head off to Shreveport, LA to the auction. Most of the time, I drove a car over there for him so he could sell it at the auction.
Although this happened numerous times, I recall one incident on one of those trips to Shreveport. This time, I was riding with my dad to Shreveport for the auction when he spotted a hitch hiker with a backpack. As soon as dad saw him, he pulled the car over and offered him a ride. Dad asked him his name, told him ours, (there were four of us in the car) and proceeded to talk to him about all sorts of things. Dad told him we were heading to Shreveport so that was as far as we could take him. The hitchhiker graciously thanked him for his kind deed. Once we got back on the interstate, Dad asked him where he was going. The hitchhiker told him he was headed out west. I can’t recall why but he told dad a lot of things that had occurred to him to make that decision. I sat in the back seat and watch the scene with amazement. I could see that the hitchhiker changed his attitude as he could tell someone was really listening to him. It was quite an exchange and I watched it as if I were taking notes and a pop quiz was to follow. I do know that it was quite cold outside and the hitchhiker was very happy to have a heater going.
We drove another forty-five minutes before we had to exit the interstate. We pulled over and dad told him to keep his head up and things would start looking up for him soon. He reached into his pocket and handed the hitchhiker a twenty dollar bill and then a ten dollar bill. The guy was beaming now. He nearly lit up right there on the cold, dark highway.
We drove on and my dad did not say a single thing. I was still completely amazed by what I just witnessed. I was always told by everyone to never pick up a hitchhiker and yet my dad did it every single time he saw one. I am sure that it made that poor man’s day, probably a month to follow. Dad always gave them money even if he did not have very much of his own.
While reflecting upon that story, I learned a lot about my dad and life. I learned that if you come from a place of service or compassion, you can change people’s lives. Just one single kind act can change someone’s life. It never occurred to my dad about not stopping to help him. He listened with empathy as the man poured out his guts about the tragic events that occurred to him several years before.
This is the type of person my dad is. Thank you dad for setting such high goals for me to follow.
I love you. Happy Father’s Day!
Bill
Say What You Need To Say
Earlier today I was in my car listening to a song by John Mayer. That song was “Say What You Need to Say” and it got me thinking. First off, that song has some well written lyrics. The ones that caught my attention were, “You better know that in the end – It’s better to say too much, than never to say what you need to say again.” I think all too often we really do not speak our truths. We were brought up with the old saying, “It’s better not to say anything at all than to say something hurtful.” Well, to me, that is just not true. Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating to go out and say some hurtful things to people. What I am saying is that sometimes those tough conversations (Saying what you need to say) rather than silence is really the right thing to do. It might be hurtful at first, but I truly believe that you need to say what needs to be said. One method I use when I am faced with tough conversations is to begin with, “(name), it is because I love you that I say this to you. If I didn’t love you so much, I wouldn’t say anything.” When I do that, it seems to change the tone of the conversation and the message is heard.
So, say what you need to say but do so in a loving and compassionate way.
Peace and compassion,
Bill
Comic Strip [#3]
Sunset Tonight
T + V + A = R
Thoughts + Visualization + Action = Results – This is what I was thinking about last night when my wife and I went for a walk. It started out pretty hot (in the 90’s at 9PM here in Dallas) but quickly got cooler as a storm started rolling in. As the lightning was lighting up the sky in the distance, I started thinking about T+V+A=R. I thought back to a lot of stress I chose to experience when dealing with getting my son’s car fixed. I spent weeks letting it bother me because it just wasn’t right the way they were treating me by not covering the A/C under warranty. Once I realized that I was giving so much negative energy to the situation, I decided to change my mind and try T+V+A=R.
I decided to think only positive thoughts about the car situation (the R). Before doing it, I was only fixated on the fact that it would be about an $1100 repair. I then decided to visualize the car being picked up with a fixed A/C AND not having to pay (the V). The action step for me was two fold. The first was to actively change my thoughts through meditation. The second step was to call the dealer and “kill ’em with kindness” even more than I had done before. Well, what do you know? After well over 4 weeks of stress, the very day I practiced this I got a call from the dealer. Within two hours they told me, “We have good news for you. The A/C is working perfectly AND there is no charge…” 2 hours! Hmmm. 2 Hours! Incredible!
So, the next time you are dealt with something that is bugging you, try T+V+A to get the results you want.
Peace and gratitude,
Bill
Comic Strip [#2]
Comic Strip [#1]
Shakespeare in the Park II
Last night, a number of family members met to watch another one of Shakespeare’s plays, “Othello.” My wonderful niece from Louisiana was visiting and hadn’t ever seen a Shakespeare play before. I wish she would have been here for “All’s Well and Ends Well” last weekend because it was a much more cheerful play. Although it was an excellent performance by a cast of incredible actors, to me, Othello just wasn’t near as good as last weekend’s play. I am that I liked last weekend’s play because it was a comedy (and a really good one at that) and this was a tragedy.
We knew Vince, the actor who played Othello, and sat in a special reserved section. It was perfect because it had a cover over it while the others in the audience got a few rain drops through the performance. I can tell you that Vince is an unbelievable actor. He was just as flawless as he was in “A Raisin in the Sun” that we saw a while back. Vince, great, great job!
Seeing Shakespeare in the park for the first time last week and a second time this weekend, I am hooked. I will definitely make this a regular activity.
Peace and gratitude,
Bill
Shakespeare in the Park
Last weekend my wife and I went to Shakespeare in the Park and saw “All’s Well and Ends Well.” Before going, I was kind of dreading it because I never liked Shakespeare’s work because I struggled with understanding the language. Knowing this, my wife pulled her notes from high school and college and tutored me on the story. What a great idea. Knowing the story, I could understand what was going on and I really enjoyed it.
Tomorrow, we are going to another play in the park, Othello. One of my wife’s staff is playing Othello so it will be really neat to watch him in the play. For the first time, I am actually looking forward to a Shakespeare play.
If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend you attending any Shakespeare in the Park in a town close to you. But be sure to read up on the story if you have any struggles with understanding the language.
Peace, love, and joy,
Bill
Change Your Thoughts
Yesterday, my wife and I delivered Meals on Wheels to shutins in our community. Before I started, I was having a very hectic and frustrating morning. The thing that I noticed as soon as I started doing kind deeds for others by volunteering my time, my thoughts about the frustrations subsided. My energy increased and my outlook was much more positive.
I do love delivering the meals to these people. One of them is all dolled up with make-up and nice clothes each time. My wife talks to her each time and compliments her appearance. I wonder if she does it every day or just the days that MOW delivers. One older man answered the door and the first words were “Ya gonna get wet!” He said it in a raspy tone. I looked up to see a bright sunny day and said, “Nope, we going to miss it.” He looked back and gave me a look that said you are going to need an umbrella. A couple of deliveries later, another older man said, “It’s gonna rain. We need it though so that is good.” I walked back to the car and sure enough, there was a dark line of clouds coming. Within a few minutes there was a downpour. And guess what? Yep, I got wet!
If you are feeling a littel down and need a boost of energy, try volunteering for some community service. I promise you will feel better when you are done.
Peace and kindness,
Bill
Happy Father's Day – Dad
Yesteday while I was having my own Father’s day celebration, I thought about my dad a lot. By the time I called to tell him that I loved him, he had already gone to bed. I was bumbed out a bit because of missing him so I thought I would write a little post about what my dad means to me.
My dad is that absolute most kindest man in the world. He would never hurt anyone intentionally and would give the shirt off his back in an instant. This made me reflect on a story about 28 years ago.
My dad was a used car salesman and owned his own car lot and body shop on several occasions. Every Thursday night, he would head off to Shreveport, LA to the auction. Most of the time, I drove a car over there for him so he could sell it at the auction.
Although this happened numerous times, I recall one incident on one of those trips to Shreveport. This time, I was riding with my dad to Shreveport for the auction when he spotted a hitch hiker with a backpack. As soon as dad saw him, he pulled the car over and offered him a ride. Dad asked him his name, told him ours, (there were four of us in the car) and proceeded to talk to him about all sorts of things. Dad told him we were heading to Shreveport so that was as far as we could take him. The hitchhiker graciously thanked him for his kind deed. Once we got back on the interstate, Dad asked him where he was going. The hitchhiker told him he was headed out west. I can’t recall why but he told dad a lot of things that had occurred to him to make that decision. I sat in the back seat and watch the scene with amazement. I could see that the hitchhiker changed his attitude as he could tell someone was really listening to him. It was quite an exchange and I watched it as if I were taking notes and a pop quiz was to follow. I do know that it was quite cold outside and the hitchhiker was very happy to have a heater going.
We drove another forty-five minutes before we had to exit the interstate. We pulled over and dad told him to keep his head up and things would start looking up for him soon. He reached into his pocket and handed the hitchhiker a twenty dollar bill and then a ten dollar bill. The guy was beaming now. He nearly lit up right there on the cold, dark highway.
We drove on and my dad did not say a single thing. I was still completely amazed by what I just witnessed. I was always told by everyone to never pick up a hitchhiker and yet my dad did it every single time he saw one. I am sure that it made that poor man’s day, probably a month to follow. Dad always gave them money even if he did not have very much of his own.
While reflecting upon that story, I learned a lot about my dad and life. I learned that if you come from a place of service or compassion, you can change people’s lives. Just one single kind act can change someone’s life. It never occurred to my dad about not stopping to help him. He listened with empathy as the man poured out his guts about the tragic events that occurred to him several years before.
This is the type of person my dad is. Thank you dad for setting such high goals for me to follow.
I love you. Happy Father’s Day!
Bill