06Oct 2012 by CJ

Our love affair with coffee is also about brands

Life & Living
Americans certainly love their coffee. According to the National Coffee Association (yes, there is one) coffee consumption was up in 2011 and is expected to continue climbing in 2012. Here’s a few numbers for you. • 40% of 18-24 year olds drink coffee daily, up from 31% in 2010. • 54% of adults age 25-39 said they drink coffee daily, up from 44% in 2010. I’m highlighting the 18-39 crowd because I truly believe that drinking coffee has become more about fashion than about taste and enjoyment. On any given morning take a look around your environment as you head off to work, school or to drop off the kids. You’ll notice most people are carrying disposable cups with Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks logos on them, but few no-name, reusable…
Read More
03Oct 2012 by CJ

A sense of purpose and balance in your work ethic

Life & Living
Everyone has their own personal work ethic. Just look around the places you work and you’ll see a wide variety before you. Some are constant givers – always going above and beyond what’s expected of them – while others do as little as possible within the confines of a 9-5 day. I consider myself one of the “constant givers” – however, you won’t catch me burning the midnight oil at some odd hour, that's part of my work ethic. Why you might ask? Dr. Kathleen Hall says it best: “We have overstretched our personal boundaries and forgotten that true happiness comes from living an authentic life fueled with a sense of purpose and balance.” Our work takes up an enormous part of our lives, and while you certainly should enjoy…
Read More
19Sep 2012 by CJ

The mysterious power of the fall is something most people understand

Information & Education, Life & Living
“The days may not be so bright and balmy—yet the quiet and melancholy that linger around them is fraught with glory. Over everything connected with autumn there lingers some golden spell—some unseen influence that penetrates the soul with its mysterious power.” Northern Advocate I love this time of year - the fall. The temperatures are finally tolerable enough to no longer require the assistance of air conditioners to feel comfortable. The outside air is becoming cool and crisp – forcing us to wrap ourselves tightly under sheets and blankets like moths inside a cocoon. While I love the summer months for walking along the beach or gardening out in the backyard, the fall is truly comforting to me. From the smells to the colors to the gatherings this time of…
Read More
16Sep 2012 by CJ

Gossiping – a wise man knows better than to engage in it

Life & Living, Youth
Today, while listening to the sermon at my wife’s church, I was struck by some profound words the pastor himself had learned from his father many years ago about gossiping. A wise man talks about ideas… An average man talks about events… A simple man talks about other people. Which category do you fall into? Sadly, so many of us spend much of our viable time talking about the lives of others as though we’ve been given the authority to do so. If only we could harness that power and use it for the greater good of humanity and ultimately for ourselves, image the kind of world we’d be living in. Believe me, I’m just as guilty as the next. But there comes a point in your life when you…
Read More
11Sep 2012 by CJ

Brooms aren’t just for witches to get around

Life & Living
Call me crazy, but I think the broom’s longevity for this world has reached its end – at least outdoors. Though I suppose the Halloween witch community is still using them as their transportation of choice. Just looking around my own neighborhood there are two, more popular choices for sweeping decks, driveways and sidewalks: hosing them down with water or using one of those obnoxious leave blower machines. In either case, they only increase just how lazy Americans have gotten. In fact as I write this post my neighbor is outside using the garden hose to clean up a pile of dead grass rather than simply using a broom to dispose of it. Can you say waste of water? And as for those leaf blowing machines, all they really do…
Read More