The Working Honey Bee

In many ways, we should reflect our lives in a similar fashion of a honey bee.
During the day the honey bee will go around and pollinate flowers.
It will then go back to the hive and make honey.
A honey bee's entire life is spent protecting and enhancing the wellbeing of not only the colony itself, but it will also protect the Queen Bee at any cost.
Think of the Queen Bee as a dream and or goal that you have set.
In order to achieve you're goal or dream your going to have to make some sacrifices in your own life.
You will have to work collectively with others to achieve your dream or goal.
Similarly to the honey bee, it takes a part of the flower and brings it back to the hive.
In turn the flower becomes pollinated.
Think of the flowers as a network of people you will meet in your life.
In order for that person to help you out in the future, you first must help them out in order to receive something in return.
Ultimately it's up to you to find something that is worth working towards and accomplishing in your own life.
It is only when you find what you want to work towards that you will be able to start contributing to wellbeing of your hive.

Any feedback or comments would be much appreciated! I would love to hear back from my readers!

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Studying Abroad

Recently, I received a Chinese Fortune that said to never pass up a once-in-a-lifetime offer.
This fortune comes at a time were such an opportunity has presented itself.
It is my intention in the spring of 2016 to study abroad in London.
While in London, it is my hope to be able to study international business and gain a greater understanding for a multi-cultural environment.
As an American, I feel that I am not exposed to enough diversity in my day to day life.
Through the study abroad experience I hope to gain this knowledge and apply it to not only my own life but the lives of others as well.
 

Mr.Nobody

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you could see the future?
Would you try and change the future, or would you remain idle in the present?
Every action that you make, every word that you say can and will send you down different pathways.
Is there one correct pathway to take over the other?
Or will every pathway that you take ultimately have a similar result?
Mr. Nobody (2012) is a movie that explores this issue.
When Nemo Nobody was born he had the ability to see the future and all the different outcomes.
This was because when he was in heaven as a baby, he says that you already know what your future could be.
Right before you are born an angel taps you on the head and you forget what your future could be.
However, the angel forgot to tap him on the head so he can see all possible futures with their outcomes.
In the year 2092 Nemo Nobody is the last mortal on earth, since he has been alive there has been stem cell research that allowed humans to live forever.
The movie centers around an interview with this journalist, asking about Mr. Nobody's past.
However, he tells the journalist of three different pasts, each one contradicting themselves.
As he tells all these different versions of his supposed past, he keeps changing what happens with the people around him.
It remains unclear to the viewer and the journalist which past is the actual past of Nemo Nobody.
Later on in the movie, Nemo goes on to explain to the viewer that there are three spatial dimensions, forward, left and right.
He explains that going backwards is not possible.
This is because once something has been said or done it cannot be taken back.
He uses the analogy of writing with ballpoint pen.
Once words have been written on a paper in pen they cannot be erased.
Although he does not say this directly, I'd like to think that even if you were to white out the words, they are still there.
No one but yourself will know that you changed them; however, you can not change the fact that you wrote those words in the first place.
All a person can do is live in the present and try and make a better future for themselves.
As the movie comes to a close a reoccurring memory that Nemo describes to the journalist in his stories appears.
This memory was when he was a child and his parents were getting divorced.
I like to think that this moment is what the whole movie is about.
He is with his parents at the train station and he has to make a decision on who he wants to be with.
His mother gets on the train and it begins to pull away.
He has to make a decision then and there.
However, he is struggling to make one because he can see the future with both his mother and his father.
Both futures have different outcomes and different possibilities.
This is where I think the spatial dimension concept, he explained comes into play.
He can go left and stay with his father and live with future he chose.
He can go right and run after the train to be with his mother and live with the future he chose.
Or he can go forward and be an independent individual.
However, he cannot go backward in time and change what happened with his parents.
The only thing he can do is react in the present moment to his changing environment.
He stands there alienated unsure of what path to take.
This is why I believe he is called Mr. Nobody.
No matter what path he takes there will be a different future.
He is convinced that if he remains idle nothing will happen because if you have no direction you won't have much of a future.
By keeping his feet planted the world will change, but he will not have gone anywhere expect where he is standing.
I leave you today with one last question, if you had the ability to see possible futures, where would you go?
Would you go left, right or forward or stay where you are?





 


 

A Raisin for A Grape

When life gives you raisins, give someone else grapes.
In other words, life can sometimes get dried up like a raisin and when this happens we should give another person a grape.
Grapes are richer in taste than raisins.
Therefore by giving another person a grape, what was once dried up in your own life becomes richer and all the more fruitful.  

The Journey to 250 miles

By the end of the summer I have set a goal for myself to run 250 miles.
Thus far I have run 69.24 miles in a little less than a month.
It is hard to believe how far I have come with my running.
Prior to this goal I would never run very far.
The most I would ever run is 3 or 4 miles.
After running 3 to 4 miles I'd be exhausted, but now 3 to 4 miles feels like a warm up for me.
The longest run I've done this summer is 13 miles.
I was amazed that I was able to even run that far.
I remember becoming tired after mile 9, but I pushed myself.
My mind was telling me to take a short cut and finish the run at 11 miles, but I was determined to finish.
Once I got to 13 miles, I was extremely proud of myself.
After the run I felt fine, I was not sore at all as I expected.
Although, I would like to run a few more 13 mile runs before the end of the summer, I'm planning to build up to that distance, because  if I keep pushing myself like I did that one day, I could very well injure myself.

Now,you might be wondering why I chose 250 miles to run.
The reason is because I feel that 250 miles is an attainable, yet still physically challenging goal.
Running these 250 miles is not about running the distance fast, it is about enjoying running for what it is.
This run is about the feeling of step while running.
Every step I take is light and as I continue to run, I go up an invisible stair case with each step becoming harder to climb up.
This run is about the feeling of my lungs.
They feel lighter with every step that I take and the farther I run the better I feel.
180.6 miles here I come!
 

Advice From One Blogger to Another

Throughout the years that I have been writing on this blog, many of my friends, colleagues and family members have suggested that I put advertising on my blog to gain some extra cash.
However to me, writing on this blog was and will never be about the money.
Stephen King once said that: "Writing isn't about making money.....in the end it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well."
Tales of My Life was created out of my passion for writing.
At first I was writing on my blog only for myself.
Then I came to realize the power of the word and that when words are put together in the right way, they can inspire others.
Thus I began writing down my observations of lessons learned in my own life and what I observed in others.
I realized that this was the purpose of what Tales of My Life was meant to be and I soon took fulfillment in inspiring others.

Now this is not to say that there is anything wrong with putting advertising on your own blog, but keep in mind there are other ways to generate traffic on your blog.
When I first started my blog I was not getting very many views and I became discouraged.
As I mentioned earlier when I first started writing on my blog, I was only writing for myself.
However, as soon as I began writing for myself and for others my viewership began to grow.
By the end of a one year period I had generated 1,000 views to my blog.
It takes time to build a viewership so do not be discouraged.
One thing I wish I would have known when I was first starting out on my blog, was the power of social media.
It was not until recently that I started using social media to my advantage.
Use all platforms of social media that you can.
The more exposure you give to people the more likely they will see your link and click on it.
I've found Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus to be the best platforms to get your work out there.
When using Twitter, try coming up with a hash tag for your blog, this gives your followers an additional resource to use to keep up to date on what you have been posting.
When using Facebook create a specific page for your blog, on this page engage with your followers.
Ask your followers questions about your work to get feedback and encourage them to share the link to your blog with their friends.
Lastly and probably one of the most important sources to share your work is on Google Plus Communities.
There are hundreds of Google Plus Communities with all kinds of varieties of interests and skills.
Once you find these Google Plus Communities establish a relationship with the people in these communities.
The more connections you have on Google Plus the higher exposure your blog will have.
At the end of the day, whatever your blog is about, whether it is photograph, travel, movie reviews and etc..... find your blog's purpose and stick with that purpose.
In time your blog will grow and flourish into something far more greater than you ever thought it would.

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The Sun Flower Man

A man stood still upon the stem of a sun flower.
He surveyed the world around him basking in its glory.
One thing remained evident to him: while he could see the world, it could not see him.
He was a small figure, an insignificant and microscopic person.
So he climbed the stem of the sun flower till he reached the top.
He got to the top of the flower and screamed can anyone see me?!!
There was no reply.
All he could hear was the wind blowing and the birds chirping.
He noticed there was an oak tree near him, he surveyed the tree up and down, then began climbing up the trunk of the tree.
The bark of the tree was like veins underneath the skin, as he slowly navigated his way up the tree.
He got to the top of the tree and found the highest branch he could find.
He called out can anyone see me???!!!!
No reply.
He noticed a bird nearby.
He went over to the bird and hopped on its back.
The bird flew high in the sky as high as it could.
The man yelled can anyone see me?!!!!
This time he heard the echo of his voice but nothing else.
He tried again. Same result. He came to realize he was to high in the sky for anyone to be able see him.
He felt smaller up in the sky upon the bird than he did when he was on the stem of the flower.
The world looked and seemed different.
The bird landed on the ground and he got off.
He was at peace with himself once again.
He realized that he was happier upon the ground than he was in the sky.
While not very many people will be able to see him upon the ground, he stands out more on the ground then he does in the sky.

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