A pun, my word!

Ever been so involved in your work that you cannot stop thinking about it, even for a moment? It fills all your waking moments, and even in your dreams? Then you are getting how I have been getting over the past few weeks. All that stress, building up like a head of steam in a boiler and it has to come out sometime.
Sadly, there are those that lash out, whilst others retreat to an 'inner world'. I have found that the best form of stress relief is laughter. I am known in my office, and amongst my family too, as an atrocious punster.*
A pun, my word - indeed! A pun is a play on words, and I find it a great escape valve for the tensions of the day.

* Eggsactly, there we were cracking yolks (jokes) which were getting more and more eggstreme, and more and more eggscruciating, and all because the landlady of my student digs (long time ago), offered me a hard boiled egg with the words "have an oeuf" and I, without thinking replied "what on oeuf for?" (well it was first thing in the morning, and I was not fully awake!

As William Sears titled his book "God Loves Laughter" - it introduced me to the Baha'i Faith.

how times have changed

Whilst going through my email today, I found one advertising a meeting of the local branch of the BCS (British Computer Society) where a speaker will talk about managing the deluge of email in the workplace.
It set me thinking, as I recently discovered an old issue of the local newsletter from around 20 years ago. It was, like all newsletters of the time, printed and one of the articles in it was from me! I had written introducing this new means of communication - electronic mail. It was when the internet was still relatively unknown and messages were sent using dedicated gateways on a process called UUCP. Access was by modem and phone line, with many people using 'acoustic couplers' on their telephone handset. That was capable of a fantastic 1200 baud (or about 120 characters per second) !

I had been involved in getting a local company to set up international electronic links, and so I was invited to write about it in a couple of articles in the local BCS newsletter.

How times have changed. Everyone now takes email for granted. It should not be surprising though, really. The Baha'i Faith Writings have mention of world communications, and even in the Book of Ezekiel in the Bible it speaks of 'lightnings that flash to and fro' along with 'chariots jostling in the streets' as things to come in the future.

people networking

sometimes when so involved with your day-to-day life (maybe pressure to get a job done), it is so easy to forget a great source of help - other PEOPLE! Whether by email or phone, a posting on a support web page or just talking to someone at the water cooler (in the restaurant/snack bar, etc) it is by sharing your needs (how can I do this, what is the best way to do that) that we can both give and receive help.
It was said long ago "No man is an island", and in the Baha'i writings we find "God loves those who work together in groups". Humans are social animals, not meant to live in solitary isolation. All the teachings from the great religions give guidance and laws for living as community groups.
This goes for our work as well as our home life. We should be open to forming bonds of loving support and friendship because of the help we can give others, not just because we ourselves want to be helped.