Musings on a Monday Morning from Mike Mullin…

The weekly Newsletter of Without A Vision Consultancy LLC

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July 8, 2019 – Relationships

Good morning!
Mowed the lawn three different times in the last ten days — and we don’t fertilize.
We are an anticipatory society, but I think this year some might have double-dipped to sneak or snag a nine-day July #4 holiday.
We did our tiny little part for world peace and understanding as we coincidentally hosted people from six different countries in our backyard.
Next year, please, let’s do away with Joey Chestnut’s gluttony and search instead, qualitatively, for the best potato salad — and maybe best baked beans, too.

After more than fifty years of a steady paycheck I’m now foraging for my own groceries.

A bit scary, but also exhilarating; nothing like hunger and a mortgage to get a person motivated.

My family has been in this part of the world since well before the U.S. Revolutionary War, about nine generations back.

Most of my ancestors were rugged farmers, lumberjacks, school people, and resourceful homemakers… I’m hoping I inherited a few of their can-do genes.

Where’s the beef?

Apparently in the roots of the soybean (and alfalfa) plant.

Heme is a molecule found in meat, fish, and plants… humans have consumed it daily for millennia… tastes just like meat — because heme is the flavour of meat.

Did you watch any of the World Cup?

I found myself glued to the set for nearly an hour straight… no commercials, no breaks, no time-outs.

Unlike more-traditional U.S. sports there apparently is no snacking, beverage consumption, or bathroom breaks associated with soccer.

The industrial-sized weed whackers used to trim around the trees in the local parks will soon kill dozens of trees if something isn’t done.

The cumulative effect of whacking away at the base of the trees with these high-powered machines is slowly but surely destroying the outer and inner bark at ground level.

And, soon the cambium layer will be exposed… instant death (remember from grade #3 science?).

The cambium layer is like a tree’s carotid artery.

Hike a mile in any direction from the epicenter of St. Cloud (or your city where you are) and you’ll encounter a vast socioeconomic range.

Try this exercise (double entendre)… hike every street, every alley, every avenue in all directions.

You will encounter multi-millionaires, perhaps a billionaire, plenty in the middle, those in abject poverty, and hundreds experiencing homelessness.

Yes, they’ve done the research many times here in this city — and hundreds is the accurate number.

Please take a hike down to the outdoor plaza of the St. Cloud Public Library.

There you will find an extensive display of flags representing countries from around the world.

Ninety-four of us will have to move and live somewhere else.

Or, if you prefer (and why wouldn’t you?), including the Dakotah and the Ojibwe, ninety-six of us must move.

According to this researched public display, people from ninety-seven different non-U.S. countries of origin populate St. Cloud.

According to Business News Daily, here are the top six reasons leaders (managers) fail:

Lack of trust in subordinates or team members
Excessive connectivity; i.e., micromanaging
Stagnancy
Needing to be liked
Hypocrisy
Failing to set clear expectations

By now you might have noticed the running Without a Vision commentary on relationships — continued here:

Feelings get hurt, assumptions get made, mutual interests change, behaviour — being human — is flawed, trust is damaged, jealousy is cancerous, egos are fragile and vulnerable, people age, health and wellness ebb, something new and unexpected inserts itself, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and sustaining a healthy relationship is just plain old hard work — and who wants to work hard?!

From the outside looking in it will often appear that a relationship between two people — not your own — is an effortless romp, but rarely would that be true.

I’m a big fan of the so-called millennials; among their many contributions they have helped to teach us about balance in life — or better yet, how to apply it.

“If you are working on something you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed, the vision pulls you.” (Dominguez)

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