They Have Never Been Taught To Think

This is a spontaneous rant… I am really astonished…

Recently, I have met a number of people who when faced with any obstacle, be it physical or anything requiring fundamental problem-solving effort just immediately give up. With "That Didn't Work…, I Don't Know…, You do it for me…, I can't…" (And the list goes on). What has happened to our modern culture's mindset. These people seem to have no desire to explore, and more importantly enjoy and grow from the experience. This seems to be especially prevalent in those that are 30 years old or younger.

It's as though they have never been taught to think. They just run programs in their head and when an obstacle is encountered which hasn't been explicitly given the answer to previously the person just fractious out coming to a dead stop. This is the exact opposite to how I look at the world, I enjoy challenge and mystery. The act of finding out what is not knowing yet. There is so much joy in discovering something new.

Yet when one tries to encourage people with this modern mindset to go beyond their boundaries, then their brain kicks in with the thousand and one reasons not to, and I suppose that's a good sign it a way, as it means their "mental ship" isn't entirely sunk. But I swear if I meet one more, "can't do that… Help me…" Person today I may go entirely Daffy Duck, even if it means getting my bill shot off!

I hope, you will enjoy challenge and exploration in your daily life. If things are getting a little mundane, please do scribble outside the lines or take that chance to grow. You will be certain to find joy. If something seems initially, hard take that as a good sign and do it anyway. It may not be important whether you succeed or fail, but what is important is that you keep expanding your horizons. You will benefit in the short run and throw tremendously in later years.

When you think about it, all creative minds come from stretching the boundaries, reinventing what is normal along the way. It is a process that never stops. Thank you goodness!

I feel so much better now. Let me know your experiences with people nowadays. Do you love challenge? Are you that creative sort that doesn't quite fit in? If you are you are in good company and glad that you found my little blog. Do stay in touch. Sincerely

Patrick Clark

"Reality" is what you make it.

Click image to enlarge.

One of the most frequently read articles on this blog is "What is being sentient like for you?", It is consistently one of the top 2 posts. Briefly it deals with the idea that each individual's experience of self may differ quite a bit from one person to the next, much more than is generally perceived by society. I don't think the universal human experience exists, and further each person's "reality" is what they make it, moment to moment.

The intriguing aspect is, we all get caught up in our own realities and there is a tendency to just follow whatever storyline is created. For example, if someone is in love, then their reality is beautiful. That's situation is easy to see and it usually brings a smile the face of the onlooker. However, usually unconsciously the onlooker has just adopted the other person's reality in some aspect. It is usually short-term, but one always goes away after meeting someone who's in love feeling just a bit better.

Now, why is it that some realities people create are just short-term while others last four months if not longer? These longer-lasting perceptions and realities which people adopt I have noticed tend to be in the more negative realm. We all know a "Mr. Scrooge" who has a perpetually dark outlook. No matter what you say, or indeed what happens, somehow (and I often find this amazing that the human mind can be so bright) they find a way to see a negative aspect. It is much rarer to find someone who makes light in the darkness. Who takes a negative and spins it positive, although many such people do exist and I have had the joys of meeting them.

If it's at we as a society are not taught to be aware of how we think and relate to ourselves, but because the modern world has such a focus on external distraction, people just go with the flow? I think the answer to the question is "Yes". I wonder if a formal study has ever been done of cultures which have some form of, for lack of a better term, "personal self review" as opposed to those which are externalized has ever been done. Cultures cultures which employ the practice of meditation as opposed to those which do not might be an interesting study indeed.

I can see how people can get stuck in a reality which is not good for them, we are all so busy nowadays. Speaking personally the last year I have been so busy with various projects and events that I gave up trying to get to the end of the perpetual to do list. This was the realization when maintaining the list itself became an item on "the to do list". That was a bizarre situation indeed…

The other thing is which is not worthy is the fact that statutory holidays in Canada don't seem to be adhered to for the most part anymore. More businesses and people work on these holidays regardless of what they are. The corner store which stays open, and the big franchise operation which undoubtedly will have appropriate sales on those days. This I think is a backward step, because holidays are meant to allow people to step back, and out of, a reality. "You are not working today. So there is no reason to adopt your business routine." This should be a chance for people to change their "reality". And I think that was the original point of some of these holidays. To have a chance to change the mode we are in. It is a skill which we should get back to.

So now that you're done reading this, take a moment, take a break, take stock and change a reality. Whatever mode you are in feel free to play with your own emotional gearshift. If that happens to be an automatic mode, made this short little article encourage you to make your own reality right now :-)

Sincerely Patrick Clark. Have a wonderful day!

PS: I just took a short stroll to the local watering hole and coffee shop where I saw something quite remarkable. The usual cruel people were there, all oblivious to everything around them except for their caffeine fix etc. when some guy dogs in training along with their handlers walked in. In an instant there was discussion and because the dogs were young and inexperienced they reacted, much to their handlers dismay, all the training promptly went out the door and the dogs did what they normally do, barked happily tails wagging and kind of a joyful chaos ensued amongst the canines. This went on for about 10 minutes altogether then the dogs and their handlers left and almost spontaneously the group of coffee aficionados switched back into the regular modes of oblivion. I wondered how many of them had even noticed the change in their realities and how profound it really was?… At least it was a hopeful sign that humanity can indeed spark back to life and it made my day actually. The adventure continues…

Are We Daydreaming Our LivesAway?

 "Think about all the time in one's daily life we as a modern society are absorbed in the attention we give twirl electronic devices." 

Putting aside for the moment what happens after one dies, and let's assume for this little question that you only live once, each moment in one's life is unique, and never to be repeated. On the surface this is something everyone knows and acknowledges. Now think about all the time in one's daily life we as a modern society are absorbed in the attention we give twirl electronic devices. I bit the average for most people is several hours a day. Next time you take public transit have a look around and you will see many people, almost mindlessly quietly interacting with their phones and other devices. There is also a good majority of people with earbuds completely tuning out the world, and to some extent reality.

This is a completely new situation for the human animal, at least that's how I see it. We may be closer to the original themes of the Mattrix movie then anyone would care to admit. Riding home today on transit I was struck by how quiet it was and no one was really making eye contact. Faces buried in the various devices… You could tell most people were just trying to make it home and ignore the current boring reality by distracting themselves. But what made the event boring? Everyone reading this knows the answer, it was boring because no one was interacting. I wonder how conscious people on my train were of this fact. It's over an hour ride from Vancouver to Surrey British Columbia each way twice a day. When you work it out that it's over 730 hours a year if one were to do this every day that would add up to an entire month. Which is just gone… A month of adventure, a month of discovering, a month of being loved and loving. All missed because we are distracted. The human lifespan is not all that long, and even when they manage to extended to 150 years with the coming technologies in the scheme of things that still short.

Your entire life, is a one time event, which just happens to take 80 or so years to unfold. And even if there is a glorious afterlife for humanity it will be different than this reality. There will be things you miss, because it just won't be the same.

Before the masses were so distracted people worked together, played and occasionally had arguments together. Indeed, they did also two things together, and the human being at heart have evolved to do just that, in concert with one another or with the group. Not alone. Even introverted people when you examine their lives closely have a few cherished connections throughout their lifespan. They may indeed understand the topic better than most of us because the quiet introverted people I know cherish their realities and are usually not caught up in distraction. For some of them the world is too real, and so they pull away for a while. For the rest of us we need to find a balance between these two extremes. Cherish being aware of every moment whenever you can. It never does repeat.

The above few paragraphs just occurred to me as I was travelling home tonight and I wanted to get them down "on the modern equivalent of paper". Comments are welcome of course.

Patrick Clark

Change Needs to Be Constant.

Sligh (Trend) Grandfather. Clock Keyhole circled.

I was saying to a friend earlier today: "Maybe evolution had dreamt up the idea of consciousness as a bit of a joke… A preliminary beta experiment, and was astounded when the human race latched onto it like some crazed addict. Simply insisting that it was better than sliced bread!" Because the state of being sentient certainly seems to be in its early beta, if not alpha stages. One thing that is never considered publicly is that we may not have the same perception of reality and our thinking processes might be quite different. When one considers this it certainly does make a lot of sense and can explain many of the diverse and sometimes mind-boggling behaviour patterns people often exhibit.

For example, a worker in some office may follow a rule, not blindly, but with no understanding of its purpose. Or in another situation, a rule may be applied when the results is directly contrary to its original intention. There are many examples of this in the news every day and if you look around you will see it happening a few times every 24 hours. The only way I can rationalize such" automaton behaviour" is to admit that the person or persons involved must have a radically different way of processing reality and their environment than I do. If you're wondering why I am omitting specific situations in this short article it is because I don't want to frame or create a context for you to follow. By doing so I hope to allow you to look at your own frames of reference and whether the people you deal with on a daily basis have the same frames of reference or indeed have the same "realities".

I can say this: "It has been an astounding few weeks, for me and I have had an opportunity to step out of my normal frames of reference." Which brings me to the title of this short article, "Change Needs to Be Constant."

Have you ever noticed that we all at some time or another wished we had some new device or new standing in the community or new responsibilities and while we're daydreaming about all this glorious stuff we omit the realization that with all these marvellous additions to our life they would be a change to the fundamental way we have to act etc.. By not including change as an integral part in our thinking process, we virtually guarantee that our dreams will never be reach. We want the results of the dream but are unwilling to put in the work and the letting go of old behaviours and ideas to adopt new. In order to grow everyone has to change.

This is one reason why I think people have now become so comfortable with contradictions in the intentions behind the various rules that govern our modern lives. By not looking at the original intent of the rule, we essentially give ourselves a placebo pill and happily behave as though we have done something good.-Usually blindly following the rulebook-. This doesn't get anyone anywhere and over the long run will make situations worse. Not to mention this stagnates the possibility of change because rules become ritualized and therefore at the first hint of some new behaviour or situation there is a tendency to rebel against change. We tell ourselves that it is not our position in the hierarchy of things (i.e. we don't have the authority) to make the decision.

Well let me tell you the 60s would've unfolded in a completely different and dark way if there were never any protests. Your life will and must change, in small and big ways. That is really the best way to grow and perhaps ultimately be happy with yourself. At first change seems foreign and very uncomfortable, because we are going against the established rules and must be prepared for the consequences at first. But as long as you understand why you are making the changes the exercise is ultimately beneficial. And often there are surprises along the way.

May you recognize the changes in your daily life and for the most part enjoy the exploration.
Patrick Clark 
(Related blog article" Definition: Normal")



PS: It has been a very busy weekend, and my friend and I had planned to get together and work on calibrating the phases of the moon display on his grandfather clock. Unfortunately, he was physically not up to the undertaking this weekend, but it is on the to do list. As soon as this is completed I will write a full article detailing the restoration of this marvellous clock. The photo accompanying this posting is a close up view of the moon phase disc on the grandfather clock. According to a Master clock Smith in Vancouver when things are correctly calibrated this disc will change over to the correct phase of the moon at midnight on the appropriate day. My friend is always had an extra key for this clock and I am wondering if it goes into the key slot in the bottom centre of the photo right above the manufacturer name "Trend".

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An update on the progress regarding the grandfather clock and the phases of the moon. 

It is been a little challenging to get everyone together to solve this little mystery. The clocksmith is out when I'm around or my friend is not feeling well. However there has been a little progress. What we thought was a keyhole pictured in the photo above is actually a small nut and bolt arrangement holding the clock face on. We got one of the top side panels off to reveal an incredibly intricate clockwork mechanism.

Our next attempt will be Tuesday morning 18 February before I go in to Vancouver to volunteer. Stay tuned :-)
Patrick

Internet Marketing: Where Do They Come from?

Visitors for February 5, 2020 

Much has been written about Internet Marketing and the various schemes to get traffic. There are literally thousands of publications, big and small, with an equally large number of ideas and methodologies for getting visitors.

For a while now I've been quietly studying the flow of visitors to the blog and after several months of looking at all the graphs and "Google analytics" it is very clear that, repetition, if not outright habit are one of the big factors. People get used to checking in at the same time every day. The map shown in the picture is virtually unchanging every morning, with most of the visitors coming from Canada, with a smattering occasionally showing up from Europe. This is not Google analytics by the way which are much more complex looking, this is only a screenshot of the much simpler Blogger overview screen.

But what really has me interested to here is the geography of the visitors. There is nothing in this blog's coding which directs Google or any other search engine (I'll include Facebook and Twitter hereto as pseudo-search engines, since that is where a lot of the traffic especially right after an article was published comes from) to limit the spread to North America. Yet something does. Now it could be that this is something to do with where I announce new postings and in this case that mainly Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Of these three Twitter has turned out to be the far more important service to consider when attracting an audience. This only gets new visitors to the blog once or twice, as I have long suspected, this produces a spike in the graph but it is short-lived usually dying down within hours.

When I first saw this, I immediately joined, Google analytics and Google AdSense because they both provide much more detailed information. If I can get Google AdSense to pay for the cost of the domain over a year I will be happy. But that is, by far only a minor point. Far more fascinating are the daily habits visitors are beginning to demonstrate. Between 7 and 7:30 AM, the same 10 visitors appear. Now because the system only provides an ID number, these could be robots, but the numbers seem to vary just enough that I think there is flesh and blood behind these hits, a real human being.

Still doesn't explain though, the geography of the hits… It is just one of those curious things I am investigating. As I learn more, I will let you know. There are many creative people out there with great ideas and websites to match who are really having a hard time dealing with Internet marketing and getting the word out. This is my small way of "learning by doing" and I intend to pass along what ever I find to you. Take care have a great day!

Patrick Clark

How Close Is the Internet to Becoming an Essential Service?

From Needpix.com  Used under Creative Commons Zero - CC0

You know, when I was born in 1959, the rotary phone was ubiquitous. But each household normally only had one and that single phone was more often than not located in the main hallway of the home. My family because my father was a doctor with polio had two, the "normal" one in the hallway and an additional phone at my parents bedside without 40 foot (12.9 m) extension cord which was hardwired into the wall.

Fast forward to today, and I don't use a landline although there is one because it was previously installed with this apartment complex and is active. Nor do I know the number off by heart, of course I know my cell phones number, picked precisely because it was easy for my eldest brother to remember. Not only are landline's quickly becoming a thing of the past in modern cities I am willing to bet that although everyone's smart phones are constantly and use the, the percentage of time actually spent talking on them is probably far less then the time doing everything else with the device. How hooked in we all are, and it looks like we couldn't make it through the day if we were unplugged.

Just on a whim I inquired of my Google Assistant just how many times I had spoken with it across the various devices in one day. The answer was shocking… On average I speak to my technology 137 times per day, and that's the average!

Big difference between my parents era and now is that, for certain they could get along without the phone by simply communicating with their neighbours or going right down to meet with the person in question. Can you imagine the mayhem that would ensue, almost immediately. if the Internet and cell towers went down. A small version of this actually happened a few months ago here in my building. As everyone knows I live in a "supported living environment" which simply means that staff is is on hand 24 hours a day should I need assistance. I'm 60 years old with cerebral palsy and not quite the Superman I once was. Brain is still there but physically there is a little wear and tear showing up.

Anyway, the staff is on their own private Internet system and one day it just up and stopped. They were on the technical support so fast it was amazing. Further, some of the devices they use to keep the building and everyone coordinated were also down, so there was a real sense of urgency.

I think we are not too far from seeing the Internet declared an essential service which is the whole point of this little rambling. Within 10 years for sure and may be as little as 5. Actually now that I think about it I think the Canadian government has already set minimum speed requirements and I think it's 10 Mb which is more than enough stream 1080 P on your TV set.

This was a spur of the moment thought. I promise to have something more worthwhile posted over the weekend. Probably to do with a 60-year-old grandfather clock which is now up and running again thanks to an 82-year-old Master clock smith. Stay tuned and take care.

Patrick Clark

Bringing community together.

Not an endorsement. Simply liked the image on the can.

"Just what are the social ingredients which allows a community of people to come together and stay together?"This was a question I was pondering last night as a couple of friends and I were watching the Super Bowl. We all live in the same supported living, building totaling twenty individuals, of that only three of us showed up for this celebration, and that is with the offering up free food.

Despite having a great staff and really a beautiful building with individual apartment suites that are a much bigger than the norm, I'm guessing about 500 ft.², it is been almost impossible in the year and 1/2 I've been here to motivate individuals to break out of the routine. While their physical conditions vary greatly, mentally they are all fine, and most come from a creative past. There are musicians, people who have travelled the world, one would think that this place would "Rock!",but there is a lethargy about the place. Personally I am so glad I volunteer twice a week in Vancouver, because that may be what keeps me going. Yet I don't think the answer is quite so simple, because I've talked to the staff and others who've been here for in some cases over nine years and this state of affairs has crept up very slowly. There is also the impression that this is happening in other supported living facilities. It makes me wonder if it is a side effect of the changes in modern society as a whole. Last night's game (even if one is not inclined to sports) should have been a time for socializing and general goofing around. Yet the building was quieter than normal while the three of us sat in front of a beautiful high definition TV with nachos and a few beverages in hand. The cook had gone out of their way to make some snacks… Making this essentially a free party. Anywhere else in Surrey British Columbia, this would mean the room would've been filled to the brim with so much talking and discussion going on about the game and everything. There would be stories four days about the event.

Perhaps the first question is, not "What makes community", but what stifles it in the modern world. Is society losing its social edge? I am coming up with more questions as I write this. If anyone out there has any answers or hypothesis, please feel free to comment. I am very curious about the topic of community as a whole and this particular incident has me really perplexed.

In case you're curious about the accompanying photo for this article, it is not an endorsement or commentary on the product, but I did find it to be stereotypically perfect for a weekend football game and I simply couldn't resist posting it. Actually now that I think about it even though my apartment is adorned with paintings and I have a general policy of not putting anything up on the walls which are glorified endorsements. This particular drawing is hard to resist, just because of the style in which it was created. My grandfather Gallagher had a much older version of the truck depicted in the image. Perhaps that is what the allure is for me.

All the best to all the visitors to this blog and please do feel free to comment.
Patrick Clark

PS: Not being an avid sports fan, it suddenly dawned on me that the Super Bowl game I watched last night might be "Super Bowl MMXIX" and not "Super Bowl MMXX" as is displayed in the graphic. Regardless of the dating issue, I had a great time. Thanks to one at all.

The Astounding Power of "Just Do It".

With so many things to do in everyone's daily lives the adoption of a routine is usually what keeps us sane and able to do a huge laundry list of things on a regular basis, but it is also what keeps us from exploring new vistas. The ritual of routine becomes too ingrained and indeed comfortable. On the other hand, just doing something new, especially if the idea just occurred to you, seems dangerously impulsive. That however is where many new concepts and adventures begin, as long as one takes a moment to critically look at the inspiration. This short little article is one such "Just Do It" moment.

Yesterday I realized that an overreliance on routine limits opportunity and creativity. Because, the first routine leads directly into the second routine, which leads directly into the third routine and so on. The next reaction to get mildly frustrated at missing ones "just do it" moment. Which when you think about it is the exact moment you should undertake the new activity. No need to rush or to drop everything, but to make it the very next thing to explore.

It is simply amazing what happens when you allowed new ideas, a "Just Do It" impulse, to change your routines. First, you get a nice feeling from undertaking something unexpected perhaps. Then a sense of accomplishment, which inevitably leads to a brightening of one's outlook-Because You Just Did It :-). If you can't follow a new idea the moment it it occurs to you because of time or responsibility requirements, then write it down or record it somehow so that later on you can review the idea.

I find myself wondering if this very moment how many ideas throughout history have been missed because people haven't occasionally, and deliberately, being a little impulsive. True sometimes "Just Doing It" does get one into a little bit of  trouble… But isn't that fun? (I'm thinking of my dear friend Lauren right now… What adventures we have had and continue to have 😀).

May this short little post inspire you to do something and may that inspiration bring a smile to your face. Have a great day!

Patrick Clark