Seeking Coastal Utopia

Hygiene is important. Cleanliness is next to godliness and all that. Hygiene is important everywhere but it is very important in the workplace. Hygiene means you do not smell like a goat. It means you try to wash your hands, face, your hair, or your body. It means you take effort in shaving or brushing your hair. “dude, brush your teeth” photo by Dan Cook on  Unsplash It even means brushing your teeth. If we are talking on the elevator and less than arm’s length away, admittedly, I do not want to smell your stale coffee breath and what you had for breakfast this morning, nor do you wish to smell my bacon-egg-jalapeno bagel let alone see it stuck in my teeth.  Men and ladies, quick tips, keep a travel-size deodorant, floss, toothbrush, and toothpaste in your work bag, just in case , it will surprise you how often you use it. “I can still smell it” photo by Paulo Silva on  Unsplash Hygiene does not need to come with overpowering scents. These scents inc...

We are an angry country right now — these are angry times. “fried egg in bowl” by KS KYUNG on  Unsplash There has to be something in the water, maybe it is all the pharmaceuticals we are peeing into our drinking water? Are there mind altering brain waves coming through social media to make us angry ? Somebody, please get me the aluminum foil! You wake up every day, you breathe one more breath, your heart continues to beat. You are able to move on through the rest of the day. Some days there are more bonus points than others, but guess what? You are still here, in this moment, and you have the choice to make — be a jerk or be nice. Hopefully, you choose “be nice” since that is how you wish to be treated. When you meet people every morning on your way to wherever it is you go every day, how do you greet those that you know? What sort of look do you have on your face? Is it a slack, deeply drawn face? Is your face pinched in pain or thought? Is it a scowl because the li...

Why are we always at each other’s throats? Why have we all become evil? Is it really that hard to say “Please” and “Thank You” in today’s world? Heck, even saying “hi” or “Hello” to someone you do not know is becoming frowned upon. I do not think that we have become so self-absorbed that we cannot even extend a simple courtesy to our fellow humans. Take the time and effort to learn these simple phrases. Please and Thank You can go a long way when you are trying to build relationships . “please dont try to sleep here signage” by Maria Freyenbacher on  Unsplash “May we please have guidance on how to be more polite?” Most certainly! Thank you for asking! Remember that you are always learning how to listen and understand. When you hear someone speaking, you should listen to what their words mean . The intent. If you do not understand what they are trying to say, please be sure to ask them to help you better understand. It may be necessary for you to explain what y...

Have you ever sent a flaming email? Have you ever received one of those flame emails? How did you feel when you wrote that evil email? Did you feel powerful?  Did you feel that you were in a better position after sending it, letting the world (your recipient) feel your fury?  Did it make your arguments stronger? How about when you receive one of those emails? How does that make you feel about being on the receiving end of a flaming email or of an angry letter? What sort of flooded feeling did the email give you?  Did you feel the anger boiling inside? The dropped feeling like your guts were liquefied?  Think about the end result, was the objective reached? Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln were some of the many notable figures in history to learn the art of writing this poison pen letter.  Yet most often those letters were never sent.  Each of these men and others understood the purpose and reason of writing these letters.  They also understood the ...