Sara B. Gauldin's Blog, page 17
July 11, 2013
Positive Energy
I have been inundated with a wealth of information and cosmic hints about the power of positive energy and using your own positive vantage point to make a more pleasant path for yourself on this brief mortal journey. I tend to think that optimists do have a more positive life experience than pessimists; but is it because they are not allowing themselves to feel defeated and give up in the face of adversity or is there something more to the situation. Can it be possible that having a positive attitude and believing that positive experiences are always on the horizon actually attracts those situations to the individual? I would like to say this is true, but in reality both scenarios are equally likely and unlikely.
Whatever the cause may be, I am making a conscious decision to be a source of positive thoughts and energy. I am taking time to be appreciative for the blessings and positives in my life. Who could not be grateful for a loving husband, three intelligent, healthy children, a job that allows me to help others become successful, a steady income, a home, and the opportunity to explore my abilities as an author? I intend to give thanks for these elements of my life and many others on a daily basis.
To take this idea a bit further, I hope to surround myself with others who like me are positive and goal oriented people. Collaborating with others in my field can be the key to opening doors and learning new things.
Of course opportunities present themselves to us every day. Often we turn our back on the very opportunities we were hoping for because we do not allow ourselves to see the full potential of the situation. I am resolving not to let myself become left behind. To put it bluntly, when opportunity knocks I need to open the door and not sit idly by wasting perfectly good chances.
July 4, 2013
Positve Energy
I have been inundated with a wealth of information and cosmic hints about the power of positive energy and using your own positive vantage point to make a more pleasant path for yourself on this brief mortal journey. I tend to think that optimists do have a more positive life experience than pessimists; but is it because they are not allowing themselves to feel defeated and give up in the face of adversity or is there something more to the situation. Can it be possible that having a positive attitude and believing that positive experiences are always on the horizon actually attracts those situations to the individual? I would like to say this is true, but in reality both scenarios are equally likely and unlikely.
Whatever the cause may be, I am making a conscious decision to be a source of positive thoughts and energy. I am taking time to be appreciative for the blessings and positives in my life. Who could not be grateful for a loving husband, three intelligent, healthy children, a job that allows me to help others become successful, a steady income, a home, and the opportunity to explore my abilities as an author? I intend to give thanks for these elements of my life and many others on a daily basis.
To take this idea a bit further, I hope to surround myself with others who like me are positive and goal oriented people. Collaborating with others in my field can be the key to opening doors and learning new things.
Of course opportunities present themselves to us every day. Often we turn our back on the very opportunities we were hoping for because we do not allow ourselves to see the full potential of the situation. I am resolving not to let myself become left behind. To put it bluntly, when opportunity knocks I need to open the door and not sit idly by wasting perfectly good chances.
Whatever the cause may be, I am making a conscious decision to be a source of positive thoughts and energy. I am taking time to be appreciative for the blessings and positives in my life. Who could not be grateful for a loving husband, three intelligent, healthy children, a job that allows me to help others become successful, a steady income, a home, and the opportunity to explore my abilities as an author? I intend to give thanks for these elements of my life and many others on a daily basis.
To take this idea a bit further, I hope to surround myself with others who like me are positive and goal oriented people. Collaborating with others in my field can be the key to opening doors and learning new things.
Of course opportunities present themselves to us every day. Often we turn our back on the very opportunities we were hoping for because we do not allow ourselves to see the full potential of the situation. I am resolving not to let myself become left behind. To put it bluntly, when opportunity knocks I need to open the door and not sit idly by wasting perfectly good chances.
July 2, 2013
Review of The Help
The Help by Kathryn StockettMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was the most enjoyable book I have read in quite a while. The characters were extremely well written and the story line was poignant and believable. The book allows you to see “everyday life” in a warm and human fashion from a character who is struggling in her own right with the very real issues of racism and segregation was a wonderful way to revisit a time when America was anything but a melting pot. I would recommend this book to anyone!
Sara B. Gauldin
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00CLHY1GY
View all my reviews
Review of the Finding
The Finding by Nicky CharlesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is another asset to the series! Once again the focus on main character shifts to allow the story line to expand and grow organically. The story takes you back into the world of the lycans in a way that makes the characters human and approachable, yet with social constructs and mores that accentuate the reader’s understanding of the cultural differences associated with pack life. I sincerely hope the series is continued and I look forward to reading the prequels!
Sara B. Gauldin
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00CLHY1GY
View all my reviews
June 5, 2013
Preface - The Corporeal Pull
The darkness slowly crept forward, consuming all that it touched. Each living entity that came in contact with the scourge was forever altered by the pure evil of its unyielding approach. Some entities capitulated and allowed themselves to become a part to the spread. They were converted followers of this plague of darkness. Others were swallowed up by the darkness in a manner that ended their mortal placement. The lucky ones went quickly and could make it back to the Tweens before becoming one of the lost. The unlucky ones lingered too long and were forever estranged from their part in eternity by the spread of the scourge.
No one could find the originator of the Scourge, but the league of guides had learned that it was being fed by the woes of the world. Each act of crime or of violence added to its spread; for centuries, it spread slowly. Communities and human entities were stretched apart. Less interaction among mankind made for less violence. However, overtime the population of earth slowly grew, and with it grew an impetus for violence. Now, it the wake of the modern era, humans, led by course instincts compete over scarce resources and the Scourge capitalizes on their weaknesses. It flourishes after greed. It wears lust like its own sweet perfume. Surely, it is a temptress in its own regards. It longs for revenge. It draws in the week in spirit, the addicted, the lonely, and the abused. Once it has consumed them, it is ever hungry for more.
Liam was created to confront the Scourge. He does not see the destruction that it has left in its wake. He does not fear the evil that he refuses to see. He is noble and pure and perfect to Terra, his guide and his love. And he is doomed. He is like a sacrificial lamb to help bring the Scourge under control; and Terra’s place is to bear witness to his pain and perhaps to his destruction.
Terra fears that this earthly placement will be both the beginning and the end of existence for her love. Yet she is poised to send him forward to his corporeal life. She will be his immortal guide, but what can she do to save him from an evil that he is meant to face? How can Terra save an entity whose destruction will help to restore a more workable balance on earth? How can she not save the only entity that has made her existence take on a clarity that she needed for centuries?
No one could find the originator of the Scourge, but the league of guides had learned that it was being fed by the woes of the world. Each act of crime or of violence added to its spread; for centuries, it spread slowly. Communities and human entities were stretched apart. Less interaction among mankind made for less violence. However, overtime the population of earth slowly grew, and with it grew an impetus for violence. Now, it the wake of the modern era, humans, led by course instincts compete over scarce resources and the Scourge capitalizes on their weaknesses. It flourishes after greed. It wears lust like its own sweet perfume. Surely, it is a temptress in its own regards. It longs for revenge. It draws in the week in spirit, the addicted, the lonely, and the abused. Once it has consumed them, it is ever hungry for more.
Liam was created to confront the Scourge. He does not see the destruction that it has left in its wake. He does not fear the evil that he refuses to see. He is noble and pure and perfect to Terra, his guide and his love. And he is doomed. He is like a sacrificial lamb to help bring the Scourge under control; and Terra’s place is to bear witness to his pain and perhaps to his destruction.
Terra fears that this earthly placement will be both the beginning and the end of existence for her love. Yet she is poised to send him forward to his corporeal life. She will be his immortal guide, but what can she do to save him from an evil that he is meant to face? How can Terra save an entity whose destruction will help to restore a more workable balance on earth? How can she not save the only entity that has made her existence take on a clarity that she needed for centuries?
June 1, 2013
Repeating
I have often heard Albert Einstein quoted as defining insanity as “repeating the same action over and over and expecting different results.” I can understand that premise, but I am not sure that I fully agree with the idea.
In my experience, we all repeat ourselves. I postulate that it is in human nature to repeat ourselves. The qualifier in this behavior is the specific nature of the action that is being repeated. Personally, I repeat achievement. I have a desire to achieve things during my life time. The specific achievement changes over time, but the act of determining a desired goal and pursuing it relentlessly is the pattern that I repeat. I repeated this course of action to graduate from high school, college, and college again, to learn the trade of computer networking, to learn the skills needed to be an educator, to parent my three sons, and most recently to hone the trade of becoming a published author. I repeat this goal setting and pursuit pattern over and over. The pathway is not always smooth and success is not guaranteed, but I continue to push forward.
I see others around me who are also repeating a pattern in their own means and manner. Some of them repeat a very positive pattern. They are not always successful, but they tend to have an overall positive lifestyle based upon the patterns they repeat. For some people, the pattern involves education. For my husband, it involves becoming more effective in his job. For others, the pattern that they follow is what brings them the troubles they see in their lives. If a person repeats the same mistakes, be they financial follies, missing opportunities, bad relationships, negative home lives and many other troubled courses, they will always meet the same disappointment and sorrow that come from the negative decision that they repeat.
This brings me to my question; what sets a person’s pattern of behavior? If we as human beings have this tendency to repeat ourselves, what determines what pattern we adopt? What sets some people on a repeating course of positive activity, while others doom themselves to repeat their mistakes?
Of course, with free will in human behavior there will be an exception to the rule. There are those individuals who have the epiphany that their pattern of repeating is the very thing causing the problem or dilemma they are experiencing. These rare individuals are somehow able to change course once they recognize the pattern they have set for themselves. This can be experienced on a small scale; such as the junk food junky which adopts healthy eating habits, or the couch potato that sticks to an exercise routine. Most of us find changing these patterns very difficult.
I postulate that if we could all find the will power to look at our lives objectively and the determination to break cycles of negativity and replace those repeated mistakes with repeated positives that we would all be more content and more productive during our short term on this planet. I just wish I knew how to help others make these changes and how to help my sons set their lives in motion with positive repetitions.
In my experience, we all repeat ourselves. I postulate that it is in human nature to repeat ourselves. The qualifier in this behavior is the specific nature of the action that is being repeated. Personally, I repeat achievement. I have a desire to achieve things during my life time. The specific achievement changes over time, but the act of determining a desired goal and pursuing it relentlessly is the pattern that I repeat. I repeated this course of action to graduate from high school, college, and college again, to learn the trade of computer networking, to learn the skills needed to be an educator, to parent my three sons, and most recently to hone the trade of becoming a published author. I repeat this goal setting and pursuit pattern over and over. The pathway is not always smooth and success is not guaranteed, but I continue to push forward.
I see others around me who are also repeating a pattern in their own means and manner. Some of them repeat a very positive pattern. They are not always successful, but they tend to have an overall positive lifestyle based upon the patterns they repeat. For some people, the pattern involves education. For my husband, it involves becoming more effective in his job. For others, the pattern that they follow is what brings them the troubles they see in their lives. If a person repeats the same mistakes, be they financial follies, missing opportunities, bad relationships, negative home lives and many other troubled courses, they will always meet the same disappointment and sorrow that come from the negative decision that they repeat.
This brings me to my question; what sets a person’s pattern of behavior? If we as human beings have this tendency to repeat ourselves, what determines what pattern we adopt? What sets some people on a repeating course of positive activity, while others doom themselves to repeat their mistakes?
Of course, with free will in human behavior there will be an exception to the rule. There are those individuals who have the epiphany that their pattern of repeating is the very thing causing the problem or dilemma they are experiencing. These rare individuals are somehow able to change course once they recognize the pattern they have set for themselves. This can be experienced on a small scale; such as the junk food junky which adopts healthy eating habits, or the couch potato that sticks to an exercise routine. Most of us find changing these patterns very difficult.
I postulate that if we could all find the will power to look at our lives objectively and the determination to break cycles of negativity and replace those repeated mistakes with repeated positives that we would all be more content and more productive during our short term on this planet. I just wish I knew how to help others make these changes and how to help my sons set their lives in motion with positive repetitions.
May 16, 2013
Mortality
I have always been drawn to the looming truth of mortality. As I begin the transition from writing as a hobby to writing as a professional I have been doing some looking back. The theme seems to permeate my writing. I suppose part of reason is my early brush with death. I was fourteen the first time I looked death in the face and knew it for what it was. A simple mistake and a horrible car crash; there I sat bleeding to death in a ditch. I watched the others around me in a panic. But a sense of calm came over me. I knew in that moment that our mortal bodies are not meant to last. We are infinitely fragile beings who are destined to die.
I hear people mention people who are dying. They talk about the stress of knowing you are going to die. I cannot help but find it ironic that in truth we are all dying. We are but a flash in the pan in the grand scheme of time and space. The difference is that the people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness have been forced to recognize the fact. It bothers the onlooker who does not want to know that they too are dying. Yet even as they express the sentiment of pity their own mortality is certain.
That leads me to the next part of our discussion. Clearly cultures from all over our world have different beliefs about the afterlife. They run the gambit in imagery and reasoning. I have learned at least a little about most of them. There are common threads. Most cultures believe in at least one higher power. They believe that things happen in the universe and in the world with reason and intent. They believe that in some form or fashion the conscious part of humanity, the part that makes us who we are will go on. They also believe that there are a set of rules, moral guide lines to go by to ensure that this process will go smoothly. As far as I can tell the picture of what this means varies from individual to individual. It also seems to vary at different points in an individual’s life. I find that to be true for myself. My own sense of spirituality has changed over time and with life experiences. Knowledge and perspective changes the way we see things as children. Sometimes I find that I envy those that have the “faith of a child”. But other times I am glad to have tempered my understandings with doubts, questions, prayer and searching.
The element that keeps coming back to me more recently is the role of the dead in the world of the living. Most of us believe that our loved ones go on in an afterlife. It is difficult to quantitatively monitor their progress in the transcendent state. I think of this. I tend to look at what I can measure. A person’s influence lives on. I envision this using the metaphor of a child standing by a lake;
The child can see the shore and all that the sun bathes in light around him. He is happy to be in the sun, but the curiosity that is to him innate beckons him towards the water, that which is deep dark and unknown. Fear prevents the child form leaping into the depths without his parents as a source of safety. He spies a stone on the shore. The stone pre-exists the child’s awareness of it. It has lingered here undisturbed for an immeasurable length of time. Yet it existed. If he cannot probe this unknown depth but he can send this representative to the beyond. No one will miss a stone. The child picks up the stone and examines it. It fits into his hand in a comfortable manner. He draws back his hand and launches the stone into the air. As the stone arcs upwards towards the blue sky, it is free and moves toward the light. It would continue forever but the inevitable force of gravity acts upon it. The stone’s upward progress slows. It reaches the crux of the arch. It has met its fruition. The maximum it can achieve. The moment that it is in its prime is immeasurably minute. The stone now gives way to the downward pull. It approaches the water’s surface, gaining speed as it travels. The boy watches closely. He does not want to miss seeing what will become of his stone. The stone breaks the surface of the water. For an instant the boys believes he can see the stone sinking, but before he can think through the process fully the stone is out of his sight and a new phenomenon has captured his attention. A ripple extends form the point of the stones impact, although the stone itself has sunk from sight. The boy will never be able to recover the stone or behold it again. It is lost to him. The ripple the stone has left is all that remains to the boy. It is the only reminder that the stone truly existed that the boy can perceive. The ripple is a thing of beauty. Its silvery circles extend far out into the water. It is far more amazing to perceive than the stone itself had ever been. They silently move outward from the apex that once was the stone and continue their influence outward toward the boy and the deeper waters of the unknown. They alone are perceivable to the light and safety of the shore.
I believe that all of us are like the stone. We did not suddenly exist on this Earth. We existed in some form, be is spiritual, biological through DNA or in the form of the energy we use to exude life. We began our journey as a young person arching upward. We could only see the sun and not the inevitability of our fall. Truly we were going up; why would we think of stopping. We reach our inevitable crux and are pulled downward by the inevitability of our mortality. We reach our death and cross over into the unknown. We are unreachable by those we left behind, yet our ripple of influence remains as proof to the living that yes, we did exist and our influence in this world, our ripple lives on. It is up to us in our lives to ensure that our ripple is positive and not negative. We influence in some way all that is around us by our interactions. It is my hope that we all can pause and evaluate the type of ripple we are creating as we live.
I hear people mention people who are dying. They talk about the stress of knowing you are going to die. I cannot help but find it ironic that in truth we are all dying. We are but a flash in the pan in the grand scheme of time and space. The difference is that the people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness have been forced to recognize the fact. It bothers the onlooker who does not want to know that they too are dying. Yet even as they express the sentiment of pity their own mortality is certain.
That leads me to the next part of our discussion. Clearly cultures from all over our world have different beliefs about the afterlife. They run the gambit in imagery and reasoning. I have learned at least a little about most of them. There are common threads. Most cultures believe in at least one higher power. They believe that things happen in the universe and in the world with reason and intent. They believe that in some form or fashion the conscious part of humanity, the part that makes us who we are will go on. They also believe that there are a set of rules, moral guide lines to go by to ensure that this process will go smoothly. As far as I can tell the picture of what this means varies from individual to individual. It also seems to vary at different points in an individual’s life. I find that to be true for myself. My own sense of spirituality has changed over time and with life experiences. Knowledge and perspective changes the way we see things as children. Sometimes I find that I envy those that have the “faith of a child”. But other times I am glad to have tempered my understandings with doubts, questions, prayer and searching.
The element that keeps coming back to me more recently is the role of the dead in the world of the living. Most of us believe that our loved ones go on in an afterlife. It is difficult to quantitatively monitor their progress in the transcendent state. I think of this. I tend to look at what I can measure. A person’s influence lives on. I envision this using the metaphor of a child standing by a lake;
The child can see the shore and all that the sun bathes in light around him. He is happy to be in the sun, but the curiosity that is to him innate beckons him towards the water, that which is deep dark and unknown. Fear prevents the child form leaping into the depths without his parents as a source of safety. He spies a stone on the shore. The stone pre-exists the child’s awareness of it. It has lingered here undisturbed for an immeasurable length of time. Yet it existed. If he cannot probe this unknown depth but he can send this representative to the beyond. No one will miss a stone. The child picks up the stone and examines it. It fits into his hand in a comfortable manner. He draws back his hand and launches the stone into the air. As the stone arcs upwards towards the blue sky, it is free and moves toward the light. It would continue forever but the inevitable force of gravity acts upon it. The stone’s upward progress slows. It reaches the crux of the arch. It has met its fruition. The maximum it can achieve. The moment that it is in its prime is immeasurably minute. The stone now gives way to the downward pull. It approaches the water’s surface, gaining speed as it travels. The boy watches closely. He does not want to miss seeing what will become of his stone. The stone breaks the surface of the water. For an instant the boys believes he can see the stone sinking, but before he can think through the process fully the stone is out of his sight and a new phenomenon has captured his attention. A ripple extends form the point of the stones impact, although the stone itself has sunk from sight. The boy will never be able to recover the stone or behold it again. It is lost to him. The ripple the stone has left is all that remains to the boy. It is the only reminder that the stone truly existed that the boy can perceive. The ripple is a thing of beauty. Its silvery circles extend far out into the water. It is far more amazing to perceive than the stone itself had ever been. They silently move outward from the apex that once was the stone and continue their influence outward toward the boy and the deeper waters of the unknown. They alone are perceivable to the light and safety of the shore.
I believe that all of us are like the stone. We did not suddenly exist on this Earth. We existed in some form, be is spiritual, biological through DNA or in the form of the energy we use to exude life. We began our journey as a young person arching upward. We could only see the sun and not the inevitability of our fall. Truly we were going up; why would we think of stopping. We reach our inevitable crux and are pulled downward by the inevitability of our mortality. We reach our death and cross over into the unknown. We are unreachable by those we left behind, yet our ripple of influence remains as proof to the living that yes, we did exist and our influence in this world, our ripple lives on. It is up to us in our lives to ensure that our ripple is positive and not negative. We influence in some way all that is around us by our interactions. It is my hope that we all can pause and evaluate the type of ripple we are creating as we live.
Ode to Women
The phrase “wearing too many hats” keeps bouncing around in my head like a ping pong ball. It is a concept I know all too well. Currently I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a granddaughter, a daughter in law, a teacher, a citizen of a nation and a community, a proprietor of free enterprise and most recently an author. I have been other things intermittently through my life, a student, an IT professional, a friend, a colleague, and to many others to name. This is the nature of being human. The challenge is to find a balance between who we are outwardly and who we are as a person.
This being the case, the roll of woman in our society has changed greatly over the years. A woman has always been expected to be the more nurturing of the sexes. We as women were to be the charming wives that soothed and supported our husbands in their worldly pursuits, the patient and firm mothers who nurtured and protected the next generation, and we were to do all of it while maintaining basic standards of edict and personal appearance. I envision a mother 200 years ago an mother chasing a toddler wearing a corset and feel a sense of relief that fashion has allowed that article to only be a remote option.
The potential of women began to eek its way to the forefront and time continued forward. Suddenly it was recognized that women could have intelligence of their own. They could have contributions that were not merely supportive or reproductive. They could have suffrage, and own property. They could start businesses and run them well. They could obtain a higher education and actually use it in a professional capacity in the world. They could serve in the military and die for the country that they sought equal rights and stance in. Every little step that women have taken to gain these advantages has been slow, tedious and hard fought. And yes, women fought for these changes with that same sense of social decorum, while wearing uncomfortable fashions and maintaining the rolls of wife and mother along the way.
So I return to my many rolls. Nobody is perfect as anything. We can only do the best we can in the time, capacity and with the resources granted to us. We have the rights to pursue a career, a fair wage, a family, a marriage, a passion, a hobby and yes many of us do these things well. I realize that anything is possible in this world depending on what you are willing to sacrifice to get there. I pray that we as women are not sacrificing the inner most sense of self completely in the name of our outward tasks. I have to continually check myself for a balance. So I say hats off to the multitasking, multi-dimensional women of the world. May they all have the strength to continue forward and the courage to make their own way in the world even if it is not the norm referenced model.
This being the case, the roll of woman in our society has changed greatly over the years. A woman has always been expected to be the more nurturing of the sexes. We as women were to be the charming wives that soothed and supported our husbands in their worldly pursuits, the patient and firm mothers who nurtured and protected the next generation, and we were to do all of it while maintaining basic standards of edict and personal appearance. I envision a mother 200 years ago an mother chasing a toddler wearing a corset and feel a sense of relief that fashion has allowed that article to only be a remote option.
The potential of women began to eek its way to the forefront and time continued forward. Suddenly it was recognized that women could have intelligence of their own. They could have contributions that were not merely supportive or reproductive. They could have suffrage, and own property. They could start businesses and run them well. They could obtain a higher education and actually use it in a professional capacity in the world. They could serve in the military and die for the country that they sought equal rights and stance in. Every little step that women have taken to gain these advantages has been slow, tedious and hard fought. And yes, women fought for these changes with that same sense of social decorum, while wearing uncomfortable fashions and maintaining the rolls of wife and mother along the way.
So I return to my many rolls. Nobody is perfect as anything. We can only do the best we can in the time, capacity and with the resources granted to us. We have the rights to pursue a career, a fair wage, a family, a marriage, a passion, a hobby and yes many of us do these things well. I realize that anything is possible in this world depending on what you are willing to sacrifice to get there. I pray that we as women are not sacrificing the inner most sense of self completely in the name of our outward tasks. I have to continually check myself for a balance. So I say hats off to the multitasking, multi-dimensional women of the world. May they all have the strength to continue forward and the courage to make their own way in the world even if it is not the norm referenced model.
A Job Listing
All industry must change with the times. The business in question is under a large amount of public pressure. There is good reason for the intensity of the demand, but the scope of what the industry is capable of producing and the resources at its disposal are grossly misunderstood.
For the sake of protecting the anonymity of this business please envision an office type environment. The office is a professional working environment. The employees are educated individuals. They are required to hold at least a Bachelor’s degree that is targeted to the specifications of each individual’s position and must also undergo extensive testing to obtain certification to be qualified for the position. Unqualified individuals are not hired. There is no working your way up the ladder. The position is stable but there is no room for advancement, ever. The schedule is ridged but allows for family time and has fair vacation leave during specific portions of the year. Aside from the preselected times employees are allowed three personal day per year. Benefits are minimal. Insurance is offered, but family coverage costs more than half of an employee’s take home pay. There is an attractive pension plan that allows for a decent retirement for employees working a full thirty plus years but the budget is tight and there is talk in upper management that this benefit will be reduced or cut for new employees. Of course pay must be a consideration for any job; this business starts at an attractive 30,000 per year. This is a bit lower than the rough average of 50,000 for other graduates with comparable degrees. Of course the selling point here is time with family, stable hours and job security. Are you ready to apply?
Employees must be dedicated individuals, the job involves hours of personal time outside of the typical work day. Work needs to be taken home and completed on a tight schedule. The volume of work tends to increase in direct correlation to time and trendy new methodology that may or not be effective, but will result in an extensive amount of paperwork, new materials being created or purchased and a large amount or research and planning. Typically the work related to a new method is not retired, but will be continued in addition to new methods. Basic materials such as a work space, a desk, a computer and access to a telephone are provided by the company. The employee must provide, procure or create other materials necessary for daily productivity and effectiveness. Other materials that the employees will need to do their jobs include paper, writing utensils, office equipment including staplers, tape, paper clips, wall decor, other decorating motif, literature and any other materials that may become necessary. Employees are expected to provide these materials should they become needed. That application is still available, are you ready to fill it out?
Employees are required to stay current. Some training and continuing education is available. Some of the training must be in the form of qualifying college courses that must be approved by the employer. The employee will incur the cost of these classes. Employees are encouraged, verbally to seek higher level degrees in their field of expertise. In exchange the yearly salary will be raised 1,800 per year. In 23 short years the cost of a 40,000 master’s degree will be recouped by the raised salary of the employee. It is very tempting.
Some job benefits are more internal. Employees will go to work each day with the understanding and expectation that they will make a positive difference in the world. They have the advantage of working with the public in a beneficial way that is not greedy or unentitled. The idea that each person has the potential to help another is a substantial way can be highly gratifying. As a career advances a true sense of generativity can be fulfilled. If you want to make a difference in the world, this job is for you!
Productivity is key as with any industry. There is no cookie cutter solution or interchangeable parts. Every situation is unique and requires individual technique, consideration and preparation. Increasingly, situations are complicated by various limitations that cannot be foreseen. Productivity cannot be sacrificed; limitations are no excuse for any form of short coming. The level of effectiveness and rate of exchange should be no different despite and setbacks or limitations. Act now! You can be part of this amazing career!
Working with the public is sometimes tumultuous. The subject matter involved In this industry is sensitive for many people. The public takes less personal responsibility for the well being or success of this industry and those who benefit from it. The public is quick to critique any perceived shortcoming, even if they did not originate for the industry. Rather that coming to the aid of the industry, big bail outs have left this business out of the loop. They are expected to do more with less. And amazingly they do meet success far more often than failure.
A new element has now been added to the job requirements; security. For whatever reason this altruistic industry has been exploited for its vulnerability; the very people it helps. There are some who would seek to harm those who are employed to help, and those that they serve.
Are you ready to take on this exciting new position? Are you excited to find out the jobs title? You too can join the exciting industry of education, where educated, proficient, socialized and self-sufficient individuals who are destined for greater things and brighter futures are expected to roll off the line, ready for the world at large!
When you see teachers, please see them for what they really are, dedicated, and underpaid civil servants who teach because teaching is a calling. They do receive a paycheck and appreciate job security, but when you think of what they provide, education, security for children who have no stability, moral and behavioral guidelines for life, inspiration, motivation and life perspective in exchange for the knowledge that they made a difference.
For the sake of protecting the anonymity of this business please envision an office type environment. The office is a professional working environment. The employees are educated individuals. They are required to hold at least a Bachelor’s degree that is targeted to the specifications of each individual’s position and must also undergo extensive testing to obtain certification to be qualified for the position. Unqualified individuals are not hired. There is no working your way up the ladder. The position is stable but there is no room for advancement, ever. The schedule is ridged but allows for family time and has fair vacation leave during specific portions of the year. Aside from the preselected times employees are allowed three personal day per year. Benefits are minimal. Insurance is offered, but family coverage costs more than half of an employee’s take home pay. There is an attractive pension plan that allows for a decent retirement for employees working a full thirty plus years but the budget is tight and there is talk in upper management that this benefit will be reduced or cut for new employees. Of course pay must be a consideration for any job; this business starts at an attractive 30,000 per year. This is a bit lower than the rough average of 50,000 for other graduates with comparable degrees. Of course the selling point here is time with family, stable hours and job security. Are you ready to apply?
Employees must be dedicated individuals, the job involves hours of personal time outside of the typical work day. Work needs to be taken home and completed on a tight schedule. The volume of work tends to increase in direct correlation to time and trendy new methodology that may or not be effective, but will result in an extensive amount of paperwork, new materials being created or purchased and a large amount or research and planning. Typically the work related to a new method is not retired, but will be continued in addition to new methods. Basic materials such as a work space, a desk, a computer and access to a telephone are provided by the company. The employee must provide, procure or create other materials necessary for daily productivity and effectiveness. Other materials that the employees will need to do their jobs include paper, writing utensils, office equipment including staplers, tape, paper clips, wall decor, other decorating motif, literature and any other materials that may become necessary. Employees are expected to provide these materials should they become needed. That application is still available, are you ready to fill it out?
Employees are required to stay current. Some training and continuing education is available. Some of the training must be in the form of qualifying college courses that must be approved by the employer. The employee will incur the cost of these classes. Employees are encouraged, verbally to seek higher level degrees in their field of expertise. In exchange the yearly salary will be raised 1,800 per year. In 23 short years the cost of a 40,000 master’s degree will be recouped by the raised salary of the employee. It is very tempting.
Some job benefits are more internal. Employees will go to work each day with the understanding and expectation that they will make a positive difference in the world. They have the advantage of working with the public in a beneficial way that is not greedy or unentitled. The idea that each person has the potential to help another is a substantial way can be highly gratifying. As a career advances a true sense of generativity can be fulfilled. If you want to make a difference in the world, this job is for you!
Productivity is key as with any industry. There is no cookie cutter solution or interchangeable parts. Every situation is unique and requires individual technique, consideration and preparation. Increasingly, situations are complicated by various limitations that cannot be foreseen. Productivity cannot be sacrificed; limitations are no excuse for any form of short coming. The level of effectiveness and rate of exchange should be no different despite and setbacks or limitations. Act now! You can be part of this amazing career!
Working with the public is sometimes tumultuous. The subject matter involved In this industry is sensitive for many people. The public takes less personal responsibility for the well being or success of this industry and those who benefit from it. The public is quick to critique any perceived shortcoming, even if they did not originate for the industry. Rather that coming to the aid of the industry, big bail outs have left this business out of the loop. They are expected to do more with less. And amazingly they do meet success far more often than failure.
A new element has now been added to the job requirements; security. For whatever reason this altruistic industry has been exploited for its vulnerability; the very people it helps. There are some who would seek to harm those who are employed to help, and those that they serve.
Are you ready to take on this exciting new position? Are you excited to find out the jobs title? You too can join the exciting industry of education, where educated, proficient, socialized and self-sufficient individuals who are destined for greater things and brighter futures are expected to roll off the line, ready for the world at large!
When you see teachers, please see them for what they really are, dedicated, and underpaid civil servants who teach because teaching is a calling. They do receive a paycheck and appreciate job security, but when you think of what they provide, education, security for children who have no stability, moral and behavioral guidelines for life, inspiration, motivation and life perspective in exchange for the knowledge that they made a difference.
The Mantra of an LD Child
“I am not stupid, I am not broken, I am intelligent, I am different, I can learn, I can overcome”
I repeated these concepts in my mind thousands of times as a child. I was lucky. My parents repeated these ideas as well and dared any educator or outsider to tell me any different. I was never allowed to make excuses. “You have a glitch, work around it, we’ll figure it out.” I was taught that I was pursuing school to learn, and if I learned well I was successful, even if my grades did not agree. I was told that a mediocre grade I fought for would always be welcome, but an A plus I received skating by was a joke. I am thankful for these lessons.
The question now is how to perpetuate these ideas to a generation of children who seem to have more varieties of glitches than even my cross wired brain can take in. We as a society of parents, educators, and at large need to stop calling these variations of the classic learning style an excuse for failure. Children whose parents hope for hang ups to receive a check have children who are being forever crippled by a label. The entire implication of the word, “Learning Disabled” is a travesty, the prefix “dis” anchored to a the word “able”, unable, helpless, hopeless, so many negative synonyms cling to the term like a life sentence for failure. None of these terms fit. The reality is we should be calling these variations to what is common, uncommon, these persons of alternative perspective can approach the world and make many significant contributions that perhaps the conventional mind may miss. These uncommon minds have a brilliant chance for success if they are not crippled by a label, an excuse, a cop out from the world at large.
So what does this misnomer of a term really mean? Disabled does not mean no longer accountable for learning. Disabled does not mean you will receive a note and be excused from life’s challenges. Disabled means you are up for a fight. Disabled means you have to understand the label well enough to work around it and live a successful life despite whatever quirk of brain neurology you may be experiencing.
So my fellow variants, don’t give up on yourselves. Fight for your future. Make changes and make a positive path for yourself. You are not a dead end. You are a hope for the future. Fight for your ability to make a change. And when the conventional path does not work, let your unconventional mind lead you on a path that works for you, after all only you can walk it.
For my fellow educators, don’t be swayed by a label. Each student is an individual. You have to find a way around every day challenges, find a way around exceptional ones, and help a student see that they are not broken. They are just wired to learn and understand in a different way.
For my fellow parents, every child is different. Be in your child’s life and be a force of positive change. Live the example you would have them live. Do not encourage them to hide behind a perceived disability. Instead encourage them to rise above the situation and be the brilliant source of change they are capable of being.
After all, no one is put in this world to fail. Failure is a choice. Failure is not trying. Failure is giving up. Failure is quitting a journey before it begins. Do not choose to fail!
I repeated these concepts in my mind thousands of times as a child. I was lucky. My parents repeated these ideas as well and dared any educator or outsider to tell me any different. I was never allowed to make excuses. “You have a glitch, work around it, we’ll figure it out.” I was taught that I was pursuing school to learn, and if I learned well I was successful, even if my grades did not agree. I was told that a mediocre grade I fought for would always be welcome, but an A plus I received skating by was a joke. I am thankful for these lessons.
The question now is how to perpetuate these ideas to a generation of children who seem to have more varieties of glitches than even my cross wired brain can take in. We as a society of parents, educators, and at large need to stop calling these variations of the classic learning style an excuse for failure. Children whose parents hope for hang ups to receive a check have children who are being forever crippled by a label. The entire implication of the word, “Learning Disabled” is a travesty, the prefix “dis” anchored to a the word “able”, unable, helpless, hopeless, so many negative synonyms cling to the term like a life sentence for failure. None of these terms fit. The reality is we should be calling these variations to what is common, uncommon, these persons of alternative perspective can approach the world and make many significant contributions that perhaps the conventional mind may miss. These uncommon minds have a brilliant chance for success if they are not crippled by a label, an excuse, a cop out from the world at large.
So what does this misnomer of a term really mean? Disabled does not mean no longer accountable for learning. Disabled does not mean you will receive a note and be excused from life’s challenges. Disabled means you are up for a fight. Disabled means you have to understand the label well enough to work around it and live a successful life despite whatever quirk of brain neurology you may be experiencing.
So my fellow variants, don’t give up on yourselves. Fight for your future. Make changes and make a positive path for yourself. You are not a dead end. You are a hope for the future. Fight for your ability to make a change. And when the conventional path does not work, let your unconventional mind lead you on a path that works for you, after all only you can walk it.
For my fellow educators, don’t be swayed by a label. Each student is an individual. You have to find a way around every day challenges, find a way around exceptional ones, and help a student see that they are not broken. They are just wired to learn and understand in a different way.
For my fellow parents, every child is different. Be in your child’s life and be a force of positive change. Live the example you would have them live. Do not encourage them to hide behind a perceived disability. Instead encourage them to rise above the situation and be the brilliant source of change they are capable of being.
After all, no one is put in this world to fail. Failure is a choice. Failure is not trying. Failure is giving up. Failure is quitting a journey before it begins. Do not choose to fail!
