The Big Picture

"The next time you are feeling bored, despondent or irritable, try to remember your cosmic situation; at this moment you are riding on a big round-shaped rock that is hurling through space, spinning around its own axis at about a thousand miles per hour and spinning around the sun at approximately 66,000 miles per hour. Along with our entire solar system, you are also soaring through the Milky Way galaxy at nearly 500,000 miles per hour. And what’s truly remarkable is that you don’t even have to hold on."
                                                                                                     –Wes “Scoop” Nisker, Buddhist teacher


I recently went to the planetarium in San Francisco. I saw an incredible astronomical show about the creation of our sun. I learned that the sun is actually a star and that it is the nearest star to earth. I also learned that it was created 4.6 billion years ago. And it will burn itself out in another five billion years.

Fascinating numbers, but I could not wrap my mind around them. They were talking about billions of years ago and billions of years into the future. I couldn’t even imagine what one million years would look like, let alone billions.

It made me realize what a small speck we are in the history of our vast universe. And how trivial some of the things we concern ourselves about really are. It also helped put my losses, which seem so overwhelming at the time, in perspective.

You may feel that your loss is the largest thing in the universe. In time, and with perspective, your loss will take its proper place in your life.

                                                                  Excerpt from Learning to Laugh When You Feel Like Crying
                                                                                                                                http://amzn.to/fe5ppC

Learning to Laugh When You Feel Like Crying

Today is a momentous occasion. My 17th book, Learning to Laugh When You Feel Like Crying,  has been published by Goodman Beck Publishers. I am very grateful to be with them. They have not only done a great job of producing a great looking book but they are also wonderful people to work with.

In the posts to follow, I will be sharing some of the contents of the book with you. The hard part is choosing what to share. Since I'm a Broadway musical fan, I'm going to take some advice from one of the songs in The Sound of Music and "start at the very beginning, a very good place to start..."

So, here, from Learning to Laugh When You Feel Like Crying, is part of the introduction to the book.

"I always try to balance the light with the heavy; 

a few tears of spirit, in with the sequins and the fringes."

-Bette Midler, American entertainer

                                                        dear reader

While this book comes out of the lessons I’ve learned about loss from the death of my wife, the thoughts within address all kinds of loss. The feelings that often accompany the loss of a loved one also applies to such things as losing a pet, getting a divorce, being let go from a job, or any other major setback in your life. Any loss can be overwhelming. The aim of this book is to help you realize that loss is part of life, that it can be one of our greatest teachers, and that, in spite of your loss, you can once again fully partake in what life has to offer

When my wife died at the age of thirty-four, I didn’t need a book that tried to explain the complexities of grief. I didn’t need a book that spoke to my head. I needed a book that would offer a few comforting words and speak to my heart. It is what I hope this book will do for you.

With simple words and simple, yet profound, ideas, I hope that it will provide comforting heartfelt thoughts and a lighter tone not found in other books on loss.

I also hope that it will show you that there can be a positive side to loss and help you understand that, although your loss is a life-changing experience, it need not necessarily be a negative one. And because of life’s brevity, that a loss can be a powerful wake-up call to celebrate life.

Please note that I am not advocating avoiding the grief caused by loss or rushing through it. Unexpressed grief can come back again with a stronger force. It is important to fully deal with the grieving process after a loss.

However, my intention in writing this book is to help you go beyond your loss to embracing life fully again, and, yes, even laughing again. And, to help you go from merely surviving to thriving. Also, I hope that it will uplift your spirit, touch your heart, and nourish your soul.

(P.S.- If you enjoy reading the blog, please tell your friends to follow it for many more excerpts from the book. They can sign up at: http://allenklein.blogspot.com/)

http://bit.ly/eN13lx

 

 

Major Mini-Miracles

Over the past seventeen years, Gramercy Books (a division of Random House) has published a number of my quotation books. The gift-type books did really well for them with sales of over 400,000 copies. Then, about two- years ago Random House closed the doors to that division. I managed to get the rights back to the books but I had difficulty selling them to other publishers in spite of their track record.

For over a year I sent copies to publishers without any success. I became discouraged. I gave up actively looking for a publisher and put a sign above my desk that read, “The Perfect Publisher Will Find Me.”

Then, one day, I got a notice from the Northern California Book Publicity and Marketing Association, of which I used to be a member. They were having Peter Shankman at their next meeting. I had been following Peter, a

social media guru, for a long time and wanted to hear him speak.

At the event, I took a seat on the aisle. The man next to me was turned around and chatting with two women behind him. He was trying to sell them his idea for a book. They weren’t interested because, as I overheard, they were starting a new division of their company and looking for books that uplift, inspire, enlighten, and bring joy to readers.

When I heard that, I immediately introduced myself to the two women and told them how well my books fit within their mission. They gave me their card and asked me to send them the books. When I saw where their office was located, I knew I found the perfect publisher. They were only five blocks away from where I lived. So I hand-delivered the books the next day and the rest is history.

The publisher was Viva Editions. They have published two of the books, Change Your Life! A Little Book of Big Ideas, and, Inspiration for a Lifetime: Words of Wisdom, Delight, and Possibility. They do a remarkable job of not only producing stunning books but also getting the word out and selling the book. For example, Change Your Life! is in Hallmark stores across the county.

I am so grateful to be working with Viva Edition. And, I’m grateful to NCBPMA for providing the space for the perfect publisher to find me.

Allen Klein,

San Francisco

www.allenklein.com

P.S.- “And now,” as Paul Harvey used to say, “for the rest of the story.”

Shortly after I signed the contract with Viva, they moved their offices to Berkeley. At the opening party, a woman came up to me and said that she was the owner of Viva Edition and that she was delighted to have me as one of their authors. She also told me that she now lives in London, and that she knows me. Since I didn’t know her, I asked how she knew me. She said that for thirteen years she lived across the street from me and saw me walking my dog everyday.

Mini-Miracles

In the Broadway show, Flower Drum Song, there is a number called “A Hundred Million Miracles.”  While I am not sure about there being a hundred million, I am continually amazed at all the highly improbable events that happen in my life on a regular basis. I probably shouldn’t be so surprised at them because they happen so often, but I am.

I’ve begun documenting these and call them “Mini-Miracle.” Below are three examples.

Mini-Miracle #1.

I recently went to see a singer I really like, Liz Callaway. She did an entire evening of Stephen Sondheim songs except for one that was a parody of a Sondheim song. Callaway introduced the composer of the parody, who was in the audience.

I enjoyed the song so much that at intermission I went over to the song writer and told her how much I liked her work. It turns out that many years earlier, at a professional speaker’s meeting, when she was just a beginning speaker and wanting to incorporate her own songs in her talks, I had encouraged her to keep writing. Obviously she did and is now having her work performed by other professionals. My connecting with her again, in such a chance encounter, was a miracle to me.

More recently, I was visiting Tucson where I attended a Sunday service at Unity spiritual center. Not one but two Mini-Miracles happened there.

Mini-Miracle #2.

As I was approaching the front door, a young man came down the path. Amazingly, I had met him only one other time in San Francisco. And here we were, practically in the middle of the dessert and we meet again. 

Mini-Miracle #3.

At the Unity service, after I got up to say my name and be welcomed as a new comer, a board member took the microphone and announced that they had a celebrity in the audience, meaning me. He went on about how he has read all my books and how he has been a fan of mine for years. I truly felt like a celebrity. Especially when I went into the bookstore and the woman behind the counter remarked how honored she was to meet me and that it gave her chills. (I guess giving someone chills in hot Tucson is a good thing.)

I’d love to hear about your Mini-Miracles. And stay tuned for more of mine…a hundred million miracles minus three to go.

Introduction to Living and Laughing

So, this is my first blog post ever. And I really don't know why it took me so long. Guess I'm a slow learner. I'm a Taurus after all. I've got to take one step at a time and make sure I'm on steady ground before moving on. Anyway, here it is. 
My holiday gift to you and to myself.

Mostly I owe the start of my blog to Cinder Ernst, president of the board at UnitySF.

I took a class with her in which we had to set a goal and pick a date in which we would accomplish that goal. I said that I wanted to have a blog and complete it by October 15th. That never happened so I changed our agreement and moved the date up. But that never happened either, so I moved the date to the last day of the year December 31. I wanted to give myself as much time as possible and still complete it by the end of the year.

So, here I am accomplishing my goal and making my deadline. Thank you Cinder.

Now that the hard part is over (why did it take me so long???), the fun begins.
I have lots to share with you. Including thoughts from my forthcoming book,
Learning to Laugh When You Feel Like Crying, thoughts from a new book I'm working on tentatively titled You Can't Ruin My Day, and just thoughts. 

All future posts will will relate to either getting more laughter in your life, or, about how to live life more fully (whatever that means for you.) 

In one of my humor workshops each member of the class went around the room at the end of the day and stated the one thing that they were going to do to get more laughter in their life. One man, a dentist, said that he would buy and wear a bright tie to work. It wasn't much, but I realized that for him, this was a major step forward because everyday he wore a black suit, white shirt, and a dark somber tie. 

Everyone needs to start where they are in order to live more fully and laugh more often. 

What is the one thing you will do today to do that? I'd love to hear what that is for you.

And, Happy Holidays. Bought any red and green underwear lately?