Friday, July 10, 2009

One thought per break...

I came across a positive tone last night in Tae Kwon Do…something new to hold, an incredible power to call your own without having to secretly scamper about in a tightly fit Harry Potter costume.



If you think I’m too upbeat and positive, you’ve never met Mr. George…a father of two, his wife a cancer survivor. A determined man whose hands are larger than a grizzly’s paws with a heart the size of Mount Mitchell the tallest peak on the coast known as the east.



We’ve all had these moments, a person walks into a room and suddenly it lights up. That’s Mr. George. It’s too easy to claim it’s because he’s lost nearly ninety pounds since learning to live a better life through the weighs and means of a martial art. It can’t even be blamed on his incredible talent to swiftly turn a chunk of ugly dried wood into a masterpiece to be displayed.



The game he plays is what you say.



“Mr. George, how are you doing today?”



“Better than I should be.”



Stop! Look around, lend your ear to the ground…pick up the rhythm of the next person inching toward your tiny circle and wonder what it is they’re bringing with them. Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hahn is completely aware of our life and style and how we lead enormous amounts of people daily. Through mindfulness as well as awareness what if you met them at the door with something positive?



Single sentences that offer total impact aren’t common…once lined up each letter creates the picture of a past you can’t change yet it inspires a need to make a difference today.



“Ask not what your country can do for you…ask what you can do for your country.”



“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin.”



“"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people”



“The U.S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself.”



“Life is not a spectator sport. If you're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life.”



“Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.”



Rick the GM once said to me, “It’s not what you say…it’s how you say that makes the difference.”



I often wonder what people are saying while Twittering. I can’t see your face or hear a voice…doesn’t that make us the assumption generation? Words of play can be taken a different way. Thoughts of hype versus glory are a completely different story. Would anything written on Facebook and Twitter make sense to a sidelined group of wanderers searching for a single sentence that could easily lift the required spirit to feel the ease of less stress?



What it we're trying to write inside one hundred twenty five characters? Does it have the sustaining power to hold the attention of an ever changing American culture that continuously takes its eyes off the road?



I once ended every radio show with, “Keep smiling and keep loving those pets.” I was told to stop…it signals the ending of something which gives listeners a reason to run. So I not only stopped saying so long but very rarely will you hear me softly whisper, “Hello.” If there’s no beginning and end everything seems to fit in.



I laughed out loud the day someone said, “I need a single sentence that best describes everything you are.”



Because of my faith and strength in synchronicity the wind brought me, “May the sun rise above your tears.” Which tells absolutely nothing about writer, poet, producer and radio junky…except to say it’s my way of silently saying the circles we keep are made up of family and friends; let it represent the sun allowing it to forever rise above your tears.



In radio we’re trained to believe we only have the attention of a listener for seven seconds. How deep into a Twitted message do you get before you reach up and shut it off? What’s next, a sliver of memory implanted on our temples collecting thoughts before they reach your lips therefore creating a newer way to communicate…Grandma did say silence is golden. How close are we to that reality?



“What about now Mr. George, how are you doing?”



“Better than I should be.”



Each time I hear him, I envision strength meeting courage while slow dancing with opportunity without being chased by a selfless act of judgment. The door is open…come on in!



Steal his art



arroecollins@clearchannel.com

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