Isn't It Kind of Funny That...?

by Gerald Schaefer

Overview

Isn't it kind of funny...is a thought-provoking look into how we live. It uses the title question as well as a range of other variations to explore the way humans live in order to question the status quo and hopefully inspire a change.

With quirky and entertaining images and graphics all asking "isn't it funny/strange/mind boggling" that humans act the way we do/depend on what we do/think of ourselves in a certain way, some of the most mundane things in our everyday lives are called into question. Each chapter focuses on one specific area of modern life, with the intention of making the reader think differently about their lives, or not think at all in some cases, in order to make ourselves more aligned with the universe.

The twenty short chapters, each shorter than one page, invite the reader to ponder a wide array of topics: Awareness, Time, Food, War, Thinking, Space, Death, Being and Doing, and Evolution, among others.

While posing hypothetical and grand views of a world changed, a world without cars for example, the main takeaway of this book is the inspiration and encouragement to lead more simplistic lives, to be less self-centered and involved in our own thoughts and more aware and considerate of the world around us. This is a quick-read and can offer motivation to look outwards, to others and the rest of the world instead of being wrapped up in our own thoughts as well as to be more mindful in our day to day lives.

It's an enticing and provocative look at our contemporary culture and an invitation to move beyond it.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940165087165
Publisher:	Gerald Schaefer
Publication date:	12/11/2021
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Schaefer recently attended a high school reunion in Cut Bank, Montana. He enjoyed a street dance on Friday night. All sorts of people were dancing including him. He spent time with members of the Bird clan, a family belonging to the nearby Blackfoot Indian Tribe. They were an integral part of his childhood experience.

He attended St. Norbert High School, a Catholic boarding school in Wisconsin. He joined the Norbertine monastery after high school. Four years later, he joined the army. After graduating from St. Norbert College in 1965, he studied theology at Marquette University.

He and his wife divorced in 1974. He moved to Long Beach, California in 1979, leaving behind two young children. He remarried in 1981 and soon began teaching. He taught Special Education for Los Angeles Unified School District, retiring in 2000.

His first book, Women: Down Through The Ages, How Lies Have Shaped Our Lives, was published in 2007. In 2008 he read Eckhart Tolle's book, The Power of Now. He immediately realized that the problems he'd been having in his marriage resulted from the constant stream of thoughts going on in his mind.

This coincided with some operations that his wife had, first a hip replacement, then spinal surgery. In the aftermath of that, AZ appeared. And from 2013 till her death in 2018, he cared for her at home. He credits Tolle's influence, first for getting his marriage back on track, and then for transforming the experience of caring for his wife. He readily admits, "It would have been impossible for me to do it, without that perspective."

That perspective is simply the realization that his identity is not the self that he parades before the world, but is contained within his "inner self," accessible in silence and stillness. When one gets in touch with that, it's "cruise control," as he alludes to in the book for teens.

Tolle's influence is on display in his writing. First, The Story of You, an illustrated book for young children, published in 2019.
Again, Cruising through The Teens, Easier Than It Seems, in 2021. And, Isn't It Kind Of Funny That..., published in 2022. All four of his books have earned 5-star reviews from Readers Favorites.

He loves to travel, going to Spain and France in 2019, to Australia in 2020. Wherever he went, he made it a point to check out the discos. And dance.

He presently lives in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach. The Pacific Ocean is nearby, as are shops and restaurants. He walks to the weekly Farmers Market with his dog, Emma, a papillon rescue. The market is near a large grassy area. Local bands play, families picnic, kids from a nearby school come, and he gets a chance to indulge in his favorite activity, dance.
Life is good.

Schaefer grew up in Cut Bank, Montana, a town close to Alberta, Canada, Glacier National Park, and the Blackfoot Indian Reservation. His best friend at St. Margarets school was a Blackfoot, "Beaver" Bird. The Bird family offered a window into a different version of family life, one very different from the German/Scandinavian one he inhabited. Beaver's mother, Wizzie," seemed to be always happy, smiling and laughing.

He attended St. Norbert High School, a Catholic boarding school in Wisconsin. He joined the Norbertine monastery after high school. Four years later, he joined the army for a short stint. After graduating from St. Norbert College in 1965, he studied theology at Marquette University. He taught theology at Ottumwa Girls'College for a semester then went to study at the University of Iowa.

He and his wife divorced in 1974 while living in Madison, Wisconsin. He lived in Merrill, Wisconsin for a few years, becoming an amateur clown before moving to Long Beach, California in 1979. He left behind two young children. He remarried in 1981 and soon began teaching for the Los Angeles Unified School District, retiring in 2000.

His first book, Women: Down Through The Ages, How Lies Have Shaped Our Lives, was published in 2007. In 2008 he read Eckhart Tolle's book, The Power of Now. He immediately realized that the problems he'd been having in his present marriage resulted from the constant stream of thoughts going on in his mind.

Shortly thereafter, his wife had a hip replacement, then spinal surgery. In the aftermath of that, AZ appeared. And from 2013 till her death in 2018, he cared for her at home. He credits Tolle's influence, first for getting his marriage back on track, and then for transforming the experience of caring for his wife. He readily admits, "It would have been impossible for me to do it, without that perspective."

That perspective is simply the realization that his identity is not the self that he parades before the world, but is contained within his "inner self," accessible in silence and stillness. When one gets in touch with that, it's "cruise control," as he alludes to in the book for teens.

Tolle's influence is on display in his writing. First, The Story of You, an illustrated book for young children, published in 2019.
Again, Cruising through The Teens, Easier Than It Seems, in 2021. And, Isn't It Kind Of Funny That..., published in 2021.

He loves to travel, going to Spain and France in 2019, to Australia in 2020. Wherever he went, he made it a point to check out the local discos. And dance.

He presently lives in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach. The Pacific Ocean is nearby, as are shops and restaurants. He walks to the weekly Farmers Market with his dog, Emma, a papillon rescue. The market is near a large grassy area. Local bands play, families picnic, kids from a nearby school come, and he gets a chance to indulge in his favorite activity, dance.
Life is good.