Life On A B-I7

Day #351

Day #350

I can’t think of many things more rewarding than being a writer, unless it is creating beautiful woodwork. I chose to spend my life as a computer programmer. Nothing wrong with that. We choose what our life will look like. I suppose the best we can say is, once we’ve chosen our path, how did we do in fulfilling that destiny. We should never regret our choices. It’s all about how we fulfill those choices.

Day #349

Was Diogenes of Sinope (400-325 B.C.) happy?

Diogenes was a Cynic. Cynics in that day were people that lived without the trappings of ordinary life. (Different than today’s cynics.) Diogenes and his followers believed that it did not take a lot of earthly possessions to live well. It is possible Diogenes may have taken his philosophy to the extreme. He admired dogs. He preached that dogs are unashamed of bodily functions, were not picky about what they ate, and cared little for where they slept, all admirable traits in his mind. This led him to choose a wine barrel as his home. It’s possible my cat eats better than Diogenes did. Diogenes even gestured with his middle finger to those who would presume to insult him over his lifestyle. (Apparently the middle finger has a long history.) Once Alexander the Great paid a visit to Diogenes (Diogenes was a famous philosopher after all). Alexander found Diogenes bathing in his wine barrel. Alexander offered to give him anything he wanted, Diogenes was reported to have said “Please get out of my sunlight.” It is not know if he showed Alexander the middle finger, I suspect if he had, this story might have ended differently.

Day #348

Give compliments.

If you want to live on the plus side of the social register, always give more compliments than you give complaints. I was walking down the sidewalk today, as I passed two people I heard one complaining about how unfair his boss was. I could not help noticing, and feeling a bit sorry for the person listening. If you want to help people flourish, give them positive feedback. If they don’t deserve it, give them at least more positive than negative… Everyone deserves a chicken dinner once in awhile

This raises the obvious question, what is a good compliment. It is not use of the words “nice,” “good,” “beautiful,” “pretty,” or “great.” You have to be creative for your compliment to have a positive effect.

The bottom line is, give compliments, be sincere, and make your compliment genuine.

Day #347

I went into my favorite Taproom while I was waiting for my truck at Les Schwab. They have a brew called “Mystic Daze.” I told the barkeep I knew the perfect song to go with that beer, Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic.” I asked her if she would mind playing it. She was cool with that. Once the song came on I asked her if she had heard it before. “No,” was the answer. I guess that’s the definition of old.

Day #346

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

What a cool title. It’s not mine. It’s the title of a Haruki Murakami novel. Reading this novel makes me want to read all of Murakami’s work. I think I will. The novel is 400 pages of split brained dialogue between the protagonist and himself. I have to admit I had no real idea how the story would end until I got to page 399. There were plenty of hints along the way, but Murakami has a special skill when it comes to unfolding a story. Even after I closed the book at the end of page 400, there was still room to take the story further. I’m sure that was intentional. It makes you want to carry the story with you and think about it from time to time, not to mention read more of his work.

Day #345

When you pass a church and the reader board says “We grow in Christ and love for one another,” What does the word “We” mean? Are they talking about just the members of their congregation or are they talking about everyone in the world? I hope it’s latter, but there are plenty of reasons to think that “religion” is not the answer to why there is a lack of love in the world.

My job is to remember what the world needs, even though I’m not a member of any particular “We.”

Day #344

We must take a moment to appreciate what we have and who we are. To find fault in other people is to be looking in the wrong direction. The key is to look clearly at ourself. It’s not hard to pick out the person with no self awareness, those are the people that blame others for their shortcomings. If you are able to give other people credit, even if you don’t agree with them, you are making room to give yourself credit. If we see ourselves as superior, we won’t be able to see anyone else as worthy of our respect.

Day #343

The Fourteen Risk Factors for Dementia

Perhaps the most important factor is social isolation. I really need to change my wardrobe when I play Pickleball. I’ve been told that wearing green socks with white court shoes might tend to ostracize me. My advice, choose your socks wisely on your first and second date… I got lucky.

The other risk factors are:

• Vision loss
• High cholesterol
• Hearing loss
• Air pollution (lung issues?)
• Cognition loss (unable to keep score in Pickleball)
• Depression
• Brain injury
• Lack of physical activity
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Hypertension
• Obesity
• Excessive alcohol

Fortunately for me, coffee is not on that list. Addressing all of these factors could reduce the risk of demential by as much as 45%. I’m doing fairly well as far as most of that list goes. The whole social isolation thing could be a problem for someone like me. I don’t spend a lot of time ingratiating myself with other people just for its own sake. I’d rather build something.

Day #342

Where do writers get their ideas? Perhaps a bigger question is, once they get an idea how do they go about building the detail that is necessary to make their work convincing and worth sharing.

If only I could solve that mystery… I think I’ll google that…

A college degree in English, Communications, or Journalism is generally required for a full-time position as a writer or author. Experience gained through internships or any writing that improves skill, such as blogging, is beneficial.

I don’t find that terribly helpful. I studied Political Science and spent my working life as a computer programmer. No hope. Or perhaps that answer is just bull shit… I do write (here) but I hardly think that makes me a writer. I do this for the satisfaction. I’m not really sure what that means. I suppose it just means I am satisfying a desire that I don’t fully understand. Nevertheless, when I read someone that can really write, say Haruki Murakami, I am mystified and just a bit envious.

Day #341

Thought

It is a fact of human nature that thought defines our reality. We literally choose what we will think. Someone does something stupid on the freeway, we choose whether to get upset, or whether to ignore what happened. Someone says something to us in what sounds like a harsh voice, we choose to take offense or we choose to dismiss the words.

Reality is quite literally the present moment. Everything else is past or future. That may seem obvious, but the truth is the present moment is all that we control.

We are thinking creatures, we can’t exist without thinking. The beauty of that is it gives us tremendious control over our reality, what we think, more control than most people realize. The trick is to listen to our thoughts, when they go astray, we need to engage them and steer them back onto a positive track. In other words, actively create the thoughts that we are experiencing, rather than letting our minds drift in random directions.

The old analogy that each thought is like a stone dropped into a pond is more true than not. The ripples created by the stone move out in all directions, changing the surface of the water. The influence created by a single stone is surprising when you watch its effect. So to is the influence on ourselves and on others with each thought we engage and each word we share. We create reality simply by how we choose to perceive the current moment.

Day #340

I’m quite proud of these. They are a long way from traditional and the craftsmanship isn’t close to journeyman standards. That said, they look okay and they certainly enhance the look of the room.

Day #339

Am I a good father? I suspect not. How does one know? Obviously, ask your children…

But, will they tell you? Therein lies the rub. If I were to rely on my own analysis, it would go something like this.

Yes, and no.

Big surprise. I think probably more “no” than “yes.” How many of us can say, without hesitation, honestly, that we have been great parents. Ultimately parenting comes down to love, guidance and example. I have tried to be a good example for my children when they were in my presence, occasionally even when they weren’t. I can’t be the judge of how well I did at that.

Bottom line, I tried, but I think I could have done better. This is an attempt to tell myself it’s not too late to try a bit harder.

Only those we are responsible for can make that call. Its likely we’ll never know the answer, because they might not even know the answer themselves until sometime after we have shed the parenting role (which not surprisingly corresponds to our shedding of everything else…)

That’s okay. In the interim, we need to do the best we can.

My cat thinks I am a pain-in-the-ass because I make him stay in the yard. I think that qualifies as parenting, sort of, right?

Day #338

“In 1978 Haruki Murakami was in the bleachers of Jingu Stadium watching a baseball game between the Yakult Swallows and the Hiroshima Carp when Dave Hilton, an American, came to bat. According to an oft-repeated story, in the instant that he hit a double, Murakami suddenly realized that he could write a novel. He went home and began writing that night.”

Now, 46 years later, Haruki Murakami has written 14 novels, 6 short story anthologies and 5 nonfiction books.

It’s hard for me to imagine that sort of productivity. Even harder to imagine is the focus and determination required to accomplish a body of work so prolific, so varied and so down-right fun.

I’m envious.

It would be nice to apply something like his focus to what remains of my own creative endeavors. Perhaps taking in a few Seattle Mariners games would help.

Day #337

There have been few musical groups that have created more depth of sound and emotion with just three instruments than Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. After ELP, I’d take Steely Dan in a heartbeat.

Day #336

The attitude that dogs are okay and cats are not, is, from a feline perspective, unwarranted. It would be much better if both cats and dogs were treated equally. Cats would appreciate that. I’m not sure dogs would even know there had been a shift in perspective.

Day #335

I realize the dates on my posts do not align with reality. Some that know me might say that is not surprising. If I were to offer an explanation, I would tell you I’m a bit over my skis because I’m excited about finishing my “Year of Living Thoughtfully” Project. So much so, I forgot my sister’s birthday… I’m sorry sis. I have to hand it to you, while I am aging (normally I hope) you seem to be aging in reverse.

Will you allow me to use that as an excuse?

Day #334

There is something about the human mind that makes it fearful of change.

It may be reassuring to look to the past for solutions, but rarely does that offer any answers. This is the fallacy of conservatism. I am a liberal on most issues because I prefer to look forward and not back. However, I do not subscribe to every liberal solution that comes down the pike. In fact, many propositions are simply too extreme to be successful catalysts for societal change.

If we all could just take a deep breath, perhaps we could begin to find common ground.

I am also an idealist, in case you were wondering.

Day #333

A person that is impatient can teach you patience, as long as you care about that person.

Day #332

The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

I’m often teased for “exaggerating.” For example, I will occasionally say something like, “That is the best pork chop I have ever eaten.” It may actually be the best one, but it doesn’t sound good to people that don’t know you when you make those sorts of statements. So rather than tell you that “The Traveling Cat Chronicles” is the best book I have ever read, let me just say, it is the best cat book I have ever read…

I don’t say that lightly. Why would I say that in any case, especially in light of that fact that I am know to exaggerate somewhat? I offer as evidence, the idea that a book that moves you emotionally is possibly the best standard you can use by which to make that call. That said, a book that makes you cry has probably has done a pretty good job in that regard.

It could be that as we get older, we become more emotional. Perhaps, I don’t know. I like to think the special bond between the main character in the story and his cat is a reflection of bond that I have with my cat. That is probably the most logical reason why I felt so moved by the story. Towards the end of the book, I could not read even a few pages without crying. I set it down several times to gather my composure. That doesn’t happen very often. Less than often actually.

The book is a keeper.

Day #331

Dear Justice Roberts

Our founders believed that humankind is not a perfect creation. To rule ourselves with proper care and concern for the welfare of every citizen requires a government where the power wielded by each branch is equal in its ability to oversee and correct any direction taken by one of the other branches. This is the basic idea our founders used when drafting our Constitution and was so eloquently expressed in the Federalist Papers

Your court in all its self-professed “textual” knowledge has completely failed to understand this basic concept. You have allowed the court to become a partisan body that sees itself as wiser and more fit to judge the future course of our nation than either branch that has been elected by the people you profess to serve.

The prime example of this is the Court’s decision to set itself up as the sole judge of what constitutes a “legal” act by the Executive Branch. By giving yourself that power you have created a monarchy that is only answerable to one branch of government. Worse yet is the fact that in so doing, you have actually created a monarchy that can ignore the wishes of that oversight branch (you) if it so chooses. Your seat of self-proclaimed authority is functionally a sham.

The conclusion I draw from this turn of events is that five shallow self-serving men are hiding behind robes. Unfortunately this is not the first time in our history that robes have been used to mask the true intent behind a corrupt view that exceeds the bounds of decency and the vision of the founders.

This is the legacy of your court. Not one I would be proud of if I were a well educated man entrusted with the responsibility, above all others, to preserve and protect our constitution and the freedom of it’s inheritors.

Day #330

Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Five Principles of Personal Freedom.

The Journey is the Destination

Happiness requires a purpose. Happiness is more likely to be found in the pursuit of a goal than in the attainment of it.

To Be Alive is to Embrace Freedom

Following a path prescribed for you by someone else never leads to happiness. True happiness is found following your own path.

Beware the Palace of Crystal

Experiencing the real world is better than living apart from it. Contact with fellow humans is what brings us into a true relationship with reality.

The Pain is the Point

A life without suffering leaves no room for true appreciation of love and no capacity for gratitude.

Look Up

We choose what we believe. If we are not choosing with intention and examination, we are not living up to our full potential.

Day #329

Everybody has an opinion. Go with what you know to be your truth, not what you’re told. To arrive at your truth requires thoughtfulness, compassion, research and critical thinking, not social media memes.

Day #328

We don’t know what we don’t know. How do we continue when the future is unknown? I think the answer to that is a gift that is given to us. We either have the desire to press on or we don’t. In the case where we do, that is the gift. A gift, perhaps given by a parent, perhaps given by someone we respect or perhaps given by our own experience and belief. However it is obtained, it is the most precious gift one we can receive. We need to carry that with us everywhere we go.

If you don’t find this message useful, take heart, you can always go listen to D.K. Harrell’s album “The Right Man.” My cat finds it meditative.

Day #327

Van Morrison live at the Santa Monica Civic Center, 1973.

“Into the Mystic.”

A song that takes us on a spiritual quest to show us how to become part of the universe.

Into the Mystic