thatgirlisfunny.com

Adventures in Living a Healthy, Juicy Life

by Cheryl Ragsdale

These photographs fascinate me because I have a paralyzing fear of heights. I’m reminded of how different we are from each other. What’s funny is that we go through life expecting others to agree with our individual points of view.  Maybe this isn’t true for you, but I have a habit of diminishing or undermining people for having opinions that don’t agree with mine (that usually looks like me rolling my eyes). I reassure myself that I’m right and everyone else is wrong. “Everyone should see it MY way.”

I most definitely don’t have the same point of view as these construction guys. They have no fear of heights. I wonder, does this feel risky to them?  Are they pushing through fear or is this perfectly comfortable behaviour for them?

I think where I go wrong, sometimes, is assuming that there’s only one way to look at things. I’m amused (or flabbergasted) by people who, when faced with “perfectly clear” instructions manage to find a completely different interpretation which leads them, unfortunately, to the wrong answer. Wonderfully creative, but dead wrong because the objective was for you to follow my instructions based on MY point of view not yours.

How does this fit in with

Staying Young – from the inside out?

Next time you’re in conversation with someone and you bump into that uncomfortable feeling of “uh, oh…where did I lose you? How did you end up over there?” – don’t get mad! Recognize that you’re facing a human being who doesn’t see the world the same way as you.

Of course, there are instances and circumstances where people have to be in agreement about interpretations and have clear understanding about what works and what doesn’t. Let’s stick to the situations of minor importance that end up becoming colossal misunderstandings…

For instance, consider the following comments that accompany these photos on baconbabble.com

Louis said, “The first one looks a bit fake, as does the third from the end, both seem to be in the same place. The white mist around the beam gives it away.”

Carlos said, “Apparently, these photos are all fakes intended to show the American people how great their construction workers were. In actual fact (well, apparently anyway) most of the skyscrapers in NYC were built by ‘fearless’ native indian tribes who had no fear of heights whatsoever. FYI.”

patg said, “The pictures are very real, the indians that were brought in were Mohawks from Canada that aided in the construction of the empire state building.”

Benny said, “Are you blind? These people are white.”

Sarah said, “Carlos: whilst there were a few hundred Mohawk workers, the majority of the 3,400 workers used were white Europeans.”

Deborah said, “The 6th photo from the top (and possibly some of the others) was taken by Charles C. Ebbets during the building of Rockefeller Center. It’s a very interesting story, his family didn’t realize that he had taken what would become Getty Images best selling photograph until a few years ago when Ebbet’s widow saw the poster in a bagel shop and told her daughter, ‘I think your father took that picture.’  Take a look at their website http://www.ebbetsphoto-graphics.com“

Ivan said, “well you know what it is great that someone wants to be a racist about what was done in the past. No matter what race worked on any skyscraper it is an incredible feat that they did; the lack of fear by those men in the pics is phenomenal. grow up Carlos quit being so bigoted.”

Zizzyzezzy said, “Those ppl are either very very brave or….very very stupid. I’m gonna go w/ a bit of both. (more stupid though, since it’s not wise to get drunk while doing anything dangerous…Maybe that was they plan- have ‘em sign a waver, then after you feel they’ve done enough, get them drunk, and see how many less ppl you have to pay. *LOL*)

Willy Brown Balls said, “It is quite impressive to be able to tolerate such heights but what you need to remember is that those same people were there from the start of the building at ground level so they were gradually getting used to the height as the building got higher bit by bit.”

ThatGirlisFunny’s response to Mr. Brown Balls: “I’ve heard that’s true about boiling frogs.  If you start them out in a pot of cold water, they won’t jump out because they’re lulled into a false sense of complacency until they wind up cooked. Apparently, they hop right out of hot water. How cruel. Is it nicer to kill them slowly?  Wonder why they’re not already dead. Must be they’re willing to sit still in cold water whilst you put the lid on the pot. Imagine the poor little things clinging on for dear life when they feel that steam hit their bottoms (oh look! Tight Ass Tuesday reference). It’s too difficult to put the lid on with frogs attached to your hands.”

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OK…enough of that. I think I’ve made my point. We all meander off in our own direction.  We don’t really listen to each other. Well, not in the “I’m hanging on your every word” kind of way.

Must Know Habit for Staying Young – from the inside out

Habit #6: Be receptive and open your mind to new people, places, things and ideas

• I will resolve to stop giving people that “are-you-from-another-planet?” look when their point of view doesn’t match mine.

No, really. I’m going to work on catching myself before I throw the look. I just have to think of how to arrange my face differently and, um, how to keep my eyes from rolling and then consider what I’m about to say before I say it.

I think I picked a hard one.

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Tight Ass Tuesday Tip

Keep Your Bottom Out of Hot Water

What do you do when people don’t see eye-to-eye with you?

Practice waiting to hear them out before you respond. They might have something interesting to say that you haven’t thought of before. Speak too soon and you’ll miss it.  Develop the art of listening.

Millions of men are handy with a hammer, but no one wants to take their picture unless they’re willing to walk a high beam balancing a bucket and some tools.  How many of these men realized that the greatest gift God gave them was TRUST?

Warriors come in every shape and color. These men are sturdy, strong, powerful, honorable, courageous, respectful, disciplined, confident and delighted to know that their hidden talent has found a home.

Be willing to take risks. How else will you figure out the “yet undiscovered” gifts God gave you?

Tight Ass Tuesday originally started out as a day to discuss what you’re doing to keep yourself fit and fighting trim.  I intend to stretch the meaning to include more than just physical exercise. That way we can include every area of our lives. Let’s start by defining “tight ass”. There are two types of tight asses in the world:

-          something good: a rear end that is exceptionally attractive, well-defined or desirable

-          something not so good: someone uptight or overly cautious, a person who doesn’t  enjoy anything fun, spontaneous, or interesting

My intention is to encourage you to achieve something good – physically – and to be more fun, spontaneous and interesting which leads – quite nicely, I might add – to developing habits designed to have you “Stay Young – from the Inside Out”

For more information on joining the “Tight Ass Tuesday” Group on IowaAvenue.com click here

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2010! What new habits will you take on to make this your best year yet?

How will you stay younger – from the inside out?

Please leave comments!  We love to hear from you.  Share your thoughts!

Comment box is on the right hand side of this post about half-way down the page.

photo credits: construction workers on scaffolding

reference (to add historical context to this conversation)  Skyscrapers: A Social History in America by George H. Douglas published in 1996 by McFarland, pp. 119-122.  Information on Native American Involvement (members of the Mohawk tribe from Caughnawagan Reservation in Canada moved to NYC and settled in the North Gowanus neighborhood in Brooklyn), the training and experience needed to overcome significant difficulties with the fear of heights and the impact of working without modern-day safety measures.

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