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Looking Back

September 22, 2010

“Mirror” © R.L. Herron

We sometimes seem to spend a great of time looking backward. By that I mean at things we’ve done, or neglected to do, and what any of it really means.

Many of us, myself included, sometimes tend to judge ourselves by those things we worked at for years, as if our workplace efforts were the things that defined us.

It’s been more than two years since I decided to hang up the nine-to-five routine, and it sometimes seems as if those thirty-eight years were the sum total of me, at least by the way I talk about them.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Like so many before me, I used my talents to perform the tasks required of me. While doing that, I often reflected on a quote I remembered from Henry Ford who said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t … you are right.”

I always chose to believe I could.

But that still doesn’t mean my old work history defines me. There are things I still want to learn, things I still want to do, things I know I can do. Things I dream.

And with my lovely bride beside me, as she has been all this time, I know that all of them are possible. My mirrors won’t define me. They just show how far I’ve come.

Posted in Branding, Lifestyle | 2 Comments »

Handicapped Space

September 9, 2010

“Handicapped Space” © R.L. Herron

I have been blessed with a good life, reasonable health, dear friends, great children and grandchildren, a wonderful family and a beautiful wife. I also live in a community that does a lot to assist the less fortunate souls in our society.

My good fortune also extends to my country which, from its inception, guaranteed all of us so many liberties, such as the redress of grievances, freedom of speech and the freedom to worship (or not) as each individual chooses.

It dismays me to realize a significant percentage of people in America fail to acknowledge the biggest handicap we face to our human existence: intolerance.

Intolerance comes in many forms, and I am not naive enough to think it has not existed throughout the history of our country, despite our Constitutional freedoms. Native Americans have felt it, as have blacks and Jews. Many still endure it every day.

Recently it was prominently evident again in the firebombing of a mosque in Tennessee, and in the ranting of a deluded, fundamentalist preacher in northern Florida, who garnered international headlines by his announced intention to burn copies of the Koran, a book Muslims consider holy.

Sadly, he and his supporters feel justified in this act of humiliation.

But why? There is nothing inherently evil in being a Muslim, any more than there is in being a Baptist, Catholic, Jew or Hindu. All are peaceful, well intentioned creeds that seek harmony and accord, and promote patience and charity.

It is the radical, self-aggrandizing element of every creed that drives and, indeed, seems to thrive on instilling such fear and hatred of differing ideas.

But when we let unsubstantiated fears and irrational bigotry overflow into a general climate of intolerance, we give away the core beliefs that made the liberties of this nation the envy of the world.

I have enough faith in my fellow man to believe the majority of us will not let the zealots and radicals dominate our thoughts and actions.

When we start ignoring the inherent worth of each other as human beings and become intolerant of our differences, we handicap ourselves severely.

We also start living as a people, and a nation, unworthy of greatness.

Posted in Lifestyle, Non-Fiction Writing, Politics | 6 Comments »

Peace and Quiet

August 5, 2010

“The Chair on the Hill” © R.L. Herron

A good friend recently asked me why I write.

I get that a lot. Most likely that’s because I’m always writing. I don’t often think about the “why” of it, so it took me several moments to tell him I really don’t know.

He didn’t seem to think it was much of an answer. Probably because it wasn’t.

Writing has been a part of my personal and professional life for so long, it’s second nature. I’ve written essays, technical abstracts, short stories and poetry.

I created a well-respected web site and forum nearly ten years ago. I’ve edited book-length manuscripts, annual reports, editorial columns and web sites.

Through it all, I found the hardest part of any writing effort is the beginning, but not for the reason you might think.

It’s not so much trying to discover something to write about. Quite the contrary. Once I begin, it is often far more difficult to stop. No, the hardest part is overcoming the inertia of my own procrastination.

I was much better at beginning when I had a deadline to meet.

Knowing someone was waiting for my words to be delivered, particularly when that someone could definitely affect my paycheck, gave a certain impetus to the start of the process.

They tell me I’m supposed to be taking it easy now, sitting back and enjoying the peace and quiet, since there are no deadlines.

The photograph above, taken in my back yard, reminds me a lot of how I feel these days. The scene is idyllic but, as in the picture, my chair is often empty.

Peace and quiet is, by definition, peaceful and quiet. It is also, to say the least, rather boring.

To keep the creative juices flowing, and my sanity intact, I think I need a solid deadline to meet.

Got any?