I’d like to introduce this post with an excerpt from Martin Luther King Jr’s speech titled “Love Your Enemies” on November 17, 1957.

Now, I’m aware of the fact that some people will not like you, not because of something you have done to them, but they just won’t like you. I’m quite aware of that. Some people aren’t going to like the way you walk; some people aren’t going to like the way you talk. Some people aren’t going to like you because you can do your job better than they can do theirs. Some people aren’t going to like you because other people like you, and because you’re popular, and because you’re well-liked, they aren’t going to like you. Some people aren’t going to like you because your hair is a little shorter than theirs or your hair is a little longer than theirs. Some people aren’t going to like you because your skin is a little brighter than theirs; and others aren’t going to like you because your skin is a little darker than theirs.

But after looking at these things and admitting these things, we must face the fact that an individual might dislike us because of something that we’ve done deep down in the past, some personality attribute that we possess, something that we’ve done deep down in the past and we’ve forgotten about it; but it was that something that aroused the hate response within the individual. That is why I say, begin with yourself. There might be something within you that arouses the tragic hate response in the other individual.

What do we do when we encounter someone who doesn’t like us?

There are 2 things we can do.

The first is to not worry about it. Life is too short to worry what someone else thinks of us. If they can’t like us for who we are then that’s their problem; not ours.

And the second, as Dr. King alludes to, is that perhaps there is something within us which has evoked the emotion of dislike from the other person. If that exists, explore that. If it doesn’t, then see scenario number 1 above.

The Ham Butt Problem (taken from: http://www.ted.com/talks/erin_mckean_redefines_the_dictionary.html):

Woman’s making a ham for the big family dinner. She goes to cut the butt off the ham and throw it away, and she looks at this piece of ham and she’s like, “This is a perfectly good piece of ham. Why am I throwing this away?” She thought, “Well my mom always did this.” So she calls up Mom, and she says, “Mom, why’d you cut the butt off the ham when you’re making a ham?” Her mom says, “I don’t know, my mom always did it!” So they call Grandma, and Grandma says, “My pan was too small!”

How many times have we heard this before? We do something because that’s how it’s always been done. As much as it’s efficient as a species to learn from experience, sometimes our experience can be based on factors which no longer exist or no longer influence our decisions. How best do we approach a problem without letting the past influence us too much? Simple. Think about why you do what you do. If something seems a bit off, there’s probably a reason for that.

As Einstein famously said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

Live and think consciously. You never know when you’re going to be cooking a ham.

I’m flying home to visit my family tomorrow night. I haven’t seen them all in 2.5 years. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long and it makes me sad. I’ve put so many other things ahead of taking trips home and for what?

Sure I’ve enjoyed playing in ultimate tournaments. And going on road trips has been great. But really when it matters, family is who’s been there for me. And I’m so proud of them. Margo just tied for 2nd at the NB Ladies Golf provincials and is on the team for Nationals. And Dad is happy being a teacher and is enjoying his summer golfing. I can’t wait to get out and play some golf with him. Just hang out with him and talk. It’s been a long time since we’ve done that. And I’m going to our family cottage in PEI for 3 days. Nick, Natalie, Tina, Steve and Grandma will all be there. How amazing is that? I haven’t been to the cottage in 8 years! I can’t wait to hang out in the yard and on the beach and play games with the family. I think I need this trip more than I realize. It’s very easy to get caught up in your life so much that you neglect the really important things in life. Those people who really care about you.

I also am going to get to visit Grandma in New Glasgow. I got to spend some time with her last fall when she was out visiting the Salomons but it’s always nice to see her in NS. Although this will be the first time I’ll be in the house since Grandpa passed away I’m also going to visit mom’s grave and throw some pennies in the pond. It will be the first time doing that without Margo which will be sad but I think I need some time alone with her. I feel like I’ve lost some of my morals since I was last home and I really need to reclaim those. I haven’t been feeling myself lately and I need to figure out how to get that back.

I’m also going to be running some ultimate clinics in Woodstock for the rec department. I’m doing 3; one for 5-8 year olds, one for 9+ and one for adults. I’m pretty stoked to be doing them as Woodstock hasn’t really seen ultimate before (maybe the high school teacher throwing the dad variety) so this should be pretty neat for them. I’m basically going to teach them throwing/catching, some basic gameplay and then run a scrimmage. And encourage them to get something started if they’re interested. It will be a good way to promote Ultimate Rob and teach some more people how awesome ultimate is.

And finally, I’m going to be playing in the Parlee Beach ultimate frisbee tournament with JD and some Fredericton folk. I haven’t played Parlee in 5 years so I’m pretty stoked to be playing again. I’m hoping my ankle will be 100% by the time I play (I have 10 days so we’ll see). And the last time I played we lost in the finals (and I felt like a rookie playing) so this time will be much better 

I’m just so excited to go. Lots of pics to come!