Mental Energy

Today we have rain. I wrote this a few days ago and have obviously survived....

While I type this, there are huge flakes of snow cascading from the heavens, falling gently on anything and everything that is outside. I work outside. Morning promises to be a little more challenging than the mornings of recent days. Hollywood would paint a picture of serenity and peace with the falling snow. But as a professional driver, I see the reality of shoveling, plowing and idiot drivers on the road that don't know how to prepare for such beauty and serenity. I can handle it. I've been doing this professionally for 20 years. If I prayed, I would pray that the less prepared people would all be safe in the morning.

To continue my series on making a positive change in one's life, I come to Mental Energy. Once you've eliminated the negativity and prepared your body with rest, nutrition and exercise, you need to make sure that you are mentally prepared for your new success. Mental energy can come from passion, emotion and motivation. It results from either the search for pleasure or to avoid pain. Yes, pain. Often we are motivated by fear. It could be a threat of unemployement or actual physical pain.

A good vocabulary isn't a must, but a bad vocabulary can certainly hurt you. Surrounding yourself with people that talk poorly of you will only bring you down. But in contrast, if people encourage each other to always do a little better, what happens is, well, people do better.

What would your life's soundtrack be like? Does the music that you listen to lift your spirits? Does it give you the mental energy that you need to complete your task? Each person is very different. What lifts your spirits may be just the thing that brings mine down. In a day when people seem to be obsessed with music, it's a good idea to have a playlist that will help get you through the tough spots. ( A playlist is like a modern day mix-tape ) Make up a playlist for exercising. Make up something to help you relax. What does your work day sound like. Each of these things can be quite different. Music to help you prepare for a meeting will be different than a night out with friends. And for some, such as myself, quiet time will go far in helping to get things done. I'm the kind of person that really listens to the music. I can't help but to dance, even if it is just in my thoughts. So to concentrate, I turn everything off.

One more way to gain mental energy is to turn to your beliefs. Regardless of your religious affiliations, everyone believes something. Whatever that might be, to spend a little time reflecting on those beliefs, gives you a chance to center yourself mentally and prepare for whatever you are about to tackle.

To summarize, if you have a lofty dream, you must pursue it with passion and urgency, or you will run out of fuel to complete the journey. And if you don't have a driving purpose in life, begin the journey of self discovery today. The Law of Energy says: Human life is sheer physical, mental and spiritual energy. The force for living is abundant in the universe, but may be hidden as mere potential or expressed as kinetic energy. Pursue your goals through a balance of physical, mental and spiritual energy.

I am prepared for what tomorrow holds. Plenty of rest, a good meal and a clear state of mind is a great way to start any day. Snow can be quite peaceful.

Have a great day friends.

Does it Stink in Here?

I love my cars. My long black shiny cars. I am very proud of them. I take very good care of them. They are not only very expensive, but they are how I earn my living.

There are other hearse lovers out there. But I really don't think that they love hearses for the same reasons as I do. I love what we do in my business. We bring a little dignity to an otherwise gruesome experience. We honor the deceased with the finest available for the budget we are given. Whatever that budget may be. I am very proud to be entrusted to drive your loved one to their final resting place. I take my job very seriously and operate with caution and care, every inch of the way.

I feel that these hearse lovers care more about the gruesome side of death and the fact that many people seem to be afraid of their hearse. They use them for shock value. They pick them up cheaply after their life in the industry has ended. They take them to the grocery store or go camping in them. They put zombie stickers in the windows and drive around with coffins in the back. They paint flames down the side and put giant speakers in the back deck. Now I admit that I have been to Hell. Hell Michigan that is for the hearse show held each year before Halloween. It can be fun, but it should not be a way of life.

I operate my funeral coach for funerals only. You will only see it when I am on my way to a funeral, doing a funeral or on my way back to the garage. You will never see it at Mac Donald's. The only place I ever stop is the gas station or car wash. And when I do stop, there is never a body on board. EVER!

Still, the car wash attendants will peek in the back cautiously or I will get odd comments at the gas station. And NO, it doesn't "freak me out to drive that thing".

A hearse is typically the cleanest car you will ever see. Even if a funeral home uses it as a first call vehicle, it must be clean come the next funeral. NO there are no fowl smells!
I recently went around a few times with an on-line forum about how to get the formaldehyde smell out of a hearse a guy had just purchased. I assured him that it was not embalming fluid that he smelled. He more likely smelled cleaning chemicals. To remedy that, simply use hydrogen peroxide and fresh air. Of course throughout the forum, I was told that I know nothing about the funeral business or how it works and that bodies leak fluids all the time. One guy insisted to use Pine-sol because it's the only thing that will cover the smell.

Why?! Why are these people so stupid and yet still allowed to breath the same air as sane people?

Let me be perfectly clear here. I do not haul bodies. I transport people whom have recently deceased. These are people that should always be treated with dignity. The day I start thinking otherwise, is the day I stop working in this industry completely.

I think that people have so many preconceived notions of what goes on and they've heard so many embellished stories from people that have no idea what they are talking about that they can't even fathom the truth. People see a hearse and automatically think it smells bad. So when they smell something, they assume that they know what it is. And that's exactly why we don't use chemicals to clean with.

And while I'm ranting, it is a hearse...H E A R S E. Not Hearst, There is no T. And to be precise, it is actually a funeral coach.

I feel better now.

The Day the Corpse Lent Me A Tie

I often start my day at 5 AM. I have a routine with my dog Pugsley that I dare not miss. I look forward to our routine. It is quality time for the two of us that is only rivaled by our ritual afternoon walks. A funeral service at 10:00 means that visiting starts at 9:00 and we typically have to be there much earlier to have everything set up. A church service requires us to transport everything, including the deceased to the church the morning of the service. We often are just finishing set up as the family arrives in the parking area, at which point I scramble to make sure everyone is parked where they need to be for the procession to the cemetery.

This was not one of those early days. These days always throw me off my game. With a service at noon, everything is pushed back a few hours. When I awake in the morning, I go into a completely different mode. Everything is a little more relaxed. Not so rushed as it typically can be. There was no snow to clear, the hearse was washed, gassed and ready for service. A sense of calm permeates the morning. Until I realize that I've got to leave in 30 minutes and I haven't even showered yet. I quickly rushed through my shower and shave and got myself dressed for the day. I was out the door right on schedule. I drove to the garage, switched cars and proceeded to the funeral home to pick up our guest of honor today and take him to the church. As I drove, I reached to straighten my tie. That's when I realized that I wasn't wearing one. I do not have enough time to scurry back home and get one. So I press on, hoping that someone at the funeral home will have a spare. Then I double checked everything else. Did I put on pants? Am I driving the right vehicle? Am I going to the correct funeral home? Wait! What day is it? What time was I supposed to be there?! Everything else checked out and I proceeded.

When I arrived at the funeral home, I informed the director of the situation. He did not have one, but assured me we would find one somewhere. We searched the employee areas, high and low. He went upstairs into the apartment thinking that surely there would be one there. He found one with a huge stain on it and would not let me be seen with such a mess, representing his establishment. To the basement we went. Into the preproom where another deceased man was awaiting his turn to be viewed by his family and friends. There it was, the perfect tie. The director looked at me, I looked at him. We both shrugged and I thanked the man for the use of his tie for the day and promised to return it before his viewing this evening.

Manifesting Change

I believe that we manifest, or bring in to our lives, whatever we think about. I have watched it for years in every person that I have ever met. I believe that people are awesome. They care about pretty much everything and everyone, always. It's just that they are so busy believing what they have been told, and therefore manifesting it, that they genuinely haven't noticed that in our gorgeous little planet's entire history, there has never been:
- A drought that didn't end
- A storm that didn't clear
- Lightning that didn't retreat
- An earthquake that didn't still
-A flood that didn't recede, nor
-A plague that wasn't eventually, completely, and utterly overwhelmed by the healthy

These are all things that will come to an end. And in the end, we will be here. We'll be here a little smarter, a little stronger and a little better off. These are not things we need to worry about.

We need to stop believing the folklore of the past. Take a good look at reality and create our own future.
Start living a life filled with meaning. A life that will be remembered long after we are gone.