A Month of Sailing
 _ "To reach a port, we must sail—Sail, not tie at anchor—Sail, not drift."
Franklin Roosevelt
We are now well into our new year. This is a good time to check our course and our progress. How are we doing so far? Maybe we are doing everything well and are headed right where we want to be headed. Or maybe we need to make a few course corrections.
If a change is needed, this is a perfect time to do so. While we may be more aware of the rapid and turbulent waters of our life than we are of the calm, smooth passages, the river of our life is flowing gracefully towards the sea. We are making progress and moving forward whether we see it or not. In every moment change is occurring.
The cells of our body are being replaced with new ones. Our atoms and molecules are being exchanged with those surrounding us. From half way around the globe, the elements that will become part of us are being freed up and reassembled into the forms that will sustain and nurture us. New ideas and understandings combine to replace earlier ones. All the vision of the future is gathering together and we are moving into it.
Maybe we can use this moment to again look at our life. Whether we actively use it in a dedicated way, or allow it to peacefully move forward in a more gently passive way, it is moving forward. We have been given a precious gift and opportunity with this very life breath. Let's use it well.
"If you don't know where you are going,
you'll end up someplace else." Yogi Berra
 The Starter of New Things _ Ask yourself this question:
"Will this matter a year from now?"
- Richard Carlson
Happy New Year! Every new year holds such promise and excitement. I hope this is the starting point of many new and wonderful things in your life.
Several years ago the wonderful comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes" by Bill Waterson ended its long and successful run on a note of magic and optimism. As the two friends look out on a world freshly blanketed with a new pure layer of snow, Hobbes says to Calvin "Everything familiar has disappeared! The world looks brand new!"
"A day full of possibilities," responds Calvin, "It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' Buddy..." And as the two of them hop on a sled and go off making the first new marks on the pristine landscape, Calvin ends the 3160th strip with "...let's go exploring."
I think this is a great way to approach the promise of the new year. It's a magical world. Let's go exploring.
"Ideas are like stars, you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and, following them, you reach your destiny."
— Carl Schurz
 The last Calvin and Hobbes strip
The End of Another Year
 The Keeper of Silence __ "To select well among old things, is almost equal to inventing new ones." - Nicholas Charles Trublet
As we come to the close of another year and we celebrate the holidays with all of our loved ones we look back with amazement and reverence. The precious gift of life that we have been given deserves the respect of this moment of reflection.
What have we done with the last portion of time, and what will we do with the next? What will we treasure the memory of? What were we glad to be a part of? Who were we glad to celebrate the journey with? What did we learn? How did we grow? What made us smile?
In her book SHED, Julie Morgenstern talks about naming, actually giving a title to, the different times of your life. By doing so, she suggests that you get a clearer picture of which parts are of value and which parts are not. Keep the parts that are of value, and let the rest go. You can't keep every item, memory, or souvenir. You would become so weighed down that you couldn't move. But it is a disservice to discard everything. We need to honor the full process and the journey of our lives.
What would name would you give to your life so far? How about this last year? What name will you give to this next chapter of your life? You get to choose. It's up to you. The new year starts soon, and we all begin again fresh. Let's have some fun with this - Let's dream big!
" The significance of a man is not in what he attains but in what he longs to attain." - Kahlil Gibran
Happy Birthday to The "Mother of Invention" and "Grandmother of Galaxies"  "The Provider of First Memories" __"Everything you do counts forever. You are an expression of the whole process of creation; you are a co-creator."
-- Barbara Marx Hubbard This last week the birthday of Barbara Marx Hubbard was celebrated. After hearing and reading her work for many years, I finally had the chance to meet her in person at this warm and wonderful gathering in Santa Barbara, Ca, held at the home of her friend Eve Konstantine. Barbara had just finished hosting a live global event called "Birth 2012, Synergy Day", with ten other visionary thought leaders, which was presented to an audience of over 12,000 people.
This bright shining person has spent much of her life inspiring others and trying to bring goodness into the world. She is often credited with coining the term "Conscious Evolution". This term addresses the incredible ability that we each have. We each have the ability to consciously choose to become more. Every creature evolves, but we have the ability to choose how we will evolve.
And with this amazing ability there also comes a challenge. What will we choose to become more of? Will we choose to become more generous and kind? Will we choose to become better caretakers of the world we have been entrusted to care for? Will we choose to become wiser and more compassionate? Will we choose to put the gifts and talents that we have been given to a noble and worthwhile endeavor? Or will we settle for something less?
Perhaps no other species has ever been given the incredible range of potential that we have. We can invent and dream machines to fly around the world or into space. We can record our voices and our images for future generations not yet born. We can harness the power of the sun and wind and earth to power our lives. And perhaps no other species has ever been given the ability to change and shape all of the future with the choices it makes.
As we approach the end of one year and the start of a new one, we again have the ability to choose to embrace our precious gift of life with a new excitement and vision. “We are poised in this critical moment, facing decisions that must be made consciously if we are to avoid destroying the world as we know it, if we are instead to co-create a future of immeasurable possibilities. Our conscious evolution is an invitation to ourselves, to open to that positive future, to see ourselves as one planet, and to learn to use our powers wisely and ethically for the enhancement of all life on Earth.“ -- Barbara Marx Hubbard
The Importance of Starting
 _ "Do not wait; the time will never be ''just right.'' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." — Napoleon Hill Sometimes we hesitate to start. We think that there is some 'perfect' condition or moment that has to be reached before we are willing to venture out from the safe and comfortable into the unknown. We wait to launch our wonderful vision and beauty. In our desire for security and perfection, we hold back. As a result of our cautiousness, we may keep this element of wonder tightly locked inside. Our desire to protect this little seed may result in its never being planted at all. And the whole world becomes just a little less for our caution.
During the last month I was listening to a re-broadcast of an interview of Seth Godin on the "BRAINSTORMIN' with Billy the Brain" radio show. In this interview, he and the host Bill Frank were talking about the importance of taking initiative. Seth said that we do not have a shortage of capital, buildings, or workers. What we suffer from is a shortage of willingness. Willingness to take the initiative, to step up and say,"I'll do it." They went on to talk about Starbucks. Talking about how the company grew after the original founders sold their company to Howard Schultz, Seth said that he gave the highest credit to the founders. "First starters make it real," he said. There are tons of people who can help improve things or make them better, but nothing happens without someone bold enough to take that first step.
Each of us have the opportunity to make the world a better place. We have the opportunity to plant a great new seed. We have the opportunity to start. "Don't spend your precious time asking 'Why isn't the world a better place?' It will only be time wasted. The question to ask is 'How can I make it better?' - To that there is an answer." — Leo F. Buscaglia
Welcome to the Golden Paladins website. We're so happy you stopped by. We hope you'll find beauty and inspiration here. We will be adding new things on a regular basis, so please come back again and again.
"The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
— Lao Tzu
This is so EXCITING ! After many months of effort and anticipation, the long wait is finally over! We are finally live. The book is now available on AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, and can be ordered at your FAVORITE LOCAL BOOKSTORE. The website is launched, and a vast "GOLDEN PALADINS" product line is now available.
A huge deep and heartfelt THANK YOU to all the many friends and family who have been so incredibly supportive on this journey. And a special note of appreciation to Katherine Francis, who has been there every step of the way.
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