Four

I had been trying to write a post every day, and had been having some difficulty. Plus, I had been shortchanging the opportunity to create something new, and had been rehashing things that had been done before.

So I am calling it quits.

Not for good, and not even for long, but I am taking down the goal of writing a post per day. Instead my goal will be one per week, and if I don't get to that, oh well.

So, four things I want to leave you with as I head off to go for a long walk...

1. Be Yourself

Be you. You're the only one who can be.

So many times we have so many expectations of ourselves, from inside our own heads and outside our bodies. Expectations that make us feel that we can't just be ourselves.

I started this blog as a way to be more myself. I haven't achieved it fully yet, but I am well on my way. 

2. Dig Deep

You have a lot of depth. Spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally. Dig deep. Learn more about yourself. Press and stress your perceived limitations.

Explore what you are learning about thoroughly. Follow the tangents that arise. Drink deep from the knowledge of what you are trying to learn.

Call upon your resources. Follow your instincts. Renegotiate your contracts with yourself when necessary.

Digging deep is not something I thought I would discover while working on this blog, but during the course of my life, and while writing, I have learned to dig deeper than I have before.

3. Express Yourself

Throw your being into the ring of life, and see what happens.

Create something that reflects who you are and what you believe.

Stand behind what you make, whether or not you agree with it the next day. Expression of your inner being is what we are looking for. We may not always get it right. Express yourself anyway.

I have learned that I need to learn. What I mean to say is, I have work to do in this area, in learning to express myself fully and completely in a way others can understand.

This blog is an expression of myself, as convoluted and nonsensical as I can be.

4. Share

It doesn't have to be online, it doesn't have to be social media, but sharing is an important aspect of being yourself, digging deep, and expressing yourself.

I am not really sure the ultimate goals of sharing, and maybe there really isn't a goal for yourself, it's more like a fulfillment for someone else.

Yes. That's it.

It's an opportunity to give. To give back, to give up, to give, period.

So share. 

Peace.

Happy Thanksgiving (Or To One and To All, Thank You for Being Yourself)

Ahem.

Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. Good night.

I want to take a moment to say something.

I have said it before, but I want to say it in a way that allows it to truly sink in.

I want to tell you something that you will never forget.

But first, let me tell you a story: a story about a boy and a girl.

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A little boy once stood on the bank of a creek and listened to the water rushing through the rocks. He marveled at the way the water turned and rippled and twisted among the woods and imagined how that little creek led out to a larger stream, then to a larger river, and eventually to the largest of oceans. He liked to imagine how small things can grow into large things, this little boy. He liked to picture himself as an insignificant little dot in the middle of the universe.

The little boy closed his eyes and listened to the water.

The water was telling him something.

So he listened.

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A little girl once stood by the ocean and listened to the waves crashing on the shore. She wondered at the way something so light, so refreshing, so calm, could come crashing down so hard onto the sand. She marveled at how large the ocean was. For all the staring and looking that she did toward the horizon, she could not see the end of the water. But she thought about the beginning of it. Starting as snow or rain in the mountains, the small creeks turning into larger streams, and ever larger rivers and building in size and strength and tumbling and boiling their way into the mighty ocean that stood before her. She liked to understand the beginnings and the endings of things, this little girl. She liked to picture herself as an insignificant little dot in the middle of the universe.

The little girl closed her eyes and listened to the water.

The water was telling her something.

So she listened.

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Be yourself.

Thank you.

Thank you for being you.

---

Yes, I'm talking to you.

Thank you.

Not for what you have done for me, in the past or lately, but just for being you.

Every time I wonder how I can go on, you make me laugh.

The way you express yourself in the simplest of moments makes me smile, inside and out.

Sometimes things get you down. Sometimes things come up that bring down your energy and your happiness. But you know how to move on. You know how to deal with the situation effectively, and move on.

So thank you for being yourself.

I want to see more of who you are, all the time, whenever I can.

I want to stare into your soul and have you stare back into mine, and once we truly see each other, maybe we can find a way to join together.

Maybe we can find a way to become one, and flow like water.

Like the creek.

Like the streams.

Like the rivers.

Roiling and rolling and twisting and winding our way to the ocean.

Thank you for being you.

Thank you for being the person that you are.

Thank you for your laughter. 

Thank you for smiling.

Thank you for the beauty that you contain, both inside and out.

Be you, my love.

Let yourself flow.

And together we will make it, hand in hand, to the ocean.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Something New

Something new to start the day. Something new to get off the ground.

A fresh change is an opportunity to start something new. A fresh change moves things in a new direction.

What is a fresh change? When one starts something new.

What makes it fresh? The opportunity to build the new. I realize that the only way to make the change is to focus all my energy on building the new. That is what I am here for, that is what I am determined to do.

What I want to do is build the new. And the new that I want to build has mostly to do with this blog, but also has to do with some books I want to write. I want to create something profound and helpful.

What could I create that would be profound and helpful? Really I want to create something profoundly helpful. What could I create that would fit that mold?

I don't really know. What I do know is that it could be helpful to many people, if I can get myself to take the necessary action. The only way I could create something like that is if I truly work at it, quite hard, over the course of many months and years.

That is what I am doing in here right now.

Though I do get distracted. Now and again, I do get distracted. And once I am distracted, I may fall into doing something that takes a good portion of my time.

But the only thing to do, once I realize I have been distracted, is to redouble my efforts at creating. And creating is what I am here for. Writing something that is profoundly helpful is why I came.

The best way to be oneself is to know yourself and make something happen that you can make happen.

What I need to be doing is doing.

Taking action, like I am right now by writing in this place. I am learning and taking action, two wonderful things.

I am learning and taking action on what I want to take action on.

It is time for me to grab the bull by the horns and mold my life into that which I desire.

It is time for me to be most crucially and completely myself.

The only way I can be myself is by expressing myself through writing, art, and music.

I will have to go out on a limb and make something happen that is productive and capable and worthwhile.

I will have to do something productive.

I will have to share as much as I possibly can about myself. I will have to do that which I am afraid to do.

That is my goal. To create all the content that I can, and that it be valuable content that will be readily shared with others.

My goal is to create an entire universe based on the desire and ability to be completely yourself in any situation. Completely myself in every situation.

What is this obsession, this passion, for being myself? Where did it come from?

The passion to pursue myself as a holistic and heartfelt being came from my core, came from my being.

I realize now what it is that I am up against.

I am not up against others, this is a battle of man vs. himself. I don't know who will win. I cannot predict the future.

What I can do, is say that I am learning.

What will matter is how it is written, and how it is perceived. If I write from my being, I can't go wrong. But if I write from someplace else, I can go wrong.

So back to the subject at hand... something new.

That is what this is. This is something new.

So how can I make it make sense and be helpful instead? What can I do about it?

I can focus. That is for sure. I can focus on that which I need to actually accomplish.

And I can continually try to share something new.

"I've Looked at Life from Both Sides Now"

Recommended Listening:

Please play the song above (or with this link).

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A few words come to mind when I think of looking at things in different ways.

Perspective.

View point.

Perception.

Understanding.

Empathy.

These things make up how I assemble my reality.

And like Joni Mitchell and so many others, I have looked at life from both sides now.

I have seen the world through my own eyes, and I have tried to see the world through others'.

With empathy and imagination we are able to try to understand what life is like for someone else.

But we don't ever really walk in their shoes.

We will never know the consciousness of another person.

We can only empathize with the signs and symptoms of living.

But sometimes that, along with listening intently and understanding, is enough.

Just to listen and empathize does not mean to agree. Empathy and understanding do not imply agreement. But at the same time, these things bring us together, despite our differences.

Just as there is an asymptote toward perfection, there is also one toward understanding and learning.

We can go deeper and farther, but we will never. ever. reach the bottom.

"I really don't know life at all." - Joni Mitchell

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Worry Less

I am talking about worry a little bit. I guess I am talking about the worry that we have before or when we make a decision, the worry that things won't turn out as we expect or hope.

But worrying doesn't do anyone any good.

What is necessary is that we look at things realistically. Having a realistic outlook helps us make informed and correct decisions. But does worry play into that at all? Does worry inform reality?

Worry is a form of fear based on what the future MAY hold. It is not certain that the future will hold anything, and we cannot predict the future any more than we can erase the past.

Something happened.

So be it.

Something may happen.

So be it.

What does worrying do for us?

I suppose it can help us to think of the negative consequences of our actions and decisions. It helps us to problem solve in the moment of action or decision.

But once the decision or action is carried out, is there any more use to worrying?

I think that kind of worrying only serves to bring us down.

So worry less.

Make more.

Share more.

Be more.

Be you.

Take Action

Remove the emotions standing in the way of taking action.

The emotions surrounding a task may involve not wanting to do something, or feeling "not in the mood." This is a form of self-created struggle that need not be the case.

What I can do instead is push past these emotions and just get to doing what needs to be done. What needs to be done right now is that I write this post.

Perfection and the desire to achieve it stand in the way of making progress in some areas. There is no such thing as something perfect. There is only what is. What could be and what should be are only figments of the imagination. Only what is matters.

I must stay focused on what it is that I have set out to do. Don't take many small breaks, take larger ones, after having put in some long focused time on creating something that I want to create.

All I have to do is take action. Get things moving, start things up, get the ball rolling, set the fat to jiggling. That is all it takes. Initiative. Exercise.

I am creating something that I feel is worth creating. I am writing what I feel (at this time) needs to be written. I am focusing my energies on what I think is required of me.

And so, taking action is the best course of action.

Thoughts and emotions don't get anything accomplished in the real world.

"Like so many brilliant people, he believes that ideas move mountains. But bulldozers move mountains; ideas show the bulldozers where to work." - Peter F. Drucker

What is right action? It is merely the appropriate response to a stimulus. It is nothing more or less moral compared to other responses.

I am interested in all sorts of things. I am mostly interested in what it takes to take action right now though. And what it takes to take action is a little energy. I here to for had not had very much energy, but now that I am waking up and going for a short walk, I find that I have much more energy than I expected.

What gives energy then? Taking action. By taking action I actually have more energy to take more action.

There is an inspirational book called The Action Principles, written by Bill Fitzpatrick, based on his extensive learning in the martial arts. I read most of those action principles and at one point tried to apply at least a couple of them to my life. But obviously I never really got the hang of them. Because I still don't take all the action that I need to take. I still don't do all the things that I need to do. I still don't take the actions that I need to take in every situation.

I listened to a podcast this morning interviewing David K. Reynolds, the author of Constructive Living. He said that the book Constructive Living was written to help people be ordinary. I have no problem being ordinary, but part of me thinks that if I improve myself continually in the ways in which I want to that I will be either extraordinarily good or extraordinarily bad. I am not sure which it will end up with, but that is what seems to be the case.

Remove the emotions standing in the way of taking action.

But at the same time, I don't think it is possible to remove emotions, so what can one do? Minimize the emotions? Move past the emotions? Take action in spite of the emotional state we are in?

All of the above.

Regardless, take action.

Lifelong Learning

Learning how to learn is the most valuable skill that we can acquire. Learning how to learn is something that once learned, can teach us for the rest of our lives.

Learn to learn. How do you learn?

First start with learning to read. If you can read, and read quickly and comprehend well what has been read, then you can teach yourself almost anything. For almost any skill, a book has already been written on how to do it, and most times there are multiple books on the subject.

If you can read these books and comprehend and apply their concepts, you will be able to learn how to do that skill.

But nothing can replace doing. Nothing can replace application.

You can have knowledge of how to fish, but until you actually go out to the stream and use the fishing rod, you will not be applying your knowledge, which constitutes learning.

I am dedicated to learning for the rest of my life.

I am dedicated to improving my base of knowledge, my ability to synthesize ideas, and the general improvement of my mind.

How will you teach yourself how to learn?

How will you continue to learn for the rest of your life?

What I Want Out of Life

I started this post a while ago, and it didn't quite seem like the time to post it just yet. Now is the time, I suppose.

This post states what I want out of life. 

First though, let me say that I already have a lot. 

I have a loving family, amazing kids, a wonderful wife, an amazing extended family, and generally speaking a whole lot of love. I have a great job, a career I can grow into, money to pay the bills, a wonderful home, and two cars that run like champs. 

I have more than I could ever ask for, to be honest. 

Maybe I don't need to write this post after all...

It's the season of Thanksgiving. I have a whole hell of a lot to be thankful for. 

Some of those things I am thankful for are listed above. Others are larger. Like the opportunity to wake up today. Others are smaller. Like the feeling I have when I take a deep breath of fresh air. And then there are all the things in between all the highlights and the low-lights of living life on this planet.

I am truly grateful for each moment I have the opportunity to be alive.

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So, I am truly grateful for everything.

Being grateful doesn't mean I cannot strive for more.

I have decided a few things lately. I have started to define what it is that I want from my life, that I don't already have.

They are simple but large things, and there are only four.

1. I want to make a living from my creative activity.

2. I want to be physically fit and healthy. 

3. I want to be completely debt free.

4. I want to own a beach house.

Those are the four things that I want out of life, that I don't already have. If I never accomplished any of them, I would still lead a good and satisfying life. But why not go for the gold? Why not try and get that which I may be able to attain? Why not set goals and work toward them?

In coming up with reasons for why I should improve myself, I still have only one: because I can. 

The only reason that I want to improve myself is because I can.

Eventually, I will need to have a more passionate and energetic reason behind self-improvement. But for now, just that one reason will suffice.

What are the things that you are grateful for?

What are the things that you are striving for?

Now What? A Peek at What's Next

Now what?

I have made some changes, and now what? Now what do I need to do?

I need to write more. I need to share more. I need to create more. That is what I need to do.

And that is what I am doing right now.

I am constantly on the lookout for distractions. I find and embrace them. That is what I do.

But right now I am not going to be distracted.

Above there is a picture of something peeking above the horizon, showing itself, just a little bit, and working to reveal itself more and more.

That is what I am doing as well, working to reveal myself more and more.

I am uncovering new things and beliefs about myself, and I will be sharing them here.

One thing I have learned is that I am a creature of habit. And so I am trying to change some of my habits. I am learning that some of my existing habits are not good for me, and that I need to change.

I need to change.

I must change.

Getting to "must change" can be a long, long road. But that is where the action happens. Nothing happens when we might change, or could change, or god forbid, should change. Must change makes it happen.

Or not.

Just because I must change doesn't mean that I am going to.

But I do have a better shot at it. I have the potential to change now.

I had an earlier post about potential that showed that I am more interested in what actually happens as opposed to what could happen.

I still believe that. I still believe that what actually happens is more revealing, more telling, than what could happen. Especially what could happen and doesn't.

But it remains the truth that I now have the potential to change, at least more so before I arrived at the must change state.

There is a lot riding on this now, the fact that I need to and want to and can and must change.

What would happen if I don't make the changes that I seek in my life?

Deterioration.

What would happen if I do make the changes that I seek in my life?

Growth.

And so I will change, and continue to change as long as necessary, from now until I die.

Art, Quote and a Song

Dig a Well

Dig a well.

Find your source.

Take action.

Resign yourself to accept those things you cannot change.

Change the things you can.

Do not conserve your energy. What are you saving it for?

Be the person you are. Embrace yourself fully.

Complete what you set out to do. Make sure your heart is in it.

Like yourself more and more each day.

"There's another train. There always is." - The Poozies

There will be no later, there was no then, there is only now.

Take a chance. Take a chance on yourself. Bet that you will succeed.

There is always some bit of strength left at the end of the day. Use it up.

Leave everything on the table.

Put yourself into the work you do.

Commit.

Dig a well.