December 31, 2025

On The Upside with Marley

Seeing difference as a plus, rather than a minus

For a long time, we’re taught to see difference as something to fix. If people think differently, work differently, or come from different backgrounds, it can feel uncomfortable—like things would be easier if everyone just agreed. But ease isn’t the same as growth.

When we avoid difference, we usually do it without realizing. We gravitate toward familiar voices, familiar ideas, and familiar solutions. It feels safe. Yet safety can quietly turn into stagnation. When everyone sees the world the same way, nothing truly new has room to appear.

Difference, when we allow it, becomes a gift. It challenges us to slow down and listen. It shows us angles we’ve never considered and questions we didn’t know to ask. A perspective that clashes with ours can feel irritating at first, but that friction often leads to better thinking, stronger decisions, and deeper understanding.

This doesn’t mean every disagreement is easy—or that we have to abandon our own beliefs. It means staying open long enough to learn. It means choosing curiosity over defensiveness. Often, the moment we stop trying to “win” a conversation is the moment we actually grow.

On a personal level, embracing difference builds empathy. We become more patient, more thoughtful, and more aware of our own assumptions. In groups and communities, it creates strength. Diverse ideas help us adapt, solve problems, and respond to change with more creativity.

Difference isn’t something standing in our way. It’s something showing us where we can expand. When we stop seeing it as a problem, we begin to understand it as one of our greatest assets.

Surrounding yourself with different perspectives allows you a well rounded assessment

Word Origins

Whisky

The word “whisky” can actually be traced back to the Gaelic word uisge beatha, which means “water of life.” It’s definitely ironic for anyone who might have overindulged.

Sandwich

The sandwich got its name after John Montgau, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. It seems he asked for his food to be served between pieces of bread so he could eat with his hands and not need to leave his gambling table.

Disaster

The word roots of the word “disaster” come from Latin and Greek, where dis means “bad” and astron means “star.” Long ago, the Greeks believed misfortune and calamity were influenced by the stars and wandering planets overhead.

Snow Kids Today!

Golf Lesson

Grandpa and his grandson go golfing. The young one is outstanding, and the old one is just giving him tips. They are on the seventh hole, and there is a tree in the way, and Grandpa says, “When I was your age, I would hit the ball right over that tree.” So, the grandson hits the ball, and it bumps against the tree and lands not too far from where it started. “Of course,” added Grandpa, “when I was your age, the tree was only 3 feet tall.”

Pandemic Inspiration

Blowzee

Entrepreneurs will always find a way to capitalize on a problem!  This little device captures your breath and redirects it away from the cake, and your breath is used to spin a propeller, which in turn blows the candles out without your child infecting his party guests!

Editors Quote Book

 “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow, will be our doubts of today.”

—Franklin D. Roosevelt

Trivia Quiz

(Click Question For Answer)

History of the New York Times Square Ball Drop on New Year’s Eve

Your Horoscope

For Amusement Only

These Weeks In Discovery

January 1, 1925: Astronomer Edwin Hubble announced his findings that demonstrated the existence of galaxies outside our own, vastly expanding humanity’s understanding of the size of the universe.

January 1, 1983: The ARPANET officially switched to using TCP/IP, the Internet Protocol, effectively marking the creation of the modern Internet.

January 5, 1914: Henry Ford announced a revolutionary $5 daily minimum wage for his factory workers, doubling their pay.

January 10, 1843: Frank James, the notorious outlaw, Confederate soldier, and older brother of Jesse James, was born in Kearney, Missouri.

January 10, 1861: Florida becomes the third state to secede from the Union, preceding the American Civil War.

You Sound Like My Ex

After their honeymoon, a woman suggested her husband sell some of his guitars to buy more furniture for the house. He looked horrified. “What’s wrong?” she asked. He replied, “For a second there, you sounded like my ex-wife.” Confused, she screamed, “I didn’t know you had an ex-wife!” He answered, “I don’t”..

The Hiccup Cure

An older woman visits a walk-in clinic with hiccups. A young doctor examines her briefly, then announces she’s pregnant. She bolts down the hall screaming.
An older doctor stops her, hears the story, and storms back. “She’s over 60 with grandchildren! Why tell her that?” The young doctor keeps writing and
asks, “Well… did the hiccups stop?”

Funny Dreams!

An older couple are laying in bed one morning and the wife said “I had a dream I was in Walmart.”
The husband said, “I had a dream I had an affair”
The wife asked, “Was I in the dream?”
Husband replied, “No, you were in Walmart.”

The Last Word

Always be a first-rate version of yourself rather than a second-rate version of someone else.