Moments — well it's Valentine's Day again...

Just to be clear, this is not about me piling onto the anti-Valentine's Day sentiment that is out there — I believe that love is probably the greatest human pursuit we have going and I support it in all its forms (even if sometimes it's represented by overpriced meals and twenty-five dollar roses).

Pixabay

This is about roses, and not the twenty-five dollar kind — it's here that I ask you to indulge me for a moment.

My experience over the years has me looking at roses by colour because, believe it or not, colour does matter when it comes to roses. I have simplified it in my little boy brain and it goes something like this — a red rose means love, a white rose means worthy of love, and a yellow rose means friendship (or out of love)... so if you are a purest (and put stock in this) you never really want to get a yellow rose unless everyone involved has an understanding of said friendship status.

I have always been partial to the white rose because it's a reminder that we are all worthy of love, and that this great pursuit comes in so many shapes and sizes. I will also say, I've always liked the way the great Louis Armstrong symbolically said it — 

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you

I think this is pretty much all I have to say on the topic of roses... except maybe to also say, "If you are gonna give roses, just give one." 

Symbolically, it's the only way to go!

iamgpe

Moments — the pithy quotes of Benjamin Franklin

I would be very surprised if there's anyone in North America over the age of twenty who hasn't heard the name Benjamin Franklin (probably applies to Europe to some degree as well). What I know of him is he was a businessman, a scientist, and one of the founding fathers of the United States of America — his legacy has influenced the past two hundred and seventy-five years.

It also seems he was rather prolific when it came to pithy quotes and I thought I'd share some of them. I will say I took these off of the Internet so their accuracy is suspect right from the start — they are still great quotes non the less.

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." 

"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."

"Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy."

"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."

"Well done is better than well said."

"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man."

"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning."

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest."

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17th, 1706, and if he were alive today he would be exactly two hundred and fifty-four years older than me. I think I will pick up a biography on Benjamin Franklin because there's still lots of time to influence the world.

iamgpe

One of my most important guiding principles...

I suppose there are some people who travel the roads of life without any guiding principles but I don't know any of them — these are the "rules and character" that regulate our thoughts and actions in everything that we do. I know many of us may not have them well defined or articulated but we know there is something that guides us. These principles are at the core of who we are, and although they evolve, rarely change in my opinion (except maybe because of dramatic events).

This is what I think about just after Christmas and before the New Year presents itself — it's always an important seven days for me. I don't necessarily reflect on all of my guiding principles (although I might), but I definitely focus in on one. This line of thinking actually has me wondering if I've ever articulated my guiding principles (even to myself) — an oversight I will correct here and now:

• "Be Curious"
• "Be loyal and generous to my friends and family"
• "Work hard"
• "If you are knocked down seven times, you get up eight"
• And the fifth, the one that started these 400 words, is "Reflect and Plan".

This time of the year (after all the Christmas presents are opened) is a natural time to reflect on the past year, review how it measured up to what you wanted to accomplish, and contemplate the "good and bad" of it all — it is figuratively the time to prepare for the next step of your journey.

This is the time to plan what you will do next, what you want to accomplish over the next 365 days, and what the next step of your journey will be.

I'm a big advocate of getting it down on paper because it just seems more tangible and carries the weight of something that is important to get done; in a small way this blog is the start of that process for me. By many measures this has been a successful year, and as I reflect on my guiding principles, they have served me well — and as I say farewell to 2017, I will say I am very excited about the year to come. I plan to make it a great one.

As you prepare to ring in 2018, I wish you a very Happy New Year. 

With great appreciation,

iamgpe

PS: Don't forget to write something down.