9 things that are bugging me right now: 10/22

1. the invisible folds in wet wipes.
if you know me, you know that I like things clean. I use a lot of wipes. sometimes its close to impossible to get one out of the box because you can get a grip on the folded part. you can see the folded part- you wonder if it even is there. things like this make me crazy.

2. the phrases "love on," and "love well."
both of these phrases make me want to gag. I hear people say, "let's love on our guests today." or "my friends really love me well." ew to both.

3. the oblivious mom.
there are times when I'm at a store or a restaurant and a child is screaming, or breaking something, or endangering themselves, but the mom is so wrapped up in reading her phone, or her menu, or the back of a soup can that she is completely oblivious. pay attention mom!

4. parking lot speeders.
sometimes I'm pulling my car out of a parking spot, and someone zooms past me and honks their horn as if to say, "watch where you're going! don't pull your car out of that spot! I'm driving fast and I don't want to slow down!" and it practically gives me a heart attack. its a parking lot, not a racetrack kids!

5. dog people on the trail.
when I walk on the trail, I just want to walk quietly. but there is usually a dog-walker talking loudly on their phone. so I let them pass me. but then they stop for their dog to pee- and then I pass them- but then they catch up. and they never end up going away. 

or sometimes I see dog-walkers go up to other dog walkers- but they don't talk to the other dog-walker, they talk to their dog and say, "oh look spot! a dog! do you want to smell him?! do you want to play with him?! look! he has a tail just like you! do you want to be best friends with him?!" I can't even.

6. baseball uniforms.
I love baseball, but aren't the uniforms a little formal? I don't dress that formal for church! these guys are attempting to make spectacular athletic plays wearing a button down shirt that is tucked-in to long pants with a belt. they are wearing and under-shirt, long socks and they are running the bases with a helmet that has no strap on it. I think these guys should update the uniform to make it a little more user friendly.

7. aggressive honkers.
if the light turns green, and the car in front of you doesn't notice right away, you can alert them with a little "bee-beep" from your horn; a loud, long "HOOOOONK!" seems a little much.

8. paper fans.
it doesn't matter the temperature. when you're in a meeting where people are sitting down in chairs, some lady is going to pull out a paper and start fanning herself. what bugs me about this is that it is communicating to everyone the following messages: "I'm hot. the air is not on. the people running this place didn't turn the air on. I'm not listening to the person talking because I'm so hot." and then everyone else starts thinking the same thing, and starts feeling tempted to stop listening and fan themselves. come on people- its not that hot. 

9. brake tappers.
sometimes I'm driving and the person in front of me taps their brakes. for no reason. there is no one in front of them. they are not speeding. I'm not following too close. but then I have to tap my brakes too. just let off of the gas and your car will slow down. 

am I turning into a grumpy old man?

keystone species

I have posted a bunch about otters on this blog- my family has been very passionate about them over the last few years- here is a thought about them that I have been thinking about a lot lately-

otters are known as a keystone species.
that means that they are like a pin that is holding their environment together- when you pull them out, it all falls apart.

because of their biological make-up, otters need to eat a lot of food every day, just to stay alive in the cold pacific ocean.
they eat sea urchins- lots and lots of sea urchins.
sea urchins eat the kelp forest- and if the otters aren't present to keep the sea urchin population low, then the sea urchins will completely wipe out the kelp forest, and everything that lives in it.

the historians tell us that when sea otters were hunted for their fur, they went essentially extinct. when that happened, the sea urchins came in and wiped out the kelp forest; and when the kelp forest died, the fish died; and when the fish died, the whales and the seals and the dolphins all left. the entire area became a ghost town- on the land and under the sea.

but then the otters came back.
and they ate up all of the sea urchins.
and the kelp forest grew back.
and the fish came back.
and so did the seals, and the sea lions, and the dolphins, and the whales.
now the monterey bay area is as lush as the rainforest. it is a healthy, thriving environment-
and its because of these hungry, furry, cute little sea otters looking for some lunch. 

before I get to the point I want to make, I want to point out another sea otter fact:
the monterey bay aquarium has been rehabilitating injured or abandoned sea otters.
when these otters are ready to go back to the wild, the aquarium sends them to a place called elkhorn slough, in moss landing, ca. this is a good place for otters, because the water isn't rough, and there is lots to snack on.
the only drawback is that the water is murky and muddy.
at least it was. 
after the otters arrived, they cleaned the place up.
now the water is much, much cleaner. 
more and more animals are flocking to the area. 
we often kayak there and see seals, sea lions, jelly fish, large birds, and of course, otters.

so here is the point that I have been thinking about:
when otters leave an area, it falls apart.
but when they arrive, they bring life with them.
they clean things up. 
they make it hospitable for other animals to live there.
when you introduce an otter to a new environment, its just a matter of time before its teeming with life.
how do they do it? by being an otter. by swimming, diving, and eating.
are they stressed out? not really. 

I want to be a human otter- a one-person keystone species.

I want to bring life with me in every environment that I enter.
I want to bring organization and cleanliness. 
I want to create environments that welcome in others and where everyone can find joy and purpose.
I want to be the pin that holds environments together so that its noticeable when I'm there, and when I have left. 
I want to identify threats and eliminate them.
I want to make a difference- just by being me. 
and I want to do it all with an otters attitude:
no stress- just floating, and swimming, and playing, and snacking.

that's my challenge to myself, and to you:
go and be an otter today:
have fun, and change the world.

God is love.
-rev-rob