Category Archives: REDONDO BEACH

Ahead of the Game

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“Follow your passion,
be prepared to work hard and
sacrifice, and, above all,
don’t let anyone limit your dreams.”
Donovan Bailey

A Head of The Game

Cyclist and friend at waters edge on the Esplanade

Find Your Passion

I believe everyone needs to find out for themselves what makes them happy. Especially during these unprecedented times, it’s so important to find ways to relax from all the stresses we are experiencing in 2020.

Several years ago I read an article about “Finding Your Passion”. The article was about  losing yourself in a passion and that doing so is not an indulgence. It’s a fundamental part of achieving a kind of happiness known as “Eudaimonia”.

The definition of Eudaimonia is, “a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous.” Eudaimonia is not something new. Aristotle and other Greek philosophers wrote in great detail about this subject.

You don’t achieve Eudaimonia through cheap thrills such as watching your favorite reality show, but through activities where you experience “flow”. This flow is the feeling of total engagement in the activity so that you don’t notice anything outside of what you’re doing. You forget time and you forget yourself. As you concentrate on the activity you are engaged in, you clear your brain of things that are bothering you.

You obtain “flow” when engaging say in an activity such as horseback riding, sailing, editing a movie you shot, drawing, painting, puzzles, games, even washing your car. That’s when you know you have found your passion.

Passion and/or flow helps to eliminate stress, increase happiness and most importantly improve your overall mental health.

Next time you are doing an activity that clears your mind and allows you to lose yourself in what you are doing, take note. For your health and well-being, a little free time is important for everyone. And if you find your passion along the way, you are ahead of the game.

Shine On

The Beach After Quarantine

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“We have been endowed with just enough intelligence
to be able to see clearly just how utterly inadequate
that intelligence is when confronted with what exists.
If this humility could be imparted to everybody,
the world of human endeavors
would become more appealing.”
Albert Einstein

RB After Quarantine Lifted

Shine On

Paradise and Joyfulness

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“I’d rather have roses on my table
then diamonds on my neck.”
Emma Goldman

 

Paradise and Joyfulness

Today on my walk, I came across some birds of paradise that were in full bloom. I couldn’t resist taking some photos of this exotic looking flower which happens to be the official flower of Los Angeles.

How did this South African flower become LAs official flower? Well, back in 1952, Mayor Fletcher Bowron decided to name the bird of paradise the official flower of LA, after heavy lobbying by seed company president and civic booster Manfred Meyberg. Soon after, the plant and seeds from this orange and blue flower became a hot item in nurseries throughout California.

The bird of paradise flower is so named because its magnificently colorful petals resemble a colorful bird in flight. The flower is a symbol of paradise as well as a symbol of joyfulness.

How apropos for Angeleno’s official City flower to be a symbol of paradise and joyfulness.

Shine On

Drives Me Crazy

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“The life you might save might be mine.”
James Dean

Driving You Crazy

405 Freeway  Los Angeles, California

 

I’ve been driving in Los Angeles for almost 50 years. When I first got my license, I enjoyed driving. That quickly changed, when I had to commute a long distance to work and the freeways became a nightmare any time of day.

With the quarantine in Los Angeles, the roads and freeways are less congested but with less congestion, I’ve noticed more drivers speeding and also running red lights. This week alone, I’ve witnessed a half a dozen drivers running red lights. I’m not talking about when the light is yellow, I’m talking about blatantly after the light had turned red.

On my walk the other day, I was coming up on a 4-stop intersection with a 25-mph zone. I watched in disbelief as a driver speeding at what might have been 40-mph blow through the intersection. Luckily for me, I hadn’t stepped out onto the crosswalk yet.

Most of you fellow Blogaholics, I would guess, have been involved in one or more auto accidents. Some may have been minor but chances are they were major involving someone who was critically injured or died. Several years ago, during torrential rain storms in California, I was  driving on the freeway when my 300Z sports car hydroplaned. It rolled several times before crashing right-side up on a patch of grass next to the freeway. I was able to crawl out through the driver’s side broken window without a scratch. To this day, I could never understand how I didn’t hit any other driver and I wasn’t killed.

One of my favorite movie stars, James Dean who at just 24-years old was driving to a car race competition 85 miles an hour when he hit another car head-on as it crossed the center line. The irony was, a few months earlier, Dean and actor Gig Young filmed a public service announcement for the National Safety Council, warning of the dangers of speeding. Dean, dressed as the Texan character he played in his last film, “Giant,” warned that driving too fast on the highway can be even more dangerous than speeding on a race track, where there are “more rules.” He said he didn’t “have the urge to speed on the highway.” He was supposed to end the PSA by saying, “The life you save may be your own,” but decided to ad-lib, joking, “The life you might save might be mine.” Sadly, Dean didn’t follow his own advice and died way too young.

The 2020 statistics say, 1.35 million people die in road accidents Worldwide every year. That’s  3,700 deaths a day. Which brings car crashes as the 8th leading cause of death for people globally. The number of people killed yearly doesn’t seem to affect people’s bad driving habits. I don’t know about you, but 3,700 deaths a day from automobile accidents is too large a number of deaths and just drives me crazy.

Shine On