Choices. We make them all the time. What we want to wear. What we want to do. What we want to eat. The decisions and options are endless. Some choices are hard to make. Some are so ingrained that we make them without having to think.

It is easy to let your brain go on autopilot isn’t it? We make choices all the time this way. I am not so sure it is the best way.

I have tried to pay attention of late to how and why I make the choices that I do. Why did I respond to that question the way I did? Why did I not get done what I set out to do? Why did I say yes to that extra piece of cake? Every one of these decisions stemmed from a choices, and maybe an earlier choice.

It may seem like I am being picky here, but all of the little choices are as important as the big ones. It is smaller choices that pave the way to the bigger ones. The little details are important.

The truth is this: I am responsible for me. I chose the way I respond to things. If I choose to get upset with my son because he misbehaves, it is a choice that I make. How I handle the situation is a choice. How I fashion my words to correct him is a choice. How I give him instruction (positively or negatively) is a choice. How I reassure him after correcting the wrong action is a choice as well. Through the entire ordeal, I can choose the message I want to convey to him.

This is relevant to all of life. We make choices every day that are building blocks for other choices. If I lay a foundation of good choices, I can continue to make good choices. I will get things accomplished. I can build trust with people. If I choose not to deal with whatever the issue is at hand, that is a choice as well and problems can compound from there.

So, I choose to show my family love and not frustration. I choose to eat things that are good for me, because I want to live life to the full and be here for my family. I choose to be responsible for me.

I have turned off the autopilot. The ride may be bumpy at times, but when I arrive at my destination it will be where I have chosen to go.

I wrote this after ten years of marriage. I feel it even more after 21 years gone by. I love you Marixa!

If I had known what lay down this path

When I started down it long ago

I would not change a thing

I would not be who I am now

If the path had been different.

Of this I am sure

Loving you has shaped me.

You have helped me grow

Into a man that I am proud to be.

Each new day I wake up more in love

With the woman that I married.

She is so much more than the girl she once was.

Like stars colliding our paths intertwined

A gravity that we could not explain drew us in

We are still locked blissfully in love’s stronghold.

I am a decade down this road

Through paths that have curved and turned

But the journey has been so very sweet

For all of my life this path I will travel

Walking beside you hand in hand

For as I travel along with you, my heart is at home.

I wrote this in 1999 after a dear friend was killed in a car accident. I still think about her to this day.

Verse 1

The Flower it grew from the earth to the sky. When it was in bloom, a rich and beautiful sight. It lit up the lives of all who came round. It was marveled until the day it was trampled to the ground.

Oh how the fragrance filled the room. Oh how our hearts are torn in two.

Chorus

You will grow in our hearts. You remain in our minds. You still bloom in the memories of those you left behind. And we look toward the day when our tears will be no more. Until then, you will grow and remain in the garden of our souls.

Verse 2

I can see you know in the master’s care growing in that garden we so long to share. For now your memory is all we have, but it won’t always be. Someday in God’s sweet garden, your beauty we again will see

Oh how the fragrance filled the room. Oh how our hearts are torn in two.

Chorus

You will grow in our hearts. You remain in our minds. You still bloom in the memories of those you left behind. And we look toward the day when our tears will be no more. Until then, you will grow and remain in the garden of our souls.

I gave a presentation in my Toastmasters group today. It was a decent presentation. That is not what this post is about though. I was reminded today of another reason why I love the Toastmasters organization.

First off, I have to say it has made an amazing difference in my life. It is awesome to see the progress I have made since I joined my first group 8 years ago. I’ve had many opportunities to speak in front of groups and encourage people. That is one reason I love it. I was reminded today of another reason why I really enjoy Toastmasters. I will get to that in a minute. Let me tell you why I joined.

Speaking in public is never been a fear of mine. I’m one of those strange guys that can get up in front of room, without something to say, and talk for 30 minutes. Boy, have I said some dumb things when I do that!

So, if that’s not the reason…why did I join Toastmasters? Simply put, I had no fear of speaking in public, but needed major help on the right way to say things. No, I didn’t say bad things. Many times I just didn’t convey what I actually meant. When you’re talking to a group that can be a problem.

When the opportunity presented itself in 2012 to join the Toastmasters group at my company I jumped into the deepens and really worked the program. I’m really glad I did. I have become more confident speaker. I have become a more eloquent speaker. And, more importantly, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and learn from some amazing people.

Many people don’t realize that Toastmasters is not just a public speaking organization. It is also a leadership development organization. It has given me the opportunity over the last eight years to lead groups of people in big and small ways. I have served my clubs in small rolls during weekly meetings, and I’ve also served many clubs as a director at the larger organizational level. In every step there have been opportunities to work with, encourage, and help people from all walks of life.

Seeing the development people make in this program is so amazing. I was reminded of this today. I watched one of our members give a presentation that she had delivered once before. She took the feedback from the earlier presentation and was able to take this presentation to the next level. It was so good to see.

Even better than that though. She has made so much progress since she first started. Participating in the club has given her confidence. It has given her opportunity to practice and improve. It has given her the opportunity to be herself in front of a group of people and be comfortable at the same time. That is amazing.

I want to be a part of things like this. We are a diverse group of people from many different countries with different backgrounds and beliefs. Despite that, we meet together weekly to work on our goals together. We find strength as a group. We are better together and getting better still. Yet another reason I love Toastmasters.

I wrote this lyric in 1998. It is hard to believe this much time has gone by and I still like it.

Verse 1

I never expected to meet someone like you with a heart full of love that cares like you do. I never intended to be lost in thought this way wondering what to do next, without the words to say.

Verse 2

You see, life has been so hard out here on my own searching for answers, ones I thought I’d known. I’d give anything, for once to know the truth and just when I needed, I found you.

Chorus

I hope you know what you’ve meant to me. You showed the way, I was blind but now I see. How can I say thank you for all the things you’ve done? I know the way you love me my life has just begun, with you.

Verse 3

It is a strange feeling not to be alone. For the longest time I’ve had no place to call my own. For years I chose to refuse my first love. Now I’m safely here, You are more than enough.

Chorus

I hope you know what you’ve meant to me. You showed the way, I was blind but now I see. How can I say thank you for all the things you’ve done? I know the way you love me my life has just begun, with you.