Pennywise

Take-a-penny, leave-a-penny jars are some of my favorite things. From a practical standpoint, they keep me from ending up with a load of unwanted change when my total is within a couple cents of an even dollar amount.

Impractically, they are the best version of generosity.

They are the place I can leave a couple pennies for someone else. A complete stranger who has nothing more in common with me than using cash at a specific establishment. Other than that, they will never know I existed. But they will reap the psychological relief and monetary benefit of a few cents left in a tiny cup for their moment of need.

Where can you leave an intentional benefit to someone else? How can you make a small donation to a strangers moment of need? What can you do to add value to someone in the midst of their daily mundane?

Because you read this post, you should like and share my page on Facebook, Subscribe, or support me on Patreon

Pudding

Wisdom is a brain-space. It is the area in the brain where you decide to save for retirement rather than buy a Ferrari. Wisdom is choosing to make a decision for the betterment of the whole.

The issue with wisdom is when you find out whether or not you were wise. Generally, you never find out you were wise till after the situation plays itself out. You have to decide to deny your immediate wants and desires to make a longterm choice. But when it comes to retirement, if you save up and invest with the wrong firm, you lose it all and have no retirement and no Ferrari.

With wisdom, the proof is in the pudding.

You do not get to save yourself or others until the results of your wise decision come to fruition. Wisdom is not self evident. Wisdom is proven by her children, not on her own accord.

What risks have you taken to be wise? Where have you been wise previously? Who is helping you make wise choices? Who is you helping make wise choices?

Love the post? Please share it on Facebook, Subscribe, or support me on Patreon

Remembering The Future

I was recently observing someone who is older than I am and their children are much older than my boy is. They were lamenting a decision one one child was making and did not appreciate a turn another child’s life had taken. The parent fully loves their children, they were in a moment of expressing concern for the differences their children had decided to make in their own lives.

As the parent expressed their concern, I had to mark it down. I had to mark down an acknowledgement of my own future feeling. I had to put a flag in the ground to remind myself that my child will make decisions, but these decisions will not always be my decisions and I will have to find a way to love him and support him as my boy.

Remembering what has not happened, but is yet to come, will be most important when it happens.

I cannot let my feelings overrun me in the moment or I might forget those who have gone before me and forget the lesson they taught me.

Other people will make decisions I do not completely agree with. My continued involvement in their lives will be dictated by my reaction to their decision.

How do you react to decisions you disagree with? How do you treat people who make different decisions than you? What is your threshold for the difference between the importance of a person and the importance of a decision?

Love the post? Please share it on Facebook or support me on Patreon

Experiences

Often times I am filled with assessment and analytics on what is going on around me. Not so much hard data, numbers, and graphs, but more gut feelings. I will see a friend about to do something I have done a number of times and I know there is a natural pitfall and it is easy to fall into it. So I speak up. I tell the person about the pitfall. Where its origins are, how it works and, most importantly, how to avoid it. 

View fullsize

When suddenly I hear a voice in the void between me and my friend telling them about the pitfalls etcetera. A voice of caring and concern. I listen intently to the voice and appreciate their care to help my friend. As I listen, the voice become more familiar. I know the cadence, vernacular, and phrasing. The voice is very reasonable even. The voice is making some of the same points and sharing experiences I have. 

I look up expectant of seeing someone I know helping my friend and sharing helpful tips and trick. 

There is not anyone there. 

The voice is mine. 

And the voice never left my head.

My friend gets up and moves along to their next destination and I have not said a word.

What will my friend do? I hope they make it ok. I hope they do not end up engaging in any of the same pitfalls I ran into. I better connect with them quickly. I better make sure they know what they have ahead of themselves. I would hate for them to hit any of the same speed bumps I did when they are so avoidable. I hope it is not too late. 

What experiences do you have? What experiences have you not shared?

Sharing,

–JT