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Administrative Professionals Day, and Earth Day

Cartoon of a man giving his computer flowers

This year is a different kind of Administrative Professionals Day. Many administrative professionals are working from home thanks to the coronavirus. Some are working the frontlines of essential businesses and keeping visitors from entering a facility without the necessary health precautions.

This year, Earth Day and Administrative Professionals Day fall on the same day. So if you have an administrative professional, this would be an entirely appropriate time to get them some flowers or a hearty plant. We all need a little nature as we stay huddled together in our humble abodes.

So thank you to all the administrators that make things happen behind the scenes. And thank you to a planet that needs some tender loving care. We couldn’t make it without either one of you.

Cartoon of a man giving his computer flowers
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motivation technology cartoons

Are You Getting Tired of Staring at Screens Too?

Cartoon of a man staring at a computer screen

Yes, I am also tired of staring at screens. If it’s not a computer screen, it’s my phone, tablet or television. If you are working from home, odds are, your screen is the window to your workplace. If you are not working right now, a screen may be your entertainment, a diversion or vital information about the outside world.

I am thankful we have this technology. It gives us insight and helps us to be productive. Yet, it can cause our eyes to glaze over. I don’t know about you, but my eyes feel tired by noon. And there are days when the connection is slow and it feels like I spend more time waiting for the network to catch up than doing work. Yes, it can be frustrating.

Yet, this has been good for us. We are all now finding ways to work we didn’t think were possible at the beginning of the year. We were very paper-based in my office. Now we know it is possible to eliminate the paper. And in some cases, it is actually speeding up the workflow.

As we get through this screen-filled era, remember to take some time to look away for a while. Perhaps read that paper book you’ve been meaning to get to. Call a coworker or friend. Or close your eyes on your break and listen to some uplifting music or an informative podcast. Your eyes will thank you. And perhaps your mind will thank you for the break as well.

Cartoon of a man staring at a computer screen
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motivation

Sheepish About the Destination?

Cartoon of two sheep

We are all sheep. No offense, but we are a bunch of little guys and gals that are grazing through uncharted meadows. We like to think we are in charge and could take control of any situation. But the last month shows we really have no idea where we’ve been, where we are and where we are going.

The next year is uncertain at best. But this is no time to panic and throw all things, including your hoarded bathroom tissue, out the window. Besides, have you ever seen a sheep stampede? It’s a little less impressive than a cattle stampede.

We may not know the destination and we may get a little sheepish about it. But we sheep can rely on the good shepherd. Yes, we can call on a higher power. It gives us hope. When things feel like they’re out of control, we can realize we never really did have as much control as we thought we did. A sheep with Google Maps is a dangerous thing. I’m letting the shepherd take control and take me in the right direction. There is hope and a good future.

Cartoon of two sheep
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motivation

Loving Your Neighbor in Tight Quarters

Cartoon of man in backyard. Love your neighbor and put up with his pooch,

When my wife and I began married life, we lived in an upstairs apartment. Our downstairs neighbor had a little dog named Happy. It was ironic because the pooch never seemed to be happy. The poor thing would spend all of her time barking at everything whenever she was outside. As a young adult, I thought it was quite annoying.

Four years later, my wife and I had our first child. When the baby cried, I thought of how ungracious I felt when the dog would bark. I realized a crying baby could be just as annoying to neighbors as a yapping dog.

Nearly twenty-eight years later, that same child is working from home during the quarantine in Phoenix, Arizona. He rents a room from a couple and has to do most of his work from the room because of client privacy rules. Next door, a young vocalist has been practicing. She has been robust in her vocal practice and in singing opera. It’s amazing how things come full circle.

We are living in a time where we may be more aware of our neighbors and their activities than before the quarantine. It is taking some patience and some agapé love to get us through it.

The Washington Post has a great article on ways to work with and be patient with your neighbor during the lockdown. It focuses on apartment dwellers. But considering my son’s situation, it could also apply to suburbanites.

In the end, remember to love your neighbor and show patience to them and their little quirks. If you think about it, you may have a few of your own.

Cartoon of man in backyard. Love your neighbor and put up with his pooch,
Categories
motivation

Being Wise as Serpents While Harmless as Doves

Cartoon of two boys. One has a box. He says, "It's a magic box. It starts up when you insert twenty dollars."

In any crisis, you’ll have scammers that try to take advantage of a situation. There will be people that will attempt to act like your friend when you are lonely. There will be those who will threaten and cajole because they can manipulate a person’s fear.

Yet there will be others that will be kind, generous and an inspiration to the world. A crisis doesn’t necessarily make good people bad. It merely magnifies what is in a person’s heart; the good and the bad.

I used to be very puzzled by the following Bible verse. But in light of today’s environment, it makes perfect sense to me.

Be ye, therefore, wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Matthew 10:16 (KJV)

Jesus gave his disciples a great paradox. The wicked (and anyone who tries to scam another is doing a wicked act) will be among us. We need not be naive but be as wise as a serpent that is alert for danger and taking evasive action.

At the same time, we are not called to let the wicked affect us and turn us into evildoers. We are to be as harmless as doves. We can do good and be kind without falling into the traps of scammers, spammers, and the generally unethical tricksters.

So beware of the kid with the magical, empty box that only starts up when you insert twenty dollars. and don’t follow his lead!

Cartoon of two boys. One has a box. He says, "It's a magic box. It starts up when you insert twenty dollars."