Give someone a Smile!!

Posted on April 1, 2021 by Rod's World

I’ve gone back to getting my subjects for my blogs off my kitchen wall. The title for this one comes from my We build Tribes chart. The purpose is to build a purpose-driven community, I actually have two: They are Interculturalism: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Interulturalism and Thriving People – People who wish to make a difference to Humankind: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1126100227764949. Both have the ethos of Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included at their core.

Each community has the following behind it:

10,000 people woke up this morning shedding private tears because they need a solution to their problem. You have that solution, go find them.
No other individual was placed upon this earth to do what you were uniquely born to do. Be you and the world will transform.
We live in an abundant world, allow that abundance to flow through you and you will never be without it.
Build a tribe that changes the very fabric of society, That is what you were born to do.
Whatever your goal, dream or desire is, It’s yours for the taking. Never accept you can’t.
Be consumed with a vision for tomorrow, go there in your own life and people will follow.
In a world of increasing isolation, be the campfire that attracts friends, laughter and authentic moments of transformation.
No-one ever got lucky, true success flows from consistency and persistency. Never, ever give up.
It’s going to be hard, It’s going to be tough. Remember, when you quit, No one wins.
Be their leader, be their servant, be their guide. But whatever you do. Make sure you “be”.
Don’t ever love others to the detriment of loving yourself. There is no one more important than you.
Rest, love, allow yourself to be loved. For as much as you feel the world rests on your shoulders, it doesn’t.
Support one another, cherish one another, inspire one another. We can make an even greater impact when we do so together.
Give someone a smile, give them money, give them a moment – when you have the capacity to do so… give.
With money comes influence, impact and opportunity – freedom comes when we cease fearing the pursuit of money & we embrace it.

So what has society said about communities – lets walk down that path:

1. Read that word, everyone, all 7 billion of us.

2. And her partner was Martin Luther King Junior, hear him speak: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixfwGLxRJU8

3. Do you know what your community cares about?

4. Author of the Courage to Create, this quote speaks profoundly of the power of communication: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN6VR92V70M

5. We all know a community needs more than one colour.

6. Another religious guru facing abuse allegations. Bill Hybels has a lot to reconcile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-6zYv9hCow

7. From little things , big things grow.

8. My purpose to make my communities safe places: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHvTWvKIPHo

9. How many friendships I have made simply asking would you like to go for a coffee?

**10. Give someone a smile, give them money, give them a moment – when you have the capacity to do so… give**: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8QV6ffjIYU

11. Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu term meaning “humanity”. It is sometimes translated as “I am because … Language.

12. Very profound, Marianne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxGLPVvNjvY

13. Boom!!!

14. And my favourite dance crew are the Desert Dwellers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAuAcC6-5ds

15. This one touches my soul.

I have had faith in intentional communities to transform out planet, it will take something but to me has always been possible.

Today’s playlist is truly eclectic. We begin with Martin Luther King’s most famous speech. Then one of my favourite pop divas, Taylor Swift. An Aussie legend follows, Lee Morgan. Then another of my favourite spoken word giants, Maya Angelou. Back to the 60s or 70s with Bread. Ava Max is the penultimate track, then we finish my favourite dance crew, The Desert Dwellers: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJlQ3F9bKYrsTT_-LiPDrKqshrgpwBoPh

So I will complete with my ethos one more time: Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included. Until we meet afain my dear friends.

Tell me what you’re listening to?

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Rod's World

One day late. I’ve been spending time pondering what it is worthwhile to spend doing in 2021 and the name of a Spotify playlist by Courtney Barnett called to me and became the title of this blog: What are you listening to, to create you actions this year, is it dance rituals,different types of therapies, success webinars, things that worked for you in the past, dreams that live in your hearts, there are many options to move forward with.

Being highly productive is not an innate talent, it’s simply a matter of organizing your life so that you can effectively get the right things done. What can you do to increase your own productivity? Here are some ideas that work for me:

Create and observe a “to-don’t” list.
Organize your space and data.
Ruthlessly eliminate distractions while you work.
Accept 100% responsibility for my current situation.
Break down goals into realistic high-impact tasks.
Work when your mind is fresh, and put first things first.
Focus on being productive, not being busy.
Commit your undivided attention to one thing at a time.
Work in Ninety minute intervals.
Reply to e-mails, voicemails, and texts at a set time.
Invest a little time to save a lot of time.
Narrow the number of ventures you are involved in.

The next five years could be the best five years of your life, the decision is yours. The best part of your life will start on the day you decide your life is your own – no one to lean on, rely on, or blame. So what have we said about organizing our lives over the years lets have a look:

1. Ask any perfectionist about the second line, its jams up your life.

**2. Winnie the Pooh agrees with his creator about this** **formulae:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TISIPNpRuoY&list=PL2RBbrgcQOX7fGqrh0yWXtEfIkTR9mZQv

3. With what is going on with the current POTUS, this has far too much statehood contained in it.

4. Nobody is too busy, if they are interested they will find time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z76RDhkB-6c

5. Author unreadable but classy quote.

6. With her background in TV chef shows Anne Burrell has a lot of experience at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y66j_BUCBMY

7. “Alejandra provides organizing information that I have not heard or read before. Her concept is brilliant. The freedom you feel by simplifying your life is priceless.

8. The more people you add, the bigger the organizational challenge becomes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAVKp0X9JnQ

9. Love and Respect for All, Including yourself.

10. Projects are the short term parts of your life, cleaning and organizing you practice for life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXYlFuWEuKI

11. Message is to complete each days task, then move on.

12. Zen Habits is a blog written by Leo Babauta about implementing zen habits in daily life. It offers suggestions for how to live and also includes frequent references to how Leo Babauta has implemented these habits. He covers topics such as simplifying, living frugally, parenting, happiness, motivation, eliminating debt, saving, eating healthily and successfully implementing good habits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwoPlRR9J_k

13. What does your necessary say to you?

14. How do you choose, flip a coin?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdphO1jfxCg

15. To me, the most intelligent Mrs. POTUS.

Think about the tasks you perform over and over throughout a workweek. Is there a more efficient way. Is there a shortcut you can learn? Is there a way to automate it or delegate it Perhaps you complete a particular task in twenty minutes, and it would take two hours to put in place a more efficient method. Bottom line, the more you delegate and automate, the more you can get done with the same amount of effort.

I simply had to include Courtney in the playlist seeing she gave us today’s blog title, we begin with her. The first of two classic R and B legends is next, Marvin Gaye. Some rock follows from American Authors then we go back to today’s music with Sasha Lopez and Andrea D.The Weeknd follow with the penultimate song being from the great Ella Fitzgerald and we finish with a song from the musical Into the Woods: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJlQ3F9bKYrvpUou2t5d2Z3tCl_MJkvqs

I have put my task on increasing the international focus of my new Facebook Group Thriving People – People who wish to make a difference to humanity. Its context is Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included. Here is the link if you wish to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1126100227764949. So until we meet again my dear friends, stay safe.

How do you fill the gap left?

Posted on November 8, 2020 by Rod's World

I was having trouble getting over a recent love affair so began reading about breakups. I found this really good blog in it titled: Losing the Love of Your Life: What to do when you lose the one by Natasha Adamo Here are the first four paragraphs of it, it explained it very well.

Losing the love of your life makes you realize that love can truly be a double-edged sword. It can make us feel so uniquely connected to the world and fill our hearts so they are overflowing. It can also slash our hearts to shreds, leaving painful emotion seeping out for a long time to come.

And one of the most painful places to be in is the one where you feel regret, guilt, and pain for losing someone you see as too much of a loss to recover from. The one who was there for you, loved you, and did the “thick and thin” thing because they believed in you. But now they are gone.

Losing the love of your life and actually realizing it can take some time to surface. There is pain on both sides when a breakup occurs. A time of healing. A time when moving on begins and life slowly becomes happier. The pain subsides, and you reflect on the lessons you learned and seek new love.

There are also times when this doesn’t happen. Where you find yourself thinking of someone every day. Losing the love of your life is painful. You feel heavy with guilt, and regret lives in your gut. It is often at this point you question yourself, and think that this person you lost, has left a hole in your life that can never be filled.

I keep going between the two and feel I am leaning towards the former at the moment although there are days when the latter takes over. So how does society advise you to fill that hole when it sticks around, lets have a look, some are harsh:

1. Actually a phone call made to find out what groceries were needed.

2. We were in COVID .pandemic lock-down times so Zoom was a godsend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqMl5CRoFdk

3. Still pondering a lot of the time, getting better though.

4. Pretty close to the truth, it goes away eventually with taking other actions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm9Zf1WYQ_A&list=PL3-sRm8xAzY-v_i64uZfriFSPYHnQd8Vl&index=4

5. I don’t fully understand this quote.

6. This is the hole that can be never filled time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk4BbF7B29w

7. Makes me think of Deborah Harry’s Broken Glass.

8. I regret that I did this:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sptQj1MPIwg

9. But time has come to realize you must move on.

10. On 22 December 2016, Coelho was listed by UK-based company Richtopia at number 2 in the list of 200 most influential contemporary authors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzM71scYw0M

11. That’s OK until the heart meets someone again.

12. Strength or wisdom, which gets you through the day better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woOJRsXMQ5g

13. Do not let the shadows of your past darken the doorstep of your future, forgive and forget.

14. When things break badly, it is hard to repair them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5e8C1nhe_s

15. And for the final lesson, an ultimate check list.

Are breaking up and letting go the same thing, both have nothing to do with weakness, the latter more to do with strength. Here are 12 things worth knowing as you wander this path.

The past can steal your present if you let it.
Not everyone, and not everything is meant to stay.
Happiness is not the absence of problems, but the ability to deal with them.
Sometimes you just need to do your best and surrender the rest.
You are control of only one person: yourself.
What’s right for you may be wrong for others, and vice versa.
Some people will refuse to accept you for who you are.
Relationships can only exist on a steady foundation of truth.
The world changes when you change.
You can make decisions, or you can make excuses.
It usually takes just a few negative remark’s to kill a person’s dreams.
Sometimes walking away is the only way to win.

Today’s playlist contains three classic sixties bands, two pop diva’s and two relatively unknowns: We begin with Early Stones, then Billy Ellish and Adele. Back to the Sixties for the Doors and The Walker Brothers. Then my two unknowns, the first has less than 1,000 YouTube hits, a rarity: Raven and we finish with the Struts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJlQ3F9bKYrv2CMFf0MRxXaKqX5rg-2xG

You/I are responsible for our own happiness, no one else. You/I are responsible for our behavior, no one else. If you are not seeing the things in life that you want, look at yourself. What are you afraid of? Self-sabotage is when you pike at the last moment, afraid of what lies ahead (even if it’s good for you).

So you can be afraid of the gap, torn apart by the gap or learn to be courageous and jump the gap and move forward. The latter will bring you closer to Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included. Until we meet again, my dear friends.

Our COVID Love Affair.

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Rod's World

7 months,from 22nd March until now, that is how long our beloved city of Melbourne has been in lock-down from COVID, most of it stage 3 and 4. We have had a love affair with masks and crosses on the ground. I began the first stages in a psychiatric unit at the Melbourne Clinic and have ended it breaking up with the women I wanted to spend my life with.

It has made Zoom like technology a must at most houses, for the kids to do their school work, parents to do their work as the government asked them not to go to work unless they really had to, and for my friends in the conscious dance community to listen to the DJ’s they danced to weekly in dance halls all around Melbourne.

So what has the world said about COVID, because lets not forget it is a world-wide pandemic, here we go:

1. How long is 7 months, a frigging long time.

2. Charles Robert Darwin 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution sounds like he would have been a great man to have on the COVID Health team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HMP4zrJiM4

3. 5 basics of the pandemic.

4. Don’t forget the merch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARt9HV9T0w8

5. How true was this over the past seven months.

6. The naysayers are many, especially the journos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co6WMzDOh1o&list=PLhGO2bt0EkwvRUioaJMLxrMNhU44lRWg8&index=15

7. Did they have to put a limit on how much toilet paper you could buy in your country, we did.

8. I think after seven months, I’ve got there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4pi1LxuDHc

9. COVID Parenthood 101.

10. Hadn’t thought of this, the royal handshake and hug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Vmjyjst4U

11. The streets and walk-paths are really empty.

12. This would be funny if it was not true: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH4TVYT1OYQ

13. Ice cream.

14. The cute as pie one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygdB-ZE0daY

15. Oops, sprung.

So, what are some things that can help you get through this pandemic, here are a few suggestions:

Wash your hands and face, and brush your teeth.
Change your socks,
Call a close friend.
Stretch.
Go outdoors.
Take a light exercise break.
Dress to feel your best.
Listen to your favourite music
Take a few deep, controlled breaths.
Clear your stuffed nose.
Cook a good meal.
Walk away from energy vampires.
Complete an important piece of unfinished business.
Work on something that’s meaningful for you.
Assist someone in need.
Think about your latest (or greatest) success.
Act like today is already an awesome day.
Notice what’s right.
Take a moment to acknowledge how far you’ve come.

The playlist today begins with two older songs by David Bowie and Gloria Gaynor. Following are two bands, U2 and the Lumineers. The only pop diva is next, Enca ft. Noizy. We finish with two COVID parodies of Foreigner and Michael Jackson: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJlQ3F9bKYrtSY-drWEG7LyrzJbFT4GV2

Today is the day we were meant to find out about an easing of the restrictions, I think I saw an extension to November the 2nd, missed by that much. So during this time we really need the ethos of Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included. Until next time my dear friends.

What I don’t Know!!!

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Rod's World

I have just spent three hours texting on the phone to my ex-partner, and it ended up in the usual Fuck Off. But during that I committed to writing a blog about what I didn’t know, a relative hard task because its about what I don’t know. Areas like how insecure I feel at times and how life confuses me. It seems the previous ones I wrote judging her personality based on my own defensiveness rather than any knowledge. I do not hold this to be totally true but apologise for causing her hurt in writing about her if it caused these feelings.

What do I feel insecure about? Many things: Insecure that I will fail in my new businesses, Insecure that I never feel my deepest emotions, Insecure that I will never respond to a woman in a way she feels worshiped, Insecure that I will always feel unlovable all my life and insecure that I will feel that if I let people get close to me they will reject me.

I am confused by how to meet a lovers needs, I am confused by fitting in, I am confused by feeling all the feels as my anger may get out of control, I am confused by what to do to be a good elder for my community, I am confused at the way the world is governed, it feels so wrong, I am confused by women’s intentions and I am confused by what it takes to find a woman who will love me for who I am.

So what has society said about insecurity and confusion, let’s take a walk down memory lane:

1. I’m not sure if I have as yet.

2. I have all three of these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLmYZSu3NCc&list=PL6IfNZf-6l0gKdY4foPph_HTEm3nwrx8x&index=2

3. How many make your list?

4. They were for a while: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THeLVhU53ow&list=PLxXNIlld_SoIPdy-IW_b4ksQWqsfFO7e2&index=22

5. Boom!!!

6. I’m learning this big time, and the things about me that don’t work as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAfyFTzZDMM&list=PLxXNIlld_SoIPdy-IW_b4ksQWqsfFO7e2&index=28

7. This is why finding your perfect partner is so hard, because we all have these.

8. I haven’t as yet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXXQLa-5n5w&list=PLxXNIlld_SoIPdy-IW_b4ksQWqsfFO7e2&index=31

9. Not an easy thing to do.

10. Intuition is from innocence, Insecurity from your darkest places: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocDlOD1Hw9k&list=PLxXNIlld_SoIPdy-IW_b4ksQWqsfFO7e2&index=27&bpctr=1600577394

11. Hit the pause button and turn it onto play.

12. When this happens in your life it is a grand declaration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXoZLPSw8U8&list=PLxXNIlld_SoIPdy-IW_b4ksQWqsfFO7e2&index=26

13. Quite a broad recipe of circumstances of which insecurity is but one.

14. Not this takes something to meet on an equal plain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYa1eI1hpDE&list=PLxXNIlld_SoIPdy-IW_b4ksQWqsfFO7e2&index=30

15. I plead guilty to this.

I wish to add some words by Jeanette LeBlanc, they relate to the writing of this:

Write the truth of yourself. As you know it. Right Now. In this exact moment and only this moment. Make your words sing with the hope of you , with the want of you, with the very blood and bones and guts of you Select the lines that speak your heart. Your sex. Your sacred. Spill yourself into this paragraph as if lives depend on it. Because your lives – every last one – do.

Today’s playlist is all pop diva’s except for the opening number. Gnash starts us off followed by Jess Glynne. Three of the biggies follow Christine Aguilera, Beyonce and Pink. Cobie Caillat is the penultimate diva and we finish with Taylor Swift: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJlQ3F9bKYrsm9HO0oD7BenIjEVeZoRGT

When the world is willing to recognise its insecurities and confusion we will be able to recognise that Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included will have a chance. My new tribe: Thriving People – People who wish to make a difference to humanity has this as its ethos, if you would like to join here is the link: https://bit.ly/2ERbjc9. Until we meet again my dear friends.

I’m Alone, I’m Alone, I’m Alone!!!

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Rod's World

I can’t wait to read your fucking blog, here it is my beloved.

This is from a text I received yesterday. The same person who told me to fuck off and live my fantasy life and that’s she hates me, see my previous blog To Fuck Off, or Not. This was one of over 20 texts that started with my heart is breaking ending in the classic Fuck You posts. To me the above statement is a classic cry for help. I have worked out that my friend has three unique identities: The first being the Wise, Insightful, Compassionate, Sensual one. The second being the doubting Thomas one, this won’t work out which still contains some of the former, and the third, the cruel, sadistic Fuck You one who will say anything to hurt you, including you should kill yourself.

Am I being sadistic staying in communication with her, or Am I still in love with her. When I look into my heart, it is the latter. I don’t know how to fall out of love in a week and a bit, which she seems to have been able to achieve. So now we are both alone per say still talking to each other via text. So what does the world say about being alone, lets walk down that street:

1. I am slowly learning this, too soon, although we are in COVID stage 4 Lock-down in Melbourne, Australia.

2. You can offer this, but when they have made the decision to end it, its over, but in ours there seems to be residue: https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=uzSgxvvTWvA

3. For me that I prefer a partner.

4. I sense I will eventually do this again:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0&list=PLgP_WFDJWjxRBAnIeUupZ-XHAspFBJZ0i

5. Thats what my sister is saying to me about my current situation.

6. The joy of the previous months with my friend have ruined this for me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSDgHBxUbVQ&list=PLgP_WFDJWjxRBAnIeUupZ-XHAspFBJZ0i&index=3

7. Not Yet, for me.

8. That is what crushes your heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2U0Ivkn2Ds&list=

9. Peace Out.

10. I so miss this, I am getting teary typing these words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGorjBVag0I

11. It goes back to my early childhood, being cared for and abandoned by my mum in the first three months of my life.

12. I have been told by many friends I should be doung this, not talking to her. My heart does not want to hear it:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBumgq5yVrA&list=PLgP_WFDJWjxRBAnIeUupZ-XHAspFBJZ0i

13. Nothing, not even that person.

14. I do this so I don’t have to feel so sad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhcc1KQlCS4&list=PLgP_WFDJWjxRBAnIeUupZ-XHAspFBJZ0i&index=9

15. This is for my friend, a woman of faith.

So when life gets stressful and you feel like you’re losing your emotional balance, use one or more of these simple tricks to help you relax your mind and recenter yourself in an instant:

1.Wash your hands and face, annd brush your teeth.

2. Change your socks

3. Call a close friend.

4. Stretch.

5. Go outdoors

6. Take a light exercise break.

7. Dress to feel your best.

8.Listen to your favourite music.

9. Take a few deep,, controlled breaths.

10. Clear your stuffed nose.

11. Cook a good meal.

12. Walk away from energy vampires.

13. Complete an important piece of unfinished business.

14. Work in something that is meaningful for you.

15. Assist someone in need.

16. Think about your latest or (greatest success).

17. Act like today is already an awesome day

18. Notice what’s right.

Take a moment to acknowledge how far you’ve come.

Today’s playlist is dripping with Pop divas: We begin with Beyonce followed by Adele, Ed Sheeran and Christine Aguilera. We travel back in time for Leonard Cohen classic and end with Passenger and Andra: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJlQ3F9bKYrsGy-xwtyPoagX95P3KDfEs

Still haven’t worked out the links issue, My mission is not to be alone, it is to have 1,000,000 state they will live from the ethos of Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included, you can join our tribe here; https://www.facebook.com/groups/1126100227764949. Until we meet again, my dear friends.

Are you present , or in your head?

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Rod's World

I recently invited a dear friend over for dinner, the second person besides my family I have had in my home in 6 and a half years. To say I was excited is an understatement and I was thinking about how I could make the night perfect. That was where I made my blunder, I was in my head about it most of the night and not very present at all. Surprisingly my friend did not say anything directly at the time but let me know later that I had been mostly not present for her the whole time.

I have spent most of my adult life trying to work things out in my head and now have the opportunity to do it from and open up my heart. When she asks me what are you feeling I have to fight the urge to look in my head for the answer and feel into my heart also not to tell a story from my past or speculate on the future, but to be in the present or as Eckhart Tolle tells us, The Power of Now. It is a journey that we have agreed to take together to deepen our friendship.

Friendship, what has the universe said about that over the years, lets have a look:

1. Christie Brinkley is an American model, actress, and entrepreneur. Brinkley gained worldwide fame with her appearances in the late 1970s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues, ultimately appearing on an unprecedented three consecutive covers starting in 1979.

2. The letters IM drop out of your life when everything becomes possible: Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

3. They exist in that part of your heart that says, we will always be friends.

4. Do you wait?: A Song for You.

5. One is the most powerful number.

6. True friends are cemented together at the heart: That’s What Friends are For.

7. These are the people who where 5 years apart feels like 5 minutes when you meet.

8. They light the way and you need to no longer be afraid of the dark: I will Always Love You.

9. The Bible has some good stuff in it.

10. I have several of the atter family in my life, I love them: We are Family.

11. And you must keep proving it day to day if the friendship is to grow.

12. Disturb them with the question, what are you feeling?: Endless Love.

13. Like I will honour and love you, just as strong a promise.

14. My heart shuddered reading this one: Baby Please Don’t Go.

15. And for our final lesson today, the most profound statement of the blog, Hahaha.

So I am finishing this at 10.50 pm at night because I have spent many hours deepening our friendship over the past two days. It was joyous, confronting and loving and all the things in between. is it worth it, Fuck Yes!!!

The playlist tonight is dedicated to the BLM movement. Firstly Stevie Wonder leads off, following by the little known vocal genius Donny Hathaway. Dionne Warwick and her friends then hit the stage, handing it over to Whitney Houston. Chic and Sister Sledge then occupy the stage for a while, making way for Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey and we finish with a rocking tune by Muddy Waters and the Stones: Are you Present or in Your Head?

How changing is this journey of deep friendship I am taking? I intend that it transform my relationship to what friendship means and that my heart will be truly opened for the first time in my life. We have just begun but I am so more in touch with my world ethos of Love and Respect for all, Everyone Included. Until we meet again, my dear friends.

P.S. This one is for you, Amy.

Are you Enough?

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Rod's World

How often have you asked yourself this question? They say that you make your prime decision about your life by the age of seven years old, then spend the rest of your life surviving it via therapy or being in the winner’s circle.

Over to my friend Marc Chernoff to provide a list that will support us in this area. It is called 12 choices your future self will thank you for:

When life pushes you over, stand up and push back even harder, when there is a fork in the road and choices to make, make the ones your future self will thank you for:

1. Choosing you – The most exhausting activity is pretending to be who you know you aren’t.

2. Appreciating what you have – Sometimes, when you make the most out of what you have, it turns out to be a lot more than you ever imagined.

3. Believing in yourself and your dreams – Believe in you. Listen to your soul.

4, Being positive – You can’t live a positive life with a negative attitude.

5. Taking action – The happiest and most successful people are usually those who have broken the chains of procrastination.

6. Letting Go – The biggest step in changing the world around you is to change the world within you.

7. Picking yourself back up – Sometimes when things go wrong it’s because they would have turned out worse if they had gone right.

8. Ignoring negative people – You are not a rug; some people may try to walk all over you, but you don’t have to lie there and take it.

9. Staying in touch with close friends and family – There comes a time in life you’ll have to leave everything behind for a while and start something new, but never forget the people who stood by your side.

10. Making time for fun – Fun is way underrated.

11. Spreading Love and Kindness – The happiness surrounding you is greatly affected by the choices you make every day.

12. Being the change you want to see in the world – Don’t tell others how to live; live and let them watch you.

So what has the human race said about being enough, let’s have a look

1. Three powerful statements on self love there.

2. Love the last line: Never Stop.

3. Time to break down the walls.

4. And to stop pretending: Worth It.

5. Read the handwriting.

6. Having these in your heart definitely brings out the strength in you: You Say.

7. What a great name: Badass Warrior Queen.

8. I love memes with hearts in them: Fight Song.

9. Some powerful I statements here.

10. Some great words from our curly-haired genius: Somewhere over the Rainbow.

11. What are your personal avatars?

12. All hail Brene: Love Myself.

13. That why all the good books say self-love first and foremost.

14. These boots are made for walking: Boots.

15. And the last offering comes from the cardigan-wearing one, Eckhart Tolle reminding us of the treasure we all have within:

So choose to spread love to one person a day, beginning with yourself would be a grand idea. Imagine the amount of happiness you can spread in a lifetime, day by day.

Today on the playlist we have an all-women lineup. We have something for the young and not so young. Two bands unknown to me start us off. The Brand New Heavies and Fifth Harmony, both have millions of followers. Lauren Daigle and Rachel Platten belt out a couple of anthems next. Then back in time to Judy Garland, the penultimate number is from Hailee Steinfeld and we finish with Nancy Sinatra: Are You Enough?

This actually is take two of this blog, I got one quote from the end and poof, it disappeared. But I had to mention my ethos, Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included and my ever-growing Facebook group calledInterculturalism. We would love you to join us to spread love and respect around the planet.

Until we meet again, my dear friends.

She Births New Beginnings!!!

Posted on January 23, 2020 by Rod's World

Crewed on an event called Embody your Full Power as a Man last night. It’s an introduction to a body of work called Dancing Eros for Men. Surprisingly you do not journey with your male archetypes but with those of the sacred feminine: The archetypes are the Maiden, the Wild Woman, the Priestess, the Erotic Mother and the Slut and they live in all of us in their own unique way: Dancing Eros.

I began the journey in June 2018 with some trepidation as I looked out over the group of men gathered in the room the first night as to what a slightly over the hill 63-year-old would get out of such a program and would I have to dance like a slut in front of 20 other men, not really my bag. This what I wrote when requested to do a testimonial for the intro last night: The intimacy I created with the group of men I journeyed with transmuted to everyone in my life: Lovers, Brothers, Sisters, Parents, Workmates, Strangers in the Streets, see you at the intro. It was like the spirit of humanity sat in that room with me over the eight nights and days we spent together.

My friend Marc Chernoff has created a list which sums up pretty well what I got out of it:

A Silhouette of a human being stands before you. Perhaps a friend. Perhaps a lover. Perhaps a perfect stranger. They need you to connect with them. They need you to share this moment.

They need you to:

1. They need you to smile without hesitation.

2. Give without expectation.

3. Comfort without lying.

4. Guide without misleading.

5. Forgive without resentment.

6. Rest without judgement.

7. Notice without critiquing.

8. Appreciate without comparing.

9. Listen without interruption.

10. Question without objection.

11. Challenge without mocking.

12. Consider without doubting.

13. Discuss without criticizing.

So what have we said about our sacred feminine spirit over the centuries, here are some of the ways we expressed it:

1. As children, we rely on what our heart says to us to be in the world, as our brain kicks in, we forget the purity of this.

2. Just Man up is such a demeaning tool to dissect our full personality: On a Roll.

3. You need to do the work.

4. CARLOS ANDRÉS GÓMEZ is a Colombian American poet, speaker, actor, and author of Hijito, selected by Eduardo C. Corral as the winner of the 2018 Broken River Prize and a #1 SPD bestseller, and the memoir Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood, released by Penguin Random House: We’ve Only Just Begun.

5. To take on a transformational shift like Dancing Eros, you need a fair bit of this.

6. We need to have them in a healthy balance: Both Sides Now.

7. From the 18th Century. Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels became classics of English literature.

8. Values can be buried with you and remembered, Ferrari’s can’t: I Gotta Feeling.

9. French-born fashionista Rykiel was also a writer. She wrote several books about fashion, a collection of children’s stories, magazine columns and an epistolary novel with Régine Desforges. Her first book Et Je La Voudrais Nue (I Would Like Her Naked) was published in 1979. In 2012, she co-authored N’oubliez pas que je joue (Don’t forget it’s a game) with journalist Judith Perrignon.

10. This is why it was an honour to be part of the crew who gave the opportunity to 50 men to transform their lives: The Power of Love.

11. Time to walk the Inner path.

12. You can dance if you want to, It’s time: I Wanna Dance with Somebody.

13. Or that suffering may take you to a Dancing Eros for Men intro in Collingwood.

14. Listening deeply is part of the deal: Listen to The Earth.

15. What others would you add?

In the end, what all people want deep down is the need for you to be uniquely you – just the way you are, and they need you to respect them – just the way they are. This so fits in with my world ethos of Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included.

The playlist contains some of the classic female voices of all time: Unknown pop diva Ashley O begins the journey. Karen Carpenter and Joni Mitchell are the first of our female vocal legends. We return to this century with The Black Eyed Peas before being entranced by Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. We finish with some beats from Listen to the Earth: She Births New Beginnings.

Remember to sign up to receive these blogs in your inbox on the righthand side of my homepage at http://www.rodwill1707.com. Until we meet again, my dear friends.

First You Dream, Then You Do!!!

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Rod's World

Had a busy weekend, attended a potluck 40th Friday evening, a commitment ceremony Saturday, and a Warrior of Love training day Sunday. This gave me a lot to choose from to write about. I have chosen to write about the growth conversation I had with a vital young thing at the potluck. She seemed to just be reaching out to begin her growth adventure but was not sure what direction to take. I gave her some of my worldly advice and left her with that. I suggested that life was about taking chances and seeing what worked out for her.

My friend Marc says the following: Life is about taking chances. It’s about doing something you initially thought you could never do. It’s about being a little bit crazy. following your heart, and not worrying about every detail of what everyone else thinks. And above all, it’s about learning to love who you are and what you have.

Here are his 12 things to start caring about on your journey:

Start caring about your own happiness – It’s important to make people happy, but you have to start with yourself.
Start caring about your goals and dreams – If you want to know where your heart is, look where your mind goes when it wanders.
Start caring about how you invest your time every day – There might not be a tomorrow, not for everyone.
Start caring about how you think and what you think about – In your quiet moments, what do you think about?
Start caring about how you treat yourself – Your relationship with yourself is the closest and most important relationship you will ever have.
Start caring about how you treat others – Live so that when the people around you think of fairness, caring and integrity, they think of you.
Start caring about how others treat you – Choose your relationships wisely.
Start caring about your health – Exercise to be fit, not skinny.
Start caring about your education and personal growth – Achieving higher consciousness comes from your commitment to personal growth.
Start caring about doing the best YOU can – Don’t worry about what others are doing better than you.
Start caring about all the wonderful things you have right now – Learn to appreciate the things you have before time forces you to appreciate the things you once had.
Start caring about this moment we call ‘life’ – This moment is your life, don’t miss it.

So what have people said about their growth paths over the centuries, lets have a look:

1. This is when fear is a positive in your life.

2. Boats are not built to stay in safe harbours, neither are you: Around The World.

3. Audrey was much more than just a great actress, In December 1992, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

4. Best known for his hierarchy of needs, Abraham Maslow calls out for us to choose growth and overcoming fear by moving forward again and again: Ours.

5. The knot explains a lot.

6. Will people come on aboard your form of contagious?: Fight Song.

7. We go back to the 18th Century for this powerful insight from the third POTUS.

8. How is your journey unfolding, don’t give your dreams up: Don’t Stop Believing.

9. A great word that hangs out with I’m Possible.

10. There are several quotes that say this, Boom!: To Live And Die In LA.

11. Its an inner and outer journey.

12. You can’t stay there anymore: Time to Grow.

13. Breathwork is very supportive on the journey I have found.

14. Our second POTUS for today’s blog: Happy Birthday, Mr President.

15. And for our final lesson, we hear from one of the world’s most powerful women . Ginni Rometty’s tenure as IBM’s CEO has been marked by noteworthy awards, including by Bloomberg’s 50 Most Influential People in the World, Fortune’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business”, Time‘s 20 Most Important People in Tech and Forbes’ America’s Top 50 Women In Tech.

Unfortunately, sometimes, just before you take your first step on the journey to pursue your dreams, people around you, even the ones who deeply care for you, will give you awful advice. It’s not because they have evil intentions. It’s because they don’t understand the big picture – what your dreams, passions and life goals mean to you. They don’t understand that, to you, the reward is worth the risk. Enjoy the Journey.

So as Steve Jobs said ” Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living within the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Today’s playlist features rock bands, pop divas and rap stars. We begin with The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, then Taylor Swift and her fellow pop diva Rachel Platten. Journey next then over to rap land with Tupac and Lemar. We finish with Marilyn Monroe: First You Dream, Then You Do.

I was checking my stats recently, I spread my ethos of Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included across 128 countries last year. I’m on a strong growth pattern to having it being the world paradigm. Until we meet again, my dear friends.