Jay Baker Stories
Bio
I'm just a dude with a few words to share.
Stories (9)
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Dealing with Life’s Challenges
The moment we are born, we commence the expedition of life. The nurturing stage occurs with immediacy and postures us for the stage of focus, when we center our attention on recognizing faces and spaces. The next stage is imitation, where we seek to mimic the actions, speech, and activities of our loved ones. Then comes the most daunting stage of all: learning. During this stage, we strive to figure out where we fit in when it comes to people, places, and things. What makes this stage so very complicated is that our emotions, for the first time, are thrust into the spotlight, and we struggle to understand how to cope with these bizarre, yet compelling feelings that grab us unwittingly by the heart and head, taking us on a ride where we traverse every emotion from angst to zeal, and back to agitation.
By Jay Baker Stories4 years ago in Motivation
Living a Second-hand Life
For over half of my life, I've existed in a Charlie Brown state, with a constant cloud of guilt ready to rain down on me every time I considered doing something nice for myself. To avoid confronting such misery, I began to live a lukewarm, mundane life of routine activities to give my life structure as I juggled the day-in, day-out rigmarole of life. Yesterday, as I sat on my couch, it dawned on me that it was the first time in my 38 years of living on this earth that I purchased a brand-new living room set.
By Jay Baker Stories4 years ago in Motivation
Trading Places with Myself: The Solution to my New Year’s Resolution
Over the past 25 years, I struggled to maintain resolution after resolution. I was a mess. I had multiple jobs, piling bills, and just could not seem to acquire a moment of breathing room to get on pace, let alone get ahead of my issues and problems. As I stumbled through my twenties and into my thirties, I figured a magic moment would occur, and I would then achieve everything that I set out to accomplish. I was wrong each and every time I felt that moment was taking shape.
By Jay Baker Stories4 years ago in Motivation
Living with an Impoverished Mindset
As we navigate the landscape of life, there are times when we encounter challenges. Some challenges are physical, requiring intestinal fortitude. Other challenges are emotional, requiring a show of poise. However, there are challenges that are mental; and there lies the problem for many human beings traversing this mortal plane, or even the Cryptoverse.
By Jay Baker Stories4 years ago in Humans
The Man in the Mirror
In the summer of 1988, Michael Jackson released a song that would redefine my uncle’s life. The song was none other than “Man in the Mirror”. This particular uncle (Jack) married into the family by way of my mom’s youngest sister. Uncle Jack was the product of child neglect. Both his parents were avid heroin users. As he got older, he found himself continually malnourished and eventually bouncing between foster homes while his parents were either on a binge or in “rehab”. Life as a foster child was no walk in the park either. He would recall wishing for a life like those in popular 80’s shows like Punky Brewster and Different Strokes; showing kids who were taken in by compassionate adults who offered the children a chance at a better life. Uncle Jack recounted when he turned 18 saying, “I was flushed out of the foster system like a turd; and found myself standing on the murky shores of adulthood, homeless and not knowing what the hell to do next”.
By Jay Baker Stories4 years ago in Motivation
Understanding Human Nature and the Human Condition
Our quest in life is that of continual progress in mind, body, emotion and spirit. As we traverse this mortal plain of existence, we will at times face challenges that test our resilience. Having no playbook or secrets to prevail over our mortal frailties, we could soon find ourselves thrown off of our progressive path. It is in these moments that we must take an inward look at ourselves to discern not only our shortcomings, but also those areas where we need to make changes that will in turn help us evolve to a higher level of awareness. The lessons learned will not only teach us more about ourselves, but also provide us a better understanding of human nature and the human condition.
By Jay Baker Stories4 years ago in Families
A Glimmer of Hope
There are times in our lives that we face insurmountable circumstances. These events can weigh heavily on the mind and emotions, igniting feelings of frustration and hopelessness. At times, it seems that all around us there is loss; from family to friends, to challenges on the job and even with our partner and children. Enduring such heartache can be taxing to say the least; and the silent moments can seem as loud as one thousand violins.
By Jay Baker Stories4 years ago in Motivation
Going Beyond the Call of Duty
This week, I had the pleasure of providing assistance to a fellow employee at my job. We've never met, and I've only spoken with him over the phone. This gentleman was in a crisis to get a Passport and VISA so he could take a job in another country. He was on a time crunch with his home already under contract, with the new job awaiting his arrival in the next several weeks.
By Jay Baker Stories4 years ago in Motivation
