The Rant

Mission Statement

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Day 8 Of The 30 Day Proactive Test

Day Eight

Hank 3 and banjo guy

9:35 AM

I am drinking coffee, listening to NPR and trying to plan out what types of proactive things I am going to do on this eighth day of The 30 Day Proactive Test. For now, I am going to drink some more coffee and read some more of Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I discovered some exercises at the end of Chapter 1 that I have not done yet. So I thought that might make fun blog material.

10:12 AM

I was reading about affirmations in Covey's book. I came across this part that I thought my blog readers might find interesting, if you are into writing affirmations. I am paraphrasing but this can be found on page 133 of 7 Habits.

There are five basic ingredients in a good affirmation: it is personal, it is positive, it is present tense, it is visual and it is emotional. For example, we might write something like this: "It is deeply satisfying (emotional) to me (personal) that I respond (present tense) with wisdom, love, firmness and self-control (positive) when my children misbehave.

Then visualize it. Spend a few minutes each day to think about ways in which your children might misbehave. Visualize this in rich detail. Feel the texture of the chair you might be sitting on, the floor under your feet, the sweater you have on, see the dress your daughter is wearing, the expression on her face. The more clearly and vividly the detail can be imagined, the more deeply it will be experienced.

Click if you like ice cream.

Diamond Dave comin' atcha!

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Day 7 Of 30 Day Proactive Test

I Am Depressed

Click if you get all nostalgic about high school

Those were good times.

It is Day 7

I am bummed out. I am coming down from a manic high. So I am going to drink coffee and read 7 Habits until I meet with my apartment manager at 10:00 AM.

11:35 AM

My meeting with the manager went well.

So I find I am starting to flounder a bit on this 30 Day Proactive Test. It all started as somewhat of a lark. I was going through some shit and I figured a good self-help book might be in order. So I started reading Covey's book. It just so happens that during this time, I was hanging out in a Buddhist chat room with two other dudes. We were bitching about something or another and so I sarcastically proposed that we all take part in this 30 day Proactive Test that I had just read about for the very first time.

So it turns out I was just spewing bullshit for seven days. I have no idea what a Proactivity Test is. So I had to hit the books and go back to Chapter 1.

Proactivity Defined

Proactivity means more than taking initiative. It means we are responsible for our own lives. Highly proactive people do not blame circumstances, conditions or conditioning for their behavior.

We are by nature proactive. If we are controlled by conditioning and conditions it is because we have by conscious decision or by default, chosen to give power to those things.

In making such a choice, we become reactive.

Proactivity - The 30 Day Test

Test the principal of proactivity for thirty days. Keep small commitments you have made. Be a light, a model and part of the solution.

I also discovered some exercises at the end of Chapter 1 that I overlooked before. So that should provide some blog-fodder for the next couple days or so.

Click to see me and Tony Ford.

It is a beautiful day on planet Earth.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Day 6 of The 30 Day Proactive Test

6:11 PM

Very proactive indeed

I'm running out of crappy caption jokes.

Good bye.

Monday, April 4, 2016

Day 5 - Later That Day - 12:10 PM

Circle of Influence

Today, I am writing a bit about Circle of Influence.

P.art of The 30 Day Proactive Test is that last part that says be aware of changes in your Circle of influence.

You may be asking yourself right now, "What the hell is a Circle of Influence?" That was exactly how I was as well up until about 1 month ago when I read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Is it cold in here or is it just me?

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Day 5 of The 30 Day Proactive Test

Day 4 of 30 Day Proactive Test

Until then, have a proactive day.

Eris The Planetoid

Saturday, April 2, 2016

Day 3 of The 30 Day Proactive Test

The Final Showdown

It Is Time For The Smackdown

Roadie

Day 3 of The 30 Day Proactive Test

I feel very proactive right now. I stayed up all night doing meth and smoking crack cocaine. I feel like a mighty god.

It turns out these two guys in this online Buddhist community I have belonged to for 13 years are really not liking this whole journalistic endeavor I am on and their names are Kos and Kapi and to them I say, "Ef u man! I will kill you bastards! I challenge you both to duels, you sonsabitches!"

I am being proactive, taking the bull by the horns and assuming my rightful position as alpha-male of you dickless she-men!

You cannot fight the mighty power of The Triad - Stuck, Squid and Charles. We will crush you with our equanimity and proactivity.

Anyway, I must go now.

Shitlist

Friday, April 1, 2016

Day Two of 30 Day Proactive Test

This is Day 2 of The 30 Day Proactive Test. Apparently, I drank way too much coffee on Day 1, because it is 2:05 AM of Day 2 and I am laying in bed wide awake with my Chromebook, watching an M.I.A. video (click the link at the bottom) and preparing my daily entry for my 30-day journalistic endeavor chronicling this self-help exercise espoused by Stephen J. Covey in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I do recommend clicking on the below link by the way. I think it is appropriate for what I am doing here. The plan is to make this somewhat of a multimedia presentation, incorporating video clips, audio clips, music and the visual arts to augment the use of print media.

Since I am wide awake anyway, I plan to get out of bed to work on this daily blog of mine. Here I go.

3:22 AM

Day 1 of the 30 Day Proactive Test has already created quite a shitstorm. I hang out in this Buddhist chat room, and I have for 13 years. I have been talking to my online Buddhist friends and it turns out this is a very controversial idea among them. There are a lot of very strong personalities in this group. There is a lot of alpha-male, pissing-contest bullshit compounded by a lot of mental illness that goes on with these motherfuckers. It is some sick shit.

Anyway, I digress. This is an exercise in proactivity. So, the plan for today is to focus on this notion of "beginning with the end" in mind. I am going to do some more reading of Covey's work and try to prepare my own personal mission statement and then post this on my blog before the day is out. I do not know if I will actually get that much done today, but that is the goal.

5:34 AM

I did the reading and I am not quite sure if I am going to be able to get all the things done mentioned above and still be able to post on my blog before day's end. I have other things to do today as well. So I figured I would go ahead and just post what I have right now and if I have time later on and I am able to finish that stuff, I will post it. So stay tuned and thank you for reading this blog.

Perpetual (24/7) Eucharistic Adoration Prayer Mission

Adoration, also known as Eucharistic Adoration, is a Catholic prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It is a sign of devotion and worship to Jesus Christ, who is believed to be present in the consecrated host. During adoration, Catholics pray to Jesus Christ before the Eucharist at their local parish. The Eucharist is typically kept in a tabernacle at the parish church, and may be presented in front of a closed tabernacle or in front of the exposed host in a monstrance. A monstrance is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Anglican, High Church Lutheran, and Old Catholic churches. It is a stand made of precious metal that holds the Blessed Sacrament during adoration. The word "monstrance" comes from Latin and means "to show".

The kingdom of God is among you

Luke 17:20-25 Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was to come, Jesus gave them this answer, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation and there will be no one to say, “Look here! Look there!” For, you must know, the kingdom of God is among you.’ He said to the disciples, ‘A time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man and will not see it. They will say to you, “Look there!” or, “Look here!” Make no move; do not set off in pursuit; for as the lightning flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will be the Son of Man when his day comes. But first he must suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation.’

It is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be those of his own household. ‘Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. ‘Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me. ‘Anyone who welcomes a prophet will have a prophet’s reward; and anyone who welcomes a holy man will have a holy man’s reward. ‘If anyone gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.’ When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples he moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns.

The beheading of John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12 Herod the tetrarch heard about the reputation of Jesus, and said to his court, ‘This is John the Baptist himself; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’ Now it was Herod who had arrested John, chained him up and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had told him, ‘It is against the Law for you to have her.’ He had wanted to kill him but was afraid of the people, who regarded John as a prophet. Then, during the celebrations for Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and so delighted Herod that he promised on oath to give her anything she asked. Prompted by her mother she said, ‘Give me John the Baptist’s head, here, on a dish.’ The king was distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he ordered it to be given her, and sent and had John beheaded in the prison. The head was brought in on a dish and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went off to tell Jesus.

Psalms 9:16

The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah - Question: What does Higgaion and Selah mean? Answer: Both Higgaion and Selah are used numerous times in the Old Testament. They occur together in Psalm 9:16. The meanings of these words are uncertain. We observe Higgaion in such passages as Psalm 9:16; 19:14; 42:3; Lamentations 3:63. In Arabic, the root gives a deep vibrating sound, like the murmering sound of a harp (Psa. 92:3). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states that it may be derived from the Greek versions of Psalm 9:16 and takes it to mean an instrumental interlude. It may also mean a soliloquy or meditation such as concerning the judgment of God (Psa. 9:16), the words and work of God (Psa. 19:14), and the loving kindness and faithfulness of God (Psa. 92:2-3). In the Septuagint, Selah is translated as daplasma (meaning a division). It occurs in Habakkuk 3:3, 9, 13 and 71 times in the Psalms. It is used in 39 of our 150 psalms. Of those 39 psalms, 31 they are ones handed over to "the chief Musician." So, pause and meditation may be the predominate idea. In addition, it may mean to lift up (Hebrew, salal) or, in some definitions, a repetition, end of a strophe, or a recurring symphony. In his sermon named "HIGGAION!" about Psalm 9:16, Archibald G. Brown, on August 17, 1873, at the East London Tabernacle said this: "When the psalmist wrote this verse, and reached the words 'The wicked shall be snared in the work of his own hands', he seemed to be overpowered at the terror of the thought, and so put a full stop and wrote in the word 'Higgaion!' As much as to say, 'O my soul, meditate on the tremendous truth my hand has penned, and let all who read the same meditate.' And then after 'Higgaion' he puts 'Selah'. He would have there to be a solemn pause. Oh, I would that there could be just one moment's solemn pause in our meeting tonight. Would that there could be a Selah, a Higgaion! Friends, shall there be? I put it to you. 'The Lord is known by the judgment which he executes; and the wicked shall be snared in the work of his own hands!" Now let us just for a moment meditate on that. Let there be a solemn Higgaion, and let every heart ask itself the question, 'How do I stand in reference to this tremendous truth?' *Answer by Dr. Joseph R. Nally, Jr. (https://thirdmill.org/answers/answer.asp/file/47892)*