Still More Pics

More Inauguration Pictures

Here's a picture of 7th St. before everybody arrived.

Here's 7th St. as it became jammed packed.

Yes We Did!

Well we attended the Presidential Inauguration and I must say it was probably one of the most intense things I have ever experienced on many levels. First on a physical level it really was brutal as it was below freezing temperatures and I believe the temps dipped to like eight degrees at its lowest point...Brrrrrr.

We stayed at the beautiful Crystal City Gateway Marriott in Arlington Virginia which was just a hop away from the Mall by metro or cab. We woke up about 2am in the morning, or in my case stayed up all night-I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve-to beat the crowds on the Metro. This was compounded since the Metro was not running until 4am and we wanted to leave before everybody else so we took a cab as close as we could get since the entire city was shut down to incoming traffic except for taxi's and tour buses. As we were driving the State Trooper had the freeway blocked, but pulled back to allow us through. Even then some of the major exits were blocked and we would still have to walk. Once we were there at the Mall we found that it had all been fenced in and the police were still conducting a sweep of the entire Mall.

At first it was a peaceful easy feeling with people sitting and chatting and basically trying to stay warm. It was very common for people to introduce themselves and to say what part of the country they were from. I must say I never traveled so far to meet so many people that lived so close to me. Eventually people started to wake up or arrive from the Metro as the streets began to fill and you could no longer see where the "line" began and ended. The fact that we were "lined" up meant nothing to the "newcomers" who were now pouring in from all streets. It was as if they just converged and for the first time I thought, "wow this is really a big crowd and could turn dangerous" at any minute if they were to start pushing. I quickly put the thought out of my head and continued holding on to my wife as people began to become impatient with waiting in the freezing cold and we started to get pushed together pretty tightly.

I did my best to keep good feelings and many were joking and keeping our spirits high. At one point a group of people calling themselves "volunteers" started trying to make their way through the crowd to the gate, but they had no "official" anything. They just all had red on as if that was somehow supposed to distinguish them as volunteers. The crowd gave them a hard time at first and some made it through and others just got trapped as the wave of people opened to allow them through and then closed. The running joke became, "I have red on too, I must be a volunteer." I think the Inaugural Committee would have thought this one out a little better. I mean you try to tell people that have been waiting over night that this person who wants to get in front of you is a volunteer is a lot to swallow.

At some point there was a police van that tried to get to the gate and just parked there at the entrance waiting. There wasn't much to do except try to stand and stay warm. At one point some of the people thought they were letting people in and people began to push and my heart just sank as I thought oh this could be deadly if people keep pushing. I and a few others started yelling not to push and somehow the pushing quelled. I felt great relief, but then chanting broke out and I thought they are going to have to let us in or they are going to have a bigger problem.

As if my prayer was answered around 5:00AM they opened the gates and then the danger became obvious as everybody began to run and fast. I grabbed my wife's hand and told her not to let go as we ran too to avoid being knocked to the ground. It was both exciting and scary at the same time. I couldn't believe how close we were actually getting to the Capital before it became impacted. We had a plan as one of our party wanted to stand in front of the first Jumbo Tron on the left side. As we were running there was strobe lights for some reason, so imagine everybody running with a strobe light flashing created a very surreal effect. Finally we reached our destination and we staked our ground by placing our blanket on the ground. It was amazing to see the Capital all lit up and people just everywhere you could imagine. It was a sea of people as far as you could see. Most sat on the ground which was a combination of frosty dead grass and dirt which made for a very cold seat.

Around this time, we ate our peanut butter (I know) and jelly sandwiches and some trail mix and began to hunker down and try to stay warm. It was dark and cold and we talked and chatted and texted and everything else we could think to do, but at some point we all just sort of sat or laid down. Some tried to sleep and the rest of us tried to conserve energy by not talking. We took out hand warmers and placed them in our gloves and found that they were indeed little miracles in that these little things can give off some serious heat which is what you need when your fingers feel like they can freeze. Eventually we placed some in our shoes to warm our toes, but somehow they didn't seem to work as well as the hand warmers, maybe because it was too darn cold on the ground. Some in our group covered themselves with blankets that are used to treat shock in case of an emergency and this seemed to help against the wind, because tents were not allowed.

There we sat in silence. No noise no Jumbo Tron. Just the beautiful crescent moon that gave off a nice yellow glow. At some point you could see the sun just beginning to rise and a crackle of noise was given off by the speakers of the Jumbo Tron and the crowd went crazy. A little later when the sun began to light the Mall they began to play a repeat of the concert from the day before and again the crowd went crazy. Any sign of life brought a cheer from an otherwise groggy crowd. A helicopter flew overhead and the crowd cheered as if signaling an S.O.S. Somehow an acknowledgement that we were there and alive.

Change in 2009

I'm headed to the Inauguration this coming week and I'm really beginning to feel excited. I mean this is history in the making. I have to say that I have really enjoyed this past couple of years of political campaigning. Yes there were some really tough times and yes it got a little ugly, o.k. at times it was bloody. However I must say that one of the things I admire most about our soon to be President is his ability to take a higher road or look for the spiritual solution to what otherwise might seem like an insurmountable problem. He rises above the fray. He tries to do what he believes is right and good for the whole. That is the impression I get and I am very happy to see change coming. I believe he means it when he says he wants to change the way we do politics. Now whether he will be able to accomplish his goal remains to be seen, but I believe he will stay the course and fight the good fight.

Now I don't usually write about politics, but I must say that Obama is one of the finest examples of using Success Principles to attain your goals. I get the feeling that this guy really believes that as we think so we become. He is living proof that what we believe we can achieve. He definitely shows this in his thoughts, words, and now his actions. I think he also has the wonderful ability to lead by example and his oratory skills are amazing. He has already given so much hope and inspiration to so many. Even those that don't know him feel an affinity to him when they listen to him speak.

So where does this lead us all to? Well I believe that we all have our strengths and gifts and when we discover what our life purpose is all about and begin to live our life from this place we become powerful. Not in a power hungry sort of way, but in a presence sort of way. We begin to realize our potential and we become an energy that is focused and well powerful. Even though the gift may be natural it still requires work and exercise to bring it to it's full potential and the same is true for us. We must live our life in a balanced way by certain principles that guide us. Things that are found from any good leader or successful person. Today I heard Obama speak about responsibility of the people, and of the political leaders, and of the responsibility of the people to hold their leaders accountable, as well as taking responsibility for ourselves.

This is huge as it is the number one principle that Jack Canfield writes about in "The Success Principles." Most people miss how important this principle is but there isn't a person alive who has become successful at what they do without taking 100% responsibility. The reason this is such a powerful success principle is that when we take responsibility for everything, good, bad, or other, we accept that we played a role in it and we are ultimately the creators of our life, and if we don't like the results that we are getting we can then begin to change (there's that word again) how we do them. Now if we don't accept responsibility then we blame everybody else for our problems and we feel helpless and victimized.

And this is what makes Obama such a strong leader already. He acknowledges his strengths and weaknesses. He knows he is going to make mistakes but he is willing to take responsibility for his decisions, his best thinking, with the help of a few dozen others. So in order for us to take control of our lives we must be willing to accept 100% responsibility for all that we see around us. We are either living our life on pupose or by default. Which is it going to be? One is empowering even if we "fail" or fall short of our goals and the other is a life of sleeping through it all. This is not a dress rehearsal so wake up!

I will be posting some video footage from Washington DC very soon so stay tuned.

In Peace, Love, and Abundance,

George

Your Life in 2009

Well the New Year is here and this is the perfect time to write about goals vs. resolutions and promises and agreements that we want to keep with ourselves to make 2009 the best year ever, but I would like to suggest something New for this year.

While having goals is important and I'm a big believer in having goals to direct the sails of our life, I would like for us to take a look at how we are treating ourselves this year. Are we being kind, gentle, and loving towards ourselves?

I caught just a sound bite of Oprah the other day saying how angry she was at herself for gaining back all the weight she had lost and it sort of stuck out as a major problem that most of us have when we are trying to lose weight, eat right, earn more, get a new job, or relationship, or whatever. Most of us are not loving and accepting of ourselves to say "hey I may not have lost that twenty pounds, but I'm still a worthy person."

Most of us have that inner critic going strong that is telling us that we are just not good enough or else we would have already lost the weight, bought the house, have the job, relationship, or whatever other lie the critic can come up with to bring us down.

The truth of the matter is that we are all lovable and capable, and the sooner we find this out and start to treat ourselves like the wonderful, beautiful, miracles that we are the quicker we will attain those goals, promises, agreements, or whatever else you want to call them. In fact, until we feel good enough about ourselves that we believe that we truly deserve whatever it is we are seeking, we will not attain it, or will not be able to hold onto it for long if we do.

So before you go getting upset at yourself for not eating right, not exercising, not making enough money, not having the right relationship, not living in the right neighborhood, or not driving the right car, or whatever delusion the ego will create for you, try stopping the critic by becoming consciously aware and begin loving the person you truly are from the inside out.

Now if this is new for you then you may find that getting in touch with your authentic self can be a time of self-discovery and you may think of it as getting to know a romantic partner. In fact, you may begin to have a wonderful relationship with yourself, and then when you are overflowing with self-love will you begin to attract those things that you want for your life.

Wishing You Much Love and Prosperity for 2009!

George