Phantom Ranch To Ribbon Falls - Hiking In The Grand Canyon

Some pictures from a day hike from Phantom Ranch to Ribbon Falls.  Great scenery and a fairly easy hike.  Fairly flat, some good shade locations,  with one small hill before you get to the falls .  It is beautiful walking through the narrow valley with high rock walls on each side and a stream going down the middle.  Some cool bridges that you cross along the way.  Don't take the shortcut just before you get to the falls and try to cross the stream.  Don't forget to climb the stairs to go behind the falls.

Please enjoy the song "Seen That Look Before" by "Be Ready To Listen"

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South Kaibab Trail To Phantom Ranch - Hiking Down The Grand Canyon

Some pictures hiking down the Grand Canyon starting from the South Rim going via the South Kaibab Trail with the ultimate destination of Phantom Ranch.  Please enjoy the song "Seen That Look Before" by "Be Ready To Listen".

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My Grandma

Next month it will be 30 years since my grandmother died.  Recently I was told that every 30 years the moon does a full cycle (1 degree per month) and if something is bothering you today, it might be related to something that happened to you 30 years ago.

I recently shared an “origin story” at a work dinner (no, not about how I got my superpowers).  It was a sharing of something in your life that helped make you who you are today.  My story naturally came to me to talk about my grandma.

My grandparents lived nearby when I was young.  I would go there by myself and usually when I arrived, my grandfather would be lying down having a nap and if it was in the afternoon, my grandmother would be watching one of the many soap operas on TV.  As a child I never understood how much she enjoyed them, and if I knew now what I know, I would have visited at a different time, so as not to disturbed her.

When I would arrive, I would say hello to my grandpa and he would say where my grandma was.  If she was watching a soap, she would immediately turn it off and come sit in the veranda with me and my grandpa.

In today's world, you would say “just a minute while I record the show” or “I got it recording, how are you doing?”  But back then, the show was on the aerial (Google it), and there were no VCR’s (Google it), or PVR’s (Google it), or pause buttons on your iPad so that you could watch it later.  I was so important to her that she would immediately turn it off.

As I'm telling this story, I realize now that she was possibly the best listener that I ever knew.  Never interrupting me as I talked, and willing to always listen.  I have tried to be a person that listens to everything that someone says, but it is hard.  We are always trying to interject or comment before the person is done or our impatience gets in the way.  Often we miss so much interrupting people.  Sometimes people discussing a problem come up with their own solution on their own and only needed someone to listen.

Her death 30 years ago probably is not something I ever got over.  As I think about this blog’s name and the songs I have written, I know now that she was a great inspiration in my life.  She has been gone for more years than she was with me alive.  It's hard to forget someone, even after that amount of time.

My next song that I will release is called “Seen That Look Before” and I dedicate it to her.

New Song Called "One Day" By "Be Ready To Listen"

About a week ago I finally released my first single.  It was a long journey and it feels great to have something out there.  I hope some people like it.

Here are the lyrics:

1st Verse

As I'm walking alone

I wonder who I am

And the time

It's moving on

My mind can't stay

To live today

That moment’s gone

2nd Verse

As I'm walking with you

Thoughts wander to the past

Troubled heart

My mind is drawn

I should listen

Words forgotten

That moment's gone

Pre-Chorus

And I know as the days go past

Missing times that will never last

They’re gone away, I've wasted days

And I know that someday I'll look back

At these times I was never at

They’re gone away, I've wasted days

I've wasted days

Chorus

One day

I'm gonna listen to the words you say

One day

I'm gonna change my selfish ways

Don't go away (By Backup Singer)

Please stay here

Today (By Backup Singer)

I am here

One day (By Backup Singer)

I'll live one day

Guitar Solo

3rd Verse

I have so many fears

What others think of me

And there's loss

The list is long

The chance to fail

Hide in life's veil

That moment's gone

Repeat Pre Chorus

Repeat Chorus

Ending

One day

Be Ready To Listen

A famous guru was once asked, "How should I be your disciple?  Should I worship you?  Should I accept every word as truth?"  The guru replied, "Neither one.  Just open your mind to the possibility that what I'm saying could be true" - From the book "The Future Of God: A Practical Approach To Spirituality For Our Times" - Deepak Chopra

You are probably wondering why I am writing a post that has the same title of the blog after many initial posts.  I don't know the answer.

I have found with my children that they are not always willing to listen to advice when I want to give it.  That is one of the reasons I am writing this blog, so they can read it later when they are ready.  They will be given advice throughout their lives, and it will be up to them to decide if it is worth following.  But first, they must listen.

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear - Famous Old Quote (Not sure who)

My understanding of the above quote is, until the student is ready to listen, there is no need for the teacher to show up and start teaching.  The teacher is wasting time being there since the message goes straight through the student's ears.  There is a huge difference when the student's attitude is set to listen and learn instead of set to "I have to be here, I don't want to be here".

In today's world, we have many distractions like email, texts, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, news alerts, etc that take us away from where we are in the present moment.  When we jump immediately to the notifications, we basically are telling the person that is talking to us that our electronic world is more important.  It is a strange thing considering that after the person walks away, the notification will still be there.  Jerry Seinfeld, starting about 40 seconds into the following video talks about this.

Sometimes when a child is upset, you will be wasting your time trying to instruct them if they are not ready to listen.  A child (just like an adult) needs time to reflect and calm themselves down before they are bombarded with advice.  When the child is ready to listen, you need to be ready to listen as well.  This post is not just about a parent trying to insert some wisdom into their child, but also the need for the parent to listen as well (and possibly receive some wisdom too).

With your child, you will have to find out when they are most willing to talk to you.  Often when a parent arrives home, they want to grill their children with questions.  This is our way of saying that they must comply with our schedule and answer when we want them to answer.  They may not be in a mood to do that (doing homework, playing, etc) so you have to test different situations to find out what works best.  Picking them up from school or meeting them when they get off the bus seems to be a good time for my children to open up about their day.  They actually compete with each other to tell about their day first.

I once heard the advice that if you have a child that is difficult to put to bed, that is a good time to sit on their bed and ask them about their day.  It gives them a chance to delay bedtime and gives you a good opportunity to sit and listen.

When a child wants to talk to you about something, you need to drop everything and listen (within reason, not when you're bench pressing 200 lbs).  This window of opportunity doesn't always last long.  You need to remember that every child is unique and what works for one child may not work for the other.  Even if the child is talking to you about something like a new video game or an episode of Spongebob that you don't know anything about, listen, this discussion is important to them and will make them feel comfortable to talk to you about other things in the future.

One of my pet peeves is when someone asks another question while the person is answering the first question.  This is another way of saying that you are not listening to their first answer (since you are thinking in your head about another question).  You most likely will miss out on a lot of information if this is your common practise.

We have two ears and one mouth.  We should listen twice as much as we talk.

Our children only live in our homes for about 18 years and then they typically move out to start working or start some form of post secondary school education.  18 years is not very long, don't wait until they have moved out to be ready to listen.