Stories and Wisdom from a Life Fully Lived

Category: Life

  • Which “I” Do We Mean?

    Which “I” Do We Mean?

    When we call ourselves “I,” which “I” do we really mean?

    There’s the first “I”—our ego, the conscious self we move through the world with, reasoning and deciding, shaping a narrative of who we are.

    But if we step into a yoga class or sit down to meditate, a second “I” appears. This one doesn’t stretch or breathe; it observes. It watches us enter downward dog; it notices the chatter between our ears. This is the witness—quiet, patient, and somehow a little above or behind the first “I.”

    Then comes a third “I,” the one that witnesses the witness. A fourth arrives in dreams, where it wanders through our sleeping landscapes, standing in for us while we rest. And then, most mysteriously, there is a fifth “I.”

    This fifth “I” is the one that writes our books, paints our canvases, launches our ventures. It doesn’t belong to the first four. It moves independently, yet it is undeniably us. This is the “I” that interests me most.

    Do I get lonely, sitting alone in a room day after day? Not at all. Because I am never alone. I am in the company of this other “me”—the one who is both myself and not myself, my lifelong companion. I have spent years seeking it, trying to prove myself worthy of it, and learning how to labor alongside it. It is muse, partner, and mirror all at once.

    And when it shows up, when it takes its place beside me, the work becomes something greater than I could have ever made alone.

  • Eternity—Infinity

    Recent deaths among family and friends always stir deep reflections in me. For example: Eternity. To me that means something like a timeline without beginning or end, or a forever NOW—infinitely forever—always, and Infinity: the same except with more focus on quantity; ie. infinitely small or large, but also without limit at either end.

    Here’s a comforting and optimistic poem. “Safely Home” that was printed in the funeral home visitation event program for my Cousin, Mary Jo Garnet. It serves its purpose, to console the bereaved, well. And it puts a spiritually poetic tone to the emotions, we who cared for her, are experiencing.

    Safely Home

    I am home in Heaven, dear ones;
    Oh, so happy and so bright!
    There is perfect joy and perfect beauty
    In this everlasting light.

    All the pain and grief is over,
    Every restless tossing passed;
    I am now at peace forever,
    Safely home in Heaven at last.

    Did you wonder why I so calmly
    Trod the valley of the shade?
    Oh! But Jesus’ love illumined
    Every dark and fearful glade.

    And He came Himself to meet me
    In that way so hard to tread’
    And with Jesus’ arm to lean on,
    Could I have one doubt or dread?

    Then you must not grieve so sorely,
    For I love you dearly still;
    Try to look beyond earth’s shadows,
    Pray to trust our Father’s will.

    There is work still waiting for you,
    So you must not idly stand;
    Do it now, while life remains
    You shall rest in Jesus’ land.

    When that work is all completed,
    He will gently call you Home;
    Oh, the rapture of that meeting,
    Oh, the joy to see you come!

    Those words are more for the bereaved than the deceased, for no matter our belief, hope, faith or…, none of us are eager to experience this thing we’ve observed as death, the unknown. And none of us can or will escape it. Birth, life, and death, are the obvious observed cycle for all of life—plant-animal—knowledge—understanding–literally everything in the known universe.

    And here’s an interesting video presentation from a physicist that I found quite interesting that seems to offer a bridge between religion, which I left many years ago, and science, which I’m now embracing. The birth, growth, death, lifecycle has been going on for eons. I wonder sometimes, if this is really a cycle of life and death, or an infinitely eternal cycle of life moving from stage to stage or dimension to dimension through an infinite universe. Since we already live in eternity, maybe our consciousness evolves—infinitely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzZ6nHwPfi8



  • Make Sure The Mountain is Worth Climbing

    Many things in life are hard. We value hard work and extra effort in our culture. BUT, just because you are giving a great effort does not mean you are working toward a great result. How are you making sure that mountain is really worth climbing?

    I’m entering the 9th decade of life on this planet and if I have any regrets about the way I’ve chosen to live out that time, it would be that most of my effort has been wasted on unimportant, unnecessary, frivolous endeavors with little or no ultimate value to myself or anyone else.

    Flat Squirrel

    I’ve always been curious about many things, and possessed with an adventurous spirit. I’ve travelled the world. I’ve supported life, (often not well), with a new job on average, every 2 to 4 years. That’s about how long it takes to burn out or figure out “that mountain ain’t the one I want to climb”. Been many places. Done many things. Jack of all trades, master of none. While I’ve never formally completed higher education certification, I have taken and still take hundreds of courses and read thousands of books. I’m a lifelong learner. I have MID (Multiple Interest Disorder). I still haven’t found THE mountain I REALLY want to climb. I thought I had several times. In the end, they haven’t panned out. Time is running out. While I do enjoy security and a nice lifestyle, I still long for an all-consuming project that will produce something of significance for the world. I love this life. It could be better. I’d like to make it better for those who follow.

    Those “flat squirrels” I mentioned are the many past versions of me chasing this, that, or the other “new” trend, “opportunity”, “purpose”, or “calling”. Those squirrels are flat because of poor planning and indecision.

    Learning to THINK for YOURSELF and filter all the well intended or otherwise, BS that parents, neighbors, friends, society, culture, academia, and snake-oil salespeople throw at you is the most important mountain anyone can climb.

    I think I’ll write a book—maybe a series. I’ve been a wanna-be writer for a very long time.

  • Why? Why? Why?

    Why do so many people from all walks of life—all races, creeds and colors — continue to promote racism? Does ANYONE not know that the mere reference to skin color is racist?

    Why do we often mention “Black owned business” and never “White owned” ones?

    Why do some promote specifically “Black” organizations and not specifically “White” ones?

    Why do Black Lives Matter without mention of ALL lives? Doesn’t anyone else matter?

    If we’re trying to remove racism from our culture; why do we continue to use language that promotes or draws attention to it?

    I believe that ALL LIVES will become equal (as far as skin color goes), when we stop linking our thinking to skin color and instead, focus on contribution, service, skill, producing something of value to all humanity.

  • Live This Day as if It Is Your LAST.

    Live this day and every day as an active participant in the present. Each morning, ask yourself what is REAL and IMPORTANT to you, and then find the courage, wisdom and willpower to live your day around your answer.

    • It’s your choice.
    • YOUR choice!
    • You are choosing right now.

    If you are choosing…

    • to complain,
    • to blame,
    • to be stuck in the past,
    • to act like a victim,
    • to feel insecure,
    • to feel anger,
    • to feel hate,
    • to be naïve,
    • to ignore your intuition,
    • to ignore good advice,
    • to give up,

    then it’s time to choose differently. Do some mental hygiene. Clean up that “stinkin thinkin”! Start “linkin your thinkin” to what you DO want instead of what you DON’T WANT. For example:

    • Choose to be present.
    • Choose to be positive.
    • Choose to forgive yourself.
    • Choose to forgive others.
    • Choose to just LET GO of your stinkin thinkin.
    • Choose to see your value.
    • Choose to see the possibilities.
    • Choose to find meaning.
    • Choose to prove you’re not a victim.
    • ‘Choose to let go of your false beliefs and stories.

    You’re not alone in your life’s journey. We’re all on the same journey. Recognizing that brings some relief to me. I hope it does for you too.

  • Faster

    The Universe is expanding faster.

    Moore’s Law says computer chip speeds and capabilities are getting faster—doubling every two years.

    I can vouch for that and more. In my experience, as the years go by, time is definitely going by faster.

    “Change is the essence and cadence of the universe,” as I remarked in a talk many years ago, way back in the 1960s. And Seth Godin presented some cogent thoughts about this in his newsletter today as he spoke about the speed of change.

    It turns out that the biggest shift to our culture isn’t the changing speed of a computer chip. It’s what happens when we network humans together.

    Adding more people to the internet has sped up science, politics and every element of culture and everything in our life. The echos happen faster; the learning is exponential, and connected communities heat and morph ever faster. I wonder what the internet 3.0 will bring.

    Science used to be a solo endeavor. A monk with some pea plants could figure out genetics. Today, there are millions of people advancing the work of millions of people, with new updates coming all day long. The problems are dramatically more difficult, but the solutions are possible because we’ve multiplied the speed of change.

    That’s why so many people are interested in writing and actually writing today. We live in electric and exciting times. One writer inspires and triggers thoughts, feelings, emotions, and motivations in another writer/reader and more and more energy is pouring into the universe of thought and ideas. This explosion of thought energy is thrusting humankind into a literally unimaginable future—at least unimaginable for me. It is endorphin overload to think about it. It’s going in all directions at once! Which lightning bolt do I hitch a ride on?

    Ok, my wife, Lilyane, says slooow down… We must exercise some common sense. There needs to be some control. We can’t have all these crazy’s controlling the world. Responsible Citizens MUST THINK about what’s best and most responsible for the whole of humanity—the country—the planet, the world, the universe. So please…Think!

    • big
    • national, what’s best for America
    • global, best for America AND the world
    • personal, your heart, what you FEEL
    • what you can do to make a life for all mankind better

  • Has anyone else experienced this?

    Occasionally, when relaxing and especially after a productive or stressful day—seems like there needs to be an “up” or a “down”, and after a couple of drinks, I wax wise and full of inspiration and write my heart out, spewing profundities and wise thoughts. I’m there right now. Did Hemingway really discover something when he said “write drunk, edit sober”? I’ve heard a reply both ways. What’s your experience?

  • A little Personal Pep Talk to Manage Overreaction

    Maintaining calmness—not overreacting or taking things too personally — keeps your mind clear, your emotions peaceful, and your composure under control in otherwise uncontrollable situations. You’ve experienced this: calm composure is a human superpower. So ask yourself: “How can I respond from a place of clarity and strength today, rather than reacting in anger or frustration to the painful experiences I’m confronted with?”

    Sit with that question for a moment.

    Every time you’re tempted to react in the same old way, pause for a moment of breath meditation—in two, three, four, out two, three, four five—make space for a healthy change of state, for something new to enter…

    Consciously redirect your focus by taking it away from something unchangeable that drags you down, and instead zero in on something small and actionable that moves you forward in the present moment.

    Nothing is stopping you right now. Nothing is holding you back but your own thoughts and reactions to “how life is.”

    You may not be responsible for everything that’s happened to you in the past, or everything that’s happening to you now, but you ARE responsible for undoing the counterproductive thinking and behavioral patterns these circumstances create.

    Think better so you can ultimately live better.

    No matter what happens, you can choose your response, which powerfully influences what happens next. Your greatest weapon against anxiety, negativity, and stress is your ability to pause, breathe, and chose one present response over another—to train your mind to make the best of what’s in front of you.

    Life gets better when you get better at managing your better way of being.

  • Wise Words

    In my world, nothing ever goes wrong.

    Nisargadatta Mahara
    What does that mean?

    That’s an eyes-open statement. It’s not his world that’s different, it’s him; his undistorted, unfiltered perspective. He has removed the artificial barrier of ego from the perceiver-perception-perceived union and so the three become one and perfection is the certain result.

    Jed McKenna

  • Deep Thinkers vs Over Thinkers

    Curiosity and explorative adventure guides deep thinkers. Deep thinkers see big pictures. Deep thinkers GTD (Get Things Done).

    Over thinkers are driven by fear and anxiety. Over thinkers, get stuck in the details—paralyzed in their thoughts.

    Beware the intellectuals you surround yourself with. There’s a BIG difference between deep thinkers and over thinkers.