Posts Tagged ‘fulfillment’

Stuff Happens

August 18, 2016

Couch Potato Blues

If you read my last post, about Crystal City, I said something about episodes or turning points in our lives. Some turning points obviously are more major than others, such as what happened to people at Crystal City. My story here is a minor inconvenience by comparison.

Pink Floyd: On the Run (Dark Side of the Moon)

It Was Only a Small Rock!

I run. Sometimes I talk with others when I run. My left foot landed squarely on top of a rock, not large, but it fractured the fifth metatarsal bone – that’s the one that connects the little toe to the ankle. Metatarsals help provide arch support and balance. Sometimes called a stress fracture, people who do physical activities like dancing or running tend to be more prone to this type of injury. On my x-ray you could hardly even see the faint line that indicated a fracture – hopefully it will heal quickly.

Pink Floyd: Time (Dark Side of the Moon)

What’s Plan B?

When stuff happens that affects your life and your lifestyle, such as being very active (running, cycling, swimming, working out), then what? Maybe I’ll find some good quotes and include those – if life gives you lemons, make lemonade or whatever. You might like Ron White’s updated version of the lemonade quote below.

What the heck, try these quotes on for size.

Steve Jobs
Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.
Read more really good quotes about life.
Ron White
I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade… And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.
Pink Floyd: Breathe in the Air (Dark Side of the Moon)

What’s Your Point?

Actually, that’s what a family member (near and dear) says to me when I start rambling on about some run I just did – she’s not a runner, but I still love her. Not sure I have a specific point, just killing time while my foot heals. Got tired of Netflix, so I thought I’d do some blogging.

The pictures in the slide show I took after one of my favorite 10K runs in Estacada, Oregon. Very interesting place as you can see in the pictures. Be sure to check out Fearless Brewing if you’re in the neighboorhood.

Signing off for now, time for more boring Netflix. Never fear, I’ll be trucking on down the road before you know it! Enjoy the pictures and the music!

Willie Nelson: On the Road Again

 

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Priorities – Are They Important?

April 16, 2016

In this blog I’ll be sharing some photos from recent memorable runs and hopefully some thought-provoking ideas about priorities.

First the runs – actually, let me rephrase that, first I’ll tell you about two of my recent runs with words and pictures.

You may have seen my piece about What is Serendipity? a while back.

Run 1 – Big Bird Lives

Interestingly enough, referring to one of the two run/walks I’ll tell you about in this blog and speaking of Great Blue Herons, a couple of my Tuesday running/walking group buddies and I saw one at Commonwealth Lake this week. Commonwealth Lake is in a local neighborhood near where I live. “It was amazing” to see this magnificent creature standing on the shore line of the lake not more than a dozen feet from the path where we were walking. The bird didn’t flinch, just stood there looking around. They’re actually very large birds. Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera.

By the way (just a quick note) about my walking/running – sometimes, due to various and sundry aches and pains, I walk rather than run. I enjoy both running and walking, the main thing is getting off the couch and going out to get some exercise.

The Allman Brothers – No One Left to Run With

Run 2 – Another Run in the Sun

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Mike & Jim along the Columbia River

On the second run on a Wednesday with a couple of other running buddies – be patient, I’ll get to the part about “priorities” eventually. Someone had suggested we run in a location where we hadn’t run in a while. We met in Vancouver across the river from Portland. It was a bright sunny day with a bit of a breeze, and we took off east toward Mount Hood and ended up on a paved trail that follows the river. I’m including pictures that I took. Afterwards we had a late lunch and drinks sitting in the sun. Everybody was out enjoying the weather. Eat your hearts out Californians, you take your sunny weather for granted, we Oregonians relish those wonderful sun-filled days.

The “Priorities” Part

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What would your ribbon say?

The topic presented in my church one Sunday this year was about priorities, mainly how to focus on worshipping God, loving people, and using things in that order. I guess the first two priorities are pretty obvious, although you can substitute another word for “God” if you prefer. On “using things”, that covers a broad area – spending time texting, etc. – I guess the point is that “using things” should be the lowest rung on the priority ladder. I think the pictures illustrate that choosing your priorities carefully is what’s important. If it’s a choice between going for a run or spending time with my family, which one do I choose? For me for years, running took priority over everything. One day I realized that there were other things that should have a higher priority.

Take a look at the pictures. I was walking along the trail in Vancouver when I saw “The Soul Tree”. At first I didn’t know what all the ribbons were about until I stopped and read the sign. I decided to add my own ribbon (“My Family”), and I took pictures with my phone.

The Soul Tree
My Family

I’ll end on that note, but hopefully your priorities are well chosen.

Just a few quotes to end with . . . check out Brainy Quotes for a lot more.

Tony Blair
It is not an arrogant government that chooses priorities, it’s an irresponsible government that fails to choose.
Whitney Houston
I have priorities. Maintaining my daughter is my first.
Myles Munroe
Our life is the sum total of all the decisions we make every day, and those decisions are determined by our priorities.

 

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Birthday Blog – 2016

February 23, 2016
19447_divers at Poipu

Diving with my son and others off Kauai

A song, a quote, and some favorite photos

Joe Cocker: Feelin’ Alright (Live)

Just thought I’d jump in here and post something on my birthday. Lots of folks have sent me birthday greetings, which is very cool – thanks, ya’ll! Anyone else who happens to have a birthday today, Happy Birthday to you too!

I’m off to buy myself a new pair of running shoes and go to the gym this morning. After that, I may just goof off for the rest of the day.

The following quote, one of my favorites, is from a book, Up Country, by Nelson Demille.

“The journey home is never a direct route – it is in fact always circuitous, and somewhere along the way we discover that the journey is more significant than the destination and that the people we meet along the way will be the traveling companions of our lives forever.”

Bonus Quotes: Love What You Do

By the way, the “Donald” quote wasn’t intentional, so take it or leave it, but I like the messages presented in this collection of quotes.

Bonus Photos:
  1. Ducks on Creekside Marsh
  2. Man Feeding the Gulls at Cannon Beach
  3. Bernie taking a picture while driving (keep that a secret please)
  4. Gospodor’s Monument on I-5 south of Centralia, WA
  5. Tree of Life, mural on a building in Estacada, OR
Man Feeding Gulls

 

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California Dreaming

February 5, 2016

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It’s Good to Take a Break

We Oregonians brag about our wonderful state, its beauty and all the things there are to do there, and it’s all true – come up and see us and we’ll give you the grand tour. My dad (God bless him) used to call it “God’s country”. Perhaps God lingered a bit when he created Oregon. Speaking of lingering . . .

Mamas and the Papas: California Dreaming

 

Has Anyone Seen my Sunscreen?

Sunshine is probably overrated, but I have to admit I do like it. Sitting in the courtyard by the pool, with a cup of coffee, writing in  my journal, it felt great! I actually had to go to Walmart and buy sunscreen yesterday – hey, it’s February, and I live in Oregon, what can I say, I wasn’t prepared for the sun.

What about People?

I wrote a blog post last year about people – you can go take a look.

Personas

I’ve always considered myself a “people” person, perhaps growing up in Texas gave me that personality trait, that willingness to talk to a total  stranger. Everyone you meet can be your friend, just say hello. Anyway, we were in SoCal last year, same place, same hotel. We came down for my brother-in-law’s celebration of life. I’m glad we did, it was a well-said goodbye to Chris, who was a good man. One of my favorite quotes says it better than I can. Here’s a piece of it – “the people we meet along the way will be the traveling companions of our lives forever.” Use the link to see the whole quote and some other quotes that talk about life and people.

Case in Point, about People.

As I was saying, I like meeting people. On that trip about a year ago, I was sitting out in the courtyard enjoying that wonderful morning sunshine and drinking coffee. I got into a conversation with Jack. He was a Spurs fan, but he wasn’t from Texas, said he had driven down from Seattle the night before. Anyway, he told me about himself, ex-Navy, an Aviation Mechanic who served at Oak Harbor and El Salvador but no carrier duty. We talked about how boring that long drive on I-5 was, which is why we decided to fly on this trip. Maybe our paths will cross again in the future.

I met Theresa on the way out on the plane, she was in the seat next to mine. She was on her way down to California to see two of her eight grandchildren. The people you meet . . .

On this 2016 trip I’ve met a bunch of people, some who are friends of relatives, spending time at our favorite pub in Santa Clarita, enjoying the dart tournament (Bob throws underhanded), music and food and drinks (I got to try three new craft beers!). I met Terry, an ex-Alabaman, who is thinking about moving to L.A. and came out to look for a house. In the hotel fitness center, I met Mo from Simi Valley. He asked me about the thing going on Burns, if it was affecting me where I lived. We got into a brief political discussion about the federal government and the “compulsory” laws that we were supposed to obey. I decided not to argue the point since he was lifting a lot more weight than I was. :}

What’s Next

Not sure what my next blog will be – content now to enjoy one more full day of sunshine before we leave to return to the rain.

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That small bird was really proud of himself – I drank the whole thing!

 

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Eulogy for Boomer

January 8, 2016

Goodbye old pal, we’ll miss you, big time!

Blogger’s postscript: Just wanted to add some important details that I left out yesterday.

Boomer started out as a southern California dog, roaming the streets of Sun City and eventually becoming the property of my mother-in-law, Eileen. She brought him along when she moved up to live with us in Oregon. Boomer was her pal and companion for years until she died. Then he lived with us after her passing, and he became our pal and companion.

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Boomer wearing his snow jacket.

Circle of Life (from the Lion King soundtrack)

Seeing that big, open-mouthed grin with that wonderful tongue with black spots (were you part chow?) was always a joy.

Your response to my touch when I scratched your back side, moving that leg back and forth. It made me feel good too.

  • Scientists say that dogs (not sure about cats) are beneficial to humans because there is a chemical response that actually lowers the blood pressure and relaxes both the animal and the human when they interact. Pretty cool, eh!

Boomer, I hope you reconnect with your old friend Eileen, and I hope you and Morty (our other dog that died in 2013) meet up and have a great time running around together.

A couple more pictures – the tongue with the spots and his “summer” buzz cut.

Quote: I learned the roots of any relationship (from working with dogs) – honesty, integrity, loyalty. It’s hard to find a human to give you all three. But every dog, that’s all they know. Humans are the only species that follows unstable pack leaders. Animals don’t . . . why would they? (Cesar Millan, dog whisperer, in Men’s Journal)

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Celebrate Veterans Day – November 11, 2015

November 11, 2015

Is it an important holiday and how should we celebrate it?

I think most, if not all of us, would answer “yes” to the first part of  the question. It’s the second part that I want to focus on. I’ll explain what prompted me to do this blog today. Don’t miss the important web link at the bottom.

Supertramp – Take the Long Road Home
United States of America

United States of America

I was not shuffling around my house (doctor’s post-surgical instructions) but sitting in my lounger with my legs elevated and my cryo cuff with ice cold water firmly attached to my right knee joint, and I looked at my crutches that were propped up on the couch. Obviously, this being November 11, Veterans Day, I had been thinking about stuff – for example, my crutches are temporary (hopefully), but how about the vets who are permanently disabled.

Let me briefly interject a thought here. I’m hoping that my readers will be open-minded about war. Whether you are pro-war or anti-war is none of my business. All I’m asking of you in this modest, non-political piece is to respect and honor what others have done on our behalf.

How about some word pictures? A double amputee in a wheel chair rolls up the ramp and into the airport waiting area. He has a family there to greet him, which is a good thing. His young daughter bends down to give him a big hug. They both have tears in their eyes. On the same flight a young woman walks off the plane. One side of her face is disfigured. No one is there to greet her, and she is disappointed, but she manages a smile. She’s back in America and so glad to be here.

I’m a vet and proud of it. Ironically, I wasn’t always patriotic. However, I received my draft notice from the “BBQ King” (that’s what we called LBJ in those days). I’ll skip the details about how I failed my induction physical and ended up in the Navy Reserves. Those details are in another section of this blog.

What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?

And your point is?

It’s time to get to the point. Here’s what I would like to suggest. Make it your mission to honor a vet, any vet, not just today but often. It could be something as simple as saying hello, shaking their hand, or patting them on the back to acknowledge what they did. If you have time, buy them a cup of coffee or just spend a few minutes talking to them. Ask them about their service. If they don’t want to talk about, don’t push it. For some the memories are too painful. Remember, you’re recognizing the fact that they gave of themselves in serving this great country.

Ending Notes

I would like to end with music and a web link. The music is an old piece that brings back memories from my shipboard life in Vietnam. One of the pasttimes of the sailors on my ship was to record music (reel-to-reel tape in those days) to send back home. It was a nice diversion.

Blind Faith – Can’t Find My Way Home

Here is a link to a local charity that works with vets. I’ve done volunteer work for them and can vouch for their mission, which is to help our vets to survive (literally) and to be able to reassimilate into society after their service. Consider donating in whatever way you can to their very worthy cause.

Returning Veterans Project

Rufous-sided Towhee

Rufous-sided Towhee

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Mindfulness – What is it, is it Important?

December 21, 2014

Merriam-Webster: The quality or state of being mindful; the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis; also, such a state of awareness.

I was watching a piece on 60 Minutes about “mindfulness”, and I thought I’d share some insights that might interest you. The link to the 60 Minutes broadcast is below.

If you look in my blog under Things to Think About, I posted “Doing Nothing: It Might Save Your Life” in October of last year. I admitted to being a Type A personality. I also admit to not being an expert on stress reduction or someone who practices yoga on a regular basis. However, I am learning about how important it is to lighten up, loosen up, and simplify my lifestyle, and hopefully to practice mindfulness spontaneously, which is the point of this blog post.

Rather than try to summarize the Anderson Cooper piece that aired on 60 Minutes on December 14, 2014, I’m providing the link to the script of the video about the mindfulness retreat and Cooper’s dialog with Jon Kabat-Zinn.

I guess for me the main take-aways were Kabat-Zinn’s ideas on mindfulness and how practicing it can help a person reduce stress, be healthier, and lead a more contented and happy life.

Here are a few more take-aways before I close, not my original ideas but quotes from others and ideas from other sources.

  • From a relative’s blog: “. . . if we wake up every morning and dedicate ourselves to doing and being good, this brief practice will no doubt lead to positive results. Through defining your intention for the day, your actions will have better results”.
  • From a Buddhist teacher named Kongtrul Rinpoche: “We are born with built-in abilities toward self-reflection and self-awareness which are our tools for personal growth”.
  • Last but not least, something that Kabat-Zinn said during interviews with Anderson Cooper about practicing mindfulness. It’s not in the script, but it was something to the effect – “If you’re thinking its something you should start practicing, you’re missing the point. It’s not a big should, it’s not like, oh, now I gotta do one more thing that I have to put in my life, that I have to be mindful. It’s not a doing but a being, and being doesn’t take time”.

Websites: http://www.mindfulnesscds.com/

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13 Lucky Truths

September 17, 2013

What do I know with absolute certainty?

This modest blurb was actually an exercise suggested by a relative. She suggested the exercise in her book, Let Go of the Rope, that I was reading, in the Appendix in a section titled “13 Lucky Truths”. Before you start, find a place where it’s quiet, where you can relax and meditate and focus on your breath if you choose. Once that’s done, don’t delay, just start answering the question. It should only take 5-10 minutes at the most. Here are my “truths” – I only did 10 – write down as many as you want, just don’t take all day, it should be spontaneous.

1.   It is OK not to love God, but it’s better if you do love God.
2.   Life is too short to waste on unfulfilling pursuits.
3.   Smiling is more fun than frowning, and it takes less energy.
4.   Be up front in all your relationships.
5.   It is OK to get mad occasionally; just don’t stay mad.
6.   If you help someone, someone will help you.
7.   It is OK to be happily married.
8.   Never stop saying I love you to your loved ones.
9.   Learn to like yourself and be happy with your lot in life.
10. Winning is great, but it is OK to lose.

By the way, you can order the book on Amazon.

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What’s It About?

March 26, 2013

Life

This is my blog – I am a writer living in the USA. This is more of a literary attempt at finding a common thread about living, based on my journalling, from new stories that I’m working on, and from my dusty manuscripts written years ago. Hopefully, this blog will provide food for thought about your life. In my blog posts you will see a fair number of quotations – I love quotations.

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: ‘Wow, what a ride’.”

In my English classes in college I read a lot, in fact copious amounts of writing, different genres and styles, from Beowulf to Kurt Vonnegut, who at the time (70’s) had practically a cult following – at least my book-bound friends thought he was a very good read.

I remember that certain styles earned certain novels the label “episodic”, the reason being there was no coherent thread to the story line, just vignettes that weren’t always directly related to each other or in sequence. You may ask, how does that apply to this literary effort, which also has vignettes (I like to call them snapshots)? Strictly speaking, it’s not “fiction” because I’ve drawn from life in talking to people and writing about our conversations and about reflections from my own life. I think of it more thematic than episodic – themes such as avocations, occupational stagnation, fear of change, running, photography, and bridges are interlaced throughout. Hopefully you will be able to relate to some of it.

What Was the Question?

I thought early on that I should set the tone for this literary effort by posing questions to put it all in a frame of reference, I guess to make sure it would be a worthwhile reading experience. Questions like:

Do famous and successful people always love their work?

Would you rather be happy or successful if you had the choice?

Why are some “darn lucky” or have the Midas touch, sailing through life, while others struggle their whole lives just to survive?

Why do many or most people hate Mondays and love Fridays?

OK, you get the idea. I guess using this approach would make it a thematic piece with specific threads of thought throughout and this might guarantee that you got “the message”. However, I have to mention that one very famous writer who has written about the art of writing suggests that you NOT include themes in your books. So, I will leave it up to the reader to glean whatever tidbits about life that they can from reading this work. In my opinion and most importantly, people are people, and they are what make this story.

As promised or forewarned (barely started and here is the second quote), try this excellent quote from Nelson Demille’s book Up Country (the bolding in the quote is mine):

“The journey home is never a direct route – it is in fact always circuitous and somewhere along the way we discover that the journey is more significant than the destination and that the people we meet along the way will be the traveling companions of our memories forever.”

City Slickers

I’m a movie buff so you may see little sketches or metaphors drawn from movies. This one is more or less word for word from “City Slickers”. The scene is with Jack Palance (Curly) and Billy Crystal (Mitch) talking – they’re in the middle of a cattle drive and somehow got into a philosophical discussion about life.

Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is?
Mitch: No, what?
Curly: (He holds up one finger.) This
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: Just one thing.
Mitch: What’s the one thing?
Curly: That’s what you’ve got to figure out.

The Time is Now

I originally titled this as a chapter, “Fourteen Minutes”, with the idea that I would pose the question, what would you do if you suddenly discovered that you only had 14 minutes to live? The number 14 isn’t important, it could have been 23 minutes, or 3 days, or a month. I had read a book by Daniel Wolk titled The Time is Now. In his book, Wolk presents thought provoking ideas about life, time, relationships, and the Cicada complex (more on that later).

Because I live in the Pacific Northwest (or “Northwet”) – it’s raining as I write this, waiting to catch the MAX (light rail) into Portland – I thought of titling this part, “Just Do It”, but then I realized that I might upset the Nike corporate folks because I borrowed their tag line.
In racing to finish this chapter with 6 minutes left, I need to finish on a note of substance and that is, “don’t be like the Cicada living for 4 years underground only to move up through layers of dirt, hatch, and die within 3 or 4 months”.

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