Wayne and Kat’s Blog

 My Father passed away a few days ago and in his memory I wrote the tribute below. When I reread it, I realized that it was a perfect example of applied situation alchemy so I thought I would post it for all to see.  I hope it both serves you and that inspires you!

(Situation Alchemy is a concept that - through learning it - can change your life creating better health, warmer relationships and a happier life. For more information please see the bottom of this post. )

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In loving memory of James Herbert McCarthy  July 2, 1939 - April 13, 2008

The phone rang today, it was Mom to tell me of your passing. The news saddened me and in all honesty, I had finished mourning you long ago. Learning of your death caused me to start reminiscing about you, the lessons I learned because of you and how what I felt about you has changed so much over the years. I decided to write this down so that I would remember in years to come.

When I was a little girl, I just loved my Daddy. There wasn’t a greater soul in all the land. The day did come when you decided to head off on an entirely different journey and you left me behind. For a very long time I was extremely angry with you and with me. I couldn’t figure out what I did that could have been so very terrible that you would leave me like that.

Eventually though - when I was 30 something - I remembered how much I loved my Daddy and I decided to carry that with me instead of all the hurt. There came a time when I realized that I had a choice to make: I could either help you continue your tradition of anger and bitterness or I could love you for the beauty that resides deep in all of us. Because of your choices and my choices, I learned how to let go and how to go on loving someone in spite of the circumstances. This valuable life lesson has served me many times over and will serve me often in the future.

I also learned through that experience that I could do it for myself. I didn’t need my Daddy or anyone else to tie my shoes. When you left, you declared me a big girl and it just took me a little while to step up to the task. I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t have become the self empowered, forward thinking, optimistic woman that I did, without you.

The pain you must have felt Daddy, I can’t even imagine. It must have been something though to cause you to make the choices you did. Even when I knew you, you were always sad inside. When I was small I had a difficult time understanding why you were so sad - after all, you had a little girl like me…

Now that I am all grown up, I still can’t understand the specifics of who you were or why you were so sad. I know you didn’t like yourself much. I understand that whatever it was, it was just a lie you told yourself. It was easy for me to forgive your absence once I understood that you just got a little bit lost. We all get lost sometimes. Then again, I also trust that that was all part of the plan.

You chose a difficult role in my life. I want to thank you for that, it must have been really hard and yet, you lived up to the agreements we made before we came here. You gave me every opportunity to go forward without the habit of clinging to an anchor.

We are each the sum total of what we think we are and the choices we make. You had the strength to come here and be an example to me of what the outcome might be if we aren’t careful how we see ourselves and what choices we make. For that, you are my hero.

I love you for the gifts you gave me. I remember you giving me my first radio at 4 and staying up late with you watching rock music programs - you taught me to love music. I remember the summers camping in the north - you taught me to love nature. I remember the long drives to no where and every where - you taught me to love my mobility. I remember you teaching me to play baseball, how to fish and how to laugh - you were always so very funny though I don’t think you even knew that.

Truly, if it wasn’t for you Daddy, I wouldn’t be who I am today. What an amazing gift you gave me when you agreed to participate in a piece of my journey. I regret none of it for if any of it was any different, the outcome would also be changed.

You never loved yourself enough but that’s ok, I love you enough for both of us. You have been and will always be missed.

Be well Daddy.  I’ll see you again someday.

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For more information on Situation Alchemy, drop by Squidoo: Situation Alchemy

 I’ve never been a fan of the news until recently; that persistent little ‘yahoo news’ box that pops up on my desk top every morning has some how gotten my attention, at least in the Tech news section. Scanning the headlines has led me to actually reading the articles and I have noticed some very interesting trends of late that seem to relieve me of my shame for feeling like a dork in my on line efforts.As someone who creates multiple pages on the internet just about daily, marketing has quite naturally become a matter of daily importance. Having spent 7 years of my life in college (pre-internet days) with a full 2 of those on marketing, one would think that I should be somewhat savvy to the whole question but in actual fact, this is the part where I feel the most dorky. Being relieved of the shame of being a dork has done much to boast my self confidence.

You wouldn’t happen to feel the same way at times would you?

Allow me to make you feel a bit better. You - me - none of us are alone.

Over the last couple of months both Microsoft and Google have purchased a market research companies and while I don’t know this for sure; I suspect that there are many large and multi national companies doing the same - all trying as best they can to get a handle on how to market on the internet. They don’t know what they are doing either. (Feel better? LOL I do!)

The internet is a wonderfully diverse tool AND the incalculable number of factors that make up that diversity also makes it a very complicated tool. It seems to me that very few, if any, truly understand the scope of what is being created (after all, every single person on the planet with a computer is contributing to the creation of the internet) let alone how to market within it’s fluid structure. I am certain that I don’t understand the scope of it and I have spent 10+ years trying to get a handle on it.

The fluid nature of the internet means that it changes every single moment of every single day. New tools spring up daily and others fall away; potential customers and clients are reading the content posted through different eyes every time they boot up. We all have every right to feel dorky in our marketing efforts. After all, Microsoft and Google felt the need to get help, why should we be any different?

I’ve come to the ‘soft’ conclusion that the little guy like you and me probably has a better chance at marketing our stuff then the conglomerates. After all, we spend time in the neighborhoods talking with actual people about real topics that matter to us. Person to person marketing has always been the most effective way of moving product and the internet doesn’t change that.

If I need to purchase a product, my preference is always to go to someone I know. Someone who is likely to pick up their ringing phone and help me out if something goes awry. As we all spend more of our living time swimming around in the diverse internet, high touch marketing will become more and more important. After all, would a corporation in Russia really give a damn if I am happy with their product? Ivan, who has a family and will answer his phone, probably will.

Happy Trails
Kat
The Magic Happens Magazine

Hey! How’s everything in your world?

It’s been a few weeks since I have had time to write a post, we’ve been really busy getting the Spring 2008 Edition of The Magic Happens Magazine ready to be released. Finally, it’s complete and available for your pleasure. This season’s feature is Self Appreciation! Sounds really springy doesn’t it?

Incase you’ve never heard about our magazine before, let me give you a brief overview of what it is about and why we do it.

The Magic Happens is a free internet magazine by, about and for people who are Thriving in Life. Many of the contributors have long since retired from the everyday work world and pursue their own interests these days. The contributors aren’t really talking much about what they do per say as they are about who they are and their own personal and spiritual development progress.

The saying goes, ‘Your business will only grow as big as you do.’ And so, these people are expressing how big they have grown. It’s an amazing journey for all of us.

The first issue of the magazine was posted for public viewing on July 1st, 2008. Our intention for the magazine is to share what we have learned about the art of Thriving in Life and contribute to as many people as we can.

It is a quarterly magazine being released on the first of July, October, January and April.

We also have a companion community where some of our readers and contributors hang out and get to know one another. Everyone is having a great time sharing knowledge and learning more about Thriving in Life.

Why not drop by The Magic Happens Magazine and The Magic Happens Community? We would all love to get to know you and learn what you know about Thriving.

Happy Trails
Kat