Favorites:     Articles Poems
We are all the same size inside
We are all more
Celebrate small moments
Thankful for people
Children do grow up
No power tonight
The leaf is proud


Help someone
today 		"The things we want are really the times we share."

"The most important things we bring with us are within us."

"If I had only one thing I would take a smile over an iPod."

~ Rob Hueniken

Posts tagged as:

Photo

Poem – No Power Tonight

by Rob Hueniken on Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Here is my poem from the 2008 Waterloo writers’ anthology, “Words from Here”, ISBN 978-0-9682520-1-7.

It speaks to the surprising situation and feelings one can have about our busy world when we are forced to experience a time without power at night.

This poem might inspire further thoughts about how we spend our time, and whether we are truly happier being steeped in technology.

No Power Tonight

Tonight the power dimmed and went.
A popping sound then lights were spent.
The brightness of our pre-sleep home
Replaced by flashlights and a careful roam.

I peered outside and down the street.
The dark was wide and the quiet deep.
The only sound came as a voice
As neighbours talked about their choice,
Of having every night as dark,
To see the stars so clear and stark;
Or have the comfort of the glare
Where nighttime lights do fog the air.

But I knew soon the lights would start
So I walked back home through quiet dark
And tucked in bed like in times of old
When dark meant rest in night’s deep folds.

By Rob Hueniken

 no-power-tonight-sm-poem

[Return to the home page of MakingMoreOfToday.com.]

Share

Tagged as: Culture, Environment, Life, lifestyle, Making more of today, People, Personal, Photo, Poetry, Rob Hueniken, Writing and Poetry

{ 0 comments }

Popsicles are for Sharing

by Rob Hueniken on Monday, August 24, 2009

When I was six years old my class participated in a track and field day at a neighboring school. It was a bus trip away and the spring day was hot and sunny [a rare weather condition in that Northern area]. Being frugal, my Mom had packed me a lunch, which I devoured between running events [I was a fast sprinter in those days, with two good ankles working smoothly beneath my shins].

As I walked around the school yard I saw two girls from my class eating Popsicles. “Where did you get those?” I asked eagerly. “Over there,” one of them pointed with her yellow, banana Popsicle. I hurried over and stood in line. But when I arrived at the cooler the man said the Popsicle was 5 cents, which I didn’t have. I had to walk away without a treat.

5 cents! It was not a lot even in those days, but it was more than I had with me. As I stood in the sun far away from home [for a six year old] I decided that I would never again leave home without money. I would never be the one who couldn’t buy a Popsicle.

popsicle-wrapper popsicles-for-sharing
3 million Popsicles are sold every year. They were invented in 1905 by 11 year old Frank Epperson, who waited 18 years before releasing it as a product to other kids. Wikipedia Every Popsicle is two treats in one. My favorite is still orange, which still almost rhymes with porridge.

From that day on I have had a progression of coins in my maturing pocket. As a boy it was a nickel (for candy). As I learned the fun of comic books I had to carry more: 15 cents (for reading). For many years [before cell phones] I carried a quarter for the pay phone (for safety). Today, despite being armed with my wallet, twenty dollar bills and credit cards I still carry a one or two dollar coin [Canada's loonie and toonie] (for coffee, parking, or any of the preceding).

When I buy Popsicles now I am usually buying a box of 24 chocolate ones for my wife. Because there is the second lesson I learned from that schoolyard: that sharing is a joy. And sharing food with others is a particularly wonderful joy.

My Mom, who packed my bag lunch for that track meet long ago, has created meals and a caring environment for our family and friends all of our lives. She understands how hospitality and sharing are a vital part of human community and joy.

Had those two girls with their Popsicles known what my Mom knew, or if the man presiding over the cooler full of Popsicles had thought about more than money, then all sorts of ways could have been found to share in the cool and delicious fun that day.

As anyone who’s had a Popsicle will tell you, they are made to be split in two. Like all great food they are made for sharing.

[Return to the home page of MakingMoreOfToday.com.]

Share

Tagged as: Culture, Design, Food, Life, lifestyle, Making more of today, People, Personal, Photo, Rob Hueniken, Sharing

{ 1 comment }

The Joy and Time Travel of Anticipation

by Rob Hueniken on Sunday, August 23, 2009

One of life’s greatest pleasures is the joy of looking forward to something good.

We experience anticipation as the optimistic feeling that links our Past and Present into the Future, as an emotional guess of what is to yet to be. Anticipation is a reflection of both the hope and the confidence that moves us forward.

We get to experience joy in the present for something yet to happen in the future.

We get to experience joy in the present for something yet to happen in the future. Anticipation comes from hope, confidence and efforts. I often anticipate seeing my mother and her wonderful garden. It motivates me to do what I can to help ensure that Future moment becomes my Present.

Our Past is a museum of frozen moments — loops and snapshots, memories and events. We look back with the aid of photographs, recollections and memorabilia of all sizes, and always we look back through the fuzzy gauze of time. Even the finest historians, busily pouring their Present time into studying the Past, only recreate a framework of facts and results of a particular bit of time gone by.

The Present is dynamic, sometimes varied and widely available. But despite bloggers and 24-Hour news the human experience is still localized to ourselves and limited by our brains. Here in the Present, none of us have a perfect understanding or awareness of this moment.

We balance the Present’s precious moment between the action and feelings we have now with traces of the Past and imaginings of the Future. Sometimes, like historians, we use up much of our Present exploring the Past — occasionally to our benefit, with a new realization or understanding, and sometimes by having a sweet recollection.

But sometimes in our Present we get to experience a taste of something that has yet to happen. Anticipation is the optimistic time travel that bridges our Past and Present, and transports us into our very own Future — creating in us both feelings and images of a moment yet to come, for us.  It is a jolt of joy, here in the Present for something has yet to happen in the Future.

Anticipation is part of living, and it varies in its type and magnitude. There can be the “body joy” of imagining having dinner, the “hard work joy” of visualizing a goal coming to completion, and the deep personal joy of being reunited with someone you love.

Anticipation of good things to come is threaded through the human race. It is deep in the core of every person — a manifesting of both hope and confidence.

Try-hard action items:

• Think about good things that are coming up — you can help yourself feel that positive anticipation.
• Do what you can today to help bring that Future moment to your Present.
• Honor the efforts of both yourself and others.

Experience the joy and time travel of anticipation.


[Return to the home page of MakingMoreOfToday.com.]

Share

Tagged as: Culture, Goals, Helping, Hopes, Life, lifestyle, Making more of today, People, Personal, Photo, Plans, Rob Hueniken, Sharing

{ 0 comments }

Surely Sweet Summer

August 22, 2009

There was a long, cool spring this year, and many people complained – repeatedly – wishing for more heat and sunshine. I grew up further north so the cooler weather felt good. The garden has also flourished, rarely needing watering. But today was a fine summer day. There was beautiful sunshine and big, white clouds. It was well worth the wait. [Return to the home page of MakingMoreOfToday.com.]

Share
Read the full article →

Beyond Keeping Up with the Joneses

August 21, 2009

When I was growing up “Keeping up with the Joneses” had an air of inevitability and a hint of disdain, as if someone was being excessive and pulling us along. Our culture seems to have gone beyond that level. Our shopping-oriented culture is now beyond compare, with warehouses filled with even more stuff. Nowadays, many people in North America have more than enough of everything, and the choices for buying are beyond easy comparison.  Style, personal choice and the sheer magnitude of what’s available has changed the landscape and expectations for what any one person might have right now, today, [...]

Share
Read the full article →

Willow Creek Leadership Summit a growing success

August 21, 2009

Unlike conferences that focus on making money, the Willow Creek Leadership Summit focuses on inspiring and empowering leaders. Although run by a church, the Summit is widely attended by business people and community leaders who have heard about the amazing speakers and understand the great value this conference provides. The 17 Summit speakers represented a culturally and racially diverse group of leaders from business, ministry, politics and entertainment including: Willow Creek senior paster Bill Hybels, former British PM Tony Blair, Made to Stick authors Dan Heath and Dave Heath, renowned leader and thinker Gary Hamel, and U2 leader Bono. Some [...]

Share
Read the full article →

Setting myself in motion

August 20, 2009

Today I am laying the groundwork for new possibilities. Some days we are able to make progress on particular projects, but today I am building the foundation that will support my blogging, helping and communicating. I like working on websites, though I end up rediscovering techniques and using time learning to use the tools.  I have a two hour rule for tool learning – if I can’t figure something out in two hours I look more diligently for information I am missing, often by searching the web, asking someone, or checking the documentation: reading the fine manual can be helpful! [...]

Share
Read the full article →

Let’s get going!

August 19, 2009

Sometimes what gets done is not what really needs to be done. I always have lots of things on the go, and even more jumping off my desk. It is time to focus on the creative, vital and inspiring projects that have waited earnestly as too many moons have spun past. I am putting myself on notice: You must be active and earnest about creating the next stage of your life. We need to recognize when important things aren’t getting done, acknowledge that they are important, and make changes today to help ensure that tomorrow is a better day. Here [...]

Share
Read the full article →