Tag Archives: inspiration

Retirement Learning – I Can Take Off Your Head!

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The other day my girlfriend called me with a special request.  “Don’t you have that program where you can put someone else’s head into a picture?” she asked.  Ummmm…yeah, I have Photoshop, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I know how to USE IT!

She wanted to include some friends, who had been absent from an event, into a group Christmas photo – a tongue in cheek joke that said, “We’re thinking of you, and we missed you.”

Well on the Encore Voyage I have learned a couple of very, very important rules…

I can figure out ANYTHING with YouTube

and

Google is my friend

With digital photographs in hand, along with a couple of YouTube tutorials, I was off and running on a search and destroy mission to learn some new skills.  And before you know it, our friends, Donna, Sandra, and Deb, were poking their absent little heads right outta that Christmas Tree!

I can move your head

Because I didn’t want to post a picture of all those folks without their permission, I thought I’d show you that I really can remove your head from your body!  Fun, huh?!

I am certain that a professional photographer would have done it differently, and would have done a much better job.  But for me the exercise had several benefits:

  • It barely scratched the surface of the things I could learn about Photoshop, and it piqued my interest to do so (along with a desire to get much better at it!)
  • It made me want to take and edit better photos (that, and looking at Terri Webster Schrandt’s pictures!)
  • It reminded me that there are so many other fascinating things to learn about, which require only some time and focus – all of the information in the world is available at my fingertips.  Web design, desktop publishing, even playing my saxophone – Yep, I can learn all of those things, too.

This Photoshop exercise made me realize that retirement doesn’t mean that a person stops learning and exploring new things.  In fact, I would never have had the time to play around like this during my pre-Voyage career!  So how about it – What new skills are you learning to make your Voyage an adventure?

Lynn

Encore Quotes – Family Traditions

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I hope as the weekend approaches you take a moment to consider those Christmas traditions you hold dear.  Are you doing things simply because you’ve “always done it that way?”  Are you exhausting yourself chasing some self-imposed standard that no longer meets your needs?  Instead, I would invite you to consider which activities, decorations, and traditions truly hold a special meaning for you.  Pursue those!  Have a peaceful and heartfelt weekend!

Lynn

Encore Quotes – Choose Gratitude

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Happy Friday fellow Voyagers!  Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone, we’ve survived Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and we’re well on our way to rushing toward the holiday where we feel the need to buy more, do more, decorate more, celebrate more.  The race is on…only 25 days till the big day, and soon the papers and televisions and computer screens will be reminding you that you must hurry, hurry, hurry.

So I hope after this week’s post reminding you to see the “wonder” in things, that you’ll take a moment to slow down, take a deep breath, and be grateful for this moment ~ right now.  Have a fabulous weekend!

Lynn

Photo credit: Josh Felise

A Teacher’s Perspective on Wonder — SpEd Tales – Stories for Teachers

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Last night, my family went to see the movie Wonder. I hoped my two, young sons would watch the movie and leave with a renewed understanding of what it means to be kind, but I wasn’t prepared for the lesson it had for me. It is November. The season of darkness and paperwork. By November,Read…

via A Teacher’s Perspective on Wonder — SpEd Tales – Stories for Teachers

Do you ever have one of those moments when you read something so true it gives you a kinda lump in your throat?  It happened to me this morning!  So even though I had a different post all ready to go, I decided to switch horses and reblog this one because it’s a

MUST READ!

And not just for us teacher types, but for us all!  In the past week, I’ve run across some very cranky people in my daily dealings!

  • The lady who got all bent out of shape because the line didn’t move quickly enough.
  • The taxi driver who rode our tail last night because his need to be first exceeded our need to be first.
  • The friend in the restaurant last night who “b*tched” because his french fries were only warm – not hot.

And when I read this blog this morning, it occurred to me again that we all need to recognize that

Everyone has a story

and we all need to learn to approach each other with a little bit of wonder.  We get to choose.  I hope the rest of your month (aw heck, the whole year) is “wonderful!”

Lynn

Encore Quotes – What Really Matters?

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Can you believe we’re heading into Thanksgiving already?  Wasn’t it just summertime about a second ago?  And before we know it, Christmas will have come and gone.  In all the rush, I hope you will take a moment each morning and ask yourself two questions:

What’s really important today?

What’s not so important at all?

I wish you a peaceful weekend, taking the time to enjoy those things that really matter!

Lynn

Encore Quotes – Inner Peace

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Happy Friday, everyone!  I hope you take a moment to recognize that you get to choose how to react to all the chaos that surrounds us.  Don’t let yourselves become needlessly outraged.  Take a deep breath. Recognize all the good, and have a wonderful weekend!

Lynn

That’s Outrageous!

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I’ve been thinking recently about causes of stress in our lives.  As I’ve said before, this is a pretty good gig!  What could possibly be causing angst?  And then I heard an expression somewhere that resonated with me:

We have become a country addicted to OUTRAGE!

As I started to examine that concept, I can see so many examples of its truth.  Everywhere we look, something in the media, social or otherwise, is just begging us to get riled up.  Remember the days when the paper was delivered in the morning, and the news was on TV at 5:00 and 10:00 pm?  Not much time for anything but reporting real events.  But these days, a 24-hour news cycle, coupled with thousands of different media outlets plying for your attention, has given rise to endless “click bait.”

Now I’m not saying that we should become complacent.  We SHOULD be outraged by some a$$hole who shoots hundreds of people in Las Vegas.  We SHOULD be outraged by an idiot who drives a truck into a crowd of innocent people.

But pictures of fat Trump? or Hillary with an enraged face? or Melania’s high heels? or what this or that celebrity did or did not say?  REALLY?????  Do we need to be outraged at that nonsense?  Reporters on TV are no longer “reporters” – they are “commentators”…and they are banking on their ability to get you hooked.

And maybe this is just a sign that I’m getting old, but don’t they teach how to detect bias in high school English any more? Like:

  • Are there inflammatory words in this headline?
  • Is this trying to sway my opinion or get me to hop on board?
  • Is this intentionally misleading?
  • Is it the intent of the publisher just to sway me to click on the site (and hopefully on advertisers?)
  • Is it their intent to incite or outrage the reader?

 

As I was surfing around, I found this video on YouTube which, while a little old, still rings true:

Outrage

So how’s about everyone just take a big deep breath, be grateful in the moment, and vow to look for happier, compassionate, uplifting events in our world.  OK, I know, that sounded pretty PollyAnna, even to me!  (gag me with a spoon!)

But my point is, we do have some control.  As consumers, we get to decide what ‘news’ to read, what sites to click on.  We have more control than you might imagine.  My friend over at Intrepid Kate has instituted her own Facebook policy.  She will scroll her feed until she comes across negativity.  When that happens, she shuts it down and wanders over to something more fun like Instagram or Pinterest.

As for me, I’ve taken to using the “Unfollow” button on my Facebook feed.  Those friends who insist on posting negativity are getting ‘turned off’ (not Unfriended, mind you – I’m just taking a break from their posts.)

I have successfully reduced my Facebook feed to friends who provide “soul-enhancing relationships,” advertisements, and PUPPIES!  Oh yeah, and goofy videos…

So I would encourage you to reserve your outrage for more than Tarantulas in the Guacamole (watch the video).

Random.Ranting.Over.  Can’t wait to hear your thoughts…

Lynn

 

Encore Quotes – Travel Makes You Richer

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Happy Friday, fellow Voyagers!  A couple of years ago we decided not to build a big fancy-schmancy new home, and instead, opted to sell our property so that we might pursue a wider range of experiences on the Voyage.  Best. Decision. Ever!!!  So this Friday finds me exploring and taking in all the funky sites, soaking up the flavor of this fine city.  Life truly is about collecting experiences…Not Stuff!  And so, as I sit here under the Public Market sign, drinking a Pumpkin Spiced Chai (cliche, I know…but so delicious!) I’m wishing you all a weekend full of rich exploration!

Lynn

Encore Quotes – Who Will You Become?

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And retirement is just the beginning of a new and exciting voyage!  Are you becoming the person you have always wanted to be?  Are you chasing your dreams?  Do you continue to have Big Goals?  I hope so!  Have a wonderful weekend, fellow voyagers!

Lynn

Encore Quotes – The People Who Make You Better

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There are so many people in my life who make me strive to be just a little bit better.  The friendships I’ve made through this blog are real and important to me.  I value the soul-enhancing relationships of my lifelong friends.  So how about it.  Have you told the people in your life how much you value them?  Have a great weekend!

Lynn