Author: Pete Schloss

Have Fun, Do Good, and Be Safe.

Posted on by Pete Schloss

A very long time ago when my children were indeed children, I morbidly feared that there might come a day that I was separated from life but had neglected to say everything truly important to them. “I love you”, spoken at every parting did not really seem adequate. I pondered the question of what succinct message could deliver what was lacking in a casual “goodbye”.

My answer came in this form: “I love you” (of course!) and “Have Fun, Do Good, and Be Safe”. The 4 benedictions added after “I love you” seemed to capture the essence of my own life philosophy. Over the years I have said this so often to those who are dear to me that I am reasonably certain it will one day appear on a gravestone as my epitaph.

“Have Fun” is my recognition that whatever one does, it should in some manner feed the soul. Having fun is more than just laughing, it is that which sustains us and encourages us to keep going. It is found in our work, recreation, relationships, and accomplishments. How we engage ourselves to rise above the challenges that life casts in our way is also an aspect of “fun”, although not commonly considered so.

“Do Good”, is actually a 2 part invocation. Doing good is doing the best that one is able, expending one’s best efforts. It is also doing what is right. Doing good calls upon a conscious self-examination of “have I done my best, and have I honored my best in the values that I have come to know. It is a tall order, but it is certainly what I ask of my children and expect of myself. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I just need to try harder, which is also “doing good”.

Lastly, “Be Safe” is for the sake of those who love us. As we live, we should be mindful that we are not isolated strands of life, but an interwoven part of a vast living tapestry. The string of my life is connected to the strings of countless other lives. If I do not value my life then I do not value the lives of those who are touched by me. If my children are heedless of their own safety, then it brings anxiety into my life. It is an added dimension to the Golden Rule. Instead of “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you”, it calls upon us to care for ourselves as we would ask those who we care for to do for themselves.

May you all Have Fun, Do Good, and Be Safe.
Peace! Pete (Originally posted July 11, 2014)

We Have Liftoff!!!

Posted on by Pete Schloss

Recently, I have been largely silent on social media, but not idle. For many weeks I have been designing and implementing a new website. This is the third time that I have undertaken this foreign task. My first effort, over 15 years ago, was little better than a few pages of “stick figures”. My second served me well for the last 10 years, but it was time to make a change that more accurately reflects the shift in our focus, post retirement. This new site will be my venue and “voice” both on and off the road, while Facebook will remain my primary outlet for displaying pictures to my FB friends.

The site is not yet in perfect harmony with my expectations, however it is better than 90% the way there. I have purchased a “real camera” that I hope to make extensive use of. I have not yet worked on posting images with my “Thoughts” site, but there will be time to work out those bugs so that a few select images may occasionally appear with my “Thoughts”.

Your encouragements have provided me with the motivation to dedicate hundreds (literally!) of hours into working on this. I hope that it serves Christine and me, and thus all of you as well. I invite you to use the tool that I have included on the site to sign up for email notices of future posts.

-Peace! Pete

Resilient Women

Posted on by Pete Schloss

Some of you women know who you are. Many of you do not. Resilience is being able to withstand or recover from difficult conditions. Certainly, there are resilient men, and books have been written about resilient children. However, my focus is upon the resilience that I have observed and learned of in so many women that I have encountered here and throughout my life. You are women who have risen from the ashes of personal and family tragedies. You are women who have hit a wall in life and rather than stop, you have reinvented yourself and moved forward. You are women who have placed your personal goals second to those of another person, adjusting and adapting without complaint. You are women who have persevered.

Your resilience is not necessarily about being successful. Sometimes it is just about enduring. Enduring the patronizing words of a car salesman, or the dismissive attitude of a contractor. Enduring the distinction that when a woman raises her voice she is deemed “shrill”, or just a bitch, but when man does he is seen as strong and assertive. I have been told that it is having to work twice as hard as a man in order to receive 70% of the pay that he receives for the same job. It is listening to your brother being asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, when most assume your sole ambition is to be a wife and a mother. You are an indispensable part of our political, business, and religious institutions which traditionally create headwinds, if not barriers, to your advancement. You endure and then you move on.

I see your resilience. If anything I have said resonates with your life experience then please take a moment to congratulate yourself… you are resilient.

Peace. Peter Schloss