Monday, March 27, 2017

Have We Lost Our Joy?


Did we ever have it?
This question came up for me when I saw the documentary #Kedi, about the cats of Istanbul.
For thousands of years, cats have roamed the streets of that ancient city. Cats sit on the sidewalks to be petted by pedestrians, some come and go into the home of their chosen person, some weave their way around the ankles of people sitting at outdoor cafes, some wander in and out of fish markets, or paw a restaurant window asking for food. One cat found a wallet for a man who lost his boat in a storm. “If you don’t believe this story,” he said, “you’re a heathen.”
A woman on the show commented that cats bring the joy people are dangerously in danger of losing.

The movie Kedi documents seven cats from the thousands that roam the streets of Istanbul. The people say they do not pen them up so they can pet them, but allow the cats to come and go. They feed them, care for them and tend their wounds. One man said, most of us have a running tab with the vet.
Where they had giant rats, the cats took care of them. A former psychotic man said the cats saved him. He could not laugh but now finds joy with the cats. He tends them and brings his bunch of cats about 20 pounds of chicken daily.
“It is said that cats are aware of God’s existence, while dogs think people are god.”

You guys have heard me go on and on about the #Tony Robbins Event I attended in November, and now I see that the Los Angeles 3-day event such as I attended in San Jose, is sold out, even the high-fa lutin' expensive tickets.
That tells me that people are attracted to joyful events. That tells me that people want to know themselves better.  It tells me that they are seeking something, whether it be motivation to go faster and farther in their businesses, or to go faster and farther in their life experience. 
Some go to the event to heal old psychological wounds. Some go because they are desperate, some are depressed, some are suicidal. (Of the more than 100 suicidal people Tony has counseled, he has not lost a single one.)
People are attracted to high energy people who want an exciting, meaningful life.
That is what I wanted on this site, and why I began  www.traveling-thru-life.com to connect with other seekers.
Remember what I said about out psychological holes not matching the other person holes? Because of that phenomena, we can help each other.
Yep, come on in, state your gripes, complaints, Kvetch a bit. We will slap you with a pillow and tell you to get over it.
I don’t mean to belittle your life issues, but to add a little lightness to them, and to state that maybe instead of problems, we could call them challenges. Challenges spur us forward; problems weight us down.
I have heard it said that “If we focus on crap, we will become a crap magnet."
Don’t have any problems? Great, share that too. I want to hang out with high-flying people. 
If you aren’t flying high now, you soon will be.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Have You Ever Wondered...



1.      Why women get excited about having a pot filling faucet over the stove when after their spaghetti or whatever is cooked, they must then carry that hot heavy pot to the sink.
2.    Why we have televisions in restaurants.
3.    Why the obsession with cell phones.
4.    That we find what’s wrong with others and indeed within ourselves instead of finding what’s right.
5.     That we live on a water planet and have a water shortage.
6.    That we fight.
7.     That we let the media decide for us, and we believe the pundits. (Pundits were originally wise respected people, now often they are hacks. They are a commentator, one person’s opinion.)

Here’s a thought from Shark Tank investor, and Real Estate mogul Barbara Cocoran:
“Last spring, I tweeted a thought, which brought on an avalanche of criticism. The backlash was intense, and I was accused of giving “retro” advice. But I haven’t backed down from what I said, nor will I, to this day.
Here’s my tweet (and brace yourself):
I find running a #business in a man’s world to be a huge advantage. I wear bright colors, yank up my skirt + get attention. #womeninbusiness.

Get a grip folks, doesn’t a man use every advantage he can think of.

I love it.






Wednesday, March 15, 2017

A Little Voice Spoke to Me This Morning


"Stop being such a smuck," the voice said. "Put Song of Africa, your novel's excerpt, out there and let the chips fall where they may." (Actually, the voice was nicer than that.)

No signing up. No exclusivity. 

and Viola' you're in.

I want this to be as though you are in a bookstore: 

You are attracted to a book titled Song of Africa. (By me, Jewell D or Joyce Davis, of those, I haven't decided who I will be yet.)

 You pull Song of Africa from the shelf, 
go to the coffee counter, order a good strong brew, fix it to your liking, and sit down and read the first 37 pages. 

Oh, you say, "I forgot to drink my coffee. I was so engrossed in what happened to the two Saras, their lovers, to Patrice, and to that infamous painting,’ The Girl on The Pier,’ that I forgot to drink it.”


You gulp down the now cold coffee, go to the checkout, plunk down your credit card, and after purchasing Song of Africa, you tell the clerk:

"Order more of these. This book will sell like hotcakes."


Sunday, March 5, 2017

You Know Better Than That

 “Books are old fashioned,” my eight-year-old grandson told me this morning.

That hurt my heart.

I think of #Ray Bradbury’s book #Fahrenheit 451 where books were burned and how the people each memorized one book to keep it alive.

This past Thursday National Achiever’s Congress, the presenter, Michael Burnett, told a similar story.

When Nelson Mandela was in prison, the prisoners had to do hard labor, and that was to break up sandstone rocks. Sunlight on sandstone creates quite a glare, and it is hard on the eyes. Mandela asked the guard if they could have sunglasses to shield their eyes.

You know the answer. “No.”

Later on, when they had nothing to do in their cell, Mandela asked the guard if they could have books to read.

“You aren’t here to have sunglasses and books,” he said. The answer was, “No.”

So the prisoners devised a plan. They would have a one on one, each sharing what they knew with the other, and thus when they were, at last, released from prison,  each was smarter than when they entered it.

We are all living books filled with experiences, insights, and garnered wisdom. If we shared it, just think where we would be.  I guess that’s what the internet is, but I still want books.

We have this extraordinary quality of desiring to create beauty,  love and learning around us, but with our two-million-year-old brains—evolutionarily speaking—we are, instead, on the watch for danger. There are fears all around us, internal and external. We hang back, afraid to go for our dreams, afraid to go into uncharted territory, afraid to speak up, and afraid of our own shadows. We often think, we aren’t good enough, loved enough, or smart enough.

You know better than that.

If you agree, laugh out loud.  If not, keep quiet.
High five,
Joyce

P.S. The Peacock is back:
There must be one feather that is in focus. I was in a hurry to catch him, I had to show you that my totem animal is real. After two months of a no show, he appeared yesterday. He drove Layfette (that’s one dog) crazy.