Today I took hike with my roommate in William B. Umstead State Park. It was called The Sycamore Trail and for about 2 miles (out of 4 miles) it runs along a river. I recommend it.
Here's a poem from one of my favorite poets.
The Laughing Heart
your life is your life
don't let it be clubbed into dank submission
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can't beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
and the gods wait to delight
in you.
--Charles Bukowski
Monday, November 14, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Unpacking Hemingway
"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry." -Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
I've been doing some house cleaning over the last few weeks in an attempt to de-clutter my house. For some reason, I've kept a few boxes of college notebooks with me since I graduated. I guess the hoarder in me couldn't let go. Together they boxes probably weigh 100 lbs and are almost 7 years old; wait a second, these notebooks are my child. I kid, I kid. Among the notes on Shakespeare and Sociology I discovered some old journals of mine. The Hemingway quotation was written on the first page of one of the journals and I love it. It obviously struck a chord with me 11 years ago when I copied it down and it still does. Its raw wisdom; truth.
Since then, I've been broken many times in many ways. Many times I didn't even wait on the world to break me, I just went ahead and did it myself. But I'm still here and I have callouses on my psyche. If we keep in mind that there are going to be obstacles, that there will ALWAYS be obstacles, then its easier to handle them when they arrive. This expectation of challenges will allow you to instantly start to tackle problems while they are still manageable instead of bemoaning their presence.
Personally, I have suffered many more setbacks than I had to because I have a bit of a hero complex(I just invented that term, its not a psychological term as far as I know). I like to do it all myself. While I may occasionally came out a hero, many times I come out worse for the battle. Notice that the above quotation say "many are strong at the broken places." Also, many are weaker at the broken places. Failure to recognize that I didn't have to fight alone caused the problems to escalate beyond the reach of my capabilities, whether those were financial, emotional, or otherwise. Then, and only then, did I reach out to family and friends for help. I've been fortunate to have amazing support in my life. I can say with 100% certainty I would not be here today without the people close to me.
Now that I am beginning my third decade I may be starting to wise up a bit. I'm later than most to learn some lessons, but I've been around long enough to witness that some people never wise up and they dig their own grave. We only get one life, and personally, I want to enjoy it. I have wasted many opportunities I've had, but that is not what matters to me anymore. What matters is that I am here now with the rest of my life holding as much potential as I can dream up. To borrow a boxing analogy from Mills Lane, a former boxing referee, former judge, and my older brother's high school commencement speaker, "Keep your head down, your hands up, and keep moving forward."
I've been doing some house cleaning over the last few weeks in an attempt to de-clutter my house. For some reason, I've kept a few boxes of college notebooks with me since I graduated. I guess the hoarder in me couldn't let go. Together they boxes probably weigh 100 lbs and are almost 7 years old; wait a second, these notebooks are my child. I kid, I kid. Among the notes on Shakespeare and Sociology I discovered some old journals of mine. The Hemingway quotation was written on the first page of one of the journals and I love it. It obviously struck a chord with me 11 years ago when I copied it down and it still does. Its raw wisdom; truth.
Since then, I've been broken many times in many ways. Many times I didn't even wait on the world to break me, I just went ahead and did it myself. But I'm still here and I have callouses on my psyche. If we keep in mind that there are going to be obstacles, that there will ALWAYS be obstacles, then its easier to handle them when they arrive. This expectation of challenges will allow you to instantly start to tackle problems while they are still manageable instead of bemoaning their presence.
Personally, I have suffered many more setbacks than I had to because I have a bit of a hero complex(I just invented that term, its not a psychological term as far as I know). I like to do it all myself. While I may occasionally came out a hero, many times I come out worse for the battle. Notice that the above quotation say "many are strong at the broken places." Also, many are weaker at the broken places. Failure to recognize that I didn't have to fight alone caused the problems to escalate beyond the reach of my capabilities, whether those were financial, emotional, or otherwise. Then, and only then, did I reach out to family and friends for help. I've been fortunate to have amazing support in my life. I can say with 100% certainty I would not be here today without the people close to me.
Now that I am beginning my third decade I may be starting to wise up a bit. I'm later than most to learn some lessons, but I've been around long enough to witness that some people never wise up and they dig their own grave. We only get one life, and personally, I want to enjoy it. I have wasted many opportunities I've had, but that is not what matters to me anymore. What matters is that I am here now with the rest of my life holding as much potential as I can dream up. To borrow a boxing analogy from Mills Lane, a former boxing referee, former judge, and my older brother's high school commencement speaker, "Keep your head down, your hands up, and keep moving forward."
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Find Your Heroes
Today I want to discuss heroes. I'm not referring to the 1991 hit song ""Hero" by Enrique Iglesias or the defunct NBC series Heroes. Actually, I never saw that show and I didn't really like that song. And, no, I'm not discussing Superheroes. I'm sorry if you ended up at my blog looking for a discussion of Peter Parker or The Joker. What I'm referring to is personal role models. I'm referring to real people in the real world that have led exemplary lives and acheived great things.
We all, consciously or unconsciously, imitate or "model" our behavior after others. For most of us, our parents are our first teachers. We learn by imitating or mirroring those around us. This is true with speech patterns, mannerisms, modes of thinking, and value systems as we are raised. Then we encounter other influences like peer groups and teachers/babysitters/child care workers. We learn from these groups just as we learn from our parents, by observing and imitating.
Lets not forget the power of technology either. A University of Michigan study showed that the average 2-5 year old spends 32 hours a week in from of a TV screen. 32 hours a week? Thats a staggering number to me, so lets hope these children are watching Sesame Street, not South Park. Not to hate on South Park, but Cartman is not exactly a positive role models for a 4 year old. Another study found that the average American adult watches 4 hours of TV each day. Thats 2 months of non-stop TV per year and, in a 65-year lifespan, 9 consecutive years. Thats not even counting Facebook.
Between family, school, extra-curricular activities, TV and the Web we have so many sources for behavior to imitate. Some of us never consciously choose our personal heroes. We adopt cultural heroes or inherit those of our parents or friends. Personally, I believe choosing your own heroes is one of the most important steps you can make in defining yourself. Unlike a philosophy, heroes don't exist in abstract form. Heroes are real people, and they walk amongst us. Heroic actions are real, and they happen everyday. The benefits of picking a hero are two fold. First, the existence of your hero proves to you that miraculous and wonderful things can happen and extraordinary people do exist. This person will serve as a symbol to you in your times of doubt that not only CAN obstacles be overcome, but, also, that they HAVE been overcome. Secondly, our heroes can be a source of insight into HOW they have achieved their success. After all, the process of succeeding is just as important as the act of executing that process.
Choose your heroes and study them. If you're lucky enough to be able to spend time with your mentor or hero, even better. Read autobiographies, biographies, memoirs, blogs, or watch documentaries to discover more about extraordinary individuals. Reflect on what motivates your heroes and what motivates you. Are they the same? We all need positive role models to inspire and instruct us to where we CAN go.
We all, consciously or unconsciously, imitate or "model" our behavior after others. For most of us, our parents are our first teachers. We learn by imitating or mirroring those around us. This is true with speech patterns, mannerisms, modes of thinking, and value systems as we are raised. Then we encounter other influences like peer groups and teachers/babysitters/child care workers. We learn from these groups just as we learn from our parents, by observing and imitating.
Lets not forget the power of technology either. A University of Michigan study showed that the average 2-5 year old spends 32 hours a week in from of a TV screen. 32 hours a week? Thats a staggering number to me, so lets hope these children are watching Sesame Street, not South Park. Not to hate on South Park, but Cartman is not exactly a positive role models for a 4 year old. Another study found that the average American adult watches 4 hours of TV each day. Thats 2 months of non-stop TV per year and, in a 65-year lifespan, 9 consecutive years. Thats not even counting Facebook.
Between family, school, extra-curricular activities, TV and the Web we have so many sources for behavior to imitate. Some of us never consciously choose our personal heroes. We adopt cultural heroes or inherit those of our parents or friends. Personally, I believe choosing your own heroes is one of the most important steps you can make in defining yourself. Unlike a philosophy, heroes don't exist in abstract form. Heroes are real people, and they walk amongst us. Heroic actions are real, and they happen everyday. The benefits of picking a hero are two fold. First, the existence of your hero proves to you that miraculous and wonderful things can happen and extraordinary people do exist. This person will serve as a symbol to you in your times of doubt that not only CAN obstacles be overcome, but, also, that they HAVE been overcome. Secondly, our heroes can be a source of insight into HOW they have achieved their success. After all, the process of succeeding is just as important as the act of executing that process.
Choose your heroes and study them. If you're lucky enough to be able to spend time with your mentor or hero, even better. Read autobiographies, biographies, memoirs, blogs, or watch documentaries to discover more about extraordinary individuals. Reflect on what motivates your heroes and what motivates you. Are they the same? We all need positive role models to inspire and instruct us to where we CAN go.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Whats a blog?
I'm starting my writing career here today. If you're reading this then you've just witnessed me become a published writer. Well, sorta, "self-published" we'll call it.
What is a blog anyway? I know its a contraction of "web log", but I'm not sure on the purpose of writing this log on the web. I'm not sure what other people use it for because I don't subscribe to or read blogs regularly. Don't get me wrong, its not like I've never encountered a blog post. I've read some poker players blogs because I was interested in learning poker, but other than that I have no model for blogging. So off I go in to the blogging abyss armed only with my wit and my pen(keyboard, but you know what I mean).
That being said, I'm starting a blog for the purpose of exercising my writing muscle and indulging my curiosity. I hope to entertain and inform with my posts. In the end, I have to admit, the purpose of writing this blog is to keep me engaged and excited. I'm finding the glow of my spirit fading and I feel writing will stoke the fires of my passion. And, it beats the hell out of daytime TV. hehe
What is a blog anyway? I know its a contraction of "web log", but I'm not sure on the purpose of writing this log on the web. I'm not sure what other people use it for because I don't subscribe to or read blogs regularly. Don't get me wrong, its not like I've never encountered a blog post. I've read some poker players blogs because I was interested in learning poker, but other than that I have no model for blogging. So off I go in to the blogging abyss armed only with my wit and my pen(keyboard, but you know what I mean).
That being said, I'm starting a blog for the purpose of exercising my writing muscle and indulging my curiosity. I hope to entertain and inform with my posts. In the end, I have to admit, the purpose of writing this blog is to keep me engaged and excited. I'm finding the glow of my spirit fading and I feel writing will stoke the fires of my passion. And, it beats the hell out of daytime TV. hehe
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