You Actually

I have fond memories as a school kid of attending a school concert in which a popular 1944 song was used to build an act in which kids dressed up as a pig, a mule, a fish, a monkey and more. The song was titled 'Swingin' On A Star' with lines like: or would you rather be a pig, mule, fish, monkey, etc. In the same song were words very much aimed at the grown-ups, some good advice that still holds true today for all of us trying to figure out how to negotiate the minefield of life. Those words were: and be better off than you are, you could be swingin' on a star (or would you rather be a pig, etc.?). * Listen to the full song in the original Bing Crosby version from 1944 on YouTube  here .  I think we all have, at some point of our life, dreamed of being somebody special, somebody big or important.  Who hasn't fantasized about being the one who hits the game-winning homer?  Maybe a sporting champion or a rock star or a famous movie star? How many ti...

We tend to feel somewhat contented with our lives the way things are, but of course it's hard to think of anything else other than the status quo. Yet I think we all aspire for something deeper and more meaningful. We admire our heroes whether they be of the sports kind or the greats from the past or people who reach the pinnacle of society. So what about you? How can you be better than you are today? We're all bombarded with problems.  Surely it shouldn't even bother or even hinder us to becoming all we ought to be.  Our aspirations as kids should continue to live within us, even though it would be short-lived or as long as we could hold on to the dream.  They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks… or can they? Often our childhood dreams and activities are a sign of what we can or should become in later years to be successful and happy. Here are 10 questions to ask yourself about becoming that person you would like to be and are meant to be. 1. ...

It seems to me that it's a question on pretty much everyone's mind. Everyone alive wants answers. And it seems to me that we've largely failed to provide adequate answers. Not the politicians. Not our traditional religions. Certainly not our friends. Or the social media where so many look for answers to their day-to-day problems. Definitely not the media or the daily news bulletins or the endless current affairs programs designed to be giving us a balanced view of life and the world we are living in. What about the popular glossy magazines with, supposedly, all the answers to the dilemmas of our lives? I don't think so. We've surely been let down somewhere along the line. Look at the suicide rate, the depression, the mental illness and, indeed, the disillusionment with our modern world. Am I being too harsh? Well, maybe all is not doom and gloom, because in contrast to the picture I've painted here I've learned from life that we've been looki...