Daily Thoughts & Issues

IN THIS ISSUE:

JANUARY 7

Days left until the next millennium 01.01.3001
 

Photo of the Week
Brad Wrobleski/Adventure Photo & Film
Achieve Your Dreams

 

January 7 - Twelfth tide (Finland) The Mystic's Wheel of the Year * First Balloon Flight Across English Channel (1785) First Balloon Flight across the English Channel: Dr. John Jeffries, a Boston physician, and Jean-Pierre Francois Blanchard, French aeronaut, crossed the English Channel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, landing in a forest after being forced to thrown overboard all ballast, equipment and even most of their clothing to avoid a forced landing in the icy waters of the English Channel. (1785) * Bullfinch Exchange Festival (Japan), "Good Luck" gilded wood bullfinches, mixed among many plain ones, are sought after by the throngs as priests of the Danzaifu Shrine pass them out in the dim light of a small bonfire. * Transatlantic Phoning (1927) service between New York and London was inaugurated. There were 31 calls made the first day. * Birthdays: Nicolas Cage, Erin Gray, Millard Fillmore, Vincent (Vincent Scognamiglio) Gardenia, Jacques Montgolfier, William Blatty, Kenny Loggins, Paul Revere, Jann Wenner.

DAILY THOUGHTS

The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives. - Albert Einstein. How do we learn to keep alive those things that are important to us, those things that need to survive a busy day, a schedule crammed with things to do, endless meetings, useless activities? How often do we learn the difference between what is "important" and what can be dismissed? And what part of us dies when we make the decision to be consumed with activity rather than thought, or with "getting there" just so we could say we were there. Men have been taught that they must always move; frenetic activity is the physical evidence of men who do too much. I want to be aware today of what I have inside that is important. I will care less for what I "produce and attach less importance to the evidence of being a good or prosperous man. Meditations For Men Who Do Too Much

On our 25th anniversary, we made love under the willow tree we planted when we were newlyweds. - Meredith, 51 Best of 1001 Sex Secrets Every Man & Woman Should Know

0-12 Months - Small Talk. The kind of talk that interests babies most falls into two categories: one is self talk, in which you discuss what you're doing for your baby ("I'm changing your diaper") and the other is parallel talk, in which you respond to what the baby is doing ("You're kicking your legs and the water goes splash, splash"). Parents Tips & Tricks

Things to Be Happy About: Great flights of fancy; a kindred spirit. 14,000 Things to Be Happy About

All the answers you are looking for are already within your grasp; all you need to do is look inside, listen, and trust yourself. There is no outside source of wisdom that can give you the answers to any of your innermost questions; you alone are your wisest teacher. Deep inside, you already know all you need to know. If Life is a Game, These are the Rules (Editor: I know that.)

The inside-out approach to personal and interpersonal effectiveness means to start first with self; even more fundamentally, to start with the most inside part of self - with your paradigms, your character and your motives. Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Run all your errands in one place. If you don't live in close proximity to a shopping center where you can take care of all your weekly shopping needs, find the one closest to you and drive there, even if it's halfway across town, for the simplicity of one-stop shopping. Simplify Your Life

A lot of unnecessary stress is caused by continually looking back and wishing you or someone else had said or done something differently. No amount of wishing can change what's already done, so focus your energies on what you can do today to make a positive difference tomorrow. Stress Busters

Help your kids turn clothespins into crocodiles! Use the metal springs for eyes, or glue on googly eyes. Make the open end its jams. Paint it with green acrylic paint. Let dry. Make a whole crocodile family. To Do Today

Men who are resolved to find a way for themselves will always find opportunities enough; and if they do not find them, they will make them. - Samuel Smiles. Win the Day!

Select a special place in your home where you and your child read together. Life's Little Instruction Calendar

"Two shall be as one" is a common wedding phrase. But it is only possible as a perspective in spiritual consciousness. As unique, embodied individuals, each of us has some interests and behaviors that are nonnegotiable. Consequently, we don't want to live "as one" with our spouse. We want to maintain some aspects of our own specific identity. At the same time we want to be wedded in passionate harmony.

Too often love and harmony get blocked when nonnegotiable characteristics are the object of contempt. Women's gabfests with friends and men's "Monday Night Football: are common activities precious to the ones involved, threats to the spouses. Yet, we need to honor our own nonnegotiable values and interests as well as those of our spouse.

Pick one nonnegotiable activity, interest or behavior of your spouse that you find difficult to understand and/or accept. For today, focus only on your acceptance. See how you can open your heart and mind to see your spouse's way as important, despite your own annoyance or discomfort. I respect that some differences are nonnegotiable. Love is the ability to honor and respect the nonnegotiable needs of the other while still honoring the nonnegotiable needs of yourself. - Elizabeth Edson Davis. Opening to Love 365 Days a Year

TODAY'S ISSUE: MEMORIES

Bring over one of your old Motown records,
put the speakers in the window;
we'll go up on the roof and listen to the Miracles
echo in the alley down below. - Rod Stewart

Remember those old songs, the ones we listened to and that meant so much to us, the songs that set the stage for our first romantic experience, our winning seasons o the football fields and baseball diamonds? Whether it was the Beatles, Glen Miller, Roger Miller, or the Miracles, it's music that is often the catalyst for our memories.

Maybe it's time to dust off the old albums and listen to some of the old songs - static, dust, cracks, and all - that take us back to our more carefree thoughts and moments. Our old music can bring us back to being the boys of summer, and that would be a great way to spend just about any afternoon.

Hey Man: Did you make a difference yesterday? Let us know at Contact Us. If there's a rhythm to our work, there's also rhythm to our memory, and many of our memories give us peace. Today I'll let some old favorites play out in my imagination and maybe later I'll get out the old 45's. What Every Man Needs to Know Want to make a difference but you don't know where to start?

BOOK OF THE WEEK

 

Voices of Vets: A bridge back to the world. Poems from veterans and their families from Mosaic. The soul searching words of wonder and power that make up the poems in this book were distilled from the lived experiences of a group of war veterans and their family members who attended a five-day retreat in May, 2008. Their words were shaped during the heartfelt retreat and presented on the stage of the Angus Bowmer Theatre at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival on Memorial Day. It was compelling work, born of courage and blood, heat and memory. The voices of the veterans blazed through the theater with a rare authority and a devastating beauty - stunning the hearts of the audience and offering an unforgettable experience of anguish and awe that still reverberates throughout the town. From the gathered wounds and shared courage a terrible beauty has been born. It can sear the heart, yet it can also bring a healing touch to those willing to welcome and embrace our veterans and their lived stories. Green Fire Press, www.Mosaicvoices.org, 2008, ISBN 0-9766450-7-8

SPECIAL URLs

 

MENSTUFF COLUMNS BY AUTHOR

  • The Advice Diva - The Advice Diva - relationship and sexuality issues discussed - www.menstuff.org/columns/advicediva/archive.html
  • Peter Alsop - Song of the Month - www.menstuff.org/columns/alsop/archive.html
  • Reid Baer - A Man Overboard - Interview of the Month - www.menstuff.org/columns/overboard/archive.html
  • Reid Baer - Poetry - poetry read on YouTube - www.menstuff.org/columns/baer/archive.html
  • Molly Barrow - Shrink About This - www.menstuff.org/columns/barrow/archive.html
  • Peter Baylies - At Home Dads - on at-home-dad issues that impact fathers who stay at home to raise their kids - www.menstuff.org/columns/baylies/archive.html
  • Tom Blake - Middle-Age Relationships - from an expert on dating after 50. www.menstuff.org/columns/blake/archive.html
  • Mark Brandenburg - Great Fathers - on fathering issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/greatfathers/archive.html
  • Ted Braude - BoysWork - a columnist in the The Detroit Free Press "Body and Mind" section www.menstuff.org/columns/braude/archive.html
  • Armin Brott - A Father's Guide - hosts "Positive Parenting" on radio www.menstuff.org/columns/brott/archive.html
  • Dan Bulf - Get Real - weekly pod cast on men's issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/bulf/archive.html
  • Ken Byers - Transition - on men's life transitions - www.menstuff.org/columns/byers/archive.html
  • Sandra L. Caron - Sex Talk - college students get answers to their questions - www.menstuff.org/columns/sextalk/archive.html
  • Neil Chethik - Relationships - www.menstuff.org/columns/chethik/archive.html
  • Otto & Susie Collins - Susie and Otto - relationship issues discussed - www.menstuff.org/columns/susie&otto/archive.html
  • David Copeland - How to Succeed with Women - www.menstuff.org/columns/howtosucceed/archive.html
  • Forrest Craver - Spirituality & Social Change - www.menstuff.org/columns/craver/archive.html
  • Layne & Paul Cutright - Powerful Partnerships - relationship issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/cutright/archive.html
  • Ron DesMarais - Cavemen in the Kitchen - great recipes for men - www.menstuff.org/columns/desmarais/archive.html
  • Jed Diamond - Irritable Male Syndrome - www.menstuff.org/columns/diamond/archive.html
  • Doc Love - Women Don't Lie, Man Don't Listen - answers to relationship issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/doclov/archive.html
  • Barry Durdant-Hollamby - Creating Change - creating change in your life - www.menstuff.org/columns/durdant/archive.html
  • Irv Engel - The Real Deal - www.menstuff.org/columns/engel/archive.html
  • Nancy Fagan - Expert Dating Advice - with Nancy Fagan - www.menstuf.org/columns/fagan/archive.html
  • Warren Farrell - Men's Issues: Facts and Perspectives www.menstuff.org/columns/farrell/archive.html
  • Leonard Felder - Wake Up or Break Up - www.menstuff.org/columns/felder/archive.html
  • Marty Friedman - Strong Men, Strong Marriage - www.menstuff.org/columns/friedman/archive.html
  • Kim Garretson - Mansgland - using humor to encourage prostate exams - www.menstuff.org/columns/mansgland/archive.html
  • Lion Goodman - How to get Women to Love You - www.menstuff.org/columns/goodman/archive.html
  • Liz Halliday - In a Man's World - www.menstuff.org/columns/halliday/archive.html
  • Rick Hanson - Just One Thing - www.menstuff.org/columns/hanson/archive.html
  • Tim Hartnett - Daddyman Speaks - being a father www.menstuff.org/columns/daddyman/archive.html
  • John Hershey - Blood, Phlegm & Bile: Parenting with Humor - He writes a syndicated biweekly humor column about parenting and family life. www.menstuff.org/columns/hershey/archive.html
  • Gary Hoeber - Psychotherapy as Soul Work, www.menstuff.org/columns/hoeber/archive.html
  • Patrick Houser - Fathers Make a World of Difference, www.menstuff.org/columns/houser/archive.html
  • Paul Joannides - The Guide to Getting It On - on sex - www.menstuff.org/columns/getiton/archive.html
  • Jack Kahn - NOMAS Boston - www.menstuff.org/columns/kahn/archive.html
  • Patrick Kennedy - Seniors - www.menstuff.org/columns/kennedy/archive.html
  • Joe Kort - Gaydar - to increase understanding between gay and het men - www.menstuff.org/columns/kort/archive.html
  • David Kundtz - David Kundtz - presents seminars, workshops, retreats, and conference presentations in the areas of men's emotional health, stress management, and spirituality. www.menstuff.org/columns/kundtz/archive.html
  • Bruce Linton - Dr. Dad - on fathering - www.menstuff.org/columns/drdad/archive.html
  • Ron Louis - How to Succeed with Women - www.menstuff.org/columns/howtosucceed/archive.html
  • Wendy McElroy - Wendy McElroy on Feminism, www.menstuff.org/columns/mcelroy/archive.html
  • Robert N. Minor - Minor Details - on GBT sexuality - www.menstuff.org/columns/minordetails/archive.html
  • Robert L. Moore - Man & Mythology - www.menstuff.org/columns/moore/archive.html
  • Dennis W. Neder - Being a Man - general questions about men's lives - www.menstuff.org/columns/neder/archive.html
  • Marty Nemko - Worklife - general questions about men and work - www.menstuff.org/columns/nemko/archive.html
  • Eli Newberger - Eli Newberger - general information on men's lives - www.menstuff.org/columns/newberger/archive.html
  • Linda Nielsen - Embracing the Father - working with the father/daughter relationship. www.menstuff.org/columns/nielsen/archive.html
  • Kathy Noll - Bullies and Youth Violence - working with schools, teachers and parents to end school violence - www.menstuff.org/columns/noll/archive.html
  • Mark Phillips - Stay-at-Home-Dads - helping men maintain that which makes us men, instead of becoming hairy Mom-substitutes - www.menstuff.org/columns/phillips/archive.html
  • Carey Roberts - Socialism & Feminism - is a social commentator on political correctness. www.menstuff.org/columns/roberts/archive.html
  • Perry Rose - Dating, Relationship, Sex
  • Glenn Sacks - His Side - on fathering - www.menstuff.org/columns/sacks/archive.html
  • Trudy Schuett - Domestic Violence - serving the under-represented www.menstuff.org/columns/schuett/archive.html
  • Carl J. Schutt - Circumcision - social commentator on circumcision - www.menstuff.org/columns/schutt/archive.html
  • Hugo Schwyzer - A Pro-feminist's Response - www.menstuff.org/columns/schwyzer/archive.html
  • Michael Shaffran - Men's Issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/shaffran/archive.html
  • Judith Sherven - Judith & Jim - discussion and answers regarding relationship issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/judith&jim/archive.html
  • Judith Sherven - The New Intimacy - www.menstuff.org/columns/newintimacy/archive.html
  • George Simons - Bellicose Veins - is a US specialist in intercultural and gender communication who hangs out in Mandelieu - la Napoule, France, as well as in Santa Cruz, CA. www.menstuff.org/columns/simons/archive.html
  • Andy Smith - Hard Hat Brotherhood - www.menstuff.org/columns/hardhat/archive.html
  • David B. Smith - Fighting Father Dave - www.menstuff.org/columns/smith/archive.html
  • Jim Sniechowski - Judith & Jim - discussion and answers regarding relationship issues - www.menstuff.org/columns/judith&jim/archive.html
  • Jim Sniechowski - The New Intimacy - www.menstuff.org/columns/newintimacy/archive.html
  • Reena Sommer - Custody - is an internationally recognized relationship and divorce consultant. www.menstuff.org/columns/sommer/archive.html
  • R. Don Steele - Don Steele - relationship questions answered -
    www.menstuff.org/columns/steele/archive.html
  • David Steinberg - Comes Naturally - on sexuality - www.menstuff.org/columns/steinberg/archive.html
  • Mary Lou St Lucas - A Mother's Love - www.menstuf.org/columns/stlucas/archive.html
  • Surprise - Surprise Author - From a new columnist every month - www.menstuff.org/columns/surprise/archive.html
  • Steven Svoboda - Fatherhood, Activism and the Law www.menstuff.org/columns/svoboda/archive.html
  • Michael Taylor - A New Conversation with Men - www.menstuff.org/columns/taylor/archive.html
  • Bruce Van Horn - Yoga for Men - issues around the health benefits of yoga for men - www.menstuff.org/yoga/archive.html
  • Michael Webb - Secrets of Blissful Relationships - on relationship - www.menstuff.org/columns/bliss/archive.html
  • Stuart Wilde - Spirituality - www.menstuff.org/columns/wilde/archive.html
  • Dr.Williams - Sex Health - on sexual health - Dr. Williams, www.menstuff.org/columns/sexhealth/archive.html
  • KC Wilson - On Gender Politics is a social commentator and author. www.menstuff.org/columns/wilson/archive.html

Plus

  • Health Tips - on general health - www.menstuff.org/columns/healthtips/archive.html
  • Independent Means - resources for raising financially fit kids - www.menstuff.org/columns/independentmeans/archive.html
  • Numbers - www.menstuff.org/columns/numbers/archive.html
  • Questions - www.menstuff.org/columns/q&a/archive.html
  • Surprise - from a new columnist every month - www.menstuff.org/columns/surprise/archive.html
  • Words Can Heal - helping children grow up healthy - www.menstuff.org/columns/wordscanheal/archive.html
  • Wuzup?! - National or international events happening this month - www.menstuff.org/columns/whassup/archive.html

AWARENESS EVENTS THIS MONTH

January is: Birth Defects Prevention, Cervical Health Awareness, National Voluteer Blood Donor; Bald Eagle Watch; Celebration of Life; Fat Free Living; International Get Over It; International Life Balance; It's Okay to Be Different; Love Yourself; March of Dimes Birth Defects Prevention; National Be On-Purpose; National Book; National Clean Up Your Computer; National Environmental Policy Act; National Eye Care; National Glaucoma Awareness; National High-Tech; National Personal Self-Defense Awareness; National Poverty in America Awareness; National Reaching Your Potential; National Yours, Mine and Ours; Senior-Spirit; Sew for the Cure Month.

12/26-1/1: Kwanzaa. 12/31-1/6: Celebration of Life; Diet Resolution; National Lose Weight/Feel Great; New Year's Resolution; Silent Record Week; 1/5-13: Wilderness Wildlife Week of Nature. 1/6-12: Someday We'll Laugh About This Week.1/7-11: National Graves' Disease Awareness Week. 1/7-13: Universal Letter-Writing Week. 1/10-17: International Thank You Days. 1/13-19: Fire the Boss, International Printing, Let Men Be Our Heroes, Special Education Week. 1/14-18: Manwatchers Week. 1/20-26: Healthy Weight, National Creative Frugality, National Nurse Anesthetists, Solo-Preneuring Week. 1/21-25: Direct Deposit Week. 1/22-28: No Name Calling Week 1/21-25: *National Consumer Protection Week. 1/31-2/3: Mid-Winter/Candlemas/Groundhog's Day. 1/1: Attention to Dreams and Desires; Get a Life; Saint Basil's; Z Day. 1/2: Happy New Year for Cats; National Thrift with Flair Day. 1/6: International Respect-full Living Day; National Smith Day. Jan 7: United Kingdom Solid Gold Hat Day. Orthodox Christian Christmas. 1/8: National Bubble; Clean-Off-Your-Desk; Joygerm: Saint Gudula's Feast; Show & Tell at Work Day. 1/12 - National Handwriting Day. 1/15 - Humanitarian, Moliere, National Thank God It's Monday Day. 1/16 - Psychiatric Technicians Day. 1/18: Get to Know Your Customer Day. 1/19: International Sing-out Day. 1/20: Penguin Awareness Day. 1/21: National Hugging, World Religion Day. 1/22: World Religions Day, Celebration of Life Day. 1/23: Rid the World of Fad Diets and Gimmicks Day. 1/24: Just Do It Day - Make the Connection, National Compliment Day. 1/25: A Room of One's Own Day. 1/26: Fun at Work Day, Toad Hollow Day of Encouragement; Spouse's Day. 1/29: Freethinker's, National Puzzle Day. 1/30: Inane Answering Machine Day.

* Means a Presidential Proclamation has been made.

National Missing Children's Day
Help find a missing child!
800.843.5678
24-Hour Hotline

 *    *    *
Men are so competitive that we even "out-die" women in all 15 of the major causes of death in the U.S. Most of these deaths are preventable with a positive change in life-style, eating habits, and/or general health care. Let's not strive so hard to hold on to this record. See what you can change now to live a healthier life.
Contact Us | Disclaimer | Privacy Statement
Menstuff® Directory
Menstuff® is a registered trademark of Gordon Clay
©1996-2023, Gordon Clay