“The relentless brainwashing of our fading industrial economy has created an expensive misunderstanding. Creative people or those with something to say believe that they have to wait to be chosen.

“Authors, for example, wait to be chosen by an agent, and then by a publisher. Then they agitate to be chose by a media outlet so they can reach readers who will ultimately read their books. Get chosen by Oprah and everything takes care of itself….

“‘Pick me, pick me’ acknowledges the power of the system and passes responsibility to soemone else to initiate. Even better,  ’pick me, picke me’ moves the blame from you to them.

“If you don’t get picked, its their fault, not  yours.

“If you do get picked, well, they said you were good, right? Not your fault anymore.

Reject the tyranny of picked. Pick yourself.” – Poke the Box, Seth Godin (p 24)

You manage to get your trash in the bin most of the time. Imagine what you could do if you picked yourself most of the time! The world is waiting!

Just a thought.

Happy Friday.

Maybe it’s just me, but I cannot celebrate someone’s death.

Even if he or she hated me. Even if he or she wanted me dead. Even if in the moment of struggle, I had to destroy him or her.

I still can’t celebrate.

Because behind every human being is a mother, sister, brother, lover, wife, child, cousin, friend, colleague, or even an acquittance, who’s loss is immeasurable. And to be perfectly honest, I share 99% genetic material with every single human being. As annoying, cruel, lovely, blessed or evil as they might be, they are all my brothers and sisters.

How can I celebrate the demise of one of my own brothers and sisters?

After Columbine, I watched in horror as the victim’s family pulled down Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold’s crosses. Didn’t these parents also lose their sons? Won’t their friends grieve with confusion over their actions and their death? If you doubt the pain, confusion and tremendous loss felt by a parent of an accused killer, take a moment to read what Dylan Klebold’s mother has to say.  Her loss is no less significant than the other parents.

This morning, while I was working out, I found this video which speaks to how I feel.

“Hate breeds Hate; Love destroys Hate. This is a universal law.” – The Buddha

I could not have said this better myself.

This is your life – you don’t get more of it. Use it well.

I hope you have a chance to play and experience the same joy as these foxes!

Have you heard of this boy? 1.9 million years ago, a 9 year old boy was searching for water with his mother and fell into a cave. And just a few months ago, he was found by another 9 year old boy. This mother and son will change the way we think about our evolution.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Amazing.

Stop by any of the locations to win a book, see reviews of Celia’s Puppies and get the inside scoop on Denver Cereal

Will you join me on September 21 for an international day of peace?

This video is 9 minutes long – and worth every moment.

The idea that there might be peace, even for one day, on this planet makes me weep. I have wanted, longed for, prayed for world peace all of my life.

In the last 8 years, I’ve felt completely helpless and hopeless to do anything about peace. It seems like rampant hatred has taken over the world. There is only a glimmer of hope, but it is hope none the less. I don’t know if this will work. But hell, it’s worth a try.

I made a commitment to Peace Day here. I don’t know what specifically I will do, but I marked my calendar. Maybe we’ll come up with something cool online. I may even go kick a soccer ball around. I will do something.

If you’d like educational resources, you can find free resources here.

You can start by passing along this video. Let everyone know about Peace One Day. Make the commitment to peace, even if it’s simply peace in your heart, for one day a year.

Will you join me?

If you’ve been around this limb for a while, you might remember me talking about the Croke Patterson Mansion.

From Legends of America :

Built in 1890 by Thomas B. Croke, this sandstone residence was one of the country’s most elegant homes. Now serving as an office building, it is also said to be one of the most haunted.

According to the legend Thomas B. Croke, only entered the palatial mansion one time and was so emotionally shaken by “whatever” was there, that he never returned. Just two years later it was sold to Thomas M. Patterson, who’s family kept the home for several decades. Over the next several years, the building served many purposes, including a dance studio, a radio station, and a boarding house before it was converted to an office building. During the renovation to office space in the 1970’s, construction crews began to experience a number of strange occurrences.

After a long days work, they would often return the next day to find that the tasks they had completed the day before had been “undone.” After this had occurred several times, guard dogs were left to protect the property from what the workmen thought might be intruders. However, the next day they found the two Doberman Pinschers dead on the sidewalk after having apparently jumped from a third-story window. Once the renovation to office building was complete, employees almost immediately began to notice equipment, such as typewriters, copy machines, and telephone that mysteriously began to operate by themselves.

When a séance was held to determine who was haunting the building, they found it to be the spirit of a little girl whose body was supposedly entombed in the cellar. However, when the basement was excavated, they found a hidden chamber was found, filled with sea sand, but no remains of a little girl.

A ghostly image has often been sighted gliding up and down the main floor stairway and otherworldly voices have been heard here as well. Thomas Patterson, former owner of the home, is said to have been spied numerous times in the courtyard between the mansion and the carriage house.

When the building still served as an apartment building, occupants on the lower levels were known to complain about wild parties taking place on the third level. But, when these parties were investigated, they would be met with only silent emptiness.

(Photo gallery of Croke Patterson mansion)

I’ve read that it’s the second most haunted building in Colorado and in the top ten buildings for the Western United States.

My first psychotherapy office was in the Croke Patterson Mansion from 1996-1997. (My office was the door to the left next to the second floor mirror.) when a Veterinarian purchase the office building with the desire to turn it into a private residence. He and his new wife moved into the home with her two children. They turned the house into a private residence then went bankrupt. The house has been empty for at least two years.

It’s been for sale for at least a year.  Originally it was for sale for 1.3 million dollars. At last check, it was $495,000.  D asked me a number of times if I wanted to look at it. Usually, I love to look at old houses, and I love to house shop. But I wouldn’t allow myself to get drawn into the demons, ghosts, and otherwise evil spirits of the place.

Someone has recently purchased the home.

May God have mercy on their souls.

]]> http://www.on-a-limb.com/2010/03/someone-bought-the-haunted-mansion/feed/ 3 http://www.on-a-limb.com/2010/03/itstartswith-us/ http://www.on-a-limb.com/2010/03/itstartswith-us/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:01:21 +0000 Claudia http://on-a-limb.com/?p=4416

Recently I joined a cool program called ItStartswith.us

ItStartsWith.us is a cool program designed to get people involved in making a positive impact on other people. Once a week, Nate, the founder of ItStartsWith.us, sends out an email with a weekly mission. The weekly mission is a 15 minute simple idea that can positively impact another person.  So far, I’ve been asked to do something special for a child and reconnect with an old friend.

We were in Craig for the book signing the week of doing something special for a child. I was able to spend some time with my young friend, Caroline. Over dinner at her mother’s house, I went through all of her birthday wishes including American Girl baby items. Ok, it doesn’t sound like much of a challenge but trust me. This American Girl stuff is creepy. It was all I could do not to scream “WHAT THE HELL?”  We also bought our usual case of Girl Scout cookies. And hopefully, Caroline felt like a special girl.

I was able to reconnect with a friend from Junior High School via Facebook. Facebook is such a weird adventure where past and present combine. Anyway, I enjoyed getting a chance to find out more about a woman who was a good friend to me in a time that I needed it.

Doesn’t sound very hard, does it?

So why not join ItStartsWith.Us? It’s free, costs you only 15 minutes a week, and you get to do something positive for someone else. If you’re worried about what you’ll be asked to do, click here to download a copy of last years challenges. Again, they are easy, fun and you can really make a difference in someone’s life.

There’s no downside to this! Go ahead – join!

You won’t believe this until you see it. Amazing  2 minute video.

Pop Corn téléphone portable micro-ondes
Uploaded by sassiere. – Up-to-the minute news videos.

Of course, it’s a hoax. It’s a viral advertisement created by a bluetooth headset maker.

Still, just like the circus or a magic trick. It’s cool.

May you have a little magic in your day!