"Looking back – each shift or change I chose, step-like, I left experiences behind me because I did not need to repeat them, left some people behind because I needed new influences, left some ideas behind because their time had come . . and gone." - Mark Kolke
December 30, 2007
"How do we know if we are on the same page – or the same canvas, how do we measure distance when one leaves a room, how do we measure desire when no one is talking, how do we measure our world when everything important is within walking distance?" - Mark Kolke
December 29, 2007
" Sound affects little, listening - on the other hand - can affect everything." - Mark Kolke
December 28, 2007
"If I start less, there will be less to finish, then there will be time to write more, but then an increased pace of writing gets me buzzed . . . and then I start more, and then there is more to finish." - Mark Kolke
December 27, 2007
"Time is not something we unwrap or put on display; time is not a measure of anything special, unless we are measuring the length of a hug, the height of a smile, the glow of a spirit . . then time is the best investment of all." - Mark Kolke
December 26, 2007
"Stream of consciousness - involves a flowing from some place to somewhere else – inevitably like life, of humble beginnings, humble endings, bravado between; no piece missing – reservoir run dry, now re-filled." - Mark Kolke
December 25, 2007 "Worthy traditions are distinguished by how much laughter is in a room, smiles witnessed, time we sit back contented . . relaxed, without angst." - Mark Kolke
December 24, 2007
"Communication, like understanding, often comes – not in noise - but in silent space between the noises; a word not said, question not answered, issue avoided; Iam adept at disguising feeling with words, emotions with action . . . so I easily recognize it in others." - Mark Kolke
December 23, 2007
"For some little tikes this will be a first Christmas, for some folks it will be their last – there is no way to know how many of these memories we get to have, but we miss them completely if we don’t pause to hold those moments dear – which is not to say a Tuesday afternoon in April or a cold October night hold any less magic, but at this time of year, at Christmas, there are more moments of magic than usual." - Mark Kolke
December 22, 2007
"Moments pass - forgotten, compromised, or left out – all that is left is mindless filler between memories, space between experiences – pace maintained, that’s the way it is;. slice off some time to pause - sliced thin if necessary - but take some slices, don’t wait till they are all gone." - Mark Kolke
December 21, 2007
"Reality, dreams, ideas, plans – often in conflict - but, since they creep onto our canvas anyway, nothing prevents us from weaving them together, nothing other than self-created barriers in our minds – images drift in and out . . . we need to let them." - Mark Kolke
December 20, 2007
"Changing the path we walk costs little; a simple decision but consequences are often dramatic; changing an idea – consciously or in our dream – is the most powerful thing we do, it is not about dreaming our life – it is about living our dream." - Mark Kolke
December 19, 2007
"A worthwhile idea has life in it - can be bigger than all of us; lurks in our living, hides at our desks – easily lost in sheaf of paper, images drift – in and out - routine offers an illusion of calm we need, but unexpected disruption of routine offers a mind stretch opportunity." - Mark Kolke
December 18, 2007
"Good or bad - idea or health or project or plan – over which I have so profoundly little control, but a notion I can influence direction, attitude, worth, value, pace - just too compelling to let slide, too exciting to view from a sideline." - Mark Kolke
December 17, 2007
"Re-inspecting warmly remembered joys - like spring day park walking ignoring a blizzard – insulates from reality, avoids - too many thoughts compete for one sleepy brain’s attention, too many thoughts planted - need for focusing on an individual idea; ownership – of things, a process we internalize, an issue that is near, an idea we hold dear, a responsibility we take on – each involves effort to control something, but we control so little, if anything at all." - Mark Kolke
December 16, 2007 "Ideas don’t require water or fertilizer - fertile mind, nurtured by passion – they become enormous adventures - Hawaiian ones rip in and out of my mind, life altering thoughts, trade wind wishes – not so much idea, wish or dream but reality not yet reached, not yet affordable, not clear what’s next, not about to give up, not about to be taken off track." - Mark Kolke
December 15, 2007
"Things I treasure most are not for hording, but for giving away - the best gift I might give someone is more likely in a box or drawer than on some store shelf. I unleash a treasure’s value best by putting it in someone else’s hands; it lightens load, increases freedom as the value of treasures multiplies when given away." - Mark Kolke
December 14, 2007
"As I get older I view less, but hopefully I see a little more - in each instance, I see what I want to see – yet look right by things that don’t matter to me oblivious to many things of marginal importance, focused on the heart of matters, or sometimes just on the heart. There remains, however, a challenge for all of us, to see how others see us . . . ." - Mark Kolke
December 13, 2007
"Life is a stream that flows, and we are all in it. Some of us, like salmon leaping, fight and struggle to move upstream, struggle to reach life’s end, struggle to find a mate, struggle to provide for offspring, struggle for survival constantly, little time to think, too busy doing." - Mark Kolke
December 12, 2007
"What defines me is the sum of how I live, treat people, deal with situations; not what I think about life but how I deal with life; character is not something we decide – no measure of idle thoughts - a measure of actions." - Mark Kolke
December 11, 2007
"I envy painters with their blank canvas because I believe they know what they want to portray when their brush first hits the canvas, but writing more a translation thing .. converting feelings to language, translating thoughts to characters and sending the messages to fingertips; in painting I sense that passions flow right from brain through arm to brush stroke, but fingertips are interceptors, they are re–senders, as if only they know which thoughts will become key strokes, they decide which ones will get lost between the words before the ‘copy, paste, delete’ functions come along to rearrange that which has been laid down, before tangents of ‘add this’ or ‘what about that?’ invade." - Mark Kolke
December 10, 2007
"My advice, to anyone wanting to get closer to nature, go for a walk in the quiet woods; to get closer to someone you care for deeply, get away from interruptions to spend intimate undivided attention time in a nice place; to get closer to yourself, I recommend an all day fire, let memory and thoughts mingle with flames that lick the edges of the fire box, allow the fire to speak to you and take time to listen." - Mark Kolke
December 9, 2007
"Relationships which work well are predicated on trust – it’s all about trust built on experience, not on words – a product of being real as much as it is about the truth telling; the point of knowing someone well, knowing depth and nuance, is something I’ve become good at – that is exploring others, but in terms of revealing myself, I’m struggling along." - Mark Kolke
December 8, 2007 "There are few secrets in life – we all scatter around looking for answers to complex questions or take simple issues on a tangential journey making them complex – when you come right down to it, there is little in life that cannot be solved by quit, conversation, a beautiful place . . provided you build a fire." - Mark Kolke
December 7, 2007
"Leaving alcohol behind, having sober mornings every morning does not happen by accident, it is deliberate choice – sometimes a very challenging one – but the only one that works for an alcoholic; I no longer struggle with it every day, but not a day goes by that I don’t think about, thankful for a life of choices and struggles – sober struggles." - Mark Kolke
December 6, 2007
"This slice of life cannot be held in a hand - we know this invisible thing when we see it happening, feel its impact; I’ve seen it many times before – not often enough. I saw it in a meeting yesterday; some place in the middle when agendas are let go, ego too, point-counterpoint subsides, ideas are shared, questions raised, less talk, more hearing, basic ingredients examined– beyond advancing, retreating or arguing points, peaceful time, frank discussion. Unmistakable when is shows up, just as mysterious when it slips away like the wind that cannot be caged." - Mark Kolke
December 5, 2007
"If we venture wildly with emotional and intellectual abandon, to uncharted waters, to explore new experiences, we risk our status quo - that we might not feel the way we expect, risking we find focus in new directions, new ideas, new persons, or on someone we thought we knew, who – appears different when viewed from a fresh angle through a new lens." - Mark Kolke
December 4, 2007
"When I ponder what truly drives me, why 'thrill 'o the chase' is such a driving force – I wonder is it an Achilles heel, burst of genius, sign of self delusion, living in a dream world - great vision or zealous work ethic - or a bit of each?It is when I have true conviction and follow through that I create great things; when I start something without that conviction, it becomes another 'thing I've started' but not finished.I have resolved to start fewer things, finish more things, spend more play time enjoying my fantasies and time on greens." - Mark Kolke
December 3,2007
"If we all knew how it would turn out would we venture more, or less?Is uncertainty, risk, reward, joy, sorrow the price of admission in the game of life or the cost we pay to travel the path?I don't know how 'anything or everything' will turn out - but the more I live each day with a sense of giving, openness and joy I realize more and more that I spent too long in a workplace and a lifestyle that made me better but not happier". - Mark Kolke
December 2, 2007
"How is it we connect so easily with some people and so poorly with others? Is it timing, mindset, alignment of the planets - or a smile, a kind word, a soft touch. We can look back, to analyze retrospectively what went so horribly wrong with some connections we made – but, in the moment, in the beginning, and sometimes 'in the middle' of our relationships with some folks, it just goes beyond understanding how we pick so poorly sometimes, so wisely at others". - Mark Kolke
December 1, 2007
"Communicating – serious matters or lightest ones – ought to be about substance, but too often habituated style gets in the way, old ideas, past assumptions - they muddy the water, prevent seeing in or through anything – ‘seeing it through’, a style, ‘seeing through it’ implies understanding without much care about style; looking in, seeing through - understanding often right there, standing by’ but we miss key points, I know I do". - Mark Kolke
November 30, 2007
"Everyone has a turning point or a breaking point – sometimes they come at the same moment, just as often not. But, what makes these moments unique is to watch them happen, as if we were a fly on the wall watching ourselves, smiling a little smile of knowing something magic that no one else knows - feeling the power of it that no one else sees". - Mark Kolke
November 29, 2007
"Difference between us’ - phrase, so often used, abused – easily, unwisely, it blithely describes us all – so easy to accept as some real description of something, so wrong; sameness, likeness, mirror and reflection between us – closer to truth, not mental construct of how different we are, but how much we are the same - core strength, humanness – savoring the moments that matter". - Mark Kolke
November 28, 2007
"I've been thinking about love and the differences between "what that really is" and "what our society/cultural influences represents that to be"; I wonder if there is anything as sweet and comforting as knowing we are loved.Can you imagine a world in which no one sent valentines, sweet nuthin's or whispers? Imagine the sad absence of feeling if we had no one to love, no one to care for, no one to lust after, no one to treasure - a dark dark dark place that would be; on the other hand, I am currently basking in sunshine." - Mark Kolke
November 27, 2007
"Could it be that everything is 'the universe unfolding as it should'?When we make choices, are they ones we are destined to make, with only the illusion that we are truly choosing or are we free, always, to let loose and revel in our choices?Risking is rewarding - not just in taking risk, but in appreciating fruits of the choice." - Mark Kolke
November 26, 2007
"Plans, predictions and path-planning are for the timid – the brave rely on their passions, vision and will to move forward – motivation overcomes obstacles, preconceived difficulties, real and imagined, when smart timid folk would have long turned back." - Mark Kolke
November 25, 2007
"I may not see clearly where I am going but today, right now, this moment I see where I am and its a pretty nice place; to those I've hurt along the way – sorry - to those who've hurt me, all is forgiven, to those who've not had a chance to hurt me yet, beware, you can't hurt me.As we reach and pass pivotal moments, it feels like viewing valleys from a mountain top - we can see all of where we've come from and all [or so we think] of where we are going - for we never arrive at any special moment, feeling, state of mind or pinnacle truly having predicted both the achievement and the route." - Mark Kolke
November 24, 2007
"In life’s play, we are actors – director too – parts cast by expectations of someone else’s expectations of what our expectations ought to be." - Mark Kolke
November 23, 2007
"With both hands and all my pockets I cannot capture or schedule or remember it all - but, I can switch course anytime I want to – my day may not change, but my life will.Today I’ll take a different path, different scenes will play out, different characters will cross my stage." - Mark Kolke
November 22, 2007
"We care, so we say, but we don’t let it touch us – we have people for that, agencies, departments, NGOs and so much more. That’s there job and, oh, isn’t it sad they are so under-funded and under-staffed - well, we know its hard to get good people these days – but when did that happen, when did it become OK, become fashionable to outsource caring?" - Mark Kolke
November 21, 2007
"I’ve written a few, not many - we know it when we read it, feel it as we taste those well chosen words rolling off our tongue – they draw a picture with an economy of lines, thoughts compressed, not terse but to the point, meaty not mushy - maximum impact with gentleness at the core." - Mark Kolke
November 20, 2007 "If days were like housing, Monday would be a double-wide trailer; thick and squat and devoid of excitement or great design - not an answer day, a day for questions - no fog, no cloud, no obstruction to my view – it stands before me, a large lump, wide but not too big around; too big to hug, too wide to pass easily; a day for cleaning up and sweeping out, for crossing things off lists and making new ones, a day for sorting out and brushing off, a day for hooking last week to this one – bridge between week and weekend, a narrow passage of filtration where energy is added to inertness, where drive comes from, where renewal comes from." - Mark Kolke
November 19, 2007
"Writer inks a page, painter covers a canvas, chef decorates a plate; creation from inner angst, joy or just a task in the moment – it depends on how we see it - sculpture touched, passages read, paintings drunk – art, madness made civilized, reviled or revered." - Mark Kolke
November 18, 2007
"I am coming to believe the complexity I often deride is really the simplicity I seek in a specially intriguing wrapper – I know I wouldn’t smile as much without it, I wouldn’t see my simple path without it, I wouldn’t be as happy without it." - Mark Kolke
November 17, 2007
"I like to walk very early, at the end of moonlight, about dawn, to see dawn before anyone; most days it is the same, but when it is different I want to see it first, to see differences before anyone else." - Mark Kolke
November 16, 2007
"Raison d'etre, so easily recognized in people we admire – tougher to see in the mirror; to clearly see that which drives you, that which gives you peace, that which gives you energy, that which gives you strength and courage." - Mark Kolke
November 15, 2007
"Silence, soft pause, can be warmly broken – morning silence should be softly snapped, caressed toward sound, nuzzled to noise - when fasting is broken we do it with a meal, when coldness is broken we do it best with a touch, when silence is broken we do it best with a soft word following a silent night." - Mark Kolke
November 14, 2007
"When examined, most great finds and points of growth come from looking at the familiar in a new way, often with perspective borrowed from someone else – to find some great gem of an idea, pearl of learning or opportunity that does not have to be overturned because it was in plain view all along." - Mark Kolke
November 13, 2007
"We live in a world where playing in the sand box – as if we were 5 again – is far more plausible, available and viable then ever before – yet, the world sells us a backwards view; that accomplishment of goals, achievement in material terms delivers us to a place where dreaming and imagination are permitted. We all need and deserve the energy and direction that come from unlocking our dreams, wishes, desires and ambitions – and, I believe, we learn more about them and ways to make them reality the more freely we allow ourselves to dream it, paint a mental picture – to do it in child-like fashion." - Mark Kolke
November 12, 2007
"Most days – goals, objectives and plan in mind – I work to move things forward, advance initiatives, throw stuff against the wall to see what sticks, talk, write, imagine, work, struggle, negotiate. Most days – feel like success, or some portion of it, in achieving something from those efforts. Some days, I dread the next phone call, want to shut down and let my brain take some down time, some R & R time, some climb back out of the hole I am in time; yesterday it was a bug or something that which put me there." - Mark Kolke
November 11, 2007
"Opportunity, not a knock or ring tone - no email, snail mail, signaled arrival or envelope to open - sweet juicy morsel - is it real, is it worth it, can I win?" - Mark Kolke
November 10, 2007
"Distractions often cloud my view – obstacles of any size need not alter my destination or pursuit of opportunity - not that I should completely ignore them, but they have nothing to do with the prize." - Mark Kolke
November 9, 2007
"Each event, encounter or turn of a corner should be accepted for what it is - not railed against; I try to react less, rail more quietly, tap rather than pound the table . . I try. Captured in a deal, wrapped in a transaction, defined by an initiative – warnings signs - not the whole opportunity, but a signal one may be nearby or hovering overhead." - Mark Kolke
November 8, 2007
"Truths in life, it would seem, are not very complex, like being bathed in a soft warm rain, they fall from somewhere into consciousness, to a comfortable spot, the simplicity of it all amazes; way out there on the far side of complexity beyond the reach of fright, to find a place of calmness, of simplicity." - Mark Kolke
November 7, 2007
"We know nothing about someone else unless they elect to open up; our greater challenge is to know the stranger in ourselves, the one hidden from view, beneath the layers we’ve created – to change from living only on the surface. When we dwell only on what we show the world, we risk knowing nothing at all about our real drivers because our inner self is left hiding-out, obscured from view by the most important of our dear friends – self." - Mark Kolke
November 6, 2007
"So often we look at someone, listen to someone, hear about someone – then we make a judgment, an assessment, as if we know anything – if they are quiet withdrawn types they have issues, if they are boldly confident and open they don’t; yes, poppycock, but how often do we make little judgments based on those assumptions." - Mark Kolke
November 5, 2007
"To do what we need to do should be immediate, should be urgent, should be done today – we all want thousands of tomorrows, most of us will have many of them, but why leave anything important to chance?" - Mark Kolke
November 4, 2007 "Things that energize us, motivate us, get us up off the mat or leading the charge, those that make us a force of nature, a force or just someone who smiles more – it doesn’t matter what it is, it matters most what we are thinking, what we are feeling; a momentary adrenalin rush arrives as danger is avoided or when good news arrives in place of bad. The rush is real, and momentary – like sun shining, a river flowing or a tide coming in endlessly and always; we can elect to harness that energy or just let it sail on by." - Mark Kolke
November 3, 2007 "Exploring and then solving is important – respite from that place, neither deep or damp but certainly dark, that place of fatigue, stress and anxiety – to rest in this place where solitude is my big band aid, quiet is my warm blanket, soft touch is salve for my any wound, quiet reflection brings the relaxation of a massage with no need for kneading." - Mark Kolke
November 2, 2007
"Time doesn’t wait, doesn’t have weight, doesn’t have mass – it cannot be held in our hand, but it is certainly a hand that can be dealt; I’ve been given another day, another 24 hours; I know I’ll not be wasting any of my time, as I often do, today’s time is too valuable to waste or take for granted." - Mark Kolke
November 1, 2007
"As I organize my day, week - and rest of my life - I think I have never had so many projects on the go, never so much promise awaiting me and never more energy to do them; days filled with both reflection and resolve, mixed with just a twinge of self doubt, not knowing what will be around the next corner - gleeful with anticipation." - Mark Kolke
October 31 2007
"Fragile balance, in nature, in our lives – of the mind, of the body - the margin between healthy life and inevitable decline is not very wide; as quickly as a momentary lapse behind the wheel or subtleties of the body’s complex systems managed by medication and machines; each holds life in the balance." - Mark Kolke
October 30, 2007
"Ability to remember is really important, perhaps as important as the ability to forget; I remember why that matters, but right now I forget whether it is better to lose an ability or a memory, or a memory of an ability . . . . each gets left behind along the way. " - Mark Kolke
October 29, 2007
"Truth is not an emergency - sometimes we need emergency to see truth – to focus on changes that are happening, inevitable changes – truth otherwise masked in some naive expectation that things will be fine a good deal longer." - Mark Kolke
October 28, 2007
"Stories above the fold and air time and sound bytes and minor adjustments like the grinding of the earth’s plates against one another; signs there will always be friction and tension – steam and tremors now and again are necessary but major earthquakes don’t happen very often; a politician got it partly wrong, industry and investors cried fowl, pundits wrote about it because it was the news du jour and commentators commented because that is what commentators do, but, I could be wrong." - Mark Kolke
October 27, 2007
"Dire predictions, one viewpoint swamping another, overblown, out of context; yesterday, a Thursday – a nice day but no more spectacular or dismal than any other Thursday – a day when life went on, babies breathed their first, some old notions breathed their last, anglers began angling as rule changes did not make the prize go away; as predicted some spoiled kids will take their ball and go play somewhere else; most won’t because this is where they live and there is no better place to be Albertan than in Alberta; I could be wrong about many things, but about this I am certain." - Mark Kolke
October 26, 2007
"The sky is blue again; at first light it was barely visible because of the smoke in the sky - metaphor for the circumstance when something gets in the way of seeing what is truly there." - Mark Kolke
October 25, 2007
"We don't get to choose what comes our way . . . only, do we get to choose what we do with it or about it and our actions usually produce consequences - leaving us somewhere between gushing with joy to being ambivalently lethargic." - Mark Kolke
October 24, 2007
"Opportunity appears to have knocked, which makes me think about my 'thoughtful' v. 'instinctive' reaction to opportunities, to choices - to know in the moment whether choices are right-headed in terms of fulfilling long term objectives or if they have the life span of an ice cream cone." - Mark Kolke
October 23, 2007
"Enthusiasm without direction is probably dangerous; yet I wonder how I have found my path - finding new avenues when someone, some event or some circumstance placed obstacles in my way - like a stream finding its own path around, through or over things in its way. Sometimes creating churning waters, most times not but never 'lake like calm'; I thrive on the adrenalin, thrive on the endorphins. I have difficulty with calm for lengths of time - the calm unsettling to some degree, unfamiliar; welcome, but unfamiliar." - Mark Kolke
October 22, 2007
"Relationships and yard work both mix hard work with tranquility, struggles and sweat, sense of pride and accomplishment – both are therapy, both distract us from all other things – when peace and tranquility meet nature naturally – I saw the light, I saw the wood, I saw the end of the season, I saw the new beginning in my mind, I feel new growth, I imagined it so it must be so. I saw balance and need and time working out – not yet, but in my mind I see it, saw it, have seen it, will see it again." - Mark Kolke
October 21, 2007
"Getting anything done – done right that is, does not happen by accident any more than it happens only because logic and reason was applied to a set of facts and a list of objectives; getting it right ought to be universal, measurable, felt and understood – getting it right ought to consider all values and value systems, not to pander to any or all of them, but to be considered in the light that any decision, reasoned or knee-jerk, will be felt in many ways for a long time." - Mark Kolke
October 20, 2007
"Observing happiness in others is so much easier than understanding it in ourselves; looking is not thinking, thinking is not feeling, feeling is not knowing – and knowing is a concept that, at its best, is an uncomfortable state but not so uncomfortable as not knowing." - Mark Kolke
October 19, 2007
"Inspiration, and sometimes the lack of it, challenges me to wonder about the 'spark' each of those who read my daily writings have.What is that special something that gets our adrenalin pumping, our chest beating - it is a sight, a sound, a movement, something we read, ' a note to self', a diary - what is it that make us develop new pathways in our brain or to take 'the road not taken' when we venture out today?The magic of life is that there is no answer but we quest for it anyway." - Mark Kolke
October 18, 2007
"I want to live each day with creativity and frequent gusto - not so wild that I shorten my life through recklessness but squeezing hard to get as much gusto literally gushing out of every day, every experience and every person in my life - not knowing if I have 1 or 12,000 days remaining." - Mark Kolke
October 17, 2007
"Feedback, critique, commentary, alternate points of view, different vantage points – we all need it and most of the time I would say I want it - that is, of course, until someone gives me their feedback, critique, commentary, alternate point of view from a different vantage point. Point of view - it sounds like a spot – a place – a location, from which we see things, but more often I believe we use the term ‘point of view’ to mean our opinion, language to support the argument that ‘this is not just my thought, idea or opinion – but, rather, this is my point of view’." - Mark Kolke
October 16, 2007
"Energy is attitude, attitude is energy; attitude is the primer, the starter, the fuel the kick-starts an engine; that fuel can be positive energy, or rancorous venom - each will start your day, but will take you down very different paths." - Mark Kolke
October 15, 2007
"We all toil each day, mostly during the work week, but when we work to make a dollar or progress or a deal or a niche or a business, we must do it more for some reason or driving force than just for the value or worth of the doing, more for some internal measuring tool that drives our spirit; some strive for money, power, esteem – some work for the greater good, for society, for the downtrodden and the weak, some do it all for a noble cause, some do it just to get through the week." - Mark Kolke
October 14, 2007
"Each year, each repetition of an event when we do things ‘our way’, ‘the way we always have’, we follow traditions; birthdays, holidays, personal occasions - celebrations of every kind punctuate and decorate our lives and families; reflecting old experiences, first experiences - these good times teach lessons, often decades in the making, some just a few hours old." - Mark Kolke
October 13, 2007
"I was wondering as I am putting 150% effort into this new business, if some of the other things in my life have had me put as much of myself on the line every day; to ponder if I really put 150% into relationships, into my schooling, into my golf game.Looking back, a lot of what I have done was for naught, why can't I figure out the 50% of what I do today that has no lasting value - then just not do it – which would leave more time for golf." - Mark Kolke
October 12, 2007
"Like money, it seems, happiness is not craved by those who have lots of it; unlike money, those who have happiness seem to really appreciate its value, spread it around, share it easily because it is a wealth that will not fit in a box or a bank, will not shrink when given. We don’t have one chance at happiness, but an everyday chance - many choose to grab it; sadly many stand by watching and blow it away." - Mark Kolke
October 11, 2007
"If we make choices in our own lives, what right does anyone have to intervene in someone's 'informed choice', who has the wisdom or right to determine what is in someone else's best interest?" - Mark Kolke
October 10, 2007
"My challenges are small compared to those of others, no one can know how someone else deals with things, no one can know someone else's pain; somewhere on any given morning someone we know or knowabout is in crisis, is at risk, is in danger and enduring a horrible fearful experience.We cannot control anything, anyone or any circumstance." - Mark Kolke
October 9, 2007
"Imagine", said John Lennon – so, imagine, if we each tried just a little each day to write/right the world’s wrongs, feed the world’s hungry, or to put a smile on one new face each day, to make a difference in someone’s life.Imagine, if we did not care about keeping score or who got credit or which effort produced the most tangible result – what if we tried just because it was worth trying?" - Mark Kolke
October 8, 2007
"Departure, from place, from people, from way of life – as much about the arriving somewhere new as it is about leaving some place old or about leaving someone behind." - Mark Kolke
October 7, 2007
"My grandfather Ed, died when I was 5 so I scarcely knew him – but I know from stories and from the example I’ve had set for me that he is alive in my dad and, through him, he is alive in me; sure, I don’t farm or raise horses like he did. but I have built a community of like minded people and created ways of connecting them – he would like that, I have zeal for the future and reverence for the past . .he would like that too." - Mark Kolke
October 6, 2007
"Most of us do not live amid horrors or find our face on page 1; in the great scheme of earth and beyond we are smaller than a drop in a bucket, spit in an ocean, grain of sand in the Sahara – we with our troubles, foibles, successes and glories are insignificant, right?If we think we are insignificant, then we are.If we think we are not insignificant, then we are not." – Mark Kolke
October 5, 2007
"Most often, we get what we want – not by wanting it, but by giving it; giving it time, giving it voice, giving it consideration, just giving into it." – Mark Kolke
October 4, 2007
"I've often heard or said that old cliché, ‘we can never go back'; but, I wonder if that is true. An old fire in which there are still embers, however hard they may be to see, can be rekindled with the proper application of warm breath, a soft breeze and heat appropriately applied - I wonder if that works with people and relationship too" – Mark Kolke
October 3, 2007
"I am convinced our troubles with people who challenge our composure - is not with 'them', but with what we allow our minds to do; for that is the only thing we have control over; therefore, if we have trouble with someone in our life the choices rest with us and are rooted in our attitudes and those attitudes prescribe the outcome." – Mark Kolke
October 2, 2007
"Joy is precious, it costs us nothing - things we spend so much time, effort and money pursuing rarely bring the joy we reap from a great conversation with our kid, an unexpected call from an old friend, a seen of an idea taking root with the person where we planted it; joy is free and I am feeling rich today." – Mark Kolke
October 1, 2007
"I love Monday morning; the challenge of the week ahead, like a farmer plowing a fresh field, knowing what you are doing but also unaware of what might turn up - an explorer in charted but unfamiliar waters." – Mark Kolke
September 30, 2007
"Quiet calm wet fresh chilled air coats leaves, as many on the ground now as on the trees, spectacular color hung on every tree lined street like garland on a Christmas tree; s middle aged life autumn like, are we creatures of a time where some hang on, some let go, some change dramatically, some hibernate, some dry up and blow away, some are just coming into their prime?This season is to be enjoyed or endured – so much lighter is our load if we join in the flourish; during the growing season everything seems so certain, confident, green, healthy without a hint of withering, weakness or the ravages of autumn wind." – Mark Kolke
"Few of us can look in the mirror to say ‘I am very healthy’; I can’t and most people over 30 on this continent cannot. I can say ‘I know where I need to make changes and I am making some of them, working on it, seriously I am’ . . but how many times I remember saying just that and not acting on it which begs the question of whether I really meant it, really cared or really had a strong motivation for living, for living well, for living long." – Mark Kolke
September 27, 2007
"Some ‘best experiences’ I’ve had, best people I’ve met, best relationships I’ve fostered came from such innocuous starts; I often wonder if it was my frame of mind at the time we met, something in style or manner of being or personality, or paying attention or getting to know people for who they truly are; did they know I would be able to see an opportunity better than someone else or was it is just dumb luck?" – Mark Kolke
September 26, 2007
"Our nature is to collide with many influences, interdependency in every step; hard choices do not insure success nor do easy ones, dramatic choices do not insure success any more than passive acceptance of how things are produces joy or success or progress." – Mark Kolke
September 25, 2007
"There is a thought at the middle of forgiving – give - yes, give yourself a break, give someone else a break, cut someone some slack – let them give you some too, we all deserve to forgive others and to forgive ourselves - forgiving is about letting go – of someone, of something – go on now, let something go." – Mark Kolke
September 24, 2007 "We all do wrong. Hurts do not have to break flesh or spill blood to cut deeply; we all do wrong some time to someone, we wrong them, we slight them, we hurt their feelings, we make a miss-step or commit a faux pas on a grand scale; these errors in judgment, timing, thought or motive are not blemishes on the landscape – they are the landscape." – Mark Kolke
September 23, 2007
"Exploring and then solving it is important – respite from that place, neither deep or damp but certainly dark, that place of fatigue, stress and anxiety – to rest in this place where solitude is my big band aid, quiet is my warm blanket, soft touch is salve for my any wound, quiet reflection brings the relaxation of a massage with no need for kneading; everyone who matters to me is breathing easy . . so am I." – Mark Kolke
September 22, 2007
"Inevitibly things happen – we don’t plan them or wish for them or understand them, but when they happen we say ‘this is inevitable or that was inevitable’. I’ve spoken to friends about what I’ve been anticipating/fearing, the next fall; I meant an event, not a season. Since his last fall 10 months ago, I’ve not dreaded much about my dad’s health other that fear of ‘his next fall’; a friend in health care cautioned me to anticipate the inevitable - each fall will bring increased risk to his ability to function, the next fall could bring an injury or further decline in function while recovering; since his last fall he’s been more cautious, new shoes have resulted in fewer stumbles - so far no more falls, at least none he’s told me about.” – Mark Kolke
September 21, 2007 "Struggling is always an option but, in itself, it is not a value; values are both independent and interdependent – they compete in our minds without need to give them a voice, these conflicts loom large in silence, they come down to size in dialogue – always.” – Mark Kolke
September 20, 2007 "Unable to let it slip from view, fade from memory, some things stick with people - holding a grudge, not letting go - as if the wrong done must be held for repeated scrutiny; the more examined it becomes entrenched in thinking, constant irritant like sand grain to an oyster.” – Mark Kolke
September 19, 2007
"Joy is precious and costs us nothing. And the things we spend so much time, effort and money pursuing rarely bring the joy we reap from a great conversation with our kid, an unexpected call from an old friend – or seeing an idea taking root with the person where we planted it." - Mark Kolke
September 18, 2007 "When traveling in Mexico I have seen examples of progress contrasted with 'staying stuck in the past', a desire to move forward amid actions which support staying in the past, a reluctance to cut off the past while reliving old painful memories. It is easy for me to comment because it is not my life - yet when I look at my own, I wonder if I do that too - changing, moving forward yet doing many things 'the same old way'." - Mark Kolke
September 17, 2007
"What is this magical ingredient - the secret sauce we use to create the perfect sentence? I want to convey my message with combinations of words that have an impact on how you feel, how you experience life - how you live, how you love, how YOU strive to reach your unreachable goals. To capture perfectly in words what I feel, so when you hear it or read it, you will feel it too - you will be moved by what moves me, by a structure of words that convey my meaning to you . . so you get my meaning as I intended it to be got." - Mark Kolke
September 16, 2007
"Why do we miss some opportunities yet seize others, what choices will I make today that change the course of my life?All of them." - Mark Kolke
September 15, 2007
"A walk before going to the golf course is like having practice leisure before doing the real leisure – warm up leisure I suppose - a wonderful peaceful start to the day." - Mark Kolke
September 14, 2007
"When we seek to have our needs met by someone else, we force ourselves or another into being someone other than who they truly are." - Mark Kolke
September 13, 2007
"If the problem is starvation no fool says ‘lets feed everyone’, the smart people say ‘lets feed some people and lets help people grow more food’. Not an overnight solution, but clearly a better way - understanding the problem more thoroughly would help, living more realistically and less idealistically might be a better approach;. There is no peace on earth; there never has been, so why are we so intent on that?" - Mark Kolke
September 12, 2007 "How easily we can take chances, albeit small ones, never knowing where adventures will lead, never knowing with any certainty what will result from an initiative – a journey continues; we should let risk be part of our everyday lives, let passion and ideas rule our lives" - Mark Kolke
September 11, 2007 "As we chart new courses, what do we need for smooth sailing - navigation skills, instinct or both? Or, should sailing be smooth?" - Mark Kolke
September 10, 2007
"It is a beautiful day - a day of joys, challenges and new beginnings - interesting new things are about to spring forth; it is a time for some moves, some steps and some choices at forks in the road - indecision, while a choice, does not take us where we want to go." - Mark Kolke
September 9, 2007
"One of the most difficult things about self evaluation is not the statements of fact or of writing them down – the tough part is the fear that, once a list of desires and talents is made, that it won’t amount to much. That was my greatest fear – that using good advice, good tools, that I or anyone else evaluating me might find the list wanting, find it inadequate, find it sets the bar too low or that there was no bar at all; these thoughts are self-defeating but realistic ones – I’ve thought them and so have most people at one time or another; we don’t need to publish our self-analysis to anyone – I’ve simply found that following advice to reduce some things to writing is helpful; my fear went beyond the inadequacy that might surface to include the fear of what I might do (or not be able to do) in the face of such an inadequate summary of my value.I was wrong.I have never felt that this process was as substitute for managing my day-to-day, month-to-month life, affairs or finances, I never felt it was a business plan, a personal plan or a how-to for anything. What it has been, very effectively, is a backdrop against which I measure everything - if something comes my way, a personal connection, an idea, a business opportunity or a prospective client calling to ask me to provide service, I measure these things against my lists (not via a check list but simply asking ‘does this fit?’ who I am and where I am going), I find it helps me make better and better choices." - Mark Kolke
September 8, 2007
"I try to live each day with creativity, with gusto - not so wild that I shorten my life through recklessness - but squeezing hard to get as much out of every day, every experience and every person in my life as I can - not knowing if I have 1 or 12,000 days remaining." - Mark Kolke
September 7, 2007
"Each day I rest easy knowing my accounting, laundry and a million things are not in order, but knowing my life is in order – because I lived my day on purpose, for a purpose, with a purpose. Living without paying attention is easier, not better." - Mark Kolke
September 6, 2007
"Charting new direction is not simple, charting a new direction is hard. Is it a direction that will fulfill a dream, achieve a goal, do good, bring happiness to us – to others, or will it disappoint? Direction doesn’t mean we will arrive at a particular destination or the right destination, it simply describes where we are headed." - Mark Kolke
September 5, 2007
"It would be easy to settle for the hand we are dealt, adjusting to it, rationalizing that we do not have choices; it is far more difficult to make changes in the simplest of things let alone major elements of values, direction, how we spend our energy - more than attitude, more than values, more than routine & resignation, more than acceptance of how things are, we need to regularly examine our direction, where are we headed." - Mark Kolke
September 4, 2007 "Words we use, the speed of utterances – a thought, or thoughtlessness, depart the brain at the speed of light, leave our voice-box at the speed of sound - too quick to hold back with a pause, an 'oops, sorry' or to reconsider the consequences of opening our mouth or hitting send; the tools Guttenberg created, eclipsed by Google and the nano-second, our mix of well crafted and/or bone-headed words, now sent so much more efficiently, no less rightly, no less wrongly." - Mark Kolke
September 3, 2007
"Nothing is wrong, or everything is wrong; extremes far removed from reality, but in my mind there is a place called stark, called clear, called fear, called sense of loss – when I’m there I am not depressed or angry or confused or uninspired – but, for a while, I feel empty, nothing seems to solve anything.Nothing happens that I don’t allow it – nothing; so if being distressed about something happens, it is because I allow it, just as being calm, clear headed, relaxed and deliberate is something I can allow." - Mark Kolke
September 2, 2007 "From pivotal points things go forward, change occurs, inertia is overcome, momentum gives way to acceleration. We all fight battles - have turning points – in work, business, family, relationships and projects; pivotal places – not geographical but places in time, when a trigger or accumulation of events and thinking bring us to a moment for a change, an epiphany, an opportunity to make life better because of the lesson – a lesson that stays with us always." – Mark Kolke
September 1, 2007 "I think it matters that we matter to each other. I try really hard to listen, but I know I don’t try hard enough to ask better questions . I’ve learned, the better I get at asking better questions, that I am less likely to miss opportunities to help others, to help myself, to do good, to learn, stretch, to matter." – Mark Kolke
August 31, 2007 "We live on the surface of the earth, and most of us live on the surface of reality, much of the time. Whether we labour for a day, for a week or weekend , digging in, going deep, exploring depths is difficult but skimming the surface does little to challenge the mind. Digging is often its own reward but it usually delivers staggering results." – Mark Kolke
August 30, 2007 "Nothing is wrong, or everything is wrong; extremes far removed from reality, but in my mind there is a place called stark, called clear, called fear, called sense of loss – when I’m there I am not depressed or angry or confused or uninspired – but, for a while, I feel empty, nothing seems to solve anything. Nothing happens that I don’t allow it – nothing; so if being distressed about something happens, it is because I allow it, just as being calm, clear headed, relaxed and deliberate is something I can allow." - Mark Kolke
August 29 , 2007
"To say 'truth is the answer' seems trite, old, tired, lame, un-original; but it is the answer to all questions, all ways, always. We deserve truth, we all do; in absence of truth we get guesswork, in absence of communication we get assumptions about the guesswork about what truth might be. The people who do not matter in our lives never cause this to happen – this is about that soft quiet place between sadness and rage, it is the soft quiet place of loving someone and finding only silence in reply, it is feeling so full while driving on empty." - Mark Kolke
August 28 , 2007
"I am about 90% habit, practice & routine. When I step outside my routine, disruption of the norm, of habit, unsettling at first - energizes, animates, ruminates & produces incalculable results. Thrive, be alive, don't merely survive; decide instead that it is time for a new route to disrupt the familiar routine – you might be amazed how much energy such a simple decision generates. - Mark Kolke
August 27, 2007 "Things and people don’t automatically become close, become part of our life – distinct things, people, events – things change, the most unlikely of combos become part of the woven fabric of our life – often obscured, like sprinklers in the rain, spilling dirt in a garden or tossing sand into waves – blended, not so easy to define, but no longer something separate." - Mark Kolke
August 26, 2007
"Capturing a prettybutterfly with a net is folly, so I won’t try but having one flitting around in my life makes me smile a lot. If she stayed around to play with me, travel with me, be witness to me and I to her, giving and getting to each other - that would easily define success for me, and I hope so for her; not to define success for anyone but myself, but seeing success alone pales so horribly to seeing it with someone – not two visions, not one vision, but two visions shared – that looks like success." - Mark Kolke
August 25, 2007
"Does anything unhealthy, left unchanged, get better on its own? I fail to grasp the logic (if there is) when someone is not stuck, not chained (I mean figuratively) to a situation who is not moving, not taking decisions to generate happiness they crave, choosing instead in a resigned fashion, to remain in a long term unhappy place." - Mark Kolke
August 24, 2007 "Rear-view thinking, questioning why our expectations were not met, a common foible, should not discourage us from having expectations, indeed, not from having high ones. Using that trite phrase ‘no expectations’ fits when we explore new opportunities, new people or sometimes a new day, but it sticks in my throat. I have expectations every hour every day – expectations stimulate, spur me to action, they expand my horizons of thought, and they are part of the intrigue of getting to know anyone or any place new, unique experiences waiting to be tried on like a new suit of clothes." - Mark Kolke
August 23, 2007 "The easiest way to see someone is to go see them, the easiest way to love someone is by loving them, the easiest way to touch someone is to go touch them, the easiest way to get someone to talk is to call them. In many elements of my life, the easy way is always there – but not always the way I choose; I often choose other convolutions for reasons that always seem to make sense at the time, in the moment – but when I reflect, when I let the sun break through, then I get some illumination. The easy way is always there, sometimes it seems I need to pull myself through a knot-hole backwards first, but easy will always be there waiting for me when we’ve seen the light." - Mark Kolke
August 22, 2007
"Courage, beautiful and strong, and living willfully - on rare moments with rare luck, someone enters our life who is all those things all the time; being in the their presence, watching them in action, dealing with them - makes you glow because they do; it rubs off - once it does, you are forever affected by it." - Mark Kolke
August 21, 2007
"Painting a picture or painting oneself into a corner is not about painting, but more about managing where the brush touches down." - Mark Kolke
August 20, 2007
"Timing is not always of our own choosing - sometimes the world, a group or a single person following their agenda interrupts our momentum - we need to allow time for that, time is not our possession it is the magic carpet on which we ride for a time; time is for taking, time to take a time-out, time to take a break, time to see, time to think - we all need time, time elapses while we do nothing, time flies by faster when our heart rate increases. Timing, a curious word - it can mean measuring how long something takes, it can mean the decision of when to do something, it can mean the randomness of when circumstances collide, it can mean so little, it can mean so much, time waits for no one, time flies by or time stands still, timing makes things work, it upsets the order of things, or maybe, it sets a new order. Timing is not about who we are, what we are made of, it is not about backbone or wishbone, it is about revelation - opportunities to see events, people and ourselves – not as we plan or design a vision – but as it truly and deeply can be, is, and should be because our own agenda collides with the timing of others, not of our choosing, timing of circumstances, timing of someone else’s agenda reveals nuances we would otherwise not see." - Mark Kolke
August 19, 2007
"The end is neither near or far, the end is not a goal to be chased or a destination to be feared; life begins and life ends – in between we write the script, we enable what happens and we have no cause to blame anyone, including ourselves, for what happens – some scripts are blockbusters and some are flops – in the movie biz they move on to write the next script and make the next movie long before the last one opens, long before any audience has a chance to critique the value of the performance; life, like movies, ought to be a creative process that never quits, exploring character and characters." – Mark Kolke
August 18, 2007 "If I could turn back the clock to alter one thing it would be this: I would have set bigger goals, dreamed bigger dreams, challenged myself with more diverse adventures earlier on in life BUT, the most important part of doing that more thoughtfully would be this – I would have tied myself more to my goals than to people, focused myself on a course that would not have been driven by trying to please anyone else’s (or my perception of it) expectations but to focus more on my own and the goal." - Mark Kolke
August 17, 2007 "I believe feasting on delicious ingredients of life is far better than focusing on absence of them; pursuit of ‘possibility’ rather than impossibility is not the margin between success and failure, it is surely the margin between a smile and a frown."- Mark Kolke
August 16, 2007 "When things go well I tend to spend much less time analyzing why than I do when things go badly.In reviewing my mistakes I learn far less about myself than when I examine the elements of a project that worked well. I have been spending some time reviewing what went well, so very well, on a recent project and wonder about repeating much of that experience on the next project, and the next, and the next."- Mark Kolke
August 15, 2007 "I smugly thought I had the answer to someone’s problem – dealing with their challenge, best met with my attitude, my method, the way I addressed it in my family, but it doesn’t work that way. Not just because my solutions are only right for me. Someone else has not had the life, the characters, the shared family experiences that would make my solution ‘right’ for their situation. I hope I listened empathetically though I know I said too much."- Mark Kolke
August 14, 2007 "Exploring an emotional level is intriguing, risky, tons of fun; I would compare it to spelunking – crawling around in a dark cave without light, feeling my way along not knowing if stepping in a puddle of muck, or terra-firma or into a fatal crevice fall might come at any moment, scary to explore, scarier yet not to because it might impact my whole life. My whole life might flash before my eyes with fear once in a while, but that is better than nothing flashing before my eyes at all."- Mark Kolke
August 13, 2007
"Do people really want to know the truth or do they really want to say 'I want the truth' when they really mean 'do not tell me the truth because then I will be torn between the truth and what I want to do, and, you will know the choice I make'? The clear vs. the indelicate, the truth vs. perception, the way it is vs. the way we wish it was. If truth telling really damages any relationship, one has to wonder what kind of relationship it was in the first place."- Mark Kolke
August 12, 2007
"It comes with truth and truth telling, it comes with hopes and fears, joys and tears – people and events go by all the time. Some imprint on our minds, others are just noise and sights going by. People are never just red or just blue, never pure white or pure black. Gray shades, a mix of this thing, that idea, this person, that friend or some stranger who drifted by to make up the spectrum of the landscape I see – this is my picture, the rest is just scenery going by."- Mark Kolke
August 11, 2007 "That first strong thought of the day - the one that overrides everything else is, for me, powerful - its sets the train in motion on a track this is often slowed by day's events, but not often derailed - comes without regard to how much coffee has been ingested, without reference to time on a clock - sometimes it shows up early, some days as late as noon, but rare is the day it fails to show up at all."- Mark Kolke
August 10, 2007 "Maybe, it is someone you recently met – someone you want to connect with really well but somehow failed to; maybe it is just a phone call, maybe a meeting – but giving ourselves a chance to try listening again might be the best gift we give ourselves. Give someone a chance to talk, give yourself a chance to listen – you might not get the chance again."- Mark Kolke
August 9, 2007 "No one is perfect, no situation is perfect, no plan is perfect, no idea is perfect. We live lives of imperfection in seardh of an ideal - our ideal - of how things are supposed to be, who we are to be with, how it will work, but that is not how it works most of the time. In the pursuit of what we want we (I do) make a mess along the way - we 'step in it', convey confusing messages, fail to check to see if someone got our messages the way we intended it and then, there are the interventions - people, events, tangentially tossed issues headed our way . . lobbed inconveniently in or near our lap, left over from something else . . the inconvenience is OURS, not theirs."- Mark Kolke
August 8, 2007
"Someone taught me an understanding of grief, grieving, dealing with loss or ‘grieving the loss of our expectations’, the part that hurts the most, cannot be fixed. Often as not, those expectations were really unrealistic in the first place, so hanging on to a memory of an impossibility is pretty tough to do."- Mark Kolke
August 7, 2007
"The un-likely-ness that things can happen has always intrigued me; someone coined the phrase ‘you cannot achieve the impossible without attempting the absurd’; absurd, unlikely, not possible – these are phrases we use all the time; we use them to describe what we think people cannot do, what we cannot do. We use them in conversation like they were salt or pepper – tossed in for seasoning but really of little consequence – so often describing ordinary people living extraordinary lives; sometimes these accomplishments are glorified by media hype or word-of-mouth exaggeration, ormoments of recognition going to obliviousness at light speed."- Mark Kolke
August 6, 2007
"Some of us will change the world, some will watch us do it, some will pay no attention, a precious few will change themselves; when they do, the world will may change a little or a lot or not at all but when they do, the world will be better. Seasons change effortlessly, so can you; some of us will watch you do it, some of us will pay attention." - Mark Kolke
August 5, 2007
"Golf is the best Sunday morning pursuit; far better than to read a paper that is empty of anything one might call news, far better than to sleep when the sun is shining, far better than any other game ever invented, far better than to sit somewhere being lectured to by those who do not reason. Golf is best because you don’t need a reason - We don’t need a reason, we just need a place and a friend." - Mark Kolke
August 4, 2007
"Are we complex people with simple needs, or are we simple people with complex needs? Fear, uncertainty and doubt stand between us and those things that bring us joy. Are we living in a time or stage of life, where taking people at face value is too scary, too risky? All of these." - Mark Kolke
August 3, 2007
"Each of us needs to find that which rekindles our energy, that stirs our burnt-embers, our smoldering desires to see our own truth. We, collectively, waste too much time and energy trying to fit some bent view (sometimes our own) of what out to be when it is so much easier to just be – to just let everyone take us at face value because that, for better or for worse, is who we are." - Mark Kolke
August 2, 2007
"I like the projects I pursue, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. I could not dream of doing this without collaborators, co-conspirators, friends - incredibly talented people; I am so in awe of their skills, talent, education - I feel like an amateur guest conductor waving a wand in from of the very best musicians, all performing wonderfully, oblivious to the fact their talent eclipses mine." - Mark Kolke
August 1, 2007 "Not all friends enlighten, but the good ones lighten – a day, or the sky or your load – they always do." - Mark Kolke
July 31, 2007 "To know someone based only on who they are today, with all traces of the past left behind, is like reading only the last chapter of a book in some hope of understanding it." – Mark Kolke
July 30, 2007 "I don't set out to choose my friends, or to pick one person over another to get close to, it just seems to happen; like shopping in a store, we usually find what we want if we are on a searching mission, but the real gems are the items we find when we tell the clerk we are just browsing - that is when we find treasures we never want to part with." - Mark Kolke
July 29, 2007 "I don't try too hard, I don't try nearly hard enough. Someone challenged me – their premise that I lack impulse control; not sure I agree but this question remains: should I stifle impulse, or harness it; which has more power, the water held back by the dam or the wave rolling to shore, which is better, which is best for me?" - Mark Kolke
July 28, 2007 "We can choose to determine whether we react [or not] to events based on choices rooted in our own values; or we can choose to let events and the actions of others drive our course of action but we cannot be useful to anyone else or ourselves if we are drawn into drama because it distracts us from taking the wheel of our own life." - Mark Kolke
July 27, 2007 "Whether it takes 9 months or 9 minutes, we fit important things in; no matter how busy we get, if those things are important enough we make the time to fit 3 days work into 1, fit an epoch into a weekend, a heart into the palm of our hand. It might be a hug while a cab driver waits, or fingertips touching across thousands of miles, or walking some dogs - sometimes an end, more often a new beginning – for a new lease on life all we have to do is make the time. When we do, it seems the important things always fit." - Mark Kolke
July 26, 2007 "Today will never happen again, chances we miss will never come again, experiences we could have today will be lost. Like sleep, we never catch up what we missed; we may get our equilibrium back but we never recover the time we could have spent doing something new, interesting andlife-altering, we never ever get it back." – Mark Kolke
July 25, 2007
"A late start - cloudy day - walking after a rain, I realize what an easy path we walk; sometimes disappointments rain but, if only for a brief moment there was a glimpse of joy, then the disappointment that something did not go my way is a very small price to pay." – Mark Kolke
July 24, 2007 "I want many things - food, a roof, warmth, love, putts that drop, joy, fulfillment, opportunity, success, worthy work, friends and my faithful dog - but nothing in life or law entitles me to anything. Getting what I want is an everyday pursuit; wanting what I get, well that is mitigated by my sense of entitlement. I am only entitled to draw breath, everything else is a bonus." - Mark Kolke
July 23, 2007 "I am not your teacher unless you allow me to teach you, not your tour guide unless you let me lead you, not your mentor unless you want that, not your student unless you open yourself up to teaching me, not your buddy or your nemesis; I am the holder of a mirror – things you see in my words are things you know and experience, things you don’t see are ones you’ve not experienced yet or possibly ones you’ve set aside, some might be worth chasing after." - Mark Kolke
July 22, 2007
"I believe high achievement comes to those who meet the challenges, solve the problems who zealously pursue noble goals – it is about quenching thirst, about aiming high, about doing good, about spending ourselves to exhaustion, to the edges of complete destruction if necessary in pursuit of something noble." – Mark Kolke
July 21, 2007 "Some things need remembering, some need forgetting, some drift away, some need a fresh look now and again. The best parts of our lives could be youth, the present, the future or after death - I’m sure the same criteria could be used for relationships –the stages would be 'when they happen', 'when they are over', 'after they are over' and 'after death' which makes me wonder if the best part of life is behind us, around the next corner we turn tomorrow or way down the road somewhere warm where ocean and palm trees meet?” – Mark Kolke
July 20, 2007
"Why we care about people is probably far less important to understand than is 'that we care about people'. When we are young we tell our loves, lovers and flings-du-jour partners hopes rather than truths, we whisper hopes and dreams, we promise things we fail to deliver upon, we yearn for the long lasting magic – the kind people take to their coffins – enduring, everlasting love. We lucky few get to have those special people in our lives from time to time; we luckier few get to keep those precious people in our lives. These special people, my collection, my treasures – sometimes they are distant physically or emotionally for a while, sometimes for a long while – but never gone, never lost." – Mark Kolke
July 19, 2007 "One realizes eventually (some of us need to reach 55 but it is really not that had to learn) that this adolescent behavior practiced for so long has nothing to do with anything happening the way we wish. Gifts and extraordinary people come our way at all times of year in ways we could never predict or plan for, but when they do we must stop a while to appreciate them, otherwise we might miss the experience altogether." - Mark Kolke
July 18, 2007 "It would seem, as we reach and pass pivitol moments - like viewing valleys from a mountain top - we can see all of where we've come from and all [or so we think] of where we are going, for we never arrive at any special moment, feeling, state of mind or pinnacle truly having predicted both the achievement and the route we took to get there. Plans, predictions and path-planning are for the timid, the brave rely on their passions, their vision and their will to move forward - the kind of motivation that overcomes odds, obstacles, preconceived notions and difficulties, both real & imagined, when smart timid folk would have long turned back." - Mark Kolke
July 17, 2007 "Sometimes it is all about what we desire and thirst for trumping all other values that compete for the part of our brain that has no limit on its energy – something that triggers us to say 'I will do this because it matters to me' . . . somehow we find the time, make the time and then we reorganize priorities." - Mark Kolke
July 16, 2007 "When distractions arrive, in my view, there are two clear choices; the first is to ignore them completely, remaining focused on the task/interest at hand - I witness people doing this and, while I admire their ability to concentrate, I expect they smile less than I do, they miss the tastiness of life whizzing by them; the second choice is to set aside whatever is on the go to focus attention on that distraction; this often contributes to 'not missing anything' while 'not getting required work done'; there are perhaps a multitude of other options as opposed to these two, but I think all other options would be some risk-reward blends - of these two the next greatest best most fantastic thing we can imagine happening could be the next phone call, the next email, the next man, the next woman, the next child, the next animal we encounter might change our life; concentrate on that." – Mark Kolke
July 15, 2007
"I am convinced our troubles, when we have them with people who challenge our composure, is not with 'them', but with what we allow our minds to do . . . for that is the only thing we have control over;therefore, if we have trouble with someone in our life the choices rest with us and are rooted in our attitudes, and those attitudes prescribe the outcome." - Mark Kolke
July 14, 2007
"That which we chase after - in our actions, words and thoughts, often sits right in front of us – an experience there for the taking, no work or words required . . we can have them if we want them; we too often think these choice moments, these moments of choice, are in some way or the other are problems unique to us, only us – they are not unique, but they are ours." - Mark Kolke
July 13, 2007
"Life is a series of run-on sentences, death is the period at the end." – Mark Kolke
July 12, 2007
"I admire people who live life flat out; I don't mean high-speed racing in the fast lane with hair afire, but people who don't let inconveniences take them off their path, who don't hide their humanity or their tragic flaws, who live life large however small their stage, people who grip life like it was a sturdy handshake, gnarled hand gripping so hard it could never (it seemed) let go, gripping so gently it would never break that tender thread of connection." - Mark Kolke