Then Something Marvellously Positive Happened...

Sometimes, just sometimes, something happens that catches you off guard and make your day. As though the world was saying to you "Hey, here's a surprise, if you're quick enough to notice it." and in this situation it was a friend of mine would recently become a grandfather telling me about the child's name. It wasn't the name that caught my eye, it was the expression on his face. Absolute and complete joy!

I swear the guy lost 20 years in a split second and it was astounding to see this just instantaneously happen. To know that this was a regular at the end around the world millions of times a day doesn't matter. Nothing could discount this experience. I don't even know if he realized intellectually just how much joy he was feeling, and I guess it doesn't matter.

So the next time someone tells you or expresses an opinion that nothing good ever happens in the modern world or that everything is negative I want you to think about this short little post and video. It reminds us all that good things are constantly happening. We must however be open to listening for them. They are there, taking a multitude of forms, some short some long.
 

Hypothetical site, not real.

Can you imagine if there was an online service similar to Facebook but focused on posting positive or inspirational stories and events. That would be pretty cool. There probably is, somewhere on the vast Internet and if not, which is something I find highly unlikely, we must find out why. Maybe it's just the simple fact that we are conditioned on an evolutionary level to look for negative things first. It is better to suspect that there might be something hiding in the bush, then not be aware of it in the first place. Regardless however, such a service putting a positive angle on events would be a welcome and needed commodity. ("Commodity" is not the word I would use, but it is the word that came to mind as I write this text.)

In the video below, it is easy to see how pleasantly I was blown away by my friends expression as he told me about his new relative. I wish I had been able to get a photograph of his face. I am really not understating it when I say that he became 20 years younger. These really are the things we need to retrain our modern brains to pay attention to. That is to look for positive experiences, rather than the default negative.

 In the past I know that various people and companies have tried to start "Good News Networks" and that it is always been an uphill battle. I think the idea would be much easier to address if one would start small. That is pay attention to the small things that occur in life, then progressed slowly, up the ladder until you can start something like a positive stories network, or organization with the same goals in mind. The modern person has been conditioned, not to look for the uplifting things and therefore we have many negative behaviours to deal with and resolve before we can tackle the big projects. However as any of my readers know, I am an optimist and I keep seeing the beauty and life intermingled with a little bit of magic.

Feel free to start a competition with your friends to see who can come up with the most positive experience of the week. It may sound a little corny, but you never know, such a simple start may ultimately lead to a big idea.

So there you have it, my retelling of a short little experience which happened to me. It might be in short but it sure wasn't insignificant for either the grandfather or myself. Things are always happening in the world and it is not always one-sided.

Have a great day Patrick

** NOTE: The picture "Welcome to Good News" is from the service Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

 

How has the quality of "News" being reported changed over the years?

I think everyone will agree, in 2026, the average person now has access to information regarding what is going on in the world much more readily than in times past. Indeed, people now have what they might consider to be too many sources of information.

How has this affected our perception of the world? Personally to me, I think the individual is now put in the unenviable position of being the "Chief Editor" of the articles and information that come across their virtual desk. I remember when I was very young news would come from a few well-respected sources, Walter Cronkite, comes to mind as well as, in Canada CBC news. Which I still listen to today. It seems to me that the coverage of the events in the media has also drastically changed. I love detailed articles be they visual in nature or in print or newscast. Have you noticed that often when an event is being reported the most important details about the story which would help you put it into proper context are missing in the report?--I have. You can't always put this lack of information down to withholding information because it might affect some aspect of the story. The media needs to get back to much deeper coverage in order to educate the listener.

What constitutes as news has also dramatically changed, I think what is going on is because we have now switched from a information content based driven media system, to a newsroom system that must put out regular snippets, the quality of the information has gone way down. Indeed what now qualifies as newsworthy is sometimes completely underwhelming.

However there is still plenty of excellent reporting and dialogue going on in the media at large. It must be sought out however and supported. As far as the person receiving the news goes they must also not expect everything to be quickly understood. Some topics take research and that means effort on the part of the audience which of course takes time. This has an excellent side effect in that it helps keep a community well informed and engaged with each other. This is something I think we need to get back to.

I am currently considering several bigger and more in depth articles for the blog as opposed to the short little snippets. The longer more in depth articles however take time and usually involve an accompanying video. For now, however I just want you to consider ways to deepen your understanding of what is going on in the world by seeking out information and news resources that go beyond the three minute podcast.

Have a great day everyone and stay tuned.
Patrick

** NOTE: The picture displayed at the top of this article is from the service Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

Where Will Your Magic Moment Be Today?

 

Somewhere, in the next 24 hours you will experience something positive. 

It will be amongst a flurry of other activity. The challenge will be to notice it.

We are also busy with activities and obligations, while at the same time, being not so subtly, attuned to the negative things that we frequently don't notice small moments of enlightening pleasant events. Now evolutionarily the human species is more attuned to the negative things. After all if you were in the wild you would want to be aware of that line hiding in the bush. Trouble is that advertisers and other influencers have learned to manipulate this trait and the things have gotten out of hand. We are absolutely bombarded with the darker side of life so much so that it takes some effort to see the more positive things out there. I promise you however they are there. Small little dots of pleasantness or calmness scattered about.

Make it a goal today to notice these little moments of uplifting insight. They may be very short, but don't discount them. Indeed, add them up and see what the average amount of daily positive insights there are. To this over a week and I'll bet you will be surprised.

One of the things that everyone has to deal with now days which is unique to our generation and those coming after us, is information is coming at us and an incredible rate. Everything is delivered to us almost instantaneously now. We don't even have to type in a query on a keyboard anymore, you can just ask the question directly and for the most part you get an answer. I find that amazing personally on one level, because I see the potential of this technology, however I wonder on average how this technology is used every day. It is used to uplift, or is it used to depress? Give me a moment, I am going to run off and ask "Gemini" this question right now. The question I posed and the answer will be posted immediately below this text.

The question: "Are there any statistics on whether questions posed to Artificially Intelligent services like yourself or chatGPT are of a negative nature versus a positive query?"

Google Gemini produced quite a response, a mini report on the subject. 

As always take everything produced by an AI system with scepticism. I have not verified any of the information contained in the report. Use at your own risk.

Having said that, it does appear to ring true to me. One thing I take from this output is questions to such systems I won't be as "flowery" in my queries.

 Google Gemini's response begins now:

The question of whether users are "nice" or "mean" to AI is a significant area of study for researchers. While there is no single, real-time "dashboard" for all AI queries, several large-scale studies and dataset analyses provide a clear picture of user behavior.

 

Generally, the data suggests that most interactions are neutral and task-oriented, but a small, vocal minority of users engages in highly emotional or "negative" querying.

1. The Majority: Neutral and Utility-Driven

Most users treat AI as a tool rather than a social companion. Analysis of public datasets like ShareGPT and WildChat (which contains over 1 million real-world interaction logs) reveals that the vast majority of prompts are:

●     Informational: Fact-checking or asking for explanations.

●     Productive: Writing code, emails, or summaries.

●     Creative: Generating stories or brainstorming.

A 2025 study by OpenAI on "affective use" found that while users do occasionally personify AI, the majority of users engage in relatively neutral ways. The emotional or negative queries typically come from a "tail set" of power users who use the AI for more personal or experimental reasons.

2. The "Politeness" Statistics

Interestingly, there is a distinct divide in how people frame their prompts. Some users include "please" and "thank you," while others use blunt commands.

●     The Accuracy Paradox: A recent study from Pennsylvania State University (2025) titled "Mind Your Tone" found that rude or blunt prompts actually resulted in higher accuracy (84.8%) compared to "very polite" prompts (80.8%).

●     Why? Researchers suggest that polite language often adds "linguistic noise" or "redundancy" that can distract the model from the core instruction. Direct, imperative commands (e.g., "Solve this.") provide a cleaner signal to the AI.

3. Negative vs. Positive sentiment

When researchers perform sentiment analysis on user prompts, they typically find the following distribution:

Sentiment Type	Characteristics	Estimated Prevalence
Neutral	Fact-based, coding, "how-to" instructions.	70% – 85%
Positive/Polite	Including "please," "thank you," or "good job."	10% – 15%
Negative/Hostile	Aggressive commands, testing "jailbreaks," or venting.	5% – 10%

4. Sentiment Mirroring

A phenomenon called sentiment propagation is often observed in AI interactions. If you are negative or aggressive, the AI may inadvertently mirror that tone (though safety filters now "soften" extreme emotions).

 

●     Positive Prompts: Tend to increase the "verbosity" (length) of the response.

●     Negative Prompts: Often lead to a decline in factual accuracy (up to 8.4%in some tests) because the model may shift toward more speculative or defensive language.

Summary of Trends

●     The "Venting" Factor: A small percentage of users use AI specifically to vent frustrations they wouldn't say to a human.

●     The "Test" Factor: Many negative queries are not "mean" in intent but are "adversarial"—users trying to trick the AI into saying something offensive to see where the boundaries are.

●     The "Directness" Shift: As users become more "AI-literate," the use of social pleasantries like "please" is decreasing in favor of efficient, direct prompting.

 End of Google Gemini's response.

 

Now let's get back to the topic at hand and that is being aware of the positive events that occur every day in your life and mine. Remember to when you're speaking with people to give them the benefit of the doubt and not to check everything so personally. If need be step out of your comfort zone for a moment and look at at the bigger picture. Even if your Magic moment isn't immediately apparent stepping back from an event often gives you some insights which can allow you time to mold your emotions and indeed see the magic which may be just around the corner.

As you can tell, this is how I tend to approach every day. Knowing that somewhere in the next 24 hours there will be something unexpectedly pleasant. Maybe very brief in duration, but it will be there.

Have a great day and don't forget to keep looking. Maybe make a journal of the events you are now noticing which you might otherwise have ignored. You may be very surprised. Let me know in the comments.
.
Patrick

A Midwinter Season Of Procrastination

 Time to talk about this notable topic, "Procrastination". I said, in a very short February 2023 post, that "It had reared its ugly head". I can tell from the shortness of the article and the minimal amount of effort I put into the graphic that I must've been really out of sorts in this regard. Probably stalling on many fronts.

Here it is 2026 and the situation is back again, not as bad, but still annoying as hell. It's a good thing I wrote the original post because it does have some good points. For once I'm going to listen to myself. One of the things I'm going to recognize is that I have been keeping this blog going pretty regularly and it is doing quite well averaging around 7000 to almost 8000 visitors a month.

SIDE NOTE: Not bad for a blog that has issues with google's "smart phone spider", which is how they scan  everything today on the Internet. For those of you in the audience that art totally "geeky", a "spider"is simply a program that scans the Internet for new content. It does this by pretending to be a device, in this case a smart phone. When it gets to the site, the blogger server attempts to send it a smart phone compatible webpage and the process by which it does this by makes the Google spider think something fishy is going on so it doesn't like to add page to the Google index. Because of the way blogger is set up there is not much I can do about it. Fortunately, enough of my articles make it through however.

And now back to the topic at hand, procrastination. Where was I… As you can tell this is a very informal post as I just try to work through getting ready to get things done today. Rather than try to do everything my goal today is to focus on only one thing, if possible, because sometimes reality comes along and goes, "Nope. I'm going to fill up your plate."

One more side note. Unlike other websites, I never take anything off this site and so it has become a bit of a historical crucible with articles going way back to 2012.. So if you post a comment, it is here forever and apparently Blogger.com service on which this site depends it's doing quite well. So disciple be around for a long time I think. So while I'm working through my little boat of procrastination please feel free to use a new feature I added if you're using a laptop or tablet you will see at the top of every post a "Read a Random Post" button, feel free to use it is much as you like.

Anyway, I'm getting on with the rest of my day. Take care and their other items (articles) in the queue. So stay tuned for more.

Patrick

** NOTE: The picture displayed at the top of this article is from the service Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

The shift to AI in content creation

 

Image created by  Ideogram AI 

AI has been a boom in content creation, there can be no doubt about that. The graphic at the top of this article was created in about five minutes using a service called Ideogram AI .  But just how far will this trend go. 

The field of AI is still very young and evolving rapidly. No one knows where it will go or whether it will hit a brick wall. My plan is to use it here and there but not over rely on it.  So the question becomes where will AI settle into the scheme of things.I very much enjoy creating graphics and video by hand. There is just something in the process that I find very fulfilling.

This is a very casual article and at this very moment it is more a thought sold the following text is likely to of old over the next few days. One of the things holding AI back is each huge power consumption. That simply is a problem that must be overcome. But it is easier said than done. The other thing is the fact that I have heard that when processing a request from a user, each work in their question is given to a separate CPU. It is no wonder there is so much power being utilized. Quantum computing may help for certain aspects but from one of heard this may be a very small specialized subset of queries and/or problems.

Perhaps a good starting point for this discussion is how do you use AI currently in your content creation. Myself it is currently with graphics and occasionally gaining insight into technical questions which are usually related to servers or the web. These types of questions tend to be those that are hard to use a traditional search phrase for because of their complexity. Chat GPT or Gemini in these cases give me insights start from and occasionally almost accidentally contained within their responses is the answer.

It is amusing to think how quickly I've gone from an attitude of "I feel guilty when I use AI, because it is cheating." to "Gee, this can be very handy when used properly." However one thing is for sure, some AI's are definitely better at certain aspects. I use mainly Chat GPT and Gemini and to pay for a subscription to Ideogram AI . The one thing I don't do however with AI is completely trust the answers. Much is been said about "AI hallucinations", and after taking a introductory course on brilliant.org I understand why these mechanisms sometimes fail in their answers. I worked with someone recently who on the other hand by the sounds of it completely trusts AI in their daily activities. They were rather shocked to find out that I don't. They use the phrase that caught me off guard in our discussions as well. "Oh, you did it that way… That was before you could use AI." They acted like everything before the creation of AI was somehow almost prehistory. Although AI has been worked on for many years and has gone through many starts and stops, it hasn't been around no functional state for too long

As I recall in the 70s there were great predictions that AI would be everywhere. As the euro went on a however and the 80s approached, many researchers thought it was an unobtainable goal. There were minor breakthroughs here and there but interest in artificial intelligence almost evaporated. Then of course as everyone knows not put too many years ago chat GPT exploded onto the scene. And now we find ourselves in a similar situation to the 1970s. Great prognostications on all sides of the debate.

In my mind however the question still remains, "To what degree will AI be used in content creation?" And of course this question can be expanded to other fields. Hopefully there will always be a human component in the equation. Humanity must not get to a point where we don't understand how the solutions are being achieved at. It's a little frightening to think that in some aspects we already don't know how things work. It is indeed critical that we strive to have a fundamental understanding because that also means that we can direct the ultimate goal of whatever the endeavour is.

Who knows there may be a Renaissance of the AI prehistory techniques. Much like there's been a revival in the use and enjoyment of vinyl records. Which is something I never saw coming. I really thought that vinyl records were going to stay as part of history. I really hated when I would get a brand-new record home only to find in a few weeks that there would be an inevitable "snap, crackle, pop" sound because some dust, despite all my best efforts, had invaded the grooves.

Anyway let me know what you think, and please watch this article as it is very likely to leave multiple over time.
Take care,
Patrick

** NOTE: The picture displayed at the top of this article is from the service Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

 

Time before us

When it really hits home that there are a finite number of days to live, it is not only profound, it begs the question: "Was life worth it?".

I'll get to my answer in a moment, but boy do you start reevaluating everything in your life and surroundings from my totally different perspective. Considering things like:

• Should long multiyear projects be undertaken?
  
  
• Is it really worth buying that large big-ticket item?
  
  
• Since the end of life is now more than an abstract concept, each day becomes "a limited time event". How to spend that time wisely?

The list goes on from there, and the closer one examines it, the clearer it becomes that life is a pretty unusual state to be in. Or perhaps, to put it another way, the very act of considering the above questions, and being conscious about doing so is incredibly inspiring. There-I have just given you my answer to the question "What It's like Worth It?"-"Hell, Yes!" - The good and bad.

Perplexing, only I think the bad was just as important as the good parts of life. When considering the negative experience as a whole after the fact. By definition, you are not going to get anything positive out of the negative experience while you're in the middle of it, unless you literally stepped out of the experience for a moment to consider it from another viewpoint. It is all about taking stock of life; the whole experience. Not being a passive passenger but as engaged with life as much as you can be. That is my take away if I was asked to sum up my reading of existence and it would be a 10 😊😊.

I think it is very important, especially as we are now dealing with more and more technology that is impersonal and literally reformatting the social norm that everyone periodically take stock of their life and if you don't find it is worth it so far make changes to make it a worthwhile experience. These need not be huge changes. Often it starts with a slight mind set adjustment. Take a look at what your preceding to be true automatically. Is it negative or is it positive?. There are quite a few articles on this blog about this topic, I'll  link to a few here.

Funny how this article started out being about the limited number of days before us, meaning of course, "me" and is transformed itself into a short article on how to appreciate life. At least my approach to getting more from life and it is really pretty simple:

• Pay attention.
  
  
• Don't do things automatically.
  
  
• Change your routines regularly and then occasionally change that. Become irregular for a little while.
  
  
• If you are uncomfortable with the idea of "change" consider why that seems to be the case. Often it is based on a misconception about the change itself.

Okay that's it for this brief Saturday article. Have a good day and of course let me know what you think.
Patrick 

What Are the Origins of Enthusiasm?

 

Some people become enthusiastic regularly. While others just never reach thier "Ignition Point".

 

I have noticed this to be the case in my surroundings, but I think it's true of the wider world as well. Once again, it boils down to a few simple differences in general outlook and expectations of life.

Enthusiastic people are:

1. Curious. They want to know why something works a certain way. They desire a deeper understanding and are enthusiastic about the undertaking of learning.
   
   
2.  "Change" is one of their favourite words as well as an action. They innately understand that the world and their life changes frequently. Usually in subtle ways, but sometimes in overwhelming ways. The key is that they welcome and accept this fact.
   
   
3. It is innately understood that the personality and perhaps the very person will change throughout their lifetime. Remaining static and holding onto the old ways is not one of their goals. This point is one of the most important aspects of their character. It is understood that nothing is permanent. Everything about life is in flux.

Unenthusiastic people don't share the above-mentioned points.

There is a false belief that they will remain the same, throughout life. That their character as it is today, will always be. Furthermore they actively will avoid change. Sometimes they will put quite a bit of effort into staying static.

They prefer staying "Comfortable", within known boundaries. This means that they eventually will become very frustrated because things naturally change around them. Yet they will profess a desire to experience or acquire new things. This is a contradiction, you can't avail yourself the benefits of new things unless you come out of your boundaries.

The result of these two behaviors , "staying the same" and remaining "comfortable" means that they don't grow and will retreat into past memories while limiting the negatives they perceive in the modern world. I think this condition has been brought about by the simple fact that in today's world there is nothing that really forces the human being to go outside of their comfort zone. There is no need to hunt, or seek shelter. 100 years ago this was definitely not the case, a person had to avail themselves of opportunities if they wanted to survive.

So, the message is clear. If you are sincerely seeking enthusiasm in your life. You must embrace change and acknowledge that the person you believe you are today will not be the person up tomorrow. You may not the comfortable with change but in order to grow it is a necessary fact which must be undertaken. Do this and the enthusiasm for things in your life will begin to appear.

Have a great day everyone and of course take care.
Patrick

** NOTE: The picture displayed at the top of this article is from the service Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

Differently Interacting with the Physical World

What I find most fascinating is how different people interact physically with the world. The subconscious decisions about where things are placed it's actually quite a study. I see these small automatic choices being made because I view my environment from the perspective of someone in a wheelchair.

Even trained staff who are more physically where than the average person fall into these automatic decisions; a cup get placed on a table within their comfortable physical range, which may or may not be useful to me. Of course I correct them when necessary, but I do find it fascinating and often watch the physical choices they make throughout their work day in regards to the placement of things. This is only scratching the surface though, it really gets one thinking about how people interact with their physical space around them and one may infer from such observations a fair bit about the person.

Original photo

Click photo download original untouched image
Hereby placed in the public domain by photographer Patrick Clark.
Photo taken on: 2015-08-07 2:50:25 pm
Camera model: Canon PowerShot SX120 IS

 

 I don't remember too much about this particular photo except it was a nice August day and I was wondering around Vancouver British Columbia. Something about the simplicity of the simplicity of the image just appealed to me. Feel free to download the full untouched photograph by clicking on the above image. 

 

Some people are deep thinkers who naturally taken a lot of information about their environment. You can see the wheels turning in their mind as they figure out how to best solve the problem. Whether that be comparing items when shopping or simply the placement of a cup on a table. They tend to be very creative in some of their solutions. It is marvellous to discuss with them almost any aspect of life. Of course occasionally these deep thinkers can overthink the situation aswell. They end up going for the most complicated answer only to realize that something simpler was the best solution to begin with.

Some people are efficiency experts. They tend to move through their environment a little more quickly and the placement of items may not be optimal for everyone or indeed themselves. But it is what is most effective for the moment to achieve the task at hand. As a rule I find they like to move in an orderly manner from one task to another, "A to B and then on to C". Once a pattern is established they tend to stick with it, even if it is not producing the optimal outcome. They don't readily tend to think as deeply unless something surprises them. They prefer a routine which allows them to achieve their daily tasks in a predictable manner. This does not mean they are not aware of their surroundings, they prefer however to get things done and then move on to the next task. This makes a lot of sense, in our busy multitasking world.

The last group tends to boggle my mind and I end up wondering how they make it through life. These people are pleasant but deal with things, for lack of a better phrase, "at arm's length". For every task they want a step-by-step breakdown of how to accomplish it. They do this not in order to understand the situation but rather to avoid thinking about it. They tend to be very regimented in any given situation and are seemingly oblivious to nuances. Once again these are very nice people but you will never have an in-depth conversation. They just don't work on that level. One gets the feeling that they would prefer to have a step-by-step manual for life. People like this fascinate me because their approach to life is so different than mine, bordering on alien.

When scientists gets to the stage where can actually decode messages in the human brain sufficiently to construct the individual minds reality I think we are in for a big surprise. I don't think human minds process reality as uniformly as we are given to believe. That is I think the human experience is very different between people. I hope I live to see this because it will force a reevaluation of not only social norms but deeper considerations. Hopefully this will have the effect of expanding understanding and inclusion.

From the basics of how we individually interact with the physical world and our own environments, to deep considerations of society and the world as a whole. I didn't expect this short little article to go down such a rabbit whole. If you've never considered such questions spend the next week or so observing how different friends and people interact with their environment. Or just consider how you personally interact with it.

For me this way of looking at things and how people work with their world allows me to custom fit my reactions to each individual person and when I can I try to step into their shoes and consider the world from their perspective. It sure makes one appreciate the diversity of life and experience.

Have a great day! 
Patrick

This seems a fitting question to answer for the first article of 2026 👀

 One of the questions I hear often regarding this blog is, "Where do you get the ideas to write about on your website [blog]?"

This seems a fitting question to answer for the first article of 2026.

The inspiration for ideas comes from the fact that I keep not only my mind open, but I'm also very aware of my environment as a whole. One's environment is always changing, people come and go, and if you look closely can pay attention new things are always happening. One has to take an active role in this process though. You cannot just wait for it to come to you. Be ready to embrace change of all kinds. In brief that is how I come up with new articles. I may be talking to someone, or hear something, or just a flash of insight. I never really know where and how the motivation for a post on this website will appear.

Let me stress that you have to be active in being open to new ideas and mixing things up a bit. By that I mean not being too comfortable with your current environment. If you find yourself being bored and that is a really good indication that you have to shake up your situation. You cannot wait for an event to come to you. Chase an idea and get used to doing this on a regular basis. The idea may or may not pan out but it is the process that is most important. The process of being aware of your surroundings and keeping yourself open to experiences will result in ideas and insights becoming part of your daily life.

So, to summarize:

1.  Actively seek change.
2. You must put energy and effort into the undertaking. It will not come to you without effort.
3. Get comfortable with the idea of short-term discomfort. This is required when exploring a new frontier as in an idea or activity.

 I created this poster to remind myself that "Change and Challenge" are opportunities. You can download a printable copy or order a full poster:. 

 

Click the picture to download a printable
version on your computer.

 

Please feel free to download and print out the image if it inspires you. If you would like a unique hard copy version of this printed on steel as a poster it can now be purchased at "Displate" in several sizes. Full disclosure, I do receive a percentage of every sale.   

Click here to view all  posters available on my Displate page  

 

Things are changing... As they always do. 

We live in an unusual period of history, in that unlike previous generations, for the most part we don't have to put in any energy to find a basic answer to our everyday questions. All that needs to be done is ask the local virtual assistant and the answer is provided. On one hand this is fantastic, everyone has access to a knowledge bank of information, and even though it may not be totally accurate it gives us the ability to investigate further. The initial work of figuring out how to attack a problem has been done.

Unfortunately this has a downside in that the skills we need for introspection and understanding of ourselves have rapidly declined and these are the very skills necessary when discovering new ideas to explore. Because it is in the exploration that you discover not only how to find an answer, you discover something about yourself along the way.

I often wonder if I'd be born in the 1990s as opposed to 1959 whether I would have my own investigative skills developed. For all of my teenager years research of all kinds was done manually. One had to go to a source of knowledge, be at the library, or an authoritative organization and bring all the pieces together to make a hypothesis. I am very grateful to have been born it at this transition period in that I can avail myself of both systems. 

How do you come up with your own inspiration? Is it a different approach than mine? Let me know in the comments.

May we all have an excellent 2026!

Of course more articles are on the way.
Sincerely Patrick Clark

 

** NOTE: The picture displayed at the top of this article is from the service Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

 

You Are Alive; Why Would You Not Take Advantage Of It?

 

WOW, life... I am going to take advantage of this!

Image generated by Ideogram AI.

Imagine for a moment, that you are a sentient life form on another planet and just like human beings you live and die a certain amount of time. But you know for certain there is no afterlife. Would this affect how you approach your existence?

I ask this question because I find an ever-growing number of people don't take advantage of what their life offers. Put simply, that is that they are aware they exist; they can affect change in their environment and yet they do not alter their situation in a positive manner but instead reinforce negative behavior, and all the while completing bitterly about the situation. This is analogous to putting one's hand in very hot water and yet insisting that they do not want to take their arm out of the scalding liquid, because that would be a change. For years, this same group of individuals keeps stating that they are unhappy but they keep doing the very things that entrench their discomfort. Any change in the status quo is met immediately with negativity. Offer to give them empowering tools and they resist that too.

 The only way I can rationalize this in my head, is that they must be waiting for some marvellous afterlife. But I'm willing to bet they would resist that change as well. This boggles my mind. Yet I know people just like this today, in the 21st-century. A time in human history when there are so many opportunities, regardless of your physical or mental situation. It does take a fair bit of work in some cases to utilize these opportunities. One may have to negotiate with funding sources for equipment, or take a field of study. In the situation where the person cannot do any of the things necessary to utilize opportunities, they can form a group which could assist them in reaching a goal.

 To illustrate, the other day it occurred to me that anyone can create artwork. You can literally give one the many AI services like the online service IDEOGRAM a description of what you want and it will produce an image for you, this service has a free option so to create this image would cost the person nothing. Then they could dictate the text to go along with the image to their phone or computer. Again this is free to do. So basically you could write a book complete with images. You could then use this new book to mobilize others to assist you further. Perhaps form an organization which would then in turn qualify for funding. You could then pay your self a salary.... This is an oversimplification but you get the idea. The old axiom comes to mind "Where There's a Will There's a Way."

 The older I get the more enthusiastic I get about what life has to offer. Because I now know that the opportunities are short and should not be taken for granted. I have also seen what "The other side of the coin" described above, looks like and to me that is mediocrity at best and indeed a waste of life at worst. I shall scream: "That Ain't Me, Baby!" Until the end of time.

 Maybe things are too easy and the beginning of the 21st-century. When you think about it, it's the challenges in ones young life that build the skills of self-reliance and deeper understanding. Do any of my readers remember learning how to use a physical card catalogue at a library? If so leave me a comment. That one skill brought together many aspects of awareness and understanding. 

 

The card catalog in Manchester Central Library
March 2010. Photo: Ricardo Creative Commons License: CC BY 2.0

 

Now you just go to your favourite search engine or A.I.(Artificial Intelligence)  resource. There is no need to work out a solution, now one just tells the machine what you want and poof the answer is there. There is no need for the individual to change or evolve. Maybe that explains some of the behaviour I described above. These people are waiting for something else to do the hard work of finding a solution. Then again it is unlikely that the solution would work if the person was not willing to adopt alteration in their behaviour.

 I was told of a similar situation earlier this year and involved a person on welfare. To be clear they were very poor and just getting by. This year the provincial government made available at extra $200 per month for people who also havw a disability. The person I am talking about would indeed qualify for the extra money in this case. But there was a catch, there was a separate application process. To this day they still have not filled out the one form in order to get the money.

Ministry of  Social Development and Poverty Reduction June 20, 2025 
News release: "B.C. helps people keep full federal Canada Disability Benefit" 

I am so grateful that my life experiences have shaped me in a way that allows me to see the possibilities. Difficulty is not a problem, it is an asset,  an opportunity to get creative, and thereby in solving the problem one gains a slightly deeper understanding of the world Add up these difficulties and their respective solutions and what you are left with is quite in the encyclopedia of understanding. The ultimate toolkit for life if you will 😀

 This Christmas was particularly shocking in the supported living building I am a member of. Most tenants actively argued against Christmas celebrations or decorations. In the six or seven years that I've been here I have never seen it so bad. Yet as mentioned above by maintaining the negative status quo one only entrenches and makes worse the situation. Dr. Seuss's the Grinch could take lessons from this crew. However the staff were able to break out the ornaments and festivities that go along with them at the last minute. It did result in a mild elevation of the buildings' mood. So there is a way to improve the situation.

This pleasant turnaround in the atmosphere actually really surprised me. I was convinced that absolutely nothing would break them out of their "Ebenezer Scrooge mindset". As I have said before in this blog, I think mindset plays a major role in one's life. (Click this link to see all the articles dealing with mindset and motivation on the blog.) Much larger than it is given credit for. I would go as far as to say: "your mindset, not only affects how you see things currently, it can affect your long term health". And I don't suggest this idea likely. Since a person's mindset has an impact on their entire perception of the world, I don't think it is too much of a reach to suggest that it may have a health impact if the same mindset is held on over a longer period of time.

 What I'm suggesting is that a profoundly negative mindset and open you up to a whole variety of health concerns. Maybe not biologically but definitely because you are not going to see the warning signs. I have noticed that many people in my facility have verily shallow inner awareness. Most of their stimulus comes from external sources like the Internet, various substances, all of which are just a form of distraction.

 This reminds me of the old story I was told as a young child about the ostrich which would stick it's head in the sand so that it did not see the approaching threat. Or to put it another way, "Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind". Of course this behaviour doesn't do the ostrich any good at all except it is a virtual guarantee that the poor birds life will be shorter. The same holds true for anyone who holds on to a negative mindset or seeks constant distraction from a real-life.

 It can be very difficult to break this pattern, but as the short Christmas experience positively by the tenant in my building has shown it is not impossible. So, since you are alive and reading this or watching the companion video, please take the time to do something large, or small, with your life right now. That step may be all it takes to change your perception and have a great new year in 2026.

 Take care Patrick

 

** NOTE: The picture "Image generated by Ideogram AI" displayed at the top of this article is from the service Ideogram AI.  As a layperson, I have read their relevant "terms of service" and determined, to the best of my ability, that the image may be viewed by the public.  However before any reuse, please review fully their terms and if necessary contact the company for more information.

The use of said image does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.