It’s easy to leave loose ends dangling.
But loose ends can get tangled.

Not so easy to untangle tangled threads.

Next time, don’t leave loose ends linger.
They might just tie you up in knots.

A senior citizen drove his brand new BMW Z4 convertible out of the car salesroom. Taking
off down the motorway, he floored it to 160kmh, enjoying the wind blowing through what
little hair he had left.

“Amazing!” he thought as he flew down the N1, enjoying pushing the pedal to the metal even
more. Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw a police car behind him, blue lights flashing
and siren blaring.

“I can get away from him – no problem!” thought the elderly nutcase as he floored it to 180kmh,
then 220 then 240kmh. Suddenly, he thought, “What on earth am I doing? I’m too old for this
nonsense!” So he pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the police car to catch
up with him.

Pulling in behind him, the police officer walked up the driver’s side of the BMW, looked at
his watch and said, “Sir, my shift ends in 10 minutes. Today is Friday and I’m taking off
for the weekend. If you can give me a reason why you were speeding that I’ve never heard
before, I’ll let you go.”

The man, looked very seriously at the policeman, and replied, “Years ago, my wife ran off
with a policeman. I thought you were bringing her back.”

“Have a good day, Sir”, said the policeman.

Are you the kind of person that has everything neat and tidy and in straight lines?
I can confess to a certain amount of structured order!

Over coffee a friend was telling me about his once a week cleaning help.
She was about 75% reliable and none to cheerful.
She had been with him 9 years and it was a slightly dull marriage.

One day he came home to a note that announced her departure.
No notice, just that she had gone.
9 years, no goodbye, no chance to say thank you.
Hey Ho he said, fair enough.

By coincidence a cheerful girl knocked on his door the very next day.
She was lively, funny, cheerful and turbo charged.
He liked her already.
They negotiated and did a deal.
I’m told she is super, brilliant, fun and just like fresh air.
Her work fabulous too.

His brow darkened as a thought occurred.
His departed cleaner was excellent at leaving everything in neat straight rows.
His New Found quite the opposite.

Difference is good, he explored more.

Departed had cleaned ‘around’ everything and straight lines were easy.
New Found cleaned ‘through’ everything, not easy, much harder, much cleaner.

At first glance Departed looked good and New Found chaotic.
On second look, New Found looked very good.

Next time you see immaculate straight lines, lift and check.
Straight lines look pretty but chaos can be cleaner.

Aghadoe is one of Ireland’s most beautiful hotels. Not surprisingly, it is run by two of the best hoteliers out there – Pat & Marie Chawke. Before I begin, check out their website, better still, book some time out in a special place.

We were working with Aghadoe and the backdrop is straight out of Lord of the Rings.

The McGillacuddy Reeks are stunning and moody and our workshop window was this delight.

During a break we discussed mobile phones – the good and the bad. Pat told a story.

A very bright Boss of Pat’s had no message minder on his mobile. It drove Pat mad. One day, he confronted his Boss and challenged his absent minder.

“Ahh, you see Pat, if I have a message minder it quickly becomes a problem box. You call, you off load the problem, it stays on my phone. All of a sudden, your problem has become my problem. If I don’t answer your call, you have to solve the problem and that’s what I pay you to do.”

Sometimes not answering is smart, very smart.

I don’t have kids but I love kids. In fact, what I really love is spending time with kids. You see, when the entire world around us seems to be a big black cloud, kids quickly remind us of what is important, really important.Psychologists tell us that ‘fear’ is something we learn. Fear is almost always in the future or, “What will happen if…?”

As we grow up we become future thinkers and past reflectors. Sadly, we often lose ‘the now’. Kids don’t. Yesterday is quickly forgotten. Tomorrow is an impatient exciting adventure. Right now is ‘right now’ – the moment, the reality, the time.

The dreaded airport security screening became even more intriguing. Where else could your clothes tickle an alarm? Where else would a big official looking woman pat you down as you giggled and smiled?

Finally, the waiting at the gate. Dull? dreary? dreadful? Not if you are a young girl. More excitement, more ideas, more smiling.

In a recession there is never a good time to take holidays.

In fact – how dare you?

If you are busy, no time, work to be done.

If you are not busy, no time, work needs to be found.

There is no ‘right’ time but there is a right reason.

One year passing by – one less left.

Go surprise yourself. Book now.

The world will wait awhile.

I promise!

We set out to write our Blog every day since we started.

So far, we have kept our promise.

Even rambling, meandering Blog writers need a break too so, for the next 2 weeks, no Blogs whilst this Blogger rests!

Seen recently on a tombstone by a friend;

“I too was once where you are now.”

The ‘Golden Years’ are not tomorrow, they are today

It’s 34 years since I left the serene hands of the Cistercian Monks in Mount St. Josephs outside Roscrea. I visited the Abbey recently, nothing had changed. I saw some Monks who educated me, they looked the same.

I entered the Church all flustered. I saw a Monk who recognised me and smiled, he was far from flustered. I suddenly realised that his daily routine had not changed since we first met. Mine had.

Then it occured to me that his world was different to mine. His was consistent based on rich values, a deep faith and no need for material wealth. Mine was not so pure.

Next time you feel stressed out – go see the Monks!

As A. Whitney Brown said;

“There are a billion people in China. It’s not easy to be an individual in a crowd of more than a billion people. Think of it, more than a billion people. That means even if you’re a one-in-a-million type of guy, there are still a thousand guys exactly like you.”