Vision Navigator

Ran across this short movie called Validation…funny, intriguing, touching, and a great story that illustrates the power of words, and the fundamental human need for recognition and affirmation. If you have 15 minutes or so to invest, it’s definitely worth your time:

It got me thinking about the way I use words - and how I might take advantage of the opportunities I’m given to recognize and call out the beauty and God-given strengths of those around me.

What’s your response to the movie? Have you experienced this sort of validation in your life? What prevents you from being validated, or validating those around you?

In honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, I thought it timely to focus some attention to perhaps his most famous speech-namely, the “I Have a Dream” speech.

If you haven’t heard or read it in its entirely, you owe it to yourself to do so. Below is a link to the video on YouTube. The full text of the speech can be found here.

In addition to its historical significance, the speech is a truly remarkable example of vision casting and the power of words. What’s especially remarkable is that the 16 minute speech was scripted out by Dr. King to last only four minutes, a limitation placed upon him by organizers of the March on Washington event. But as the crowd heard and began to respond to his tightly woven, yet soaring poetic prose, Dr. King dropped the script and began to improvise.

The result was a 16 minute long fusion of preparation and passion. In it, Dr. King managed to not only illustrate the intolerable divisions and injustices of his present time, but also to cast an enduring vision of freedom, unity and justice for the future of all Americans.

I wonder what Dr. King would think if he were alive today? I wonder what his dream means in light of another historical event on the horizon-namely, the inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African-American President of the United States?

What are your thoughts? Which words in the speech have the most meaning for you? Are Dr. King’s words still applicable today?

Here’s a funny video from a fellow twitter-er, Chuck Harris, that just might help you find the extra time in your schedule you’ve been missing…

The Bible in 30 Minutes

Got any time saving tips of your own? Click here to share the wealth, and redeem the time you just spent reading this post…

This video was apparently shown on Oprah yesterday — it’s one of the most beautiful expressions of love and of valuing one’s life I’ve ever seen… Warning — this had me bawling (but I’m a softie), so plan accordingly:

Causes me to ask, do I REALLY appreciate the gift of life I’ve been given? How does this video strike you?

[ht: Jonathan Brink]

Above is a picture from this past weeked of my son, Will, standing in front of a tower he helped a bunch of Boy Scouts and younger Webelos build, using nothing but wood spars and rope.

It was a great weekend — aided in part by a post I read on Jonathan Brink’s blog just prior to heading out that helped me to put our life and times in perspective.

The title of the post is We Are That Spoiled — it has a link to a great, hilarious video you have to watch that really serves as a reality check…

It’s so easy to focus on negatives and what we don’t have, isn’t it? So easy to become disatisfied with what we do have, and thirst for the ever elusive something “more.” So easy to be blind to the beauty and blessings that are all around us, and that are ready to be seen if we’re willing to change our perspective…

So, while I was laying on the cold ground in 30 degree weather, I thanked God for:

• my warm bed at home
• the chance to travel out to the woods and enjoy nature with my son and others
• a cell phone that takes pictures and sends them directly to my blog (how cool is that — even if the picture quality is somewhat spotty — see how easy the spoiled part can kick in?)
• dedicated adult leaders who willingly give of their time and talents to create leadership and growth opportunities for young men like my son
• cars that allow us to travel 100 miles in only a couple of hours
• fall colors — beautiful reds, oranges, and golds
• sleeping bags that enclose you like a mummy and keep you warm in 30 degree weather
• the flannel pillow case my wife threw in at the last minute as I was packing
• the way sunlight shimmers on the surface of a lake like thousands of diamonds, as the wind whips up little ripples and waves
• hot coffee in the morning, and hot chocolate at night

Have you checked your perspective lately? What sorts of things do you find yourself focused on of late? What’s one thing you’re thankful for that you often overlook?

Was inspired by the GraphJam.com folks to illustrate my last post [read that for the story behind the graph] in more quantifiable terms…

Have sent this on to them — will see if it gets posted on their site.

Part of their process is to ask for any related YouTube video links. Found this one that REALLY captures my feelings on the whole experience:

How do handle being put on hold? Feel free to leave a comment with any stories of your own, practical advice, creative coping tips, etc. you might have…

1) Watch the video below… (HT: The Vinyl Village)

Note: no one was hurt in this accident. That being said, now you can proceed to feel better watching someone else’s misfortune

Seriously, the driver and his son are both ok — more info and pictures of the story are here.

Can’t say the same for the truck or bank though…

Ever done anything like that? Did you learn anything from the experience? Are you able to look back and laugh about it now, or is it still too raw?

Never forget the day I wrapped my Firebird around the front-end of a speeding Monte Carlo…

Tracy Simmons had a post today on the “Charlie Bit Me” viral video — if you haven’t seen it, check out her post here.

Reminded me of another funny Charlie video that makes me laugh everytime I see it…

Charlie the Unicorn — if you haven’t seen it, check it out:

Challenge: if you had to write a one-line moral to this story, what would it be?

No right answer here, just looking for some redeeming quality to justify it’s appeal

If you haven’t seen this already, check it out:

First saw this on Arnold Barlow’s blog…