How Blogging Saved My Marriage and Life

A few months ago, my wife woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I had been up early getting the kids ready, so when she started criticizing me about how I was handling the morning chores, I lost it. After storming out of the house with my two sons, I almost threw my son’s lunch at a car that cut us off in the crosswalk. The whole day was full of conflict, frustration, and bad energy.

Reading my favorite bloggers later that evening, I realized that I was not a very good example of a Blogger for Peace. It hit me then that without peace in the home, we cannot have peace in the world.

This photo is old, but it represents how I feel right now.

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Busy, Busy Bee–ing

So much is going on this week that I don’t have time to catch a breath.

First, I will be a guest video poster at The Outlier Collective. For those of you who don’t know, TOC is a blog created by Le Clown and Madame Weebles. Each week, they choose a topic and invite bloggers “to weigh in on the weekly topic, in whatever way they choose. The results are sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, sometimes passionate, always thought-provoking.”

Dear Darkness, You Light Up My Life

Life is like a jigsaw puzzle. The individual pieces seem incoherent, trivial, and chaotic. Step back, and we see beauty, unity, and meaning.

— Kozo Hattori (@everydaygurus) May 15, 2013

I tweeted this a few weeks ago and got a few favorites and retweets.

As someone whose been through his fair share of chaos, I can honestly say that I am grateful for all the dark puzzle pieces in my life.

I’ve learned that darkness brings out the light. Those of you who are artists, photographers, or filmmakers know that nothing highLIGHTS more than contrast. If we look at the dark parts of a piece of art, we quickly realize that these dark spots allow us to see the Light.

Why Your Blog and Your Life Are Exactly How You Want Them

I’ve always wanted to be famous. I used to dream about my funeral where thousands of people would come out to pay tribute to me. But deep down inside, I knew that fame would not bring me happiness. And death would definitely not bring joy in my life.

I QUIT…trying to go viral

To be honest, I started blogging 6 months ago because I wanted to go viral. One of the first blogs I read was by Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-hour Work Week. I had no idea what blogging was. But I knew authors needed a social media “platform” that they could “monetize.”

Every time an article came up on my twitter feed about increasing readership, I stopped what I was doing and clicked on it. I learned about catchy headlines, search engine optimization, the Art of Being Interesting, and optimal times to post for new hits. I spent almost as much time reading about getting hits than I did writing or researching the books I wanted to write.

I saw going viral as the golden ticket. All my worries would be over if I could just get one of my articles read by millions of fans. I envisioned book contracts, TEDTalks, and interviews with Oprah.

Monthly Peace Challenge: Giveaway!

With close to 130 Bloggers for Peace, the number of peace posts continues to expand. I, for one, can honestly say that this experience is changing my life. Reading multiple posts about peace every week from a variety of perspectives inspires me, guides me, and re-minds me to practice peace at all times. I am grateful to all of you for every contribution you make.

To help inspire the Bloggers for Peace (B4Peace), we will have a Monthly Peace Challenge. To participate, tag your post with B4Peace or leave a link to it in the comments below. Also, make sure you copy your URL to the Linkz collection. Anyone who completes all twelve Monthly Peace Challenges will receive a Free B4Peace T-shirt.

Monthly Peace Challenge: Marching towards Forgiveness

With over 110 Bloggers for Peace publishing posts for and about peace every month, I have no doubt that we are making a difference in the blogosphere and in the world. Every thought, every word, every action for peace brings peace. I don’t know when we will reach critical mass and tilt the scales towards peace, but I have no doubt that it is possible. Thank you to everyone who is participating in words and smiles to create a better world for our children.

To help inspire the Bloggers for Peace (B4Peace), we will have a Monthly Peace Challenge. To participate, tag your post with B4Peace or leave a link to it in the comments below. Anyone who completes all twelve Monthly Peace Challenges will receive a Free B4Peace T-shirt.

This week I’m going to ask you to leave your comfort zones for peace.

Friends and Enemies: The Malleable Keys to Peace

Photo credit: Dunechaser / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

My five year old son has tons of friends. Part of the reason why he is so blessed is because he calls anyone he likes, plays with, talks to, or looks at his friend.

“My friend is digging a hole to bury Darth Vader in,” Jett mentions as we leave the park.

“Which friend is that? What is his name?”

“I don’t know his name. He is just my friend.” Looking at me like I don’t know what friend means.

The look might be justified. Maybe as we grow older we forget what a friend is. I can’t tell you how many people have questioned me about my friendships. I am/used to be friends with some pretty famous people. Other “friends” would always say things like, “you’re not really friends with so-and-so. Just because you met someone does not mean that they are your friend.” I would counter, “Well, I’m invited to their wedding next month. What does that make me paparazzi?”

Practice Peace

My 5 year old son just started playing YMCA basketball. He is one of the younger players on the team and a bit intimidated. I almost let him quit. One day he asked me, “Daddy, are the games we play practice games?” I told him that every game he will EVER play is a practice game, unless he makes the pros like Jeremy Lin. But even professional games are practice games. Just because you play for money doesn’t make it any more substantial.

“I do not judge success based on championships; rather, I judge it on how close we came to realizing our potential.”–John Wooden

If you believe, like I do, that “we are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a human experience,” then our whole human existence is a practice game. We are already Gods, Buddhas, and Peace; we just need to re-member ourselves to the Truth.

Everyday Thanksgiving–January 2013

“A thankful person is a thankful person under all circumstances.”–Baha’u’llah (1817-1892)

This is the monthly download of my daily gratitude practice–everyday I try to post five things I am grateful for. Gratitude continues to alter my life in so many ways. I don’t expect anyone to read this list, but I hope you discover the power of gratitude.

January 2013

Thank you for bubbles–cheap, but full of joy; the wonderful peace post by Grandmalin; living in a time of peace in America; all the food that was given to us over the holidays; the amazing edit Joanne Wadsworth did on my first chapter.

Thank you for my empathic wife; legos, especially Star Wars legos; Vietnamese hairdressers who know how to cut Asian hair; Anne Hathaway’s performance in Les Miserable; second chances.