Sometimes I Just Want To Be Part Of The Crowd

I often take pride in living out of the mainstream in many parts of my life. My deafness of 35 years now, suddenly shut off communications to almost everyone around me. So, I became focused on what I COULD do instead of what I couldn’t. Because of my loss of hearing, my other senses became more enhanced. I feel things and see and feel things … Continue reading Sometimes I Just Want To Be Part Of The Crowd

The Last Time

This particular picture was taken looking out a window in the Salvador DalĆ­ Museum in St. Petersburg FL. I love geometric shapes, so this one pic drew me in. Of course, looking out the window gives you a strong sense of Florida. This Spring my older brother suddenly came to mind. The last time I visited him was twenty years ago in 2002. At that … Continue reading The Last Time

I Am Secretly Covered With Envy…

They say that envy is one of the most common emotions. There is even a commandment about it. I never thought of myself as having envy, but in reality I have probably lived with it most of my life, and sometimes it even seems to drive my life. Except for my electronic gadgets, I am not much of a “things” person, so I don’t envy … Continue reading I Am Secretly Covered With Envy…

Philosophers Look At Adversity

I am enjoying a high-level view of various philosophers through the ages. Aristotle is perhaps my favorite, but Francis Bacon has recently come to my attention because of his view on adversity. Some of his words on that topic are what this post is about. The virtue of prosperity is temperance; the virtue of adversity is fortitude; which in morals is the more heroical virtue. … Continue reading Philosophers Look At Adversity

Welcome To The New RJsCorner…

The New RJsCorner is taking a pretty serious shift from past content. Politics, and the ugliness that it entails, is no longer part of this site. The primary focus is now learning about the diversity of man, and accepting and maybe even celebrating those who are different from you. It is about my primary shift to a positive focus. I will leave the negative things … Continue reading Welcome To The New RJsCorner…

Resetting my Life Goals

“My wife’s death five months ago yesterday caused me to do some pretty serious soul-searching. It made me realize that I was just going-with-the-flow in too many areas of my life. I was aimlessly moving from one day to another without much purpose. When I found out how quickly things can change, I become more determined than ever to live the rest of my life … Continue reading Resetting my Life Goals

Life On The Margins – It’s not just about adversity…

I’ve been posting too much about adversity being on the margins. It’s time I started looking at the positive stuff that puts us there. Yes, I am on the spectrum, but even that has a lot of good stuff about it. My absurd focus allowed me to be a valued member of a 300+ person engineering team. I contributed things that neurotypicals could likely never … Continue reading Life On The Margins – It’s not just about adversity…

Internalized Capitalism

Let’s start off this post on some thoughts of the mainstream. There really is not “one” mainstream, instead they are more like tributaries feeding into one massive deluge. Of course, there are the Lumpi-Trumpies (Lazy Minded/Proudly Ignorant) who get so much attention today. There is likely not an original thought among them. šŸ˜µā€šŸ’« There are also those who follow each other down one path or … Continue reading Internalized Capitalism

Adversity Builds Character

The phrase in the title above comes from Friedrich Nietzsche who was a German researcher of philosophy in the mid 1800s. He was considered a child prodigy who unapologetically spoke his mind on a number of topics. I kinda live by that strategy myself. šŸ¤“ He had many controversial quotes attached to his name, but I seriously cling to the one above as being fundamental … Continue reading Adversity Builds Character

A Joyous Journey Is About Coping

Having a joyous journey doesn’t mean your life is obstacle free.

In fact, it is more likely the opposite. I know I, and I suspect many other seniors, get depressed when we visit a typical retirement blog on the internet. Almost all of them are about the great time the blogger has experienced. They travel to many foreign places and tell you how mystical they are. They tell you about how strong and supportive their families are. They often bring up their spouses as those who support and agree with them 100%. Life is just great! Life is joyous!

How come it is not so great for some of us!

Continue reading “A Joyous Journey Is About Coping”

Nothing Makes a Man More Broad-minded Like Adversity – Will Rogers

The billionaire Facebook founder and chief executive and his physician wife pledged to give away 99% of Facebook shares in their lifetime, currently worth about $45 billion, in a letter to their newborn daughter Max posted on Facebook on Tuesday, the national day of giving known as #GivingTuesday. SOURCE: Mark Zuckerberg has baby girl, pledges to give away 99% of Facebook shares. I know you … Continue reading Nothing Makes a Man More Broad-minded Like Adversity – Will Rogers

Personal Adversity Makes Us Stronger or…

OK, first let me start out by completing the title message. Personal adversity makes us stronger or breaks us. As I mentioned a few posts ago I went deaf about twenty years ago and have consequently faced my share of adversity since then. In the coming months, I will share specific stories about this but I want to keep it on a higher level for … Continue reading Personal Adversity Makes Us Stronger or…