Cleaning Out Our Life's Barn

Where The Barn Used To Be
Off In The Distance

When we first moved to a farm when I was in 8th grade, it had several out buildings, a lot of pasture, a big house and a gigantic old barn.  The barn was majestic with worn paint, but it provided a great place for me to hide, roam, and treat as if it was my own world.  My cats would hide in the left over hay bales and found it was a warm refuge from the weather and my father.

The barn no longer stands where it once did as it has been torn down.  As majestic as it was, full of those old timbers, it was really a mess inside.  It seemed as if someone had used it over the years, but never taken a moment to tidy it up or clean it out.  It was an accumulation of so much that one could have a history lesson inside its walls.

This applied to how dirty it was from left over animal material.  In the low end of the barn, the accumulation was over a foot in depth and was dried and hard.  It had become the floor in many ways and was crowding in on the ceiling.  Our job as kids was to go in and clean this out which meant chipping, picking away at it, and shoveling it outside the door to be spread on a nearby field.

Book Reivew on The Field by Lynne McTaggart

The Field
by Lynne McTaggart

This book is one that I have been wanting to read for some time.  I heard about it when I was in massage school, but never pursued it on my book list.  Of course, I've got so many books that I want to read and it seems like there is never enough time to do that.  The Field is an excellent book.

The main thing I like about the book so far is how it gets you to think beyond the paradigms that you hold on to.  It really does push you to think beyond the box and beyond your mind.  While the information is presented in an easy to read manner, I do find it difficult to fully understand the concepts at times.  The concepts are deep and involved.  I'm not sure there is an easier way to explain some of these concepts, so the author probably does the best job that anyone can do.  I may find myself going back and reading this one again.

I do like how real life examples and stories are used detailing the history of various discoveries.  It really engages you in the process and helps show the details behind the conclusions.  This is not information that you would learn in a normal science based course most likely.  In fact, I have never heard of some of these concepts until now.

Brene Brown On Vulnerability And Numbing Emotions

Brene Brown On Vulnerability
TED Conference

I really enjoyed this video of a speech given by Brene Brown.  The topic was on vulnerability and numbing our emotions.  It was given at a recent TED Conference.  Click this link to view the video.

Vulnerability is difficult for a lot of people because to be seen as vulnerable in our society, that means we are somehow weak.  To be weak means a shark will probably swallow you up and treat you as a little fish.  We have to appear strong in our society so someone doesn't take us on, run us over, or obliterate our life.  We see vulnerability as a bad things when it comes to the media and especially in politics.

The sad part is that when we take vulnerability away, we are essentially numbing our emotions.  The more we numb our emotions, the more we lose site of what it means to be human.  Emotions are a good thing for being human, but unfortunately in our world, we treat this as a disease or something wrong with a person.