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A little Act of Kindness Goes A long way!: The Little Things That Show The World Is Not Heading To Hell In A HandBasket!

/ Chase Blosser / Leave a comment

For some years now when one looks around the world, one does not see a pretty picture. From the war on Terror since the September 11th, 2001 attacks and having to fear other such terror attacks, the rise of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. And of course, this year alone we have Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ever-increasing violence and crime in major U.S. cities. We also have the ever-increasing divide in our body politic that makes it near impossible to get things done at the governmental level, which has been happening for a number of years now. Then there is the worsening economic situation with inflation running amuck. All of these things and more paint a very bleak picture for not only the present time but the future as well. It gets to the point that one may think we as a society, people, and perhaps the whole world “is going to hell in a handbasket.” We see so much negative in the world around us, but very little positive.

Well it turns out there is still good in this world, there is still plenty of positive things happening all around. Yesterday afternoon after I left my church’s Sunday service, I went to the local Kroger grocery store to get a few items that I still needed for making my dinner later. As I was leaving the store and after loading my groceries into the car I went to return the cart when a couple came up to me with as it turns out my wallet that I obviously did not put back into my pocket securely enough and had thus fallen out as I walked across the parking lot. They saw it and saw me obviously not too far away and went to inquire if it was mine and return it.

Which, was supper great for me for I had no idea I had dropped my wallet and could have possibly driven off before I even realized it. So, because of this nice couple, I had my wallet returned before I even realized it was missing with everything still in it. It is small acts of kindness like what the couple did that really give one hope and shines a light in a world full of darkness. Because of the couple helping me out before I even realized I was in a predicament, I was instantly reminded that things are not all bad in the world today. Now even before this incident I already knew that things could not be as bad as they seem that the world was not going “to hell in a handbasket” but it is always good when you have that confirmation, which is what I experienced in the parking lot of Kroger one Sunday after church.

What sort of little things or small acts of kindness have you witnessed or experienced lately that confirm for you that the world is not going “to hell in a handbasket?” All thoughts and opinions are welcomed and wanted!

The Importance of Conversation and the Telling of Stories!

/ Chase Blosser / Leave a comment

Every week on Thursdays, I have a lunch meeting at my local Denny’s dinner with my local chapter of Optimist International that I am a member of and at last week’s meeting, I was suddenly reminded of what I really enjoy about those meetings and seeing and talking to my fellow members; the companionship and the telling of stories. At every meeting there is almost always at least one to three interesting stories told of past experiences or so forth from among the group. After listening to one such story being told this last Thursday, I was suddenly reminded of not only how much I enjoy listening to such, but how important and special such moments are.

We as humans are social animals and as such we need conversation and the connectedness that such brings. But besides the connectedness that conversation brings, there is also the opportunity to share and learn stories; stories of past experiences, shared believes and just plain stories of entertainment. Stories help us to connect to others and to share with one another our lives and all that is in them and has been in them.

Without stories, our lives would be much less fulfilling because we do not have that extra element of shared experiences, empathy, or relatedness that stories bring to the table. When it comes to forming and maintaining friendships and connections stories is paramount. Besides being the life of a conversation and helping to form and build relationships, telling stories is also very important for the mind. Telling stories is a good way to help further develop the brain and to keep it healthy and productive. Telling stories as well as listening to them being told is a very simulating process as it relates to mental activity.

We as humans are indeed social animals and as such we will seek out to meet with family, friends, and associates as much as possible to “chit-chat” and so forth. But I find from my own experiences and from those that I know that while conversation is important and does a very good job developing and maintaining relationships, conversation without storytelling is not the same as it is with storytelling. When you include the two you get more bonding, more interacting, and more involvement of all persons involved when there are more then two people in a conversational group. But even if the conversation is just between two people including a story or two only helps to liven it up.

Unfortunately, while conversations still happen in today’s world with people keeping in touch there is not a lot of story telling happening in those conversations, which is unfortunate. Story telling can be and should be a very important part of any conversation for its bonding potential as well as learning experience.

The Danger of Repetitiveness: The Need To Be Renewed

/ Chase Blosser / 1 Comment

Have you been a point in your life where everything you do just seems to be going by the motions with no real purpose or energy to them? Perhaps you just recently have gone through such a process, or are doing so now.

Chase Blosser | Chasing Thoughts And View Points

Bored

I know the feeling well, and you know what I think it is actually quite natural to have periodical moments in one’s life where we end up being in a “funk” so to speak where we are not sure why we are doing what we are doing in order to “renew” ourselves so to speak.

When we go about our everyday lives and do the things we do, we do them for certain reasons. Those reasons are what drive us through each day and keep us going. However, a lot of what we do can lead us to be living repetitive lives in that we do not put much thought into some of the things we do each day anymore because we already know that they need to be done.

This developing of repetitiveness can be and is a very good thing in a lot of ways because it does make our everyday lives a  little easy in going about our tasks. The danger lies in becoming too reliant upon the repetitiveness of our duties/responsibilities and things to do that we only remember that we need to see them through and complete but not the reason/s why we need to.

When we lose our sense of purpose or forget the reasons why we are doing the things we do on a regular basis, we tend to overtime lose interest in continuing them  when doing so clashes with being able to do something else that catches our attention/interest or we get frustrated and perhaps even angry with ourselves and our lives when the repetitiveness of what we are currently doing gets in the way and prevents us from doing anything else and takes away any enjoyment out of life.

It is around this point in our lives or perhaps a little bit just before that I think we tend to get into that “funk” of not really having the energy or motivation in doing and carrying our everyday tasks and things to do. This causes us to really start to question once again what and why we are doing with our lives. The “funk” in our lives is very much I have come to believe from my own experiences with it to be a “defensive mechanism” in a way because it forces us to come to terms before any real harm is done or we miss out on too many opportunities that come our way in life.

The “funk” itself does not lead us to question what we are doing in our everyday lives and why but does leads to start that questioning which in turn leads us to once again know just why we have been doing everything that we do in our everyday lives. We are then able to either recommit to it all or “change directions” in. our lives and start over so to speak. We are able to renew our lives!

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Human hands holding big tree over blurred city sunset background

What are your thoughts and viewpoints on the matter? All opinions are welcomed and wanted. 

 

The Difference Between Always Seeking To Improve Yourself And Not Being Satisfied With What You Have

/ Chase Blosser / Leave a comment

Are you satisfied with your lot in life, with your career, income level and all that you have? Or are you currently still in the process of working to improve yourself and your place in life? The question you need to ask yourself is this. “Do I need improvement in my life situation, or am I just not satisfied with what I have?”

Chase Blosser | Chasing Thoughts And View Points

What Motivates You? steps

In today’s world and society, we have the common problem of people increasingly not being satisfied with what they have and always seeking to improve upon their lot in life. In the process of doing so, I believe that we all confuse our efforts to increase what we have with real efforts of improvement. That is our efforts to always seek to improve ourselves have become mixed in with efforts to increase wealth and the ownership of stuff.

This mixing of always seeking improvement with seeking greater wealth and not ever being satisfied with what one has in life is a huge mistake and at the very root of being part of the problems facing us in today’s world. To always seek to improve one’s place in life and to believe that one’s self always has room for improvement should never be confused and mix. They are two totally different concepts!

The first is seeking at its most basic level only to secure one’s living and living standards while they live in this world. The second is the belief that no matter one’s skill set, knowledge, or “where one is in life” that there is always “room for improvement.” It is also the belief that not only is the always room for improvement in one’s self and life but that we all should seek to improve ourselves and reach our full potential.

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Dream Job word cloud on blackboard

Chase Blosser | Chasing Thoughts And View Points

The problem is that the two concepts are repeatedly confused and taken as one. People tend to conflate the need to always improve one’s self with how well they are doing in life as far as their careers/jobs and how much money they make or how much “stuff” they own. This tends to lead to unsatisfied lives because when we combine our seeking to improve our place in life with improving ourselves, we create in ourselves a constant need for “more and more.” We also stop seeking improvement in our selves/lives and instead seek the unattainable perfection.

Chase Blosser | Chasing Thoughts And View Points

Progress, not perfection – white chalk text blackboard – fitness and healthy lifestyle concept

We then in our constant pursuit to try and satisfy ourselves and our need for more become ever busy and on the move with no time to enjoy life and the simple things. However, when the two concepts are separated and in their proper places. When our seeking to improve and secure our place in life is just that and separate from our need always to try to improve upon ourselves which is just that, our lives and society in general moves along a whole lot smoother. It can be argued I believe that the concept and problem of “greed” is largely the result of the combination of the two concepts. When they are separate, we are more able to be satisfied with what we have in life and our place in it. Oh, we will still seek improvement both in ourselves and in our careers and such, but there is no longer “that urgency” to it all.

What are your thoughts and viewpoints on the matter? All opinions are welcomed and wanted. 

 

 

The Existence of Fraud In the Admittance Into Elite Universities Eludes Another Problem In Our Society: The Problem With The Perceived Need For Higher Education In Order To Get Ahead

/ Chase Blosser / Leave a comment

The News media and blogosphere filled with talk of the fallout of a college admission cheating scandal breaking last week in which wealthy parents are accused of paying bribes to make sure their kids get into an elite college such as Georgetown, Yale, Stanford, University of Texas, University of Southern California, and UCLA. This alludes to a bigger problem other than the fact that it is becoming an increasing belief that the only way to ensure the success of one’s kids it to not just get them into a college but one of the so-called elite colleges.

Chase Blosser | Chasing Thoughts And View Points

Architecture of the student city of Cambridge, beautiful view of England, September 3, 2017

The belief that nothing less will do and if one’s kids do not get in then they are doomed to failure. While there are several things wrong with this view other than the fact that it is false, the scandal as I said alludes to something else.

That something else is the too much importance we as a society place on the going to and attaining a college degree in the first place to achieve financial and career success in life. For decades now our society from top to bottom has put a considerable emphasis on the importance of attaining a college degree to get a good paying job and have a successful career and life.

There is just one little problem with placing so much importance on achieving a college degree to meet any real success in life. The truth is that college is not for everyone nor does everyone need to get a college degree to find success in their life. Yes, a college education is important it is not the be all end all that we as a society have put it up as for so long.

Skills are also important, besides the option of “higher education” to get ahead in life there is also the option of trade schools or even on the job training for some professions. A lot of businesses will indeed higher promising candidates that don’t then have the required skills or knowledge necessary for the job required and will train them for the job.

If we as a society did not put so much importance on the “need” to have “higher education” in the first place to get ahead in life, then the chances of there being a cheating scandal where parents feel the need to cheat and bribe to make sure their kids end up in a good college in the first place. There is only a perceived need to have one’s kids attend an elite college because of the perceived certainty that college is the only way to success and a good, well-paying career in life.  Going to college is a great experience to have along with the education that doing so represents but it is not always what is best for everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

Reach For The Stars; Do The Possible Not The Impossible!: In Life Don’t Belive In Impossible: Believe In The Possible!

/ Chase Blosser / Leave a comment

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Nothing #in #life is out of reach if you push and work hard enough for it. If something seems #impossible, that is only #the case until it is not. If you go about your life with the mindset; instead of encountering a “seemingly impossible” obstacle and getting discouraged in your current goal, but instead charge on seeking to turn that “impossible into a #possible, there is potentially no limit to how far you can/may go and succeed in life. Only the limits you give yourself!

The only limit to my potential is that which I put on my self. If I don’t have the right skill set for something, I can learn it or choose not to. If I don’t know enough about something, I can decide to research it, or not. In the end, my success in life for better or worse rests with me and what I do and how I behave and act in life. So, is your life, a life of the possible or impossible; what limits have you set for yourself?

Please share your thoughts; all thoughts & viewpoints are welcomed and wanted!

Good Habits And Bad Habits; How To Tell The Difference and Why They Matter​?

/ Chase Blosser / Leave a comment

Habit – a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior, an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary

What are your #good #habits; what are your #bad habits? Do you know which are which? We all have patterns, some like brushing our teeth, taking a shower once or twice a day in mornings #and evening, or even what times of day we have our meals. All of these are examples of habits that we may perform day in and day out without much though if any put into doing them. We also tend #to develop both useful and bad habits; yet #how do we #tell which is which?

Good habits are those small repetitive things that we regularly do over time and don’t pay attention to our doing of them. #They lead to good results and longterm behaviors over time, such as brushing one’s teeth every day in #the morning and at night before going to bed, which helps protect us from getting cavities and losing our teeth. Or working out at the gym or going for a jog every day in the morning not only helps us stay in shape but allows us to start our day off on a high note with momentum for the rest of the day.

Bad habits on the other hand, as the name suggests, are just the opposite and are those small repetitive things that we do on a regular basis without much thought. They lead us down a spiraling path of self-destruction that negatively impacts our lives and sometimes even those around us. A perfect example of a nasty and destructive habit is smoking. Now I am not talking about the casual smoker of Sugars or even cigarettes that only smokes every so often and rarely at that, no what I am talking about is the one or two pack of cigarettes a day habit (i.e., addiction).

The one or two pack a day habit is the perfect example of a bad habit that starts as a small thing done regularly over time but then adds up and spirals out of control into self-destruction. We already know about the long-term health consequences to lifetime smokers, but it is a lot more than just that. Smoking a pack or two a day is a costly ($) habit. The average cost of a pack of cigarettes is $5.51 with the most expensive being $12.85. Let’s see; there are 365 days in a year, 365 x 5.51 = $2011.15 for one year worth of smoking on a pack a day at the cheapest cost on average.

According to the CDC about 25.3% of adults who live below the poverty line smoke. Think about that right there, the destructive habit of smoking could (and most likely does) very well be attributing to poverty in the United States. You take out that habit and bingo that is (if your addiction was the one pack a day) automatically $2011.15 in yearly savings. That can go a long way of improving ones financel lot in life.

Learning to save your money and spend wisely is the actual key to getting more wealth. If you look at almost any financially well-off/rich person/people throughout history and in today’s world, I guarantee that has played and continues to play a significant role in their wealth management. Wisely saving and managing one’s money is an excellent example of a good habit that leads to positive results.

So, good habits are those little things done regularly over time that leads to positive results in one’s life. Bad habits are just the opposite leading to negative consequences for the individual and in the case of smoking society as well.  Makes you think does it not; on just what small habits you and I may have that are either leading us to succeed in life or down a destructive path does it not? Darren Hardy in his book “The Compound Effect does an outstanding job of further exploring this very topic and showing how we can better manage our habits.

So what are your thoughts and viewpoints on this #matter? What are your good and bad habits? Please do share them, all are welcomed and wanted!

 

 

 

 

The Importance Of Ceremony and Memorial Day

/ Chase Blosser / 2 Comments

This is a response to #the one-word prompt “Ceremony” by “The Daily Post.”

Earlier today (well yesterday), I went to a local #memorial #ceremony honoring all military servicemen #and women who gave their lives for this country, the United Staes and freedoms we enjoy in it. As well as the families and loved ones #of those who made said sacrifice. It was a very touching and moving ceremony; though just one of many taking place across the county today. Some with a little more prompt & circumstance than others, some with less, but all with profound meaning behind them.

There are times when ceremonies can get a little long winded and still, but that does not take away the #importance of having a ceremony service for essential things/events.  That is to pass down and remember to future generations. Ceremonies are times of reflection and contemplation. So too with ceremonies on Memorial #Day, and Memorial Day its self.

Memorial Day is not just a day to remember the sacrifice of those who died defending the freedoms we enjoy in this great nation, it is a day to honor them by celebrating their lives, sharing memories of them with others; no different than at funerals. This also helps with those who suffer in silence every day the loss of those great men and women we honor today. To all who served in the military of the United States and made the supreme sacrifice; we salute you!

Politics In The United States Has Become So De visive Because We Have Become “Infected” With Too Much “Passion” For Our Beliefs​!​

/ Chase Blosser / Leave a comment

This is a response to #the one-word prompt “Infect” by “The Daily Post.”

America is very divided these days when it comes to “#politics,” but that is no surprise to anybody now (unless you #have been under a rock). The political divide #has been going on #for years, and only increasing as it continues. There have been and are many explanations for this, but I won’t mention those here, except for “a Lack of dialog” (straight talking & listening). Some are right and some wrong, and some offer part of the explanation, but it is “a lack of dialog” that makes the most sense.

A lot of the more heard and discussed possible explanations, all offer only a part of how #we as a nation have gotten #so divided as we are now, including “a lack of dialog.” But underlining any and all possible explanations is that deep down we have “#too #much” #passion for #our political #beliefs. For yes, one of the main problems causing our political divide is a “real honest lack” of dialog, there is a little more to it than that.

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Real dialog or conversation consists of two parts, talking and listening where everyone involved #in the conversation is able to contribute and the other/s being “active listeners.” The problem being is that even when there is an honest attempt at dialog, there is an “interference” preventing the active listening part of the conversation.

The listener/s are paying attention to the one doing the talking, but they are not indeed taking it in to “think/contemplate it. Which that is what talking is all about, sharing and presentation ideas and thoughts to others and everyone involved observing them as well as getting to know each other.

The interference is our passion for our beliefs getting in the way. This would mean we tend to have to much passion for our opinions if they are holding us back from having any consideration or just clear thought over anything that may seem counter to said beliefs. Having passion can be and often is an excellent thing to have, especially when it comes to a firmly held belief about something. It helps to motivate us and advocate for that belief and/or to act on it/them.

What Motivates You?

Yet, at the same time if our passions in anything, not just our beliefs start to hold us back from doing something or they cripple ourselves and society, then any good we get from them will be wade out. Passion like a lot of other things in life requires moderation; a little being good and too much not so good.

If we are going to stand a chance of bringing down the political divide amongst ourselves, then we need more dialog, getting to know each other, and understanding each other’s political views. But in order to have that we need to be aware of just how much passion we each are having for our political views and learn how to moderate that passion, just as we do for our other passions in life.

So what are your thoughts and viewpoints on this subject? Please do share them; all are welcomed and wanted. 

The Importance of Mentors

/ Chase Blosser / Leave a comment

This is a response to #the one-word prompt “Mentor” by “The Daily Post.”

Who were your #mentors in life? Who are your mentors? Have you or are you currently being a mentor to someone? Throughout our lives, we all have had and/or will have mentors to help us along the way. Those special, important few that stand out in our lives  above all others we know and will come to know in our lives as having a very large impact in the direction we take on the “road #of life.”

Mentors offer to us, individuals, to look up to and encourage us in our lives and our pursuits. They are there to give advice, to point out our gifts and faults and to help us correct our faults and improve on and grow our gifts. While mentors can and often are family members and one’s parents, usually when we talk of who our mentors in life have been/are, we are talking of those who we have met in our lives outside of family relations. Teachers, college professors, and coaches being among some of the most common mentors one will have in life.

Having a mentor/s in life can be and is very helpful in growing and advancing in life, but so too is being a mentor to someone. Not only are you helping out someone as you were helped out in your life journey but the relationship between mentor and mentoree is not a one-way street. It is very much two-way with each one giving and receiving. The mentor can learn from his/her mentoree just as much if not more as the mentoree gets from the mentor.

I know who most of my mentors have been so far in my life (a couple previous college professors, and friends from church). I also know of some who while did not really mentor me pre say did give me great advice and/or insight at one time that played a big part in my life.

I am extremely grateful to have had them in my life and to have learned from them. I have not really been a mentor my self as far as I know per say, but have given advice and have been there for others in the past (which is what a mentor does). I look forward to the day when I do become a “fulltime” mentor to someone where I can help out as I have been so far in life.

So who are your mentors in life and have you been a mentor yourself yet? Please do share your thoughts and viewpoints on the subject. All are welcomed and wanted.