MUSINGS and other writing by Mark Kolke

December 31, 2009

Read long, read deep . . see what you can see if every word – or not; there is hidden meaning in everything, or there is nothing.  What one person sees, another misses.  What one person misinterprets one way, another person takes on a vastly different tangent that can be equally wrong in both magnitude and direction. - Mark Kolke

December 30, 2009

Different actions, different motivations, different attitude = different results, right?  I won’t know.  I can’t know.  I am not sure, but I wonder about this; brains can take long journeys interrupted by short stops… or just race ahead. Our illusion (or delusion) is that, when it comes to understanding moods, words and actions of someone we know that ‘I’ll know’. - Mark Kolke

December 29, 2009

Coloring outside lines is minor rebellion – not revolution; revolutionary results come from doing revolutionary things derived from revolutionary thinking (Einstein, Nin, Sartre, Socrates . .now, they WERE revolutionary). For me, the drama is not so much in ‘what is going on’ as it is a reflection of how torn from our familiar routine thinking … just with little things, so imagine the revolutionary impact of something really revolutionary. - Mark Kolke

December 28, 2009

I almost did it.  I almost got it done. I’m almost finished …. How many times have I uttered those words?  Sometimes someone will say, almost cynically, that almost shows lack of commitment or lack of follow through.  Conversely, I see almost as a word meaning hope and optimism, just as ‘nearly, soon, just about, and imminent’. Well, I almost do.  - Mark Kolke

December 27, 2009

Sitting on the side-lines or way-up high in cheap seats, it is easy to view these games people play – in sport or life follies, we observe. But nobody offers a mirror so big that we can see ourselves the same way.  Objectivity of that sort is not available, feasible or (in my opinion) wise in such a case.  We easily dismiss in others things we struggle to almost admit in ourselves. We easily see in others a reflection of how we deal with the same set of circumstances. - Mark Kolke

December 26, 2009

Almost never happens – because it is a state of being ‘very close’ to occurring, but not quite. Something causes the event not to occur.  It could be a decision by someone, a set of circumstances colliding, but not quite getting it right or, as in the case of that putt that hung up there, it could be the curvature of the earth combined with a wind blowing in some far off land.  Almost is not about timing, it is about alternatives in choice-making . . almost all the time. - Mark Kolke

December 25, 2009

Starts matter.  Starts are everything because nothing ever happens that didn’t have a start somewhere; it could be a beautiful smile that has its reason for beginning perhaps in a thought, or a kindred spirit or in an idea. - Mark Kolke

December 24, 2009

When a day starts, its beginning seems to matter a lot  - not unlike a book, a speech, a project or an event – the opening, the beginning, deserves high energy, emotion and some brilliant sparks to set the tone, lay groundwork for what is ahead and to stimulate the imagination. - Mark Kolke

December 23, 2009

Most things that really matter don’t matter much at the start – look around at your proudest moments, your strongest relationships – none of them started off as even 10% of what they are today, but their starts were memorable and powerful in some way. - Mark Kolke

December 22, 2009

Starts matter - for a new beginning or a revisiting past promise, for savoring moments of possibility and the juicy drippings of the most delightful feast. Just start thinking, start remembering, start imagining - everything we want is within reach - an email, a phone call, a step or just a thought away from us if we only reach, stretch, imagine - just start. - Mark Kolke

December 21, 2009

A longing has been aroused somewhere – a moment ago, or some long while back, when intrigue sparked the engine and imagination met the sultry maiden of desire that fired the pistons of power that got the engine started.  Bumpy fenders of a jalopy or slender lines of some cool Benz – it doesn’t seem to matter what baggage we haul along, or the truck we haul it in, what works best in life is an engine that starts. - Mark Kolke

December 20, 2009

The distance between an idea and change is a big job; it involves one little brain cell in every person you want to change.  Changing one cell, one attitude, one point of view is, as I said, easy if you have control over that person.  I have control over me.  You have control over you.  There we have it then, two people can control or change anything. - Mark Kolke

December 19, 2009

Sometimes, truths, near truths and outright falsehoods – it doesn’t seem to matter – provide important motivation for us all in life; the inconvenient facts that might get in our way  matter less than the feelings that flow from a belief that cause and effect are so keenly and correctly correlated. - Mark Kolke

December 18, 2009

In the logical side of my brain, I have doubts, but the notion – eloquently put – that for each and every act of good there might be a corresponding negative or that for each bad deed there is a counter-balancing good thing stretches, in my view, the credulity of Mr. Newton’s physics. All the same, interesting to muse on, brain candy – or, life-altering energizing motivation. Which is it for you? - Mark Kolke

December 17, 2009

We do not trade in goods or services, commodities or transactions. We trade in ideas and relationships, we trade on ideas that spark, harnessing our energies and dreaming large . . - Mark Kolke

December 16, 2009

There is nothing to stop you (or any of us) from doing or being anything or anyone you want to be ..only the roadblock between your ears - so go forth into the world wildly celebrating yourself, spreading yourself openly and, in so doing, showing us all your greatness.  Your strength, your accomplishments and greatest successes are ahead of you, in your future and not yet thought of . . and by comparison your past difficulties, as large as they may look in the rear-view mirror, are but tiny nothings in the grand scheme of things. - Mark Kolke

December 15, 2009

A spark, a moment of ignition – like an electrical charge – can be positive or negative, but it gets us going.  Uphill, downhill or just plain old sideways … the spark overcomes inertia, gets that body at rest rockin’, gets us to be a body in motion.  I saw a newswire item that said ‘human laugher likely evolved from apes’ . . and yes, I’ve met people who take that long to laugh . . but, seriously, the grunting of chimps began it all.  We have evolved into a society that can laugh at just about anything though most of us hesitate when it comes to laughing at ourselves.  Laughing out loud is, I understand, therapy in its own right; we should all have some of that every day.  If not, we should make some.  Invent it. Make it up. - Mark Kolke

December 14, 2009

If you think you know it you don’t, if you think you don’t know it – you just might, only you don’t know it yet . . . in each of us, there is something worth trying that we’ve never done before; it is in our mind, in our ‘Monday to-do pile’ or it will come to mind the next time we scratch our head or our back-side . .it will simply APPEAR.  Appearances, as we know, can be deceiving.  Far worse than being deceived would be to ignore the appearance. - Mark Kolke

December 13, 2009

What we do, start or predict today will most likely not result in anything we predict – which is all the more reason to do it; discovery is at the end of every sentence, exploration lives in every question, invention is as often the product of an accident or something that – rather than going as predicted – had someone say ‘wow, isn’t that interesting!’. - Mark Kolke

December 12, 2009

The world, in its natural state, seems to cry out for nothing at all.  Left alone, as it was for so many billions of years did not have a tyrant or an economy to make it go around; the need for greed and power was non-existent .. unless we count the hording by greedy squirrels and the annoying behavior of the tyrant magpies . . Tyrants come and go, but it seems there will always be tyrants – driven by thirst for greed and power.  Economies have ups and downs, but it seems there will always be upheaval – driven by thirst for greed and power.- Mark Kolke

December 11, 2009

Freedom is something we still need to figure out – and being free from greedy, powerful and tyrant forces is still a pro-occupation for so many countries, it seems to me that remembering a battle and its sacrifices magnifies the futility of so many battles, wars, skirmishes and conflicts – for, when the dust settles, when the buried bodies are turned to dust – that very little has changed except the uniforms of the tyrants, the commas and zeros of magnitude and the fear that so many live with, every day, in their own back yards. - Mark Kolke

December 10, 2009

Clear answers, it would seem, come from asking clear questions and we can’t ask clear questions unless we are clear – centered, focused, calm ..and then choices become clearer.  Those choices are not always easy choices, but clear they are! - Mark Kolke

December 9, 2009

Clear thinking is not about smart or being visionary – but it does require the thinker to be clear headed – this is not new but easily forgotten when the whirling flurry of daily activity gets up to high speed, when it is a challenge just to hang on for fear of falling off the merry-go-round. - Mark Kolke

December 8, 2009

Not all things are self-evident; what appears so obvious today was far from clear the day before yesterday (interchange ‘day’ or week, month or year if you like), our concern or  fretting about an issue diminishes the clearer it becomes. - Mark Kolke

December 7, 2009

A thousand little things might change a little bit, but I have a tendency (don’t we all) doubt anything really BIG will show up unannounced. Because, looking back, each big choice was the right big choice at the time.  The most interesting twists in the road have always come from the little things, the innocent phone call, the chance meeting, the ‘what if I try that?’ idea that will catch fire.  So, why can’t those little things become big things?  Exactly!  Why not? - Mark Kolke

December 6, 2009

The race pace of doing what has to be done done done, what should be done, what I’d like to do, what I want to do, what I am inspired to do (min. 10 tangents a day) when the thought ignites . . so much do be done … the reality: I’ll get the urgent things done but, and this is the tough part, will I do the things that are the most important to be done?  And how can  I tell the best, wisest or most important needles in that big haystack? - Mark Kolke

December 5, 2009

Questions are not more important than answers; but answers don’t come that way in the exams of life.  If we think we know the answers, we’ve probably misinterpreted many of the questions. - Mark Kolke

December 4, 2009

The big questions don’t come in a carefully crafted sentence, don’t have perfect punctuation and don’t have a squirrelly piece of punctuation at the end.  Big questions confuse, confound and drive us a little crazy – as we anticipate them; but when they come, they come in an action, a word, a guttural utterance – or facial expression.  The big questions are answered by simply watching ourselves in action. - Mark Kolke

December 3, 2009

Of the relationships that matter to me most, answers come easily: yes, fine, sure, uh huh, you bet.  The further away from the tight circle, relationships are less critical to our being and take less to please us (also require less to displease use), not because they are unimportant but because they are not so critical to our day to day validation of ourselves. - Mark Kolke

December 2, 2009

Perfect relationship – hand in a glove or shore to an ocean – probably does not exist; not that questing or yearning for it is without merit, but what is it that takes us to the point of saying – “OK, this is it, I’m happy, I’m satisfied” ? - Mark Kolke

December 1, 2009

Life is not lived ‘in love’ or ‘out of love’ or ‘for love’; it is lived in reality.  The roads that were paved with good intentions always have ditches for us to slip into now and then.  When we do, saying we are sorry is a first step, changing something is a much bigger one and staying clear of ditches in future is biggest of all. - Mark Kolke

November  30, 2009

Mood swings can bring highly charged moments or deep despair.  The solution is not to change the facts or our viewpoint – but to measure our attitude. To measure it, not in the heat of an emotional moment, but in the calm of day, in the fullness of sunshine, in the fullness of our spirit .. and, in the fullness of time. - Mark Kolke

November 29, 2009

Sometimes, it is time to give our thumbs a rest – neither up, or down or in the way – just ‘at rest’; sometimes we are best suited to be where we are with what we have, doing what we do – sometimes not.  Thumbs can help us hitch a ride, or show support, or be cheerleaders – or they can be down turned, negative and disapproving.  And sometimes, they get in the way of clear thinking. - Mark Kolke

November 28, 2009

I wrestle with what I want to do, what I need to do and what others think I ought to do – no simple solution to complex questions – but I want my tri-fecta bet on life - dreams, imagination and energy – on self, on the human condition. - Mark Kolke

November 27, 2009

Experimenting – trying things that might work, measuring the results – and then repeating them is, I hope, the key to my future.  Whether writing, publishing, consulting or doing real estate transactions I know that chance will play a large role.  Not chance as in ‘games of chance’ but chance as in ‘take a chance’, ‘chance this . .or that’. - Mark Kolke

November 26, 2009

I’ve never wanted to chase love or success away – I want to find it, enjoy it, spread it around and keep making more of it.  Do I do that best with focus, or abandon? Do I find it best by looking hard or by hardly looking?  Do I manifest it by talking and writing about it or by keeping it a secret? - Mark Kolke

November 25, 2009

On days when I can’t seem to find the right answer – let alone the right question, I am comforted by the word of Robert Frost: ‘I’m not confused, I’m just well mixed.’  I am, well, a little mixed. Life will be simpler tomorrow.  Gardening does that for me. - Mark Kolke

November 24, 2009

Reaching out, striking out, stepping up . . we have so many metaphors for action yet, when moments arrive where demonstrative action can take place there is a tendency to hesitate; to hold back, step back, reach back to some other place in ourselves – to a place of reluctance based on fears, uncertainties, doubts and lack of confidence. - Mark Kolke

November 23, 2009

When opportunities knock, sometimes the knock is so soft as to be undetectable. Most often we are the ones who need to be knocking rather than waiting for our doorbell to ring.  - Mark Kolke

November 22, 2009

I don’t always get what I want. My dream will be mine alone; I can share it but not impose it, teach it but not clone it - different dreamers, different dreams; I may be late arriving, I don’t know my route for sure, but I know where I am going - I believe I know how to get there. - Mark Kolke

November 21, 2009

Every day, each spot in time when pivotal opportunity moments appear, there is a choice  to make – reach out, step forward or pull back.  We do it all the time; sometimes it involves deep thought and careful planning – but most often it is captured in a nanosecond, it shows up mid-phone conversation or in a crowded room. - Mark Kolke

November 20, 2009

Imagine how life might change if a significant number of us took the approach that ‘just a little’ was far too little, that ‘a lot’ was not quite enough but a very good starting point.  Just imagine – a significant number of us taking that approach.  What is a significant number, if not ONE.  Yes, one.  You. Me. Him. Her. . .just one. - Mark Kolke

November 19, 2009

I know I slip into a mental space that isn’t healthy sometimes; when I second guess my own worth/value equation and allow it to put me in failure jail, let it imprison me in some mental construct of ‘not good enough’ or not right or wrong or whatever the issue might be.  But, when I calm myself I realize that everything in my life is a matter of perspective [how I see it and from what angle I view it] and timing. So easy, it is, to let myself believe that silly head talk each time something doesn’t work the way I want the first time or the second or the third …  . - Mark Kolke

November 18, 2009

Between the coasts of our spectrum – from sea to sea to see; between one dawn and the next fits a day – fresh, ripe, juicy – with opportunity washing up on the shore, personal expression is what we do. Our image could be a flower spilt on a wall – simply observing; our image could be a gigantic inflated balloon living large, being large, feeling large and some prick is walking around with a big pin just waiting to deflate us. - Mark Kolke

November 17, 2009

Everything I do, has some value in it.  Every dream I dream has worth. Every project, every deal, every task – has within it some form of near-miracle, if I am lucky enough to trip over it on my way in our out. I have good fortune, beyond the imagination of most people on this planet. - Mark Kolke

November 16, 2009

The answers are all around, check any street, visit any garden.  Life ought to be the way life is.  If it was ‘meant to be’ some other way, then it would be different, but it isn’t.  Life’s happy accident collides daily with brains that spend too much time resisting it and not enough time with hands in the garden – handling the soil, holding life in our hands. - Mark Kolke

November 15, 2009

The dreams, the longing, the yearning we have – to do things we’ve never done, the imaginings of how things might be are, to some; there is a dotted line between fantasy and reality – but I believe this goes beyond any line, dotted or otherwise, that might separate longing for the second half of life or regretting the first half. - Mark Kolke

November 14, 2009

Tasting life – or diving in face first where no one has gone before – is the stuff of dreams, of adrenaline rushes, of Columbus-like ventures.  There is always the risk of disappointment, failure, folly and death.  But those risks are exactly the same is we sit on the bus-stop bench or rocking chair fidgeting, rocking, but going nowhere at all. - Mark Kolke

November 13, 2009

Dive in …. swimming skill is not required.  In the immortal words of Paul Newman’s Butch Cassidy, ‘hell, the fall will probably kill you’ . . not that it will, but letting fear or folly prevent you from diving in is the worst kind of imprisonment that will hold us back from exploring our potential. - Mark Kolke

November 12, 2009

I have no insight, or at least no more than the average person – but I am incredibly curious.  I want to know what makes people tick – most obviously myself, but that curiosity ranges widely.  I don’t know if I am getting better at seeing or understanding – more likely it is a process whereby I am asking better and harder questions over time. - Mark Kolke

November 11, 2009

I don’t mean that anything is easy – because so much is difficult – but today is going to happen to all of us; it seems so much easier to take a light happy approach rather than a negative one because all that will happen today will likely be pretty much the same either way. - Mark Kolke

November 10, 2009

We can do great things – you and I.  Yes we can.  Nothing stands in our way; we just need to think it, then do it.  Come to think of it, we don’t need to think much first – just do. I do,  I will, really – just as soon as finish this, then that, then the other thing. Before I know it I’ve gone in three circles, time has flown and another day ends with too much un-done, too much to do. But it’s not easy ……, right?  Life can and will drag you down, but only if you let it. Life can lift you up but we have to be tugging for that to happen – pulling hard, pulling our socks on ….putting our pants on, pulling up, standing up. - Mark Kolke

November 9, 2009

Whether in business settings – or in taking the measure of personal relationships, it is so easy to assume we know, presume we understand and our zeal overtakes anyone in any lane – racing ahead of ourselves. - Mark Kolke

November 8, 2009

Meaning is not found on lawns we walk, paths we go down or in the sky that is our ceiling – meaning is that place where depth connects with purpose; when depth is the measurement of something, a difficult to define quality; in some people it is the hole they are in – or the whole of who they are - it is gravitas, an inspired quality of substance or depth of personality. - Mark Kolke

November 7, 2009

If I want meaning, if I crave meaning, if I demand meaning – then it is for me to find; if meaning is what I need to tie my shoes, then I have to find it.  It is here – not there; it is something that stands where I stand, sits where I sit – without leaving the room – I can find it right here right now. I did not win THAT lottery, but I did win the lottery of life – each day seems better, longer, fuller, more filled with meaning than the one that went before. - Mark Kolke

November 6, 2009

My day, like yours, has basic ingredients of time spent, time invested and time wasted. Lets assume the sleep time is an investment in life quality.  These waking hours then, can be used - for something or for nothing; worthwhile or worthless – making a point or, sadly, pointless. - Mark Kolke

November 5, 2009

There is a project, a goal, a task, a time and a way – that is today’s objective; but in its path are so many other things I can’t shovel in a drawer standing in its way. Still, it seems the encounters of so many things along the way are the richer pieces, the riper apples to bite, and in turn the goal will be accomplished, the task completed and the destination reached . . .just not likely to be reached today – and that is OK with me. - Mark Kolke

November 4, 2009

Yesterday, sealed in its tomb, that day’s choices made – unchangeable. Rigid. Done. Gone. Over.  We can’t get anything back and a do-over isn’t really a do-over, it is simply allocating some today time or future time to something we could have done on day already gone by. - Mark Kolke

November 3, 2009

Of all the things you do, what are you the best at?  Would everyone you know state the same things you do? - Mark Kolke

November 2, 2009

Today is just 24 hours of which I’ve already slept 4 .. and the work over the last 3 has been suspect – so that leaves me 17 hours to accomplish something wonderful and worthy of my time; tomorrow is a lifetime away – it will be here soon enough; there is no need to list its table of contents yet because there are too many unknowns. - Mark Kolke

November 1, 2009

Add some drizzle, add some mist and the most dreary landscape takes on a new look, add drizzle to luscious surroundings and they become a slippery form of reality – it puts one in a strange mood, a cross between melancholy and surreal optimism; as my friend KC often says, ‘it is day when you want to curl up with a good book, or with someone who has read one’. - Mark Kolke

October 31, 2009

Tomorrow has so many differences from today because it is not the canvas we are painting today – rather, it is the blank one standing against the wall for us to work on tomorrow. - Mark Kolke

October 30, 2009

Realistically, we have as little control ‘today’ about tomorrow as we do about yesterday – none.  Today the phone will ring, today the opportunity will arrive, today the chances and the day can be seized – only today. Yesterday’s chance is gone, tomorrow’s is still a day away. Enjoy today – ONE DAY ONLY – it’s on special, just for you. - Mark Kolke

October 29, 2009

Amid a stream of imperfections those worrying hearts called close friends and family watch me toil - knowing there is a plow to be steered; we all know that wherever the rows will head, somewhere, these seeds I am planting will grow into trees called results and will bear many fruits called tomorrows. - Mark Kolke

October  28, 2009

I’ve had a break through – I’ve broken through a barrier in my mind that has been inhibiting me achieving my best; I’ve been letting my past govern my future and I see so many things repeating themselves it seems like time for some significant change ….  . - Mark Kolke

October 27, 2009

Of all the places I’ve ever been, the best is here and now; where sunny days bring out the best butterflies and where opportunity hangs out at every street corner, inspiration lurks in every cul-de-sac. - Mark Kolke

October  26, 2009

The break through, or is that ‘breakthrough’ .. is not about breaking anything any more than it is an analysis of something being broken or in need of fixing; rather, it is an understanding of some simple concepts that have arrived in my brain and belly on the same day which deserve exploration.  Game changers.  Life changers.  Epiphany.  These are words we tend to use when explaining something of earthquake significance has happened when bold type, bold colors and fireworks are not available – so this is it.  Just imagine the fireworks.  Imagine my earthquake.  Imagine yours!  - Mark Kolke

October 25, 2009

Every thought matters, every idea has its place, every memory points to something, every new thing is an adventure, every old thing is a lesson, everyone I meet can change my life, everyone I need has changed mine, every thing, everything!, needs revolution - revolution, not revolt or evolution; it is the process of turning something completely around. - Mark Kolke

October 24, 2009

So many forgotten days – remembered with just a few key strokes – given time to think things through so we can all see a fantasy worth pursuing.  Wanting it won’t make it go away but failing to take actions simply postpones acceptance that the fantasy was just that. I won’t do that, won’t let that happen. Some days fly by, while others seem to crawl like a decade, as I ponder if I ever find it to be the right time. - Mark Kolke

October 23, 2009

Inspiration doesn’t show up with the dawn, on demand or when the clock says ‘you have one half hour to finish that!’ … this morning, one of those days; when a full head seemed momentarily empty …but then it came; inspiration comes from some place (maybe it’s the sizzle of excitement between finger tips and these keys) that introduces tension and electric touch – like hand-holding in the movies as the lights go down .. a brushing flirting touch that starts each encounter without knowing where it will lead.  Like today . . a grandchild of so many other days when connections made and ideas flirted with altered the expected path of my day, my week, my life . . .                  . - Mark Kolke

October 22, 2009

Turning around once is called a revolution  - doing it twice is a repeat and doing it again and again tests one’s sanity – but revolution on a regular basis is essential, in my view, to keeping oneself vibrant and alive, effective and relevant …..and I believe it can be a fun kind of life-force-change process. -  Mark Kolke

October 21, 2009

‘Life’, work and habits keep me on my path most of the times – some days with blinkers on – noticing only what is in front of me without checking out the view to each side or the destination well down the road . .  . - Mark Kolke

October  20, 2009

The relentless pursuit of a dream is something we admire when we hear of success stories (ie: Fred Smith and FedEX etc.), not so much when we hear of someone who went from credibility to oblivion without so much as a notice ---- from relentless pursuit of what became a nightmare.  I’ve read a lot lately about ‘fear of failure’ being, in reality, more about fear of success, in that we deny how good we could be, how much we could achieve or how great our ideas are.  The fear factor is real whichever way you see it. - Mark Kolke

October 19, 2009

At pivotal points in relationships the key, if we hope to solve problems with any affect at all in business, is to examine them. I think there is a tendency in all relationships to avoid – to use a hockey metaphor - digging in the corners; even tougher is my relationship with myself – how often do I go digging around in the corners of my life to examine meets and bounds, testing my limits, examining my relevance? - Mark Kolke

October 18, 2009

Sometimes nothing but a simple little decision; it might be to make a phone call, take a trip, extend a hand, attend a meeting or respond with a yes when the right question is asked. I’ve often wondered if I said YES more often with less regard for the implications of the question being posed, if I would have had a different ride or route in life.  It doesn’t work that way – we can’t relive our decisions to see how they play out.  We get to own the choices, we get to own the results.  As I ‘mature’ I realize it is far less about predicting an end result than it is about making choices, building dreams and being the best cheerleader I can be for others about their choices. - Mark Kolke

October 17, 2009

A decision can have a predictable result that comes in a predictable time frame; it often appears decisions don’t produce results we expect; that it is easy to discount the situations where we get exactly what we predicted, exactly what we wished for, exactly what we want and which showed up on time.  Things, people – and actions – usually show up just when they do – so it is hard to argue with timing. What I mean is that showing up on a time table is far less important than ‘showing up’ and even less important than hanging around. - Mark Kolke

October 16, 2009

I’ve been mulling some issues; how to put my incomplete tasks in the ‘done’ drawer, how to channel things more effectively into 3 streams of focus – the present, the near future and down the road. If they don’t fit my present, near term or long term goals, then I need to complete them, discard them or re-invent them so they fit with those 3 trains of thought. - Mark Kolke

October 15, 2009

Every day is a series of incomplete thoughts – we can gloss over, or we can take a deeper look. When we see ourselves behave, listen to our words – like others do, we learn so much more about ourselves – but only if we have the nerve. Otherwise it is a pleasant ride of the surface. - Mark Kolke

October 14, 2009

Happiness can be found, but can understanding be unearthed?  Joy can be watched, but do we see the core of the person being watched?  As we delve into someone else, we enter a danger zone where a false step or statement could be calamitous. Aside from the intrusion which might be unwelcome ..we are likely ill-prepared to hear the full and open truth. - Mark Kolke

October 13, 2009

I am so encouraged by those birds – their tweetering, their ‘good morning, howzit-goin-eh’ greeting reminds me that air warms, cheerful sounds lift, energy produces activity and that life is for living at full throated full throttle. - Mark Kolke

October  12, 2009

Examining things – whether it be the in-basket or our life, whether we look in a mirror, a drawer or deep in our belly – we find surprises.  The ones I find most often are ‘do over opportunities’ and ‘do for the first time’ chances.  They have always been there, they’ve never gone away.  The chance to do something that needs doing .. or the chance to do something once again only ‘better this time’ gets me going. - Mark Kolke

October 11, 2009

If we fear dying then we fear living - a fear that could cripple our joy, disable our imagination and imprison our spirit. Overcoming fears is not about being stupid, it is about being smart; resisting the flow of public sentiment is always hard, but resist we must. - Mark Kolke

October 10, 2009

We don’t live life on easy street, to be easy or because it is easy. We live life and face its challenges because it is hard, it is challenging and it is infinitely unpredictable.  That’s my adventure. If the flu wants to kill me, it will have a fight on its hands – but it will have to take a number because I am busy with other things. - Mark Kolke

October 9, 2009

At the end of the week, when I am tired it is easy to say something grumpy or negative, to slip into knee-jerk mode at everything that went wrong, might go wrong or is bound to go wrong. The other side of that coin is a lot more fun; like the prairie farmer motto of ‘there is always next year’ .. I can always say ‘there is always next week’ ..or tomorrow; I can do better, I can do more, I can get it more right than I did the last time, I can give the world a better slice of me . . because I know the world will give me a better slice of it . . I just know it. - Mark Kolke

October 8, 2009

Change, adaptation, choices – these are the tools, but tools (recommend you use power tools) require energy to run them. Fuel is needed; that comes together when inspiration meets sweat. Fuel is great, but somehow we have to ignite the fuel. We do that when ideas, like two sticks, get rubbed together. - Mark Kolke

October 7, 2009

Some days are sunny – some are gloomy, notwithstanding the blazing sunshine. Some days I think I am a great communicator. Some days I am lousy. What do we really live for?  Sure, we live to care for others, do good for the world – help our neighbors, help ourselves . .but is it really rooted in those basic needs of food and water, breathing and sex, laughter and tears? Is that all (apologies to Peggy Lee’s fans) there is?  - Mark Kolke

October 6, 2009

I hope the day ahead makes your whole life worthwhile, I hope the day behind, however horrid it might have been, is viewed as the trip that got you here; I hope the day ahead is full of hope, that you see the world as full of hope.  I hope the day ahead pulls, pushes, squeezes and drags every ounce of effort out of you - I hope the resulting output will stand the world on its ear while we all applaud from the sidelines wishing you - and hoping for you to have - another great one the next day, and the next day, and the next day . . you get the picture. - Mark Kolke

October 5, 2009

Who we are, is a ‘stare in the mirror for hours’ question – or it can be answered by observing our behavior (or someone else’s) for a day or two; observe the words spoken, the deeds done; observe what’s not done, which calls weren’t returned; consider the day we live as a real resume of ourselves. If we don’t like what we see, we can change it all any time we want . .like today; or, if today’s too late already, then tomorrow. - Mark Kolke

October 4, 2009

Imagination is such an important element – not as distraction, but as a theme for living a life; no barriers, not limits, no boundaries, no fences to block our actions or our imagination – one day at a time, same speed every day.  Whatever we need, we can imagine it .. perhaps some days that is all we need. - Mark Kolke

October 3, 2009

Close your eyes . . think of the best way to take the morning off, let your mind wander, let your body sleep.  Falling asleep in a unlikely position doesn’t seem to affect the dream – but it sure makes for a strange wakeup experience – off balance, disoriented, wishing to feel grounded or at least to touch it as a reference point. - Mark Kolke

October  2, 2009

Just like coincidence, there is magic in randomness.  Any random thoughts we put together could be mush – or magic. They could be matter of fact or they could make music.  Randomness helps dissolve frenzy and fretting or an issue – to be clearer about purpose, mine, in knowing what to choose first, next . .or ever on this continuum of career and lifestyle.  - Mark Kolke

October 1, 2009

Circumstances of a health wreck, relationship wrecked or a financial train-wreck, the results are pretty much the same; the strong become weak, the invulnerable become absolutely vulnerable and the end of the tunnel is far off and the lights are dim. This is not about confidence as compared with the lack of it; this is about survival in the realest sense of that word.  If we do not survive in our spirit, how can we consider survival worth having? - Mark Kolke

September  30, 2009

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

September 29, 2009

Whatever you need, you should take.  Take it any time you want.  In saying that I don’t mean that anyone should be a thief or commit a crime. While it is certainly more difficult for some people who cannot ‘take their fair share’ without help from others, for the most part we are all  able - the question remaining is one of whether we are willing. - Mark Kolke

September  28, 2009

Life is lived out on the field, not a spectator sport for those on the sidelines.  If we are not engaged in something, energized by something, waking up for something – then we will likely find ourselves humming Peggy Lee’s ‘Is That All There Is?’ tune. - Mark Kolke

September 27, 2009

Somewhere, over on the sidelines, someone has a stop watch – we know the scheduled timing but too often run over-time anyway. True, some things require more time than we planned. Is that a function of the ‘thing’ or the planning?  Allocating insufficient time or too many things to do wrecks the most even-tempered days.  If we are old (the state of mind, not the chronology), life appears short.  If we are young (again, the state of mind) then we have so much to do but feel little pressure to move quickly because we think we have so much time. - Mark Kolke

September 26, 2009

The value of what we do, in everything we do, is not measured by the whole world; the whole world are just the observers, with the true judge of what we do being ourselves. You sit in judgment of you, I sit in judgment of me . . and so too the next poor guy.  Every day I make a lot of new mistakes; sure, some of them are old mistakes repeated, but mostly they are new ones.  Will things that matter today, things I spend my energy and passion on, matter a year from now? Ten years from now?  A hundred years from now? - Mark Kolke

September 25, 2009

Whether I am 300 steps, 300 miles or 300 months away … I’ll get there, I’ll get it done. It hasn’t worked yet – but I am closer.  I haven’t solved the problem yet – but I am working on it. I don’t solution . . but I’m not done yet.  In fact, I’ve barely started cooking. - Mark Kolke have a full

September 24, 2009

We need to collectively get ‘our stuff’ together.  The notion that hard work, good work, on a good idea will produce great results is proven wrong as often as it is right.  When we don’t make the grade, notwithstanding all that good and hard work, the question of ‘was the idea good enough?’ come to mind.- Mark Kolke

September 23, 2009

Each step is not a win, an arrival at a destination – or a victory – it is just a step; with each step taken the goal gets refined or re-defined, with each movement forward, the route to the destination self-adjusts. I’m alive and while I am getting closer, I’m far from done. - Mark Kolke

September 22, 2009

My goals today are little tasks I’ll do today, my goals today are wide and tall and cross oceans they are so big – but they don’t have to be met today.  But they never take a day off, never rest, never sleep, never hide away. My dreams fill big rooms, my goals are attached pretty firmly – not that they consume me to distraction from duties, obligations and responsibilities ..but they are a strong driving force and I absolutely want to be driven by them. - Mark Kolke

September 21, 2009

I’d tell you about my day, if it mattered.  I’d tell you about my feelings, if they mattered. I’d tell you about what I think, if it mattered.  It seems, when I have a story to tell, a feeling to express or a thought to float – obviously I think it matters – but what is the point?  The point, of course, is that it might matter to the party I am talking to.  But when it doesn’t matter, clearly time and thought are wasted. - Mark Kolke

September 20, 2009

I sit on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what happens next – my journey of life is neither destination or trip. It takes place in many destinations and along the pathways between them, but for me the discovery of something new on purpose or by accident is the beverage I thirst for, crave and chase every day. Some days it involves learning new things about a butterfly, some days it involves learning something about the world – every day it involves learning something about myself. - Mark Kolke

September 19, 2009

So much time, mine anyway,  is spent making money, saving money (or finding ways not to spend it), working at tasks that sometimes seem to make not nearly enough sense; means and ends rarely mesh in well oiled harmony - in search of livelihood trying to stay on track in our search for truth. - Mark Kolke

September 18, 2009

I have found a lift lately – doing less thinking and planning around starting and finishing to actually change something.  I’ve been doing less starting, more finishing - taking up less space and time to do more that is worth doing – and picking some things . . and truly finishing them. If I am really serious about my pursuits and priorities in life, I can have no time for anything that doesn’t connect to my search for the truth or aid my journey to my goals. - Mark Kolke

September 17, 2009

I would be better, I am sure, if I spent more time working on what others want – being concerned for how others feel or felt, more concerned about the impact of anything and everything on others.  I’m far from that kind of person though – I spend my energy concerned with what matters to me and mine – what affects those whose lives are directly connected to mine. - Mark Kolke

September 16, 2009

I want to feel rooted, grounded and still get worked up over ‘tings what matter; I want to not lose that as I get older. I want nothing more than to want nothing more; I want to be satisfied with something – with a state of being, a state of affairs, a stage of life or a state of the union.  Is feeling that way a surrender to self-serving-ness, or resistance? In reasoning, do we surrender to reason or to feeling?  What we argue about or think about is not about what we will fight for, what we will fight to ‘not-surrender’ – what we need are more moments likes these when surrendering to the safety and love of the moment. - Mark Kolke

September 15, 2009

We praise passion as a feeling, admire people who passionately pursue a cause, a career, a talent or pursuit of a goal while obsession is something you ‘seek professional help’ for. Obsession and passion are surely kissin’ cousins. I am not sure I understand the difference or agree with either premise but I know there are only a handful of things I would describe as obsession or passion in my life. - Mark Kolke

September 14, 2009

Blowing a fuse, a gasket or a moment with someone is like snuffing out a brilliant flame; what once might have been a promising relationship gets lost in a moment, gets lost in making its point and so much that could have been good gets lost.  It makes me wonder, when people who talk with their hands sit on their hands, do their mouths cease working? I wonder about that . . The next time I get really annoyed about something, I’m going to try really hard to be silent; it hasn’t worked for me in the past, but I think it might if I can just master that issue of keeping my mouth shut.  Meanwhile, if I sit quietly, answers may just come floating by . .    Intensity is, in some forms, relaxation – as one form of labor relaxes us from another – comes from the doing of different things, the ballast that keeps us grounded physically and electrically. Does it help us understand what is in store for me, or for you? - Mark Kolke

September 13, 2009

As we look out of our windows - to see the world, wishing we were somewhere else doing something else - to be something else, or someone else, that which we want is simply a matter of wishing it so.  Don’t you agree, all we have to do is use our minds? That’s all we have to work with, and happily, that is all we need. - Mark Kolke

September 12, 2009

That moment – when, on the verge of knowing the right answer, or just before falling off the cliff (this happens in dreams but fortunately, so far, not in reality), or that moment when bids are opened, numbers are drawn, ballots are counted – such anticipation just moments before our internal adrenalin drip switches on . . I know that feeling well.  To tremble with nervous agitation – excitement vibrates like earth tremor rippling from an epicenter somewhere between my groin and my imagination. - Mark Kolke

September 11, 2009

It is easy to watch, in awe, at someone else’s talent – but often not so easy to bear witness to our own. - Mark Kolke

September 10, 2009

Search for understanding is not about being understood – but about knowing more, feeling more and doing more.  We search and guess, I guess; as we put it out there and try to reel it in at the same time – there is no pattern to follow, no way of knowing where each path might lead. Trial and error is not my style; try and try not to err seems a better theory. - Mark Kolke

September 9, 2009

So much to laugh about, so little time. We see so many jokes, bumper stickers and hear so many jokes . . each bearing a concluding punch-line with “ ……. so little time.” It seems odd, since we have so little time, that we waste so much of it.  Wasted time and its brother wasted energy – wasted learning too (why bother when ignorance is so readily available without effort?). - Mark Kolke

September 8, 2009

Am I ahead, or behind or just staying even – who has time to stop on the sidelines to figure out whether I am one of the other; I haven’t time or inclination to – and so much thought or discussion on waste feels like a trip down a memory lane I’ve visited too often. - Mark Kolke

September 7, 2009

So much time I’ve wasted on things that don’t matter, on people I don’t like. Waste is in every thought of unhappiness, every dissatisfaction I allow into my day.  I wasted too much of my youth just on growing up, some of my middle-ages too - but I’ll waste no more. - Mark Kolke

September 6, 2009

No success alleviates pain – no great venture cures something, no pile of money replaces something lost.  The joys in life pass by, but when we pause to appreciate them, the clock seems to tick slower, the tic-toc slows, muffled and sluggish it ticks a slow tune. - Mark Kolke

September 5, 2009

Appreciation of what I have, what I’ve experienced and the spectrum of life available to me is overwhelming sometimes . . in sharp contrast to the sudden stop.  The sudden stop is just around the corner; for each of us, well or not, stable or not, living right or not – just the same chance we all have. - Mark Kolke

September 4, 2009

It doesn’t take a call from the past to remind us how we leave our impressions on the landscape like so much unfinished business; sometimes some times look different when our perspective is a mile a way . . or 27 years away .. sometimes they look just the same.- Mark Kolke

September  3, 2009

Distance and character, strength and time – eventually all is revealed, repeated and reminded that the shortest distance can be grand canyon wide without a bridge; the longest distance is nothing of concern when connections are strong. - Mark Kolke

September 2, 2009

Happiness is no far off place or found within someone else - near or far – happiness is underfoot all the time because that is where we grow it; where we are, wherever we are, happiness is in us and of us.  No other person can insert happiness in my equation, no other person can take it away. - Mark Kolke

September 1, 2009

For us all – let us live long and fully aware lives – I can wish no better for anyone; let us not waste life while we are living – it is no commodity to pack, not a wealth to be horded nor a handful to be kept in reserve. If football, players are encouraged to leave their whole game and being out on the field – a great metaphor for how we might spend every day; there is time to do that before this one slips by un-noticed. - Mark Kolke

August 31, 2009

When people live deeply, it has been said, they have no fear of death. I wonder about that; as some people rely on faith that death and dying are just way-stations along a path to what is next. Others believe it is a final resting point – when nothing further is asked or offered, given or expected. Both are correct in my view. - Mark Kolke

August 30, 2009

Living, and dying are not opposites – but sequential events we cannot avoid – a shift that happens every day of the year in every land. One might think, after so many centuries, that new ways of dealing with the post-life period might emerge.  Traditions, process, ceremony and remembrance have not evolved much.  Like the death that causes them, a right of passage that is swiftly final – one moment it was coming, and then it is over. - Mark Kolke

August 29, 2009

Lives lived – seen through the rear-view mirror of hindsight educates, humbles and gives pause.  I’ve often wondered if words or a graph could represent loss vs. gain, valuable experience vs. folly.  Are we living fully or getting ready to live fully once certain things are done, or passed, or accomplished? I like the question, but not so much trying to answer. - Mark Kolke

August 28, 2009

At the end, the test is simply this: when our days are gone, or numbered, what will be left un-done, un-said, un-fulfilled? If the answer is ‘nothing’, then it will be time to go. If, the answer is ‘much’ then it is not time to go, but time to rise up – not in a struggle against death but in a celebration of life’s opportunity each day gives us. I know that sounds sappy, but I believe it is true.  Look around your life (and in the mirror) and ask who is celebrating and who is done?  I’m not done, not yet – and I need to celebrate more.  I think I’ll follow the butterfly’s example a little more . ..   . - Mark Kolke

August 27, 2009

Being alive – truly alive – means allowing ourselves to be our fullest and best selves. I fall short often, but I keep trying almost every day.  I falter more often than I would like but retreat is not a word I understand very well. I’d rather stay pointed where my compass is taking me.  The kindness of friends, clients and colleagues helps with that – a lot – and I am grateful. - Mark Kolke

August 26, 2009

When I was much younger I would have thought adjusting sights, goals, dreams and plans at this age would have been too little, too late and too bad.  That was then. Each day I wonder if I am too much, too early or too good to be real. - Mark Kolke

August 25, 2009

On this day wisdom and foolishness intertwined, can we weave together some semblance of reason and truth? Maybe some other day, maybe today – who knows, unless we try, so why not try today - no foolin’. - Mark Kolke

August 24, 2009

Fresh begets optimism, fresh lets chance and new dynamics in through a closed window – fresh combinations of actions and ideas will always produce some nuances of expected and unexpected.  Maybe the progress comes with just being able to explain it all more simply. - Mark Kolke

August 23, 2009

Slo-mo déjŕ vu collage - past errors in judgment, opportunities missed and memories of feeling the fool, of feeling foolish, of boldly going or not so boldly staying put or snail’s pace. How can I tell if today will be slug-race or foot-race? - Mark Kolke

August 22, 2009

Fresh ideas, fresh faces, fresh problems, fresh air – each is a spring-rising, consciousness-raising elixir.  I believe a does of fresh is good for everyone.  Fresh tomato on a plate. Fresh breeze in the face. Fresh idea coursing through the brain.  No need for an idea to be perfect or even remotely close to that . . just fresh. - Mark Kolke

August 21, 2009

Words fail me sometimes – not often, but when they fail me I struggle to find balance between what is easy to say and what is tough to say. - Mark Kolke

August 20, 2009

My whole self, or yours - is a plow to be steered – it is an instrument of good, of change, of art, of worth and value.  We have no idea what will appear in each furrow we turn over other than the knowing there will be earth and ideas will come from it. - Mark Kolke

August 19, 2009

Sparks can ignite available fuel to create a great blaze.  An idea can easily die or be snuffed out.  But, a great idea – that’s another thing.  We ALL have great ideas. They are most often not great ideas to suit the whole world or even a whole town – that’s not as important as the great idea to suit our whole self. - Mark Kolke

August 18, 2009

Heart rate is a measurement of how fast it beats – heart rate is a measurement of how slow it beats. Heart rate, so central to life as it starts, so critical to continuous operation – it just needs to beat, and beat and beat – it’s task continues until the end.  One in my chest – one in everyone who matters to me – each one beating for life, each one beating death every beat, every day, every time.  If we got 100 people discussing it, surely there would be 101 or more theories; but if there is an afterlife, then I expect those who are gone would share just one view. When does learning start; when does it stop? A great ‘life after death’, or not, discussion around the breakfast table this morning. For every person added to the discussion, one more perspective arrives. - Mark Kolke

August 17, 2009

Every day has everyday element of perfection amid a stream of imperfections; yesterday was one of those, to coin an art term to pain the picture, a mixed-media day.  A cliché like ‘necessity being the mother of invention’ pains the ears a little – too overworked, overused and over trivialized, except when it is true, which it is. - Mark Kolke

August 16, 2009

When we listen to our critics, we can easily lose place, perspective or our pride. When we listen to ourselves we (I do) often beat ourselves up over nothing for a while for what is apparently (because so many people point it out) no good reason at all. - Mark Kolke

August 15, 2009

Those things which do not serve to connect us, serve to divide us. Life as we know it, dream it, wish it, love it or hate it is subject to change without notice; the certainty we knew only moments ago might evaporate moments from now. To put my head around that idea, depending on my mood or emotional state at the time, I travel in a heartbeat from fright to euphoria – like they are towns by those names. I prefer to live between them. - Mark Kolke

August 14, 2009

I didn’t fail – I made a mistake.  I didn’t fail – I didn’t succeed yet. I didn’t fail – I can do better.  OK then. I’m done with that – it is time to have a Friday.  Have one, a good one, yourself. - Mark Kolke

August 13, 2009

Force of water upon landscape is like memory’s impact on mind – finding its way, falling into every crack, working its way along, unrelenting on its pilgrimage to return home - to an ocean somewhere to resume its life cycle.  Memory lives in the rivers of our mind, flowing to somewhere from somewhere until it arrives – announces it’s arrival as if to say, ‘I’m here now, so what are you going to do about it?’.  - Mark Kolke

August 12, 2009

"Life slides by - at the same pace always - but certain passages of time are like stop signs or yield signs on life’s road.  They frame snapshots in time when hearts beat outside our chests and when we hover invisible in a room – witnessing ourselves and those we love if life and in death, in laughter and in tears.  Sometimes these moment fly by in a second, sometime it feels like a decade – because it is." - Mark Kolke

August 11, 2009

"Clock hands, like black-gloved fingers, point out increments of time and distance; as reminders that nothing hesitates for any thing or anyone – like the conference call that interrupted this writing – the time delay didn’t cause me to lose anything really. Perhaps I gained some perspective in the process.  As I get older it seems tension of coping with the unexpected gets easier to take, the delays cause fewer problems." - Mark Kolke

August 10, 2009

"I find myself – on busy days and slow ones too – preoccupied with time; the time to do things, organizing the things I have to do. I often wonder if I spent less time organizing, prioritizing and creatively procrastinating that I might get more done.  But then I imagine doing only the things that give me pleasure all day, leaving all those ‘less lovely’ but clearly necessary items to do ‘later’, but when I do that later never comes . .. ." - Mark Kolke

August 9, 2009

"If I wish to be deliberate today – to force my agenda on the world, will the world notice?  Obviously, the answer is ‘not likely’.  If, on the other hand, I make a pile of sand (my metaphor) and tomorrow add some more, some more the day after – eventually some people will notice that pile of sand. Some will say, ‘hey, what’s with the pile of sand?’. Some will say, ‘why is this guy building this pile of sand?’.  Somebody will no doubt say, ‘what’s with that idiotic pile of sand?’.  Some, young ones I expect, will say ‘cool pile of sand!’ or ‘let’s slide down from the top!’." - Mark Kolke

August 8, 2009

"If our arms aren’t open, what of our mind?  If our mind isn’t open, how could our arms ever be?  This day will bring joy for some, tragedy for others – none of us can control any of the external elements; hey, we can scarcely control any of our own." - Mark Kolke

August 7, 2009

"Where do we go from here, and how do we get there from here?  What will this day hold that we have no idea about that will alter our direction? What will keep us steady to our task leaving us unwaveringly committed to the path we’ve chosen?  Are we open to it: are we resisting it, anticipating it, arms open, expecting abundance and joy, fearing all, fearing some, fearing something, scared crapless?" - Mark Kolke

August 6, 2009

"Whether your pile is a collection of work, a body of accomplishments or simply the accumulation of little things you do for others you DO make a difference, the differences DO add up.  They make you who you are.  So, make that pile bigger so we can all see you." - Mark Kolke

August 5, 2009

"Whatever we build it might not matter to anyone.  Any dog can pee on it.  Anyone can dismiss it.  A bulldozer can crush it – so can the right combo of unkind words at a pivotal moment.  What matters most has nothing to do with the building up or tearing down. Wanting to build matters most. It trumps wanting to tear down, every time." - Mark Kolke

August 4, 2009

"We are what we think about; if we think morose thoughts, we will be morose, if we think of good work on a grand scale we will motivate ourselves to work hard.  If we think of what we want, who we want it with an where we want to be then nothing can stop us.  This is my belief based on too little evidence and too much optimism, but that’s OK." - Mark Kolke

August 3, 2009

"Time is so precious – so often the time it takes to think things through is unavailable because it is budgeted for something else, some activity or some people who need our time.  Sometimes things – the thinking, ruminating, the writing – seem wrong, but the more I think about it they are more right than wrong, more me and un-me; not about who I was or who I want to be but about who I am." - Mark Kolke

August 2, 2009

"I don’t know the way – I seek the way.  I don’t know the route, but I am stepping out in a forward motion looking for it.  I step on firm ground most days, slip into the muck on others.  I have my eyes and arms open to embrace things and people I love, I have my mind closed to things I seek to avoid or shun. I have my focus on understanding life and myself better.  If, in following that, you gain some insight to life and yourself, then I shall have done a job worthy of continuing." - Mark Kolke

August 1, 2009

"Each piece I write , starts as nothing, the blank page. It grows, it stays empty on its own, as it fills with words it teaches and gives to me far more than I ever give to it." - Mark Kolke

July 31, 2009

"Some days are an incomplete experience – the ones where we don’t get everything done, or much accomplished that makes us feel completed.  Those are real and hard to ignore, but sometimes the ingredients that make a day complete come from very different criteria." - Mark Kolke

July 30, 2009

"Some problems are often better left in the past, like strangers ignored as we pass by. Time at home, work, organization or group – more than physical sanctuary from noisy crowd of life is less about ‘place’ than it is about a state of mind - a place of safe and warm, a place where relationships are easy and kind, irritation absent – smooth, beautiful and enduring. We can find that just about anywhere, yet so often we don’t find it – even if we ask for directions – because we need to know how to ask, when to ask, how to set the scene . . ." - Mark Kolke

July 29, 2009

"Time passes, things people do (or fail to do) irritate, infuriate and downright confound; set aside or swept aside these things are put on ignore until the next occurrence, and so on – until time has passed, a hundred tiny cuts have piled onto that old wound.  Experience is the label we often give our mistakes; I’ve had many experiences I wouldn’t call mistakes though each mistake seems to add to my experience." - Mark Kolke

July 28, 2009

"The doors are always open, if we want to go through them; they swing shut when we ignore them. We could go batty figuring out those theoretical logistics.  The more experience I gain, the more I realize the spontaneity of the moment is the best time, the best tool, the best place to start or continue the experience." - Mark Kolke

July 27, 2009

"What makes it possible for one person to last, or another to survive much longer is part statistic, part luck, part management – part of each of us. The secret to long happy life has been sought for thousands of years; our foe is the same - as are we all when you get down to what makes us.  Flesh and bone, water, assorted minerals, personality, history and memories – that’s all it takes." - Mark Kolke

July 26, 2009

"I am curious about how we use ‘life threatening’ as if it has ubiquitous meaning but I never hear its opposite ‘death threatening’.  Maybe, like flammable and inflammable, they really mean much the same thing when you think about it, or if you tweak the punctuation. Death is threatening, all the time – but life doesn’t threaten at all. Life offers opportunity with an open hand, life is always open for business and willing to let us be – let us be whoever we choose to be." - Mark Kolke

July 25, 2009

"Is a short full life more or less valuable than a full long one; or of one cut short? I was reading a news (more like journalist guess-work really) article about a celebrity hurt and in a life-threatening condition – it grabs news attention as if this problem had never occurred to anyone else. Countless millions have life threatening problems too – but never find their way to page one or two or ten of any paper." - Mark Kolke

July 24, 2009

"A start is made easier, or not, by our mind-frame. I want to put it down on paper – pour it out, let it spill, flow it all around – then stir it and swirl it so nobody knows what made it, so nobody knows the secret ingredients, so nobody knows what makes the secret sauce so good.  Is it the sauces, or is it because there is a secret?  Is life about some secret or is it about the sauce?" - Mark Kolke

July 23, 2009

"What we believe, how we live, who we are – these are handles we need to grab onto when the merry-go-round goes too fast; or when the world spins round.  Life, for the ant in his hill, or the fool on his - full of life and quality of life – phrases tossed about like the advertising clichés they are; the beginning and end like two pieces of cookie, the alpha-omega equation, the filling between bursting with flavor to tell us what kind it is." - Mark Kolke

July 22, 2009

"Getting to where we think we are going requires, I think, a better understanding of where we were and of how far we’ve come – though we probably all need some help with that for, if nothing else, an objective view from a disinterested party." - Mark Kolke

July 21, 2009

"Questing is probably both a healthy and never ending state, but learning – that’s different. At various stages in life, I think it just goes on holiday – shows up absent – disappears or evaporates.  Yet, sometimes, it just shows up when you least expect it. Some of that happened for me yesterday.  Not in bold broad brush strokes, but more like little dabs in the corners of the picture." - Mark Kolke

July 20, 2009

"Innovation and creativity infect us when they spread, virus-like; some people get them, some don’t, no rhyme, no reason, no easy explanation; some people respond to invitation, rise to challenge, step over dotted-lines or slip comfortably into new roles – make room for more in any mind.  Like dominoes tipping, things connect to one another, create Rube Goldberg-like chain reactions, completing as if there was some master plan, even when there was no plan at all – not so often with actions as they do with ideas, completing when feelings rest comfortably in appropriate corners of my mind." - Mark Kolke

July 19, 2009

"Fueled (or is that fooled?) by intention, innovation is ‘new way to do something’ or new way to use a tool – not invention but practical inventiveness; relationships of people, events, ideas and how things connect confound me. Maybe, one day, DNA research will one day reveal why some people and ideas connect as others languish, explain myself to me - or yourself to you, so we can all understand how zeal to create magical experience is formed." - Mark Kolke

July 18, 2009

"Innovation is to creativity as pleasure is to satisfaction, as value is to worth – close, yes, but no comparison; early morning solitude, time for quiet reflection.  Antidote to the ‘could have, would have, should have’ of life - reveling in how exciting it has been and how powerful it yet can be - innovation is all about risking; risking success, risking failure, risking new experience, risking being dissatisfied with what arrives instead of standing still where the far greater risk is dissatisfaction with sameness." - Mark Kolke

July 17, 2009

"Great ideas are embryos I think, the best ones require 9 months of nurture and lifetime of maintenance thereafter, but so often we give up on them early rather than investing 60 years in their success. I’m wondering, as I have 38 years left to go in my life, if I should examine each project on the basis of whether I am prepared to invest the next 38 years to make it successful.  My guess is that would result in deferring a few things, maybe the middle of the road ones, sticking with the ones that present the greatest challenge/opportunity mix.  That way, if it things don’t work out I can at least have the better contest." - Mark Kolke

July 16, 2009

"This day isn’t broke, so I don’t see reason to fix it – but there are so many things I’d like to change if I could, but so many things are not the consequence of bad luck or poor decision making – they are simply a product of time passing and a process the occurs naturally." - Mark Kolke

July 15, 2009

"Avoidance of reality never fixed a problem and luck never made anything good that wasn’t good already.  I see clearly when things don’t matter to me, I see clearly when it is ‘someone else’s stuff’, I see clearly when it is someone else’s family, life, problems . . but sometimes, with open eyes and a clear view – it feels like I am seeing nothing.  Eyes numb, brain so busy it might as well be empty because so little clarity seems to leak out.  This is my reality TODAY.  It doesn’t mean the day is bad or that luck is bad – it simply means I have not figured it all out yet." - Mark Kolke

July 14, 2009

"Hope is great, but without a plan it is simply a dreamland flirtation. Busy times distract, workload diverts – risk of losing our way is exceeded only by the risk of losing focus on what is important.  Everyone has a different notion of what that means." - Mark Kolke

July 13, 2009

"Disappointments splash their cold water reality in our face. When cold water hits hot steel, it serves to strengthen, to temper, to intensify.  I think that is true for humans too.  We get frustrated in the moment, but once that initial irritation passes, determination has a chance to take over – and it usually does." - Mark Kolke

July 12, 2009

"When life delivers ingredients for competition, everybody wants to finish first I suppose, but the most important thing is finishing. Prospects that we might finish first, second or last should not get in the way of commitment to finish, to finish well, to finish proudly, to finish what we start." - Mark Kolke

July 11, 2009

"Wide eyes, clean slate and an open (or is that empty?) mind was a privilege of youth - something I believe is worthy of revisiting, at any time in life. Looking forward to events, both planned and inevitable, without the foreboding of many things that could go wrong is no short-cut, it is simply the most direct route." - Mark Kolke

July 10, 2009

"Fear, as a state of mind, is not a place. Fear understood is usually not fear at all. Fear is something we are taught, perhaps with some good reasons, by our experiences. Fear is lack of knowledge. But fear is not a requirement in life. If you don’t have a bowl of fear today you’ll be fine." - Mark Kolke

July 9, 2009

"Whether or not we want to, we all must confront the demon I call FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt). Fear is the handcuffs, uncertainty the jail, doubt the prison. They incarcerate the spirit, imagination and opportunities.  Fear, uncertainty and doubt can be washed aside with clarity, certainty and confidence." - Mark Kolke

July 8, 2009

"A few words will do. We word-workers, servants of creative process trade on turn of phrase or sharpness of wit or point. A word or two or three, a message conveys meaning, or not.  In writing, as with speaking, I strive to be effective when I focus on clarity – and to do it with simplicity and humanity. But certainty and confidence are so important too.  They are neither synonyms or cousins of clarity – they just start with letter c; it is good to remember then, especially on cold days when we wrestle with urges to use other letters of the alphabet." - Mark Kolke

July 7, 2009

"Elegant solutions do not fall out of some process. Rather, they emerge from a process – just as a butterfly emerges from chrysalis leaving a transformational phase completely behind to emerge in a new form for a new stage of life.  When we have such a solution – a sense of purpose and knowing that will get us through anything, it is because we have clarity, a certainty of purpose and confidence in what we are doing." - Mark Kolke

July 6, 2009

"Have you heard that the world is broke? The people of the world may be broke, the world is not broken. We may be broke, but we ARE NOT BROKEN.  We may find that things get worse than they already are – but we are not broken and we will not be broken." - Mark Kolke

July 5, 2009

"Things are hanging together just fine I think. For many of us in ‘middle years’ looking ahead, our rose-tinted glasses of youth set aside, a vision becomes clearer – or so we think – that we can imagine our lives following some sort of predictable path.  It is far from predictable, but that is the perception." - Mark Kolke

July 4, 2009

"If you scratch any us deep enough, notwithstanding current financial turmoil, there is a plan or an expectation of a plan that involves elements of savings, investment, slowing down, grand-children, travel, work/play balance and health.  A ubiquitous recipe with variations on this theme is a farcical dream. Case in point – just read any obituary page and the story and clarity jumps off the page.  Lives take paths we don’t predict or plan, the end of the road is not the end of some highway that never stops, the end of the road is when we stop." - Mark Kolke

July 3, 2009

"When you reach the top, don’t stop climbing, but when you reach the bottom, then it is time to stop digging.  No hole is so deep we can’t get out of it. And, remember the words (though I think she was meaning something else) of Mae West who said, “anything worth doing is worth doing slowly”. Slow or fast, most things we do won’t be world-beaters, success stories or game-changers – but they will make some minute difference. Some, will have a bigger impact." - Mark Kolke

July 2, 2009

"Think about it – if you give someone your smile, they can use it and you can easily produce another. If you give them an hour of your time, you can always find another (remember, daylight saving time just gave you one every day!), you can give someone a piece of your mind and still have some left!  Seriously, the gifts you give today make the world of difference to someone. But, you don’t know who it is or which act will make the difference." - Mark Kolke

July 1, 2009

"In times where gloom is doom, and doom is gloomier yet, there is hope and reason to hope for a great day.  Every day, just like this one, we can have a fantastic time and be effective in the things we try to do – all of them – if we want to, if we think we can and if we focus only on what we have to give to the situation, or to someone.  The trick then, is not just to do many acts of niceness – but rather to make sure every act is one of niceness." - Mark Kolke

June 30, 2009

"All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.” – Friedrich Nietzche; many mornings, as I head out for my walk it seems unimaginable that I would have anything to write about. Most mornings, coming back, it would seem unimaginable that I wouldn’t." - Mark Kolke

June 29, 2009

"For those whacked by circumstance, if your sense of ha+ha has gone away, please – if only for a moment – stop to smile and realize that life is actually fatal for all of us, in good times in bad.  All we get to do is manage the times between the beginning and the end, like flipping pages of a good book, flipping one after another – but with no rush to reach the end." - Mark Kolke

June 28, 2009

"Pull up, pull over, pull harder - pulling can be a solitary task for an ox in a field or for any of us going it alone – but pulling together makes a huge difference.  Pushed and pulled are just as often self-drive issues imposed (or restricted) by ourselves. Did we push ourselves hard enough, did we pull ourselves out of bed early enough . .etc?" - Mark Kolke

June 27, 2009

"Preparation, for success or for falling short, is where the real work is done – where the real foundation is laid – where the most important investment is made, in brain cells doing their job to get it ‘really right’ as opposed to ‘close enough’.  Excellence comes from doing ordinary things extraordinarily well – not any single act, but a habit, the gradual result of trying to do better, it is in the details and borne of study, preparation and the most critical ingredient – action!  Lessons of the ordinary are everywhere – they litter the landscape.  Excellence teaches more than mediocrity could ever dream." - Mark Kolke

June 26, 2009

"I am here now, alive now, present now, living and working now, playing and thinking now – everything is now.  To go back would be to re-live what I’ve lived already – pleasant in some moments of reflection, but it is old, tired, been-there done-it stuff.  Give me now, give me here, give me every breath of every day – and I will give all of me all the time – c’mon world, lets do it all." - Mark Kolke

June 25, 2009

"I got my new health care insurance card. The old one was trashed.  As I plucked it from the sheet it came on I turned it over.  There was something on the back. The heading ‘Universal Donor Card’ caught my attention.  I’d never signed one of these before – always felt invincible I suppose.  I signed it.  It struck me as odd, that one of the options/boxes to tick allows for only giving specific organs for transplantation.  Really, if you’re dead and things are being cut out to help someone else, why not give the whole package? Just because my heart could help someone, why not give them my toes, knuckles and bald scalp too?  I can’t imagine, if dead, that I would want to turn my back on anyone who might be able to use what I no longer can." - Mark Kolke

June 24, 2009

"I know this – future will be so unlike past I won’t recognize it 10 years from now; if I look in a mirror 10 years from only to see the same things – to see my life unchanged - that will mean a gap will have grown between me and reality, a chasm too wide to imagine bridging.  I am not an advocate for reckless endangerment of myself or anyone else, but c’mon, we can lead, follow or get out of the way; in other words we can stick our neck out, go where the crowd is going or get out of the path of the stampede." - Mark Kolke

June 23, 2009

"There is so much to say, so little time - so much to do, so much energy to work with, no limits, no boundaries we cannot cross to fix ourselves upon different paths to some imaginary point where change happens.  Not flirtatious hints of change, but real change – with no idea what it will look like, where it will take me, how many bumps on the road or potholes I’ll slip into.  First light wakes the day as night leaves us, goes to sleep.  First light wakens us from still of night, from quiet reflection percolating energy drives endorphins round brain paths, pushes is along too, pumps life’s blood to arouse flesh to action." - Mark Kolke

June 22, 2009

"I don’t know how many words one can write in a day without seeing good ideas merge into drivel, without mesh becoming mush – but ideas put away in a drawer never see the first light of day.  First light wakes me." - Mark Kolke

June 21, 2009

"How quickly the most important serious matters descend into nothingness, obliviousness, mundane trivial drivel, lost, forgotten until the spark of inspiration hits some old dust at just the right angle – add some sizzle and – voila – something magical appears.  I have no shortage of this kind of inspiration – but I’ve been wondering where it comes from, for me, for anyone.  What makes the difference between a spark that lights a fire, and just another spark?  What triggers inspiration?" - Mark Kolke

June 20, 2009

"Once fear of the unknown is relinquished, it opens pandora’s box to become an adventure – perhaps like the second voyage of Columbus, when he knew for certain that he would not sail over the edge of the earth to plunge into the abyss." - Mark Kolke

June 19, 2009

"Too many thoughts, too many things to do, too much feeling of madness rises to a crescendo until something breaks – or breaks through with a solution.  Most often, the way I cope with this (in theory), is to lighten the load along the way – the completed task, the ‘thank you’ from a client, the problem that evaporated, the meeting cancellation on the day when there was just not enough room – these serve to reduce the tension, lift the shoulders and often the spirit too." - Mark Kolke

June 18, 2009

"End is near for some, beginning just arriving for me.  End-point of no return for some, the jumping off point for me.  As some things end, cease, die or get extinguished – there are so many things springing to life without regard to the weather or season outside. I believe there are no real problems, just solutions I’ve not found yet.  There are no real impossibilities – only a failure to explore and experiment to find them." - Mark Kolke

June 17, 2009

"Is normal a virtue, or should it be?  Does normal simply mean lack of courage, lack of adventure or lack of difficulty?  Maybe normal is an artificial state of mind none of us reach – and if we did, I suspect we want to make radical changes.  I feel like waking up Jack Kerouac to get his take on things but maybe all I needed was for him to wake me up." - Mark Kolke

June 16, 2009

"It is not backwards thinking to expect the future to look different than the past. While it is ‘comfortable’ to see current times as temporary - a period of adjustment if you will - following which we return to normal, or whatever that might have been – it is clear to me that there will be no such return and I am not holding on to any illusion that it will." - Mark Kolke

June 15, 2009

"I am inspired by people who faces the reality that ‘things are not normal’, who embrace now as the most extraordinary time, ever, to be alive and doing things, alive and dreaming things, alive and working toward things, alive and thriving, alive and surviving, alive as abnormally as we can be.   I am not anything close to normal.  I think I’ll hold onto that." - Mark Kolke

June 14, 2009

"Would things be different, if any one of those choices along the way had been different?  Of course they would, but would they have been better?   I have only one direction to look – forward, as we all do.  We can be damaged, discouraged, wounded or despondent – it is all a matter of attitude." - Mark Kolke

June 13, 2009

"Attitude can change our perspective but it has little impact on facts. Looking back without rose-tinted glasses the mix of images and memories get fuzzy; the memories of big events stand out clearly while the ‘between times’ are mostly long forgotten; I remember how I was feeling generally over a period of time but not on a particular day or in some month past, on any single step taken." - Mark Kolke

June 12, 2009

"Steps taken always lead somewhere – looking back, the path is clear, crooked and well worn; looking back I see all of the avenues, off-shoots and adventurous trails left unexplored. Looking forward, at this stage of life I see far more opportunities stretching off in different directions – each requiring energy, each requiring at least a short term commitment to making them successful, too many directions, too many choices, too much to do, too little time." - Mark Kolke

June 11, 2009

"Today we each take some steps – most will be just that, steps, quickly taken and quickly forgotten.  Some of those steps will determine path, direction and velocity of our lives.  Trying  to know in advance which is which becomes a crazy-makin’ exercise – so I think the best course is to take many steps.  Many steps. Many more steps.  Outrageous wellbeing might follow.  Not for certain, but it might." - Mark Kolke

June 10, 2009

"Imagine if our mind is a muscle – then how much exercise is it getting?" - Mark Kolke

June 9, 2009

"In real estate business the old mantra ‘location, location, location’ so often seems better stated as ‘timing, timing, timing’  - more apropos as melding of choice and art, luck and management relies so heavily on timing. Yet, we could never hold a cup of time in our hand, shovel a bushel of time into a bin or pour some time on something – yet in so many things timing, time and its inevitable hand maiden – waiting – are crucial.” - Mark Kolke

June 8, 2009

"If an idea worked before, it may not work now.  That is a reasonable thought given the changing landscape – but what about things that didn’t work before?  What about all the great ideas flung to the ditch because they didn’t work in good times . .or maybe they just didn’t work good-enough in good times?  How many things we’ve started and abandoned, started and not finished, started and ignored – how many of these things have within them the power to change our lives, our businesses, our future . . how many?" - Mark Kolke

June 7, 2009

"Admitting defeat now and then is not harmful. It is humbling and a healthy purge of arrogance and self-pride that has its place and offers tingling stimulation – like a strong mouthwash. Accepting defeat, on the other hand, is one of the most destructive forces that exists. There is no right answer, no wrong answer – a hope is still a hope, a dream is still a dream – even if they feel remote, unattainable – there is still hope, there is still a dream." - Mark Kolke

June 6, 2009

"Intelligence and logic can put us on the bench, on the shelf or on the floor but certainly on our backs.  Optimism, on the other hand, changes nothing in and of itself, but with optimism we have will, with will comes a way, with a way comes results, with results comes success in one of its forms.  Which we choose to be doesn’t matter to anyone besides the person in the mirror.  At worst, we’ll have a better trip. At best, we will have the untold riches of a full life walking above the clouds, always in sunshine." - Mark Kolke

June 5, 2009

"Our salads should come from a garden of healthy relationships we planted ourselves, our dinner should be the best of things we’ve found along the way; the centre of the plate a meaty serving of the best of us surrounded by nice things about us that go with it, then all smothered in warm tasty experience like gravy covering every cooking infraction as it weren’t there." - Mark Kolke

June 4, 2009

"At dinner, the sweets come last – in life, they usually arrive earlier on.  If life is a five course meal, what stage are you on?  Are you stuck at some stage with a plate that needs clearing, or are you moving on to the next course?" - Mark Kolke

June 3, 2009

"I came away with an idea, a smile and memories of so much of my dad – most of my memories of him, whilst growing up, were at the table for a meal; dinners during the week plus breakfasts on weekends.  We started out our bonding over food, it seems we’ve done a lot of that along the way and it still serves that purpose of bringing us together for conversation and a unique connection that is hard to describe." - Mark Kolke

June 2, 2009

"Love as an abstract concept is about deep feelings of caring tenderly for another person (probably not the same if caring about a place or a favorite thing) that does not necessarily (but likely is) connected to intimacy in its various forms. Platonic love is for parents, children, siblings, cousins, good friends, aged aunts and priests with integrity.  For most  other situations, love and intimacy intertwine like spaghetti, like grasshopper and butterfly, like work and play, like gravity and the earth, madness and joy, need and want, yeast and dough, air and water. Loves come, they go, they stay, they never leave us even though sometimes the people do." - Mark Kolke

June 1, 2009

"I’ve been witness to so many of these situations – active participant in discussion; it makes me wonder if we do it to hear our own voices, if we really want to change the way the world works or if we are resigned to being spectators in a game we cannot change." - Mark Kolke

May 31, 2009

"Arthur Rubinstein said: “Love life and life will love you back. Love people and they will love you back”.  I’ve not heard many that are better.  Hafiz, the Rumi poet of ancient Persia said: ‘I can think of no greater devotion, than to be shore to your ocean.’ . .OK, he wrote it in Persian, but someone translated it to English.  It would have been nice to meet Hafiz at a dinner party, no need to ask him: What is it, really? " - Mark Kolke

May 30, 2009

"Life is a song without words, only music playing; we get to make up our own words.  For some that would be poems about loss of loved one – for others that could be short rhyming love poems about a current love who lives on my street, or a dream of one that never was." - Mark Kolke

May 29, 2009

"Life doesn’t come in a package along with a book of poems, an instruction manual or a personal reference letter of recommendation – it is something we each get to figure out.  I am not so sure we must figure it out because I encounter so many people who appear not to have figured it out and it seems they don’t care." - Mark Kolke

May 28, 2009

"We all fall into habits; if our habits are good then we repeat good, if our habits are bad we repeat bad.  Each of us is neither all good or all bad.  We have so many more than those two choices. Our capabilities show what we can do, but it is our choices that reveal who we really are." - Mark Kolke

May 27, 2009

"The entire future could be addressed, though that would take several volumes, but the only part of the future that matters is the single day, because that is how the future comes, one day at a time - days when failure offers feedback, when a glass half empty might just be a glass too large, when yesterday’s crisis is tomorrow’s laughter." - Mark Kolke

May 26, 2009

"Life’s events wear disguises I think. Problems, issues, events and people come wrapped in their persona, filtered by our perceptions of them, but what is underneath?  I don’t remember what I was worrying about a year ago, a month ago, a week ago – and what it was yesterday is fading fast." - Mark Kolke

May 25, 2009

"Just as mountain climbers climb peaks ‘because it is there’, writers fill the page because it is not.  On days when we draw a blank, there are two alternative – leave it blank or fill it up.  Leaving it blank is never an option.  Finding inspiration is usually not the problem – rather it is a matter of choosing from a spectrum of things, ideas, issues etc. to find one focused thing or theme. In a pinch, while Google is sometimes helpful, a little searching often puts me on inspiration overload." - Mark Kolke

May 24, 2009

"Is the cynic really a disappointed idealist having a bad day?  Is betting on people a bet you can never win – or do we always win when we bet on people, regardless of the outcome? While negative thinking might reveal important truths, positive thinking makes for a better trip through choppy waters.  Viewpoint and attitude have so much more to do with our enjoyment of life than do facts and analysis of problems." - Mark Kolke

May 23, 2009

"Everywhere I look, including the mirror, there are troubles, there is reality; no time for suspension of disbelief, it is true and troubling. For many the troubles crumble into chaos, and for many experiencing chaos, catastrophe is a heartbeat away." - Mark Kolke

May 22, 2009

"Lost days aren’t lost any more than routine is lost through change or that change cannot be made while sticking with routine.  How we react to imposed change is no less relevant to outcome than are the things we do to be proactive, advancing our ideas, pursuing our aspirations, opening new avenues of opportunity as we cross streets filled with despair." - Mark Kolke

May 21, 2009

"I made a mistake yesterday, does that mean I am broken?  I made a mistake, nothing catastrophic, just work-making, time-consuming, do-over, mildly-frustrating, mildly-amusing mistake. But lost time. If I lost 1 hour on a mistake, and if I make 24 mistakes a month, do I lose a day? Or do I save one?" - Mark Kolke

May 20, 2009

"Hidden in every no, is a yes. Inside every yes, lurks a no.  There is no black, no white, no absence of good, no absence of darkness. No sample of letter of resolution precedent to be copied over and over. It is all original." - Mark Kolke

May 19, 2009

"The mystery of outer space or micro particles fascinate us – so much unknown, so much to be discovered that it seems paltry to be examining our own brains for clues to how the world works. I wonder if it is like searching for a black cat in a darkened room, is it really there at all?  Does it lurk everywhere, anywhere or nowhere at all?" - Mark Kolke

May 18, 2009

"Reaching out for help takes on many forms.  I am thinking of the reaching out, the asking for assistance that we most need to do and are least likely to do.  Someone taught me a lesson many years ago that I too often forget – ‘never underestimate how much other people might want to help you if you give them a chance … if you only ask them’." - Mark Kolke

May 17, 2009

"For some things we need to be writing formal invitation letters, but for most things we need to pick up the phone or offer a handshake. We all need help.  We all can help. We all get help – giving or getting, we just need to ask. We don’t always get what we thought we wanted but we likely always get what we need.  If it doesn’t show up early then we need to keep asking." - Mark Kolke

May 16, 2009

"I’ve always been fond of this quote as one of those funny mottos for life with a clear meaning - but on reflection, maybe I’ve been fond of it for the wrong reason:  “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” – Lao Tzu. I’ve always thought of those time tested words as warning sign - on the road of life, a CAUTION, reminder to check where I am going, to make a course correction or retreat to put myself back on the right track.  But, what if I was on the right track – or the ‘most right track’ for me?  Lately I’ve seen those words as a different message – if you will, an affirmation that I am on the right track.  By that I don’t just mean the right track in terms of work, business and adventures – not just in terms of relationships, hopes and dreams – but in terms of integrating my reality with my opportunity, fulfillment of my dreams with my actions." - Mark Kolke

May 15, 2009

"Everybody wants to take the right road, but nobody wants to be road-kill.  When we avoid clear thinking, we go on auto-pilot. This applies, I think, to individuals as well as entire countries. . maybe more so for large groups somehow hypnotized in the belief our leaders are smart and would not lead us to or over the precipice." - Mark Kolke

May 14, 2009

"The spoon doesn’t know the flavor of the soup and maybe I’m not supposed to know the logic of the dream, as if dreams required logic – my choices are to make soup or go back to sleep. I’ll be making soup.  Worries and confusion go down better with soup." - Mark Kolke

May 13, 2009

"We live our lives though actions far more than by our ideas – but it seems we need lots of both, lots of confidence in our ideas and resolve in our actions.  Their value can never be known until we squeeze them out, let them drip, capture them, act on them – then we begin to see their value." - Mark Kolke

May 12, 2009

"The thought worth having, the idea worth keeping, is like savoring a moment – we must do it right then, as it is happening or lose it. Sitting down to write – to put one keystroke after another – the process of squeezing an idea out of the brain is sometimes like squeezing dried up fruit in pursuit of a drop of juice, some days it just doesn’t want to come." - Mark Kolke

May 11, 2009

"We live our lives though actions far more than by our ideas. For most people, ideas sit locked up, stored away, warehoused in a vault where they wither, dry out, dry up and eventually turn to dust. Ideas, good ones, are such tools, such valuable weapons in the struggle against bad ideas." - Mark Kolke

May 10, 2009

"The opinions of others – if we listen to them – can guides us to make fewer mistakes, take fewer risks – they urge that we be careful, take it easy, take it safe, think things through. This would be a great way of avoiding trouble and by so doing, avoiding anything resembling an interesting day or life - safety first, dial before you dig, careful, slow, stop, yield, red light, detour, bridge out – these signs of life tell us where trouble is and guide us to avoid it." - Mark Kolke

May 9, 2009

"Each time the horse of love knocked me down, I got up again as a choice; again and again. Some people never get up because they are afraid to try again and fail again. Some never get up because they hurt so much the last time and don’t want to risk the chance to fail again. Some people never get up because they don’t see the joy in it – before or again. Some people never get up because they see only risk of failure, risk of pain – not again!" - Mark Kolke

May 8, 2009

"What is ‘having love in your life’?  All we get to do with love is give it. Give it away again and again and again and again . . . and again.  Some things warm the body, some warm the heart. ‘Out there’, among those we know as well as those we don’t, hearts beat, some beat faster when they hear your voice or feel the touch of your hand; others just don’t care, again . . . and again." - Mark Kolke

May 7, 2009

"We don’t get love by wishing it so, we don’t get someone to be crazy about us because of any particular thing we do, gift we buy or flowers we send. The answers are not found in a Chinese love horoscope formula. We don’t get someone to be in the heart warming business simply because we care about them – this we need to learn, again and again." - Mark Kolke

May 6, 2009

"To promote good luck – or the avoidance of bad luck – maybe there is a formula that could work.  Just as moving slowing, if in the wrong direction, seems like a good idea – then moving quickly in the right direction seems to make sense to me.  Then it becomes easy – always pick the right direction, always go fast. Good luck is assured." - Mark Kolke

May 5, 2009

"In our future – whether it is global warming or financial markets freezing, survival of our belief systems will be called into question and suffer structural change just as glaciers and polar ice ebb and flow, just as species diminish, as climate shifts, as ideas move around the world at the speed of a point-click motion – surely the one thing in the world that needs to change most, that will change most – and must change most to survive is man. And woman too – each of us is a part of this complex puzzle." - Mark Kolke

May 4, 2009

"Inexorably, relentlessly, it continues with tenacity, rhythm of life, fragile things, inevitable and continuous – change as chaos, change as logical, and change as evolution delivers adaptation. Dinosaurs of old are now 10-W-30. Dinosaurs of today are institutions refusing to change notwithstanding that changes are eroding them as surely as the waves on a beach eat away the soft rocks quickest, but eventually all the rocks." - Mark Kolke

May 3, 2009

"In another life, another place, another time – what might I have dreamed of?  In the past, probably of survival.  In the future, certainly of survival.  Thrive - of course I hope to - but first we need to survive.  Most of the western world doesn’t have to fret much about survival in terms of food to eat or a roof over our heads – we tend to think more in terms of survival of our economy, survival of the spiritual side of our lives, survival of our relationships." - Mark Kolke

May 2, 2009

"What causes results - good results, happy results?  Is it good luck, good management or is it simply holding to a vision and refusing to quit?  Should we announce the initiative or announce only the results?  What would that look like, and is it achievable? Only the results matter – T/F?" - Mark Kolke

May 1, 2009

"Life is indeed about the journey, but we should not overlook where we are right now. It can be a vortex of joy and magic moments, or just another vortex passed by; some days are like a pińata – ready to be broken open to reveal many treasures inside, but first we have to whack the pińata pretty hard with a stick.  Some days I feel like the pińata, some days – like the bat.  Will the faucet of creativity spill freely for me today, like that pińata?" - Mark Kolke

April 30, 2009

"I am so easily satisfied with the very best - too often I think many of us have the tendency to choose the very easy. Yesterday’s wounds and bruises are today’s greatest new opportunities. Just because it didn’t work the first time, or the first hundred, doesn’t mean it won’t work." - Mark Kolke

April 29, 2009

"Experimenting, searching the range of unexpected results, is divided - I think - into those things where we say ‘I should have known that would happen’ and ‘hmm, isn’t that interesting’. Not so much in the world of scientific discovery (though similar elements are probably true) but in my worlds, they are writing, business and relationships." - Mark Kolke

April 28, 2009

"Lately I’ve been experimenting more, not always stretching very wide as I try to drill deeper, but trying. I want to stretch the rubber band to extreme tension, but also expand my scope (and success too I hope) by daring more creatively and experimenting with ingredients I don’t understand, letting results guide me to new ideas for application in my ‘familiar territory’." - Mark Kolke

April 27, 2009

"When times are challenging – personally, professionally, financially or emotionally – there is a tendency I believe to hunker down, to be closed and defensive. I think the opposite is called for. I think the best thing we can do for ourselves when times are tough (and when they are good too) is to reach out, reach up, experiment, try . . and let ourselves be aware of and amazed by what happens." - Mark Kolke

April 26, 2009

"Vacillations of youth do not go away quietly - in desperation or not, in resignation or not -  no, not quietly, with great fanfare the youth passes away, giving way, offering an entry to that time of life called the middle." - Mark Kolke

April 25, 2009

"Words and actions, spoken or not, give comfort - with heft and power or soft, like a down pillow, unspoken demonstrations of feeling, of word forms to please the ear or eye the way a fast moving sound never could. The weight of sad times is somewhere else - happy ones, so different than ones that leave shoulders bent, lifts feet and stretches legs to stand us taller, so much taller." - Mark Kolke

April 24, 2009

"The reality is displayed on so many faces, when reality of gnarled old hands with deep creases and dirt under fingernails are a better metaphor to focus our thoughts.  Not that I mean we must get our hands dirty, but to remind us hard work is the only remedy to adversity, it is at the root of progress and innovation of any kind for anyone.  Our generation (meaning mine) have lived a pretty easy time, we’ve provided a pretty easy time for our children’s generation – and they’ve had a pretty good run during high times in the land of milk and money." - Mark Kolke

April 23, 2009

"Babe Ruth talked a lot, most has been forgotten as the blather of a sports hero, some of it has been recorded, but few words are as poignant as these:  “I swing big, with everything I’ve got.  I hit big or I miss big.  I like to live as big as I can.”  He had a grip.  I don’t believe his great successes, or anyone’s, were driven so much by the heft of his swing as they were by his positive confident attitude.  No one had to tell him to get-a-grip, he took that to work with him every day." - Mark Kolke

April 22, 2009

"Too often I look at a file, follow up on some notion or misadventure only to scratch my noggin wondering why I ever thought that little (or sometimes big) initiative was going to bear fruit one day.  Invariably so many things, once started, don’t go where I thought they would. They all seemed like good ideas at the time of their conception." - Mark Kolke

April 21, 2009

"Should we be afraid of the bright light or afraid of the dark?  Each brings its own degree of illumination but it seems every bit of light, no matter how faint, is light and light is energy. Late at night or early in the morning, as weary eyes peer out at the new day I find myself squinting a little, like the guy in this quote: “He is like a man using a candle to look for the sun.” – Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273)." - Mark Kolke

April 20, 2009

"Governments are roadblocks, not just on Monday morning, but every morning.  They serve to stall, delay, impede, block, restrict, regulate, bar, prevent and undermine initiatives on every front possible.  I am not advocating anarchy, though a dose of that might stimulate discussion of new approaches. What I am getting at is that innovators, discoverers, researchers, inventors – of software, hardware, drugs, processes, products, social structures and ideology – are not welcomed, praised, funded, enabled and supported.  Some of the greatest companies and products of our society were conceived in times of trouble, given the breath of life in deep recessions or resuscitated in times of deep trouble." - Mark Kolke

April 19, 2009

"There is much darkness in the world that can be painted with the light cast from a bright happy face.  Yours, or mine – it doesn’t matter – whether it is bright enough to cast a shadow or be reflected by mirrors shipping the bright light or a bright idea to all the places that are dark.  The oncoming blinding white light, at the end of the tunnel, might be an oncoming train – in which case I better get ready to get on board." - Mark Kolke

April 18, 2009

"We (or me) are all lonely, I suppose, for those things we are lonely for.  We scream out in silence or hide it within conversation – sometimes it leaks out on the floor, but mostly it seeks refuge in crevices nobody sees. Like low grade infection, it can fester from time to time but rarely enough so that smooth sailing is interrupted because we steer away from challenging choppy waters." - Mark Kolke

April 17, 2009

"Constructing walls rather than bridges, building silence where conversation should be put, these are exercises in futility, but they seem to get us across the gorges that sit between good days, empty chasms of space measured in days and nights – when wishing incommunicado was the name of some town in Mexico." - Mark Kolke

April 16, 2009

"For the moment the only prescription I see is ‘head down, butt up’ hard work at the things we know how to do, thrift in spending, a return to saving, conservative investing together with a new perspective from governments and financial institutions to get out of the way of ideas.  There are programmers still in short-pants, retired folks who are far from tired, creators and innovators – just needing the chance, waiting for the inspiration that comes from breaking through barriers, waiting for the creative inspiration that comes from entering a new era.  Stem-cell research is one example of hundreds of possibilities.  I think we need more of a World Economic DO-IT attitude and fewer forums to talk about it." - Mark Kolke

April 15, 2009

"I don’t care, at this moment, for dissecting the entrails of what has come upon us in order to blame anyone.  I don’t especially care for rhetoric about magical political solutions that will solve anything by creating more government to regulate more government spending of money these governments must print or borrow. The only good thing about this phenomenon that I can see is that it will have an inflationary affect which might help us to collectively rise above the muck a little." - Mark Kolke

April 14, 2009

"Whatever works.  That might do it. At a time when we are collectively desperate for solutions, snake oil by any branded label we’ve heard before might be the ticket.  If it is labeled democracy, free enterprise, capitalism, freedom or innovation it seems to sell, but looking back, all of those labels also fit the hand-cart that took us down the goofy path we’ve taken. It seems that each generation gets its own first hand appreciation of what havoc greed can produce.  And, aftermath. It produces that too." - Mark Kolke

April 13, 2009

"In the midst of living, where high speed ideas live along side little balloon notions waiting to have air blown into them - falling in love with our own ideas or dreams, is easy to understand. I know it and live it every day. Are my dreams real and achievable, or just a notion of what I wish my reality to be?" - Mark Kolke

April 12, 2009

"All the techniques we employ to understand and know ourselves are useless really, unless the learning somehow leads to change.  Without change happening, what’s the point of the learning?" - Mark Kolke

April 11, 2009

"In the midst of living, where high speed ideas live along side little balloon notions waiting to have air blown into them - falling in love with our own ideas or dreams, is easy to understand. I know it and live it every day. Are my dreams real and achievable, or just a notion of what I wish my reality to be?" - Mark Kolke

April 10, 2009

"Life may be short or long but let it never be anything but worthwhile.  The more we learn the more we appreciate what we’ve not learned but there is always time to learn a little more.  It is not in a book, written on a tablet or repeated in song.  It is in knowing, deep within us, that we are choosing to live a purposeful and purpose filled life – regardless how trivial those purposes might be." - Mark Kolke

April 9, 2009

"We live in a world where we look to government and education institutions for ideas (I have no idea why we would look there) and where open minds are filled with tonnage of trash, but it is not too late.  Whatever direction (or lack of direction) has sent us down our path of peril we are not controlled on any path to any destiny." - Mark Kolke

April 8, 2009

"I doubt there is any real proof about the survival of intelligence.  If you don’t believe me, watch people driving in shopping center parking lots for a while and it will become readily apparent.  It makes me doubt anything I’ve ever read about survival of the fittest or natural selection – some people appear too dumb to survive let alone figure out how to procreate but somehow it seems they do." - Mark Kolke

April 7, 2009

"Life may be short or long but let it never be anything but worthwhile.  The more we learn the more we appreciate what we’ve not learned but there is always time to learn a little more.  It is not in a book, written on a tablet or repeated in song.  It is in knowing, deep within us, that we are choosing to live a purposeful and purpose filled life – regardless how trivial those purposes might be." - Mark Kolke

April 6, 2009

“Life is not about anything in particular – we are alive so we get to live it; we can live it with purpose or without, with joy or without, with pride or without, with success or without, with health or without, with money or without.  I don’t imagine anyone would vote for ‘without’, so why is it so many are without?” – Mark Kolke

April 5, 2009

"Reason, and passion, are the ingredients but the recipe is not written down – we have to bake it or burn it and season it to our own taste." - Mark Kolke

April 4, 2009

"Too much focus lately, by all of us, by media and by governments on ‘what the world needs’ and not enough focus on what brings us alive and moves us to action has left us frightened, stalled and collectively afraid to do anything bold. But why should we let some facts and the collective mood stall a dream, stifle an idea or take the wind out of our sails?" - Mark Kolke

April 3, 2009

"Each morning is a stepping stone toward the bridge called lunch, each day is the elastic that holds yesterday and tomorrow together leaving us wedged in the middle before we stumble upon the next morning – it is always fresh if we are all-ways open." - Mark Kolke

April 2, 2009

"To assess good, value, worth – things like that, we all need something to measure against, a benchmark if you will.  Assessing something or some moment is so often a quick comparison of ‘how we are feeling’ with how we’ve felt on previous occasions.  If it feels as good or better than some good thing, then it must be good.  If it is better than ever before, then it must be great.  It is all comparative." - Mark Kolke

April 1, 2009

"In my impatience I often find that I learn lessons long after I should, find out things long after I could have and learn well after I might have.  Still, there is some magic in finding an ah+ha moment, that gives me a lesson in how to do something differently.  A small thing really, more symbolic than practical, but something I’ll benefit from for a long time to come." - Mark Kolke

March 31, 2009

"The simple failures and small successes in my life often bring more pleasure than the most complicated complex detailed convoluted construct that works. Simple is good, small is great – impatience is not required, but observing is." - Mark Kolke

March 30, 2009

"Sleep cured me, for now, of whatever ailed me yesterday.  I have been given life, I have found love and one of these days I will find understanding.  I keep looking more and finding more so I might be on the right path." - Mark Kolke

March 29, 2009

"There is a well, in me, and I suspect in most of us – it is the reservoir of stuff that makes us go, makes us do, the well of strength, the well of ideas, the well of creativity from which we need to draw a bucket each day to keep going, to keep doing, to keep our face forward toward the next day.  This well is always there to draw from.  Too often, we don’t draw from it regularly enough or get our bucket full so we stop." - Mark Kolke

March 28, 2009

"We, the people are in this for the long run, not for some short dash from election to election, from term to term, from election to pension.  It is we, the people, who need self stimulus, self motivation, self regulation, self evaluation, self-drive and self-saving.  That will not come from anyone else but us." - Mark Kolke

March 27, 2009

"I find it interesting that everyone is looking (and waiting) for government to provide solutions these days when we know, we absolutely know, that government never solved anything.  It is like some Abbott & Costello routine gone bad, about another fine mess someone else got us into. Moreover, more government action of spending has never solved anything other than to mess up the numbers and create confusion for people while maintaining an illusion of something going on until something is actually going on." - Mark Kolke

March 26, 2009

"Joy is not outside or inside or in things, but in us.  It surfaces in the strangest ways at the oddest times – like having spirits lifted, like the breeze under a bird’s wing. I had a couple of those ‘grinning on the inside’ moments yesterday and another this morning. A fresh idea or an old friend – each like a comfortable sweater on a cold day - easily shed if we want to, but why would we want to?" - Mark Kolke

March 25, 2009

"Joy allows us to stroke it as it runs by, our fingertips feel it, if only for a moment.  It is elusive but its remnants, like that comfy sweater, can keep us warm for days – it seems like an inadequacy to put it into words, the fear of having lost some of life while living but that it is OK - to feel how we feel with no need to explain anything to anyone." - Mark Kolke

March 24, 2009

"Life is not simple, but nothing is impossible – I just haven’t found the solution yet; but I believe life is simple, as simple as dreaming the life we want and living the dream.  That’s my theory and, for now, I’m sticking to it.  Lots of things can drive me in one direction or another, but a dream pulls.  A dream doesn’t fade on a cloudy day or shrink at the sight of a big problem." - Mark Kolke

March 23, 2009

"Talents and moments of achievement mean nothing if they are left in storage and not used - the notion of living life so fully that, at the end of it, there is nothing left – no stone unturned, no pile of energy or stored reserve left, that the light of day reveals all, burns up all, uses all, spends all that there is and every ounce we can borrow.  The easy notion of an easy life doing easy things to achieve easy results is brain candy; it finds few and leaves even fewer happy.  Working with our talents is where reward is found." - Mark Kolke

March 22, 2009

"It doesn’t come in limelight or sit atop some rung or pedestal.  It lurks in the belly, late at night and early in the morning, it speaks in whispers saying ‘you are on the right track’.  That nobody knows or understands is incidental and trivial. It only matters that I feel the belly knot twisting and heed the whisper." - Mark Kolke

March 21, 2009

"We are much more that drops of water, poured into and lost in the current, we all afraid of something but there is no comfort in building a fence around us, around it, around anything to ward off difficulty.  Difficulty comes, like it or not, to find us.  There is no immunity pill, there is no avoidance strategy – trouble will come stalking. There is only one way, just one, that will possibly stave off disaster." - Mark Kolke

March 20, 2009

"Our fate – whether personal health or a nation’s economy – does not rest in the high expectations piled on the shoulders of someone elected nor does it rest on the plate of someone who volunteered – but, rather, it rests in our lap." - Mark Kolke

March 19, 2009

"Momentous days have marked history – like the day the wheel was invented, or fire discovered, the assembly line, the nanosecond – among millions of others that have changed the world.  Most moments that change the world are not watched intensely by millions – they just happen." - Mark Kolke

March 18, 2009

"A convergence of crisis and opportunity, urgency and fear, change and a new world order – perhaps, but our expectations have been raised way beyond any level that is rational.  But, government and politics are neither the problem nor the solution to the world’s ills.   At their best, government and politics can be lubricant or brakes with respect to progress, change and innovation." - Mark Kolke

March 17, 2009

"We are all regular.  OK, some are extra-large, but mostly we are regular. Average. Typical.  We gain strength from the problems we tackle and even more from the dirt we eat in defeat.  Desire and dreams keep us going, no matter what the odds." - Mark Kolke

March 16, 2009

"Our excesses and foibles, like eating or loafing or lusting or goofing off for example, are exhilarating in the moment – preventing the numbing effect of routine.  There are rules I suppose, to govern these imbalances but I don’t know anyone who knows them.  I have brief moments when I envy those who skate or sleep through life without much thought or deliberate effort; but only moments because I find myself despising them for being lazy or uninvolved or lacking the courage to carve out the life they want.  Maybe that’s all they want." - Mark Kolke

March 15, 2009

"Life is all about change; whether we choose to grow is a choice.  We must choose wisely because otherwise we sit on the sidelines hoping for happy accidents.  Some things last, others are perishable.  A belief lasts, while an idea floats on the wind and whooshes out the door just as fast at it came in.  But winds change direction and good ideas blow back in again to be embraced by the fearless." - Mark Kolke

March 14, 2009

"Perhaps what we lose or leave behind is something to be gained by someone else as an idea blows through their transom, as the doors and windows we open – or slam shut – determine our lives as much as any other single thing.  All the big things in life seem to rise out of the tiniest of initial decisions or blow in on the breeze." - Mark Kolke

March 13, 2009

"If we expect little, a surprise can do more than offer us a breakfast snack, it can keep us going all day if live frugally and keep our eyes sparkling. There is a big difference, I believe, between ‘few expectations’ and ‘low expectations’.  Be careful what you set yourself up for." - Mark Kolke

March 12, 2009

"Waking up in the middle of the night is not a big deal; we all do it. It might be a dream or something we ate that is the cause or simply a bladder that needs to be deflated.  A passion for something in our lives doesn’t have to be loud or big or obvious – but when it is burned deep inside us it guides our every thought, decision and plan. When we woke up to it is of little consequence." - Mark Kolke

March 11, 2009

"Awakening to our passions in life happens to some people while, sadly, too many never find theirs at all. I think that kind of awakening to our potentiality is one of the most important things we do.  It matters little when it happens, early in life, late in the day or in the middle of the night.  What matters is that we figure it out." - Mark Kolke

March 10, 2009

"I am sure, when life unwinds the importance of meaning gives way to the craving for more time - probably an inverse proportion of how our young candles burned bright without regard for the length of our wick or stamina of our bodies." - Mark Kolke

March 9, 2009

"It might be late, it might be too late for some things I would like to do, but when it comes to dream building and trying hard, it can never be too soon to re-light that wick." - Mark Kolke

March 8, 2009

"I wonder when the acceleration of ‘getting to know each other’ or the pace gets past our comfort level, do we close off, back off – as a safety measure no doubt to protect our hearts - but then I think we act like a tortoise, not the hare." - Mark Kolke

March 7, 2009

"When we get some ‘bad/scary news’ from someone it causes a lot of thoughts to kick in - relieved of course when a call says ‘it was a false alarm’ but the stream of thoughts continue, measuring the impact of that person on me - and where they fit, how I feel, what it means." - Mark Kolke

March 6, 2009

"Inspiration and risk – whether driving to new heights or merely for survival, involves knowing I can lose, knowing that winning is a long shot, knowing risk is at every corner. Opportunities will be just as readily available, but they will come in disguises; instead of looking like ease or luxury, simple or straightforward, they will come cloaked in overalls and look like hard work." - Mark Kolke

March 5, 2009

"Dreams come before goals.  Goals come before actions. Actions come before results.  Results come before relaxation.  Relaxation comes before sleep.  Sleep comes, and that is where dreams are found." - Mark Kolke

March 4, 2009

"I don’t know if we reflect the media, or if it is the other way ‘round – does it mirror our angst or contribute to it?  I am wondering what I can do today to make things better – in my life, for my clients, for my community or for my world; I see headlines and world leaders not figuring it out, so maybe they need some help.  Maybe we all do." - Mark Kolke

March 3, 2009

"Life’s meaning is not wrapped in regret but colored by struggle, painted with joy and sorrow – an undulating landscape, of hills and valleys and more hills.  Nothing that is given to us is worth having; what is worth having is what we take, what we grab and what we hold onto without fail." - Mark Kolke

March 2, 2009

"Grace and persistence, wisdom and perseverance, these invaluable traits – come in one size for each of us, but one size doesn’t fits all.  Size, it seems, does matter.  Arrows that miss their mark, love poured where it is not wanted or sights not seen – have no value whatever quantity or size they were.  Small is desirable in clothes, electronics or duration of a recession – small is good.  Hearts, hugs and egos each come in large or tiny versions with not much in the middle." - Mark Kolke

March 1, 2009

"In silence I experiment, explore, debate, agree, disagree – I can explore the wide width of myself without plunging into the deep depth of myself, and no one sees but me. No one knows anyone else’s inner self and I often wonder if I know my own very well." - Mark Kolke

February 28, 2009

"Alone and quiet I belong to myself – no one asks of me and I ask of no one; I am a self contained self sustaining self.  We all are this. I can be right alone. I can be wrong alone.  I don’t need company to be thoughtful or clear, I don’t need the noise of my own voice to be heard or to understand." - Mark Kolke

February 27, 2009

"Talking has no value unless someone is listening, someone who wants to hear, wants to know, wants to understand – otherwise our talking is just a contribution to global warming and breaking the silence because everything has been said before. Talking adds little to the world – but in silence we can learn new things.  Most often I have been too busy talking to listen, too focused on my point that I often miss someone else’s." - Mark Kolke

February 26, 2009

"There is no storm cloud or tall wall to keep me in, no lid or airtight container to prevent escape, but I am inside myself and cannot get out.  No zipper, no Velcro closure, no zip-lock, no escape hatch, no drain valve. I’m stuck inside my body. It is cold ravaged, weary and spent – week’s end has arrived a day or two sooner than when the work was due to run low." - Mark Kolke

February 25, 2009

"Energy is not just about solar or hydro-carbon, wind or falling water, animal heat or angry passion.  It comes, and goes, in so many forms.  Too many energy thieves drain us, suck us dry of every ounce that could muster effort.  These distractions - from mind-numb-er bland television to tales of woe, wasted calls to unnecessary meetings, bad news to bad results – these sap our strength, they leave us weary." - Mark Kolke

February 24, 2009

"Everything we need to get through, get by or get along with is inside us – it simply needs the energy to move idea to action, shift a point of view or lift a gaze to see something from a different angle – just a splinter, an awkward shard of light leaks through." - Mark Kolke

February 23, 2009

"Courage, in the face of knowledge of risks, is not a well informed person foolishly standing to face difficulty when running is an option, but rather staring it down when running, or walking away is not an option." - Mark Kolke

February 22, 2009

"Time is not consuming but it seems we are always consuming it; time has no beginning, has no end.  Time is spent without decision.  Time wasted, conversely, is most often the result of someone’s decision though the wasting by one person usually provides some benefit to someone." - Mark Kolke

February 21, 2009

"Taking time to think about time matters, I think, because it adds perspective on the past, underscores

its importance in the present and shows us all as equals in the future.  Tomorrow and the days after we

have a fresh inventory - equal for all of us - rich in opportunity, given to us all." - Mark Kolke

February 20, 2009

"Today arrived when it should have, and will leave when it is done – I get to ride, a passenger in time until it delivers me to tomorrow." - Mark Kolke

February 19, 2009

"Each end of day, sweat drenched and weary I hope I will have learned something new, or at least have taught something too.  But what can it be, at end of each day, that will leave us fulfilled and so anxious for the next; what is it that pushes drive into overdrive, moves mellow into sweet, ices the cake, crowns the head in ecstatic glory? Each day we spend focused purely on achieving that end, is a day made a little easier, a day that leaves us sweat drenched and weary with a broad smile of anticipation of the next day, and the next, and the next." - Mark Kolke

February 18, 2009

"Expectations are on my mind.  Mine.  Yours.  Everyone’s.  These, we believe, are key to our success.  Without them we are likely to be slow off the mat, sluggish coming out of the gate. But, if we have some expectations - self-imposed or otherwise - we have something to shoot for, an occasion to rise to, benchmark to measure against." - Mark Kolke

February 17, 2009

"Once on any path we all get weary on occasion. I give lots of effort but I often wonder about the value, the worth, of some of my efforts especially if I find myself off-course a little or questioning whether the path I’ve chosen generally or the way I’ve attacked a problem is the one most right for me. I find a need to steer back to my path, my centre, my focus – my desires." - Mark Kolke

February 16, 2009

"I believe perfection is not the absence of problems or the solution of any of them – that would be boring idleness.  Perfection is not doing everything with excellence and the absence of flaws or errors.  Perfection is a day of life. Any day, any life.  Perfection is not some nirvana like utopia on the other side of some hill.  Perfection, if it exists, is the right here, right now, of every day on our street, or on yours." - Mark Kolke

February 15, 2009

"If I could be just be water for a while, then pour me into a cup and I’ll be a cup, pour me into a shoe and I’ll be a shoe.  But, come to think of it, I am water.  Mostly we are, so what shape should we take, what form should we be?" - Mark Kolke

February 14, 2009

"I believe I need to be mindful of the ‘collective reality’ but at the same time I am reminded that, of all the times I’ve been down, the only thing that ever got me up was my own initiative. The only thing that makes anything work for me is when I am working for anything, at anything, with anything with a belief inside that I will be successful and that failure is not an option.  I’ve been wrong sometimes but I’ve been right more often." - Mark Kolke

February 13, 2009

"I suppose we cannot live vital lives without this kind of tension in our lives somehow, that we need the door to slam in our face occasionally to ensure we are awake and paying attention." - Mark Kolke

February 12, 2009

"It is quiet here in lives typically filled with noise.  Outside noises we can control with a volume button or a closed window, but the inside noises – the ones in our heads – they seem to rarely take time off, don’t seem to rest . . and speak up just when we least want them.  Whether or not we need them at that moment is another matter." - Mark Kolke

February 11, 2009

"I think those inner voices can be channeled but I don’t believe silencing them is a good plan; those voices are guidance from somewhere deep within us to caution us, to encourage us, to help us be our best selves and keep us from being our worst selves." - Mark Kolke

February 10, 2009

"Be it resolved that – I will recognize that some things are important ‘in the moment of their creation’ but not for long and, I hope, have the wisdom to recognize the difference.  Be it resolved that – I will continue to work every day in advancement of my dreams and goals without losing sight of the needs of those I care about.  Be it resolved that – I will never ever give up trying my best to be me without judging others for being themselves.  Is three enough, or just a scant start? To be resolute in these resolutions is a great challenge. I am up for it." - Mark Kolke

February 9, 2009

"A free spirit is not necessarily free; each of us pay the price of our choices.  If we choose to be a free spirit, then we miss all elements of being the opposite of that.  If we are organized, clear, conservative and controlled, then we miss being the opposite of that." - Mark Kolke

February 8, 2009

"I like to stretch.  But I am not content when I am done.  I only want to stretch some more. I don’t think I can ever get enough of that. I’ve been in a valley, on a shore, halfway up a mountain – I go there in a second with merely the thought and memories rush back like a hot dry wind on my face; there is no future without a dream, there is no reason for living without some driving force that drives the force inside us. It may seem like I speak for only myself – selfish me, of course I do – but I think these elements are everywhere in nearly everyone. I think they are stifled a lot.  That may or may not be smart – that’s for every individual to decide." - Mark Kolke

February 7, 2009

"Change is what you get when you buy a muffin or focus thinking on certainty – change is what you get when you think you have it all figured out; change is a celebration of life because the only way to avoid change is to not be living – that’s when change goes on without us . . that’s for certain." - Mark Kolke

February 6, 2009

"Family is not about success or failures – not about better or worse or whether we’ve been together a short while or all our lives; it is simply about being.  Being family. Being together, whether or not we are under the same roof or not." - Mark Kolke

February 5, 2009

"I’ve come to rely on things.  Things that work.  People who are predictable and available.  Phone numbers that work, light switches too.  Plumbing and telecommunication – all working, all the time – on call, on demand, just simply ON.  Then, life is like a play – each of the players knows their own part; no direction required, it just happens." - Mark Kolke

February 4, 2009

"Some years are just brutal, some fantastic – most, a mix of every extreme woven through some form of steady calm. Beyond our individual trials, the world is shaken and struggling for balance. Where is the truth?, where are the answers?, what is important?,  these daunting simple questions can haunt us all." - Mark Kolke

February 3, 2009

"On good days I am king of the world, on bad days I can be desolate and unforgiving – we all experience these ups and downs I suppose, but times like these I realize my desired paradise is not just a dream of a my favorite warm place where trade winds blow. Paradise on its own is just a place of palm trees and beaches - a place that is just a place unless there are smiles and laughter there." - Mark Kolke

February 2, 2009

"The more I try, the more I experiment, the more I lift – I find the more I can carry." - Mark Kolke

February 1, 2009

"Fears that go along with success are not its opposite, but its companion.  Great accomplishments – large or tiny – each bring with them risk of failure, anonymity of success and the numbing reminder that we need to do it all again tomorrow and next month and the years after that.  Recognition is great, but whether or not it ever comes is small compared to the fact the burden of having to do each day, one day at a time, is not lifted." - Mark Kolke

January 31, 2009

"In the middle of the day or night, in the middle of whatever we are doing . .there seems to be sparks of light and innovation, moments of inspiration.  So often they fade before there is time to make a note or communicate it to anyone . . poof, gone, evaporated .. never to be heard from again; until the next time." - Mark Kolke

January 30, 2009

"Appreciation, value and rewards show up when and where we least expect them somehow.  If I get a reward it probably comes from some element of cause and effect; whether it be something monetary, physical or just a smile – or a feeling – there is a reason for it that can be spelled out in a series of events that were the cause of it all." - Mark Kolke

January 29, 2009

"Stimulation shows up in many forms from unexpected places – I find it shows up when I walk, not so much because I am walking or where, but because I’ve trained myself to reserve that time of day for the mind-candy experience of letting thoughts flow freely around.  No one else sees them or hears them – just me. I can accept, reject, fold, spindle or mutilate them before ever letting anyone know what I was thinking." - Mark Kolke

January 28, 2009

"Most discoveries are characteristics of character, nuances of personality, twists of plot and circumstance of our most studied subject – self.  We are like flowers in a garden – each of us can open up every day or keep closed, keeping all inside where no one can see us blossom." - Mark Kolke

January 27, 2009

"Who? Yes you. You move me to words, to action.  You inspire me, you are the beginning of the day, you are the end of the evening, you are the filling in cookie of my day; you are sweet, you are kind, you are the smile on my face, you are the thoughts on my mind.  The rest is up to me." - Mark Kolke

January 26, 2009

"Going slow, in thought or action, is not that same as lazily sitting still; going slow is deliberate, going slow is charting a course to follow and then embarking on the journey.  Going slow is checking both ways before crossing the street or the freeway, going slow is watching for change in the weather, change in terrain or change in motivation." - Mark Kolke

January 25, 2009

"The whole picture is never available – we always need to focus on now, on here, on this set of issues and challenges in front of us at the moment.  A change in the weather, or generational change, a change of pace or of place - what we see, what we want to see, but what is just out of view, not so much ..." - Mark Kolke

January 24, 2009

"If I am not getting the right answer from you, then, am I not asking the right question?  Not opposites, they are shoulder to shoulder neighbors, just a split-hair apart – the contrast of understanding to ‘not understanding’." - Mark Kolke

January 23, 2009

"On days when brilliance fails to come out of the sky and the inspiration flow seems to have stopped, there is magic in process . . the ritual of it transcends any desire to be anyone else, anywhere else doing anything else." - Mark Kolke

January 22, 2009

"Hurts hurt. They keep hurting long after the wound healed.  Experiences of self destructive behavior and self loathing are surpassed by the accomplishments that followed. Self love, or even simple self-like, overcome many things but these strong forces do not erase long term memory." - Mark Kolke

January 21, 2009

"Any moment is a seed, if planted it will grow, if nurtured it will bring happiness we all deserve.  The change doesn’t happen when we plant it or nurture it – the change happens when we make the decision to plant a seed . . ." - Mark Kolke

January 20, 2009

"Best ideas are the best ideas; it doesn’t matter who has them first . . The vague idea does not mean ‘without direction’ but more a matter of uncertainty within a broader clear purpose.  Having a vague idea lets us be free to grab hold of things along the way with hope they show the way but without gripping so hard we can’t let go of something harmful to our purpose or destructive in terms of staying on our path.  The purpose is to be real and whole, the result uncertain, the trip is worth every moment of the journey." - Mark Kolke

January 19, 2009

"I think packing an attitude appropriate for the experience I want to have is important.  Knowledge, T-shirts and socks can be picked up along the way, but attitude is not something one can get at the hotel tuck shop.  Full suitcases are a great idea, but an open (not empty) mind is far more important." - Mark Kolke

January 18, 2009

"I have spent a lot of time looking over there instead of here. I have wasted energy dreaming there instead of here, wishing there instead of here. I have mistaken many things for ‘what I really want’, misjudged ‘what I really need’ hundreds of times." - Mark Kolke

January 17, 2009

"Each of us is an answer, but what is the question?  Each of us is a solution, but what is the problem?  Each of us is a rhyme in search of the reason – something we search for through every crevice of frailty that is human, in every corner of our psyche where wisdom might be lurking." - Mark Kolke

January 16, 2009

"I am not able to sit still, stand still, be still or to still my wandering mind and my ambitious idealism, my need to know more and to do more – but so much time gets used up merely surviving.  Making a living is not making a life, but it sure gets in the way a lot of the time." - Mark Kolke

January 15, 2009

"This day, where are we headed?  The answer is not far away, it rests beneath our feet, right here, right now.  I am sitting on my future, standing on my fate, the best I can be is here, the most I can do is within me, the time is now and the way is clear." - Mark Kolke

January 14, 2009

"Obscurity is where most of us reside.  Most of us are unknown to anyone beyond our friends, family and immediate neighbors.  The same, true for just about everyone else, as if the solitude of it all is a normal condition.  I wonder if it is so much normal as it is just conventional and common, but why should that be?" - Mark Kolke

January 13, 2009

"Solving a problem sounds easy, but before anyone can find a solution, we need to examine what is wrong, find out the root cause of the difficulties – otherwise it is like putting band aids on an injured person without taking vital signs and x-rays first to find out what is really wrong, without investigating the cause of the pain." - Mark Kolke

January 12, 2009

"It is just a day.  A day neither lifts us to new heights or cripples us.  The day is just the passage of time.  The lifting or crippling is something we do.  We do it in our heads.  Or not. Mistakes are part of every hour of every day.  Live with it."  - Mark Kolke

January 11, 2009

"Taking time to take chances, spur of the moment or deliberately planned, are something we run out of only when we stop taking them.  While chances bring their share of pain and suffering, chances taken are the only thing that delivers joys, laughter and fulfillment.  Go ahead, take a chance. All you have to lose is everything.  All you have to gain is everything.  Give chance a chance." - Mark Kolke

January 10, 2009

"The conversation dangled, or was it mangled – two parties not in sync, each saying what they wanted to say in a way that was not understood by the other, two points that missed their marks, two streams of consciousness not explored.  Everyone has their own.  Mind open or mind closed.  Eyes open or sealed shut.  When we let light in, is it to let the world see us, or for us to see the world looking out.  To know the world, do I need to walk it all?  To know me, what do you need?" - Mark Kolke

January 9, 2009

"Does it matter that we get it right?  Each time we watch kids at play or learning to do their school work, failures outnumber successes but as long as the failures come in the midst of a fun and happy experience the child puts the mistakes behind them and takes another shot, kicks the ball straighter next time, adds the column correctly or diagrams the lab experiment more precisely." - Mark Kolke

January 8, 2009

"Finding ourselves is not about being lost, but more about grabbing ourselves by butt cheeks and hanging on as we hurtle through life – finding ourselves is knowing we will never be completely alone because we will always have ourselves to hold onto." - Mark Kolke

January 7, 2009

"I don’t think it was something new I tapped – it was there all along.  As a child, adolescent or pimply teenager it must have been there.  I know, because some days I write through those eyes as if I have gone back in some surreal time machine.  Yes, it was there all along." - Mark Kolke

January 6, 2009

"Being alone is not something we need to be good at, we just need to do it.  Every day, all day, we are alone. Alone in our bodies, alone in our thoughts kept private, alone in our perspective and view of the world, in our view of others. We are born with it, we live with it and we will die with it.  The more I face that, the stronger I become." - Mark Kolke

January 5 2009

"If days were houses, Monday would be a double-wide trailer - thick and squat and devoid of excitement or great design. Monday was meant to ‘pick up the pieces’ of last week’s hanging over items, to start the week but not too fast – can’t call too many people, visit too many people, meet with too many people because they are all busy dealing with last week’s hanging over items." - Mark Kolke

January 4, 2009

"Creating is like mating, just when you think you’ve got a handle on everything something comes along to end it early – an alarm clock buzzing me from deep slumber, or some cold shower poured on yet another great idea. Reality sucks sometimes but so does fantasy." - Mark Kolke

January 3, 2009

"I trust the flow of my thoughts more than ever before.  Maybe that's confidence or experience or getting 'in touch' with something - I'm not really sure. . ." - Mark Kolke

January 2, 2009

"Observing politics – the collective will of the many – is not much different than viewing myself in a mirror, the collective of one. The pendulum of political mood swings rarely rests, always testing the mood of people, while people are constantly testing the mood of the pendulum as life swings between extremes. Hinges swing too, the door that separates common sense and brave ideas is constantly in motion . . or emotion." - Mark Kolke

January 1, 2009

"Life can be scary, a deep plunge without tank or water wings, sink or swim, or washed up like driftwood.  Imagine that – being a floating piece of wood (in warm currents of course) sailing the seas, seeing the sites and always landing on a sandy beach somewhere with comely maidens frolicking about scarcely clad in straw-nothings but I must awake from that dream." - Mark Kolke