Thin Spaces

I finally had enough.  I recently changed political parties to the Constitution Party.  Most of the old, white Republicans who keep getting caught with their pants down don't represent me.  Their recent inability to work with the Governor of Arizona was too much.  It's not that I am that political anyway. But still, you would like to be proud of your political affiliations.

Here are the basics principles of the Constitution Party, the third largest political party in the US:

Seven Principles of the Constitution Party are:

1. Life: For all human beings, from conception to natural death;
2. Liberty: Freedom of conscience and actions for the self-governed individual; 
3. Family: One husband and one wife with their children as divinely instituted;
4. Property: Each individual's right to own and steward personal property without government burden;
5. Constitution: and Bill of Rights interpreted according to the actual intent of the Founding Fathers;
6. States' Rights: Everything not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government, nor prohibited by the Constitution to the states, is reserved to the states or to the people;
7. American Sovereignty: American government committed to the protection of the borders, trade, and common defense of Americans, and not entangled in foreign alliances.

Now, that is beautiful.  I can't wait to get my new card.  

It's been a while since I have written on the topic of leadership.  I think I got bored or frustrated with it. The word "leadership" is overused and few people understand it.  I am one of those people who lack understanding. Perhaps it's because I have read too much on the topic.  When almost every book defines and expounds on leadership differently, then it makes me wonder what is actually true about it.

Which makes me believe that leadership is not objective, it is in fact subjective and defined by the "artist" through situational contexts.  But enough of this BS.  The reason this is on my mind is because it seems that within organizations there are a few people, usually toward the top of the organizational hierarchy, who critique the leadership of others.  I am sensitive to this because I usually put my best effort into work and strive for excellence in what I do.  Mostly, I just want to be left alone to do good things.

All of this to say, I don't care what others think or have to say about my leadership style. I am learning to be comfortable in my own skin and content with how I lead, in each situation. In fact, when it boils down to it, there is only one Critic that holds me accountable and to whom I have to answer to. I figure that if I continue to walk with integrity and honor and stay true to myself, everything else will work itself out in the end.

Here's to integrity! 

I was out walking yesterday while my youngest rode his bike next to me.  He's so funny, he kind of talks to himself and to me and just tootles along.  I noticed something about myself and it was the fact that I didn't want him to get too far ahead of me.  I wanted him close.  Peanut is nine years old.

Most of our friends also keep their children close.  So I started thinking as I normally do and I realized that this desire to keep my kids close is much different than how and when I was raised.  I can remember riding all over hell and back on my bike as a young kid.  I went places on my bike that I would not even think about letting my kids do today.  Either our mom and dad were crazy, which is possible, or things have changed.

This is what I wonder: if most people keep their kids closer for longer periods of time as they grow, does this mean that we are collectively intuiting that society is not safe?  Do we all know that our world is not the kind of place that we would let our children get too far from us for fear of their safety?

I think their is a "collective intuition" that we all have, or at least the people I know, that tells us that things are not right out there, it is an unsafe world.  Considering that our world and particularly the US continues to pull away from God, this makes sense.  I don't know what to think of the United States right now. There is much that concerns me.  I don't feel like I fit into the mainstream culture.  I like animals, but not as much as people.  I care about the less fortunate; but they will always be with us.  I have no axe to grind with homosexuals, but I don't want their agenda shoved down my throat, etc.

What I do know is that I will keep my children close, because it's not safe out there.

It's not likely my friend will ever see this because she doesn't know I have a blog.  Mostly this blog is a secret, allowing me to secretly post my thoughts.

I attended a funeral yesterday.  Our neighbor's father died and they are good friends of ours.  I don't know how you say that a funeral is nice, but it was.

I never met her father but I could tell by the families present and the speech made that "Bud" was an excellent man. It's very easy to judge the character of a man by the fruit he bears. Knowing what excellent children he has, no doubt he was a good man.

Many blessings to the family and may they be comforted by the Lord as they go through this difficult time.

Not a bad start to my day.  I got up early and got to work and got cracking.  My day was really going great and I was impressed with how much I was getting accomplished.  And then it happened.  Sparing the details, I approach work with a spirit of teamwork and harmony.  My expectation, or perhaps my assumptions, are that everybody does this. When this doesn't happen, when people are not nice, it angers, saddens, and disappoints me.

For the past two years I have worked closely with the training division to help administer training events.  I allowed a lot of the operations budget to be spent to develop our membership within the organization.  Now that I am in training, the new operations chief apparently doesn't play by the same rules.  Today I received a slap in the face and have been burned for the last time by a coworker.

All of that said, I came home frustrated and had difficulty concentrating on my family when I walked in the door. It's hard to change gears that fast.  Knowing that I was ill-tempered, I decided to go for a walk after dinner.  The two younger boys wanted to ride their bikes along with me, which they did.

When we got up to the school the sprinklers were on.  Carse jumpped off his bike and started running through the sprinklers laughing his head off.  Peanut followed behind him giggling like a school girl.  As the sun set behind the mountains and a beautiful sunset, I couldn't help but smile and begin to snap out of my work-related frustration. What the !*ck I thought to myself, and made a run through the sprinklers myself.

It's amazing how kids and the innocent wonder of life can turn a sour day sweet.  I love my kids for helping me remember the important things in life.  I will continue to walk with integrity knowing it is the one thing that separates me from so many others.