You know how old school preachers use to (and some sadly still do) stand on street corners and preach the “bad news” of hellfire and brimstone? That’s soapbox behaviour. Someone requiring some sort of pulpit in order to declare the information they want all in earshot to hear. Willingly or not.

You find this desperate need for an audience everywhere, even Facebook and Twitter are forms of this, but it takes a certain personality type to demand attention from those who normally wouldn’t be sitting at attention for various reasons. There are the insecure few who think if they talk loudly and “boldly” enough that it will distract from their inadequacies. Then there are those “unsure” sorts who still want to fit in so they too will grab a soapbox and try and emulate what they see their “popular” peers doing. Then, worst of all, there are those self-righteous sorts who truly believe they know it all. These are the kind of individuals who get the promotion and climb the ladder, not for good behaviour or time served necessarily, but simply due to declaring their worth and demanding their rise to fame and fortune.

Fair? No. But life isn’t fair. How then do those of true talent but humble personalities gain the world without losing the proverbial “love” of all things fair and just, not to mention their valued character? Conundrum for certain.

This was another topic of discussion amongst my girlfriend and myself. Neither of us feel as though we should have to lose or lessen our character and “low-radar” lifestyle in order to advance in the world. But if we don’t TELL people of our greatness, how will they know? I use the term “greatness” lightly …I more so mean our gifts and abilities.

In a workplace setting, acquaintances are often and understandably too busy to notice daily accomplishments and small feats, and without being given the opportunity to really shine, on say – a large project in ones area of expertise, how can our God-given talents be displayed?

In the end we both decided this would not be an area we were willing to brag about, but would prefer to simply shine in our own minds, and quietly in our respective corners until which time the universe decided to make a return on our investments. Because although we could climb the ladder the traditional, self-declared sort of way, it’s a slippery game of “snakes and ladders” and I much rather maintaining my honour.

Soapbox behaviour does not appeal to me in the least, and those I surround myself with have acquired their wealth whilst maintaining their wellbeing, their advancements while honouring their peers, and their personal growth during their own self-reflections.

Soapboxes, and all who preach from them, should be curbside yes …but curbside in that little blue bin awaiting the recycling truck.

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I was recently chatting with a girlfriend about the random order of life. Oxymoron in terms I know, but poetic in theory. It’s comforting to consider life as a thing of random order though, don’t you think? If all things “random” eventually end in some kind of “order”, then all mishaps that happen aren’t mishaps at all, but rather perfectly placed chaos.

Breathing through the negativity and smiling in the face of adversity is the true challenge of this “random order” me thinks. I can instantly get on the defense when I am attacked with a lie about who I am or what I represent, but in those moments I have to take a split second to recollect and refer to my truths of who I TRULY am. Random lie – meet ordered truth.

Life is partially about the lessons presented to us, and passing or failing is entirely our call. However, failing simply means that same lesson will present itself at another time. Boo to that. Just pass the sucker and order yourself up some more random, because as much as you may try and orchestrate your life …in the end the symphony will play, and the band will rock on, but it’s up to you if you want to participate as a rockstar or a stage hand.

Lets see a collective hand gesture of devil horns. There ya go!

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Technorati Tags: Adversity, Chaos, Devil Horns, Girlfriend, Hand Gesture, Mishaps, Negativity, Oxymoron, Random, Rockstar, Stage Hand, Sucker, True Challenge, Truth

I read this interesting article about the “either/or” definitive world we live in. We seem to be continuously caught in yes or no scenarios, and in this article it posed the idea that perhaps the answers don’t always have to be definitive. Perhaps the dueling thoughts to our contemplations can have two true answers?

It’s the ying and yang of humanity. Caught between good an evil. Love and lust. Generosity and greed. Smart living and unconscious choices. On and on the list goes, and often our judgments of others is a reflection of what we wish we ourselves didn’t wrestle with. Our biggest fears or obstacles displayed in others for us to better see and ideally recognize. A gift that we squander with our scorn; instead of looking inward and reflecting on why someone or something might irritate us.

Fragile but tough. Wise but foolish. Sensitive but uncaring. Thoughtful but careless. So many of our strengths might not call for pride, but for meekness, if we were willing to look at our opposing weakness to that strength. Not to keep a person down, or incapable of greatness, but to rather keep them humble and growing, knowing that with every achievement there is another waiting for us.

To me, staying accountable to my accomplishments inspires me …”Ok I’ve accomplished that, now how can I love better, apply knowledge in order to gain wisdom, learn more to earn more, etc”. Being armed with this new idea that not everything has a definitive answer, that some things can in fact be “both” when asking yourself “well is it ‘this’ or ‘that’ “ is going to be my new power tool in my pink tool belt Knowing we don’t always have to choose allows me to exhale. Sometimes perfection is found in the imperfect. Holding relationships with people who aren’t your “everything” could be ones inspiration in defining why love isn’t enough if all the basics are there. Working a job which forces you to motivate yourself allows you to judge your boss as harshly as you like, because really your boss is YOU. Et – to the – cetera

All along I’ve been looking for the right answers, whether that be with religion, relationships, friendships, careers …and turns out right answers don’t exist. All that truly exists is love, and at the end of the day I would much rather be in a relationship/friendship/career which contained both love (hugs laughter tears inspiration) AND hate (arguments challenges difficult choices) …because those are simply displays of passion. The answer I know to be the only “wrong” answer as it pertains to life and every choice we make within that is …indifference.

So even if your dueling thoughts contain both love and hate, I say you might hold in your hands two right answers …if, on the other hand, your response to a thought or idea is indifference …the WROOOONG buzzer just sounded.

Peace to your mind and heart …dueling thoughts unite!

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