-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Dan Adams on Once In a While, We Get Along
- John Pangiochi on Once In a While, We Get Along
- Daniel Adams on Protected: Being Ok
- Daniel Adams on One’s Origins: Dedication and Introduction
- John Pangiochi on One’s Origins: Dedication and Introduction
Protected: One’s Origins: A Journey from Adoption to Identity – Part Seven
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Protected: One’s Origins: A Journey from Adoption to Identity – Part Seven
Protected: One’s Origins: A Journey from Adoption to Identity – Part Six
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Protected: One’s Origins: A Journey from Adoption to Identity – Part Six
Protected: One’s Origins: A Journey from Adoption to Identity – Part Five
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Protected: One’s Origins: A Journey from Adoption to Identity – Part Five
Protected: One’s Origins: A Journey from Adoption to Identity – Part Four
Posted in Uncategorized
Enter your password to view comments.
Protected: One’s Origins: A Journey from Adoption to Identity – Part Three
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged adoption, ancestry, DNA, family, half-siblings, siblings
Enter your password to view comments.
Protected: One’s Origins: A Journey from Adoption to Identity – Part Two
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged adoption, ancestry, DNA, family, half-siblings, siblings
Enter your password to view comments.
Protected: One’s Origins: A Journey from Adoption to Identity – Part One
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged adoption, ancestry, DNA, family, half-siblings, siblings
Enter your password to view comments.
For the Moment
Not too long ago I saw a clip from an interview with country music star Dierks Bentley. In this interview, he revealed that he still uses a flip phone as a mobile device. His reasoning is that being constantly connected to multiple mediums robs him of being ‘in the moment’ and he feels his creativity is sorely diminished. So, a simple means of communication only when communication is necessary is all he feels he needs. I can relate to the creativity comment. I am gaining some momentum with my guitar lessons and I find some forms of modern technology do take away from the ability to focus on tasks at hand – namely, creativity. Maybe I’ll get back into blogging. And maybe even a new song or two will emerge.
I’ve tried to do the one or two month social media (SoMe) detox or cleanse at times (to the relief of some :-). I did this by disabling accounts and making myself invisible and unfindable but not gone. Inevitably I return to the same old time stealing practices that ate more nonsense than not and is void of value for me.
When buried in a mobile device or almost any modern technology, you are always ‘there’, and never ‘here’.
The second half of 2018 starts today, July 1. So I am initiating a new SoMe approach. Kinda like a mid-year resolution. I am not exiting social media – and let me be frank, I am referring primarily to Facebook and Messenger. I am not leaving altogether – at least not now. I will be removing mobile apps thus cutting my 24/7 access to it from my phone. If my current phone was paid off, I’d look into a lesser smart phone. I will still check here and there every few days – Messenger also. But, it will be on a laptop and only when I permit myself a legitimate break from all of life’s ‘in-the-moment’ moments. And there are always an abundance of those moments so visits to SoMe will, by God’s grace, be few.
Ciao for now,
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on For the Moment
No Joy Without Gratitude
In the aftermath of a brief recent rant on Facebook about the White House’s seemingly slow actions against terror (which I have since taken down) I have been “double dared” by a good friend Rich O, to post something positive today. I happily accept. In light of what seems to be going around “ALS Ice Bucket” style is the “Gratitude Challenge” I am not sure if there is a charity benefiting from this but I have to believe that whoever takes the time to acknowledge sincere gratitude in their life is the primary beneficiary. According to author and speaker Brené Brown, a life of true joy cannot exist in the absence of actively practicing gratitude. So Rich, here is my acceptance. There is a quote I once heard in Boy Scouts many years ago that goes something like this:
“When money is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When honor is lost, all is lost.”
I have seen this attributed to Billy Graham, Walt Whitman and an unnamed general in the Civil War. In any event, my gratitude lies in this phrase. I am healthy. Through I work at it, I know that I am fortunate to live in a civilized time and place that allows me the ability to do so. The same goes for money. I am not where I would like to be but I am grateful for what I do have and what I have earned. Moreover, I am grateful that I am physically and mentally able to learn and earn.
Now for honor. I am not perfect. I make mistakes with the best of them. I can, however, profess my gratitude that I was raised honorably and with a sound set of values. As to whether or not I reflect those values into the world, only those with whom I interact can opine on that. I can only hope I do.
In closing I am very grateful for friends and family who are willing to accept me warts, (and Facebook rants) and all. Who can ground me when needed and whose mutual respect still endures.
Thanks for reading and thanks Rich for the double dare.
Have a Great Day!
You are not a quitter. You are grounded.
With the exception of these opening two paragraphs, the entirety of this post was written by George Bruno. I met George in the Fall of 2013 and in only a handful of interactions with him, I can assert that he is grounded in his distinction between “celebrity” for it’s own sake (i.e. ego) and “celebrity” for the purpose of being impactful in the world. Having felt incomplete myself in an otherwise well paying and relatively secure career, I voluntarily took the exit ramp in 2008 (not the best of economic times) with only one idea – to create something new. Although that which I was to create was not even defined.
What follows is a recent Facebook post by George and his subsequent comments. It is full of such resonance for not only me, but also so many others I have come to know in the past several years.
A lot of people will eventually say “I dabbled in a little acting for a few years”, then will go back and look for a “real” job. They needed that little diversion where they actually thought they were going to “make it big”. Every city has it’s community of “superstars”. Then you dial it back to a dribble and subscribe to the longterm plan and you roll the dice every now and then. BUT you needed those few spectacular hopeful years, made a few friends, and learned to stretch your brain in new ways. It was all good. It’s OK to pull off the road to the rest stop or even just change the route altogether. You’re not a quitter. You just had a reality check. You’re smart. You’re a better speaker now. You’re fearless in front of crowds. You network better. You can go back to a career or life with some new skills. So when someone says “Oh, you’re an actor..or an artist…or whatever creative title you choose” It’s Ok to respond, “Yeah, I dabbled a little”. It’s all good.
Most actors would be better off as motivational speakers or trainers. Same skills. Same gratification. BUT ten times the income. Some people love hearing others say “I saw your commercial”, but don’t know it only paid the actor $400. In their mind, the recognition is the pay. (That pays a lot of bills doesn’t it?) Commercials seem to be the actors version of a selfie, lol. Been there. Eventually you get tired of being broke.
Want to be a celebrity? Start a business, be successful, create jobs, help others get rich and achieve their dreams.
Thanks for reading and thank you again George.
Have a great day!