As a boy growing up in the 80’s, large sections of the daily news talked about the violent relationship between the Israelis and Palestinians. Now at the end of 2012, my kids grow up hearing about the same situation, the same parties, still fighting, both claiming their right to fight. I’m only a bystander. As I read the news I realize there’s nothing new about this news. I try to understand it, but I don’t. And I try to imagine what it must be like growing up as an Israeli or Palestinian kid, experiencing every day the horror that I only read about. I try to imagine what it must be like growing up in a world of violence, in a culture of retribution. I guess they too try to understand it, but that they too don’t. And the violence continues. This post is to express my profound wish that one day the Israelis and Palestinians will object to violence. That they not claim their right to fight, but their right for peace.
This compilation of laughing infants, babies, toddlers, children, teenagers, adults and seniors will put a smile on your face. A brilliant example of ‘Where focus goes, energy flows’, because the natural result of your attention for all these laughs, is that you’ll start to feel good and laugh yourself.
Take it easy. Don’t worry. Relax. At least try. Go out. And play. Or stay in. And play. At least try. Have fun. Enjoy yourself. Enjoy the moment. Every moment. Because it’s over before you know it.
CELEBRATION: this is the 100th focusNjoy insight! In little over one and a half year I’ve created and shared 100 visuals and stories, and I will continue to do so with great pleasure. This insight speaks for itself: we can live with restraint, in prisoned by fear thinking death is the worst case scenario. Or we live free from that fear and fully embrace the great adventure called life. Let’s choose for the latter because without a doubt our life will end, but before that happens let’s make sure that our life has begun! In the magnificent film ‘The Shawshank Redemption’, about a man who spends a great deal of his life in prison, one of the characters at some point says: “You either get busy dying or you get busy living”. To me that’s an inspirational quote because in a way it’s a choice we all have to make.
“It’s no wonder that we’re pessimistic. It’s no wonder that people think that the world is getting worse. But perhaps that’s not the case”. This is the opening statement of this video. Watch it and become excited about the future. Because perhaps we forget that we’ve only just begun.
I love comedian Steve Martin. Especially in the movie LA Story. A modern fairytale (well modern in the 90’s when it came out) about a guy trying to keep up with life while fighting his mid-life crisis. I chose this quote because of it’s simple truth. We tend to complain about days the sun isn’t shining. But the only time the sun doesn’t shine is… at night. Even when it’s cloudy, the sun is shining. If however you feel it isn’t, it’s because of you, not because of the sun. You’re the sunshine of your life.
Storm Sandy changed the look of New York City in a way that was not seen before. The filmmakers words: “Seeing lower Manhattan without power was a surreal experience. This is traditionally a city that never sleeps. One in which the lights are always on. One that is always bustling with people. When the lights went out it was wholly different. This piece is meant to capture and relay the feeling of what it was like to walk around the darkened streets of lower Manhattan”. The film ends with the words: “We are already alive”. To me this serves as a reminder that bright lights and a big city may make us feel alive, but that in fact it is the other way around: we make the bright lights and the big city come to life. In other words: we don’t need a vibrant city to know we are alive: we already are.
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